Warning : PG-13

It seems like lately, every day around 5 PM, Jack starts to disrobe. He takes his shirt off and runs around. I'm not really sure what it is about this time of day. Perhaps our house gets particularly hot in the late afternoon. At any rate, it's pretty funny when Dave gets home from work to find his son half naked. Fortunately Jack doesn't get his drawers off with as much ease as his shirt!!

The Vocal Stylings of Mr. JTA

Check out these dulcet tones...

One of the greatest joys I've experienced from being a parent is being able to take in the world through my son's eyes. The innocence of childhood is so sacred. I love that Jack finds happiness in the smallest things: an ice cream cone, a bird chirping, a heavy rainfall. I also love that when he surveys the world he finds more similarities than differences. All of a sudden Jack is fascinated by airplanes. He is constantly pointing to the sky and yelling, "Airpane, airpane." The other day we were up in his room and he found a little whale toy. He picked it up and started zooming around the room yelling, "Airpane!" He was right. It did look like an airplane. Similarly, when we went for a walk one day and spotted a big St. Bernard, he cried out, "Mooooo. A cow, a cow." Wouldn't it be nice if we could all be a little more like that? Instead of constantly trying to point out differences, we could try and find similarities?

Sorry Matt...

When Dave's dad visited he bought Jack this basketball hoop. As you can see, Jack loves it. Do hockey and basketball seasons coincide?

When You're Smilin'...

The Rain in Spain Stays Mainly in the Plain

Anyone who really knows me knows I have a penchant for musicals. On more than one occasion I've found myself relating my life to a musical (sad but true). Yesterday I happened to have a Henry Higgins moment. If you've seen "My Fair Lady" you probably remember the famous library scene with Henry (Rex Harrison) and Eliza (Audrey Hepburn). He is her ruthless teacher, the dialect coach, who forces her to repeat speech exercises ad nauseaum. After countless hours of practice, right when Henry is about to throw in the towel, he hears Eliza exclaim in perfect English, "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain." Henry slowly rises from his armchair in disbelief and says, "Again." The scene culminates with Eliza finally mastering her task. Later Henry dances around singing, "We did it, we did it."

So now flash forward to my Higgins moment. I was sitting in the rocker in Jack's room; again and again I kept saying, "Back in bed, time for your nap." Each time, Jack would climb into bed, put his head down for a minute and then jump out. He slowly started to take longer pauses between his escapes though. And then, all of a sudden, he put his head down and.....fell ASLEEP! He took his first nap in a real bed! This was the moment! I slowly sat up from the arm chair just like Henry Higgins to make sure it had really happened. You probably think I'm making this up but in my head I was singing, "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain!!!" I probably danced my way out of the room. It's been a long few days and my patience was wearing thin. And after two hours of saying the same phrase I was getting a bit delirious. But, HE DID IT!!! Let's hope today is as good as yesterday!

Here's a little Audrey for your Friday...

Tuckered Out

The transition from crib to bed has been a challenging one. Jack really hasn't been taking naps so he tends to be a bit cranky during the day. Several times during the last few days he has just fallen asleep on the couch or the floor due to exhaustion. He looks so peaceful when he is sleeping--especially these days! He has for the last two nights slept successfully in a "big boy" bed. I think he's so tired by bedtime that he pretty much goes down without a fight. He also started to get the concept today when I repeatedly told him to go back to bed because it was naptime. Of course, every time he climbed out of bed he retrieved a new toy. Then he'd play with it for a few minutes, throw it on the floor and say, "Uh-oh." We're getting there slowly but surely.

"Grandpa, You Really Need to Diversify Your Portfolio"

Playground with Grandpa

It's really nice to have a playground around the corner. Unfortunately these days I need a team with me when I want to take Jack. There has to be someone to follow him climbing and another person to wait for him at the bottom of the slides! Jack loves going there and especially loved when his grandfather accompanied us this weekend.

"I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream!"

We had a great weekend with Dave's dad. Jack was totally showing off for his grandpa! It was pretty hot in Buffalo on Saturday so we went down to the waterfront to grab lunch and of course, ice cream. It's gotten to the point that we have to spell the words because if Jack hears us mention ice cream he starts throwing a tantrum. More pics to come!

Break On Through To The Other Side...

It's finally happened! The day I was dreading is now upon us.

On Friday I put Jack down for his nap and started tending to some household items. I had the baby monitor with me and was downstairs. I thought for a second I heard footsteps but I assumed it was my mind playing tricks on me. I went upstairs and started cleaning our bathroom. All of a sudden I heard a doorknob turning. I opened the door to Jack's room and found a little boy on the opposite side with a huge grin on his face. He had managed to get out of his crib without even a thud. He also decided to rearrange some things in his room and take off his shorts. I'm not looking forward to the weeks ahead. Jack does not stay in the crib now so consequently yesterday he had no naps (he used to take two a day!).

Here are some pics:

The other day Dave set up a kiddie pool for Jack (it was a gift from his Grandma Toni). My lens got a little cloudy so the picture quality isn't the greatest. Still, when you look at these pics you have to wonder who was enjoying the kiddie pool more. I think Dave got in more pool time this day. Jack wanted to be a spectator.

Zoo Trip

This year we decided to get a zoo membership. It's great because we can go anytime we want and also not feel guilty if we only spend a couple hours there. Dave hadn't been there yet this year so we went over the holiday weekend. We're lucky that we only live a couple minutes away! Jack seemed more into it this time. Maybe it was because his dad was there.

Daniels Visit

We were lucky enough to get to see the Daniels family as they embarked on their journey to Cincinnatti. You know you have good friends when they're willing to stop by with a full moving truck and two little ones to say hello. Rodney is starting his fellowship and thus they are on to greener pastures. I can say that with confidence because I've seen the pictures of their townhouse and it is drop dead gorgeous. Seriously, I'm so jealous and can't wait to visit. I love some of the pics below! Congrats to them!! I keep thinking of that moment in Christmas Vacation where cousin Eddie pulls up with the family and his RV and says, "It's a good vehicle, ain't it? But don't you go falling in love with it now. Cause we're taking it with us when we leave here next month..."

Be warned: we might just show up at that beautiful home of yours one day. :) Haha.








"Breaker, we have a situation...."

Some Pics from My B-day...

Jack and Aunt B.

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

My family came to our house on Friday! Kevin brought with him a special gift for Jack. He's such a thoughtful guy that he also had a similar item made for Nicole.