Teeth

Jack officially has the twenty teeth he is supposed to. He has deep spots in his big teeth in the back (so I think we are going to have to make sure we brush them really well). His bottom incisors were a little dirtier than others.

And I can say that Jack and DeeDee together had a ball finding all of this out!



DeeDee is a Dental Hygienist and today was my appointment for a teeth cleaning (oh, how I love having this done!!). It was definitely time for Jack Jack to come along, as long as DeeDee didn't hook him with any of her tools! I picked Jack up a little early from school and as we walked in, there DeeDee was waiting for us. She beamed as soon as she saw me, ahem, I mean Jack!

First Jack HAD to get a drink, for he was so thirsty, so during our trip to the restroom, I spotted some rinsing cups, and we filled one up a few times. He wuved his wittle cup. And back to the room we went. I was up first.

I cozied into the recline as Jack stood at the foot of the chair and watched every move each of us made. He then decided he was going to come up on the chair with me so he could see. So, Jack crawled up and layed down on top of me, with his arms crossed beneath his chest to hold him up and then he would scoot closer and closer and I had actually two faces right in mine! At one point he held his nose because he could smell the cinnamon toothpaste! I would have given anything to have a picture of that. I hope that is a scene I will never forget.

After I was finished, Jack willingly and excitedly climbed up in the chair for his turn.











And meeting Mr. Thirsty...



I had to scoot out of the room to have the dentist work a little bit on my retainer, so I missed the rest of the event. But I definitely came back to a happy boy and a happy DeeDee.



The three of us then went out to lunch together and upon asking Jack what is favorite part of having his teeth cleaned was, he said the water thing. Debbie and I were then talking about how well he swished, didn't swallow anything, and would let the vacuum thing take it away. It is awkward for me, so I wondered how he would do. He then got a sad look on his face, and admitted that he did swawwow a wittle bit of date, um.... fertilizer! Fluoride has changed quite a bit since I was a little girl, so it was okay that a little bit slipped down!

Without a doubt, this was a SUPER positive visit to the dentist and I am more than pleased with Jack's behavior and patience. Next visit we are scheduled for a teeth cleaning, x-rays, and officially meeting the dentist, so I know Jack will love that! I think he is a definite fixture with Daddy and me for our visits from here on out. And I think that would be a perfect idea in his DeeDee's mind, too!

Thought I would share...

We got a new vacuum and it is really being used.



We have been looking everywhere for one just like this. No woud motor, no cords, no nothing, just some serious steering power.

And Jack is addicted.

And I promise I didn't get it for Jack to do, though it is a total bonus.

I thought it would be an easier way to clean up rugs and such without getting the big boy out.

What I love about these pictures, though, is Jack's tongue sticking out in the above shot. It drives me nuts in person, but here it is really cute. And that robe, I just cannot get enough of it. And Jack's new $5 slippers from Walmart that couldn't have possibly made him any happier.



...and there he goes!

Pics from Jack's Teacher

Halloween Revisited

Here's my baby at his first Halloween and the night he sat up all by himself. He was of course, a Jack-o-lanturn.



And then he was the UPS man.



And last year, he was a Fireman.



And now I can't wait for it to dry out so we can head to a football field around here!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

It was another rainy day and night in Georgia, but Jack was still as pumped as ever to get into his football man outfit! We had a birthday party to go to that afternoon and then trick-or-treating. I have to officially mark this year as the first year Jack knew what was going on.

He has been scared of ghosts, telling me that there were ghosts upstairs in our house, to which I told him there are no ghosts, and that it is Daddy's job to make sure nothing like that is in our home. Just yesterday he told me that he was the one keeping everything safe for Niki, Daddy, and me. He has not liked the scary creatures in Halloween stores when we drive by them and the other night, when I had to run in one and he and Daddy sat in the car waiting, he had a million questions for Daddy about this one manikin (don't know if that is what you call it) that had blood on it, was in a spider web, and had no feet, clearly they had been cut off. Basically, we told him it was pretend and they just forgot to put his feet on!

He has been totally excited, however, about being a football player, and he whipped out to someone just yesterday, a Pittsburgh Steeler! Love the detail! He has also been excited about saying Trick-or-Treat, Thank you, and getting candy! And the kid doesn't even really love candy!

Jack had a fun time at his friends' birthday party to start the festivities. He grinned and giggled the entire time getting dressed with his fancy socks, shoes, shirt, pants, and helmet. We even got him a bite guard and he calls it his betainer (just like my retainers!). We did have to leave early, for it was during his nap and there was no way I was going to face Halloween night with no nap. Here are some of his favorite party favors from the bag, kazoo is in hand, but the teeth+kazoo=tons of fun for him!







I think he honestly zoned due to being tired, but fell in love with all of their toys, they had all kinds of Batmobiles, Aircraft Carriers, Pirate Ships, and real BOY stuff! That kept him 100% entertained, that and the big pirate skeleton that when you touched his gross toenail, he moved and danced. There was also a hairy skeleton head that dropped down from a door jam that he loved.

After nap and some food, it was time to get ready again!









And Jack had a visitor who had to come and see what her boy looked like on Halloween!



And here we were showing who was #1 - check out Jack's fingers - what a goof ball!



So the guys went trick-or-treating together, just up and down the street a little bit...



...and Jack came back with SO MUCH CANDY! That is what he said, and there were probably 20 pieces in there. He did go through 3 Blow Pops, which is what we handed out, and he was perfectly happy and though he did enjoy his trick-or-treating, he l.o.v.e.d. handing out the candy and I started hearing him talk to the kids like I was! HA! He would ask them who they were and to this particular one, he said, Ohhhh, you're a ducky, how COOL! He cracks me up. Big time.



Some funny things he did say, though, happened when we came inside to wait for visitors. One got here without us seeing and he rang the doorbell. Jack quickly opened the door and said, Remember we cannot ring the doorbell!!! This is because Niki goes nuts and the kid always wants to ring ours, so I guess Jack does hear over and over what we tell him! Another one came and we didn't see them coming up and Jack opened the door and put his hands out and sadly said, We don't have anymore candy. He thought this because the bowl wasn't outside anymore. I came in with it and everyone was happy again.

Once things did start to die down, we turned off the lights and blew out the candles in the Jack-o-lantern, and it never fails, there were a couple last groups that still came and rang the bell. And Niki went nuts. And I told them we were all finished, that is why our lights were off. Mean lady. I am seriously thinking about dressing up as a witch next year.

But it happened again. I was in the shower and Jack was already in bed. And Jason, of course, gave the kids some candy. Softy!

Jack was then upstairs calling for me and he wanted to know what had happened. So the two of us layed there just talking and he asked me if those boys that came to the door asked his Daddy where that football player was. I could not stop laughing. I love that his world is all about him right now.

And I love that he enjoys holidays, like me. I now, really, can't wait to see him this Christmas.

Pumpkin Carving

And boy, was Jack excited. He wanted to do everything, however wouldn't touch a thing. The gook, as we called it, was too much for him! And though I thought that would be my job, Jack's Daddy, surprisingly handled it exceptionally well...Jason can't STAND to get dirty!













And we did end up trying to bake the pumpkin seeds, however they did not turn out well at all. But, Jack did eventually touch the clean seeds and even tried one. I was proud of him.

And our Jack-o-lantern officially resembles our Jack!

Class Halloween Party

This year in Jack's class all the parents are invited to join in on the fun for all of the parties. Today was so cute.

I pulled into the church parking lot and saw Jack clear up top on the playscape and he saw our car right away. He grinned from ear to ear. I love that he does love his Mommie! I put down the window and he immediately called out, Are you here to get me?! The kid was clearly not ready to go yet! I said that I was there for his party.

They all went in and washed hands and immediately went with a book to their carpet square. By the way, the teachers have everything labeled with the kids' names on them. I am so happy we named this kid, JACK, how easy is it going to be for him to learn that name?!? HA!



One of the teachers also read a book to them and I was THRILLED to see Jack actively participate in that this year. He was right up front, rather than as far back as possible like last year and he was excited about it.



From there, they all went to find their places at the tables based on their names being on their cups. They had healthy snacks and some fun treats, too. CANDY NECKLACES! I think that was the best part of the whole party for my guy.





As the craft, they decorated masks, and when Jack finished his first (he only wanted/needed two stickers on it) his teacher took him over to the mirror to check it out.







And then the attempt for a class picture...







Then they decorated Trick-or-Treat bags



And onto some class songs. The last song they sang was all about what a spider does, running in place, swimming, hopping, and when it got to the dancing part, the teacher said, And Jack, this one is for you! And he cut.a.rug.









A couple moms told me that their sons come home talking about Jack. That made my heart sing for sure. In fact, one can't stop talking about Jack being a football player for Halloween. It is so funny to hear what the kids hang onto.

Biolin

It is NOT a violin...pronounced by Jack...biolin. And like I said before he wants one. With a case. And he wants it bad. Along with a drum set. And I am not quite sure how we are going to handle that one.

Yesterday morning, Sesame Street, had all kinds of things on the show about the orchestra, songs, and a little girl taking biolin lessons. So Jack got his. He went into the laundry room, got the paper towel rod off the side of the sink and played away. He was humming at the top of his lungs (notice the nostrils in the picture below) and strumming (is that what you do on a violin?!?) away.





Here he was taking it all in...



And then putting it all together (I caught him following directions!!!)...



I may seriously need to start Jack in some type of music class or something.

Don't get SCARED!!!

It is getting SPOOKY around here...









I think those are just so cute!

And here is a little science/sequence of events activity - love it, too!

Adventure sleeping worked!

Jack AND Niki slept together last night. First night ever and I think they both loved it! And at 7:15 this morning, I heard Niki shaking and Jack calling for me. SUCCESS.

Jason and I slept on the mattress out in the living room and though a queen size mattress is quite a bit smaller than a king, we made it.

And now Jack loves his special spot!



And I think this is where he will choose to be today to watch tv and play. And if I were to bet on it, I think Niki will, too.



Now windows are finally and officially open for the day...

New floors!

Today the guys came, ripped up the carpet in the upstairs hallway and on our landing (we have split level stairs). It looks awesome and Jason and I both couldn't be happier.







So, this morning, Jack had school and I had my last Love and Logic class (which I feel like I have learned a ton from...but will probably do it again, to make sure it sticks to memory!!). After that, Jason told us to head to my parents' house FOR SURE. He said with all the banging and stuff, there would be NO way for Jack to sleep. So we picked up Subway and took a nap...the two of us together...until 4:30 when Mena came in to check on us. It was a Rainy Day in Georgia (what's new it seems...) and a perfect afternoon for some cuddling for sure.

We then loaded the Pappap Bus with all the new kitchen cabinets for the place in Florida and CAN'T WAIT to see them down there next Wednesday! We will be flying there and back and I just keep hoping for a much better flight there and back with some nice people. I am hoping for my boy's health, too.

When we got back home, the fun began. We checked out Daddy's contraption to keep Niki downstairs for three days and the new floors. Like I said, they look incredible. What a difference it has already made!

So, Jack is tucked in tight to the downstairs bedroom, and Jason and I are about to pop the mattress on the floor from the room upstairs. I know Jack will LOVE seeing that in the morning!

And it is really something to realize how much space you really need.

Sneek Peek

Here's a little insight into our family pictures tonight...



That is what Jack wore, plus in some shots, he wore a cream sweater. Jason wore nearly the same thing as Jack here. And those are my boots, which Jack dearly loves. I wore just a khaki dress. I can't wait to see the proofs. Jack's personality was out in FULL FORCE tonight and he could tell that the photographer was eating it up.

We started at the very top of Kennesaw Mountain, walking up a pathway to the very top, then back down to a grassy field that Jack loved playing in, and another field that Jack could just run in.

We got a glance at a few which left me wanting more!!!

The picture above was taken when we got home way too late for the boy.

Some things I will remember from today:
How much I love my guys dressing alike
Grasshoppers
Origami
Jack's shirt NOT staying tucked in
How much the boy wanted to wear a belt...so I went to buy a pair of pants with belt loops for him
Jack's new infatuation with tights
Spider webs freak Jack out
Thoughts of ghosts
My contacts on Jack's sink so we can see what they look like in the morning
Sweet kisses

Numbers and Pigs

This just in today from school:



This kid loves to count, loves to do stamps, and loves the animals he stamped with. I love this work!

Also just in today from school:

We were notified that there has been a case of the Swine Flu in our class. PLEASE say an extra little prayer for these kids' health...and of course, Jack Jack's. His immune system isn't running on all four here lately.

Picture Opp After All

This morning, as I was getting out all the Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, Jack had to get his hands on his Mena's OLD John Deere. It was so funny. The first thing he showed me is how the tractor tipped over...just like in the movie, Cars. Then his wandering mind took off. He asked if that was the same kind of tractor they use for a hayride. Absolutely. So we got some "hay" to put in the trailer. He then asked if in the back was the step that someone could get down. Absolutely. Then he asked if there were any people to drive the tractor or to ride in it. Hmmm. Good question. Jack answered it for himself. He got his Little Einsteins team and there they went.

...and a later note...

That night, I told Jack not to touch a single thing, everything was all set up for the shower and he could play with all the vehicles tomorrow. Well, after putting him to bed, check out what I found!

Ramdom thoughts for a Friday Morning

I have been a little busy trying to get things done this week, go to appointments here and there, and make meetings, so sadly the camera hasn't made it off the shelf. It definitely will this weekend, for there are great things planned with friends!

