Sarah, Jeff & Jackers

Wrestle da Pillow

2009-07-11T11:47:00.000-07:00

Jackers decided he wanted to be a stunt man... pretty funny.

#2

2009-02-23T07:53:00.000-08:00

As I was writing "#2" for our blog post title, I realized that it might lead you to believe we are announcing baby #2. Nope. NOT THE CASE. Jack just had birthday #2! We celebrated all weekend, with parties on Friday, Saturday and and Sunday. SPOILED! He said "Happy Birthday to Jack" all weekend and loved the constant cupcakes- when he woke up this morning he wanted a cupcake for breakfast. Why wouldn't he?!

How cute is his soccer ball cake?!

Shoot It!!!

2009-02-13T07:46:00.000-08:00

Jack has been honing his "da-ball" (basketball) skills and we caught this practice session on video... enjoy!

2009-02-07T13:43:00.000-08:00

So Sarah has been slacking about posting and I thought these were hilarious so... enjoy!

The acrobatics led to this...

The best thing about California...

2009-01-18T21:44:00.001-08:00

The weather here is too good to be true. It is so fun to be able to go to the park year round! I'm not trying to rub it in- we definitely pay for it in others ways. Housing prices, anyone?

Christmas!

2009-01-18T21:23:00.000-08:00

Finally, after lots and lots of years of traveling for Christmas, we decided to stay home this year. Jeff's parents came from Missouri to be with us and we had a great time. The garbage man has been Jack's obsession since he was 10 months and when he saw his "garla man" under the tree it was love at first sight. Almost a month later, it is still the only toy he really plays with. He tells me every 5 seconds that the "garla man up trash."

What a handsome dude!

2008-11-09T21:19:00.000-08:00

These pictures are just too cute not to post!

Roar!

2008-11-02T21:12:00.001-08:00

It was so fun to take Jack trick or treating this year. He loved walking around and was in heaven with all of the "teats" that people were handing out to him. I was a little worried that he was going to hate his costume and refuse to wear it, but luckily there wasn't a fight and he looked absolutely adorable! Where does the time go? I almost have a two year old!

The Shiner

2008-11-02T21:03:00.000-08:00

I was being really lazy one morning and was laying in bed while Jack was playing in my room. He was next to my bed when he tripped and went head first into the bed frame. I just assumed he hit his head. I snuggled with him for a couple of minutes while he cried and when I pulled him away to look at him, he had a nasty bruise forming and his eye was already swollen and bleeding. Poor Jack. He is a tough kid, though. think it bothered me more than it bothered him. He is a crazy boy. Jeff found him today wedged in between the couch and the ottoman, upside down. Who knows how that happened!

Finally!

2008-10-13T14:45:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to make any excuses. I have been a terrible blogger. That being said, we had a great summer and its hard to believe its over. Jack has grown up so much over the last couple of months- he is a little copycat and he is wicked smart. Here is what we have been doing over the last couple (okay, 4) months!

Reading his favorite book, climbing up on the table and stealing my drink, watching the "man."

Playing with his cousin Leah (they love to kiss each other).

Swimming at our favorite place, Rinconada pool.

Hangin with the big dawgs, throwing the "bi bees."

Meeting our new little cousin Benjamin for the first time. Jack is absolutely obsessed with holding him, poking him in the eyes and fishhooking his mouth.

Family trip to Arch Cape, Oregon.

The three bearded amigos- they had a contest and then shaved the ugliest beards ever. Poor Dad, his is too gray to see! We went to dinner one night and everyone was giving us some strange looks!

We've been busy....

2008-06-26T21:03:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. Its been almost two months since I have posted anything. I am a slacker. I will try and be better. We have been all over the place in the last two months and Jack has changed so much. He is talking up a storm and everyday he surpises me with something new. Here is what we've been up to the last couple of months....

