Making Progress

So far, Jack has wanted nothing to do with any kind of food that has more texture than just plain baby food. At first, I would put something on his tongue and it would just sit there. He refused to even close his mouth if he had something in it. Eventually it would make it's way to the back of his mouth until he gagged on it! Now if I give him something he will make a face of utter disgust, but at least he will chew on it and somewhere around five minutes later, it will eventually be swallowed.

This is when I gave him a piece of bread.

Band Aids

Now I debated whether or not to tell this story because you might think I am a bad mommy. Then I got to thinking, I bet every person with kids who reads this has done the same thing! ....well, hopefully. :) I was cutting Jack's fingernails the other day and...you guessed it, I cut his skin. I didn't notice at first until it started bleeding! I felt so bad!! So I went to get a little band aid to put on the end of his thumb hoping that would make it feel better. You know when you were little and you got a cut, you would always ask for a band aid from your mom and somehow that just made everything all better!

Well, Jack didn't think this band aid was such a cool thing after all. He took it off in about thirty seconds. I went and got another one, and he did the same thing. It was hilarious watching him concentrate so hard on getting it off. After the second band aid, I gave up.

He was so proud of himself after he finally got it off!! That little thing on the floor in front of him is the second band aid.

A little glimpse of the action...

Get me out!!!

I guess he just wore himself out before he could make his escape!!

President Gordon B. Hinckley

President Gordon B. Hinckley, 15th president of the church, passed away this evening, Sunday, January 27, 2008, at age 97. I don't think that it has truly hit me that he has passed away. He has been an amazing prophet. I am sure that he is so glad to see his beloved wife, Majorie, but it is so sad for us still here on this earth. What an amazing legacy he has left for us to follow and remember. If I can only be half the person that he was, I will have accomplished so much.

He is someone I will never forget and holds a very special place in my heart. He has such a strong testimony and even on national TV, he could answer any question with such confidence and eloquence. I am so blessed to be on this earth when he was prophet. He has strengthened my own testimony in so many ways. His love for people and his sense of humor are only a glimpse of his sweet personality.

When I was at BYU-Idaho, he came to the dedication of the Hinckley building and gave an incredible talk which many of you heard. It was truly a blessing to be there listening to a prophet speak to you. Here is my favorite part of his talk...

"I wish for you nothing but the best. You are so choice and so wonderful and the future is so great that you can't afford to betray yourselves in anyway or to do anything less than that which each of you is capable of accomplishing. You don't have to be a genius. You don't have to be a straight-A student. You just have to do your very best with all the capability you have. You have to do your very best. And somehow, if you do that, God will open the way before you and the sun will shine, and your lives will be fruitful and you will accomplish great good in the world in which you take a part. I couldn't wish for you anything better as I look into your faces this day."

I love that! I love that he tells us that we don't have to be perfect. All we can do is try our best and we can be happy. I love that talk, I love President Hinckley and I love all that he has taught me.

Remembering 2007

A lot of my friends and family have posted a recap of the year 2007. I think it is such a good idea and have decided to do it for our family since we have had quite the exciting year...

In the beginning of the year, we were still living in Rexburg, ID. Justin graduated from BYU-Idaho with his bachelors in biology and chemistry. Right after, we moved to Enumclaw, WA to live with my family for the summer.

I was pregnant with Jack and started out with such a cute little pregnant belly.

Unfortunately, I continued to grow, and grow, and grow!! I looked ridiculous by the end and was SO READY to have this baby. People asked me over and over if I was having twins and that just made matters worse!

On June 8, five days after my due date, Anthony Jack was born at 6:53pm in the Enumclaw Hospital. It was a long and painful labor but definitely worth it. He weighed 7lbs. 15 oz and was 20.5 inches long.

He is the best baby!! He has the cutest personality and smiles all the time. We are so glad that Heavenly Father trusts us to take care of him. We feel very blessed to have him in our family.

Justin gave Jack his blessing on July 8, exactly one month after he was born.

We traveled to Nauvoo, IL to see all of the church history sites with both mine and Justin's parents. We were also able to attend the temple. It is so beautiful inside. You can't help but feel the spirit of the pioneers while you are there. I love church history and I can't wait to go back!!

After Nauvoo, we officially arrived in CLEVELAND, OHIO!! For me, this was the first time I had ever been here. We weren't too sure what we were getting ourselves into but now we feel very lucky to be here. We have made many good friends and had some amazing experiences in Kirtland which is just 20 minutes down the road from us. We love it here and I know we will be sad to leave.

Justin started dental school at CASE Western Reserve University. He has a class of 84 people and about 40% are members of the church. He is doing well and studying hard. He also enlisted in the Air Force and will soon be commissioned. We are so proud of him and all that he has accomplished. He is a very hard worker and will make an excellent dentist soon!! I am so glad that he is willing to work so hard and go through so much schooling so that he can provide for our family and make sure that we are taken care of.

Jack had two new cousins born in 2007. Madison was born to Stephanie and Travis Hillman on October 2. Connor was born to Ryan and Stephanie Heaton on October 24. They are both so cute and so much fun! Jack can't wait until they get to play together again.

Overall it has been a great year for us full of excitement and many, many blessings.

Trying to stay warm

Justin's grandparents gave us a clock that projects the time and temperature on the wall for Christmas. Yesterday morning at eight o'clock it was only 9.5 degrees!! We definitely bundled up for church that day. We thought we were in Idaho for a minute! We heard that the winters were bad in Cleveland, but so far we haven't felt nearly as cold as Rexburg. Hopefully it doesn't get any worse!!!

We have this big dresser thing in our dining room that we are going to fix the top of it and decorate. We found it in our basement! The top still has holes in it and Justin thought it would make a good high chair for Jack. Always trying to think of ways to save money. :) I'm pretty sure we will still get a high chair...and hopefully sooner than later!!

Army Crawl

My days of Jack being a good little boy and just playing on the floor in one spot are over. I know that he can't get anywhere very fast, but he definitely can make it from point A to point B. The other day I was upstairs getting something and he was at the bottom of the stairs playing with toys. I had set a whole bunch of things that I had been working on for hours for my visual aids group on the first step (probably not the brightest idea...I know). I came down the stairs to find that he had pulled it all off the step and dumped all the little pieces out of this plastic baggie and drug them all over the floor. I just had to laugh because he still has the cutest little smile on his face that I just can't get mad at.

What Do You Think?

These pictures were all taken right at the same age (approx. 7 months).

Do you think Jack is looking more like Stacey?

Or do you think Jack is looking more like Justin?

I love this little guy

Happy New Year!

We went over to the Mecham's house to play games and eat snacks and welcome in 2008. We had a blast, as we always do with them. We borrowed a pack n' play so that Jack could go sleep while we celebrated the new year.

Brittany Mecham, myself, and Taylor Hall

This is around 1 am when we were leaving to go home. Jack was a little confused. He looks delirious in this picture.