It is almost impossible for me to believe. Jack is one year old today. A year ago right now I was lying in the hospital about to be cut half in two. (That’s not really true, the scar isn’t even 6 inches long, but it sounds more dramatic that way.)

There are more pictures up in the gallery from the party. Gloria got a lot of great shots of all the guests and a few more of Jack with cake and presents.

Here is how he looked upon arrival at his celebration. He was 30 minutes late because of a late nap!















And with all the generations of women:















And all the generations of men:















And with his very proud grandparents:
















Here he is with Uncle Mark. When we visited San Diego Jack would not go near Mark, but now they are the best of friends:















And with his Godfather Michael:
















Here is a little car he got from his great grandparents:















In the back you can see the Radio Flyer tricycle he got from Tom and Gloria as well! What a lucky kid.

Here he is with Great Grandpa Joe. It’s amazing that Jack has so many relatives!















This year has been quite an experience in the Adams household. I don’t think Joe and I ever realized how much one little tiny person could impact us. He is such a wonderful little boy and we are having fun watching him grow and learn.

Just to give you an idea of how much he has changed, here is Jack, one year ago today:

To see all the pictures from Jack's party, click here. There are so many it is impossible for me to add them all to the blog. I have selected a few choice shots, however.

We had the party at a local restaurant called Duck and Decanter. It's an old Phoenix establishment and one of my favorite places to eat. We reserved the patio and ordered up some sandwiches and we were set. Apparently I didn't get the memo that I was supposed to have a theme, so his party was just "Jack is One". My mom did buy Elmo tablecloths, napkins, hats, plates, noisemakers, and cake decorations. So maybe the theme was Elmo. Which is fitting, because he loves that annoying little red monster.

The cake was quite a hit with my little angel. He doesn't eat much sugar, so I think he was surprised to have an entire Jack-sized cake plopped down in front of him.
















But his eyes are closed, so maybe he's just savoring the sweetness? I gave him a little encouragement:















And he was off:















































Needless to say, he loved the cake and made a fine mess of himself. We got him cleaned up enough to open gifts and he was overwhelmed by the generosity of his friends and family.















Here you can see how dirty he still is from cake-eating:














And how much he liked playing with his new toys:















It was a great day, and Jack was wound tight as a spring when we got home. He could not settle down for one second – it was like he was on drugs or something. He never took an afternoon nap and finally crashed at 6:15. No more sugar for him for another year!

I'm starting with yesterday, because I still have all kinds of pictures from our trip to the park. We had a picnic with Great Grandpa Avery. Jack was intrigued by him once again:















My mom made lunch for us – leftover turkey sandwiches of course!















It was such a perfect day. I think it was 75 degrees and sunny. Jack enjoyed just sitting on the table and playing.















After lunch we went for Jack's first train ride.















I think he was a little apprehensive at first, but he sat on Grandma's lap and waited for the fun to begin.















Afterwards our conductor took a picture of us posing next to the locomotive:















Next we were off to the carousel. Jack had never been on one before and he loved sitting on the horse:















Even Great Grandpa hopped on:



























Jack made it twice around and then leapt off into my arms. This was a bit tricky because I was already trying not to fall off! We made it off the ride in one piece, fortunately.

We really had a wonderful day and it was nice to spend some time with my grandfather. Jack has been in such a good mood since his molars all finally popped through, and he seemed to enjoy the park.

Next post, birthday party!

I'm going to start with the fun and good stuff. Later in the post you can read about the projectile vomit and the visit to St. Joe's. Everyone is fine today, but Joe and I are wiped out!

Today was a wonderful Thanksgiving. I even had time at the end of it all to sit by myself by the fire and reflect upon how lucky I am. I have so much to be thankful for this year and I am grateful that I am among the more fortunate in the world.

But this is about Jack, right? And trust me, he is feeling very thankful today. This is his first Thanksgiving since he decided to come a little later than planned. But we forgive him because he's just so gosh darned cute.

Before dinner he got to spend some time throwing tomahawks with the men. This is a pastime I don't necessarily understand, but they seemed to enjoy themselves.
















Then we sat down for dinner, where Jack proceeded to captivate the table with his winning personality. Seriously, this is better than tv. He's his own one-man show.

















After dinner it was out to the patio for cigars and whisky, again with the men. Jack seemed content to wave the cigar holder and stare at the fire.

































