The Dynamic Duo

Here is the Dynamic Duo...



That is Jack with his buddy (and neighbor) Ryan. Ryan is 3 months younger than Jack. This is Ryan's car that the two are tooling around in... powered by Ryan's dad Tom. As you can see Jack is on the bottom since he outweighs Ryan by a good 3 pounds!

Biting Update: Jack did not bite anyone at daycare today nor did he even try. Phew!

Jack Bit Someone!

Oh no... please don't tell me my son is going to become "that kid." You know... the biter! I just hung up with Linda at daycare and apparently Jack turned into a mini-Jaws this morning and bit one of the kids. It wasn't very hard (no mark, no broken skin) but still he can't be the biter in the class!

So I was just looking up what to do to thwart this behavior and there isn't much I can do other than tell him "no bite" after he bites me, Stephen or even the dog or cat.

According to a couple of web sites, younger children often bite when they are teething, overtired, jealous, frustrated, mad, etc., or to simply want see what happens when they bite. I'll tell you what happens when they bite... their mother freaks out.

Our new landscaper...

Jack went with me to the garden store yesterday and picked out a few new tools. Here he is showing you his skills with the new rake. He also has a little kid-sized broom.

Jack is very busy all day. I'm not entirely sure where he gets all of his energy since he is not a very good eater lately. From morning 'til night he is on the move. Thankfully he still takes about 3 or 4 hours worth of naps each day to give me time to get things done around the house or update the blog :)

Jack marched around with the rake all day. At one point he was obsessed with going across the street to show his broom and rake to Piper (she's 4).

Dad is working for a few hours today so just Jack and I went out to breakfast. We dined alone at IHOP... yumm. Jack was a rock star. He was flirting with all the waitresses, scribbling nicely with the crayons they gave him and checking out the rest of the kids in the very packed restaurant. Then when the food came, he ate off the little plate with an adult sized fork. At first he was all about the bacon but then he dove into the silver dollar pancakes and ate a pretty decent amount of food. When I go places with Jack alone, I still get a little feeling of dread as I ponder what "could" happen. Usually he makes that feeling go away pretty quickly since he is always entertained by the new people and things to look around at.

Ridin' Bareback

Jack has a new favorite toy: the empty diaper box. We ingeniously put him in the box and started giving him rides. In this video you'll see that Jack is enjoying a nice ride - UNTIL - he sees me with the camera and then it's game over. That's why it's been so difficult to get a new picture of him. If the camera is out... it has to be in his hands. If not... "Cranko-mano" comes out.

A Mother's Love...

I was just reading online that the 57-year old woman who died during the tornado in NH yesterday, died with her 3-month old grandson in her arms. Apparently the storm hit so quickly they didn't have time to run into the basement. The house collapsed around them. When firefighters made their way through the rubble, they found the woman with the baby still in her arms.
I know this story doesn't even compare. But this morning I was playing with Jack in his room before school. I went into the guest bedroom to get an envelope to put the daycare check in and the next thing I knew, I saw Jack standing at the top of our stairs! I literally ran the 15 feet to the stairs and then lunged while yelling, "Jack, No!" I grabbed him by the collar, brought him close and squeezed him tight. In the midst of my not-so-graceful-slide I gave myself this wicked rug burn on my knee.


Obviously a rug burn is a bazillion times better than Jack going head over heels down the 13 stairs. But boy does it sting!

Here's the haircut

If you tell Jack to go get the telephone he knows to open the door underneath the tv and grab the phone. Genius!

Seems like so long ago...

Stephen just sent me this picture of Jack. It was the first one ever taken of the little man. It's funny how at that time all I could see was a little baby. But now when I look at the picture I see the little boy that Jack is now... in this little baby's face... I teared up looking at him.

Jack loves Barney!

What more can I say? He loves the purple dinosaur. Apparently they play that marching song at school and he gets very excited. So I put a Barney DVD (thanks to Aunt Judi) in the car to see what he would do. He went nuts! He pumps his fists up and down, gets a huge smile on his face and starts to giggle. How could I deny him such joy? If Barney were still a traveling show I'd take him, I don't care what everyone else things of him, if he makes Jack happy then he's alright by me!
I still need to take a picture of Jack with his new haircut. I promise to do it in the morning. He looks even more like a little boy now.

Haircut #3

I think the video speaks for itself.

Baby Colds... no laughing matter.

Yes, I know what you're saying, "What do you mean Jack is sick... again?" I'm saying the same thing. I took him to the doctor this afternoon and they checked him all out - ears, throat, chest... no big deal... just a cold. But the thing is with a baby cold you can't give him any meds to help him feel better. Maybe just a little Tylenol or Motrin... but nothing for the cough. It's hard to watch him be so uncomfortable. Can't someone smart invent cold medicine for babies?

Yogi Berra

I'm sitting here watching the All-Star game... and Yogi Berra just threw the ceremonial first pitch. And to think I'll be seeing him, in just a few weeks, sitting a table in the same breakfast joint as me on Shelter Island. Weird.

