healthy?

Jack is just about 19.5 months now and I hate to say that so far this fall/winter he has been sick constantly! He is still having the respiratory issues and for some reason his doctor(s) haven't been able to kick it! He gets really congested and then the couging starts, then the gagging and throwing up from the coughing starts, and then we go to the doctor and he gets an antibiotic and within days he is BETTER - but it never lasts long.

Jack will be healthy as long as he is on his antibiotic and then for the first 2-3 weeks after he finishes his antibiotic and then the entire cycle starts over again!? Ugh, frustrating! We still do his breathing treatment(s) daily and he still takes his Singulair every night - I'm almost at a loss.

I have been told that it could be allergies (duh, the Singulair), but that it could maybe be a food allergy too. A few friends of mine have taken their toddlers to an allergist here in town that works with children/toddlers - so this week I'll be discussing that with Jack's doctor because you guessed it - it's time to go see her again!

Other than the sick issue, Jack is right on track developmentally! He is running, climbing and jumping! He has a new found love of books and wants to read at least 5-10 every evening! He also loves to color - on everything!?!? He is talking more and more and has started putting a few 2-3 word phrases together! Here are a few of the words/phrases I hear over and over - everyday, but I still find it just too cute!

• Where's Chahi? or Where'd Chahi go? (Where's Charlie? Where'd Charlie go?)
• Where's Daddy?
• Where'd (insert he/she/they/dog/kitty) go?
• Peedaboo (peek-a-boo)!
• Moooore!
• Chahi! Chahi! Chahi!
• Dawg! Dawg! Dawg! Arf, Arf, Arf!
• Kitty-Kitty! Moow! Here kitty kitty! (the cat call goes for an animal, not just cats)
• Birrrrr (Bird)
• Big Boy!
• Big Dawg!
• Baaal! (Ball)
• Nine! Nine! Nine! (this was the first button he found on his number book)
• Baaabeee! (Baby)
• Caaaaar. (Car)
• Deeeeer. (Deer)
• Baaath (Bath)

He says more words, but these are the most commonly heard and as you can see he LOVES to carry his "a's" out! Haha! It's cute! He also understands everything you ask him. He has started taking directions and following through. Ex: he puts his shoes away, he throws things in the trash, he helps put the laundry away, he knows his bedroom versus Momma and Dada's bedroom, he knows what all of his toys are and will bring you back the correct one when you ask, he knows when he is in trouble and needs to go sit down and chill out - things like this!

I couldn't be more proud of how he is growing and learning, although I could do without some of the "boy" characteristics - kicking and wrestling and climping/jumping up/off things! Yikes! He is going to make me have a heart attack!

At his 18 month appointment he weighed 24 pounds and was 31.5 inches tall (I think). He has about 11-12 teeth now too! And he is no longer my perfect little sleeper and is sleeping in our bed at least half the night, but I figure until I have a reason to kick him out...I'd rather sleep!

sleepovers...

Jack has had a few sleepovers with Papa, Meme, KK, and D lately (because Momma and Dada have been busy - more on that soon!). He loves it! He loves his Papa - and his Papa's chair, he loves wrestling with Aunt D, he loves Meme, Pickles - and Pickles bed, and his Aunt KK!

christmas in pictures

Merry Christmas!

Jack loves to dance and he gave us quite a show on Christmas Eve - the next sequence of photos are of his performance! I think he gets it from his Momma! :-)

Chrismas Morning at Papa and Meme's house! Jack got an awesome camo recliner, it even has a cup holder! P.I.M.P

Gammy Nan's Christmas Corner!

Jack's first offical gun! I honestly think Dada was even more excited than Jack was!

Mr. Business!

Jack and Addy got cars from Gpa T!

Cousins!

Baller! Too bad he can't reach the pedal yet! :-(

We hope everyone had just as wonderful of a Christmas as we did!

thanksgiving 2010

Thanksgiving was BUSY once again for the Spear Family this year, and for some reason I didn't end up with ANY pictures!

Thanksgiving Day was spent at Grandpa and Grandma Spear's house with the entire Spear Clan.

