Look at him now!

It didn't take long for Jack to figure this swimming thing out this year.  But it did take a lot of swimming lessons and a lot of anxiety and tears but we could not be more proud of him for getting to this point!  I might have even been crying while I recorded these videos.  Prior to this, he'd hang on the side of the pool, or someone and it would take a lot of coaxing to get him to go under or to let go.  We'd spend an hour at the pool and probably 50 minutes of it would be a pep talk!  This day he just got in and took off.  Kenny and I looked at each other in pure amazement.

 It really took a village.  Aqua-Tots was wonderful for being aggressive and making him try things he didn't want to try.  It was not wonderful on this Momma's heart or mind, but I must say, they probably deserve a big chunk of the credit.  They are no joke - they push them hard.  Jack had private lessons there which meant it was 30 nonstop minutes of being pushed to go under over and over.  But I think it worked.  I have a few issues with their policies and lack of flexibility and it was very expensive, but it worked, so it was all worth it. On top of that, Jack's school goes swimming 3 times a week.  They have lessons there, in a small group and I think this year, though it started out with a lot of tears about not wanting to go to the pool, Jack's really kind of enjoyed it.  I'm not sure he'd admit that, but every once in a while, I see a little smile peek out when he's talking about what they did at the pool that day.  We also found this sweet swim teacher, Brett, who works with Jack one on one, whenever we can make our schedules work out.  He's great and Jack really seems to like him and it's low key but a good chance for Jack to get in some more practice.  All of this has added up to Jack, loving being in the pool, and let me tell you, that's not something I was sure I'd ever see!

It was a rocky start to the summer with a lot of anxiety on all parts, well, I'm not sure Max had any anxiety, except maybe a tiny bit in regards to the tickling pirates, but watching your child be scared of something and forcing them to face that fear is hard.  Especially for this Momma who carries around plenty of her own anxiety about most everything.  Kenny and I tried every tactic we could.  We read books, we talked to friends, we talked to Grams, who was an elementary school guidance counselor, we scoured the internet, and I did plenty of crying and lost a lot of sleep.  Jack couldn't put his hands on what was bothering him - one minute it would be swimming, another it was kindergarten, another it would be about his friends at school arguing too much.  It was really a rough spot for us.  It may seem trivial, but it was all consuming.  After 5 years of loving his school, he suddenly was screaming for us not to leave him there.  It was as though someone had taken my sweet, happy Jack and left me with someone who looked like him, but never smiled, and was scared of everything.  It was really awful.  But I'm SO happy to say, my sweet Jack, is back!  He's loving swimming and loving school and loving life again.  I'm not sure if there was really one thing that worked or didn't.  Mostly, I think it took time.


I'm just so very thankful that whatever it took, we found and now, we can go enjoy the summer! Sure hope yours is going great too!

Big boy bed

Max spent the last few weeks in a little big boy bed and it went great!  He didn't ask for a big boy bed and in fact, when I proposed the idea to him, he said "no, I like my crib!"  But he's so big he could have easily climbed out if he put his mind to it.  He loved it though, as soon as we did it and he's slept great ever since! :)

Look what we found behind the crib when we moved it!  A few hundred bandaids!  He sleeps with one most every night and apparently has been throwing them behind the bed each morning when he wakes... 

On a somewhat unrelated to the big boy bed note, but in an attempt to remember the funny stuff... the other morning Max awoke pretty early yelling my name.  I ran to his room since he never really wakes early or yells for me anymore and he said he'd had a bad dream.  I didn't ask a lot of questions, because I just wanted him to go back to sleep.  I laid on the floor next to his bed for a while but he was clearly shaken and after some time, I took him to our bed.  He didn't fall asleep there either and soon we were all up!  At naptime, as we headed up the stairs, he turned and looked at me and said "No pirates coming, right Momma?"  I was puzzled but assured him that no pirates were coming.  He kept on though - he'd ask every few minutes, "No pirates coming, right Momma?"  He eventually went on to sleep at naptime, but not until he'd asked probably 15 times. The same thing happened at bedtime too and I finally started to be concerned, since this time he was visibly upset about it and his tone had really changed from kind of funny to really worried.  I remembered the bad dream from the morning and asked if there had been pirates in his bad dream.  He shook his head yes and was clinging to me at this point.  For the record, I don't think I've ever seen Max fearful of anything.  I asked him what the pirates were doing in his dream and he said, in the most pitiful voice,  "They were tickling me!  I don't like to be tickled Momma!"  And the tears started flowing.  Heartbreaking and hysterical all at once!  Kenny slept on the floor next to him the next 2 nights to get him to fall asleep while I was putting Jack to bed.  Last night he seemed to be ok about it since the pirates hadn't returned.  He even told me that pirates weren't real and I taught him how to tickle them right back if they did show up in his dreams!