But here are just a few random thoughts I would like to remember about this week.

Wednesday, Jack woke up from his nap and I found him standing behind my office chair, absolutely silent, blanket and cattie in hand. It startled me to say the least. He asked me, What was that woud noisie that woke me up?! I told him that I was so sorry, but I don't remember hearing one. I asked him if he thought it was a big jet (his favorite). He said, No - I sink it was a spaceship. A reawy woud one, It went reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee (motioning over our house). A spaceship up in space. Love his brain and I love the influence of Curious George.

Jack wuvs his Mommie again. We rarely part. If I go upstairs to get an old cup of coffee, or to grab a load of laundry, or use the restroom, he is right there with me. Always. If I need to go run errands, he says, Can I go wif you?! A really sweet one is if Jason takes him up for his nap, because like I said, I have been doing a lot this week, Jack will look at me with his held tilted to the side in his ever-so-sweet voice, Will you tuck me in?! And I have posted before how Jack hides under his blankets when I go up to get him from nappy or morning time, well, if it is Jason that goes in there right now, Jack freaks out. NO, I WANT MOMMIE. Mommie's Boy.

Jack is still totally stuck on the motorcycle, drum set, and violin that he put up on the refrigerator. (The word TRUCK is on there, because he also wants the truck that we "got for Daddy's friend's boy.)



He tells me that he will ride the motorcycle, I will drive the pank car, and Daddy will drive the red sports car. I like that he likes us to be altogether, too!

And just this morning, I told Jack that I slept with my new betainers (retainers - mine broke after 16 years!! and DeeDee's dentist totally saved the day!). He got SO excited and asked, Your pank ones?! I told him yes and he grinned wildly, Did day tickle you?!? He talks about things tickling his mouth when they taste really good.

Christmas time is coming

And so have the US Mail trucks, Fed Ex, and UPS with things that I have ordered for Jack. And excitedly I showed Jason a truck that came.

Then life happened. I gut busy with the weekly shipment, he went to get Jack from school.

And my guys came back. One in particular found the truck sitting there, right in the middle of the floor. Open for the world to see. And he wanted it. He really wanted it.

There was quite a scene and Jack's Daddy thought on his feet, I will tell you. He said that we got that for his friend's son for his birthday, blah blah blah. Jason then got to the point about if it was something that he liked, he could ask Santa for it for Christmas. We then got into the whole, being a good boy thing, and sitting on Santa's lap and stuff.

I was just about to tell Jack it was for him and give it to him right then and there, and Jason totally swooped in. Thankfully.

I am so sad though, that I ruined the surprise of this particular truck. It is so awesome. So not cool, but I have definitely learned a lesson that will last my lifetime.

Today just so happened to be a day that I got several different toy catalogs in the mail, so Jack and I looked through them after all the craziness happened. He has picked three more things out that he would like from Santa. The first is a motorcycle he can ride on. He thinks that would be reawwy great! Then the would like a drumset. He said he liked that you could sit on dat stool and pway da drums. And finally, there was a violin. There were actually two different ones, one was $99 and the other was $18. He really wanted the $99 one because it wooks real and it has a case.

Oh, goodness.

The Conductor

Jack has been going through his second round of obsession with trains. He likes to sound like them, he likes to "drive" his toy ones, he even likes to make trains with as many freight cars as possible. Jack even likes to run one of his Thomas trains over our carpet to see how long he can make the tracks. We love to see them coming out in the "real world" and we love to see them going. We even try to guess what is on each car.

Yesterday afternoon, he had to have on his conductor hat and work gloves and he was busy busy busy working on the trains on his train table. He kept hollering, ALL ABOARD THE DOLLYWOOD, ALL ABOARD THE DOLLYWOOD!! This was the real train we rode when we were up in Gatlinburg.



And I just think he looks plain cute here.

Mother's Impressed

Wow. I don't know when Jack got spacial sense with drawing, nor do I know when he learned to draw a face. But I am impressed. Really impressed.

The above picture he drew is him...head, eyes (don't mistake them for eggs!!), nose, mouth, and two ears. Wow, like I said.

He did one of me, too, that looked quite similar, but he was as happy and proud as could be to show me.

Make sure you click on the picture above to see it really well!

Berry Patch Farms

Saturday morning we headed to the pumpkin patch with Ruby and her mother, but without Cameron and his. We have GOT to find some magical healthy wand out here to heal all these sick kiddos. We sure missed him a lot, but Ruby and Jack still got excited to see each other. So.cute.

It was a COLD 50 degrees, with no sun, and only the most random sprinkle, but man, did that cold get in our bones. We had heavy coats on, gloves (thanks to Ruby's mom!!), but wow.

First up was the hay ride! Jack loved being pulled by the tractor and I really do think we could have just done that the whole time we were there. Saturday night, upon putting him to bed, he said multiple times that the hayride was his favorite. As a matter of fact, he thinks we need to go on another one with Daddy!

The hayride took us out to the pumpkin patch, where we walk through one section and the kids all pick out one little pumpkin for themselves, we got to see cotton growing, and then all the pumpkins were there for us to find one very special one...





I love this one...too bad we didn't know it was rotten on the bottom before Jack tried with all his might to pick it up...gross!





And here were those sweet things by the scarecrow



We then went back on the hayride to get back to all the fun activities



There were little animals - chickens, pigs, goats, a calf, and a turkey





And then the most wonderful tractor that Jack was most serious about driving, until he looked up at me and stated, It doesn't work.







After a snack of some freshly popped popcorn and hopeful apple cider that they were out of on such a cold day, the kids definitely wanted their faces painted. Ruby got a skeleton and Jack got a ghost.



On the way home, Jack and I dined as two at my favorite Italian place where Jason and I used to live. It was such a lovely date together! He even said that their chicken was the best he'd ever had!

Now is when the memory making starts for my Jack...

Instrument Crush

Jack loves certain instruments - the tuba, trombone, and here again, the guitar. There are several things that could have inspired his love for music, and making it for that matter...



The Little Einsteins have been a consistent interest for probably 2 years now. A gradual development with them, of course, to the point now, where I will hear Jack shout, PRESTO!!, when he is going fast, and of course the discussion of different kinds of instruments. He even can tell me which note is a high one and which one is a low one. One of his favorite books is his instrument magazine that the guy at the music store gave him last fall when we went to look at a real tuba. He asks me to read it to him. It is funny, all it shows on each page are instruments, no words except for the description. But he loves to read it.

We have always listened to different kinds of music in the car, like country, 90s favorites, 60s, Mix, rather than movies. He will point out that he hears tubas, drums, or other sounds like that. And he tends to move with the beat. The kid's got rhythm. We will YouTube musical performances, and as you know, go see the marching band. So, he's exposed, I guess.

One of his biggest influences, however, is Miss Elizabeth at school, who uses her friend, Melody, her guitar, to teach her lessons. They sing a song along with the xylophone to get her out of her case...Me-lo-dy-come-out (going up the scale), and-sing-a-song-with-me (going down the scale). The other day, I heard all about how Melody came out and one of her strings was broken. It must have been an awful experience for Jack, because he was quite upset.

Jack's guitar strings are broken, too. They came with an extra set and the guy at the music store said he would show us how to fix it and Jack has been talking about this for a week straight. So I found the strings, and along with it, A CASE for it that I didn't even know it came with!! Talk about being excited. Jack can carry it like Miss Elizabeth does Melody or he can wear it like a back pack.



I wish all of you could hear this guy giggling like crazy this morning!

Community Helpers

Here's some stuff coming home from Jack's class...he still tells me he isn't doing any art projects, so I am going to have to define what that is for him! They are talking about Community Helpers.

The love of a fireman:



And he did say he painted the fire...

Police Officers:



Doctors - and this one was quite cute...



...and then you turn it around!



Jack told me that a police man and a fireman are going to be coming to see him next week. He is SO excited!

Ahem...this evening

Ahem. I still can't get over it.

We have really been doing great around here lately. Behavior-wise that is. Really. I thought my little Love and Logic class at Jack's school was doing the trick.

Until disaster struck.

And I CRUMBLED.

I went to my old ways.

And I can't get it out of my head.

So here it is forever.

Mena and Pappap are finally home. This living in two places is really killing me. Well, they had to have a day with Jack and today was it. The kid woke up and immediately said to Daddy, Are day here yet?! It was 7:00 in the morning.

When I got to their house that afternoon to visit a bit myself with, my parents, not just Jack's Mena and Pappap, he was bad.

I don't know if he wasn't expecting me or wasn't ready to come home yet or just plain didn't want me there, but oh my goodness.

He talked OVER everyone. He zipped up and down Pappap's jacket. He didn't listen. He wouldn't follow directions. He cried like a baby. He even told me not to talk to his Mena while he was playing with him.

That was that. We packed it up. And I simply said that he would not be happy when we got home.

Now, Love and Logic went through my head at lightning speed. There were so many different ways I could have handled the various things at Mena and Pappap's. I guess that is why this week's homework is to write down as many situations as we can and we will discuss together options, i.e., get gameplans.

It was so bad that on the way home, Jack said to me, his Mother, I don't wike you.

My heart broke. It did. This three year old has so much of my heart in his hand, it is sick.

So, I said, (thanks Love and Logic) I am sorry you feel that way, Jack, because I sure do love you a lot.

He then said under his breath, Well, I wuv you too, I just don't wike you.

I got it. Ha.

I really think he was exhausted from such a big day.

The night didn't get any better. It actually got worse.

And it resorted to "old timey" measures, which literally and figuratively hurt both of us. I could have cried along with him. He is such a stinkin' good kid, I just wish he would show it to us like he does everyone else.

Anyway, Jack's Daddy came in to have a good discussion that lead to the decision that he couldn't have a story. We told him how much we hoped we could read one tomorrow night though. Hopefully he will be a good boy and we can pick a really good one. Jason said goodnight and I went in close. As I was going in Jack looked at me with that little grin and whispered, Will YOU read me a book?! What a rascal.

We then snuggled tightly, Jack and I laying on the bed talking about the things Mommies are supposed to do with their sons. We both had our arms wrapped around each other tightly. They are supposed to kiss them, hug them, read to them, learn letters together, and go shopping together and nothing mean because a Mommie's son is her special boy, her baby. He then told me he loved me and of course I told him how much I did too and that was that.

Being Jack's Mom, or a Mom at that, is by FAR the hardest and bestest thing I have ever done.

Underpants

Sooooo....

I went to get my hair done this afternoon and when I walked back in, Jason told me to be very quiet, that Jack had actually just gone down not too much earlier.

He said he had to go up there a few times and one in particular, he found Jack running around his bed with his underpants on his head.

WHAT?!?!

I can honestly tell you have have the visual and it is HILARIOUS!

Cat, Cars, and Ears

Yesterday, Jack got a "Feel me better" prize of a Cattie and the movie, Cars. He had been sporting a temperature since Thursday night, followed by a runny nose, and then a nasty cough. So, I couldn't think of anything else that would make him better.

Today, Jack was diagnosed with a double ear infection.

Though this blog isn't quite Jack's medical file at the doctor's office (which never seems to make it to the office, due to the fact that there are two Jack Myers...the other kid spells the last name differently...and the doctor comes in empty handed and we laugh about it each time!!), I have to say that here lately, it is a close run for second, however.

We got in to see Dr. Dixon this morning and I think it was all over my face...cure my kid.

So, at this point, no asthma issues, just the double ear infections, which is a good thing, because they can be cured with antibiotic. We are not a candidate for ear tubes, due to the fact that Jack's ear infections are curable after one round of antibiotics and he doesn't fit any other areas of a check list. Plus, the doctor confirmed that tubes won't prevent coughs or his sicknesses going to his chest. That made me happy. The cough he has now, sounds so much like the "asthmatic" one he has had over the past few weeks, but not categorized that due to the fact that there is no wheeze. Maybe I should get a stethoscope and figure out what a wheeze sounds like for myself!!

So, how is Jack's mother to know whether to take the kid to the doctor for ear infections, or to just pop out the albuterol breathing treatments I asked? Most likely the lasting fever. The asthma won't come with that. But our sweet pediatrician said not to ever hesitate bringing him in since this asthma thing is new for all of us with Jack. So 10 days of Augmentin here we come!!! Make my boy better...

...he has GOT to get out of this house and onto real life!

The C was Cool

After a BUSY week with the B last week, this week with the C was actually quite C (pronounced ca)-C-COOL!

We started the week off by watching the "Frog Channel" i.e. Letter Factory DVD. And after three weeks of viewing, with twenty-three more to go, the movie is really good. I am impressed with the sounds and tunes that Jack has whipped out.

We moved into a little art project, where Jack and I C-C-COLORED a rainbow together with C-C-CRAYONS. After I C-C-CUT the rainbow out, when we turned it to the side, it was the letter C!





Then, Jack got a prize. He got his very own pair of scissors so he could C-C-CUT some paper. He was thrilled and honestly, sat at our kitchen table for forty minutes just CUTTING and CUTTING. Oops, then he got his ring finger in the mix, repaired the injury with a bandaid, and he was back at it!



We went to the C-C-CAT store (PetSmart) to look at all the CATTIES. (I love that Jack calls them this and I know if we were to get a CAT right now, we would have to name it CATTIE). There was one that I absolutely loved, a little 12 week old CALICO, and there was a little 7 week old grey one that loved Jack. We just stood there, watched them eat, rub up on the sides for a little rub, and say meow. I think we were both in heaven!

