Snow!

Last week they started calling for snow in Richmond. Having been disappointed quite a few times by such forecasts in this town that only amount to cold rain, I honestly didn't believe it. But, Friday evening, just about time to leave work, it started to snow! And snow hard, it did. I had to brave Ukrop's with the rest of Richmond, but made it home before things got bad. Jack was off to bed shortly thereafter but Saturday morning he woke up to quite a surprise!







He was itching to get out in it right away too. So by 8 AM we were all bundled up and on our way outside. Yes, we were the only ones out at that hour! But he was just so excited!!



We got about a foot of snow and when you are less than 3 feet tall, that's a LOT to manage. He wasn't crazy about walking in it at first.





But it didn't take long for him to get the hang of it...



SNOWBALLS! Oh how exciting they were...









Then it was on to the hill for his first time sledding! He loved it! He said "wheeeeeeee" all the way down the hill and then screamed when they got to the bottom. He just wanted to keep going. Explaining to him that the hill ended and you had to go back up to the top wasn't happening. So Kenny carried him back up the hill flailing, kicking and screaming and then all was great again when they got back on the sled and got to go "wheeeeeeee" all the way back down the hill.





At some point we had to go back in and warm up but then a few hours later we met Grams and Gramps back up at the park for a little more fun!



Jack was more interested in hanging out with Gramps than sledding this time...





Sunday morning Uncle Joey was over and the boys all went out to play a little more.





It was a little warmer Sunday and no longer snowing so I think it was a little easier to manage. He was all smiles.



They buried Uncle Joey which seemed like lots of fun...





but getting buried wasn't so fun at all...









At school on Monday they got to play outside some more, which we hear was a lot of fun. It's still very cold here and not much has melted so perhaps there will be even more fun to come!

21 months

Month 21 was a month of extremes. Jack was either really happy and cooperative, or not at all. He's become so sure of what he wants and rather uninterested in other ideas once he's decided on his plan. I can't imagine where he gets that from!? Fortunately, with the exception of one tough week, for the most part the highs outnumbered the lows. Distraction is still the only real strategy that works well when he's upset, other than just waiting it out. A quick airplane ride around the house often does the trick!



That one tough week started off bad, in his defense. We had to go see the doctor and while in the waiting room, another child was really interested in Jack and was on top of him pretty much the entire time we were there. Jack wasn't so interested in this other child and the other child's mom also was not interested in trying to help me navigate the situation so things got off to a rough start. After that, Jack didn't seem to want anyone near him much, especially other kids at school. He was territorial and forgot how to share with his friends at school. It also rained that entire week so there was no outside time and that never goes over well. We survived it and I think his friends at school forgave him and the next week, things were back to normal.



Jack loves Elmo and coloring and books the most. He likes to draw circles all over his paper, but only if he has a pen. Crayons seem to lead him in a different direction most of the time. He loves Elmo and Big Bird, though still isn't interested in tv for more than a few minutes at a time. He prefers to roam and explore.





He also discovered the trash can this month and always balls up his trash and wants help opening the door so he can put it in himself.

In keeping with the love it or hate it theme this month, baths were no exception. Until now he's been pretty good about bathtime, fussing only a little during hair washing. This month though, he often would start fussing when he heard the water turn on. I'm not sure what this is all about, but it's no big deal, we just do a quick rinse and are in and out in a few seconds. I'm hoping Santa might bring some new bath toys that will help the situation.

We had another parent teacher conference this month and Jack again got a great report! His teacher commented on how he fairly consistently said "please and thank you" and that he was a great listener and very affectionate child that smiles and laughs a lot!



He's definitely an observant and contemplative little fellow. He definitely gets that from his father. One day Kenny picked him up from school just as Miss Megan was about to read "One Fish Two Fish." They left and the very next morning Jack went into his room, over to the bookshelf and picked up that very book and sat down on a pillow to read it. He forgets very little! He gets smarter by the minute and is at such a fun age - we all laugh so much and are having so much fun watching him explore and learn about his little world. Where is the pause button?

Hat!

So this morning was the first morning that I thought Jack really needed a hat to get to school. And I will admit that it's probably been cold enough for one a few days in the past month or so but last year it was such a struggle with the hat and he would just take it off 2 seconds after I got it on him that I just didn't try. But today it was cold so I decided to force the issue...and much to my surprise...he didn't really resist.

Fast forward to tonight when Kenny brings him home from school and is feeding him dinner. I'm away on a business trip so they are home alone and I get a text message on my phone with this picture:



Apparently he is in love with the hat and had to have it on to eat dinner! He has, for the past month or so, found great humor in picking up random objects, putting them on his head and saying "hat!" so I guess he's just enjoying having a real one to wear!

Oh how I love this little guy, and his Daddy and can't wait to get back home to them! This picture makes me smile every time I look at it and I've looked at it a lot tonight...I might just wear it out this week!

Tis the season...

We kicked off the Christmas season this past weekend! Friday night we went to the Grand Illumination. Jack really enjoyed all the lights and walking around the Capital grounds. Sunday we put up the tree while Jack was napping and when he got up, he spent a long time, just circling it, looking at all the ornaments and telling us what they all were! "Bear, star, ball, snowman..."






Then he and Grams and Gramps did a little dance...

Hope your season is off to a great start - we can already tell that this one is going to be so much fun with Jack! Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving

What a busy Thanksgiving we had, but it was so full of fun and we were so thankful to get to spend at least a little time with almost our entire family!

It all started Tuesday night when we went to Grandma's in hopes of seeing Stephanie and Dan and Emory and Ellie as they arrived in town. A late start put a damper on that plan but we did have a nice dinner with Grandma at least! Wednesday Kenny and Jack took the day off and spent it having lots of fun with the Florida crowd while I worked. Boooo.





Look at how Jack is looking up to his cousin Emory! He couldn't have a sweeter look on his face and I could not choose anyone more perfect for Jack to look up to.







Wednesday evening we had dinner with Grams and Gramps and Granny! Jack loved having different people to read books with.









Thursday we went for a walk down to the lake in the morning. Jack saw lots of squirrels that he had to point out and we even saw a couple of deer!











And then after naptime we went back to Grams and Gramps' for Thanksgiving dinner!











Gramps lifted Jack up over his head over and over and over and Jack could not have smiled or laughed any more. He really smiled and laughed the entire holiday break and was very cooperative. He too loves being surrounded by his family!!





Uncle Aaron took him for a wild horsey ride too which he LOVED!



Friday morning we went to play with Emory and Ellie a little bit more before they headed out of town.









Then Saturday we hit the road to Manassas to visit the rest of the Lion clan. We played outside a bit...



and spotted plenty of airplanes!



Then the Lion boys put their feet up and cheered the Hokies to victory over the Hoos! Yay!!



We are so thankful that we got to see everyone and enjoy all that our amazing life holds. We couldn't be more thankful for our little guy and for each other and all of you. We hope your Thanksgiving was just as full of love as ours was!