Love you Max!  And so glad you love your big boy bed.

Look what happens when Unk babysits...

Unk (aka Uncle Aaron) offered to babysit on our anniversary so Kenny and I could escape for a minute.  It was a Monday night and we had decided to postpone celebrating until we had time to really escape but after his sweet offer, we thought a celebratory beer certainly couldn't hurt!  I think all had a great time but the next morning when Max got up, this is what we found:

For those not versed in diapering, it's on backwards!  I'm not even sure how one could manage to get it on this way, since normally when putting a diaper on, the child is lying on their back so getting the tabs attached underneath them would be slightly challenging.  But Unk managed! :)!  

Love you Unk, and thanks again! 

Swim Lessons

We've tried a few different formats for swim lessons for Jack, from parent and child water exposure classes to private lessons at Grams and Gramps' pool to bigger classes with his school, but last night we started a new format with a swim school called Aqua-Tots and so far, it seems to be going really well!

Jack was very apprehensive and they don't allow parents in the pool - there's a glass wall between you and the pool in fact, but I was really proud of how well he did, despite his fears.  His teacher, Alex, had him under water in the first couple of minutes and then another 20 times or so after that.  If you had asked me if that was a good plan before we went, I most certainly would have said no, but I think it was really the way to go.  Last night before bed Jack even said to me "Momma, I kind of like going underwater now.  I like it a little bit."

He also floated on his back all alone which I thought was huge progress in the first 30 minutes.

Do you see that smile?  If you had seen him before the lesson started, you'd be amazed by this...it made me so happy!

There was even a little basketball to be played!  

And at the end of the class, Jack had earned 2 ribbons.  They were all out of the 2nd one for floating on his back, but here he is with his first one, and let me tell you, he's SO proud. As am I! 

It's amazing watching anyone overcome a fear, but watching your child overcome a fear is like nothing else I've ever experienced.  I just hope that he can stay excited until next Friday when we go back.  Cross your fingers for us! :)!

Update: we had 2 great days at the pool this weekend where Jack was happy to practice his new skills. Forgive my obnoxious "good job" at the end and focus on how brave he's become this year!

PS - Max also went under 2 times yesterday.  He's excited to do anything Jack does.  :)  We may have 2 swimmers at the end of the summer.

Some catching up to do...

I'm not really sure how I've gotten so far behind on the blog but it's time to catch up.  I'm so far behind we're going to be talking about Christmas in July if I don't hurry.  Things might end up a little out of order, but stay tuned, they are coming!

An Update on Mr. Tucker

Since I wrote that last post, Mr. Tucker has raised over $67,000 and as I type this, they should be just about to wrap up his double lung transplant!!  Last week Duke picked him up at MCV and flew him down there for evaluation.  He started getting better and was walking at the end of the week.  Early this week he made it on the transplant list and around noon today, he went in for surgery, as a donor had been found.  What an emotional whirlwind it has been.  I might have cried a little bit today thinking about how fast things have happened and how amazing it has been to be able to help in some small way.  My heart goes out to the family of the owner of these new lungs, but I'm sure they couldn't pick someone nicer than Tucker to get them.  It's been unbelievable watching his friends, family and many, many complete strangers come together to support him.    He's turned into a bit of a rockstar, and while I wish he didn't have to be sick to get there, I think he's pretty deserving of the title.  His story has been covered by the local news and radio stations and carried across the world through the internet and people just taking the time to talk about it.  There have been huge fundraisers and donations by complete strangers of just a few dollars.  It's all really adding up!

