Well, here it is, the last night of 2008. Tomorrow not only brings a new year, but it also brings us Jack’s 9-month birthday. Our biggest reflection from this past year is the birth of our son. We never could have imagined what parenthood would be like, but we love it. It’s the hardest thing we’ve ever done, but it’s the most rewarding. He is our pride and joy! We have watched his little personality emerge month by month. Let me say, he is WAY too much like his mama! We are going to have our hands full in the years to come, but at least we know what to expect! LOL!

Sean and I have set some new year’s resolutions for ourselves this year:
1.) We are both on a mission to lose weight.
2.) We are paying off all our debt (except for the house).
3.) We are volunteering in the nursery at church.
4.) We always will be striving to be the best parents we can be for Jack and will depend on God to guide and direct us in all we do.

We wish you all a happy new year! We pray God will bless you abundantly in 2009!

As soon as Jack started pulling up on things and cruising around the furniture, I knew we would soon experience his first big boo-boo. And I was dreading it! Well, tonight it happened. I was on the laptop trying to find a new outfit for our family picture on Friday, and Sean was playing in the floor with Mr. Mobile. Jack was standing and playing with his new Leapfrog table, and he eyed the couch close by. Unfortunately, his new shopping cart was in his way. When he dove for the couch, he toppled over the cart and smacked his lip right into the shopping cart wheel. The shrill screaming soon followed, and Sean and I raced over to the little guy. He had a little blood on his onesie, so I immediately carried him to the bathroom to check him out. It seems he busted his little lip when he fell. So, I got a cold washcloth and cleaned him up. Once he saw himself in the mirror, he immediately started smiling and laughing again.

The bottom right of his lip is a little swollen – poor guy!

What an amazing Christmas we’ve had in the Williams household! Children bring so much joy and life to the holidays. Just to watch it all through Jack’s eyes has been a real blessing. Thank you Jesus for our sweet little boy! I am so incredibly thankful for my family.

On Christmas Eve, we drove down to my grandmother’s house for a big family meal. We got Jack home just in time for his bath, read him the Christmas story in Luke 2, and then tucked him in bed for his first Christmas Eve night. He had on his cute Christmas PJs, and he was ready for Santa! We even made sugar cookies to set out for Santa. It was lots of fun! Sean and I decided to pack up the Jumperoo, since Jack had outgrown it. That was a sad moment in our house! But we were excited to give him his new “big boy” toys, too!

At 6 a.m., Jack decided he was awake for the day and was excited to visit his Christmas tree. It’s been a daily morning ritual since Thanksgiving weekend. We get up and walk down to turn the lights on and say Good Morning to the tree. He loves all the lights and ornaments! But this time, there were presents everywhere!!!!!!!!! I thought he would be more interested in the paper and bows than the actual toys, but he proved me wrong. He tossed the paper aside and was very interested in all of his toys. His favorite seemed to be his new bouncing zebra.

Mom, Dad, John and Megan came over to join us for Christmas morning brunch. Jack had a TON of presents to open from Grandma and Grandpa. He got the cutest animal train that he absolutely loves, especially the giraffe! Then, we went to visit Sean’s dad and stepmom (AKA Grandude and Mimi). Jack didn’t last long over there. He was so worn out from the day’s events that we had to leave soon after, so that he could take a nap before Christmas dinner. After his nap, we were off again to John and Megan’s house for a big Christmas dinner with all of our family. Jack quickly wore out though, and we had to leave right after dinner to get our tired little man home.

Tomorrow, we have one more Christmas. We will travel to Gainesville to visit Sean’s mom and stepdad for a Christmas dinner. They were skiing in Colorado this week! It was a winter wonderland with over a foot of new snow! We don’t see much of a White Christmas here, so I can’t wait to see their pictures.

Here are a few pictures from Jack’s first Christmas:

Jack and Sean on Christmas Eve

Jack Checks Out His Alligator Toy

Jack Loves His New Puzzle

Jack with Grandma and Grandpa

Our Family at Christmas

Jack with Nanny, His Great-Grandmother

As you can see, Jack was not a Santa fan this year. This picture was taken right before he started screaming his head off. He liked watching Santa from a distance, but the moment I set him in his lap, he started crying. He was arching his back and squirming so much that his pant leg is up, his cute onesie is all twisted, and Santa had to get a good grip on his arm to keep him from diving off his lap. And there I was trying to be his cheerleader, clapping and saying “You can do it baby! Give mommy a big smile!” HA! What a morning! Maybe next year will go a little better!

