TWO!

It's really here. Jack's really TWO!



There's been so much to love in the last year...and right now might really top it all.

I love hearing his words and how every time he says them they get a little clearer.

I love how he knows exactly what he wants now and most of the time, can even tell you all about it.

I love how he likes to snuggle while he brushes his teeth.

I love how he and Kenny do a little dance in the mornings when it's time to go to "school, school, school!"

I love how, in the past few weeks as I started to get emotional about him turning two, he started to let me rock him a little bit just before bedtime.

I love how no matter how frustrated he gets with a new puzzle, he doesn't want to stop playing with it until he figures it out.

I love how he squeals and runs to find his shoes and jacket if you mention going to see Grams and Gramps.

I love how he is always dying to go to the "barn" but is scared to death of the peacock when we get there.

I love how in the mornings he wants to sit on the couch with his blanket and lion and wake up a little bit before breakfast.

I love how excited he gets when he sees Grandma walking up the sidewalk.

I love watching him play for a few seconds when I get to school in the afternoon before he sees me.

I love listening to him sing in the car.

I love how he thinks all presents are books.

I love how of all the bath toys he has, he really only wants a couple of cups to play with.

I love how he puts his jacket and hat away each night after school.

I love how he loves to clean up - and not just his toys, he's into dusting and sweeping too!

I love how excited he gets to go for a walk in the neighborhood.

I loved hearing him squeal as he and his Daddy walked through the big aisles at Lowe's last weekend.

I love how excited he gets about knocking over a tower of blocks.

I love how he wants to jump in the mud puddles in the alley behind school every single day. And how some moms scoff at me for letting him do so.

I love how when he colors, he makes circles.

I love how sometimes, when he catches you smiling at him, he giggles and gets a little bashful, but is clearly eating it all up.

I love hearing him say the word ketchup.

I love being his mom and watching him grow and change and learn right before my eyes.



Happy birthday baby, happy birthday!

Silly Goose

Jack's really been making us laugh lately! Kenny and I usually give Jack a bath together at night and afterwards were getting him dressed in his pajamas one night last week. It's been really cold here, so we put socks on him at night too and Kenny pulled his socks all the way up this knees to make him look like a basketball player. The next night, Kenny had class, so I dressed Jack after his bath and put his socks on just like I normally do. Then I sat him on the floor to look at some books while I cleaned up the bathroom and stuff and when I came back, he had his socks pulled up to his knees just like Kenny had done the night before. And now, a week later, he wants them that way at all times!



Another night last week it was time for dinner and I put Jack's plate on the table. He wanted to eat in the living room though and threw a fit about getting in his chair. So I pushed his plate closer to the middle of the table, so he couldn't reach it, and then let him down from his chair. He wasn't going to eat if I forced him into his chair screaming so I thought I'd just let him go get it out of his system and when he calmed down we'd try again. Meanwhile, Kenny was opening the mail and we started talking about that. All of a sudden, it got quiet and I looked over to see Jack with his plate, marching into the living room, looking back, wondering when someone might notice. I have no idea how he reached the plate, but he did and was taking charge of the situation.

This past weekend he got to spend Saturday morning with Grams and Gramps! Gramps put on these silly glasses and Jack immediately started yelling ABBY!



For those that don't know Grams and Gramps, they have 2 schnauzers, Lacy and Abby, who have long beards and eyebrows. Lacy is salt and pepper in color and Abby is black...



You must admit the similarity is uncanny, right? I think it's pretty smart actually...

23 Months

We are officially one month away from TWO! Actually, a few days less than a month. I don't suppose I'll ever get over being surprised at how fast the time flies!



Jack really started putting words together this month. He will tell you "I fall" or "I did it!" or ask for "more yogurt please." It's quite helpful actually and really makes him seem a lot older.

He fell in love with oatmeal this month despite my attempts to introduce it several times before and his complete unwillingness to try it. Maybe it's just that he needed it to be cold outside!? Speaking of which, this has been the month of snow. Too much in my opinion. I'm ready for warm walks to the playground and time spent at the lake not all bundled up. Jack enjoyed the snow but I know he too misses the playground. All things considered, he's been pretty cooperative, perhaps more so than I have!