Eating corn from the Farmer's Market

Lounging on his favorite chair

Visiting the San Francisco Zoo

Riding horses and quads at our family reunion

Playing at Grandma and Grandpa's house

Earning his keep

Seeing lots of Batesville friends at Ali's wedding

Playing in the garden

And there you have it!

Happy Easter

2008-04-13T21:16:00.000-07:00

We have lots of good friends in California that we count as family so that is who we spent our Easter weekend with. We went to the Jepsen's for an Easter egg hunt and barbeque on Saturday and on Sunday we had an amazing picnic in the park. It is so nice to be able to be outside all the time. It was the most beautiful weekend- so warm and sunny!

Santa Cruz

2008-04-13T20:36:00.001-07:00

Jeff and I were planning on taking Jack to the zoo yesterday and as we were getting ready to leave, my friend Joelle called and invited us to go to the beach with them. I was a little hesitant at first....I don't even have a bathing suit for Jack yet! We decided that the beach would be more fun than the zoo so we packed up, went and picked up our other friends who were going with us, ran some errands and two hours later, we were all in the car heading to the beach. Because of our late start, we hit serious beach traffic and it took us an hour and a half to get there. The drive was absolutely beautiful, though. When we got down to the beach, Jack was so excited to be in sand. He loves sand and even loves eating it. Jeff took him down to the water and he went insane....the good kind of insane. He absolutely loved it. The waves were splashing him in the face and he was covered from head to toe in sand and he just couldn't get enough. The water was about 55 degrees and he was shivering like crazy but he didn't care. It was such a fun day!

On the way home, there was a terrible motorcycle accident and we were parked on a little two lane highway for an hour and a half. Jack crashed the second we put him in the carseat and when we got home and got him out, he could barely stand up he was so tired.

It is so fun to watch him grow up and be so excited to see everything around him. He is such a curious little boy. I hope that continues!

Disclaimer- the hat and shirt Jack is wearing is not something I would normally buy.....there was no time to buy anything cute!

The Big 1!

2008-04-08T15:28:00.000-07:00

When I first starting blogging, Jack was six months old. He is now a year (since I'm late posting this, he is almost 14 months) and I just can't believe it. Where does the time go? It really seems like yesterday that I was holding him for the first time. I had a hard time for a while thinking that the baby stage was over, but the stage we are in now.......I love it! I t is so fun to watch him get so excited to see planes in the air, dogs out walking and to see his friends at our little playgroups. He is so smart- he copies everything I do and he does it well. He pushes around his little lawnmower when I vacuum, he brushes his hair with my brush and he even gets my keys out of my bag and goes over to the front door and scrapes the keys around on the door because he sees me lock the door when we leave. He is my best little buddy and we have so much fun together.

Jack is a lucky little boy and got to have two birthday parties. We had a triple birthday party with his friend Tyler and cousin Leah and all their friends came. Maren (Leah's mom) had the party at her house and made the most adorable cakes for each of them. Tyler and Jack pretty much hated their cakes and Leah loved hers so much she was double fisting it! Jack was very grumpy from not taking a nap so he pretty much cried the whole time. After we got home, he took a nap and was happy enough to open presents. He got some adorable things but of course he liked the boxes and wrapping paper a little bit more.

Friends at the party:

Maren & Leah
Rachel & Tyler
Aunt Megan & Aunt Rachel
Nicole & Tori

Hannah & Sophie

Becky & Trey
Katie & Armanie
Dyan & Nora
Lindsay & Sarah
Melanie & Noah

(More pictures to come.......)

Party #2 was at our house the next day. My entire family flew in, along with Jeff's parents. Thats what happens when you are grandchild #1 and boy #1! Back in September I was at a boutique party in Palo Alto and came across this adorable company called Lissoos. (http://www.lissoos.com/) This woman designs the cutest t-shirts for little boys and she had a shirt there that said "Birthday Boy" on the front with a number "1" on the back. I didn't buy it at the time, but I realized I wanted it the day before the party. I tracked down the lady, drove to her house and picked up the shirt she left for me on her front porch. It's such a cute shirt and I wish he could have worn it more than once, but it would probably be a little silly to have your 14 month old wearing a birthday boy shirt, right? The party was so fun!

