Jack's Second Christmas

Well, we just got back from Ponca where we had a great time celebrating the Christmas miracle. Jack had a great time. It was also a time for reflection to notice how much he has grown in the past 19 months he has been alive. We were struck by the similarities of two pictures we took about a year apart:

Jack 2006

Jack 2007

Both pictures captured him perfectly at the time it was taken. The similarities are obvious. He has the same, expressive eyes, the same obvious joy and love for life, and the same basic face. The amazing thing are the differences. A year ago, getting Jack to smile was a simple endeavor, just about anything would get him going. Now it is a bit more of a challenge. Don't get me wrong, as kids go, he is about as happy as they come - constantly smiling and giggling. However, he no longer performs for the camera like an organ grinder's monkey. His face and eyes are definitely more expressive now. He has hair.

Anyway, Caren and I thought you might enjoy these pictures side-by-side.

For those who haven't noticed, I've uploaded over 150 pictures from Christmas, and 8+ videos are uploading as I write this. More pictures are to come when I get the film (yes, I wrote film) back. i also have a ton of video, but it is a chore to offload it from the camcorder right now, so that will have to wait until I have the technology, the time, and the effort to get it off and edit it.