The kids' school has had several fun fundraisers which have allowed the boys to get involved and to understand how important it is to help people out.  As if we needed another reason to love our school, watching them come together over this has been amazing too.  There are pictures of Tucker every few feet in the building and they have raised thousands of dollars with penny wars and a date night and bracelet sales.  The boys have worn their HelpTuckerBreathe bracelets incessantly since they got them.  Jack asked me one day this week how long he should wear his bracelet.  I told him that was up to him and he said "I think I'll wear it until Mr. Tucker gets back to school."  They don't fully understand the gravity of the situation, but they do understand that someone they love is sick and that we need to do all that we can to help him get better.  

I posted this on the facebook page for Tucker last night but wanted to have it here for posterity as well. Max said something the other night that brought a tear to my eye...

Thanks to all of you that said a prayer or donated to Tucker or someone else who was in need.  It's nice to feel like the world can work together and help each other out.  We love you all and we love Mr. Tucker!  Can't wait to see what a rockstar he'll be when he can actually breathe!!

Help Mr. Tucker Breathe

We are so fortunate to have found such a wonderful "school" for our kids to attend while we work.  We've loved it from the very start and really cannot imagine how different life would be had we ended up anywhere else.  Most of what makes it so amazing involves the wonderful staff.  They are all amazing.  And they love these boys like their own.  They have amazing and unique talents and we love how they are exposed to so many new things there that Kenny and I wouldn't necessarily think to teach them.  One of those amazing staff members needs our help.  Mr. Tucker was one of Max's teachers.  He's a really cool young guy covered in tattoos and piercings - perhaps one of the nicest, most genuine guys you'll ever meet.  He too attended Tuckaway as a child and now is back as a teacher.  I guess he loved it too.  He spends his days chasing toddlers and they all adore him.  I can't tell you how many times Max has begged to see Mr. Tucker.  Tucker played so much basketball with Max and really taught Max to love it.  It was no coincidence that when Tucker got sick a few months back, Max stopped being interested in hoopball.  He started calling Max "Roni"...like Max-a-roni...or Macaroni.  It stuck and I probably call him Roni more often than I call him Max these days.  And check out Tucker's crazy hair...it's a lot like Max's (at least in this picture)! :)

Unfortunately Tucker suffers from Cystic Fibrosis.  It's a horrible disease and shortens lives considerably every day.  As I write this, he's in the hospital fighting for his life, and a new pair of lungs. He's waiting to be accepted into the lung transplant program at Duke but meanwhile needs financial help to ease the burden.  He needs around the clock care for months following the transplant and it's in another state.  This means someone will have to essentially move to Duke to be with him and that person, or people, probably will have a hard time holding down a job while this happens. He seems to have a wonderfully supportive family and his friends have really stepped up to the challenge, but he needs all the help he can get. 

His friends have set up a website to help raise the money he needs for a transplant.  It's working.  He's getting closer and closer but the financial burden of this procedure and recovery are huge.  Our family is also walking with Tucker's team in the Cystic Fibrosis walk in a few weeks.  We're trying to raise funds for that as well, but are most interested in helping with Tucker's more immediate needs.  We love Tucker and we want so badly for him to get the chance to breathe.  To get to experience what we all take for granted every day.

I hate asking for money and help. I really do.  But this is really important to our family.  We want to do all that we can to help him.  I know that the economy is rough, and most of you don't know Tucker and have your own friends and family that you are trying to help.  I completely appreciate that and thank you for doing whatever you can to help anyone that you can.  I do hope that you will at least keep Tucker and his family and friends in your thoughts and prayers over the coming months.  That will help a lot too.

Thanks for taking the time to keep up with us and helping us to help Tucker breathe.

Link for donation site: http://www.gofundme.com/helptuckerbreathe

Maps Oliver

Just wanted to post a little update on Max since he just turned 2.5!  

He's so full of spunk and giggles.  A bit mischievous and a bit less mindful (of us) than Jack was at this age, but for the most part he's a lot of fun and I think rounds out some of our sharper edges a bit. He's just what this family needed...he makes us laugh a lot and reminds us that life is meant to be enjoyed to the fullest!