Family at the party:

Grammy & Poppy (Crawford)

Grandma & Grandpa Smith
Aunt Rachel, Megan & Lauren

Aunt Kathy Carter

Lonnie & Cheryl Smith

Jen, Michael, Andrew & Jacob Smith

Jack is a lucky little boy to have so many friends and family who love him so much!

Mess Maker, Mess Maker

2008-03-18T10:52:00.000-07:00

Mess maker, mess maker what is your name? My name is Jack and they're one in the same.....he has become quite the little mess maker! He loves getting into anything he shouldn't. I try not to tell him no too much. Jeff says that letting him unravel toilet paper and paper towels is a bad habit......but the pictures are sure cute!

Our Little Guitar Hero

2008-03-05T16:13:00.000-08:00

My parents have guitar hero and I think we played all day on Christmas. Rachel and I got really good at AFI's "Miss Murder" and of course Megan beats everyone at every song. My famous cousin Jack came over one day and played by himself from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. One day he asked my Mom for help in beating a song and when she messed up and didn't beat it he yelled "I'm screwed!" He is seven!!!!! Our Jack loved guitar hero, too. Well, he loved eating guitar hero!

Jack's First Christmas

2008-03-05T15:34:00.000-08:00

We have been alternating between Jeff's family and my family for Christmas for the last eight (gasp!) years...think it might be time to do one on our own? It worked out that everyone was with my parents in Salt Lake for Christmas this year. It was so fun to have everyone together! Jack and I flew out early to spend some time with my Mom. The day after we got there, Jack was sick with a fever and a terrible cough and a runny nose. It later turned into a viral rash and an ear infection. I think I got about 10 hours of sleep the whole week. He couldn't breathe when he was laying down so my Mom and I took turns holding him on our chest during the night. What a great Grandma! All he wanted was for me to hold him - I loved that he wanted to snuggle but it was so sad to see him so sick! Anyway, Christmas was great and it snowed like crazy the entire time we were there. It was sad to leave but nice to come back to 60 degree weather!

Pumpkin Patch

2008-03-04T13:47:00.000-08:00

I have been a huge slacker as far as the blog goes. I think about updating it almost every night but instead I do the dishes, put away toys and crash into bed!

These pictures were taken at the beginning of October when Jack was 7 1/2 months. We were in the car with my Mom, Rachel and Megan when we noticed a cute little pumpkin stand. It was cold and rainy and we were so warm in the car so when my Mom suggested we stop and buy pumpkins and take pictures, we were quick to complain. When we saw how cute the pictures were and how much Jack loved the pumpkins, we were glad we stopped! Moms (or Grandmas) know best!

Old videos of the Jackers

2008-02-16T12:38:00.000-08:00

We were clearing space on our camera the other day and came across these priceless videos that we wanted to share.

Jack Learning to Crawl by "Doin' the Worm"

Jack Cruisin' for the Basketball

Jack Pushing His Walker

Jack Laughing in His Crib

Jack Kickboxing

Drunk Monkey!

2007-11-13T19:29:00.000-08:00

This is what happens when you only get a 30 minute nap in the afternoon.....crazy baby at night! (Ignore the t.v on the floor in the background. The armoire is getting fixed.)

Jack's first Halloween!

2007-11-05T16:30:00.000-08:00

Monkey is Jack's nickname (besides Jackers) so we thought a monkey costume would be perfect for him. Our little town does a trick or treat during the day for the younger kids and all the businesses hand out candy. Jack lasted about 20 minutes and then he was out like a light. I am still not used to the weather here...I woke up that morning and it was cold outside so I assumed it would stay that way. I put Jack in a long sleeve onesie and pajama bottoms with the costume on top. When we got outside I realized it was about 75 degrees. Poor kid. He was sweating like crazy by the time we got home.

