WOW!!!

Last night Daniel and I observed Jack saying "wow" over and over as he played with his toys. Well, this morning, he has continued to say "wow" when he does things like stand and walk along the furniture and pick up Daniel's lacrosse stick. Jack really likes the word WOW.

On another note, we rearranged the apartment and put a ton of things away. We pushed one of the couches over to the TV to close up the hole he liked to hide in that was between the couch and the TV. We moved the toys into a toy box and put it on the far side of the room so its no longer under the TV, and now Jack leaves the TV and the wires alone. We have also started keeping all the doors closed. Our place may look super plain now, but at least I have cut back on the number of times I have to nag Jack to leave things alone.

At 11 months, he has the cup thing down, but still prefers the bottle. He has also started to take his diapers off when they are wet or dirty. He enjoyed nesting boxes, waving, rolling balls, tearing paper and looking at texture books. Jack has also started to do little scribbles and will attempt to sing songs along with Grace, but she doesn't like the duet.

Confirmation of New Words

I can confidently confirm that Jack has four new words and uses them appropriately. He now says Duck (for his blue rubber duck), Apple (which he hasn't stop saying since our picnic lunch where he had apples), Baby (which refers to his new stuffed orange horse) and Apa.

24 Hours after New Ears

Life is great. It was great before, but its more relaxed now. The surgery went well, the allergic reaction (to the knock out drugs) rash is all but gone. We all had our first restful sleep for the first time since December. A well rested family is wonderful! Jack is back to his chill self and is hearing new sounds and trying to make some new ones. He has his balance back too (he was upset he was having a hard time standing up yesterday). Jack doesn't mind the ear drops we have to do. (Currently Jack and Grace are wrestling and climbing all over each other). We are totally enjoying our Wednesday resting and hanging out with Jack as he continues to recover. Thanks for all the support and prayers.

They grow up fast!

So this weekend, Jack started climbing up the stairs like a champ. He was so proud of himself, he was like "this is a piece of cake". He has also taken to saying "My Papa, mama ba". I think ba means bad... he only says it when I try to hug Daniel... apparently Jack believes has claim to Daniel and I need to sneak my hugs in when Moose isn't looking. We should have a welcome back party for his ear goo. This time its got crusty chunks... Sorry, I know. Its nasty. He also went from having 4 teeth to being a proud owner of 7. Who gets three teeth in one day?! Who does that?! He could have watered the whole Death Valley today. But in the end I was very fortunate that Daniel came home right before my patience and love decided to check out for a break and recharge. It was a very trying day, and I gave Jack all I had since I know what he is going through SUCKS since it SUCKS for us. (He is lucky I perfected my patience in my early teaching years.... I may not have lasted until dinner time...I may have just called it a day before lunch.) Here is to new days and the gift that God gives you everything you need.

Tubes and Adenoids

Jack is having tubes put in and his adenoids removed on June 23rd instead of in September. I have some mommy guilt only because I had no clue that his ears were THAT bad to move the surgery up by three months. The tests showed some ear damage and significant hearing loss. So eventually he will need speech therapy. I had no idea he was in such pain, I mean.. yea, he hasn't slept in weeks, but he doesn't make his dinosaur screams like he did with his legs 6 months ago. Jack has a really high tolerance for pain. (He growls a little bit when getting his shots, but doesn't cry.) In any case, here is to less ear infections, lots of ice cream, and a full night's sleep in two weeks!