He also enjoyed playing in the bird bath with my mom



















Just in case you can't tell how skinny she has gotten, here is a shot of us drinking wine and eating fancy cheeses:


























My grandfather even had some wine, if you can believe it:















Not only that, he was brave enough to try and hold Jack for a bit:































What a great holiday. My mother is a wonderful chef, and even tried to tame the meal down to fit into our diet.

So now for the fun part. Last night about 6 p.m. Jack started acting funny. Sneezing a lot, itching his eyes, and fussing around. He spit up a little, which is odd for him, and went back to having his bottle. Well, that was a mistake. I was holding him when the first bout of real projectile vomit unleashed from his midsection. I swear I could feel the pressure all the way from his poor little gut.

We got him changed, me changed, everything mopped up and went back to sitting quietly. This time Joe got to hold him while I researched on the internet and decided he either had Meningitis, Bird Flu, or possibly just a head cold. More vomiting ensued, more changing of clothes occurred. He was not a happy baby.

Joe went to the store to get some Pedilyte and a thermometer (both of ours seem to have disappeared, of course.) And when he returned I asked him to look at Jack's eyes. They seemed kind-of red. Literally, as we sat there watching him, his eyes began to swell like a bad botox-job.

Unlike the last time (if you remember, this happened to Jack in Denver), we immediately went to the hospital. It was obviously an allergic reaction and obviously required medical intervention. Boy howdy.

Luckily the vomiting had stopped, but he looked horrible. His eyes were red and puffy, he had hives all over, and he couldn't breathe through his nose. The ER staff at St. Joe's was phenomenal. I have nothing but high praise for them, given how busy their office gets after hours.

The culprit this time? Spelt bread. This was something I bought a while back as an alternative to wheat bread. It contains no wheat, but apparently spelt has some wheat-like qualities that can make you allergic to both. So now we know, Jack is allergic to spelt. Jeez. It would be nice if these little guys came with instructions.

So after a few hours in the hospital and some heavy medication, Jack came home and slept just perfectly. Only he still got up at 6:30. So he was a little edgy and tired most of the day, but after two naps he seemed to have recovered. Thus the enjoyable Thanksgiving dinner with my family, and a pleasant evening at home.

We made it home Sunday afternoon and everyone was exhausted. Jack didn't sleep so well on our trip so I was up every night with him, and driving six hours in a car will tire anyone out. It's taken the past few days just to get back to our routine.

Today we went to the park again. Jack still loves to play in the sand:
































And he started climbing on the slide, so I thought it was time to introduce him to this exciting playground activity.
















It's not so easy to get a shot of yourself sliding down a slide, but I managed a little:
















This one came out better:


















I have more pictures of the trip, but it's going to take a while to get organized. Hopefully I can get them up this week!

We had a wonderful hike yesterday in the Torrey Pines Preserve. That little backpack we got is just perfect for Jack and he couldn't have been happier. Of course, he's most happy that he doesn't have to do the walking.



























He really liked the pine trees:

and the view of the ocean:

Here we are at the edge of Razor Point:

And, of course, the inevitable:

Today we stayed near home and walked around Encinitas. Tomorrow we're taking Jack to meet his Great Grandfather and Great Aunt Cathy. And then tomorrow night Joe arrives! We're all very excited to see him - we all miss him terribly and are looking forward to hanging out together again.

We took Jack to the beach this morning for a quick walk before his nap. He loved the waves and the birds, and he really likes his new backpack:















But the best part about it was this:

















That's my little non-sleeping baby, fast asleep. It was heaven

Jack has had a busy few days. Yesterday we met Julie and Mac at the Phoenix Zoo for Parent Tot Music Class. Imagine a bunch of under two-year-olds, some instruments, and lots of singing. It was mayhem. But fun mayhem. The boys liked it quite a bit, even though it was right in the middle of nap time.

After he got a nap, we piled up in the car and drove out to Solana Beach. It was a long drive and he did very well, all things considered. I think he likes having a back seat companion to pick up his toys when they fall.

Today we went to REI and bought a baby backpack. Here are a few pictures of us trying out our new method of Jack-transport:







When we got home, there were some tree cutters working in the area. Jack thought the Caution tape was really fun:



Luckily he was able to nap through the noise. He even did a little (and I mean little) yarn shopping:



Tomorrow we are taking a hike in the Torrey Pines Recreation area. We have to try out the new backpack and finally show Jack the ocean.