Jack's Birthday Party

Today we had Jack's first birthday party and it was a great time! Jack had lots of fun with the cake and also enjoyed all of his presents and his friends that were at the party. Thanks for everyone who came and Jack loves you all!

Jack walking

I finally got a video of Jack walking- he is very slow and deliberate but he can go really far now without falling- probably up to twenty steps. He can also turn which is a big improvement. This has been a hard week for us as Jack has a viral infection in his mouth which causes blisters and it hurts and makes it hard for him to eat. We did not get very much sleep the first nights with this but hopefully he is feeling better. You can see some of the "old" Jack shine through even though he still has his sick time too. Hopefully he will be all recovered for his birthday party on Saturday!

Snow Day

Jack loves to look out the window at the snow. We recently had our first real snow day where there was enough to stick and it looked pretty! Jack kept checking it out from his window. Here are a couple of pictures. Jack is also doing some sign language- mostly just the sign for milk but he uses it for drink also. He also had his first lollipop yesterday and made quite a mess. It was cute though and he really liked it and made some appreciative sounds while eating it!

So long Thanksgiving...hello Jack's 1st birthday

Sorry for the delay on updates! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving...Jack's Gran and Pa and Big Gran and Big Pa had a wonderful time with us over the holiday and we were so happy to have them here. Now that Thanksgiving is over, the focus is on Jack's first birthday which is quickly approaching. Let's see....new going ons with Jack include- more walking (between items like the couch and table), trying to talk- Jack has said Da-da a couple of times but that's about it, being very expressive, lifting large objects (picture those log lifter competitions) and his first model shoot! Yesterday, Jack was selected along with three other babies for a State Farm ad- he is finally earning his keep! It was fun but we won't find out if he was the big winner for a little bit...we'll keep you posted. Here is a video of Jack "dancing". He does this whenever he hears music- it is too cute...enjoy.

Updates...

So, lots has happened in the last week...Jack took his first step, two actually! He has been working really hard on it for awhile now so it was pretty exciting. We also took a trip back to Ohio for Jack's Godmother's 30th birthday party which was fun and got to see our family. Jack had a good time with his cousins and Gran and Pa! We also stopped by and saw Big Gran and Big Pa on our way home. Today we went to get Christmas pictures taken which was fun- it took a lot longer than expected but the pictures are so cute (see above). We are really excited to stay home for Thanksgiving, this is a rare event for any holiday so we are so happy to host Gran and Pa and Big Gran and Pa here for the holiday.

Gran and Pa came to see me...

and celebrate their anniversary! While they were here over the weekend, we had lots of fun. We went out to dinner and we had a great time at the Shedd Aquarium. Then we went shopping and got some really cute Christmas outfits for Jack which you will see soon...

We went to the Nature Center near our house and since the weather was so nice, we had a picnic outside. Jack enjoyed himself a lot in the toddler room, where they had a stage for puppet shows. Jack put on a show himself (sans puppets) and had a great time. We also got to see the bees being fed their sugar water. Apparently there is a huge deer population here but we didn't walk the trails enough to see anything- hopefully next time!

Jookie Photo

Check out this link: http://www.jookiephoto.com/Galleries/HweenCostumeContest2008/
This is Jack's professional halloween picture from the neighborhood halloween party...too cute! He is the bottom right corner picture and he is showing all of his teeth :-)

Playgroup Halloween and Jack's Balancing Act

We had our playgroup Halloween party today...there were so many cute costumes. In a super crazy coincidence Jack and the other Jack in the group (who is a bit older) had the exact same costume...I am sure you can find them in the line-up (middle). Jack has been walking all over the place with his push and ride and also the other toy in the video below. His big thing now is "no hands!". He loves to let go and will balance for a minute and then sit down. It is really cute.

Jack "Walking"

Jack likes to use his toy as a walker and goes back and forth in the condo- he is a big boy! He is so proud of himself too, it is really cute.