We went to the library for some C-C-CAT books. We found only a few that were in, plus a few bonus C sound ones!









Together, Jack and I baked C-C-COOKIES. Jack loves to do it all by myself these days. Most of the time, it is honestly all I can take, due to the fact that it takes so long, and in the case of baking, quite messy, but, thanks to the class I am taking, isn't going to hurt anything. So, I let him do it. He especially loves to crack open the eggs. Today, Jack officially got to use the hand mixer. This is now, without a doubt, on that love list, too!



Jack then told me how much he liked to C-C-COOK! I died laughing, he actually said, C-C-COOK!

Well, the COOKIES flopped, so we went to the grocery store to pick up some good ole' Pilsbury COOKIE dough. They worked and we CUT out with our C-C-COOKIE CUTTERS the letter C, a C-C-CAR, and a C-C-CAT! Jack did the sprinklers.



The three of us went and saw the movie, C-C-CLOUDY with a Chance of Meatballs. I didn't love it.

We made C-C-CLOUDS out of C-C-COTTONBALLS.



Jack even played in the tub with gel C-C-CRAYONS. When his Daddy came up to see what was going on, Jack announced, I'm pwaying wif C-C-CRAYONS! I love that he's getting the sound the C makes! HA.

I still intend on looking for all the C magnetic block letters, like we will do every week, as well as all the foam C letters. I think we will break out the chalk again, and draw Cs on the board. I may even attempt to start with J-A-C-K. We will see how that goes.

We will also reread The Very Hungry C-C-CATERPILLAR



and play a C-C-CARD game we have that goes with the book



As you can tell, the C is quite C-C-COOL! And I am quite pleased, as well, that after only three weeks of this stuff, Jack-man is seeing letters everywhere when we are out and about, and is calling many of them by name. Plus, I think he is really digging the one-on-one REAL time together. I know I really am.

Thoughts of Tubas

This morning, as Jack came down the stairs, he had a huge grin on his face! First thing out of his mouth was, Why did day lay down der tubas?!

Now, we did go see the high school marching band practice last Tuesday, a week ago, to which as we left, they went on break, and Jack saw the tuba players put the tubas down on the blacktop when they went to get their water.

I explained, yet again, how heavy a tuba is and when the tuba players go on break, they need to give their tubas a rest, too. They can't carry them everywhere, they are just too big and heavy.

Jack thought about that one for a few seconds. He then came back with, Where do day put der tubas night night, when it's dark outside?!

How do you explain the design of a band room and all the different instrument compartments built into the wall? So I explained there were big cabinets especially for tubas. They are really big, too, much bigger than any cabinet we have at our house.

Guess we will be setting up an appointment to check out the bandroom!

October 5, 2009

Happy Half Birthday to you
Happy Half Birthday to you
Happy Half Birthday dear Ja-ack
Happy Half Birthday to you.

Jack was grinning madly as I sang this to him tonight as he stood, wrapped tightly, in his bath towel. I said he officially wasn't just three anymore, but he wasn't four yet either. He was right smack in the middle. Nearly to the minute, too.

Guess I need to get on party planning for Bithday #4! (Just kidding to those of you that rolled your eyes...I will probably wait until next month to do that...HA!)

Super Saturday

Could they be any sweeter?

Ruby had us over to her house this morning for a little get together and it was the most perfect morning ever. Only about 5 miles away from our house, we felt like we were in a totally different world. It was gorgeous. All we were told was to look for a little red house and take the gravel drive before it. We took this gravel drive, much to Jack's wonder, passed over a beautiful lake, and saw their home resting atop the hill. The land went on and on!

The sun was bright, the breeze was brisk, it was the most incredible fall day.

The kids played inside for a little bit with all of Ruby's toys.

Then we headed outside...



Here were Jack and Cameron having fun together on the swings...



The moms sat on the back porch sipping the most delicious hot berry tea just watching the kids play and play. They honestly all really like one another. And they all honestly get along so well together. And the three moms do, too! We had lunch there, some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, along with some fresh pickins' of tomatoes, bell peppers, and basil out of the garden. Jack didn't eat it, of course, but it was awesome just watching the kids go to the garden and getting some fresh goodies!



Then, random, Ruby's family friend, Swanson, came in for a visit...



It freaked the daylights out of me. There we were just sitting, taking it easy, the kids had just been right there, and POOF right out of the side of the house came the BIGGEST swan I had ever seen! He just wanted some lunch, but my oh my!





After all that excitement, the time to go came, but Jack was sure to show me the Gator (tractor) in the garage. Ruby's Daddy said that the next time we come over, they will be sure to get a ride! Jack hasn't been able to stop talking about it since. As a matter of fact, when he woke up from his nappy, Jack said, Let's go back to Ruby's! Once I explained that we couldn't, which was so funny, he looked at me with his head cocked to the side, Well, do you want to go shopping?!

HA!

We did find a few long sleeve polo shirts for him, finally! And finished our evening up together having dinner together at Subway. Oh, to get such kicks still.

It really was a super Saturday, one that will definitely be tough to top!

Art from School

Working with some of the themes the first month of school (three days Jack was there, I guess!)

When I first saw this one, I immediately figured they were working on circles, as well as the colors red, yellow, and green...



...and I asked Jack what he painted these wonderful circles with. He answered rather excitedly, APPLES!

The next one he didn't have much to say about. It looks like they probably had a big paintbrush at an easel with free choice?!?



The first reaction to this one from Jack was, CIRCLES! So, I can definitely assume that they were talking about the circle shape...



...but I do know there was a visit from Mother Goose, so that is a pretty neat combination for this project!

And I LOVE this real word stuff next:



How very neat! I would love to know what they did for hearing!!

Looks like the Jackster is participating a bit more with his art. Good boy.

Open House - Three's Class

I just love being in Jack's classroom. And I have since he was in the one's class. Could be getting into a classroom that is just "it" for me, but there is also something special being where Jack loves to be, too.

I walked in to find this book waiting for me:









I just laughed aloud. Really? Cheese and Mac & Cheese are some of his favorite things to eat? Jack. Remember your milk allergy?! HA. I love that his favorite color is PINK. He has been saying this a lot lately, I think he knows it is mine!! I love that his favorite place to go is WAFFLE HOUSE. Go, Daddy. I am impressed that he said he lives in a white and yellow house. I am not sure if we have ever talked about that before. And can't we talk about a BIG FOOT?! I am so glad those teacher captured that.

They had artwork proudly displayed all around the classroom - to which there was none of Jack's. I wasn't upset, by any means, just felt badly for the teachers because they were genuinely sad that Jack didn't have any up there. They said they try to make up work, and I IMMEDIATELY told them not to worry about it. How thoughtful, though. They did give me a few things, however, that he has done.

They have a few posters up with pictures they have taken for the past couple weeks. There was one of Jack painting with pudding and it was EVERYWHERE. I could tell it was something he really enjoyed. The one picture that totally sticks out in my mind is him standing there with two other kids in the class striking a pose with some 1980s cream high heels on! They are doing a shoe store right now, and that is what my man picked! He sure does love him some fancy shoes!

They had one bulletin board with family pictures all displayed, which I am sure those kids love. All the parents were looking at it, while introducing ourselves, and one family of a girl, said, "YOUR'RE Jack's mom. Jack is all we hear about. She says, Jack is so nice. Jack helps me." I guess he is really gentle with one little girl and helps her up and down stairs and stuff. That made me proud.

They took us through morning time, circle time, art time, center time (I was very impressed by this one and the activities they have already done), recess time, snack time, reading time, and everything.

What I was completely overwhelmed with, however, was how in love with these kids these two women are. It.was.awesome. Everytime they would go to tell us something the kids did, they would honestly, look at each other and giggle. By the things they said, their plans and hopes for the year, I can tell, without a doubt they are there for our kids. Period. They want them to learn (loved all the talk about numbers, letters, fine motors skills, etc!!). They want them to enjoy their time there.

All I can hope and pray for with my Jack is his health right now. I would love for him to be there to learn, grow, and be a successful guy. He loves to go, loves his friends, and teachers, too. So, come on, kid, build a strong immune system!!

My Robe

Since we don't have any warmer clothes for Jack that fit (other than pants for school), he is sporting some comfy pants from last year (a little short and tight!!) and a robe he got for his second birthday! It is SO cute on him and he loves wearing it. The other day he had to take his nap in it (which he probably won't choose to do since he woke up soaking wet from sweat!). He loves to wear his ducky slippers that his Great Aunt Loni gave him, too.



After his photo shoot, he said that I needed my robe on, too. So funny.

And it's gone...

...just like that.

Jack's temp tonight was 98.5.

I am so thankful!

101.3

So Jack has a temperature this afternoon of 101.3. Typically he doesn't go this high.

Officially here is our schedule:

2 days in school

2 weeks off

What should I do?

Busy B

Letter #2 - the B.

And after a week of seeing A on many things, today when we saw the A he yelled really loudly, R!!! So, O K. I went ahead with the B.

First and foremost, Jack has been asking to watch the "Frog Channel" for a week now. The Frog Channel is the LeapFrog Letter Factory DVD we watched last week. I figure the repetition is great, but only once a week will have to do and today was the day. Jack watched the DVD in full and to the letter chart we went.

We looked at the B, displayed with a BEAR. Jack shared his extreme dislike for BEARS. When I asked him why, he said, BECAUSE they are scary. We talked about how it has one straight line on the left and two humps on the right. We also noticed that there are no openings like there is on the A.

We went through the whole collection of magnetic BLOCKS to find a B. Would you BELIEVE there was only one B. BOY was Jack excited when he found it!

We went through the whole collection of foam letters to find a B. There were three Bs in it and that was much more satisfying.

We then went through Jack's BLOCK letter set. This doesn't come out often, but today was a special day to go through them. We were on a serious hunt. We had to find all the Bs. There were seven. Jack kept lining them up in a straight line, celebrating like crazy each time he found one. I couldn't help but laugh. As we went through each BLOCK, we made a "no" pile and a "yes" pile. Jack kept telling me which one is BIGGER and which one was smaller. At one point he just started counting all the Bs all by himself. Talk about a learning experience that completely lead itself! Wow. From the line he began making with the Bs, I drew on the carpet with my finger the humps to complete the B and Jack put the BLOCKS on them.

From there we headed out BACK to hit BACK and forth the BEACH BALL. Then we heard the marching BAND playing in the distance. We had to go out front then. And then Jack saw his BIKE. So he had to ride around for a BIT. Then DeeDee brought by my temporary BETAINER (this is what Jack calls my retainer!) BOOM! In just about thirty minutes we were overwhelmed with B things. We then went to the high school to watch the BAND. Jack saw his BELOVED tubas, wondered where the trombones were, and drummed with sticks along with the BATTERY. He cracks me up.

I have plans to be BUSY with the B. We have a BEAN BAG toss game to play, Daddy and Jack will go and hit some golf BALLS together, we have a new BUBBLE toy to enjoy, the guys will head to the park to shoot the BASKETBALL or hit the BASEBALL, and I found some punch BALLS at the dollar store that I know Jack will get a kick out of.

I look forward to stringing BEADS with him as a calm BUSY B activity, and it is also good for some serious hand-eye coordination. What a good fine motor skill to work on, too.

And as a yummy treat, Jack and I are going to BAKE some BANANA nut muffins.

This will be a perfect time to fill up the BIRD feeder with some BIRD seed and watch the BIRDS with his BINOCULARS.

I will probably have to find all of his little BOATS so he can play with them in the BATHTUB.

BOY, this B is really BUSY!

Happy Fall Ya'll

It is a refreshing 53 degrees out right now, the fall wreath was hung yesterday, and officially, and Jack is sporting his new fall attire!







Here comes my favorite time of the year!

First Family Vacation

The three of us just had one of the best weekends ever. Jason came in the office, where I was catching up a bit, and he opened his arms up and said as he was going in for a big hug, Great vacation, Momma. And it really was. For all of us.

We all relaxed, had fun, laughed, and enjoyed one another. Away from our home. Away from our work that is in our home. Just away. And it is a weekend, that I hope with everything in me, that I never forget.

Friday morning we all woke up, started our day as normal, got some work done, some packing done, and decided that it would be a good time to go ahead and head up to Gatlinburg. Just like that. No major time table put out there, just totally whenever. And this is completely not like Jason or myself. We didn't have every minute planned out, we knew a couple of things we would like to do, but beyond that, we were going to wing it. I think that is what made it so nice.

Our ride up was great, we stopped a few times, but got to Dollywood around 1:00.



The day was perfect, the weather was beautiful, and the park was empty. It was awesome! I was even allowed to but a souvenir picture from the visit to the park!



We started with a quick lunch, then off to find the kiddie section. Along our journey, we found cars. Now. I have to preface this trip with the fact that Jack said he wanted to ride on some racing cars. Period. And that is all he wanted to do. No doubt. And he told us over and over and over and over! So we started with what we thought would fly as racing cars...





And Jack knew he was driving. Seriously. And I got the pink car, just like I wanted!!

We hit the carousel - all three of us on a horse - it was hilarious!



Then the kiddie rides







And with as hot as it was, and humid, I was one big frizz ball and the guys were sweating like crazy, but kindly enough, Dolly thought of everything, there are even fans around the park that shoot out water.



Then there were rides Jack could ride all by himself and the first one, Jason and I were nervous wrecks! It got easier after that, though!









Then we hit some other fun stuff...



...pa-choos. Honestly, the pa-choos and racing cars made the entire trip for Jack!



