Catch-up

It has been so long since I posted last! We have been busy! I started back to work full time! We are working out the kinks in babysitting and the days that Johnny has off! Johnny is such a good dad and is doing so wonderful with Jack!




Johnny and I celebrated two years of being married this past week! I can't believe it has been that long! We have bought a house, had a baby, started a new job, bought a new car, and many other things that would probably be a little overwhelming if I stopped to think about how fast we did it all. I love Johnny and I am so overjoyed that I have been able to share this journey with him!

I did get to play a very good joke on him last night though. I found out yesterday that My brother Matt and his wife Traci are expecting a baby in March!!!!!!! Nathan will be four in June so we are all very excited for number two! Anyway, Matt pulled me aside and he set up this fun little prank. While my cousin held my five month old baby, I gathered our family together and said, "I have an announcement to make, Johnny pay attention." Johnny looked terrified! "There is going to be a new baby in the family!" I couldn't look at Matt because he was on the verge of bursting out laughing. Johnny looked at me and just said, "Huh?" I paused and looked at people's shocked faces. I then added, "Matt and Traci are expecting a baby!" Everyone took deep breaths and started congratulating Matt and Traci. Johnny just kept saying, "Not cool! Not cool!" I went to talk to him and he wouldn't let me touch him and was a little shaken by the whole thing! I thought it was a riot! But we are so excited for Matt and Traci and Nathan! We are all hoping for a girl!

New things that Jack is doing:

• He loves solid food!
• He rolls over regularly!
• He cut two teeth the beginning of August on the same day!
• He grabs everything and puts it in his mouth!
• He can sit up on his own for short periods of time!
• He will scoot (short distances) to something if he really wants it!
• He loves grabbing nose and poking eyes!
• He loves books!

I am just so glad to have that little guy around! He is a real joy in my life!

Johnny's Sworn In and Jack Cuts Two Teeth

Wow a few great things have happened just in the past few days!

Johnny was sworn in as an official full time fire fighter for Eagle Mountain.

I got to pin his badge on him which made me really nervous because everyone was watching me while I did it. But, I just had 5 inches cut off my hair and my cousin curled it for me, so I got to show off her handy work!

It's such a cool, shiny, heavy badge!

Oh, also worth noting, they are in the process of building the new fire station, so Johnny sleeps in a trailer!!! It's that nice single wide thing in front of the garage. But it will be done soon and then he can move into a brand new station!

I don't think he really wanted to be wearing the hat, but I thought it was cute!

My mom and I went to Silver Lake on a fun outing on Monday! We walked around the lake and up a trail for a little while! It was still so green and I had such a fun time talking with my mom. Unfortunately we, well I was driving, ran over a poor little pot gut on the drive up. I couldn't swerve an entire minivan to miss him. He ran in front of the tire at the last second and got smashed. I felt so guilty. On the way down, the car in front of us caught one too. Not a good day for pot guts!

Grandma Tani was very generous and gave Baby Jack a bouncer. It is officially Baby Einstein so he must be smarter just by sitting in it! He loves it! He especially loves spinning frog over the mirror!

I am very pleased to report that since we have started him on rice cereal, he has gone to bed earlier and slept longer! Oh what a joy! Last night, he slept for almost seven hours, ate, and then went back to sleep again. I am so much happier with sleep!

One of his other new favorite activities is drooling! He drools all over everything! He is biting whatever he can get into his mouth and I really thought he was teething. My doctor said that babies this young do not usually get teeth this early, BUT my mom called me on the way home from my conference in Ogden today and told me he has now officially cut two teeth. His two bottom middle teeth have come through, the right slightly more than the left. It doesn't really seem to bother him but I am not going to jinx myself. He is so cute with them and keeps feeling them with his tongue and fingers! He is still a very happy kid and is getting close to sitting up on his own. His only real trial is his head is so big (cute big) that if it gets off balance his entire body follows and he tips right over!

