Comfy

Around 4 this morning Jack was moaning in his sleep - when Stephen went to investigate - he found that Jack was really cold ... and then he woke up! He was cold because at around 11pm we had to change him because he had already peed through his diaper. While I put on a new diaper Stephen changed the crib sheets. He got so upset I didn't have the heart to put him back in jammies - so he was sleeping in just his diaper - and got cold.

So instead of trying to woo him back to sleep in his crib Stephen just brought the semi-awake toddler to our room and plopped him into the middle of the bed. Stephen then took off for the guest room - nice. Fortunately Jack went right back to sleep and didn't wake up until 7. I just had to take a picture - when was the last time you were this comfy in bed?

An Injury

Tonight I gave Jack a bloody nose! Well... let me explain. Stephen was pushing him in Ryan's car down our neighbor's driveway and across the street. He pushed him right to me and I stopped him from running into my shins. I didn't realize how me stopping the car so abruptly would force Jack's head to hit the steering wheel. So Jack's nose went right into the steering wheel and he immediately began crying. I thought he just smacked his face but then his left nostril started to bleed. Whoops.
Stephen says he thinks this is the first time he's seen Jack's blood - and it was all my fault! It actually just bled a bit (for about 15 seconds) and then stopped - so I don't think there's any permanent damage. No pictures - I was too traumatized to take out the camera.

X Marks the Spot

This is one of Jack's favorite things - X Marks the Spot. What I do is draw an X on his back in a sing songy voice then you do - dot, dot, dot. Round and round (drawing a circle with your finger). Up and down. Here come the chills... then I tickle him. He loves it. Says more more more. I used to say the same thing when Grandma Eddie and Aunt Kathy would do this to me when I was little. I think he likes it as much as I did...

Jack is feeling pretty good. Still has a bit of a cough. I of course called the pediatrician today to make sure his symptoms don't point to Swine Flu! They don't :)

Doing a 180

We did a total 180 today. We went from Jack waking up at 3am with a croup-cough to enjoying popsicles on the front porch.

After Jack got up so early he finally fell back asleep in our bed around 4:30 (Stephen smartly went to the the guest room) and woke up around 6:00. But he was not happy. He was cranky baby.

I took him downstairs and he kept trying to get comfy - from lying on the floor with his blankie...

...to curling up on the ottomans.


Finally he found a good spot - on top of me.

When he woke up from his hour long morning nap (around 9am) we went outside to play... rode bikes, threw the football and then we ended up eating lunch on the front porch. Jack is a grazer - so you have to keep his food available for a long time. He will eventually eat most of it - it just takes him a while.


Then Jack and Stephen assessed the lawn situation....


After a good 2 hour nap Jack woke up in a pretty decent mood. For snack I gave him a Dora the Explorer popsicle. A lot of the juice dripped down his chin - and get this - he BITES his popsicle. Argh...

Then we went patio furniture shopping - and stopped at a fun playground on the way home.


He attacked Stephen at the end of the twirly slide...

And had a really good time. The weather was a bit warm (hate to complain!) but it really was. I think it hit 88 degrees here today. I like Spring weather this time of year, I don't even have my shorts out of storage yet.
I saved the best pictures for last. Here are 2 good shots of Stephen throwing Jack up in the air. Jack absolutely loves this... he'd have you throw him in the air all day if your arms could take it. Mine can't - this trick is reserved for Daddy-time.

Easy Rider

A great day to ride a bike - especially if you have someone pushing you!!!

A Perfect "Spummer" Day

That's my new word for a hot Spring day - where it feels like Summer. We tried to spend as much time outside today as humanly possible. Besides Jack's nap he had to be outside for 5 hours today. If he wasn't in the front yard chasing Ryan around then he was out on the back deck trying to climb over the railing.

After Jack's nap this afternoon I took him to the playground at the elementary school near the house (Stephen went golfing). We had the entire playground to ourselves - which actually isn't that much fun. It's more fun to have kids and noise and other parents - but we took advantage of not having to share.


Jack is getting much better at climbing. He has finally figured out how to coordinate his arms and legs to climb up a ladder.

Here he is squatting down to examine the huge ants walking around. Gross.

Perfecting his balance by walking on the wooden ties around the playground.

Yeah! Spummer is awesome!

Two New Obsessions

Football and Baseball.

Jack is turning into a big sports fan. Very frequently in the morning he will request a baseball game. Unfortunately for Jack the MLB doesn't schedule a lot of 6am games.

He also likes throwing and catching footballs. This morning I had him standing in the crib and throwing his footballs into the hamper. He was actually pretty good at it.

Morning Routine

Jack frequently wakes up in the morning soaking wet. He's a big time pee-er. He positively hates it that I have to strip him down first thing in the morning and get him into alternate clothing. Sometimes I go with sweats but this morning I was just going to get him into his school clothes. I got the pants and socks and shoes on him... no such luck with a shirt. So this is what you get:


Then he asked me to read to him. He chose the Stride-Rite coupon book we got in the mail. Very intriguing stuff here.