There was a kid roller coaster that actually went faster than I would have ever thought!



Jason and I actually rode a few roller coasters ourselves. And I will have to say, I have forgotten how FUN roller coasters are. I would go first, Jason would stand with Jack and watch me go around. When we came back in, I would get Jack and we would watch Daddy. Then we would see how funny our faces were on the pictures that were taken on all the scary parts. And the people we met at this park were so incredibly nice, too.

One thing I wish we had a picture of is our train ride. I think it was called the Dollywood Express. It was a real train that had 4 passenger cars on it that took us around the park and Jack was in awe. At one point, they have us holler to have the engine whistle and Jack just stared. It actually made me tear up, for I had one of those moments. Everything was just right. Trains have been something that Jack has liked for quite a while now and here we were on a real one. We were going around a curve, so he had the most perfect view (thanks to Daddy's lap) of the engine and as the whistle blew for quite a while, shooting steam up as it sounded, and Jack watched so innocently and believing. It was so sweet.

We tried to get Jack's picture taken next to the engine and the guy who shovels all the coal, but he freaked - I genuinely think he figured they would sound the whistle and as we know, the kid does not like loud noises.



To finish the day at Dollywood, we had to go back to the cars. We saw a few that reminded us of Sheriff



and Mater, my favorite



That night, we freshened up a bit and headed to The Peddler for dinner. We sat right on the river, allowing us a beautiful view.

Our room was great - Jason and I had a room, of course, that joined onto a room that had a couch that pulled out to a bed. Jack thought he was big stuff sleeping on that thing in his own special room! We all passed out after such a fun day.

Saturday morning, we did wake up to rain, just as we had expected, but still headed to the Pancake Pantry. Jack devoured his pancakes with syrup. It cracks me up to see him eat that. To this day, I still can't stand the taste of syrup! There is an aquarium in Gatlinburg, so there we went, with probably every other family there that weekend!



(And on a side note, I wish you could have been there to see how pumped Jack was to wear his new jeans. I love that he loves new shoes and clothes just as much as I do! And go Jason, for suggesting that we throw in some pants and sweatshirts, just in case!)



I LOVE that one!





And check out this octopus...



SCUBA diver Jack



Jack in a tank, which he loved, you can tell!



And this mouth reminded me of Jack's when HE smiles big, which he did here!



From the aquarium, we headed to Subway to pick Jack up something to eat. Daddy drove us around the Great Smoky Mountains as Jack dined and we then headed back for some wonderful nap time...for all of us!

Here are some shots of those Smoky Mountains taken from our balcony







So pretty much, it poured while we were sleeping. And the river right outside our hotel kept rising and rising and rising. Earlier in the day, we watched someone catch a fish from the river, slap it down on the ground and that poor fish hopped from side to side to side. Jack couldn't take his eyes away from this scene. Jason told him that it was too small to keep, so they would throw it back in and the fish would live, so when we went back out later, that fish was still there. Not hopping around. Talk about traumatic! But, back to sleeping. When we woke up and it was still raining, we gave Jack his breathing treatment and he pretty much was ready for anything. Almost anything. Jason teased the daylights out of Jack that we were going to go swim in the river. Jack told his Daddy, no way, since there were fish in there. Jason had him going. We kept just grinning like mad to one another. The GREAT thing about where we stayed (not including the multi-million dollar redo they just did) was they have an indoor/outdoor swimming pool! This pool has fake rocks with a waterfall and everything. Jack thought we were really swimming in the river!

Here they are inside



You can see under where Jack is standing, where you swim under to get outside



And here they are swimming in the RAIN! How cool!!!



When we got back upstairs to get ready, somehow and someway, the rain stopped for the rest of the night. We were able to walk to some fun.

Jason and I took Jack to his first arcade. It was SO cute. And this is, of course, where my camera battery died. I have GOT to learn to look at that part on my screen before it goes dead!

The guys pa-chooed some moose, raced motorcycles, ski ball, and drove a semi truck. At one point, Jas and I realized that if you don't put tokens in the machines, Jack thinks he is doing the demo...BRILLIANT!

We went to a very nice dinner together at the Cherokee Grill, where if Jack was a good boy and ate a good dinner we could go back and ride the motorcycles and get some candy. So we did. There was more motorcycle action and some serious Smoky Mountain Chocolate found and a BIG lollipop, Jack's choice.

Bedtime didn't go quite as smoothly as usual, after putting Jack down, he shortly came back in our room, saying he was scared (with a grin on his face and baby and blanket in hand). It craked me up. He cuddled a bit with me, but was encouraged that he would be fine and we didn't see morning until after 8:00!

Morning started with none other than the Log Cabin Pancake House (there are a MILLION Pancake Houses in Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg!!) and a beautiful walk around Gatlinburg. It was cool, yet fresh, and again, heaven with my two guys. We thought about doing the Ober Gatlinburg tram ride, but due to many things being at the top, I think we are going to save that for our next trip. And I love that Jason is already thinking about our next trip. So we began our trip out of Gatlinburg, into Pigeon Forge. We took the route out through the mountains and through the tunnel, that Jason and I were both very excited about for Jack to go through a tunnel. Well, we got through it and immediately Jack asked us, Where's the fun at?!

A three year old's brain and experience is actually quite neat. After we got done with Dollywood, the next day, Jack told us he wanted to go back to Tennessee i.e. Dollywood. We kept telling him that we had more fun to do. So, after two days of just great fun, and then the fun of the tunnel, Jack's comment was that! It was hysterical!

The fun we were looking for, however, was racing cars. And we found them. Prefacing the whole situation that Jack may not be old enough, tall enough, big enough, you name it, we tried to have all of our bases covered. We walked up to the window and the gal said, They just have to be three years old. And we were in. So Jason, this is when he becomes Jack's Daddy, bought FOUR rounds. I couldn't get the grin off my face.













I rode around on the last round and it was actually quite fun. This having a boy thing keeps bringing new experiences for me and I love it.

Some things I hope I never forget about our trip:

Jack talking just to be heard on the trip up
Jack wanting to ride everywhere we went (Jason to carry him)
Jason carrying Jack everywhere
Jack wanting to be with his Daddy
The nice guys we met on the train at Dollywood
Girls with hair pulled up and long jean skirts
Watching the river rise
Moving our car out of the parking deck, due to the nearly underwater bridge (I was nervous) and taking it right back
Jack saying he wasn't going to eat
Telling Jack if he didn't eat, we just wouldn't ____________ (fill in the blank)
Jack saying he wanted to eat
Seeing the word TILL in print (rather than until) several times
American Express is not accepted anywhere
"Look at the river!!" Jason would say everytime we were near it!
Watching the sidewalk and then the bench go underwater
How uncomfortable Jack's pull out bed really was
Jason being in control - i.e. - Jason's choice
"Everything has a way of working out"
Toilet crashers
When Jack was asked at breakfast what he wanted to drink he responded with SYRUP
Realizing how old Jack was when introduced to an almost one year old
Loving being on a family vacation

Health Check

Yesterday was a recheck at the doctor for Jack after doing all the breathing treatments for a week. This stuff makes us all crazy. I had high hopes, but not the most positive feeling going into the appointment, that is for sure. I really wanted Jack to be able to come off the Albuterol, but he still sounds gunky.

So, weight has gone up in a week, wish I would have asked about that, if it was a side effect. It went from 37.5 to 38.2. Nothing major, just a bit.

Temperature was still hanging in at 99.2. This boy's body has been fighting for over three weeks now! Enough already!

Dr. Dixon listened to Jack's chest to which he pulled away with a face that I knew what was coming next. Jack's lungs hadn't cleared exactly as expected, he still had quite a bit of build up, to which we need to do another week's worth of Albuterol. Yikes. After that week, he wants me to make the call to see if he is clear or if we need another check. The doctor firmly believes that whatever is inside Jack is a virus that is just hanging in there forever. It is just going to have to make its way out. The good news is that we are probably close, because the cough is VERY loose.

If it does not go away sooner than later, we may move towards an allergist. But, due to the fact that the doctor thinks this is just a virus, we will wait on that call. There are so many factors that brought this on. He went to school for three days, so he was back in the classroom and exposed to new kids/new germs to a body that was still recovering from the nastiness of last March. Dr. Dixon linked it also to weather changes, because it started to cool off then. I am hopeful again, that it is not needed to get an allergist involved.

So, there have been 4 weeks of school, two days were cancelled due to all the flooding, and Jack has been present for a total of 4 or 5 days at this point. He has missed more than he has been. Nice impression, huh? Needless to say, the three of us have been spending quite a bit of time together in the past three weeks.

Jack has been at this house waaaaaaaayyyyyyy too much, so we decided to head to Gatlinburg this weekend. That's right, we are just up and going, with not much planning, just taking off for the weekend. We are going to try to do Dollywood and just let the kid get some fresh air and laughs and energy out. I can't wait for our first family vacation - just the three of us.

Ham

I bought new underpants for Jack, thanks to the advice of a friend on a particular brand, and when I started with a three pack, to which Jack wore for three days, on the fourth day, he freaked when either A: he realized Mother didn't do laundry in three days or B: he had to wear a pair of his old ones that cut in around the waist.

This is what moved me to ask Jason and Jack to head to the GAP to get a few more pairs.

Well, Jack walks back in the house beaming with a shopping bag, Jason follows behind proud as anything to which he tells me, we did a little extra shopping.

It was hilarious! One piece by one piece, Jason pulled something out of the bag, handed it to Jack (where I pretended not to see what it was), and Jack held it high for my approval.

I have to say, I am still giggling this morning. I gave Jason one pair of the undies, size XS (4-5). That is how it is described on the band. So, he came home with:

one pack of 3 underpants - size XS (4-5)
One white tshirt with a pocket on the front (Jack was most pleased about this detail, by the way - size XS (4-5)
One navy blue tshirt with a pocket on the front (these two shirts both cost something like $3 each - Jason was most pleased with that detail) - size XS (4-5)
On pair of kakai shorts - size 5 Slim

I am laughing because there was no chance any of this was going to fit. BUT, Jason said, you told me to get the underpants in that size, so why wouldn't anything else in that size fit? I wish things were that easy. And I thought it was pretty smart of him to go with the SLIM, because pants never stay up on Jack!

So we had a fashion show by Jack and this kid, I promise you is SUCH A HAM. I was in stitches. And I love that he loves new clothes/shoes/accessories, too!

goofball



oops - wait a minute - gotta pull up the shorts



oops - wait a minute - something's on my arm here



Jason encouraging Jack to take a nice picture



Jack's response to Jason's request for a nice smile



And the parade began



This kid is crazy, I tell ya.

So, the pants are going back, we are keeping the shirts, and the underpants have all been washed now!

So he MIGHT look a little like his Dad

I get it now, ok? I know the quality isn't great with the blow ups here, but it is bizarre how similar they look. Check out the grin.





I still think he looks more like his Mommie, though...

Train

Jack and I tried to get a ride on the train at the mall yesterday. I thought it would be a good thing to do by getting out of the house. Plus he helped me look for rugs! But it was broken. There were guys there working on it, but all the passenger cars were covered up. It also read, Out of Order. Try explaining that to a three and a half year old when his heart was dead set on riding the train.



But I did take his pic by it. And am overwhelmed by some thoughts in looking at it.

THIS KID NEEDS A HAIRCUT. Badly.

My Jack looks chunky. For the first time since he was a baby. I wonder if there is about to be a pretty big growth spurt?

And my baby looks old. He's definitely passed that toddler thing. He looks like a kid.

Time is just passing us by...

Gum in Hair

Gum made it into Jack's hair for the first time in nearly a year. He tried to get it out himself, which is how I found out it was in there, he had tried to cut the gum out himself. He missed the gum wad, however still was able to cut quite a bit of hair out. And it was all over him.

So we stood together at his bathroom sink as I tried to pull strand by strand off the gum. And to let him know that this was NOT something to have happen again. I finally gave in and just cut it out.

Now I sit here wondering if that old ice trick would have worked. Oh well!

The Letter A

We officially began learning about the alphabet. Jack has loved it. And I definitely have loved it.

We started with a little video about all the letters, that I will probably show once each week. Repetition is great! It takes a little frog who wants to learn his letters through the "Letter Factory" where each letter has its own sound. It is pretty cute, actually. And only about 30 minutes.



Then Jack and I had an art project. And I will tell you something. He really enjoyed it. I have seen him in action with art at school and I think there is just too much else stimulating him there. He doesn't want to just sit down and do a project, he would rather play with the toys or other kids around. But here, at home, sitting at the kitchen table, he did great, and for quite a while.

I had colored the letter A with a white crayon and had him water color paint over it. That is the pic at the top. You can't necessarily see the A looking right on it, but in a good light you can see it reflected. Very cute.

After that, Jack and I played the "A GAME." I had cut the letter A out of card stock and we hid it all over the living room - under pillows, behind the fish tank, in the magazines, in the shutters, you name it, we did it! Everytime one of us found it we yelled, "AAAHHHH," you know, what the A says! What really cracked me up, was when it was my turn the find the A that he hid, he would show me right where it was, or would say as a hint, "It's over der by da glass table." And it was right on top of it. Jason and I sure laughed a lot during this game. Jack was just beaming with smiles.

Today was finding the A. I found the A for the Leap Frog toy (Fridge Phonics, I think) and just kept pressing it over and over, as well as playing the alphabet song option. I didn't push that too hard, but look forward to really utilizing that tool when we have a few more letters under our belt.

