These shoes were made for walking!

Yep, these are Jack's first pair of real shoes and they were definitely made for walking!  On August 11, 2012 Jack took his first steps.  

We were up at Camp (see previous post) and had been saying all week long that he was going to watch all the big kids and take those precious first steps.  He was so close, you could tell he wanted to so badly.  He would stand on those wobbly little legs and lean forward and backward.  He would lift a foot off the ground and put it right back down.  He would "cruise" all over the place holding on to furniture or toys but those independent steps were just beyond his reach, or so we thought.  

Just like with the first time he rolled over, I had been video taping him periodically because we could tell he was so close.  Thankfully, I was taping him when he lifted his little foot off the ground and put it forward and then did it again with the other foot, and again, and again!  He was standing in the middle of the living room of the cabin and Dave was sitting a few feet away and that sweet boy just walked right into his Daddy's open arms.  IT.WAS.PRICELESS!  Even though we were expecting it to happen at any minute, we were still surprised that he did it!!  Dave's reaction was precious.  

We thought that it might be a one time "fluke" and that it would take him a while to gain the courage to take those solitary steps again...boy were we wrong!  Our wild man has LOVED the freedom that walking offers and realized quickly that being on all fours slowed him down.  He gave up crawling very soon after he took those first steps.  Now, just over three months after those precious first steps he literally runs everywhere we go.  From time to time he will get tripped up on his little feet (or shoes) and fall but for the most part he has it down.      

K-20

We have a camp kid!  This summer we took Jack to Camp K-20 for the first time.  K-20 is the family camp in Bear Mountain, NY that Dave and his family have been going to for over 25 years.  Needless to say, it was a special week for us.  At camp, we are surrounded by extended family and lifelong friends.  Last year our camp family and friends threw us a surprise baby shower and this year they got to meet our sweet boy...what a difference a year makes!

We had the most memorable week with Jack at camp and loved getting to introduce him to everyone.  Some highlights of our trip:

Playing on the playground

Swimming in the lake and playing on the beach

Jack's first carousel ride

A child free date night in NYC complete with an amazing dinner and Newsies!

Conrad's Icecream (Jack can have some next year!)

Baths on the deck

And most importantly, meeting Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Ryan

Asheville Road Trip

In July we took a road trip to the western part of the state to visit some of our sweet, sweet friends from residency, Logan and Sharon Lechner.  We had a great weekend catching up and enjoying the sights, sounds, and tastes of that Asheville has to offer (there are some amazing restaurants there!). 

Logan and Sharon's home is two stories and since we are in a ranch style home Jack hadn't ever really been around stairs.  Well, he found them as soon as he woke up on Saturday morning and didn't want to leave them.  He would have crawled up and down those stairs all day if we would have let him!  I think this is where the climbing obsession started!    

 

On Saturday afternoon, Jack and I ventured out for a little fresh mountain air and found a great walking trail around a lake near Logan and Sharon's home.  We had a great time exploring and really enjoyed being outside and not burning up (it was about 10 degrees cooler in the mountains)!  

 

Logan and Sharon are expecting their first child, a baby girl (!!!) in December so it was the first time that Jack met his future wife.  Of course we had to capture this on film so that we can show the picture at their wedding one day!