Jack's 1st Halloween

Today was the Halloween celebration in our neighborhood. We learned two things- 1. When your kid can walk, people are more willing to give you candy and 2. There are some really cute costumes out there. Jack was a monkey, here are some pictures of his costume. He also was entered in a costume contest through this photo boutique in the area and those pictures will be up in a week or so on their website (http://www.jookiekids.com/ in their blog area). Oh, Jack also ate a banana when in the monkey costume which he thoroughly enjoyed.

Jack's bear can swim...

Pumpkins and teeth...

We took Jack to a park near our house today that had a pumpkin patch and also a lot of kids stuff for Halloween. We played in the pumpkin patch and also the petting zoo- it was lots of fun. We also got to meet Jack's new friend Benny (no pictures together yet :) and on the way to visit them I noticed that Jack had a fifth tooth! It is on the right bottom side of the two teeth he already has in the middle...he has been really bitey a lot but not too cranky at all!

Jack Loves Bananas and Chicklets

Here are pictures from the last few days. The first is of Jack eating a banana. It is so cute, he takes a bite out of it and then eats it all up that way. The other picture is on a personal request from Jack's Gran to see his chicklets (top teeth). He really struck a pose for this one!

Jack waving and his new toy!

We got Jack one of those push and ride little playskool toys and he really likes it. He hasn't quite figured it out yet but he likes both the push and the ride aspects. He figured out that if he pushes his feet the toy will scoot backwards so he likes that. Here is a picture of him on it. Also, yesterday, Jack decided to start waving. He first waved at his poop when we flushed it down the toilet and now will wave at people. He is so Carl's son :-) This is a video of him waving at me at breakfast this morning...enjoy!

Our recent visit to Fort Wayne

Last weekend we made a spur of the moment (if that is possible with a nine-month old baby) trip to see our family. We all met up at Gran and Pa's house in Fort Wayne and had a great time over the weekend. Jack got to see his cousins, grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts and uncles! We had a good time and really enjoyed our family. Here are some pictures from the weekend of Jack with Uncle Joe, Auntie Lindsay, Mallory and Victoria.

Swinging and Pushing

Here are some videos of Jack from today. We went to the park by our house and he loves the swings so the first video is of him swinging. The second video is of him pushing his daddy's bag around the room after he got home from work. He is trying to walk! Enjoy...

Jack at the park...

We had a nice visit with our family in Fort Wayne and really enjoyed a trip to the park! Jack got to spend some time with his Big Gran and Pa, Granny and Pa, Aunts and Uncles and his cousins. I will post more pictures of all that soon. These pictures are of Jack on the swing and slide at a park near his Big Gran and Pa's house. Enjoy!

Gran and Pa's visit

A few weekens ago we had a great visit from Jack's Gran and Pa! We were supposed to go to the Applefest in Lincoln Square but it got rained out, boo and hiss! That was a very rainy weekend (I think aftermath from the hurricanes) so we did a lot of indoor stuff and had a great time! Here are some pictures from the visit...

Jack is a pulling up champ!

So, Jack can pull himself up anywhere and everywhere and likes to try that out. We had our first mommy and me class today at the Park District and Jack was the oldest in the group and the most mobile. Therefore, he crawled over everyone and took the other kids' toys- nice! Jack loves pulling himself up and has also learned how to "fall" down so he doesn't get stuck standing up. This is fantastic and hopefully he will not get stuck standing in his crib when he is tired, which he sometimes does. Here is a funny video of one of his "falls". Enjoy!

Jack can pull himself up in his crib...

This is Jack's new favorite thing to do! He is really proud of himself and super happy when you go in to get him. Today he was really excited when I opened his door and he was standing up looking at me. Auntie Joanna got to witness how cute he was too, I can barely stand it. We will be lowering the crib ASAP. He can't climb or fall over but better safe than sorry for sure!

Jack Clapping

I was working on getting some good crawling footage and ended up with this. Jack clapped! Twice! We keep trying to get him to do it again to no avail...but it is too cute. I especially like the "yeah" after he claps. Enjoy!