Finally got him dressed and went upstairs to bug Dad. It's their ritual every morning to shave together. For Jack's birthday, Stephen got Jack his own shaving kit (Thomas the Train). Here he is gently slathering on the shaving cream.

And here is shaving with his own (plastic) razor.

And time for a quick lounge before we headed off to school... and of course a mama.

New Shoes

Check out Jack's new shoes - they have eyes! They're pseudo-Crocs... they didn't have real Crocs in his size so we had to go with the fake ones. Jack likes them a lot. Likes to wear them with socks - kind of rockin' the German tourist thing again:)

Out to Dinner

A good dinner out with Jack and Stephen tonight. We went out for Mexican - as soon as we sat down Jack started requesting chips. Smart kid. He loves chips and salsa which is mostly what he ate for dinner - other than the tortilla roll-up I made for him with sour cream and cheese inside.

At one point Jack was walking from Stephen's side of the booth to mine... and the owner of the restaurant came over and pretended that Jack had to come with him to the kitchen - you should have seen Jack's face! He was like - NOOOO.... it was funny and he laughed afterwards, but I think it freaked him out a bit. He was fine once the man brought him over a blue balloon. All was right in the world again.

A great haircut

I guess have subjected Jack to so many haircuts - he's starting to get used to it. When I brought him to Snip-it's today I was fully expecting our typical meltdown. But alas - for sometime he almost enjoyed this one. Could have been the lollipop or the fact that he finally realized there were tv shows playing that he could watch. Not sure. Whatever. It was good and the stylist finally got to cut his hair all over - and she used the clippers on his neck and around his ears.

After the haircut - we celebrated with a Happy Meal at McDonald's. I let Jack sit in the booth without a booster seat which I think he really enjoyed. There was a Cross Country high school team that came in during our lunch and he liked trying to get their attention. The problem is a 15-year really has very little interest in a 2-year old - but he was persistent and finally got them all to say bye to him.


When we got home we had some time to play a quick game of baseball (tee ball) and take a walk in the woods with Ryan and his grandparents. And yes - Jack hugged yet another tree.

It's almost Earth Day

In honor of Earth Day 2009 - I've taught Jack to loves trees! Now whenever he sees a tree - he hugs it.

Who is this?

My Twins...

Did you know I have twins? Well, not really but on Easter (also Jack's real 2nd birthday) you might think that I did.

This Vineyard Vine's outfit was my gift to Jack for his birthday... the cute Nantucket Red chinos, checked shirt and blue sweater vest. I got Stephen to dress the same. It was a big hit at brunch... the ladies loved it. Unfortunately the whale belt was still too big for Jack. So we had to untuck the shirt and make the outfit a little more casual.

Here's a shot of Jack with his cousin Elizabeth ... and of course the Elmo balloon.

And here he is with his cousin Andrew playing around on the deck. It may have looked like it was nice outside but I don't think the temperature got above 4o on Easter.







Singing...

Jack's cousins sang Happy Birthday... he loves being the center of attention.

Baseball!

One of Jack's gifts... a tee ball set from his friend Owen...

Today we took it for a spin in the front yard. I'm pretty sure Jack is going to end up being a lefty - as you'll hear me say again and annoyingly again on the video :)

The Big Birthday Party!

I know... I know... I haven't updated the blog with anything in more than a week. My excuses include: party preps, party doings and party clean-up... Not like I did this all on my own or anything. I had Stephen doing most of the work - as he should :)

The party was a great success - other than the SNOW that started to fall right before it started! I had to wake Jack up from his nap to get him to the party on time. So needless to say it took him a while to really come to life... eventually he did, but the first 45 minutes or so he stayed glued to my side.


Here is Jack eyeing the chip and pretzel bowls... which would eventually turn into his main source of food for the day.

As the party got rolling, Jack's grandfathers (Pooh and Grandpa Tractor) chatted...

No face painters this year - just a roll of paper and two boxes of crayons. Seemed to work for the kids though.



Then it was time for cake - actually cupcakes! As Jack went to blow out the candles he got a little excited and tried to eat the fire! I tried to stop him but he moved too fast - pretty sure he may have singed his little lip. Sorry Jack!




Yum... these candles taste good!

Feeding Grandpa Tractor a little cake...


Eating a cupcake with my buddy Ryan!

Time for presents! Jack's cousins were all very helpful in opening the gifts... and ripping all the wrapping paper off.


After he opened his gifts... we had a bit of a diaper issue. In fact the diaper gave way (probably from all the orange soda that he drank!). So yes... the pants came off... and Jack loved every minute of it. As Jack's (Great) Aunt Joanne and Uncle Ed pointed out... we hope this doesn't set a precedent for all future birthday parties.

Taking a little break with his cousin Lucie... and of course some orange soda.


Running... not with scissors... but an Elmo balloon.

Trying out his news Mets stool that he got from Ryan...


Thanks Grandpa Tractor...


Ta Da! And that was the party... as usual we over-ordered in the food department. If you're in the mood for about 2 feet of a 6 foot sub... give me a call... it's in the fridge.