Sleep Training

Oh what an excrutiating time I am having. I went to the doctor's and Jack is healthy and everything, but when I informed the doctor that Jack is taking 6 45 minute naps during the day he said that is not normal. I also told him Jack is not sleeping well at night at all. He instructed me that I should start a bedtime routine, which I do, and then put him in bed and leave. Set a predetermined amount of time but be prepared for him to cry it out! I am not supposed to hold him as he falls asleep or let him fall asleep nursing. It is soooooo hard, hearing my baby crying and not going in to comfort him. He was so tired and yet wouldn't go to sleep. After 30 minutes, he finally fell asleep. Oh it was so hard!

But on the upside, we got his current measurements. He is 31 percentile in weight, and 45 percentile in height, so he is kind of a little guy! But his head is 92 percentile! So he has a pretty big noggin! The doctor isn't worried about him at all except for the sleep! He was good about the shots and I told him next time we would start so that made him happy.

Jack continues to bring such joy to my life and I love him so much!

Congratulations Johnny!

Congratulations are in order for Johnny this week! He graduated officially from Paramedic school last Friday! He was in one of only two classes in seventeen semesters, where everyone passed! He starts on Saturday with Eagle Mountain Fire Department and I am just so proud of him and all the hard work he has done!

This is Johnny with his course coordinator Berry. He was the great guy that helped Johnny into the program and has been so helpful all the way through!

After the graduation Johnny's dad took us out to breakfast at IHOP. Jack was hungry and there aren't that many convenient places to nurse at those restaurants. I used some wipes to disinfect the floor and sat to nurse him there. He must of had an air bubble because a few minutes later he threw up all over the stall. I was to get out of the way mostly but I had to go tell one of the dishwashers that my baby had thrown up everywhere. We had to change him at our booth and give him a sponge bath. Oh parenthood is so fun sometimes!

Jack has been sick in the past couple days. He had a sore throat and no one ever warned me how not fun those are in babies! He would start nursing, but as soon as he swallowed he would just cry and scream! He was so hungry but he didn't want to eat! He is doing a lot better this morning and ate for almost twenty minutes to make up for that past couple days.

Jack is becoming so fun! He is rolling over and talking all the time. When he was crying he kept saying making the sound "ma". It did make me feel somewhat good when he kept saying "mamamamama" even though I know he had no idea what it meant! He is grabbing for toys, laughing, and just engaging more and more. He loves watching other kids and is trying to figure out how to play with them.

My friend Michelle came to Salt Lake this past weekend and brought her 10 month old son Austin. It was so fun to see her and I had never seen Austin so it was great to meet him too. Kelley drove up from Lehi and we had such a fun visit. The little boys looked at each other and were entertained momentarily. It's crazy being all grown up with kids and stuff! Life changes so quickly!

Here are some extra pictures from the past couple days:

His new fishy face, sucking in his bottom lip!

Practicing sitting with his turtle toy!

We LOVE cuddling after bath time!

What I Love About Johnny and Jack

Johnny finishes paramedic school this week and I was just thinking about all the hard work and dedication he puts into everything he does. On Friday he graduates from UVU-UFRA Paramedic program. I am so glad that he was able to make it through this program! It was a rough start and he got going with it a few days late because of some complications with another fire department. Then it got a little rocky when I had Jack and Johnny was supposed to be spending every night down in Orem because he had HUGE tests coming up! He made it through and is doing so well!

Johnny starts with Eagle Mountain Fire Department on August 2nd. We are both so excited that he will be working at a full time job! We will be able to save money to move into a house later. Even though his schedule isn't normal, it is great because it gives him the wonderful opportunity of watching Jack when I head back to work in the fall.

Johnny is so good with Jack! He does things that I would never think of to make him smile. Jack cried a lot, all day everyday when he was little and Johnny was patient and would carry him around while I was sick in bed. Now Johnny is so good to hold him or watch him while I get ready or cook dinner. Johnny can make him giggle! Johnny is also getting better at being drooled on, pooped on, spit-up on, peed on, and sneezed on. It takes a little getting used to I guess.