Here’s a short video of Jack’s first Santa visit:

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It’s almost here – Jack’s first Christmas! We have so many fun memories this week. We’re taking Jack to see Santa tomorrow, and then Jack will help me make our Christmas sugar cookies. On Christmas Eve, we’re having lunch with MamaAnn. That night, we will read Jack the Christmas story out of the Bible. That will be one of my very favorite things to do. Then, Sean and I will put Jack’s toys together and stuff the stockings. Christmas morning is going to be magical this year. Kids bring so much joy and love to a family. It’s really amazing. We will spend Christmas morning together, just the three of us. Then, my parents, John and Megan will come over for brunch. Around lunchtime, Sean and I will head over to his dad’s house to spend some time with them. Then, we’ll come home for Jack’s nap, give him dinner and his bath and head back over to John and Megan’s for Christmas dinner. Later in the week, Sean’s mom will be returning from Colorado, and we’ll spend our Christmas with them on Saturday. It’s a week full of fun festivities!

To top it all off, Jack took a step today all on his own!!!!!!!!!!! I don’t know if he meant to or not, but he did it. He was standing at the couch trying to get to the laptop, my cell phone, the remotes, etc. Then, he just turned around and saw me and took off towards me! HA! He took one big step and then fell over, but I was proud of him! He is getting very brave – too brave sometimes – but I think he is only days away from figuring this walking thing out. I told Sean he would be taking steps by Christmas, but he didn’t believe me. Looks like mommy may be right, and we know mommy likes to be right. (Haha!)

Oops, I almost forgot! Here are some pictures of Jack today:

Jack is investigating his presents and just dying to rip off the bow and paper!

Mommy and Jackson

“Don’t put that Santa hat on me one more time!”

Crawling away from mommy taking pictures – He has had enough!

We hope you have a very Merry Christmas and pray you will make Jesus the center of your celebrations this season!

Today, Sean and I got brave, and we took Jack to the church nursery for the first time. When we first got there, they registered us in, and then took us to Jack’s room. I filled out some information, like when he needed a bottle, and then we handed him over. He seemed fine. He didn’t cry when we left, but we didn’t make a big deal out of it either. I was lost without him in Sunday School. I didn’t hear much of the lesson as I had all these crazy scenarios running through my head (Sorry, Justin!). We decided to go check on him before the worship service to make sure everything was going okay. One of my friends, Jenny, works down there and checked on him for me when she went down for her shift. She said Jack was doing great until they had a shift change, so new workers came in and new kids were also coming in. Jenny said they had to set him down for just a minute to carry the new babies in the room, and that’s when he started to get really upset. When I got there, one of the workers was holding him, but he was whimpering and you could tell he had been crying because of his red eyes. Then he saw us! It was really over then! He started screaming and leaning towards us at the window. So, we decided it would be best to take him out of nursery for the service. He did well to make it an hour without us, and we want to ease him into nursery. Jenny actually told me that they may be moving him up to the bigger babies room soon since he was pulling up and standing. He is not a fan of swings or excersaucers anymore. He wants to be moving and standing and playing on his own – not to be confined. So, we were proud of him and ourselves today. When we got home, he crashed and crashed hard. He took an almost two hour nap, so all of that new stimulation must have really worn him out. We are enjoying the rest of the day playing together and having a lazy Sunday afternoon.

On a side note, Jack pulled himself to a stand today all the way from laying down. Then, he let go of Sean and stood on his own for a good five seconds!!!!!!!!!! He was leaning back a little, caught his balance and kept on standing for a few minutes. We couldn’t believe our eyes! He is really going to be walking soon!

We were just watching football, and the music came on. Jack starts dancing while holding onto Sean. He is such a hambone! He has never done that before, and we were just cracking up at him! Crazy kid!

Lately, Jack is full of surprises. He in into EVERYTHING! All of the sudden, he acts more like a little monkey than my cute, little baby.

On Friday, Jack decided he wanted to play in mommy’s cereal bowl, which happened to be FULL of milk! I always eat my cereal downstairs in the playroom after his breakfast, so he can play and stretch out. I always set it down right beside the laptop on this little lap desk we have. So, Jack crawls over and grunts to me that he wants to stand up. So, I help him up, when with no warning, he lunges for my cereal bowl. There was no time! The next thing I see is milk pouring everywhere. It’s all over the couch, it’s all over the ottoman, and it’s all over the floor! It was running off the couch like a waterfall! Have mercy! I hear him squeal in delight as he sits in the floor and starts playing in the milk. Man, oh man!

