4th of July

"Happy Birthday America!!" We had a nice 4th of July yesterday. Kevin had to help Jeremiah with a wedding, so he was gone most of the day, but Jack and I hung out playing the Wii and spending time with Amanda. The weather has been so nice and cool out this past week. It has been great! We went out to eat dinner at Applebee's and then did some shopping. We went back to get ready to go to Ft. Leavenworth to watch the fireworks and was surprised when Kevin pulled in the driveway. He ended up being able to go with us to see the fireworks after not thinking he would be able to! I was very glad! We've spent every July 4th together for the past 8 years! Once we got on post and got situated in a great spot, Jack got to see some ducks and got to run around and play. He was having so much fun until the fireworks started....then he was terrified! He completely shut down from the moment the first one went boom!! He closed his eyes tightly, never opening them and just curled up on Kevin. Kevin covered Jack's ears since they were pretty loud, but he still wouldn't even take a peek.

After the fireworks were over, we could barely get him to open his eyes. He finally did and seemed to calm down once back in the car. We looked at the pictures of fireworks on my camera and that was okay! But even driving past people shooting them off in the streets scared him and he closed his eyes again!! Poor guy! When we finally got back home, our neighbors were shooting big ones off and Jack shut down again. Luckily, it was way past his bedtime and he just passed out in his crib. Maybe next year will be better for him!!

Pre-fireworks:

Playing with his glow ring with Amanda:

It was so funny b/c he was doing laps around our chairs/blanket and then he'd stop once his feet were inside the glow ring!


Right after 1st firework went off:

Hiding under his blankie:

Fireworks Jack missed seeing:

For those that were wondering....

We're still trying to have another baby. I never thought it'd take this long!! We've almost reached the year mark of trying! This is month 11, so here's hoping! And trust me, we've heard all the advice and how "you're trying too hard," "just quit trying," blah, blah, blah...well, we get that....it's just sometimes hard to be patient! We know God will bless us in His time and when He does, we will be so happy! We just want Jack to have a brother or sister soon!

Fun in the Sun

Kevin got Jack a little kiddie pool for our backyard and it's just perfect for him! Jack especially loves the slide part. He pretty much just loves being in the water! We did go to the public pool a few weeks ago and he was a little water baby. He was trying to swim by himself, putting his head underwater, blowing bubbles in the water, and just having a blast! I didn't get any pictures from the public pool b/c I couldn't really wrangle Jack and my camera by myself unless I wanted my camera to get soaked.




Here's a video clip:

First Goose Egg

Last Sunday, we went to a friend's house to hang out with his parents while they were in town and Jack ended up falling off one of the kiddie slides they had in the backyard and landed on the concrete and ended up with a huge goose egg on his forehead! I was a little worried at first, but it just so happened that Jeremiah's mom is a nurse and she said it'd be okay! That made me feel better, but his egg swelled up pretty big and looked so weird! We let Jack eat some no-bake cookies and some ice cream after the fall and then he totally stopped crying!

Right before going to their house:


About an hour after the fall:

Sittin' on the Potty

We're not really "officially" potty training just yet, but we're putting Jack on it and letting him try to go. He has peed in the potty a few times and he pooped on it once, so it's a start! The other day he was sitting on it and he was looking at his camera to help pass some time so I decided to take a few pictures myself!

Fun with the Suitcase

When I was packing for our trip last month, I noticed how much Jack loved the suitcase. He liked to sit in it with his stuffed animals, he liked to put them to sleep in there, he liked to throw stuff into it and just whatever else he could think of. It's been out for about a month now and he still likes to play with it! Well, Amanda and Cora came over the other night to watch Jack while Kevin and I had band rehearsal and Cora turned the suitcase into a lot more fun for Jack! She put a pillow in it, strapped him in, put his drink in the "cup holder" and started taking him for a ride! He of course loved it!



Cora strapped him in and he's ready to ride!



Here's a video of Cora and Jack:




Here's a video of just Jack:

Rock Band

Kevin had borrowed the game Rock Band from some friends of ours and one day last week, I came home to him and Jack rocking out! It was the cutest thing! Jack loved the drums and he liked the guitar too. It was funny because he sort of learned how to do the rocker head banger thing just by watching the game. It was cute! I accidently deleted the best video off my camera of the two of the them, but I did get some others. I loved the game too, turns out I was pretty okay at the drums!

Kevin singing, Jack on guitar


Jack on the drums


He was watching the screen flash everytime he hit a drum