Formal Portraits

Instead of getting Jack's portrait taken at 18 months we opted to do some family photos on the beach (a few are in the blog header). But, an Olan Mills studio just opened in the local K-Mart - fancy Niceville, Florida - and they are offering an awesome deal that we couldn't resist so we took Jack yesterday to have his pictures taken.

Jack was such a great sport. He was totally happy, posed like he was asked and smiled nice and big. The pictures turned out really great and they are online for you to check out.

Follow this link to the Olan Mills website and enter the order number (2719-13287-6) and our last name. Hope you like them.

Oh, and if you're wondering, we could only pick one pose for the package and we picked number 6, the picture of Jack sitting on the blue chair. Too cute!

Night in the Life

A few highlights from a typical night for our sweet boy Jack.

Trying to find the right color car with dada. (Sorry it's so stinking dark.)

Reading a book.

Catching zzz's.

Wii Man

This weekend we have the pleasure of checking in on our friends' dog Meatball. While Jason and Cortney are out of town we are making sure little Meatball is eating, going to the bathroom and getting some play time. And, much to our delight, the Youngs left their Nintendo Wii out for us to play with while we hang out with Meatball. Even Jack got in on the action!

If you've never played Wii, let us assure you it is awesome. When playing you hold a little wireless wand thing and use it to control your player on the screen. Today we played tennis and did a little bowling while playing Wii Sports. Here are Jack and Kevin playing tennis.

Jack even likes the Wii music between games.

Clean Boy

A few sweet moments from Jack's bath tonight.



Naked baby posing with mama.

Sorry this is so dark, but even if you can't see anything you can hear Jack being cute.

Listening to Hearts Beat

The time has come to return the fetal doppler we rented. We've had it and used it almost daily for about a month and now that we can feel the baby moving regularly there's really no point to keep it longer. Feeling the baby move is so reassuring and I can't believe how active she seems all of a sudden.

As I was packing up the doppler today Jack got a hold of it and took a listen to his belly. I seriously didn't help him at all. Clearly we need to watch what we do around him because he doesn't miss a thing!

Jack also played doctor and put the doppler on my belly.

Favorite Dinner

One of Jack's favorite meals is pasta with homemade creamy roasted red pepper sauce. Random! As you can see, he clearly uses his hands as well as the fork for this meal. Last night he also rubbed his sauce covered hands through his hair. I think all the mess is the sign of a good meal for Jack.

Hanging with the Friedels

We were lucky to have Ammo, Jen and baby Joslyn Friedel stay with us this weekend. The family is currently on an extended "Air Force sponsored-trip" to Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City, but they came up for the weekend so Ammo could fly with his squadron (in town from Vegas). Little Joslyn is only 2 and a half months old and she is sweet as can be. Jack certainly liked her! Lots of hugs and kisses.Jack pointing to Joslyn's ear.

Saturday afternoon while Ammo was at work, the rest of us went on a walk at the Turkey Creek Nature Trail in Niceville. It's a long boardwalk through the marshland and because of all the trees and shade it was actually a comfortable walk (not eighty billion degrees like everywhere else outside these days).

Saturday night we had a mini-Spangdahlem reunion when we had dinner with the Friedels and the Garrisons. We got to meet baby Ava and she is a doll. She and Jack read some books together while the adults had dinner and conversation. Here's Amy and Ava, Jen and Joslyn and Kate and Jack.We hope to hang out with the Friedels again soon because they will be at Tyndall until they return to Vegas in a couple months.

Pools in the Morning

Saturday morning Kevin and Jack had a great time at their swim lesson. For the second week in a row when the class divided Jack was placed in the older kids group, which we think is pretty cool. Here are some videos from the class.

Coach Mary checking out Jack's ability to turn underwater, get to the side of the pool and climb out.

After the lesson, we went to the Y to play in the pool. Once again Jack loved using the noodles. He and I even enjoyed the "lazy river" - I walked along as he floated on the noodles.

Check out some of his new teeth!

Sleeping Beauty

A couple days ago we put a pillow in Jack's crib. It's our first step in the transition to the big boy bed, and, frankly, it seems much comfortable than sleeping without one. He's started to cuddle up on it and sleep like a big person when we put him to bed at night. After he's been asleep for a few hours and right before we go to bed, we walk into his room to sneak a peek at our sleeping boy. Here's how we found him last night.

Playing in the "Wa Wa"

Every hour at the Y there is a safety break when you can't swim in the pool. We made the most of our time and enjoyed the splash park during today's breaks. Jack likes trying to point the big water gun. (I love how he's on his tip toes.)Thinking about his next move... For as much as Jack likes the water, he really doesn't like it splashing his head.We also spent one break eating lunch. Jack had a PB&J and "Cars" graham crackers. Seriously, once you start noticing Cars, or have a toddler with telescopic vision for all things Cars, you quickly realize the movie is everywhere and on everything imaginable. (I am not exagerating when I say he can spot a Lightning McQueen product placement from 100 feet.) Jack stalked one boy at the pool today who had the misfortune of wearing a Cars bathing suit. He followed him everywhere, pointing and yelling, "CAR!"Jack intertwines his feet sometimes when he's sitting. So cute.The Destin Y has a small "ball pool" that Jack asks to play in every time we walk by. Today we stopped in on our way home.