We then went handful by handful of his magnetic block letters looking for an A. When he spotted the first one, he was ecstatic. So was I. He was hooked then, he had to find more! Three in all, and they were all proudly displayed on his chalkboard.

Jack and I did the same thing with the foam letters. We found two of these and they, too, were proudly displayed.

What I was SUPER excited about was drawing As on the chalkboard. I showed him one or two. Start at the top and come down, go back to the top and draw down the other side, and cross it! After he tried one or two himself, I then drew dots as guides and he did well. Then Jack moved into drawing them himself. They are soooo cute!



Tomorrow, we are going to talk more about the A and I will show him pictures of things that start with the letter A - alligator, ambulance, astronaut, airplane, airport, ant, apple. We will probably go outside in search of some ants and say the word over and over. I also will encourage him to look for airplanes. We will then make some paper airplanes and fly them. And check out this precious song I learned to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot:"

I'm a little airplane
Watch me fly
Here are my instruments
from down low to up high
First I get all reved up
Then I can fly
Lifting off the runway
Up into the sky!

We are going to have snack - Ants on a Log - stalk of celery, filled with peanut butter, with raisins (ants) marching across it. Tomorrow night we are going to have dinner at McCullum Airport to watch all the airplanes.

I am hoping that over time, Jack will become more aware of letters in his life, by finding them, pointing them out, and recognizing them. I am not expecting him to know all the sounds and read tomorrow, by any means, but just learning. So far he enjoys it and can do it.

None of these activities are my creations. The internet is a wonderful tool to pick and choose from. And feel free to follow along if you wish! Throw out some ideas of yours, too!

This is going to be such a fun thing for Jack and I to share together.

Guys + Grocery Shopping =

JUNK!

At first this is what I saw...



Followed by this...



...a JUG of Hawaiian Punch. HELLO?!? Do we need this much sugar? Does it come in a smaller container to try it?!

And to top it off...



...a $6 Lightning McQueen cup?!

I guess that is what makes it fun for the two of them to do this together!

Wild Weather

Soooooo....

We just had an hour long power outage. Hopefully that will be the one and only.

Got a call from Jack's teacher, school (public, too) is cancelled tomorrow.

I tried to take Jack this morning to school, but half way there, thought better of it due to the roads then. I didn't want to imagine another 3 hours of non-stop rain and what that would mean about getting my baby.

And we have all been cooped up here now for two, going on three days.

Goal for tomorrow: capture the different ways we entertain one another...let the brainstorming begin!

Stay dry, ya'll!

A River Runs Through It

Looking down the back



A gutter working



Down one side of the house



And the other





And out front



It has been raining in Georgia non-stop. I have seen things written such as: Noah's Ark just went by the front of my house, Tell them this is Atlanta, not Seattle, or Stop it Already, Drought? What Drought?!

And there is no end in sight.

Big Boy

Yesterday during naptime, Jack slept soundly...through a thunderstorm.

Last night after a bit of encouragement from Mommie, Jack slept soundly...through a thunderstorm...that lasted all night!

This morning I hear a knock on our door, it was Jack, too much thunder was going on for him to handle at this point.

But he is doing it, getting braver, and hopefully moving past his fear of thunder.

(Jack's Mommie handled naptime and bedtime like a big boy, too!)

Independence is SO important

and so innocent!



The front was even funnier, and I just couldn't let the moment pass.

So proud of everything he is doing these days, though...just really wanted to remember this one!

Update on Jack's Asthma treatment

I am not ready to put him in a category of Beginning to Improve or Cough is beginning to break up. The poor guy is coughing non-stop, to the part of gagging a lot of the time. Once he starts coughing, he can't stop. His little eyes still say it all, that is where you can read him like a book. They just look sick.



Yesterday he came home from DeeDee and Papa's before naptime and he went directly to his chair and began the process of his breathing treatment. This morning, he wanted it first thing even before his milk. At this point, I am super thankful for his patience and willingness to do these treatments. I am also very thankful for the Sprout/Disney channel and the volume button during these treatments, too!

Yesterday's nap was from around 1:00 to 4:45 - finally. I think my boy's body is finally taking charge and saying it needs rest to recover. Last night he probably didn't fall asleep until about 8:45 due to coughing and a trip to the restroom, but I didn't hear the, Mommie, where are you?! call until 7:07 this morning. Much different from the ones the past four days in the 5:00 hour.

Illness-wise, no change and no improvement to which the doctor did prepare us that it wouldn't be until around the 5 day mark that there would be. This is day 2. We will be going back Day 7 for a recheck for that wheeze and ears. (Keep your fingers crossed on that one. If they are still clear, that would be a HUGE sign in his development with illness...and potential no need for tubes!)

Body-wise, more sleep is a definite positive sign. More sleep means that the body is working, without interference and he will get better! Oh, and the temperature is gone, too! The nose has gone from green to clear, but there is still a ton of gunk in it.

Today Jack wants to head to HobbyTown USA to check out the trains and everything else that is there. There is a new fish store next door that we will hit while we are there, too. Which will probably lead us over to the Cat Store (i.e. PetSmart).

Jack-isms

ANYTHING = NOTHING

YOGRIT = YOGURT

U.S. = U.P.S.

FEG X = FED EX

TELESKOKE = TELESCOPE

NOCKANURS = BINOCULARS

GRANILLA = GRANOLA

IESK = ICE

MIPSMICK = CHAPSTICK/LIPSTICK

SHOBEL = SHOVEL

OVER DERE = OVER THERE

GOOSEBUNKS = GOOSEBUMPS

CHRISTMAS TREAT = RICE KRISPIE TREAT

CRUNCHY CLUB = COUNTRY CLUB

DIAGNOSIS - Asthmatic - a wittle bit

Jack finished his antibiotic Monday of this week, thankfully, went to school Monday and Tuesday, and yesterday as the two of us spent the day together, he went down hill. Fast. There was a low-grade fever, green nose, and a cough that sounded terrible. And after a day of not being on an antibiotic?

When I got him up from his 30 minute nap (usual averages around 3 hours!), this is what I found...



He honestly, didn't look this bad a minute before the pic. I actually thought it was funny that he just decided to stuff his nose so it wouldn't get gook all over the place. I have been there before. So I came back to take the picture and that is what I got. Then I realized how bad things were. Yes, Jack was definitely now sick. And we were going to have to go back to the doctor. So I started unstuffing the nose, and people, there were three layers up each nostril. I freaked out. And Jack could tell it. I got the tweezers and he freaked out, so I very firmly said, THEN START BLOWING. Fortunately he blew and blew and blew and the toilet paper wads did come out and I just held him so tightly. Oh, this kid. Needless to say, we got an 8:50 appointment for this morning. And there was no coughing from 12:30 last night to 5:30 this morning. 5 hours of peace for the boy.

Dr. Dixon saw Jack, Jason, and I this morning. 100 degree temperature at this point and a cough that the desk lady and nurses all commented about as we went back to our room. Jason and I were ready for the news of ear tubes. It never fails, anytime Jack gets sick, it always goes to his ears. Fortunately, we are not headed in that direction at all. Instead we have two to three months of this...



Here, he thinks he is a SCARY dinosaur. Are you frightened? Here, his Mommie knows, he is a little boy diagnosed as Asthmatic.

How it happened:

Last end of February/beginning of March, Jack got REALLY sick. Like I had never seen him before. It was just terrible. He was on all kinds of terrible meds that he didn't want to take, which is never the case, and had a wheeze. So we got a nebulizer and crazy meds and were done with it in no time. It was great. Well, Jack has a wheeze again today (awesome ears though, even with all the gook!!). Since the wheeze is something that is happening again, we have to take further measures.

Further measures:

This week, we have to fit at least three Albuterol (crazy med) breathing treatments in a day, plus a Pulmicort breathing treatment once a day. We will go back in a week to see if there is still a wheeze present and to just double check the baby's ears. After that, we will for sure be continuing the once a day Pulmicort treatment to build Jack's lungs. (Some people may take Singulair or something like that). This is the hopeful way we will make him strong through this fall and winter, so his sicknesses don't hit so hard. This kid goes from 100% to about 60% in a flash.

Outlook:

Awesome, thankful, sad, and wishful. Awesome because the kid doesn't need to have tubes in his ears, therefore everything he needs to get better and strong is right here in our home. Thankful because Jack's pediatrician is absolutely amazing. I trust him with everything...well, I guess you can say, my Jack. Sad because the look in Jack's eyes is just pitiful. The sound of his cough when he is upstairs in his bed sounds so painful. And when my baby looks at me and says he doesn't feel good, it breaks my heart. I am wishful because I WISH I could take this from him in a heartbeat. I am also wishing for a fast recovery for Jack.

So, Jack did get in a great nap today, about two and a half hours, and we just hung low. Guiding Light's last episode is tomorrow, so Jack and I have been busy getting caught up so we can watch it live. But in the middle of all this yuck going on, we all built a fort today out of pillows. This was at the end of it, when we all just decided to be close:)

Family Matters

And I can tell it is important to Jack, too.

Daddy's Helper

Working in the yard with Daddy - this time Daddy let him help with the fertilizer - I guess he really is getting to be a big boy!







Who would have thought BOTH my guys would love working in the yard so much!

He loves her so much

These two are hilarious!



Here they are smooching...too cute.

Wonderfully Made?

This is Jack's second art project he has come home with this year - the first one wasn't even his...



But here are some interesting points about the art project above:

1. Mena and I actually picked Jack up the day this was attached to his bag. When I asked him very excitedly if he made it he scrunched up his face and shook his head no. Later I then asked him if he put on the hair/pants/tissue paper and again he gave a negative response.

2. After a day or so had passed, I asked Jack again if he made this boy on the paper that looked a little bit like him. He then said, No, my teacher did. And he has had this same answer twice since. And I give no response, so it is not that he keeps looking for. He is actually very matter-of-fact about it.

So, this makes me wonder two things:

1. Is this someone else's art project again?!?

2. In the past, Jack shows little interest in art projects (unless it has to do with hand prints, which I love!!), did the teacher just do this so it looked like Jack did it??

You know, I have a tendency to believe Jack. I know he is pretty young, but my maternal gut wants to go with it.

So take or leave the art project above. This one probably isn't making it to the fridge.

Here's hoping for better results/responses this week since we will be there for a whole week!!

FETCH

Jack and Niki have really been in love with one another lately. Nik lets Jack rub her all over, whenever, however. She loves to be with him in his bed, especially during the Night Night story. I really wonder how long it will be before they will be sleeping together. There is a genuine relationship between a boy and his dog. And from Niki's perspective, I think she sees him as her own.

This morning, the two of them were playing fetch. Niki would have the Chick-fil-A cow in her mouth, Jack would try to get it out and she would be growling, as if to say, Come on boy, come and get it... Once he did and realized that she would follow him anywhere, the real game began: CHASE JACK AND THE CHICK-FIL-A COW!





Jack loves to feed Niki, give her her treats after she goes outside, he love to tell her to GO UPSTAIRS or QUIET when UPS comes, and he loves to wuv on her. So far the only thing I think she doesn't appreciate about him is when he steps on her tail. This is "on accident," of course!

Snug as a bug

This morning Jack and I had some much overdue cuddling. Um. I loved it. At around 6:30 I heard him call faintly, Mommie, oh Mommie, where are you Mommie?! I went in to tell him it was still early and he said he was scared and wanted to go into my room.

Little did he know that his Daddy got up at 6:00, therefore I was up and had already gone through laundry and stripped our bed! So I asked him if I could just lay with him.

There we were, my arms were completely wrapped around him, spooning if you wish, and he was as safe and happy as ever. And so was I. His hair smelled so sweet and his little breath against my hands was so soft. When I realized that my arm under him was starting to cramp, I started to move it from under him and he grabbed hold with a death grip to my hand, as if to say, Don't dare move it. Once I silently let him know I wasn't going anywhere he was okay again and we just layed there together, sides completely touching. I could feel his little feet going non-stop, rubbing each other under the blankets. It is his little thing to put him in comfort mode. It is just the same as when he is sucking his thumb and his fore and middle finger rub his upper lip. This morning he was doing this on my hand, too.

It was so sweet, so innocent, and important for both of us. I am so glad he is such a cuddle bug.

Once he deemed it light enough to get up, I asked him what he was scared of. He said, Ummmmm, I dunno. Ummmmm, a monster, or ummmmmmm, anything (translated - anything=nothing). I dunno.

And that was that.

Sandal Replacement

It happened. Really. I found a replacement for the infamous Jack sandal. And I love it. And once we got it in the right size, so did Jack.

And ya'll, he looks SO cute in them.



He really looks like a little man.

Blast from the Past

It's BA-ACK! Fresh from under the guest bed, tracks and tent is set up and Thomas has been charged. What a sweet memory from Jack's 2nd birthday party!!

What a fun treat!







And he can actually use it now! I wonder if the recommended age states 3+?

And here he was nearly a year and a half ago...





And looking back for a good shot of Jack on Thomas, I see we really didn't have any good ones. Probably because he couldn't figure out how to get it to go. But I did come across this one...



The cake I dearly loved, but the cake that took FOREVER!

I love Memory Lane.

And I love that Jack and I have had an awesome day together today.

Playdate

A very special friend and I have officially planned a playdate once a month...until the younger boys are in baseball and from what I heard last night, we will be having a "playdate" three+ days a week! This is 2 of 2 - the first one they came to our pool to check out the slide, however no camera was present. Yesterday was at the play complex (yes, literally a play complex for kids!!) at their neighborhood.