He had a pretty big appetite in general this month, though yogurt is still his main staple and he still does not like to try new things at all. All that eating finally moved him into the 18-24m clothes I bought at the beach this summer!

He's fallen in love with Barney and the Madagascar movie. "Watch Barney" or "watch lions" he says all the time. Clearly, we need nicer weather... He also fell in love with the Eric Carle book "Head to Toe" this month. And when I say fell in love, I guess I really mean that he became obsessed with it. He couldn't move without it in his hand. He carried it to bed with him and left it sitting just outside the bathtub at bath time. Luckily, they have a copy at school too so we could switch ours out for theirs once we got there since he's not allowed to bring his own books. It's a great book and I love that he loves it so much, but it did pose a few problems when he would insist on taking it to school in the morning with Kenny and then Kenny would have class after work. I will admit that Kenny and I arranged to meet on the corner one day between our offices just to exchange the book and ensure my night wasn't filled with tears and screams of "rilla!?"

He is really into music at the moment too. We listen to some of his little singing songs on the way to and from school every day and he sings along and makes the hand motions and is quite entertaining. He'll even ask for the song he wants..."duck," also known as "6 Little Ducks", or "bus," "The Wheels on the Bus."

He loves throwing the ball with his Daddy. He will immediately start looking for "the ball, the ball" as soon as Kenny gets in the door at night. And I love hearing their giggles in the other room while I'm cooking dinner. Kenny also always "ribbits" Jack up the steps like a frog. Jack giggles and says "ribbit" on every step.

He got a little sneaky this month too. A few times he would pretend to be asleep in the car but after a few seconds he'd pop his little eyes wide open and have a grin on from ear to ear! It wasn't always quite so innocent though. We heard at school that one day he hid his favorite books in the play kitchen's oven and then watched from across the room as someone discovered them. He immediately started screaming "MY BOOKS, MY BOOKS!" Another day, his friend Hugo turned two and as tradition has it, donated a copy of his favorite book to the class. Jack apparently liked the book a lot and so at naptime, he snagged it from the bookshelf when he thought no one was watching and slid it under his blanket since they aren't allowed to have books at naptime. Sneaky Jack.



He keeps us busy and at times, when screaming because his milk is in the wrong cup or he didn't get the plate he wanted for dinner, he can be exhausting. But his little personality, his ability to stop crying and immediately start laughing, his big blue eyes, big grin, and his funny little actions make every day a whole lot sweeter. I love you Doodlebug!

Snow 2.0

It rarely ever snows in Richmond. This winter, however, we've had TWO snows, and both have been over a foot!

Jack was pretty excited about it this time. When he woke up Saturday morning and I opened the blinds in his room, he exclaimed "SNOW!" and wanted to look out every window. It was bitterly cold and really snowy and windy on Saturday, so we just played inside... on the "mats." They bring out the mats at school when the weather isn't cooperative so now when he can't go outside on the weekend he wants the "mats" also known as the air mattress.






By Sunday, the sun came out and we were all itching to get outside! We went up to the park and had a lot of fun, along with everyone else!



Don't worry, we obeyed the signs and stayed off the hills with the little trees growing...



Jack took it all in for a little while and watched Daddy come down the hill once on his own...and then plopped right down in the sled on his tummy, just like Daddy and was ready for his turn!









He loved it!





There's MORE snow in the forecast for Tuesday AND Saturday...I'm SO ready for Spring!!

I. love. yoooouuuuu!

Inside fun!

After days on end of it being entirely too cold to play outside, Kenny came up with a fantastic idea for inside fun! He inflated the air mattress and put it next to the couch. That meant Jack could climb up on the couch and jump off onto the air mattress, which he thought was LOADS of fun.







So much laughing ensued...



In fact, he cried when it was time to put the air mattress away, though he was clearly all tuckered out!



COME ON SPRING!!

PS...yes, he is wearing a polo shirt with pajama bottoms. He clearly won the battle of the daily shirt change the night before.

