Jack's First Birthday

I can't believe that Jack is a year old. I know how cliche it sounds to say "Wow this year has really flown by so fast!" but it's so true in my case and I don't know how else to say it. This year really has gone too fast for me. Maybe it's because Jack really did grow so quickly that he grew out of that infant stage at around 4 months, or maybe I need to start savoring those little moments a little longer, but when I look back over the past year, I can't tell you where that time went.

I love my little Jack Jack so much. I still check on him every night before I go to sleep, and I look forward to mornings when he wakes up because it is the only time of the day he will snuggle with me. I love how he always has to have something in his chubby little hand, like yesterday when he went almost 4 hours straight with a tiny Barbie brush in his hand (from nap time to bed time, including bath time, and he cried when I took it out of his hand after dinner to wipe it clean). I love his huge smile and the dimples that are so big that we get comments on them every where we go. I love his red hair and how it sets him apart from almost everyone else out there. I love how instead of eating something right away, he will tear it to shreds and examine it, and then maybe eat a couple of bites before he throws the rest on the floor. I love how he looks at Olivia with such adoration, and I love watching them play and laugh together. I love how he gets so excited for bath time, and the entire time is spent splashing around and laughing at Olivia. I love how no matter how much his boo boo hurts or how mad he is at me, if I sing "You Are My Sunshine" he will immediately stop crying and will continue to not cry as long as I am singing that song. I love so much about him and all that he brings to this family of mine.

Anyway, his party was a lot of fun. I think I went a little overboard seeing that he won't remember a thing about this day, but I missed Olivia's birthday (darn that meningitis) so I felt that one of my kids should have their birthday the way I planned it, right? Well, we invited some friends over and the Lafrancas came from Toledo for the occasion. Jack got a lot of presents that Olivia immediately took possession of, and then we ate cupcakes (which yes, I made a million of, but I would rather have too much than not enough, right? Who's with me?) which Jack loved. He thought we were all crazy while we sang to him, and had this look on his face as if he were saying "What is going on and why aren't you giving me my cupcake?!" Olivia and Hayden blew his candle out and Jack went to town, as you can see. He then got thrown in the bath with the other kiddos, which resulted in a flood on my bathroom floor (thank goodness for tile floors and lots of towels!).

We've helped to create yet another couple of Guitar Hero addicts... sorry.

The next day we went to Kirtland with Kelli and Jage and their kids. Needless to say, Kirtland is old news for me since I went there almost every day this past summer for the play, but I still can't get past the Kirtland temple and the history there. I could spend hours in the historic cemetary just reading headstones and the LDS sites are absolutely amazing. I love to imagine myself back in those times, like what I would trade for a hat at the Whitney store and what kind of material I would have bought for my best Sunday dress. I envy those times, they were so much more simpler and innocent than these times are. Don't get me wrong, I love my Tivo and paved roads and hospitals with epidurals, but parts of the days of Kirtland don't sound so bad sometimes. Those are not innocent smiles you see on Hayden and Olivia. They loved to run as far away as possible from Kelli and I until one of us went after them. Here they are at the Whitney store, playing with whatever they weren't supposed to be playing with.
Yes, he's really eating the wood chips. When I moved him onto the deck of the Whitney store, he seriously crawled off (more like somersaulted onto his back down the two stairs) and tried to eat some more.Roman kept walking away and Kelli would say "Bye bye Roman!" and he would blow and kiss without stopping. She finally caught him and put him on her shoulders so he couldn't get away anymore. And that is a classic Roman smile!

After Kirtland, the boys went home for some much needed R & R (which translates to Halo 3 on XBox 360) while the kids slept. Kelli and I took Olivia to the mall for some girl time, which translates to shopping clearance racks and eating Auntie Anne's pretzels. We met the boys at Texas Roadhouse where we had an awesome waitress, loud kids, and Jack who wouldn't eat anything but 2 bowls of applesauce and Diet Coke (I think he's trying to diet...). It was an exhausting weekend, to say the least, but it was a lot of fun to have the Lafrancas in town and to show Jeremiah the sites in Kirtland. Next time we'll hopefully have time for the actual temple tour! All in all, though, it was fun and after I have a few weeks to rehabilitate myself after 4 kids 3 years old and under in my house, we are looking forward to doing it again when the Lafrancas come for the Seahawks and Browns game in November!