They were AWESOME together.





And then the guys were KING OF THE MOUNTAIN



And hid in that mountain



They enjoyed swinging, climbing, and sliding



And Jack Jack followed the big boy and went down the fireman pole! YEAH JACK!



It is so refreshing for all of us to get together, get caught up, and recharge!! Can't wait until next month!

Destin Last Day

Jason and Jack hit the beach in the morning (thankfully so Mommie could rest a bit from the night before!!), so I hung upstairs in the room for lunch and naptime, too. We headed down to the beach for the last few hours before they took up our chairs and then to the pool.

We actually hadn't had too much footage from the pool, mainly due to the fact that everything gets packed up at the beach, we set it down at the pool while you "rinse" off, and then you catch the elevator back up for a real shower.

But Jack really did accomplish something great. He honestly swam. For two days without a vest and the vest won't go back on again. I am so proud of him, and grateful to my friend who I can't find quite the words to say, and can say that my goal for the Summer of 2009 was achieved!

He was diving, swimming, going under, you name it. Anything Kimberly was doing, he did it. Everyone wanted to show them their ways of doing things, but Jack just wanted to do it his way. And from his Mommie's "perspective" he way was incredible...and at 3 and a half...really incredible.













And off to dinner we went. The whole group. Late. One passed out at the table and mine should have.



My twins



Our little family



The ride home the next morning went exceptionally well, including a nap for the boy. We tried to stop in BAD-TOWN ATL for some BBQ that Jason loves and it was sadly closed, but we were able to go by Mena and Pappap's to get our Baby Girl. Niki looked great and so happy.

Thank you DeeDee and Papa for a great vacation and a very special tradition.

Destin Day 4

One day down of antibiotics and some good rest and Jack was much better. Thankgoodness!

Time to play at the beach!









Jack and Kimberly - who he loved dearly this whole trip!



Jack getting hit by a wave



Then we decided to go out and tackle the waves



I then realized that Jack's shorts were going to need to be tightened...then you will see what proceeds to happen







It was hilarious!!!

Jack spent the night at his DeeDee and Papa's so we could go out with Todd, Katrina and Marcus and we can just say that the night was quite a blast (hence the popped collar on Jason!).

Destin Day 3

Jason and I made the call to take Jack Jack to Urgent Care down here. He just wasn't good. At all. I honestly was thinking Strep due to hearing it was out like crazy right now, and the fact that Jack was coughing and actually hoarse, basically, I had never heard him like this. He was clearly fevered, however, as good as good could be. It always amazes me how well he handles being ill.



There were no Minute Clinics at CVS or Walgreens, except over in Jacksonville, so I thought I found one at a local Publix. No such luck. That is when we were handed the Urgent Care slip and given rough directions.

They didn't open until 10:00, at this point it was 9:20, so we went and got a bite for breakfast. A nightclub was actually open for breakfast, they played AWESOME music and would you believe they had all kinds of brass instruments hung high on the walls...including a TUBA? Three actually, and Jack was in heaven. There were trombones, too, and a drum set set up on stage.



And we looked at the time to check and realized that our car time had not changed to an hour back like the phones did, SO we had another hour to wait.

We went shopping, got Jason some new bathing suits, and actually figured out how to watch Toy Story in our car that isn't supposed to play movies on the navigation screen. Do you know what the secret was?!? Pulling up the parking break! I think Jason and I high fived three times!

We waiting in front of the front door for about 35 minutes and two other cars pulled up. They tried to get in the office before Jack's Mom and Jack's Mom wasn't going to have that, I grabbed the clipboard first, flew through the paperwork and JACK was called first.

Low grade fever, like normal, throat was not red, but both ears were terribly infected. The doctor even had me look, they were so bad. 25 minutes later, we were out of there, thankful of our choice to take him and headed to the drug store to get his meds filled.



Why we were thankful was because I always start second guessing myself if I am over-reacting and such. Glad I stuck with my Mother's Instinct and Jason supported it. An hour and 15 minutes later standing in Walgreens, completely because the keyed in his insurance info incorrectly, we were finally on our way back to the condo.

Lunch and a four hour nap later, we were out to the beach playing in the waves.



He couldn't wait - the first thing he did after nap was go to see where everyone was down at the beach!





















Fortunately, we now know Jack will be on the mend. And as Jason and I keep saying, maybe now the vacation can start??

Destin Day 2

The second morning we were here, we all went together to breakfast at the same place Jason, Jack and I went by ourselves our first day. The weather was cool that morning, but so very nice. It is actually nice having a break from the HOT and humid beach weather. After eating, we all went for a walk again along the boardwalk, checked out all the boats, and fed the fish. They had such fun doing that - especially that Papa with his Jack!







Finally some beach time. Jack shoveled his brains out, kicked the sand between his legs like a dog, and ran from the waves.









Naptime came and Debbie and I took advantage of the time to go get some shopping done! I really wanted to check out the kids' shoe outlet and a few others so off we went. Jack had a HARD time going down I guess. Poor kid just didn't feel well. When we got back, Jason and I tagged off, he went down to the beach and I rested for a while.

We called Daddy from the balcony, waved to one another, and he knew we would be heading down - yeah!!! After more beach time, we stopped off at the pool and Jack and his DeeDee swam together, floated and "surprised" each other by tickling their feet, Papa kept splashing, to which Jack would say, "PAPA, WE DON'T DO DAT!!" It was a nice afternoon and the rest of our family came. Now the party is complete.





Dinner was out and about and afterwards, everyone came to our room to hang out...until 2:00 am! Yikes, that is late for this Momma:) How I love talk about siblings feeling and views and the past...I can never get tired of hearing the same stories over and over about Jason!

Destin Day 1

Was EXHAUSTING!!! I can't believe I said it, but it was!

I am having some technical difficulties with uploading the pics to the laptop, but I will get them and just add them to the post later...I have been dealing with technical difficulties all day with the laptop and properly accessing Jason's pc...

Anyway.



Last night's travel was awful. Just awful. Jack and I rode in the back together to watch the movie, Cars, which is too cute. There were two scenes where he started to cry - poor thing's got my emotions - they went down memory lane of the town they were in and when Lightning McQueen left without properly being able to say goodbye. I look over at Jack and he has big wells in his eyes. So sweet. I am so glad that he feels things.

Sadly, he felt too much on the way down here, though. The baby is sick. You can see it in his eyes in the picture above. Fever, runny nose, and a cough. He was miserable last night. Couldn't get comfortable. And his momma couldn't make it any better for him. And we took a wrong turn, so it took longer than it should have. And Jack would just start crying. Like a, Mommie hold me kind of cry. And I couldn't.

Once we got here - early early morning - we had to unpack everything to get all set up in Jack's room. He would sleep for about 30 minutes, start crying, and one of us would go in there to try to make it all better. He didn't want to come in our room. He didn't want to be touched. He was just miserable. At about 5:00 this morning, Jason went in and slept with Jack in a twin bed. The two of them in one twin bed. He slept until about 8:00 this morning, which was good.

The three of us went to breakfast together and had the most delightful time. Of course, Jack didn't eat, which we are prepared for since he doesn't feel well. He just kept saying he didn't want anything because he was sick. The two guys went for a walk down by the boats, saw fish and birds. After breakfast, we all went for a walk and found a very special PLASTIC shovel for Jack to use down at the beach! He was a happy boy. Next was the grocery store. Then to the beach. By this time it was nearly naptime, so we all went down in clothes, but put our feet in. These pictures are to come because Jack had his OJ with him and it was rather comical (??) being at the beach with OJ.







Anyway.

Naptime was great...for Jack and me. We both passed out for easily 3+ hours. I think the OTC meds we got helped a ton. Oh, it was just what we both needed. Jason had to work and work very slowly due to not being able to access his computer properly, but what a gift it has been to be in touch with everything today.

By the time we woke up, DeeDee, Papa, and Uncle Marcus had arrived, so we went to peek around their condo and then toured a few others. This is such a great place we stay at.

Dinner tonight was at Harbor Docks, Jason's absolute favorite restaurant in the world. Really. And it was awesome tonight. The weather down here is much milder than normal, so we sat outside together. The food was great, the group was great, everything was honestly, perfect! There are pics to come of this, too!!









Jack went down like a brick, and I sure hope tonight is a restful one for him, poor thing. He is amazing, though. The kid will look at me with the most pitiful eyes, but still laugh and be a part of everything like the best of them.

We have really been looking forward to this vacation for a long time, so Max and Debbie, thank you in advance for a wonderful time!!!

And we're off!

To Destin officially tonight.

We have a new laptop, so I am going to try my best to keep the blog up to date.

Now off to do about a million things before we go!

See you at the beach...

New shoes...again

As I have probably mentioned, shoes are probably one of Jack's absolute favorite things on Earth. Really. So when he woke up from his nap on Sunday, I asked him if he would like to go get a new pair, he tilted his head, shrugged his shoulders, put his palms up and said, "Sure." Real cool, by the way!

I am sad to say, we really didn't have much of a selection. I am not sure if I am too picky or if things right now out there are that dorky (yes, I did just describe something as being dorky), but it was tough. I found one pair that I had been eyeing for a while now:



Well, as soon as I got them on him, he walked around, so I started looking for new ones to try. I turn around, they are off, and Jack looks at me again, really cool, and said, "What? I don't like them." OK. The kid knows his stuff when it comes to shoes.

He picked out a couple, however they didn't have them in his size, poor guy. So I made the big leap for us. Laces. What a pain they are going to be, but man, does he look cute...and quite grown up.

These are the ones we went with:



It was hilarious. After they were put on, the kid got up and admired them from the front. He then took off in sprints - three times to see how they ran. His reply, I guess because he could see it all over my face was, "I can run reawy fast in dem!" Jack then practiced a few jumps, yep, they jumped well, too. He then took time to kind of twist his feet out, one at a time, while looking behind himself to see how they looked from the rear. That was when I knew. We were leaving the store with this pair. No doubt. He looked at me with bright eyes and a happy face, "These feewl reawy good to me." I just grinned. The sales lady came back out and she asked him if he liked them. She again told her, "they feewl reawy good to me." Then, Jack gave her his eyebrows raised, head tilted down, yet still maintaining eye contact face, "They're pretty cool, huh?!"

So a new pair of shoes and clean white ankle socks later, we have a very happy boy.

Fox in Socks

Has quick trick brick stack
Clock on fox tick, clocks on Knox tock
Sue sews crow's clothes
Gooey goo for chewy chewing
Bim brings Ben broom, Ben brings Bim broom
Luke Luck likes lake
When beetles battle beetles on a puddle paddle battle
YOU KNOW
our game is done, sir!


And time for Night Night

...love these two together!

First Day - Threes Class

You know, he is reawy big now...















...and this morning as he climbed out of the car, he let me know he was. I had a BIG bag full of goodies to play dress up in (the apple I got from the wishing tree) and let it be know that he could carry it all by himself...you know because he was a big boy now. And off he went.

Upon return from school, he told me:

he saw his buddy, Cameron, and that made him happy
he played with the tow truck
he played on the playground
he painted a rainbow blue and yellow
they ate animal crackers and pretzels
they didn't have music

That was a TON compared to last year. What a difference a year makes!

Upon return from school, I found on his bag:

A hand traced on that I have to kiss with lipstick on, to let him know I love him and this was in response to a book they read today in school. There was also a newsletter reminding us of everything we need to send in, notifying us that yellow, the number one, and the number 2 will be worked on next week, and we need to send in a couple yellow items. We went through all of his toys and pulled out everything yellow. We tried to find the little things then and he chose his Ceratops (the one we grew), his flashlight, and the flag for his golf game.

Jack is happy and so far, so is Mommie.

Baby's like his Momma

He likes to rearrange furniture, too, these days. So now his table and chairs is downstairs in the living room. And here he is enjoying a little snack, looking through the Oriental Trading catalog. He has found some gum and lollipops that he would like and he saw some dog bones that he thought Niki would like, too. (The dog bones were actually a little candy treat, but nontheless, thoughtful!!)



He may look like his Daddy, but his actions are like his Mommie's. (And honestly, his actions that I am claiming to be as a three year old are kind of like mine, too...hehehe...I honestly know how he feels!)

Happy Birthday Pappap

Can't wait until you get back to celebrate you! Happy Birthday to you!

Orientation - Threes Class

We went this morning and met Jack's teachers for this year



He is such a goof ball! And he did make himself right at home...



They had trucks!



And babies - what more could he ask for!?

At dinner tonight he told me that they all sat around and the teacher with the light hair read them a book. It was about boy and girls and what they liked. I asked him if they asked all the kids in the class about things they liked. He said they didn't. He did say they all hollered their names aloud! He liked that.

Day one of the threes class...I like the info he is passing along. Now, tomorrow we have some homework to fill out - a page about Jack's favorites - that will go in a class book to be sent home to each of the families.

Here's to a great year...and they said we can all come to all the parties, so that made this momma happy.

Golf shots

That I hadn't ever seen before! Found on Jason's phone.

And I love them!





And this one cracks me up -



I guess he saw a guy down the way stretching and thought he needed to, too.

Fresh Air

There is nothing like riding with the windows down and the breeze blowing in on you!

Tonight we went riding around - up the mountain, to storage, to the drug store to get meds for Jason's leg where he now has poison ivy.

But there was something about the innocence of Jack facing the wind, opening up his mouth, and laughing like mad.

