Big Brother, Jack!

I am way behind on blogging...one entry for the month of November is stinky.  I had to come out of the gates with something good to impress, so here it is:  It's true...Jack is going to be a big brother!  On or around July 17th, we will be welcoming a new member into the family.  I am trying to sell Jack on the idea of a sibling.  When I first asked him if he wanted to be a big brother, he enthusiastically replied, "No way!".  I have been telling him about how cool it will be to be the big man in the house and all of the things that he can teach the baby.  Now when I ask him, he says "Okay".  Maybe we're getting somewhere.

I was hoping to avoid the nausea that I experienced when pregnant with Jack, but no luck...it's here in full force.  I am also pretty tired.  Through all of the first trimester stuff, I always find the nausea a little comforting, as I feel that I know everything is okay if I feel sick.  Kind of strange, maybe.  Ben has been doing a great job, pitching in extra with laundry, meal prep, and early morning Jack duty.  He gets the Gold Star!

Jack continues to thrive and do well.  Each day his vocabulary expands.  He routinely makes four word sentences.  We have had a few five word ones.  Last week while riding in the car, he said, "I read books to babies to make Amy happy".  Nine words!  I could hardly believe it.  More importantly, though, I was focusing on the meaning.  Amy is Aunt Amy, Ben's sister.  She is currently pregnant with twins and due any day now.  He is excited about her babies and also concerned about making Aunt Amy happy.  Hopefully, he can slide into his new role as cousin and help his transition to big brother be a little smoother.

Trick-or-Treat 2008

Trick-or-Treat 2008 was a giant success!  This is the first year that Curious George aka Jack has really known what was going on.  All day Friday we practiced how we were going to knock on doors and what we were going to say.  To say that he was excited would be an understatement.  He started asking to go around 10:30 am.

George didn't want to put on his costume, but once he did, he didn't want to take it off.  He pranced around the house saying "I am George!".  First, we went to Mimi and Pop's.  He filled his basket with plain M & M's and the Matchbox car set of emergency vehicles.  Then he went next door to Judy and Al's where he scored a John Deere tractor (even one he didn't have in his extensive collection yet---bonus!!!).  BTW, gotta love those folks who don't load your kid up with candy---thank you. Next we headed out towards home and hit up Aunt Amy.  She was waiting with a special goodie bag.  We ended our night at Ken and Jeanne's  house for dinner.  Jeanne made a great dinner for us and Ken (aka "K" to Jack) fed Jack about fourteen cookies.  A great time was had by all.  Boppo and Nana (Ben's parents) didn't make it up in time from VW for Friday night, so Jack got to dress up again on Saturday and visit them.  Who knew Halloween could be so exhausting!

Why I Love the YMCA

Yesterday, Thursday, Ben, Jack, and I headed for the Y.  Jack goes to kid watch and Ben and I workout nearly every Thursday before work.  The schedule works for us and if we have a set time to go, we're more likely to be guilted into going.

So, I'm doing my thing on the treadmill.  To me it feels like an out and out sprint.  Granted, I am only running at 4.6 mph, but for someone with a 27 inch inseam, it feels like I'm Flo Jo making her way down the backstretch.  This older woman (greater than 65) gets on the treadmill beside me.  She's walking for 10 minutes and then gets off.

I finish my twenty minutes of hell (aka running, but always feel sooo good afterward).  I did the resistance machines for arms and legs and then headed to the locker room to shower.  Awaiting me in there was the little lady on the next treadmill.

She told me that I was doing a really great job running.  She wished she could still run.  Now, I know that I am not a track star.  Usually I feel like I'm going to cough up one or both lungs while on the treadmill.  Until I turned 30, I had NEVER run for 20 minutes consecutively in my life...not even sure if I had broke 5 or 10 minutes before.  It was so nice and uplifting to have someone (even if she was 65+) recognize your effort.  That was my little piece of gratitude that I felt yesterday.  I don't know her name, but "THANK YOU" little blonde lady with a frizzy ponytail for making me feel like my hypoxia on the treadmill is not all in vain.  You made my day!!!!!  Sometimes it's the little things in life that mean so much....