For a long time, he couldn't say Max, and if you asked what his name was, he'd say Maps Lion.  It's kind of stuck. We probably call him Maps Oliver more than anything else.  One of his teachers said he called himself Maps because he was going places.  She might be right.

His name is perfect for his personality.  I'm not sure if we knew he'd be so full of spunk or if he felt pressure to live up to his name, but either way, it's a perfect fit.

He LOVES sand.  He could dig in it for hours.

His hair used to be normal and a few months ago went a bit crazy and sticks straight up all over the place.  I have tried most everything and nothing seems to tame it.  It kind of fits him though.

He says a lot of words in a funny way, just because he's 2.  But it makes us laugh, of course.  He calls oatmeal opaneal and watermelon is walamelon.  Elephants are elenucks.  Big is beeg and always accompanied with him raising his shoulders and curling his hands up into his armpits.  We have no idea where that motion came from.  If you ask him why he did something he will say "betuz", meaning because.  When the boys are all watching Liverpool play soccer, he will yell "Go Liverpoopool."  We tried to get him to cheer for the VCU Rams and it came out "BUU Gramps!"  Then Kenny and Jack tried to get him to cheer for the USA Soccer team and were chanting "U-S-A, U-S-A!" but when Max tried it, it came out "B-U-S, B-U-S!"

He LOVES to look at pictures and videos of himself.

He loves books.  He often wakes up begging for someone to read him a book. 

He also loves Dora and Diego.  

He loves fruit.  Any kind.  He will eat it by the truckload.  Watermelon and berries are probably his favorites.  He will eat most anything if he's in the mood.  He prefers it to come off my plate usually and doesn't mind it being spicy.  He has a few texture issues at times, but for the most part is not a picky eater at all.  He does NOT want to sit down at the table and eat and stay there.  That's probably our biggest challenge but I remember Jack going through that as well so I know it will pass.  Though in all honesty, I don't think Jack sits well at the table either. He would prefer to stand next to his chair for some reason.  Anyway, family dinners are a priority of mine and we sit down together almost every night.  Some nights it is a nightmare just trying to get some food in them, but most nights it's a treat for us to hear about their day and talk about whatever is on their mind.  Max will get the hang of it one day I'm sure.  

Recently we left the kids at Grams and Gramps for date night and just before leaving we asked Max if he was going to behave.  He stopped what he was doing, considered the question, and then looked right at us and said "no."  

He sleeps great - close to 11 hours at night and then on the weekend, he'll take a 4 hour nap.   During the week he only gets 2 hour naps at school, which is hard on him I think, so he makes up for it on the weekend.  Jack always has and still does the same thing.

He does pretty well with time out.  You just have to tell him to go and he marches right over to the step and sits a while and then will announce "All done."  It works fairly well.  I wouldn't say it's the perfect disciplinary action at this age, but then again, I don't know what is!  We never used time out with Jack.  He frankly never needed it.  He responded well to a stern voice.  But we also had more time to stop and deal with whatever was going on and to cater to what he needed before he melted down.  Time out doesn't solve all our problems, but it does re-direct him usually, which I guess is also what we did with Jack, in a slightly different manner.  Max is undoubtedly more defiant though.  He will push the limits just for the sake of seeing where they are.

He loves to sing.  He especially loves the days when Miss Elva comes to school for music class.  Sometimes he'll ask me to sing to him at night.  His favorites are "Hail to the Redskins" and "abc's".  

Most nights when we tell the boys to head upstairs for the nightly routine he'll say "No take a baf night?"  And we say yes...take a bath night!  But once you get him in the tub, he doesn't want to get out!  But you can usually convince him by telling him it's time to go get his paci.  He still gets the paci, but only when he's sleeping.  So many nights he's so excited that it's paci time, he'll give up the bath.

He fell about 6 months ago maybe, on the tile floor in the kitchen and knocked his front right tooth a bit loose.  There was blood and a lot of tears.  He even got to go to the dentist!  The dentist said it would basically either get worse or get better and time would tell.  It turned a little gray and I was pretty worried we were going to have a snaggletooth but it didn't last long and is white and normal looking again.  Thank goodness.  

