Poop Deck!

My little angel pie is so cute. Just when I think he can't get any cuter, he does something that just blows me away! Whether it's his smile, his Oreo covered face, or when he laughs at nothing, it just makes me want to *burst*. Seriously people, my child belongs on a Cheerio's box.

No real updates today. Just the usual eat, sleep, poop, pull hair, throw a spoon at the dog, eat some more, routine. I'm hoping we can take Jack to the pool tomorrow or perhaps the park. He's been pretty cooped up at the house with me this week and I would like to get him some fresh air.

One thing that is new with Jack is that he can climb on to the couch and the salad bowl (the "salad bowl" is the papasan chair we have. We pretend it is a salad bowl though.) He can get up and get off of it all on his own. He does fall once in a while, but I'm always there to pick him up and smother him with kisses and love. Everyone (Kevin, Aunt Jessica, Grandma Tutu, Amy, etc.) keeps telling me to stop babying him, but I can't help it. He's my baby and just so kissable! Every time I get into "smothering mothering" mode he pushes me away and says, "MOM! Stop embarrassing me!" Ok, he doesn't really say that, but he makes that face at me. So independent that boy is. When will he learn no matter how old he gets, he'll always be my baby and I'll always smother him with love!

Weekend Update... With Your Host: Baby Jack!

Well, this weekend was quite eventful for Mr. Sparrow. Saturday we went over to Jon & Morgan's house. Jon is Kevin's friend from work and he and his wife just had a baby last week. Luca, their new baby, is so adorable. The moment I saw him I was like, "Hey Kevin! I have a great idea!" and before I could say my great idea Kevin glared at me and said, "NO!"

But anyway, that Luca is such a cutey. I didn't bring my camera with me so Kevin is going to ask Jon for pics from Saturday. Jack didn't really know what to make of Luca. He tried to play with him but was a little rough so we had to separate them. While we were at their house, we watched the Oregon football game while Jack played legos and entertained us. It was a lot of fun and I think they are now our couple best friends.

Sunday was a blast! Kevin, Jack, and I went to Juniper Pool and swam around for an hour and a half. I just love going there! It wiped Jack out so he took a good long nap once we got home.

My hours at work have been cut since the busy season is over. I'm only working 11 hours this week. Yikes, not good. So I'm looking for another part-time job until things pick up. Life would be a whole lot easier if I could just win a million dollars. Am I really asking for too much?

Thank You, Suzanne!

This past Sunday, our new friends, Suzanne, and her husband, Neil, came to America. They are good friends with my sister-in-law, Laura, who is from England like them. Suzanne and I have only talked online and have probably played countless hours of games on facebook.com together. I feel like we've been friends for years with the amount of time I've spent online with her, though! They were only in Bend for a day basically, so Jack, Kevin, and I went over to Nick & Laura's house so we could meet them in person.

Talk about two of the nicest people you will ever meet! I wish we could have spent more then 2 hours with them. They were so much fun to hang around and great with Jack. He even tried to flirt with Suzanne, but I had to remind him she was a married woman. That boy and older women, I swear!

They also bought Jack two super cute shirts. One says "Funky Little Dude" and the other one says, "The World Does Revolves Around Me." Hmmm, guess which one is my favorite! The best part about them is they have buttons next to the neck hole so I can actually get the shirt on Jack. Do you know how hard it is to find clothes that will fit over his big head? REALLY HARD.

So Suzanne (who is a loyal reader of Jack's blog, by the way!), thank you so much for Jack's fabulous presents and coming to Bend! We loved having you here and hope you can come again soon!

Oh, and I am so bummed we didn't get a picture of Jack with Neil and Suzanne, so I stole one off of her myspace page. =)

Hi, My Name Is Jack, I Enjoy Long Walks on the Beach, Candle Light Dinners....

This is Jack's match.com profile picture.

Now that my tot is practically an adult, he is walking like crazy! Yesterday we had a family barbeque where Jack and Will competed for the most steps. Will did take more, however, he has an unfair advantage with Pip always helping him! Today Jack walked all around the living room. I just can't believe my little angel pie is growing up. 

It's My Party, and I'll Cry if I Want To...

Have you ever seen a 1 year old cry at his own birthday cake? I have, and it was the funniest thing I've ever seen. Perhaps I'm getting a little ahead of myself, let me start from the beginning...