22 Months

We're getting really close to the 2 year old mark. Yikes! How did that happen? Let's try and not think about it...



This month brought challenges, as they all do, but when things weren't challenging, they were a LOT of fun. He got pretty good at running which he seemed to really enjoy. While it was cold, we just bundled up most of the time and headed outside for some fresh air anyway. I'm not sure what happens when you can't do that...it seems a requirement for toddler boys at least. He doesn't seem to mind the cold as long as it isn't windy. Wind doesn't go over well at all, and I can't blame him. I hate wind.



He can put on his own hat and take off his jacket. And he thinks both are a lot of fun! Doing things for himself really pleases him. He loves being in charge. Some mornings he resists putting on the jacket I've chosen, I think just for the sake of being able to choose for himself! He'll go pick another and put that one on with no trouble. He calls his mittens "hands" and wants them on anytime we leave, even if it's not really that cold.



The words get a little clearer every day. I went away for work for a week and when I came home I was amazed at how much more clearly he was talking. When you hear the words every day it's not quite as obvious, but he's really speaking well.

This month he also starting sleeping with his books. At school and at home, it seems he won't go down for a nap or for the night without a book in his hand. Many times, he's not even planning to read it, he just wants to hold it. I can't explain it...but it's ok by me.

Eating definitely is not a priority for him at this stage. He's do much rather be up and running than strapped into a chair to eat. I try not to fight it while continuing to offer healthy choices at meals and snacks. I know that this too shall pass, as wise Granny would tell me, and he's clearly doing just great!



Lights and trees and snow and water fountains...this month brought so many fascinating adventures. He loved them all and I love how they all help mold him a little more every day. He's such a fun little guy and even when I've heard "Momma, Momma, Momma" 1000 times that day and he has insisted on being held all day, I still can't resist his infectious grin...

Christmas break!

We had such a wonderful Christmas, filled with family and friends and food and fun! It was much different for Jack than last year. I would say the lights were really his favorite part of the pre-Christmas festivities. He loved looking out the car windows at the Christmas lights and spotting reindeer and such in people's yards. He spent a lot of time circling our Christmas tree throughout the month studying all of the ornaments and talking to them a bit. He certainly had his favorite..."a pig." It's an odd ornament, but cute I suppose...a pig carrying a Christmas tree if it's not clear from the picture.



Jack knew exactly where "a pig" was supposed to be on the tree at all times. "A pig" was also the only ornament that was allowed to remove from the tree but it usually went right back on its low branch where Jack could keep an eye on him. One morning before school however, Jack came down the steps, went to check on "a pig" and he was missing. Jack starts frantically shouting "a pig a pig a pig a pig a pig a pig a pig a pig..." and I start searching the other branches for the little guy. I looked and looked and could not find him and then looked some more! I assumed Jack had taken him off the tree and failed to put him back so I thought Kenny might know where he was, but of course he was in the shower. Meanwhile, Jack is still shouting "a pig a pig a pig a pig...!" We went upstairs and find Kenny and asked if he knew where "a pig" might be. At this point I was a little (or maybe even a lot) worried that "a pig" was missing for good and Jack might not ever stop shouting "a pig a pig a pig a pig!" Kenny runs down the steps and finds "a pig" in just a few seconds and Jack is quiet again! Wonderful! I go on about the day and am telling someone the story later, assuming Kenny just spotted "a pig" sooner than I did but that Jack had actually moved "a pig" when Kenny confesses that HE moved "a pig" the night before! Needless to say, this is not the stage in Jack's life where change is taken lightly. At all. We moved "a pig" back to the right branch (interestingly, he was just 2 or 3 branches away) and all was right with the world again.

Some of our pre-Christmas plans, like visiting Santa, were foiled by the snow, but that's ok, we were sure Santa knew how good Jack had been this year and wouldn't forget about all of us stuck in the snow on the East Coast. So Christmas Eve we trotted on over to Uncle Harold & Judy's house for another fantastic Christmas Eve dinner.