Just like Jack, Max's favorite thing is for friends to come to his house.  They get soooo excited if someone is coming over for dinner or to hang out.  I love that they love being home and sharing our home with others.

He can count to 15 or so really well...after that sometimes he gets a few wrong and then starts to do well again at 18.  If he can't figure out the next number he'll look at you and say "next letter?"  He recognizes most of his letters as well.  I'd say he struggles with maybe 8-10 of them.  He's doing really well.  

He got a great report at his 2.5 year checkup!  He was 30.5 lbs and 37 inches tall.  Just over 50% for height and weight. He drinks more watered down juice than she (our wonderful pediatrician) would like, so we are tying to switch some of that over to milk and it's going pretty well.  

Anytime there's an unexpected noise, like my phone vibrating or something creaking in the house, he'll stop what he's doing and say "hear that noise?"  Then you have to tell him what it was and he'll move on.  I don't think he's scared really - just curious.  

He never took to a blankie like Jack did but has carried this little white baby tiger around for quite some time.  Grams and Gramps bought it for him at the circus last year I think and sometime this winter he became attached.  We took "baby ti-gair" on a walk to the library one day and unfortunately he didn't make the trip home.  We re-traced our steps and talked with the library folks to no avail.  Fortunately Grams and Gramps found another one on the internet and saved the day.  In the meantime, Max became attached to "Momma ti-gair" who was a much larger version (i.e. harder to manage since she's about half Max's size).  So now he often needs Momma ti-gair and all of his "babies."  He has a baby lion, a baby bear from Barbados, Curious George and Max from Where the Wild Things Are.  Every night I put him in his crib and he tells me he needs all his babies to go night night too. I have to pile them all up around his pillow before he can sleep and every morning Kenny has to carry Max and all of his babies downstairs.  He also still sleeps with a bandaid.  Every night.  It must be an Angry Bird bandaid too.  He just holds it and plays with it.  Moves it from one spot to another.  So strange.  I hope they don't stop making them any time soon.  I've tried to substitute other kinds to no avail.  

He loves his big brother and most of the time, they play really well together.  But let's not forget Max is two and often wants to be in charge.  Jack tolerates it most of the time, but definitely gets frustrated at times.  But Max is lucky to have a big brother like Jack...the other night we went to Chick-fil-A for dinner and afterwards, they were playing in the playground there.  It's a giant climbing maze that ends in a slide and Max isn't quite big enough to navigate it alone.  It's not big enough for parents to get in, so we have to rely on Jack to boost him up to the next step and guide him, which Jack gladly does.  But after a few minutes, a rambunctious bunch of older kids came in to play and were barreling up the maze.  Jack was trying to help Max get to the top when they came in and Jack grabbed Max, got him out of their way and told the big kids, in no uncertain terms, "Watch out for the little kids, guys.  He's only 2.  Be careful."  Once they'd passed, he let Max go and went back to helping him up the maze.  I might have gotten a little teary in the Chick-fil-A playground.  

We love you Maps Oliver and love learning more and more about who you will be every day!  Thanks for being ours!

FIVE

Jack Lion turned FIVE a couple of weeks ago!  We celebrated the heck out of it with 5 of his best friends  on the day before his birthday and spent the actual day enjoying it as a family.  It was a weekend full of reminders that I'm oh so glad that he's ours...

He loves being outside.  Spring can't come soon enough.  This is the first year he's had actual gloves, instead of mittens (WHY don't they make gloves for little tiny kids?  They all HATE mittens.) and he has loved them so much.  He wears them all the time.  I am fascinated that he has not lost them.  I should clarify...that he has found them every time that he has lost them.  They kind of look like the have spider webs on the palms.  I think that's what makes them so cool.  Max is quite jealous of the gloves.

He loves Max and Max loves him.  Sure, they get on each other's nerves and they fight over things, but they also have the VERY best time together.  I remember being so worried, the night before Max was born, that Jack was going to be so upset that I had to divide my time with him.  And I'm sure at times he is.  But I honestly think Max was the greatest gift he could ever get.  They are so very different, but Jack is such a great big brother.  In fact, last week when Jack got to take cupcakes to school for his birthday, he went and got Max from the Orange Bird classroom and brought him to the Yellow Bird room to have cupcakes with them.  He's a good big brother.