A Great Morning

Jack had his weekly gymnastics lesson this morning where he worked on the floor, bar and tumble track. I managed to snap a few pictures, but none are really great.

Here's Jack hanging on the monkey bars with the help of Coach Melissa.
Taking a break on a big mat.
Climbing the "red mountain" (the vault with a big mat over it).
He's been sticking out his tongue recently when he's working hard or concentrating on something.

You might notice the Cars bandaid on Jack's right arm. Don't worry, he didn't injure himself. It's just part of his Cars obsession.

After gymnastics, we went to the pools at the Destin Y to take advantage of the beautiful weather. I was a doofus and left my camera in the car, but rest assured we had a great time. Jack once again found some noodles to play with and he's really getting good at floating on them. We put him on two of them and he "swims" along paddling and kicking while laying on them. He doesn't like me to touch the noodles at all while he's swimming with them as he prefers to brave it by himself.

Funny Faces of Jack

The Name Game

Okay, so today I found this website that "uses the science of numerology to reveal clues about the name you've chosen for your child -- and what impact it could have on the future!"

Here's what it says about Jack's name:

• Powerful, a conqueror, devours the weak and rules the strong. The name Jack Robert Lord reflects money and power. He is a carnivore, a winner at all cost.
• Has the power and potential to achieve great things. Whatever the enterprise, he strives to be the best and most successful in its field. Extremely competitive and not afraid of challenges or challengers. A visionary, a realist, and a planner. Discipline and perseverance. Dynamic and efficient.
• Rewards the faithful and hardworking employee, but has no tolerance for the incompetent.
• Jack understands the balance between giving and taking, generosity and greed. When he loses that balance, he self-destructs.
• Jack's most positive characteristics: Strength, perseverance, potential for greatness.
• Jack's most negative characteristics: Financial ups and downs. Lacks compassion. Can be self-destructive.

Kind of silly, but fun none the less.

Lessons Paying Off

Jack has actually learned something in gymnastics class. He can now do a forward roll all by himself! Check it out...

We think he gets bonus points for doing a roll while holding onto a toy car.

House Updates

Our most recent home improvement project is weatherproofing the "Florida Room" so that it becomes a more comfortable, usable space. Plus, we need to transition from an office / guest room to a nursery / guest room so we moved the computer desk to the Florida Room. We replaced the old vertical blinds with faux wood blinds and applied a "low E" UV tint to the windows.

Almost as soon as we moved in the vertical blinds between the living room and the Florida Room broke, giving us a great excuse to take them down and not replace them. We also removed the vertical blinds from the front window in the dining room. The next vertical blinds on our hit list are in the kitchen.

20 Down, 20 To Go

Well, we've reached the halfway point of this pregnancy. Woo hoo! On the one hand, that seems really exciting and like the pregnancy has gone quickly, but, on the other hand, that means five more months until we get to meet Baby.

Here are some belly shots from today.

For the sake of comparison, here's a really bad picture from when I was 20 weeks pregnant with Jack.

So as most you know, I am super excited to be expecting a girl. I was patient for 2 whole days but then I gave in and hit the mall to buy girl clothes! For our Baby and not a gift for someone else. Crazy! I got an outfit for next summer (I justified the purchase by buying things on sale).

A few people have asked what we plan to name Baby now that we know she's a girl. To be honest, when we settle on a name we've decided not to tell anyone. We want there to be one good surprise for everyone when she arrives so you'll have to wait until then to find out the name. Here are a few names we're considering: Sunday Rose (although Kevin likes the spelling Sundae), Honor, and Maddie Briann. Ha. Just kidding.

We've Created a (Cars) Monster

A week or two ago we received the movie Cars from Netflix. We requested it because neither Kevin nor I had seen it and we heard it was fun. Jack saw the DVD and immediately recognized the image on it from a Cars book he received for Christmas. "Car!" he yelled over and over. I thought I'd play the movie and see how Jack reacted. That was my first mistake. He was hooked from the first big race scene, yelling and cheering at the speeding cars. He didn't (and doesn't) sit through the movie, but he asks to watch it often. To the point that he seriously asks shortly after waking up and all day until he goes to bed.

Luckily we now have other Cars activities to feed his craving. Jack often colors in his Cars coloring book. Here he is with the book that started it all.

How can I resist playing a bit of the movie for Jack when I see this?

I tried to get another video of Jack talking about Cars, but he saw the camera and said, "Cheese!"

Fun at the Y

Last week we joined the Niceville YMCA and we are so glad we did. The Niceville Y is fairly small, but it has a good amount of cardio and weighlifting equipment, an indoor pool and a child watch facility for Jack. As part of our membership package we can go to any Emerald Coast Y, including the brand new Destin facility.

Jack and I went to the Destin Y yesterday after gymnastics class and it is freaking awesome! There are amazing outdoor pools and we were literally the only people in the spray park and family pool for the first 15 minutes we were there.

The family pool has a beach entry area where the water goes from nothing to 3 feet so it was perfect for us. Jack could play and walk around by himself and I could sit near him the shallow water and relax.

There were noodles ("noonoos" in Jack speak) available for play so Jack used one and he loved it. He got the hang of it right away and wanted to float on it by himself without my help. I honestly had to put down the camera and run to get Jack after taking this photo because he started doggy paddling towards the deeper end.

We will definitely be regulars at the pool this summer!