Zoo Lights 2009

With a zoo map in tow we are ready to go!

Brrrrr it was cold outside. Good thing we have our hoods up!

Papa Minor treated and sent us all on the carousel. This was your second time on one and this time you loved it!

This was our second year going to Zoo Lights with the Jackson & Minor Families. We hope we make it every year to come. Jack you were at home with Nana E because it was your bedtime and so very cold! Next year you will be sure to make an appearance. We sipped hot chocolate and talked to a talking giraffe! All the lights were beautiful and it was so cute to hear you say "Ohhh Mommy it's boootiful"

Christmas

Mommy had to work on Christmas day but Daddy took you to Aunt Suzanne and Uncle Mikes house to celebrate. I guess it was too much of a good time for you Jack. You fell fast asleep while Nana fed you.

We celebrated Christmas a few days later at Nana E's house and it was perfect. I think you enjoyed celebrating a week of Christmas rather than cramming it all into one day! I know I did. I was so fun to watch you get so excited over all the presents. You were a great helper passing out the gifts. Even if you did help open a few!

What a mess! Paper and ribbon everywhere but what a fun way to make a mess!

Santa's little helper!

Christmas Shanagins

This was not an easy shot to get! One minute Luke would go left and Heidi would sit then Heidi would break right! I was determined to get your picture in front of Nana's beautiful tree!

Graham on the left and Jack on the right. Only a handful of days separates you in age. You two couldn't be cuter!

I have a picture of Pops holding Luke up to his first Christmas tree and I thought it was so cute we should do it with Jack! I love how you were mesmerized by the lights.

We were busy learning names before all our family came to town. Now you have great fun pointing people out in pictures. This one was a little harder as the Jackson Family were in full snow gear! You concentrated really hard and eventually found everyone!

A visit from Santa

Luke you took a few minutes away from stealing veggies from the veggie tray to come meet Santa. It didn't take much persuasion as Santa had PRESENTS!

You weren't too keen on the idea of sitting on this merry guys lap but you did climb up next to him and have a little chat. You wanted to know what your present was but Santa didn't spoil it he said "Well you have to open it to find out!". So you did just that and were so ecited to find a Thomas tree ordament!

You were also so lucky to get a candy cane! I think you can see how much you liked it here.

Now it was time for Jack to visit with Santa. You were a bit wary and kept a close eye on Mommy and Daddy. We managed to get a few cute shots with you and Santa before it was time to eat-again.

Luke's second visit to the ER

Oh my what a day we've had. Lukers I sent you downstairs to watch Mickey while I put Jack down for a nap. You've gotten into a habit of waking him up the minute I put him down so I thought it was a good idea to distract you with Mikey this time. I listened as you went down stairs, heard you turn Mickey on and everything was quiet. Well it was quiet for a minute and then there was screaming.

I quickly put Jack in his crib, prayed he would go to sleep and ran down the stairs to find you with blood dripping from your head. My heart was racing and the adrenaline was flowing. I tried to stay calm but I could feel my face getting red and there was a quiver in my voice. I looked at the cut just below your eyebrow and knew instantly you needed stitches.

I called our sweet neighbor Sally over to sit with Jack until Daddy got home and off we went to St. Joes, in rush hour! It felt like it took forever to get you there. I was so nervous because you bumped your head and you kept trying to nap in the car. You told me that you fell off the couch and hit the table. You kept saying "bad table, bad table". I managed to keep you awake until we got to the ER and checked in. Then you were very interested at everything going on at "the doctors house" as you called it.

You were so brave. You hardly cried at all except when they really got in to look at your cut. You didn't even move when they started your IV. I was so proud of you. The O2 sensor on your toe bothered you the most! You even wanted to keep your IV and wouldn't let them take it out! The child life specialist brought you a Mickey Mouse doll as we waited for your sedation to wear off. You were ready to go home before it did and kept trying to walk but your little jello legs wouldn't hold you. So I did. Your stitches didn't stay in the full seven to ten days. In fact by the time they were due to come out only two were left! You sat so still while Mommy took them out for you and applied steri-strips. You were such a trooper through the whole thing. It broke my heart to see your pretty face split open and your little eye swollen shut but it didn't seem to slow you down one bit!

Before and After

On our way to the ER

Three days later

Fun in the loft

Mommys sweet boy!

Currently we spend a lot of time in the loft. The majority of the toys are up here and lets face it I'm not ready to let that pure baby skin of Jacks get all dirty on the tile yet!

Jack you sometimes fall sound asleep amongst all the fun Luke and Mommy are having. This time it looks like Luke gave you a couple of toys to keep you busy should you wake up. There were a few more coming to you but I didn't think you needed so many while you slept!

Oh that smile! It could and frequently does melt hearts! You are still a little bit small for the activity table and can't quite walk around it yet but you still enjoy trying to put all the reachable toys in your mouth. Who can resist that jazzy tune the keyboard plays too!