Since there were a lot of people there, and many he has only met once, he spent the first part of the evening safely snuggled up to Gramps.





But he warmed up a bit as the night went on...





and shared some yummy treats with Uncle Aaron.



By the end of the night he was searching for Gramps' belly button as if there were no strangers in the room at all! We all had a great time there, as usual but had to get home and to bed before Santa arrived!



He didn't quite get the concept of Santa bringing him gifts before the big day though he loved to spot (and exclaim!) Santa Claus, but he did quickly grasp the concept of new toys on Christmas morning. Santa left a few things, including a new book under the tree and Jack went straight for the book and paid no attention to all the other toys until he'd looked through the whole book and spent all the time he wanted with it.



Then he moved on to a puzzle and played with that a while...



It was a lot of fun watching him actually enjoy each toy before looking to see what else was there. I'm sure that won't happen for too many more years. After spending some time with all of Santa's gifts, we went to Grams & Gramps' house to open more presents! Everything was SO exciting!



Uncle Aaron even got Jack some water in a bowl to try out his new bath toys! Uncle Aaron was a big hit...





Jack got so many great gifts!



Books were definitely the biggest hit, but just look at this little fly fishing vest Gramps got him. They will match out on the trout streams this Spring!



He also got a sleeping bag covered in monkeys that he fell instantly in love with. In fact, we had to put it in his crib to sleep on that night...he was NOT going to bed without the monkeys!



After all the excitement of opening presents, we went home for a nap and then came back for a wonderful dinner with everyone! Jack was clearly a big help in preparing the meal...



But look how great it turned out! Grams always has such a pretty table...



Tired yet? We were but Christmas wasn't over! The next morning we headed to Manassas to visit the some more of the Lion Family. Jack took a while to warm up again, but was soon enamored with Uncle Tom!



Then, of course, there were MORE presents! Grandpa got Jack a little lion cub that actually roared and purred and was kind of "alive!"



Jack wasn't quite sure what to make of it at first, but Uncle Alan helped ease him into it.





Uncle Alan also brought a remote control car that was lots of fun!



Jack was really interested in the sheep in the nativity scene next to the Christmas tree and spent a lot of time "baa-ing" at it!



He had a great time at Great Grandma and Great Grandpa's, as usual, and we hope they did too!



Everyone gets to be a kid at Christmas...:)!





The snow foiled our plans to have Christmas with Grandma before she left for FL too so we got to extend Christmas even further and have Christmas with her when she got home.



By this point Jack thought all wrapped packages were books and was dying to tear into them!



I didn't get many pictures of that night - we were trying to assemble toys and cook dinner and open presents and I just didn't have enough hands but we had a great time with Grandma as usual!

And just when you thought we were surely done with Christmas, we got to spend some time with Dillyn and Andy at the Children's Museum! What fun that was! Jack LOVED it there. Last time we went, he was a little too young and not very interested. This time we carried him out kicking and screaming. They had a huge river to play in with fountains...





And stairs to climb with tunnels to explore and slides to slide down...



and fossils to unearth...



and caves to explore...



and COWS...



to milk! What fun! I know he can't wait to go back! I remember the excitement in Dillyn's eyes when she was that age and it's so much fun to watch her play with Jack now that he's at that age. Thanks for spending the day with us girls!



We also got to spend some time with the lovely Pratt ladies who were visiting from St. Louis. Margot is SO cute, and Brooke is too of course. We were so glad to get some time with them and are so glad they came! They brought Jack these great little cars and trucks and trains that he cannot get enough of.



Seriously, he plays with them all the time! Sometimes it is the simplest things that are the biggest hit. She says they are called counters and are designed to help with colors and sorting and math and such eventually. I think they are fantastic and the little bag she made to hold them couldn't be any cuter!

We were also lucky enough to catch Lyndsay while she was home!



She's so much fun and we all love her boyfriend Michael too! Jack especially - he has really taken to him each time he's seen him!



We had such a wonderful holiday and loved getting to spend time with so many friends and family! We can't wait for all that 2010 will hold! HAPPY NEW YEAR!