Yesterday was Jack's birthday (duh!). I got up around 7:30am and finished cleaning the house, followed by picking up balloons, and sending Kevin to get Port of Subs (which I was very disappointed in their food. It wasn't as good as it usually is). Ok, 11:00am comes, which is party time, and no one is here except for Kevin, Jack, Jess, and me, but we all live here!! Oh, but my dad was actually early, so Bob-like of him, I love it. Ok, I'm like, totally panicking that no one (not saying my immediate family is no one, but no one was here!) is here, but after about 10 minutes, the English party shows up. This includes my brother Nick, Pippa, Will, and of course Laura my sister-in-law, who is from England. Behind them is Laura's sister, Becca, and her boyfriend, Mort, who came all the way from England to see Jack! Actually, they happen to be in town the weekend his party was going down, but they still came to a one year olds birthday party in America and that's pretty awesome if you ask me.

After they show up, the Albertsons Party arrives (I work with them at Albertsons, hence the name). That included my friend Amy, her little boys Nathan and Noah, her husband Bobby, and my other friend Antoinette from work. Nate and Noah were such good boys; I was really pleased to see them so well behaved.

Then comes the Lynch clan. Oh my goodness, have you seen Lisa's new car? It is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! It's a Honda Element and now I want one. You can hose out the inside of it even! Ok, Lisa's new car is for another time, but dang, it's awesome. Ok, so the Lynch clan (ooh, that sounds kinda bad now that I'm reading it over. "Lynch clan", like we're going to a hanging or something. How Western cowboy of me!) arrives, consisting of Jay, Lisa, and their daughter Stevi. I know I only saw them a month ago, but Lisa has lost like, 10 pounds and looks even hotter then she did before (is that possible?) and Stevi is growing up so fast! Like, I met her 2 years ago and she was just a kid, now I see her and she's more mature then most adults I know. She's also taller then me and we wear (or I like to pretend) the same size so I'm hoping to invade her closet one of these days. She's 11, by the way. But her clothes are so cute!

So, the party was a huge success. There was so much food, and all the kids and babies did were eat Cheetos! I should have just bought Cheetos and skipped everything else because that was a huge hit! I got the idea from my friend Kari to buy them and wow, she is one smart cookie. So, we all ate food, mingled, played football outside, and opened presents (I was way more excited then Jack was! I mean, I got to open them and Kevin and I spent last night playing with all of them while Jack was at Juniper pool with the Lynchs!). My favorite part though was when the cake came out. We brought it to him and all sang, and he burst into tears! Lisa was holding him and trying to soothe him but all he could do is cry! I felt so bad but I couldn't stop laughing! He's such a sweetie pie!

Before everyone left, they all wrote a special note to Jack for his scrap book that I'm making. All of his cards and messages are going in it along with pictures so that next year at his party, everyone can look at it and see what he was like when he was 1. Thank you, Target, for having adorable yet expensive ideas that mothers just can't resist.

The party ended up lasting until 2pm. Jack then went swimming at the pool with the Lynch family, followed by a lovely Mexican dinner. I have to tell you this one thing though. Before they went to the pool, they went to the store to buy Jack some water wings. The only color that was left was pink. So when they came over, I asked where the water wings were, and they said they didn't buy them because they only had pink left. I was like, "So?" And they were like, "They were pink!" Ok, it was a lot funnier when I was standing there. My sister will appreciate my humor.

I am so happy with how the entire day turned out, and so grateful for everyone who came. It means so much to me, you have no idea. And thank you to everyone who sent Jack text messages, sang him Happy Birthday on the phone, myspace.com messages/comments, and for all of his gifts! He may not know how much he's loved, but I know and believe me, I won't forget it. 

Now to get back to reality. I'm working 29 hours this week (which is a lot as I usually only work half that amount) and have a lot of leftovers to consume! 

Yellow Ducky

Yesterday was so much fun! Jack absolutely LOVES the pool! Ok, so this place is huge. It is called the Juniper Swim and Fitness Center. It has two indoor pools and two outdoor pools along with water slides, high boards, and even a rope you can swing off of into the pool! Jack and I just stayed in the tot pool which is HUGE. It has a big yellow duck that you can slide off of, and a fish in the center that squirts water at you. For only $5 for the two of us, it is one good deal. We swam around for about an hour and a half. Jack just loved it so much. I think I am going to go get him a baby life jacket or some water wings for his arms. Anyway, Jack got pretty sleepy so we headed home, but I think he just might be the next Michael Phelps. 

By the way, Jack wore his new red swim trunks with sharks on them from his GrAuntie Michele. His other swimwear was getting a bit snug so she totally hooked him up. Of course, he was the cutest baby there!

