Picture Catch Up....

Just a reminder...

Hug your children extra tight. Kiss their sweet cheeks as often as you can. Play with them. Hold them. Treasure every moment you get to spend with them. Make as many memories as you can. Protect them. Watch over them. Tell them how much you love them every chance you get.

Its so easy to take for granted the precious gift of life our children are. Its so easy to get caught up in our day to day lives and forget how important all those little things really are. But.....some parents would give anything just to be able to hold their child one more time. To see them smile. To tuck them into bed at night. To hear their first words. Or simply just to see them grow up.

Sometimes...its easy to forget how great we really have it!

Adjectives

What Jack does at daycare and how he behaves/plays pretty much remain a mystery to me. I would love to watch him someday around all the different kids. However, today, I picked Jack up from daycare (a rare occurence due to my schedule) and had a chance to talk to the sitter for a few minutes before leaving.

Here is what I learned:

• Jack is the life of the party
• Jack is not 'cliquey'...unlike most, he will play with ANYONE who's willing
• In the morning (when all the other kids are still tired), Jack is going strong, and will repeatedly bring toys to the other kids to encourage them to get up and play with him
• Jack is the most active child they take care of (this has been pointed out a few times now)

Um...wonderful! I'm not exactly sure how I feel about that.

I recently read the Happiest Toddler on the Block (a book on raising a toddler... that, after reading, I wouldn't recommend--I hardly find it effective, at least for MY toddler). In it, it lists labels that you shouldn't use for your child...instead use more positive descriptions to describe their behavior. So rather than saying we have a defiant, bossy, hyperactive, stubborn, picky eater.....we should say that we have a brave, spirited, tenacious, discerning leader on our hands. Yeah, okay! Let's just hope Jack uses his powers for good rather than evil.

Grilling out with the family...

This past Sunday, Bob's dad and stepmom (Roy and Teresa) and brother and sister-in-law (Jace and Laura) came over to spend the afternoon. We had a great time with everyone and can't wait to see them again.

Greta tried out Jack's old exersaucer--Jack kept trying to point out all the fun stuff. Needless to say, I think Greta enjoyed it much more after Jack left the room (he's a LOT of extra stimulation).

Uncle Jace and Jack--he LOVES the ball.

Papa Roy trying to put back on Jack's hat for the 800th time. This little pasty guy is going to have to learn to keep his head covered.

Greta hanging out in her Bumbo seat.

Uncle Jace saving Jack from one of many tumbles down the hill.

Trying to occupy the crazy man in his highchair (after he enjoyed some cheesy potatoes from Aunt Laura and a special treat-- gooey cake that Grandma Teresa made).

Gotta start 'em young around here! Jack loved to toss the bean bags in the hole and then dig them out.

Ha! I caught her smiling! So stinkin' cute!

I didn't get a picture, but poor neglected Jake made a new friend in Grandma Teresa. He got a great brushing out (afterwards, though, it looked like a small animal had been massacred in our backyard--that dog sheds like a maniac) and he loved the attention. Thank you, Teresa!!!!

Sneaky Little Man...

After dinner tonight, I stripped Jack down and told him to head to the bathroom for his bath (Bob already had the water running, which usually makes him hightail it in there). He took a little detour tonight towards the entryway/laundry room....

And proceeded to pee in my shoe......
Wasn't that so sweet?

Life with a picky eater....

Let me preface all of this with...this was not the first attempt at green beans and grilled cheese. In fact, he's happily eaten grilled cheese before. He ate lots of green beans as a baby...no problem. This is what we deal with on a daily basis (as I'm sure have many others).

I set down the plate in front of a hungry Jack. I knew we were in trouble when he didn't immediately start picking anything up. We tried to get him to take a few bites. This didn't go over so well, as you can see......

When we tried to hand him the green beans, he'd take them. Fool us into believing he was going to try them. But, alas, here is where they ended up......

This left a whole plate of unfinished food (which might I add, that I'd made one whole plate, dropped it on the floor, and had to make a whole second plate before any of Jack's shanannigans)....

So we moved on to Plan B (yes, we still have a plan B because Jack does need to eat since his growth has been on the slow side). So we move on to mashed potatoes laced with microscopic tidbits of chicken (since he doesn't like meat I try to sneak it in).....

The results this time speak for themselves...

After scarfing down some yogurt as well....we once again have a happy boy! This picture is a little blurry, but you can see his big gap-toothed smile....

R-O-T-T-E-N!!!!!!

Straight Up

Jack's hair has gotten thick enough that I blowdry it now after baths. I wouldn't say he loves it, but he doesn't hate it (he does try to get out of it by cuddling and sucking his thumb, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do). Anyway, I always loved baby hair that stood straight up. I find it adorable. Jack's hair is way too fine for that kind of nonsense, though....but its fun to try!!!!

To the Zoo and Back...

Below are the pictures from our little trip to the zoo last Sunday. Jack seemed fairly intrigued by the animals (and for this reason, you don't really get to see his face too much because he's always staring in the opposite direction). Since its only a few minutes away and it gives us a great outside place to take Jack, we decided to buy a membership in hopes of going fairly often.

He wouldn't look away from the giraffes.

Cows are everywhere...and yet, we could hardly get him to leave.

Not too sure about the tortoise (god forbid you call it a 'turtle')

(Snacks--we don't leave home without them)

Not to be confused with a loon, these are mallard ducks. Ha ha Granny. Jack loves DUCKS--its one of the only few words he can say.

Trying to get this picture was impossible (i.e. Jack wouldn't cooperate)...but the shark tank at the Indianapolis Zoo is pretty awesome. Not many places you can go to (safely) touch live sharks as they swim around a few feet away.

Granny's House

We spent this past Saturday and Sunday at Bob's Mom's house. Jack was on the go from the second we got there til the minute we left. Thankfully, he slept the entire way home because he certainly never took a nap. Here are some of the pictures from the short little trip.

Battle Scars...

Jack has had a couple mishaps the last two days. Yesterday, he fell at the mall and busted his lip (although it was back to normal within a couple hours). Today, he tripped and hit the windowsill and cut open his forehead. I was working and got a slightly distraught phone call from Bob (since he's usually the calm one, this did not help me). I had him send me a couple pictures at work to make an official assessment of the situation. It didn't appear to require much...just a little pressure and some cleaning up. Jack acts none the worse for the wear. Although, I almost couldn't handle not being home. I wanted to rush home and scoop him up...more for me than for him I know.

I have to stay over tomorrow after work for an inservice, and I won't get to see him before he goes to bed--which means that I won't see him until Monday morning. I'm struggling with that one. Thankfully, he granted me a good cuddle session before I laid him down (he's doing this cuddling thing a lot more lately...especially before naps and bedtime...I know he's probably trying to stall, but he's never been cuddly before, so his tactics are totally effective).

Anyway, I think Jack's going to be sporting his gash and swollen/bruised forehead for awhile!!