Jack got a new toy that he is loving! It is a walking toy that he pushes and it also converts into a little riding toy! I think that he is going to be walking very soon...and I'm not sure whether to be excited or not! But, he certainly is cute when he is doing it!
These are Jack's newest pictures! I think that they turned out great! JC Penney had a themed day and the theme fit Jack's wardrobe perfectly! It is also going to go well with his jungle bedroom! 
We brought the huge elephant that sits in Jack's room! Travis was not sure whether the elephant was a good purchase...but I think the pictures make it worth it!
So...Jack has decided that baby food in a jar is no longer worthy as sustenance! He must eat whatever Mommy and Daddy are eating...and he must feed it to himself...of course! It didn't come as a huge shock to me considering that he decided to wean himself from nursing at 8 months old. He seems determined to become independent! He is also walking around furniture and climbing up ours stairs with no help needed! But I was shocked by all of the things that he will eat and I had to share some of these pictures! First of all...this is the kind of food that he is eating now! This is the pizza that I made last night...and he ate about 2/3 of a piece by himself! And this was not a "kid-friendly" pizza! 
We are talking onions, peppers, broccoli, zucchini, olives, garlic, basil, pepperoni and ham! He loved it...and ate every single thing that was on there! And tonight he ate half of a Boca Burger with grilled vegetables from our garden! I am so grateful to have such a good eater! 
Jack and I have been taking swimming lessons this summer in North Ogden! 
We signed up with my cousin Ashley and her beautiful daughter Reagan! 
It's been a lot of fun and I am sad that this Saturday will be our last weekend! It's been so much fun, that even the daddies have joined us! Jack is like a fish now! The first day he wasn't sure what was going on, but now he splashes and has this hilarious "mer-man" kick where his bum pops up in and out of the water!
Not much else is going on, except that I am going to be doing a new catalog launch party for my Close To My Heart business...which means I better quit blogging and actually get some stuff done!
I can't believe that my baby is 9 months old! He is crawling and pulling himself up and walking 
around furniture!! Where did my little baby go? His first birthday is coming up so quickly! I wanted to share some pictures of the boys and their truck! My mom bought Travis and Jack a big Tonka dump truck for Father's Day and Jack loves it! He loves to spin the wheels and is just starting to figure out how to "dump" things out of it!
Now, I know that Jack is definitely more interesting than me, but since it is my blog, I want to tell you about my new toy! I just got a Cricut Expression and I love it! 
And on top of that, my wonderful friend, Amanda told me about a software that lets you connect the Cricut to your computer and cut out any true type font and SVG files that you have on your computer!! No more buying font cartridges!! It is so cool and I love it!! I am wasting paper left and right just cutting out anything that I can think of! "Supercalafragalisticexpialadocious" takes up a lot of room!! Oh, the program is called "Sure Cuts A Lot" and you can find it here: Sure Cuts A Lot
I just wanted to share that Jack received Perry's "All-American Boy" award! (Every baby won and award...but isn't he cute!?!
Yes, we're a little behind!
First of all, Jack is clapping now...and close enough to crawling to get him into mischief!
We had a fun Father's day! We actually went up to my parent's house and had a fun barbecue! You can tell that my parents enjoy their grandkids by the amount of toys such as sandboxes, the blow-up things that have balls and basketball hoops inside them, and Jack's favorite toy...grass that were pulled out for the special occasion! (The grass was already out! :)) Jack loved playing with his cousin Lexi...well maybe she enjoyed it a little more! 
She just wanted to hold him the whole time!
This was Jack's first experience with sand...and he is very much like his mommy! We like texture and things between our toes!
After my parent's house, we visited Jack's Aunt Crystal and then Travis' family in West Valley! We even ate again! Jack had fun playing with his Grandpa Pete and climbing all over him! We bought (well told Travis that he could get) a barbecue...but he still has not picked one out. Hopefully he loves it when he does! :)
And now for the haircut! I debated on whether to get Jack's hair cut or not, but I was glad that I did as I have noticed that he doesn't sweat as much now with our hot weather! Before and after pictures are a must because this little boy has so much hair!!
So, here is before:
And after:
Isn't he just so cute! (FYI- He only had a mo hawk once...I would never do that to my child on a regular basis!) There were pieces of hair that she cut that were 4 inches long!! If I could share with all these poor little bald baby girls here, I would! But I think that he is so handsome now! What do you think?
I am sitting here during one of Jack's hopefully longer naps thinking of all the things that I have learned since I have become a mother. This is not typical as I am usually still trying to clean the house at this time...or have given up and retired to the couch to watch what Travis calls a "bonnet movie". I am really into Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, etc. lately. Anyway, I thought I would share a few of the millions of things that I have learned in the last 7 months!!
1. I have learned that when you are pregnant and people tell you to get your sleep, they really mean it! After the little angels (no sarcasm there) are born, sleep goes out the window! Even though Jack sleeps through the night now and has for a while...there are a million things to do and by the time we are in bed, it is close to midnight and Jack is up and ready to play at 6 am!
2. It is definitely more fun to play with a baby than to clean the house!! My poor husband comes home to a messy house at least twice a week...at least! I do keep up an the dishes (thank goodness for a dishwasher) and keep the place vacuumed, but there are usually many things (mainly toys) strung out everywhere!!
3. The minute that you start a project that is time consuming or messy, your child will wake up from a nap or need you immediately!
4. Meal time is no longer relaxing and joyful! You are juggling a spoon, a wipe, a jar of baby food, and are trying to get everyone everything that they need, while breaking off pieces of bread for the baby and watching to make sure that he does not choke or gag (gagging too long can mean vomit), while getting the sippy cup ready to help him wash down whatever is in his mouth! (Run-on sentences no longer bother you as a mother...you don't have time!)
5. Vomit...when the doctor tells you that you will know that it is vomit instead of spitting up because vomiting is "projectile", he means stand back, hold a shield and go and rent a carpet cleaner as quickly as you can...heck, you better just buy one!
6. Almost EVERYBODY knows how to take care of a kid better than you! Even if you read studies and books about the best thing to do for your baby, there will always be people telling you that you are doing it wrong! You can tell people that the doc says to avoid dairy and people will laugh at you and tell you that they fed their kids ice cream at 2 weeks and they lived...even worse, they won't listen to you and feed it to your kid anyway...but you just have to brush it off because they love your little one too!
7. Sometimes it is just easier to go from the highchair straight to the tub!! Wipes are great...but they cannot perform miracles!
8. There is NOTHING cuter than a baby giggle! Nothing!
9. Being a mother is the hardest job that exists! You worry about your child every minute of every day and would give your life without a second thought to save that of your child's!
10. I have learned that I am the happiest person in the world to have my wonderful husband and my sweet, little boy in my life! I am so blessed and am so very happy and content with the life that I have! Travis and Jack, I love you more than you can ever imagine!
