Thanksgiving this year is a 4 day weekend... with a little bit of work sprinkled in between. We started out with a nice traditional turkey dinner at the Francomano's and ended with a meal with the Kerr's (Hillary's parents).
We decided our best option for travel was to leave on Thanksgiving morning as to avoid all the traffic on the previous night... wrong. We got stuck in 10 mile back-up on the Mass Pike. All those people heading south on 84 ruined it for everyone else continuing west bound. Finally we made it upstate for dinner with Jack sleeping for just 45 minutes of the 3 and half hour ride. That's a lot of Backyardigans and Barney. After dinner Jack went right to bed and slept pretty well. As you know sometimes when kids get overtired their sleep is not as sound... but he made it through just fine.
Then on Friday, after I worked a bit in the morning on Best Buy stuff, we headed to Grandma Sheep's house for a nice Black Friday lunch. Except we started out behind the 8 ball because Jack decided this would be the day he takes a 3 hour nap! But we never wake a sleeping baby, so we just waited it out. Jack played outside for a while, visited the chickens and ran around the green house. Here is a picture of Mom and Jack having a nice restful "ma ma." Apparently my mother still thinks Jack is a baby!
Then we went up to my Grandmother's place for dinner with Grandpa Tractor, Grandma Rose, Uncle Eddie, Aunt Joanne and my brother Karl... of course I forgot my camera in the car. Karl took a lot of pictures, but I'm sure we'll never see them! If he does send some I will post the pictures on the blog. (does guilt work with you Karl?) Instead of eating Jack decided he was going to play with some half deflated balloons and run up and down the hall yelling. Whatever floats your boat kid. Jack fell asleep in the car on the way home and didn't even open an eye when I unbuckled him from the car seat and placed him in the crib. Ahh... to sleep like a baby again.
Tonight we went over to the Kerr's for a nice little dinner of lasagna and salad. Very nice... and very nice company. Prior to dinner, Jack took a liking to Uncle Bobby and was feeding him crackers... by the mouthful!
Jack was doing great until everyone sat down for dinner and he decided he needed to hold a wine glass - not just sip from one - but actually hold one. Since I didn't let that happen - the next thing I knew Jack had tears streaming down his face. Hence Stephen and I took turns entertaining him while the other ate. Eventually his cousin Olivia took over and pretended to be a train conductor and carried him all over the house. Then Ava (another cousin) played cars with him on the coffee table and ran the cars all over the remaining cheese from the appetizers. This photo is of Ava with Jack (and yes, that's a large cheese knife in his hand).
We left around 8:45, so you can imagine how tired Baby Man was... he's sleeping right now and I anticipate maybe staying that way 'til 7???
Back home tomorrow... gotta keep working on the kitchen.
Doing an animal puzzle in the school room... this is before he dumped the pieces all over the floor.
Grandpa Tractor gave Jack his first tractor ride this afternoon. I thought bringing him out to the barn and starting up the tractor would make him nervous - wrong! He loved it. When Dad asked if he wanted to go for a ride he did not hesitate answering yes and lunging forward toward the cab of the tractor.
He's good at getting on and off the bike... but he still can't reach the pedals. Fortunately the bike has a pole in the back so we can push him easily and not break our backs.
This is Jack hiding from me when I tried to grab him for a diaper change.
Tomorrow we head to Dad's in the afternoon for more holiday fun... woo hoo!
(Well, actually they did this to his hair at school)
So before the big unwrapping... the boys played on the ATV and the school bus. Crashing each other into walls and doors... and enjoying every minute of it.
And then it was time to sing... from Itsy Bitsy Spider to Twinkle Twinkle... they're all big hits with the toddler-set in Foxboro.
The boys are really starting to enjoy playing with each other... which makes for a nice diversion for both Sarah and me (we're both Sarah's).
We finally got a usable picture of Jack for our Christmas card. I didn't realize how quickly Christmas is going to be here and I started to get really nervous since I couldn't get a good picture of Jack. Finally I called Stephen (and his digital slr) in to help out. After many, many, many pictures we finally think we have "the one." Now I just need to get the cards here, addressed and out before the 25th!
Is it possible to be in your "Terrible 2's" even before you hit 2? If so, then I think we're there. On a handful of occasions lately, Jack has gotten very upset that he can't do what he wants to do. Whether it's stand on the coffee table or get in his pajamas - he wants to do what he wants to do and that's it. Now he gets mad and cries and runs away from me. But the comical thing is that while he's in the middle of his fit... he will peek at me to make sure I'm watching him cry (which I am) he then goes back to crying. Eventually he stops, looks at me and runs to me for a hug. I guess this is just part of growing up.
Then our neighbor Ryan decided to get in on the fun and his father, Tom, brought out the sled! First he just dragged the boys around the neighborhood and then we hit Howie's Hill (he lives across the street). Poor Tom must have dragged the boys up and down the hill 50 times today, but they loved it...
After the sledding extravaganza was over... it was nap time for both. I know Jack slept for almost 3 hours... and Ryan had a healthy nap as well. A little good clean living here in Foxboro!
No accidents at school today. Right now Jack is in his crib having a serious conversation with all of his stuffed animal friends. I'm not sure what they're talking about but I think the animals are in trouble.
Then we went up to my Grandmother's place for dinner with Grandpa Tractor, Grandma Rose, Uncle Eddie, Aunt Joanne and my brother Karl... of course I forgot my camera in the car. Karl took a lot of pictures, but I'm sure we'll never see them! If he does send some I will post the pictures on the blog. (does guilt work with you Karl?) Instead of eating Jack decided he was going to play with some half deflated balloons and run up and down the hall yelling. Whatever floats your boat kid. Jack fell asleep in the car on the way home and didn't even open an eye when I unbuckled him from the car seat and placed him in the crib. Ahh... to sleep like a baby again.
We left around 8:45, so you can imagine how tired Baby Man was... he's sleeping right now and I anticipate maybe staying that way 'til 7???