He can write and read and count to a zillion.  He's smart.  Have you met his dad?  This doesn't surprise me, but it does still fascinate me.  Today in the car he told me all about Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation.  I'm not even kidding.  Fascinating.  And listening to him read, never ever gets old.  Watching them walk for the first time is exciting but they really kind of figure that out all on their own.  I didn't teach him to read, but we did teach him letters and sounds and we read him no fewer than 3 million books. So you feel like maybe you had some sort of impact on it I guess.  I don't know, but I love it.  He's even really pretty good at math and loves it. He loves adding things.  Again, have you met his dad? I take zero credit for this.  But I'm glad, because best I can tell, math is kind of important and hard to avoid, so you might as well like it,

He also still loves to draw. 
A lion on a giraffe's back:

 A map to all of his favorite places.  If you look closely you'll see Virginia Tech, Liverpool, our house, Grandma's house, Grams, Gramps and Unk's house, Emory and Ellie's house, an airplane and the beach. And a few good games of tic tac toe for good measure.

The Liverbird - Liverpool's logo.

 Part crab, part octopus, part snake.

He drew these, cut them out and hung them up, all alone.  I did tear the tape off the roll, but that's all.
He is also very practical.  Have you met his mother? :)! 

He loves school.  He loves his teachers and his friends and learning.  He organizes games of soccer and football, depending on the season, on the playground.  He thinks he owns that school, or at least runs it.  He knows it inside and out and feels so very much at home there.  When people ask me if I'm scared to send him to kindergarten, I answer with a very strong YES.  I'm not scared he won't get there or will be lost or won't have friends.  I'm scared that they don't know us and they don't know Jack.  I'm scared that he won't be looked after like he is at his school now.  I'm scared he won't feel as loved and we'll lose part of his spunk.  But I know it has to happen and I'm just happy that he'll still get to start and end his day with his other family. And I'm really excited about all of the new things he will learn there and all of the new friends he will make.

He loves Wild Kratts, the tv show. It's half animal documentary, half animated show about that same animal.  It's pretty interesting and quite educational.  Do you know what a caracal is? I do now.  He doesn't like movies because they all have bad guys in them.  And it's true.  I'm a little bit the same way. I don't like anxiety and watching people in bad situations gives me a lot of it.

He loved football until it ended and now he lives and breathes soccer.  He'll start in the Little Kickers program at school in April and then in the Fall will hopefully play on the Munford team.  He's really looking forward to that.  If the weather is remotely reasonable he's begging his Daddy to go play soccer with him.  It is ALL that he wants to do.  
(This picture might sum up his idea of the perfect morning (and mine too!)...we met Emerson and his family at a park in the Fan and they played lots of soccer.  It was a day we didn't have to wear coats and the sun was shining and everyone was happy and life was so very good.)

He loves the color green.

He loves couscous and peanut butter apple butter sandwiches and pesto pasta and cheese pizza and yogurt.  But the yogurt must be greek, vanilla and plain white.  He also loves milk and drinks a LOT of it.  Probably too much.  He is not a huge eater and must be coerced with the promise of a chocolate treat in order to clear his plate most nights.  I know, I know, that's probably a bad idea, but it's the only thing that works and we have tried them all.  He won't eat much meat - maybe 1 chicken nugget and 1 fish stick a month.  I do not know what we would do if he didn't like peanut butter.  He's very skinny.  5 slims fit great for length but still have to be cinched up in the waist.  He has to have 5 t shirts for length as well.  But he still doesn't weigh 40 lbs.  39.5 lbs to be exact.  And 42 inches tall.  He got a glowing review from his pediatrician at his 5 year old check up.

He's happy.  If not, he's tired.  There's no two ways about it.  He still naps on the weekends and occasionally at school.  But it's dwindling.  What used to be a 4 hour nap on the weekend is 1.5-2 if you're lucky.  But that's ok.  He still sleeps about 10.5 hours at night.

He still loves his blankie and sucks his thumb.  Only when he's tired though.  It's ok by me...I get it.  I sucked my thumb forever too.