I love Johnny so much and appreciate everything he does. He is such a wonderful husband and great support to me.

Jack is great because:

• When I walk into the room he gives me a big smile with his whole body!
• He is learning so many new things all the time and the surprise on his face when he does something new is so precious!
• He cuddles so close to me any time of the day!
• He is almost always moving and figuring out how to move his arms and legs!
• He loves taking naps with Mommy!
• He has huge hands and feet! It reminds me of a puppy that needs to grow into his paws!
• His ears are different shapes!
• Not that this is great, but we have not found a diaper that contains what Jack puts out!
• Every noise he makes is so loud!
• There are so many other reasons but, most of all he is great because he looks like his daddy!

The Big Camping Trip

We official survived our first camping trip as parents! I was a little nervous since Jack isn't even four months until July 24, but he was such a natural! He blended in well and loved looking at all the things there were to see! He only fussed a little the first night and the second night was perfect! He actually slept longer and sounder up there than he usually does in his own bed! Crazy as that sounds! Johnny and I both carried him around and many other family members took turns passing him around! I want to publically apologize to my cousin Jill for Jack throwing up all over her and her camping chair!

We all had such a great time! The little boys were best friends (and enemies) the whole time. They played together and on the last day they were even matching from head to toe. Johnny bought all three little boys matching hats and they went over well!

My mom and I saw a deer right off the trail, but the moose must of been hiding the whole time because nobody saw them the whole trip.

The river was high and we ran it down to the meadow. Eric, Darin, and Jon walked/swam the river to the meadow. Nathan and Lisa both enjoyed fishing although neither of them caught anything.

Grandpa Stayner was the mighty fire starter once again this year! He chopped wood and built wonderfully warm big fires! Thanks!

Here are some very fun pictures from the trip! We were all a little dirty and we didn't really put on any make up to speak of, so don't be scared!

Jack sure digs his Uncle Eric and gets laughing pretty hard around him!

Jack loved his carrier!

Jack with his wonderful Grandparents!

He didn't actually make it into the water, but he loved sitting in the boat!

Bringing the rafts back from the meadow! It was a little slow but my mom and I had so much fun running it!

My mom went in up to her neck! The water is glacial run off, so it was so cold! Who says that getting older has to be boring!?

Nathan and Preston were so cute together!

Nathan was such a big help with the baby! He and Preston were good to sing and talk to him when he got fussy!

Jack LOVES his Grandpa Stayner!

Lots of New Things

Tummy Time! Not always his favorite, but he is such a happy boy he always gives a smile!

WAHOO!!! Johnny got a job offer with Eagle Mountain Fire Department! He starts August 2nd and will be an official fireman/paramedic!

On a sad note, Johnny's grandpa Tani passed away on July 4th. He was the original John Battista Tani who my husband and son are named after. He led a long life and will be missed!

I know it has been forever since I last posted, but Jack and I (with Daddy sometimes) have been doing all kinds of new things. We have gone to the zoo, the aviary, to see the ducks on the parkway, and other places too. Jack has learned to grab his toes and can now hold a toy and bring it to his mouth! He is sleeping better, but not great! Here are some pics of the great things we have been doing.

Oh the swing is a life saver sometimes! He loves it, but I can imagine that he would have a neck ache after sitting in it. We have since tilted it back so this doesn't continue to happen.

Our first trip to the zoo! My sister Lisa invited some of her friends so it was a great group we were with. Jack is a peacock whisperer. He was talking to the peacock and the peacock would talk back and walk forward. It was so close I could have reached out and pet it. They loved each other!

It really wore him out looking at all the cool animals!

My two favorite guys, in matchy matchy outfits, taking a nap together.

Jack's new hat! He is starting to look like a little boy instead of a baby!