Almost a Year

I cannot believe Jack will be a year old in less than a month. Where on Earth has the time gone? I know I always feel time flies by, but this seems especially true with our "little Jackman". He has sailed through his first year and seems grown up already. He is saying so many words, many more than I remember Lanie saying at that age. I guess he must feel he needs to keep up with sister's constant jabbering. While it may not be clear to others, David, Lanie and I have no doubt he is already saying the following: Ball, Got it, What's that (with a point), dada, mama(finally!), Jack, and many others I can't think of in this moment... Much to Lanie's disappointment, he is not saying her name yet, but he has tried "sister" several times.
We thought Jack would be walking around like a wild man a month ago, but when he got sick(stomach bug) it seemed to slow him down. He can take 4 or 5 steps, but he tries to practically run so he is not exactly stable. However, this does not keep him from getting into absolutely everything. With Lanie, we never even childproofed our house. Jack, on the other hand, is another story. We learned early on that he would and did put everything he could get his hands on into his mouth. We soon realized those handy little electrical outlet plugs were another must . Jack also feels he should be able to climb the stairs whenever he wants. I was amazed when he tried to climb them a month or more ago and made it all the way to the top. (with daddy right behind him) However, at the time I knew that it meant trouble! Now we cannot keep him away from the stairs. The gate has to be up constantly.
When it comes to eating, Jack and Lanie are about as different as can be. Lanie ate everything we gave her, except tomatoes, which she still hates. Jack won't eat half of the things she did. Vegetables are a nightmare for him. I have to think of a million ways to disguise them. One day he'll eat cauliflower, the next week he'll throw it on the floor every time. He won't even eat potatoes. What kid doesn't love mashed potatoes? I also figured eggs would be a sure thing, but no way. You should see the face he makes...He would live on crackers, meat, and applesauce if I let him, but that is a definite no-no. All I can do is keep trying to give him a variety of things, but some days it's more than a little frustrating to watch half his dinner land on the floor!
I can't believe I actually had time to write more than a couple sentences here, never mind the fact that it's the middle of class and I should be grading papers.