We then ventured to Chanute on the following Saturday and spent the first part of the day with my Dad and Stacy and then the evening with my Mom! It was a quick trip, but a great one!

Jack enjoyed tons of food, but mostly candy!

jack's first haircut!

Jack had his first haircut back in November before Thanksgiving! I was a bit concerned how he would do, but I should've known better than to doubt him! He did GREAT! He was so interested in what was going on and he watched Steph in the mirror the entire time! I was also very impressed with Steph and Jess - they kept him calm and entertained the entire time (10-15 minutes!). Enjoy the pictures! And yes since this post is long overdue - Jack is already ready for a trim!

He has no idea what's coming!

At first, he didn't appreciate the water bottle, but then he thought it was funny!

Combing his hair!

He was very concerned Steph might cut his ear off!

Whoa Lady! I said a TRIM! :-)

Checkin' out the progress!

Getting used to the trimmer.

He was a little unsure at first!

Then he decided it wasn't so bad and did great!

I for some reason didn't have an "after" picture - sorry! But he did so well and I was so proud! Steph even gave him a quarter to get some Reese's Pieces! Thanks Steph!

New Years Survey

This is my THIRD year filling out the New Years Survey - hard to believe we've been on this journey together this long! Here's to looking forward to an exciting 2011! Happy New Year!

1. What did you do in 2010 that you'd never done before? "Went zip lining with my BFF Taryn while on vacation in Branson! It was SO.MUCH.FUN!"

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year? "My 2010 resolution was to lose at least 20 pounds before Jack's first bday - well that didn't happen! HOWEVER, I have lost about 16 pounds since September so I'm on my way! Another 8 pounds I'll be back to the weight I was when I got pregnant, another 15 - I'd be in HEAVEN! My 2011 resolution is to just ENJOY.THE.MOMENT. stop stressing about the little things!"

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? "Yes! Chelsea delivered Bobby on April 22nd, Jenny delivered Sophia Claire on December 8th, and Madeline gave birth to Cali Rose on December 10th."

4. Did anyone close to you die? "No."

5. What countries did you visit? "Unfortunately none - we seriously need to plan a vacation in 2011!."

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010? "Less Debt! We had to get a new roof on the house this October, which was totally unexpected, unplanned, unsaved for. The roof was only 3 years old when we purchased the house, unfortunately the previous owner had re-shingled to cover up a HUGE issue that then fell on us to fix as the problem made itself known!"

7. What dates froom 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? "September 13th was our 2 year anniversary and Chris took it upon himself to plan an overnight trip for us to KC to stay on the Plaza and have a Fancy dinner - so sweet!"

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? "I'd say starting on the path of getting healthy again. I joined the Y in February and began taking classes over my lunch hour, I ran with Jack 2-3 nights a week on top of that, and I've been learning to eat better and eat less - I'm starting to feel good again!"

9. What was your biggest failure? "Stress! I still can't seem to shake it - I'm anxious, I'm emotional, I'm angry, I have mood swings. I'm really trying to work with myself personally and also with my doctors to find a solution that fits/works for me! Hopefully 2011 will be the year of LESS.STRESS!"

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? "In May I found out I was Severly Anemic. I started giving blood every 8 weeks as soon as I went back to work, which was also 10 weeks after I had Jack. By February I went to give blood and my iron was too low, so I had my doctor check my levels the next time we checked my Thyroid. The results were shocking - my doctor said I was the 2nd lowest patient she has ever seen as far as my iron levels were considered. I ended up having to have five IV infusions over two weeks, but it's all good now!"

11. What was the best thing you bought? "New furniture for our living room!"

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

14. Where did most of your money go? "Sadly, bills. We are really striving to get the roof loan paid off by April/May so that we can do some painting/cleaning around the house and then list it FOR SALE!"

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? "Watching Jack turn from a Baby to a Toddler! It's seriously amazing! He is a little MAN now - he walks and talks and definitely has a mind/attitude of his own!"

16. What song will always remind you of 2010? "Like a G6 - Far East Movement"

17. Compared to this time last year are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer? "I'm not sadder, but I'm still working on the happier, I'm THINNER!, and I guess poorer since we have an extra loan on the house for the roof!"