So today, we’re all in the kitchen making our lunch. Jack is sitting in Sean’s lap, and I’m washing some dishes or something. Recently, I put my placemats out on the kitchen table. I don’t know why I haven’t done it sooner. They are really pretty. Anyways, Sean and I haven’t gotten use to the idea that Jack can pull off the placemat, and everything else on it will land in the floor. So, I look over and see Jack’s eyes light up and his little hand go for the placemat. I yell at Sean to watch out. Before he can react, his huge cup of ice water is all over the kitchen floor. HAHA! We all just burst out laughing. At this point, it’s just funny. Plus, I needed to mop anyways. Our little mischievous man! He is something else!

Lately, he loves to grab the waiter’s trays at the restaurant, too. He is all about messes, I’m tellin’ ya! I was holding him in my lap, and our server came by to ask us if we needed anything. I didn’t even think anything about Jack being close to her tray full of drinks and food. Then, the lady kind of half laughs and half asks for help when I notice Jack has both hands on her tray and is pulling with all of his might! (He is stronger than you would think!) Thankfully, I managed to pry his little fingers off her tray before she lost all of her next table’s food. *sigh*

He is also obsessed with cords. The laptop cord, the speaker cords… You name it, he wants it. He loves the bathroom and basically anywhere he shouldn’t be. It’s so funny because it just happened overnight. He is crazy! He is pulling up on things, he isn’t satisfied unless he is standing or you’re helping him walk. He is getting bumps and bruises all over his little head now. Today, he ran into the side table while diving for the laptop cord. Then, he was jumping in his pack ‘n play, and he slammed his little chin on the sidebar and hurt his mouth. The poor little guy is learning all sorts of things about being mobile now.

Anyways, those are a few stories from our house lately. Hope you enjoyed a good laugh! Now, I’ve got to rent a carpet cleaner for the TV room – ha!

Today, Jack invited his friend, Roy, to come over and play for a little while. They had so much fun. It was neat to hear them talking to each other. Then, they enjoyed standing together on the couch ottoman and squealing at each other. Jack would take off crawling towards something, and then Roy wouldn’t be far behind. They are so cute! Whitney and I had fun catching up and having some adult conversation while the boys explored. Here are a few pictures:

“Hey, I think you’ve got my toy!”

“I’m so glad you got to come over and play!”

“Don’t make me tackle you for that toy!”

We had finally gotten Jack’s reflux under control, when it has just reared its ugly head again. I took him back to the doctor today. He has been constantly fussy, pulling at his ears, not eating or sleeping very well… you name it. Last Friday, he got an antibiotic for a double ear infection, so I was worried it wasn’t working. It wasn’t his ears this time, thank goodness. She said those looked pretty good. It is apparently his reflux. She said his throat is red and irritated, which would explain him not wanting to eat much. So, we’re adding Axid back to his reflux regimen. We will stick with Prevacid in the mornings and Axid in the afternoon. Hopefully, that will solve our problem. He got very constipated on Axid previously, so I’m praying it doesn’t do it to him this time and that we can help him feel better quickly. If it’s one thing, it seems to be something else right now. I’m a little discouraged, to be honest. Between my back acting up and Jack not feeling well, it can wear you down. I know God is in control though – He will provide for us and take care of us. I just want us all feeling better by Christmas!

Just a quick update for those of you that have been praying for us this week… My back is getting much better. I’m getting a little stronger every day, and I thank God for healing me so quickly. I’ll be going to the chiropractor three times a week for quite some time until we get my back strong and sturdy. We don’t need anymore of those relapse episodes!

Jack’s ears are doing somewhat better. He is still tugging and pulling on them and whining quite a bit. He has been on his antibiotic for three days now, so it should be getting better. If it’s still bothering him next week, I’ll take him back in to get them checked out again. He ran a low-grade fever off and on today, so I know he is still fighting that infection. Poor guy! He still tries to be happy though. He’s such a sweet baby! Even when he doesn’t feel good, he still tries to laugh and be happy. He brings us so much joy!

My mom has been here helping me out. I would never have been able to heal so quickly without her help. Sean has really been working overtime at home to help me too. He had a sick mommy and a sick baby on his hands, and he handled it all like a pro. I just reminded him of what Jack needed when, and he made sure he was taken care of. Least to say, he is really tired today. We’re going to make sure he gets some good rest this weekend!

Thank you all for your prayers. It has meant so much to me to have you call and email to check on us. Please continue to pray for a full recovery and a healthy back for me, and please also pray for Jack’s ears to heal completely too. We love you guys!