Here comes my favorite time of the year!

It officially happened

Hardcore. No doubt about it. In the grocery store. Leaving the grocery store. Getting in the car. The whole way home. Getting out of the car. Going to the downstairs bedroom. It was real.

It was Jack's first TEMPER TANTRUM.

And my goodness does it prove that this kid's got a temper, number one, and can let it go when he has to. Lord help us when it is no longer tears that are shed, but comes in the real live form of testosterone.

And it was totally our fault. Hence, the post before this. A fun Friday night. Kid goes to bed late. He then wakes up at normal time. He was plain 'ole exhausted.

Yep. So we were half way through our trip to the grocery store, which Jack typically loves. And he wanted to get some gum when it was time to check out. OK. A very normal thing that we do. We both love gum. But when we reached that half way point, it all went downhill BIG TIME.

Things started flying like, I want this right now. Giving me an evil eye look, very similar to his Gware, found on the blog before. But this is a REAL evil look. You better get me some gum now. Well, sorry, folks, but this Momma ain't gonna take that from nobody. Not even her baby boy. So, I pretty much told him right then and there that we probably weren't going to be getting any gum due to the choices Jack was making with his behavior and so on and so forth. And that is when it happened. He lost it.

I warned the guy at the register. Even told him that I would gladly be the mother they could talk about that had the bratty, out-of-control kid. And when I had the cart "pass by go without collecting $200" i.e. going right by the candy display without Jack picking which gum he would like for this week it went from bad to worse. I really don't think he thought I would do it. I did. Without a doubt.

Yes, I was embarrassed, but I swear, it actually hit my funny bone pretty hard. Like I kept chuckling under my breath. Never in my life had I seen Jack behave like this. And over gum? Really?!

And due to the fact that Jack kept repeating over and over and over, I want that gum in der (pointing and flaring his arms towards the grocery store), and him being completely in distress, the sweet bag boy actually offered a piece of gum he had on him if that would make Jack happier. NO. THANK. YOU.

He screamed bloody murder the whole way home. I called Jason on the cell phone, just so he was sure to be sure to be a part of the momentous event. And as I carried Jack through the garage as he was still screaming at the top of his lungs and kicking wildly (it is amazing how strong you get during situations like this, by the way), we finally made it inside to find the wooden spoon waiting. And then to the downstairs bedroom for a cool down.

And I would have given anything to have thought to take his picture during all of that. Really. His face was blood red. His eyes were nearly blood shot. It was like a kid that I had never seen. Like I said, something about it was funny, not that I let on about that part in front of the little monster. But I did get a picture of what was left. And he does this part all by himself. I think it is his way of calming himself. And I am sure that thumb is involved.



And then it was time for me to get my hair done. And it actually just exhausted me all over again replaying that in my head. And I am so very hopeful that something like that will NEVER happen again. There it is documented. Forever. And really. Not to ever happen again.

One of the Guys

We had a visit last night from a friend of ours, joined us for dinner and fun - and Jack ate.it.up BIG time!

Here is is with David doing a little fist pump, followed by a BOOO-YAAAH



And the guys of the evening - you can tell Jack was in his element. He LOVED the attention.

Nap time

Here lately, Jack has been hard to find when we go into his room after his nap...



It is weird, I can almost hear him, I can call for him and he answers, so I know he is in his room somewhere, I just can't find him.

Then ALL OF A SUDDEN - POOF!



He pops up from under the blankets - silly Mommie for not knowing where he was - for the 50th+ time!

On another note, last night we had bad storms again and a ton of wind. I was tuning between the local weather and the Weather Channel (darn that Bill for taking all the air time!!!). It was probably from 8:30-12:30 last night. Well, when Daddy isn't home, I guess I feel like I have to take on the world while he is gone, so I was just ready, for 4 hours for Jack to start crying. Nope, he didn't. I think I have DeeDee to thank for that one, for completely wearing him out yesterday!! But, random, 2:00 this morning, I hear my door close. FREAK OUT. Thankfully, it was Jack Jack. After going to the restroom, and tucking him in my bed, I asked him what made him wake up. I just wanted to say Hello to you.

This morning when we woke up, he rolled over and layed across me and sweetly and softly said, I wuv you. And after about 3 or 4 seconds he continues, You're a princess.

Momma's Boy. And I don't see a single thing wrong with it!

Interesting

Like I have said before...everything gets taken apart and put to a new use.

But Jack got a new flashlight yesterday - $3.50. Do kids' toys ever cost that much?!? Regardless, we got it. It is like a mini projection set and Jack is really enjoying trying it all over the house. I actually think it is pretty neat. They had all kinds of sets - dinosaurs, race cars, bugs, etc. Jack picked the space set. I wish this pic showed the projection better...



And if you make the picture big, you will notice all the grass brought in from the guys cutting it. There goes that deep cleaning....

Fun ideas

Yep. Still thinking about it! And check out just a few of the fun ideas I came across last night. These are ways to introduce each letter or practice writing them:

Finger Painting (wouldn't Jack LOVE that?!?)
Markers
Dry rice on a baking sheet
Playdoh
Pipe Cleaners
Salt in a shoe box lid
pretzel sticks
Magnetic letters
Cooked spaghetti (maybe linguine...a bit more substantial?!?)
Wax Sticks
Side Walk Chalk
White crayon on white paper...then watercolor over it! MAGIC! (My favorite!!)
Create letter out of painters tape...then....just paint the entire paper and remove the tape!! (This is my second favorite)
Create letter out of masking tape the cover with cheerios
Create letter out of masking tape and cover with raisins
Create letter out of masking tape and cover with cotton balls
Create letter out of masking tape, cover with a piece of paper, and do rubbings with crayons! (So innocent and beautiful)
Sand box (I see a field trip!!)

Count them...18!!! That is nearly a new activity to do with each letter.

See how great this is going to be?!?!

And I am going to write out the plans each week with each letter, if you want to follow along. Or if you want to throw some of your own ideas out there, too, that would be awesome!!

And he is already getting into the letters after our trip to Staples yesterday:)

By the way

Some serious head way has been made tonight. Whew for blogging and brainstorming all at the same time.

I have great activities planned A-E so far and 3 great great great websites, too:)

Can't wait for September 7th.

Goings On

Too much.

Friday was a migraine headache (didn't know it at the time) that led to a panic attack (never had one of those in my life and hope never to again) and complete worthlessness for the rest of the day.

Saturday I painted the dining room. And was wiped from the day before, so haven't finished completely yet. Took a nap. Went to the pool. An early night.



(Now have to recover the parson's chairs/window treatments/wallpaper the ceiling/new mirror/new lamps/art/table decoration...needless to say...what did I bite off?!?)

Sunday completely hung around. Did nothing. Tried to take a nap that morning, decided to go to the grocery store. Went to play at a friend's house.

Monday the world came back.

Tuesday I got a bit of work done in the morning and met a life-long friend for lunch. Came home and completely deep cleaned the downstairs...minus the kitchen due to the fish tank still desperately needing to be de-algaefied.

Today I ran errands with Jack. Fed him and got him to nap. Went and ran more errands by myself, and felt like I was in the car all day. And there is still so much left to do.

But I feel like we are just at ends here. I feel like I can't get things done. Not just household things, or work things, but like, Jack things. And clearly these are the things that are so very important and going by the wayside. And I am the guilty mother. Terribly.

I have quite the background in Education. And at this point, I am not really sure for which Education qualifies me. Historically, it proved to set up beautiful classrooms, design curriculum that was in alignment with everything it was supposed to PLUS extra stuff that was good and worthwhile, and a perfectly maintained classroom of students ranging from a total of 18-22. And I am confident to say that I did it fairly well.

But I am finding it tough to transfer this over to my life with my son. I feel like my background in Education is void. I feel completely out of touch with it. We do not have any beautiful learning area set up, nor do have anything readily available to enrich Jack's life with, and behavior around here is out of control. And I am the reason why.

My son is clearly bright enough to learn something if I offered it to him. My son thrives on doing new things (if he experiences it himself, of course!!). My son loves attention from me - real one-on-one attention - that I haven't really given him for some time now. My son gets his hands on something and can run with it and create some "pretty cool" things. So why is my son, my Jack, my baby, my love, taking the back seat? Why isn't he the one that is getting everything and anything else suffers? Why?

Clearly, I am having great difficulty balancing life. And I have got to regain control. Fortunately school starts back in at the end of next week, so that will help, but we will be picking up and going to the beach for Labor Day. My vow to myself, you, and to most importantly, my boy right here and now, is that he is going to be up top where he belongs.

I am going to make up some lesson plans sheets. Just like in the old days (notice I didn't say good, because I am finding that good is totally relative). I am going to plan the day. I am going to center it around the alphabet and we are going to learn. So much. I am going to learn Jack and Jack is going to learn stuff. And that will be the priority. Period.

I can clean later. I can do a lot of work during nap time. I can do a lot of work after bed time. I can iron later.

And that is that. *Sigh*

Fun time with a Friend

Sunday afternoon, Cameron and his family had us over. We played, sweated, talked, played, made a mess, ate, played, ate sweets, and cleaned up!! What fun it is to have a friend!

Gotta love having a playset in your backyard!!





And they were on the rescue to save all the farm animals from the burning barn (this was thanks to Cameron's Daddy's great creativity!!).



Cameron showed Jack his scooter



And his coop



And officially had to take a rest and enjoy a cool cocktail!



We then took the party indoors and got out every single one of the toys he had out - it was so great hanging out and having fun again! Can't wait to return the favor now!!

Sooooo....

...it's is 8:00 Sunday morning and JMM is not awake yet. There is no talking. There are no banging sounds up there. There are no toilets being flushed. There is no one looking out his blinds. There is no one trying to sleep under his bed (like his dog). There are no slippers out of the closet in the bed. There are no hands being washed. Nothing. Seriously nothing is going on!

Jack is seriously still up there, passed out, sleeping hard, getting some rest that he has needed for quite a while now.

Now, too bad the next door neighbor's dog wasn't barking non-stop at 7:20 this morning, right outside my window. SOMEONE...LET IT IN!

Crunching Numbers

Thanks to Jack and his thinking, number crunching, and advisement, we are officially refinanced. 30 years. 30 years. I will be 60, Jason will be 65, and Jack will be older than I am today - 33. But like I said it is official and quite a relief!

BTW

Mena is officially in a hard cast now. No bars. And only a few weeks until that comes off. And as Jack explained excitedly to her on the phone, "Now we can sit together!"

New Car Fever

Is MY guy thing. I know not all guys are into them, but BOTH of mine are. They notice them on the road (this one is like Mommie's/Daddy's/DeeDee's/Mena's etc or a, "What do you think about that one?!"), they notice them in parking lots (the other day, I found out that Sarah drives some type of BRIGHT YELLOW Chevy sedan of some sort or again a, "What do you think about that one?!"), and now we love to look at them on the internet. In all price ranges...really...even up into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some are brand new, some are fifty years old, because why not, right?! (Not my kind of internet surfing, though. I like looking for used children's instruments, people's blogs, and now Facebook!!!)

This morning, when I came downstairs, they were up to it again. Jason was looking at one particular kind that has the movie screens in the back of the front seat head rests. Well, of course, Jack announced, YEAH I WANT DOSE! And Jack's Daddy said, Mom, what do you think?! Two out of three of us want it!!!

So I guess I am beginning to see how decisions will be made around here...2 out of 3! It was actually a funny way for me to start my morning, with only being half-way through a cup of coffee.

...and on a side note, I know that the video things work GREAT for some people, but I have actually enjoyed being in the car without them with my Jack for almost three and a half years. We talk about so much when we are putting around town. So for two people that love to talk, it has been the best for us.

Pre-Blogging

Here is how I kept record of Jack's beginning vocabulary:



Which is why I am now blogging. And finding a site that I can upload the blog to that will publish it in a hardback book!

I HEART Technology!

The following explains how we feel lately

What has turning three done to this child?

BOWLING

After work, we headed to the Bowling Lanes...HILARIOUS! Jack's bowling ball b.a.r.e.l.y. made it down the lane, but he jumped up and down in excitement its whole journey down the lane. Believe it or not, Jack actually got a Spare one of his times up!









Somewhere in here, Jack stepped over the foul line (and the obnoxious buzzer goes off) and he fell, down on the lane, with chin to bang right into the ball. There is a little black and blue action going on today, but nothing the kid couldn't handle.



As a bonus at the end, the guys went on a "Haunted Mine" ride. The chairs moved and shook and Jack enjoyed it!



We need to work on leaving fun events here lately, but Jack was so happy to see other people drinking and eating pizza next to us in their lane and thought that was exactly what we needed to do. His Mommie and Daddy had other plans.

All in all, he (and we, actually) can't wait to go back bowling again, but it will be a very special occasion!

Morning Rational

Setting: 8:30 ish this morning, by the pantry.

Jack: Mommie, can I have a wowwipop?!

Mommie: Ummmm, how about a banana?

Jack: Can I have a banana wowwipop?!

Gotta love it!

Things to do

This is what Jack was wearing on Friday when his DeeDee came to pick him up! She said she loved it so much that she changed him right away so nothing would get on his shirt. Jason and I saw it at Cracker Barrel and just knew we had to have it!

There was some Golf Cart riding, ball playing, outside being, grocery store shopping with Papa, spending the night, and anything else Jack wanted to do (and probably eat) for 2 days straight! What fun for him.

