Jack the Swordfish

I got a new Flip video camera for Mother's Day, and it's so much fun! Here are some videos of Jack at swim lessons. He is doing so well and is just a few weeks away from his survival test! He is learning to swim with his arms above his head, like a "swordfish." For a while he wouldn't kick his feet fast enough when swimming with his face down, so we have been bribing him with new Disney Cars (we are not above a good bribe!), which seems to be doing the trick. His teacher, Scott, is an amazingly patient guy and we are so greatful for him. He is so good with Jack, and he's Zak Del Vecchio's teacher, too. The school recommends that babies start lessons between 6 and 9 months, so we're going to start Luke in June (he'll be 7 months). Jack was 2 when he started, but we think that was too late, because he was old enough to feel unsure of his abilities in the water. Luke seems to really like the bath, so hopefully he'll enjoy swimming, and starting him now will help if we're spending any time in a pool this summer.

Please Pray

We've had a few people in our prayers lately, and I thought I'd reach out to anyone reading this to please join us in praying for our dear friends...

1. We've been continuing our prayers for Tom DuBransky and family. Tom continues to suffer from an immune deficiency that the doctors at City of Hope are working hard to narrow down and treat. http://highlandparkdubranskys.blogspot.com/
2. Our dear friend, Reese Stewart, has entered the next stage of his battle with cancer. He is in round 2 of 3 of his latest chemo treatment. The nausea is subsiding and his spirits are high. Please pray for him as he continues with the next round of treatment, as well as for his wife and their three kids. http://betterhandsnow.blogspot.com/
3. We received terrible news last week from our friends, Kim and Brian Masse, that their nine month old son, Lukas (also called Luke), had a random accident with unbelievable impact. Little Luke just learned to pull himself up to a standing position. Last week in doing just that, he toppled back, as babies do, and hit his head on the floor, causing a vein to rupture. Praise God that he made it safely through surgery to relieve pressure on his brain from the subdural hematoma. He has been in an induced coma off and on over the last week as they monitor the pressure on his brain. As his body works hard to repair itself, they are looking for signs that his brain is functioning properly (response to touch, pupil dilation, etc.) We've continued to get updates, and every little small bit of progress is a blessing. Please add Luke and his family to your prayers. It will be several days before they know the extent of any damage. We continue to pray that he will make it through this accident with no permanent damage. Here are some pictures of Luke at Jack's birthday party.

Little Man

Luke is 6 months old already! Time goes by so fast...

First Bites

Luke experiencecd rice cereal for the first time, and boy does he love it! He likes to hold the bowl, and I have to be careful because he wants to stick his whole face in it! He had no problems swallowing and he can't get more fast enough :)

Hand or spoon- whatever can be used to shovel it in fastest!

Phew! Eating is exhausting!

From the same mold

Jack likes to watch cartoons in the morning while I'm getting ready. I walked in the room the other morning to find both boys with their legs propped up on the dresser. Seems like Luke is already looking up to his big brother! :)

Happy 3rd Birthday, Jack!

We all had a lot of fun at Jack's 3rd birthday party at Gymboree. Almost all of his friends were there, so it was a bit chaotic (lots of 2-4 year olds!!!) After running around and playing games,the kids had pizza, goldfish crackers and apples, got to pick out their own cupcakes!

Here are Jack and Zak- they kept jumping off of the air log.

The kids all loved music time!

Luke just kicked back with Nana and enjoyed watching the big kids.

Happy Easter!

We had a great Easter. Grandpa and Grandma Stow and Clark were here, along with Auntie Tiffany and Uncle Will, Uncle Alan and Will's mom. The boys found their baskets from the Easter bunnie in the morning. After church we had an easter egg hunt in the backyard.

Grandpa Stow helped Luke eat his chocolate bunny :) Shhhhh...don't tell Grandma Stow!