Casting Call

2007-11-05T11:56:00.000-08:00

I was at Baby Gap a couple of weeks ago and saw signs advertising that they were having a casting call. Instead of using a picture I already had, I waited a little too long and borrowed my friend's camera and took some new ones. The last day to enter was October 24 and I could not find a time deadline on the website anywhere. We had friends staying with us and we all spent way too much time deciding which pictures to send in. By the time I got Jack to bed, it was already 9pm. By the time I got on the internet and filled out all of the information, it was 9:05 and the casting call had ended. I'm guessing that the deadline was midnight eastern standard time, which is nine my time. I can't lie, I was bummed for a couple of days. There is always next year.....

Our First Jack Story

2007-11-02T23:09:00.000-07:00

My cousin Jack, who is 6 1/2 years old, is legenday among our family and friends for his crazy "Jack stories." When he went to preschool for the first time he wanted to learn how to "load a weapon" and for a birthday he wanted a gun with real bullets. When he was four he showed up to his soccer game and told his mom, "see that blue team over there? They look like a bunch of three year olds. We are going to cream them. We are going to make them cry so bad." My mom always calls with the newest Jack story and we just can't get enough of them. About a month ago, I was emailing a friend, telling him how fun and wild boys were. Jack had crawled up beside me and when I turned to look at him, I realized that he didn't have any pants on. He had crawled out of them and they were laying nice and neat on the floor about 3 feet away. I didn't think to get a picture of it, but then he did it again about a week later and I got pictures the second time! We laughed so hard and were so excited that we had our first Jack story!

6 Month Pictures

2007-11-02T22:14:00.000-07:00

My good friend who took all of Jack's pictures in Chicago moved to California at the same time we did and lives right around the corner from us. It's so nice to have a friend and a photographer close by! Jack loves the camera and knows exactly what to do when he sees it. We did a double photo shoot with his second cousin...they were born on the same day, half an hour apart!

Chicago

2007-09-25T17:20:00.000-07:00

I am feeling homesick for Chicago so I thought I would post my two favorite memories of our time there. Obviously my most favorite memory is Jack's birth. It was so fun to have some of our friends come up to the hospital to see us. We have the best friends ever!

These pictures are from Memorial Day at Lake Michigan with some of our friends from Business School. Six out of the eleven kids pictured (including baby Shontz still in the belly) were born during our time in Chicago. It was so fun to watch all these kids grow up!

Just Because

2007-09-05T10:40:00.000-07:00

This little guy is the absolute best. He loves to be tickled and he thinks it is hilarious when he puts his hands in my mouth. We just can't get enough of him!

These pictures are just too cute not to include them. He smiles the second he sees the camera! You can't see them but....he has two bottom teeth!

Hello California!

2007-09-05T08:50:00.000-07:00

There have been a lot of changes in our family lately so we decided to join the masses and start a blog to make keeping in touch a little easier.

We left Chicago in July (with lots of tears from me) and headed to Sunny California where we found an apartment with a pink bathroom and a yellow bathroom that we just could not pass up. We are getting settled and really liking it here. The weather is just too good to be true and In-n-Out is amazing!

Jack is now 6 months, which is hard to believe. He is eating rice cereal and vegetables, (and not really liking any of it) sitting up on his own and trying so hard to crawl. It is pretty tough to get everything moving at the same time! He does scoot around in circles and has been doing "the worm" lately. He is the sweetest, happiest baby and loves to get his hands into anything and everything. He constantly amazes us.

Jack and I went down south at the beginning of July to see Rachel and Brett in Newport Beach and Megan, Mike and Lauren in San Diego. Jack loved swimming and getting spoiled by his aunties. Everytime he sees them he gets lots of new presents!