Getaway

I returned home yesterday from another getaway, this time all by myself. It was so nice to get away with a good friend, just talking and talking, laying by the ocean under an umbrella that would be moved whenever we wanted it to, and eating good good good seafood. It was nice to not have to worry about anything. I never had to look at a clock, unless it was my belly telling me that it was probably time to eat, I woke up when my body told me it was time, it just felt so good to get away and recharge. How healthy that is as a wife, mom, and business owner.

Now I sit here in quiet, Jack getting a much-deserved nap, Jason out in the last match of his Match Play tournament (this is definitely thanks to DeeDee and Papa who had Jack overnight so Jason could play late Friday and all day Saturday!), Niki is off somewhere all by herself, and I am ready to get back into the swing of things with my little family...until the end of this month when we do our annual trip with the Myers family for Labor Day.

What I am so thankful for right now is Jason. This man, whole-heartedly and selflessly takes care of my life. He thinks though any decision I have to make, just to make sure I am on the right track or maybe there is a smoother way to handle something I haven't thought about. He knows what to say, right when I need to hear it, good and bad. He takes care of my son. I can go off and not give anything a second thought. And from what I am finding, there aren't many women out there that are able to do this with their children or husbands. I love what an in-tune, hands-on, and involved Daddy Jason is. My guys played golf, they cut the grass, they got on each other's nerves, yet Jason wouldn't have complained about a single thing and he would just say to have a good time. He takes care of my job, our business, our future while I am gone, so all I have to do is come back and handle some accounting. He takes care of my heart. And I feel safe, complete, and lucky. This guy is my partner, my love, my everything. This guy is my stability in so many ways. This guy is my reality. This guy is the way so many of my dreams come true.

You've got Mail!

Jack got mail - I wish you could see the shape of the envelope that it came in, but for security reasons, I'm not going to scan in that part!!







And he really did. And tonight at dinner I asked him if he wanted to go back there again and he excitedly nodded, immediately his faced changed and he started shaking his head from side to side and said very disappointingly, But I don't know how to get down there.

Pool Pics

From a couple weeks ago...

Kari came out and we headed to the pool just by ourselves and were met by the boys after nap time! A friend came, too, with his daughter, and I swear, we didn't coordinate the kids' suits!





And it was during that phase when it was COLD to go to the pool! Either Jack was having a blast or he was freezing with the silly smile on him!

A day of workin' hard

First there was some playdoh



And check out the new vinal, ELASTIC, tablecloth that doesn't move no matter what we are doing! Thanks, Nana Pat!



And then some cuttin' the grass



(He really didn't cut it with the reel mower...plus the thing is bigger than him!)



There was some serious talks yet again, not listening, the kid won't follow a single direction and here lately he won't stay in the bed. Today at naptime I caught him standing on a chair looking out his blinds. So tonight, he is in bed and I have heard a couple of noises, but I am going to keep my fingers crossed tightly that he learned some type of lesson today.

What's weird is that he can go from one extreme to the other in no time. So when I was tucking him in, he was making funny faces, laughing and kissing...now, just imagine the extreme opposite.

This is for Uncle Jim

When Jack woke up his first morning home, he finished his milk and immediately thought about his motorcycle...you know...the one with the loud motor.

Here is his



We'll bring it so you two can go for a ride together!

Surprise

This is what I found when we got home!



My new rug and I love it. And my hubby got all fancy pants on me and angled our table and I love it!

Now all I need are my seat cushions and a table decoration and I will be a happy girl!

Last Day in Daytona

I woke up before everyone. And there wasn't much I could do in our room, while Jack was sleeping. When he did finally wake up, since it was our last day there, I told him he could go wake everyone up! He walked into Mena's room and said BOO! then out to Pappap he went.

This trip down there went too fast.

We didn't respect the sacred coffee time too well, sorry Dad, but you did handle it well! That is just what you get for sleeping in.

It was very important to me to clean up everything as best as possible for Mom before I left. I could finally do something for her! Fortunately Pappap took Jack back down to the lake so I could have some peace in doing so.

Before I knew it, it was time to load up and head to the airport. A bathroom break and many many many quarters later, we got there, were able to drop off our stuff curbside and off my parents and the Pappap Bus went. I was a wreck. I remember Jack sitting in the stroller, the one he hasn't been in forever, absently staring at his Mena and Pappap driving off, which a pitiful wave. I couldn't hold back the tears. And how funny, because they do live what, 10 miles away from me, and will be coming home in probably 2 weeks, but it was still terrible. And I have never been good at goodbyes either.

I was very sad to leave. And at first I thought I was going to be away from home and Jason too long. I am weird at being away from home these days. But I didn't want to go home. It could be because Jason nailed an awesome order at the beginning of the week so I was completely stress free for the rest of the week. It could be because I did feel at home down in Daytona. It could be because I was around family I haven't been in a very long time. It could be because my Jack was starting some memories that I hold very dear to my heart and I deeply love that for him. It could be because my mom and dad finally opened up a part in their world that I had wanted to be a part of for quite a while now. It could be that I was a nervous wreck about flying. All I know is that I was really sad.

We did get in the airport and found our gate and Jack and I got a table for 2 at Outback in the Orlando Airport. And I ordered a draft beer, just me, and no one else there to enjoy one.

We returned back to the gate and the flight had been delayed by 30 minutes. Storms in Atlanta. We finally boarded and the pilot announced that we had been grounded for another 50 minutes. 50 more minutes on an airplane that was just sitting with a three year old. So I let him stand in our little area and he was having a ball flirting with the bachelorette party of 10 sitting next to us!



Then it all fell apart. The lady in front of us hit the flight attendant button and this is exactly what followed: I am feeling quite a bit nauseous because the little boy behind me keeps pushing on my chair and all I am trying to do is sleep. Is there another seat available I can move to? I think my freakin mouth dropped. As Jack's mother sitting on the airplane for another 45 minutes, mind you, I put him back up in his seat and strapped him in. The flight attendant came back and said there was, it was going to be in the back row. The lady said: Oh, you're kidding, then I won't be able to tilt my chair back and rest. This all happened in about a minute and a half span. The lady asked if we could switch seats and I promise you I wish I could think faster on my feet because it would have been good. I ended up switching, we were now the row behind the exit row, which made me feel good, but the lady in front of us now told the flight attendant that how is this fair to her. I assured her that my son was very good and if there were any issues, that she could feel more than comfortable to let me know.

Being as sad and anxious as I was, I ended up taking Jack back to the back of the airplane to use the restroom and just stand back there. I just knew I was going to say something to the lady that would NOT be nice. And the tears just kept overwhelming me.

There are many many more details that go along with her in regards to the way she boarded the plane (I should have known then) and got off that I won't go into. Fortunately I never saw her again.

Before I knew it, we were heading to our baggage claim and Jason was there to officially save the day. I knew now I was safe. Ready to be home but also wishing I was back in Daytona with both my guys and my parents.

Mom and Dad,

I can't wait for our next trip down. I can't wait to have Jack back in the Pappap Bus heading to Florida. I cannot thank you enough for everything while we were down there...you two were very generous. We sure had a great time all together. And Jack said this morning that he has paint on him from the tree park. HA!

Love,
Steph and Jack

Daytona - Day 4

EARLY EARLY Jack woke up and more coffee drinking and porch sitting started our day.

We actually went back to the lake to feed the fish and the big boys were out! It was just the four of us this time, Mena, Pappap, Jack and me.





We went back to the house to get ready to go back to the beach. It was a BEAUTIFUL day. I don't have any pictures, sadly. I have no idea why I wouldn't have taken my camera. Boo. We got some toys from their friend, Candie, and they were a total hit. Jack shoveled, raked, hoed, and filled buckets until as we joked, he reached the end of the internet. Officially and hard. All of a sudden the kid started crying. Without any explanation at all. He just cried. He needed to go to the bathroom, so I taught the kid to use the facilities in the ocean. Please don't think I am a bad person. It was a horrible experience for him. He likes the toilet! Then he said to me, I want my Daddy. I knew it was time to exit the building. We packed it up, planning to take the kid right home to bed. We were in the Pappap Bus and Jack told us, I wanna I wanna I wanna I wanna go somewhere to eat. I wanna eat at da beach. We all laughed so very much at this! He was so tired, but we did it and it was another one of my most favorite memories down there! We ate at a restaurant called, Ocean Deck. There was a nice breeze, again, open to the ocean, great music and delicious food. And Jack, officially, ate another meal while in Florida. And he was an awesome boy. On the way out, there were some guys sitting at the bar with bandanas on their heads and he asked his Pappap if they were PIRATES! HA!

Jack took an AWESOME nap, which was perfect because we were hosting dinner tonight for everyone. Pappap went to the store and came back with a little treat for his Jack.



Dinner was meatloaf (my request!), scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole, cole slaw, and caprese salad. Oh, it was heaven! Again, one table fit everyone and it was so very nice. Jack ate well and was a good boy, which was a total bonus and after a delicious dinner and incredible cheese cake, we all headed out to the porch.

A terrible storm came and everyone stayed out on the porch, even my new brave Jack! I think it has something to do with Pappap, though. I couldn't handle it, though, so i busied myself with printing off our boarding passes and such. Finally, around 9:30 the storm had passed enough that I was able to get Jack in bed, and me, too. The rumblings were still present, but we were both so tired that we just fell fast asleep.

Daytona - Day 3

More coffee drinking out on the porch started our day! Today we had major things to do - Mom had to go back to the doctor! She was so hopeful that the bar was coming out, but they returned a quick 30 minutes later with the bar, but GREAT news that the FOUR places that her arm bone broke are all back together and there are probably only 2 more weeks, another surgery to remove the bar (thank goodness she will be out!!) and a hard cast for a few more weeks. I think we were all relieved to know that they won't just be pulling metal pieces from her bones!

Once they got back, we went shopping! We were after more porch furniture. We went to get the side tables and another set of chairs and everything worked out perfectly - we got exactly what we were after...plus a pretend rifle and a surround sound speaker set! I also got to see the Speedway - HUGE!

We made it to the pool, which actually isn't one of my favorite parts of the trip. Jack enjoyed being in the water, of course, but he was so tired!!! I brought a lunch for him so after a while I had him sit on the side to eat and things just turned bad. Needless to say, we headed home for a nap. And I was a very upset Mother.

After nap, though we were much better. It was Port Hole night! Every Tuesday and Friday night the group down there goes to this restaurant also known as a Biker Bar. I enjoyed it, the food was great, I think Jack officially ate his first meal on vacation, and it was just wonderful to share something with my parents and their friends that I have been hearing about for a quite a while now.

When Dad finished his dinner, he took Jack outside and Jack's Mommie got a little break...THANK YOU DAD! I did, however follow, when I heard info that there were horse shoes out there. And that is what I found them doing!



Then we tried to check out Uncle Jim's motorcycle that we had tried to talk Jack into for days now! Uncle Jim kept teasing him that Bogey, his dog, would take it for a ride during Jack's naps, so Jack must have kept missing it!



And of course, it was too woud!!! (loud)



And I promise, it was probably the quietest, smoothest motorcycle I had ever heard!

We then went down to the lake to feed the fish and we were on the lookout for the big ones that we were hoping the guy with the net didn't take out. We took cheese, bologna, and bread and didn't get too much action, maybe because Jim and Bogey were there and Jim threw in some dog food that Bogey tried to retrieve...dogs!!





And I just loved this picture



We did have some luck with a baby turtle and some bread that Jack fed it!



After everyone went to bed, Dad and I sat up talking - about many things - and watching lightning far off in the distance go everywhere around us. We retired to bed earlier than we used to when we would get in these talks, and wouldn't you know it, the storm hit our area! And in a trailer, it is quite a bit louder than you would think! Jack cuddled right up to me during it and honestly, I was pretty thankful for this, too, because I needed his comfort to get through it myself! It fortunately was a pretty quick one.

Daytona - Day 2

We started our day off on the porch, where actually a lot happens. Coffee drinking, talking, sweating, fans blowing, wild parrots squawking, Bogey pacing around it looking for Jim, cocktail drinking, storm watching. Really, just about anything can happen out on the porch and I sit here now, thinking about it, wishing to be there either sitting on the bench or in those new chairs.

Today we were officially heading to the beach! It was a bit overcast, which ended up being good, but man, did it make the water cool!!

And he was off to meet his Pappap in the water



Look at this kid's face - isn't the beach just the best place in the world to be?







And he found the sand







Now, in Daytona, cars are allowed on the beach. I hated this, initially, and was a nervous wreck because Jack kept running from the water to where Mena was sitting, across the "road." The tides are quite high and low here, too, so you really have to set up camp pretty far back. This shot captures it just a little. I had just never seen this before.



Now, why I said I didn't like it initially. It is actually a brilliant idea. You can take WHATEVER you want...coolers, toys, chairs, etc and you don't have to worry about carrying it or anything. You just pull up to where you want to sit, unload, play, and load back up. The only negative is not being able to hose off, but Pappap said he didn't mind a little bit of sand getting into the Pappap Bus. He is going to investigate this so next time we go we can be true to Daytona!

We went out to lunch together where we sat out on a big deck overlooking the ocean. Draft beer, sun, lunch, and family, it doesn't get any better!

After a much needed nap and Pappap and Jim putting together new furniture for the porch, we lounged in style! They were so fancy and for such a great deal! We just hung out for the rest of the day and ended up ordering the best pizza I have ever had. So there Mom, Dad, and I were, eating our pizza together.