18. What do you wish you'd done more of? "Enjoyed all the little things."

19. What do you wish you'd done less of? "Again, stress!"

20. How did you spend Christmas? "We had our little Spear Family Christmas Thursday evening 12/23, Christmas Eve was the big Spear Family Christmas at Chris' Grandparent's house in Columbus, Christmas Day was at Chris' Parent's house, and Sunday 12/26 was spent with my family in Chanute!"

21. Did you fall in love in 2010? "I wouldn't say I fell in love with anyone/anything new, but I am definitely more in love with my family and friends."

22. What was your favorite TV program? "Criminal Minds! I still love it!"

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? "No. I'm really trying to grow out of my angry-ness!"

24. What was the best book you read? "I'm not a reader, never have been. The only books I've read this year are children's books with Jack! Right now our favorite is "A Mud Pie For Mother."

25. What was your greatest musical discovery? "Ke$ha - LOL"

26. What did you want and get? "A Mother's Ring - I got it for my birthday!"

27. What did you want and not get? "A new house."

28. What was your favorite film of this year? "We watch so many movies I can't pick just one! Some memorable ones are The Hangover, The Last Song, Twilight Eclipse..."

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? "I seriously can't remember, but I turned 27."

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? "Not having to replace our roof, listing and selling our house, buying a BIGGER house!"

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010? "Dresses and Leggings!"

32. What kept you sane? "Medication! - Seriously!"

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? "The Kardashians!"

34. What political issue stirred you the most? "Health Care Reform - seriously why have Over The Counter medicine if starting Jan. 1 2011 you have to have a prescription from your doctor for those medicines if you want to use your Flexible Spending Card? So DUMB!"

35. Who did you miss the most? "I miss not seeing my friends as often as I wish I could."

36. Who was the best new person you met? "I'd say my new favorite friend is Kortney Bevins - she started working at Watco back in September and I love her! She is genuine, low drama, her husband and Chris get along great and their little boy Ford is adorable! And another awesome fact - Ryan (Kortney's husband) is cousins with Gregory - one of Chris' best friends!"

37. Tell a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010. "Plan for the unexpected!"

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. "We R Who We R - Ke$ha."

upcoming posts

The entire Spear Family has been SUPER BUSY since Thanksgiving! SUPER BUSY...like so busy Jack even spent 4 days in Columbus with Meme and Papa because Chris and I were SO BUSY with work! But just so you know what we've been up to, here are some upcoming posts:

• Jack's First Haircut
• Thanksgiving Celebrations
• Mr. Personality
• Christmas Tree
• Sick...Again
• 18 Month Kan Be Healthy

This is all I can think of right now and as soon as everything slows down I will get this thing updated...promise! And by then I'm sure I'll have more to add! To be continued...

our first picture disaster

This is bits and pieces of an email I sent my two best "mom" friends, who also happen to be two of my IRL besties all the way back from middle school and high school - Chelsea and Chelse.

We had our Family/Jack's 18 month pictures scheduled for this past Saturday and needless to say it was a 100% DISASTER! Jack was pissed from the moment we walked in the door and Jayme said, "Hi Jack!".

In the last 3 months or so he has really become aware of "strangers" or perople he doesn't see reguarly, but I never thought he would put on the performance he did Saturday. We started with the family shot for our Christmas card b/c I was worried he wasn't going to cooperate. And...he didn't. Every time Jayme said anything to get him to look her way he would either go "uhh" or "nooo" and stomp his foot. Then it got worse - he would throw himself on the floor and pound his hands and kick his feet in TRUE tantrum form! I couldn't believe it! I don't think we accomplished ONE picture. She said she thought she might have gotten 1 decent one of the first family pose. We even tried to just take some by himself b/c i thought he would act better if he could see me - WRONG! He stood on this chair screaming "NNOOOOOO" the entire time.

I AM SO SAD! I think I've lost control! He seems so angry and frustrated ALL THE TIME! He acts this way at daycare too...the fit throwing and stomping foot and punching and kicking things when he is mad. I don't know if it's just a phase or if it's his personality? And if it is his personality is it something we did!?

