Back to the Zoo!

We have THE BEST luck at the zoo... it also might have helped that it's mating season. We decided for a return trip to the Chaffee Zoo in Fresno after we saw the tiger spray an innocent couple a few months ago- and this time I had my camera ready so I wouldn't miss anything good.

We started with the monkeys, 'cause they're the best.

Next we fed the giraffes- very cool!

Jack liked the giraffes best when it was all over!

This was right after we finished growling at the zebras... kind of weird, but funny.

Checking out a delicious-looking swan (inside joke).

Now it gets good! It was either "that magical time of the year" or it was the final bout of the Ultimate Fighting Championship for Giant Anteaters (maybe six feet from head to tail). For this species, it is the male who plays hard to get. I will be selling this soon to the "Planet Earth" series.

Immediately after the anteaters, we saw this perverted crane who kept flashing his girlfriend.

Getting near the end... "I don't care about the stupid bear."



Lunch in the park "Lazy Boy" style. We did not pose him for this. And that was the end of another great day at the zoo. Tune in next month to see Galapagos Tortoises mating!

The Great Escape

I'm just glad it took him this long to figure out how to do this...

Busted! (And could care less.)

Ahhh, the life of a dog!

Hungry Dinosaur or Time to Call the Priest???

First Haircut!

"Hey, tell me again why we are here? Awww, who cares. I get to sit in a fire truck!"

"Hmmm. This feels odd."

"This is going downhill fast..."



"What did I do to deserve this?!"



Jack liked a conservative look, but I knew we could do better!

Ah, the old fauxhawk! Although on the verge of tears here, he never once cried and soon learned to love his fauxhawk.



Jack finally got a haircut to match his attitude- perfect!

Enjoying the park by our new house!

Pictures

Many of you have seen the amazing pictures that Jennifer Wycoff has taken of Jack when he was born and at 6 months. On his actual birthday this year we went in and had the last installment of our package done. She was awesome enough to give us one electronic print that we can share with our family and friends. Hope you enjoy!

The Big #1

This isn't everything but it is a start to updating you all on Jack's Birthday...

We started off the party with a Popsicle.

Getting ready for the party


Let's bring on the cake!

How old am I???

What a party!

Jack loves giving Mommy Kisses :)

Jack and Auntie TC

Look at this cool birthday dude

Oh cake is good!

It's a lot of work to turn 1!

Moving is HORRIBLE!

Well, I can barely move my body and Amy is absolutely exhausted, but we are finally moved into the new place! I wouldn't exactly call it "unpacked" yet, but at least everything is in the house. We have a backlog of great videos and pictures to share with everyone and I promise we will be back on our normal blogging schedule soon.

The Carlsons were just in town for a visit- perfect timing to help us move! We had a small birthday party for Jack with just the families and the Phillips came over too. We all sat on boxes and watched Jack shove cake into his mouth.

Because of the move, Jack's birthday wasn't quite the high-energy extravaganza a one-year-old deserves so we are having an official party for him this Sunday, April 11th, at 2:00. If anyone wants to come and help us properly break-in the new house, just shoot us a message and we'll get directions out to you.

We promise to get things updated after his party this weekend, so start checking again then. Thanks!

Jack has been helping us pack. He put himself in this box so we wouldn't forget him!

More St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Update

Sorry everyone. We have been pretty bad about updating the blog lately, but we have been busy! We are trying to move and just opened escrow on a house in Visalia, CA. We are really excited because this one has air conditioning and a pool!!! Our current home has neither and the California summers have been rough. The pool is even already fenced, so we won't have to worry about Jack.

Jack is doing really well and is very close to walking on his own. A week ago he took his first steps and both Amy and I were lucky enough to see it. I feel like one step might be questionable, but he took two before he crashed and burned so this was legit!

His first tooth, the upper right, FINALLY popped through about two weeks ago and was immediately followed by the other one on top and both on the bottom. Despite the fact that he's got four coming in all at the same time, he has been quite happy and it doesn't seem to bother him much at all. What's bothering us, though, is that he's starting to grind them together and it makes a horrible sound like nails on a chalkboard. Ugh!

Jack's also pretty close to finally telling us what's on his mind. He's getting very good at mimicking sounds and can do "dog", "cat" and "dad" pretty well. (Momma only comes out when he falls down and needs a hug.) I am home with him today and we are working on shaking our head "yes" for a change. He figured out how to shake "no" a long time ago and that's already starting to get old...

So that's all the big news for this update. Walking, talking and teeth all within a few weeks is pretty good work for our little man! His first birthday is in two-and-a-half weeks, so there should be some great pictures coming soon. We're not sure what we will be doing for a party, though, because we will quite likely close escrow and be trying to move on his big day. We'll make it work, though! That's just too important to postpone! We'll also try to get some updated pictures on here soon. His fangs are almost long enough to show up on film!

Baptism

I know, I know, I can't belive it took us this long but we FINALLY got Jack Baptised. We ended up having a private ceremony on Valentine's day - perfect!

Wait - it's Valentine's Day, Mardi Gras and Baptism day??? You better clean behind my ears!

What a great day.

Hi Dad.

What can I get for you ladies?

Look at my little stallion!

Good morning Deacon John.

The gang waiting for the ceremony to begin.





McGuire Family with Deacon John

With the Grandparents.

Godfather Doug and Godmomma Ann.

After a great ceremony it was time for fun at the water table with Susie and Claire.

Check out our little celebrity Claire!





Here is the link for the ceremony. Grammie C was great enough to video the whole thing. It is 14 minutes long and broken into 2 videos but I'm posting this for any family / friends to watch who didn't get a chance to be here for it.

Part 1 (7 min)

Part 2 ( 7min )

Italian Greyhound Jump-a-thon!

Our neighbor's cat, Augie, was caught daring to walk the fence by our two Italian Greyhounds, Sophie and Luigi. They went bonkers trying to get him, but watch Sophie jump. Keep in mind she only stands about 15" at the shoulders and weighs just 17 pounds. I measured the fence after I shot the video and the top is just over 7 feet tall! Pretty impressive for such a little dog! And then there's Luigie... he is a weenie.

Almost First Steps

Here is Jack cruising with his walker. His balance isn't quite there yet, but he's pretty close to talking that first step all on his own!