Little Swimmer

Today Jack and I are heading to the swimming pool to soak up some sun and tucker Jack out. I put on a bikini and Holy Mommy Fat, Batman! I have got to start being more strict on my diet! So, the Michelin Man and his mommy (that's me) are going to go brave the waters. Will let you all know how it goes tomorrow! 

"Baby Jack Says He'll Watch Spiderman with Me!"

Yesterday Jack and I went over to Nathan & Noah's house. Amy, their mom, had to run a quick errand, so I told her I would watch her boys so she didn't have to take them with her. It was only 15 minutes, so I thought how hard could it be to watch a 2 and 5 year old? I think I would have stood a better chance in hand-to-hand combat with Al Qaeda then to successfully watch three boys.

Right after she leaves, Nathan and Noah start to fight over an action figure (By the way, throughout this story, Jack is sitting in my lap the whole time watching. He was no help whatsoever!). These kids have a million action figures, yet they both want the same one. So the bigger boy pins his brother down. What happened to the angels that were playing with Jack and showing him how to skateboard? It was like, "Mom's gone, lets raise Hell!" So I told them to stop or I would call their mom. Nathan, the older one, says, "Go ahead! Call my mom" while shaking his head and hands at me like his name is Shaniqua. I was like, "Fine." and I pretended to call her. He starts to cry and begs me to hang up. So, after that, I decided to get the boys to  jump up and down to pass the time. Again, she's only gone for 15 minutes, how much can happen in that amount of time?

Well Nathan jumps off the couch and does a flip. I told him it was really cool looking, but don't do it again. So what does he do? He flips off the couch except he lands on his head and I hear a crack. All I could think of was, "Oh my gosh, he just broke his neck!" so of course, being the calm and collective mother that I am, I freak out. I run over to him and ask if he is ok. He's kind of stunned but stands up. I'm like, "Ok... ok... ok... I'm calling 911" and Nathan is like, "I'm ok. I don't need to go to the hospital. Can I have some ice for my head?" I was like, "Oh my god, Oh my god, Oh my god, can you move?" and Nathan replies, " Can I have some ice?" So, I get him a bag of ice and text Amy. So, yeah, next time I tell a kid to knock something off, I think I'll tie them to a chair and wrap them in bubble-wrap to make sure they don't do it again.

Other then almost killing my new friends first born, we had a really good time at Amy's. She made Jack and I REAL mashed potatoes (apparently boxed potatoes aren't real mashed potatoes) and Nathan and Noah played with Jack all day. It was so sweet, Noah asked Amy if she would watch Spiderman with her. She said no, so he turned to Jack and said, "Jack, will you watch Spiderman with me?". Noah then pauses as if he was listening to Jack speak, and replies "Yup, Baby Jack says he'll watch Spiderman with me." SO CUTE! 

Nathan & Noah

I'm very excited that Jack & I both made new friends! I work with this girl named Amy who has a 5 year old and a 3 year old, Nathan & Noah. She invited us over for lunch and we had such a great time! Even though Jack is small and can't run around, her boys were so nice to him. They brought him toys and talked to him. At one point Jackpot was whining, so Nathan came up to me and said, "Excuse me, can you please tell Jack to stop making that noise, it hurts my ears." So polite! Anyway, I only took one picture of Jack with Noah, but I'm sure we'll have more play dates in the future. Amy 's boys have a lot of energy, but they are polite and super fun to be around! I hope Jack is just like then when he's older. And thank goodness I finally made a friend. As much as I love hanging out with Jack 24/7, I sure need some girl fun at times.

And although this has nothing to do with making new friends, I just had to share this with you: Aunt Jessica hit Jack in the face with a hula-hoop! Like, I know he has my big head, but dang! He didn't even notice and just kept on moving. Poor thing, I just want to wrap him up in bubble wrap and never let him go.

Maxwell

Jack, Riley, & Maxwell

This past week, Aunt Jessica's good friend, Lynn, and her family came to visit us. Their son, Maxwell, is 4 years old and just loves babies! So, it was a delight to have them here and to watch Jack interact with a new friend. At first, Jack didn't know what to make of Maxwell, and definitely could not keep up! But once Jack got use to him, they had an awesome time together! They played with Jack's new toys, and Maxwell played "Karate Chop!" with Jack, as well as put glitter on his nose. The boys also tortured poor Riley and Samantha, Lynn's two scotty dogs. A good time was had by one and all (except for the scotty dogs, who didn't seem as happy!)!