Jack and Olli

We got to hang with Jack's BFF last week and they had lots of fun together! This is Jack and Oliver holding on to the table in the living room at Olli's house. Olli would cruise right around Jack and it was so funny. Jack is doing well standing as long as he can hold on to something! He is also getting good at falling which is funny, it is too cute!

Jack is trying to crawl...

Jack is working on being a professional crawler- in Phoenix he started doing this (video) and then now that we are home, he still doesn't move his legs much but he pulls himself more and is starting to be able to move around if he wants something out of his reach- it is too cute!

Back from vacation...

We just got back today from our Phoenix vacation with Carl's family. It was great! Jack had a wonderful times and got to meet his cousins...along with some Aunts, Uncles and other family members as well. We had a great time and it was very relaxing. We also got some family pictures taken with a professional photographer. If you would like to check those out- go to http://www.momentsinfilm.com/ then click on events and Doerfler family. Jack also liked going swimming each night (after the sun was cooler) in Tutu and Papa Jack's pool. Sarah and Nick had a lot of fun with Jack too. Jack is almost crawling so any day now I am sure he will be racing around. The picture with the three babies are Jack, Brianna and Peyton (distant cousins) from the cookout celbrating Carl's Dad's birthday...enjoy!

Sippy Cups, visitors and a luau

We had an exciting week....we had special visitors from North Carolina over the weekend. Carl's friend from Grad School and his wife visited and got to meet Jack. We had a great time with Bill and Susan and Jack enjoyed meeting them as well. Jack also attended his first Luau at The Kenwood. He got to see all the residents and got lots of kisses. Everyone loved seeing him and can't believe how big he is. Jack is also practicing with a sippy cup but sometimes gets it upside down. He also doesn't know to tilt up the cup so the water comes out but he tries really hard. On a yucky note, Jack got his first ear infection this week. Boo and hiss. He hasn't been feeling to well but he is on the mend. We leave for Phoenix next week and Jack is very excited to see his Tutu and Papa Jack, as well as meet his aunts, uncles and cousins!

Trying to crawl and playing with Olli

Jack has had a fun week this week and is learning new things every day. This week he figured out how to sit up (from laying down) in his crib. Whenever we go in to get him after a nap or in the morning he is sitting up really big and tall and very happy to see us! We went to the school playground nearby with Olli and his mom today and the boys (and the moms) had a good time. He is really trying hard to crawl. He will put his hands down and try and rock up on his knees. He has gotten on his hands and knees and then rocks back and forth. It is so cute! I can't believe my baby will be crawling soon. Maggie had better lookout!

Huggies, Scooting and Eating- Oh My!

So, earlier this week, we went for a test shoot for Huggies (thanks to Lily's). It was so fun. Who knows if Jack will get it or not but it was a good time anyways- they took test pictures in a fake setting with grass and everything. Jack played with a ball and had a good time. The picture of him with the white polo shirt on is from right before going to the photo shoot. Jack has also had some new foods to eat this week- including chicken and pasta. He did not like the first dish I made for him with chicken, apricots and rice, however, he did like the chicken, apples and pasta that I made for him today and he even picked up some of the pasta and put them in his mouth. All by himself! This has happened over a period of a couple days that we have been practicing this. He was pretty excited, probably because Carl and I were clapping and laughing when he did it. Today we went to a fun storytime at Little Green Babies, an organic baby store near us. It was lots of fun and Jack loved watching the other kids run around and listening to the stories. Just today, Jack realized that he can move on his own by scooting backwards. He pushes his chest up like he wants to crawl and goes backwards. It is so cute. Here are some pictures of it!

Some new videos of Jack

Jack likes to give (and get) kisses....enjoy!

Jack finally has his new crib...

Jack is finally in his new crib after the awful process of the crib recall. He seems to like it and slept great after his first night back in a "real" bed from the Pack N Play. Here are some pictures- this crib is quite a bit bigger than the last one and seems to be sturdier too since it doesn't have the drop rail. Also, it is a convertible crib so we will get a lot more use out of it (as a toddler bed and then a full bed).