He still wears a pullup to bed at night but is dry almost every morning.  We hate changing sheets in the middle of the night so we don't push it.  But he's a sound sleeper and I'm just not sure he's quite there.

He will sometimes ask me to stop what I'm doing and snuggle with him on the couch.  And yes, I stop, whatever it is, and go snuggle.  He promises me he will never stop wanting to snuggle with me. I hope he means it.  I also still snuggle with him every night before bed.  Sometimes I feel rushed to get other things done, but I really feel like it's a special time, not to be rushed.  He tells me lots of things during this time and I remind him how much I love him and why I'm so proud of him.

He didn't ask for anything for his birthday.  We got him a new bike, because he needed a bigger one and Max needed the smaller one.  And he was really excited, but he didn't ask for anything.  

We had decided on a football party some time ago...perhaps the week of the Superbowl.  We picked out a really neat cake and I asked the cake lady to make it.  I ordered football plates and napkins and such.  Everything was done.  The week before the party the kids and I were at Target and we walked past a pinata and Jack said he'd really like to have a pinata at his birthday party.  I told him that was a good idea but we'd look for a football one, since that one was shaped like a donkey.  He looked at me and said "Football?  Why football Momma?  I don't like football. I like soccer.  I want to have a soccer party!"  WHAT?  We agreed that perhaps we could have a combination football/soccer party and left it at that and then I spent the week trying to change everything I could to soccer.  Thankfully Grandma was on it and saved the day and the sweet lady who was making the cake turned the football into a soccer ball with no trouble!

He loves to say silly things like, "skunk hotdog" or "chicken nugget momma."

He has asked a LOT of questions recently about "when they cut you open to get the baby out."  I can't quite tell where it is coming from but have tried to answer them to the best of my knowledge and have given him no additional details.

He laughs with all he has.

He has always called cupcakes pupcakes.  We tried to correct him the first 100 times but it didn't work so we left it alone and came to call them that ourselves.  This year his teacher told him they weren't pupcakes, and he came home and asked in the most sincere way..."Miss Enid says they aren't pupcakes.  They are CUPcakes.  Is that right Momma?"  It took all Kenny and I had. It's the last thing he says wrong, except sometimes he still says prayground instead of playground...but we told him the truth.  It was hard.

He recently got a belt and he loves it and wants to wear it at all times.  It makes him look older I think.  It's super cute though.  

Kenny took the boys out to Dunkin Donuts the other morning.  One opened very close to school and Jack had been begging to go for months.  So they went and got a box of munchkins.  There were too many for them to eat so they decided to take the rest to school and share them with the teachers.  Nothing makes Jack happier than getting to give his teachers something special.  He was more excited about that than getting to eat them himself.  He's got a big heart.

I'm not gonna lie - realizing how old he is makes my heart ache a little bit.  But watching him learn and grow is the greatest gift one could ever get.  You can't have one without the other, so I guess I have to settle for him getting older.  I am so VERY thankful that he is happy and healthy and smart and sweet.  And thankful for all that he continues to teach me and the better person he helps me to become every day.   I love you Jack Lion.  

He can read!

I don't know how this happened.  How did he go from this:

to this:



in the blink of an eye?  

I have no idea...but here he goes!  A whole new world just opened before his very eyes tonight.  He is so excited and we're so excited for him. Though I'll admit there might have been a tear in my eye while I was recording this.  We went to our neighborhood school's kindergarten open house this week too, and he moved into size 5 pants (though only for the length, we have to get slims with an adjustable waist and cinch them all the way up!).  SLOW IT DOWN!!

SNOW

3 times in one week!  That's about enough, in my opinion, but Jack has really loved it!  Max...not so much.  Mostly because he doesn't want to wear all the gear.  I'm so very thankful their Daddy loves the snow and will throw snowballs with them and build snowmen.  I prefer to be inside and warm but I do love watching it all through the window! 

I made Jack some hot chocolate after the last snow and he pretty much LOVED it.  It was so much fun to watch him enjoy it.  I bet I took 50 pictures of him drinking.  He was just so excited!

Cute snow pictures obtained, come on SPRING!  I am ready!!