Tuesday Round-up

So today I took Jack to the pediatrician for his 15 month check-up (23 lbs 9 oz, 31.5 inches tall = 64 percentile on each) and it went very well. First he asked the doctor to read him his Truck book, then he mooed on command when she asked what a cow says... and then I told him to give her his dance moves... and he immediately started tap dancing! I told her that Stephen and I think he is a genius. She knew I was kidding. Anyway, she says he's getting all 4 of his molars now... which is probably why he's been chewing on his finger and pulling his ears for a few days now. That'll be fun when they decide to pierce the skin... yikes!
Then we went over to our friend's the McHugo's. Maria just had her new baby on Thursday so I brought over a lasagna (no I didn't make it, I bought it) to make sure they had something to eat. I got to hold little Ethan. He seemed so light to me (although he was 9 lbs 7 oz at birth!). It was like holding a feather. He's sleeping in 3 hour chunks and he's taken well to the boob. What more could new parents ask for?
Tonight when I was putting Jack down to bed he ran around his room for a bit and insisted on playing with the remote control. He somehow turned on the television and ended up putting on some channel I've never seen before. Everything was in Italian. Jack was mesmerized. It seemed as though they were speaking his language? Is that possible? There was some singing that he positively loved and he couldn't get enough of the video of Capri. I think we're going to have to take him there soon.

My Baby and Me

This is a picture of Jack and me sitting in my grandfather's backyard last weekend. This is when Jack was investigating different pieces of grass and leaves and handing to me for my further inspection. My brother Karl sent me the picture today.

Weekend Round-up

Sorry I've been so bad about updating the blog lately. I've been super busy at work and just exhausted by the time Baby Man goes to sleep.

So anyway, we've been going through the motions - going to school, going to work, walking around the neighborhood. Friday night we went out to dinner with a few of our neighbors and their children. Jack was pretty well behaved until he took his tortilla and sour cream and smashed them into the table cloth. I guess that's what 15 month olds do... right?

Then on Saturday Jack and I took a quick trip to Target and then... McDonalds! Again he loved the fries the best... who can blame him?


Then it was time for a game of catch. Jack is getting very good at catching the ball... he tends to use his big belly as a backboard to catch the ball. Here he is throwing the ball back to me... with some force.


Here we are chillin' on the couch as we wait for my friends from high school to show up for a "Girls Night Out." I got a babysitter and we all went out... and then hung out on the deck until 2am. Jack of course didn't care that mommy was up late and was ready to roll at 6am. But when he woke up he felt really hot. He has a bit of a temperature and is cranky (as displayed at breakfast this morning at the Cracker Barrel).


And this is Jack this morning walking around with my friend Jennifer's purse on his arm. He would pick it up, put it over his shoulder and wave "bye." Too freakin' cute.

What's your rate?

If only I could harness Jack's love of the vacuum, mop and broom into some effective cleaning. Right now it's purely fun. In fact instead of playing "I'm gonna get you" this morning, I turned on the vacuum for Jack and let him suck up dirt. I tried to show him how to pick up pieces of dog fur, cat littler and other random dirt that finds its way onto our floors on a daily basis.


Jack had a good time strumming the hose against the heat vent. I think he enjoyed the noise that it made.
Also tonight, while I got my hair done (finally!), Stephen let Jack play in the sprinkler. Apparently he was quite happy and giggly to play in the freezing cold water.

Fun with the Family

Update: Uncle Ed took the hint and sent along this group photo... you'll see that he's missing!


We've just finished up 4 days of intensive family time. From playing with the Seattle cousins to chillin' on the big tractor to dancing and swimming with Grammy and Pooh to playing in Pop Pop's backyard, it's been a busy few days. Jack is also getting very good at saying "hi" and "bye" when appropriate. He also gives that cute reverse wave that all babies do for some reason.

Here is Jack playing with his cousin Kyle... Kyle of course is in a patch of dirt as usual.

Here is Artie (standing behind Pop, Stephen and Jack) pretending to look pregnant.


This is Jack chasing his bottle top. Who needs toys when you can chase plastic nipple coverings?

Why do all of Jack's shorts look like clam diggers? It seems like Karl took a decent amount of pictures, so I'm hoping he sends some along (hint, hint).

Happy Birthday Grandma Rose!

Swimming

Today we're up at Grammy and Pooh's. Jack took a little dip this afternoon. Look at what a good swimmer he is... he just jumps right into the water!

Just kidding, he just likes to be dipped like a baby tea bag.

Then it was time to run with the big ball and try to throw it in the pool. That game got old really fast.

Then Jack helped Pooh shine up his golf clubs - naked.


What's funny is that when Jack first saw Pooh last night, he immediately began doing his dance moves. He has never done that for anyone else, he obviously remembers that Pooh is the one that taught him how to dance.

Tractor Time!

At Grandpa Tractor's yesterday, Jack got a chance to sit in the real thing. Stephen took him in the cab of the tractor to pretend to drive it and play with the radio. As you'll see here, Jack enjoyed himself, in fact every time he was not in our grasp, he was running to the tractor... stopping... looking back at us... and smirking.



We all got together to see Nan for her 88th birthday. We joined Ed, Joanne, Artie, Karen, Kyle, Jake, Karl, Grandpa Tractor and Grandma Rose had dinner and then some birthday cake. We then had a group shot taken - with the help of Karl and a camera timer - I hope Karl will send me a copy soon so you can see everyone.

Fun in the Sun

Well the Hewig clan from Seattle and Brooklyn descended on Foxboro yesterday. It was a fun filled day... from pizza, to swimming to video gaming to dinner to a trip to the DQ. Here are some pictures, more details to follow.

Artie in the pool

Karen and Jake

Karen and Artie keeping their eye on the kids


Kyle checking out the kiddie pool


Jack eating Cheese Puffs after an exhausting swim


Kyle, Jake and Chatiemac


Jake playing Star Wars on the XBox


Kyle having some quality time with Chatiemac


Stephen mans the grill

Jake takes a picture of me with Jack

Kyle - not on the worst day of his life, ever!

Jack enjoying time watching his cousins

Post-dinner lounging on the deck - oh look, there's Uncle Karl

The 3 boys

Jack and the 2 Balls