He is also not sleeping well at all anymore! And last week he wouldn't even nap at daycare more than like 45 minutes a day. He stays up until almost 9pm in his crib (even though he is put to bed no later than 730) just playing and talking to himself - then he is exhausted in the mornings and a total crab! UGH! I'm at a loss as to what to do with him?!?!

Sorry, had to vent!

I really don't know what to do anymore. We do time out! We are consistent with what the is and is not allowed to do. We love him. What in the world is going on?

xoxo Frazzled Mom

likes to bite!

Jack has a new found passion for biting! It started awhile back, but in the past couple weeks it has increased in frequency. At first every once in awhile he would kind on nibble your mouth if he was giving a kiss, but I never thought much of it and actually thought it was kind of cute! Then he started biting down on our fingers while we brushed his teeth (with the little finger brush - needless to say we use a regular tooth brush now).

But now he is getting more aggressive AND his favorite thing to bite you ask? TOES! Yes, toes - it's so gross, but he seems like he just can't resist! Bare foot, socked foot, shoed foot - Jack doesn't discriminate! He loves them all equally!

Almost every night now he will sneak up on our feet and dive right in (usually going for the big toe) without warning. Sometimes he will grab ahold of your foot first, which gives you time to pull back - other times we are just out of luck! OUCH!

Jack thinks it is down right hilarious! And I'm not sure he is doing it to inflict pain - I think he likes the reaction of us jumping, jerking, and screaming - its funny to him! He also now likes to fake us out and act like he is giving a kiss on the cheek, all the while fully intending to bite your face off!

I started to wonder if he was biting at daycare? I hadn't been told he was, but I couldn't see how he wouldn't be there if he was doing it at home so reguarly? I talked to Tonya today and she said he hasn't bitten anyone other than her and that was only one time. She said they were snuggling and he was burying his face into her and bite her right between the boobs! Oops! Ha, but at least he isn't biting the other children - yet anyway!

Here's to hoping its a phase that he QUICKLY grows out of!

chatter box...dancing king...bully...

Jack is talking more and more everyday! It's really quite cute! He tries to repeat everything you say! He was trying to say peek-a-boo this weekend which came out "pee-boo". He was looking for Charlie and kept saying "cha-ie". He says "let's go" and when we were at Jenny's shower last weekend a bunch of the guests were leaving and Jack picked up my camera bag and hooked it on his arm and proceeded towards the door saying "ets-o", I think he might be spending too much time with Momma! He also sings along with music in the car now, it's more of a hum but he is definitely trying! Chris said he kept saying "wus thaaa" and pointing out the window while they were in the truck the other day on their drive to Columbus, but I have yet to hear that one.

He says more, mine, doo (door), dog, birrr (bird), baaaalll, no, huh uh, tan que (thank you), uh oh, mama, dada, tuh dow (touch down and throws his arms up), fut ball (foot ball), bye, hi, hey, oowww (especially in public so people think I'm abusing my kid - I think he does it on purpose), no, nuts (chris taught him that), eye, nose. Thats all I can remember right now. We are working on ears, up, down, please and a few more animals - he doesn't know much of them b/c everything is a DOG!

He knows where his eyes, nose, mouth and tummy are. When you say "cover your mouth" when he coughs he will SLAP his hand over his mouth, and if you give him a tissue he will wipe under his nose (I just about die from the cuteness every time he does that!).

He is continuing his love of music, whether on the radio or a TV commercial! In the car if I say dance he starts moving and groving! I've also noticed he is becoming more aware of the TV in general...he is so his mother's son!

He is also still a bully. I haven't had any hitting reports from daycare lately, but his new thing is to tackle the 3 year old little boy, Logan, and sit on him (the boy won't push him off though), so when Jack gets bored supposedly he will take a step or two away and when Logan starts to get up he will run back and sit on him again...Oy vey! This mean-spirited attitude has also provided Jack the chance to quickly learn what time out is! He has a chair that is his time out chair and now it's to the point that if I talk in my "mom" voice and ask him if he needs a time out? he immediately gets sad, watery eyes, and a quivering bottom lip. Chris and I both have to try really hard not to smile b/c it's so cute - but this stuff is serious! :-)

That's all for now! xoxo