Jack's First Pumpkin Carving

Today we carved Jack's first pumpkin ever.  Uncle Tom bought it for him three weeks ago and it has been sitting outside just waiting for the perfect time to carve it.

I thought Jack would be grossed out by the pumpkin's slimy guts, but it was actually Mommy who thought she may need a moment to herself.  Ugh!!!  Jack was a trooper, pulling out the seeds and scooping out the insides.  What a great helper!  His favorite tool was the "Goop Scoop" that came with the carving kit.  He mastered using that in no time flat.

When we were all done, he was very proud of his pumpkin creation.  We put it by the front door with the hay bale, scarecrow, and the mum.  We're anxiously waiting for it to get dark tonight so we can light it up!

Library Day!

Today Jack went to the library with my parents for his weekly group.  Last week was a little rough for him...he was influenced by some naughty classmates and decided to join in their antics.  Who knows...maybe he was the ring leader.  I am not one of those parents who kids themselves and thinks that my child only acts up when he's around "bad kids".  This week, things went MUCH better.  Mimi reported that he was extremely well behaved and all the kids wanted to hold his hand in the circle.  She said that Jack bent down and took the hand of a little girl who wasn't joining on one side, and on the other, a hand of a difficult classmate who was acting badly.  My heart leapt!  My child showed compassion and tolerance.  I know it sounds a little far-fetched to infer these things from one little act, but hearing it made me want to cry--just a little.  I don't think I'm overly hormonal, I am just excited as I look at this little man who has morphed from my baby!

Update on Jack's fish:  All four goldfish have now died and the bottom feeder thing too.  Ben and I suck at keeping fish alive.  Thank goodness we are better at parenting than aquatics!  Drained tank, refilled, conditioned water, and getting new fish tomorrow.  We're going for something more resilient and harder to kill.  Wish us luck!!!!

When Did He Grow Up?

So, we got back from Vegas on Friday night.  We were only gone for five nights total.  I am in awe of how much our son has grown up.  It's probably been happening all along, but when you're with him day after day, you don't tend to notice as much.  Today, I am proud to report that he wore his big boy underwear in the CAR BOTH WAYS from Mimi and Pop's house with NO ACCIDENTS.  This is a first for a round trip of success.  I am so proud of him!

He's becoming so verbal...and actually making sense.  We've not graduated to saying "yes" yet, but are now saying "uh-huh" instead.  A huge improvement and a breakthrough in the communication process.

When I was young, my Grandma used to say that life passes by so quickly.  Before you know it, your kids are grown up, ect...  I just thought it was an old person thing.  I lived a life where summers were never ending and the school year was even longer.  I think that I have reached that old person place.  Days, weeks, months, and years now seem to fly.  I can't believe that my 7 lb. 4 oz. baby is now two years old, going potty on a big toilet, and forming five word sentences!  Where does the time go?

Las Vegas 2008

Just got back from Vegas...great time.  Ben and I went with 2 other couples (Bethany and Matt--we stayed at their timeshare & Scott and Audrey).  It was nice to spend some time with them, as we don't get to see them very often.

First time I did the karaoke thing--disaster for me.  It's a little bit more intimidating getting up in front of people, as opposed to doing it in the car for an audience of one--Jack.  First time playing blackjack.  Won 10 bucks, with a lot of help  (still have no clue how to do it by myself--much practice needed to be able to sit at a table by myself).

So, we had a super time, ate really good dinners, and talked about Sarah Palin way too much!  Going on vacation is nice, but it's always rewarding to come home and snuggle with your kids!

Note:  Pictures- top:  Bellagio Fountains from Olives Restauraunt

middle:  All of us at Olives

bottom:  The girls singing at Harrahs

A Perfect Afternoon in the Sandbox

Somedays I feel like my child is being controlled by a monster.  This was one of these days.  He appeared to wake up on the wrong side of the bed and it went downhill from there.  Right now, for those of you who don't have 2 year olds living in your house, you probably wouldn't even know this stage exists, we are in the "loud phase".  We only know one volume:  earsplitting.

Sometime between 5am and 3:30pm (after a nap, of course) he morphed into this delightful child, one who I wanted to spend time with.  After getting home this afternoon, we went outside and he played in his sandbox for an hour.  He was content and happy, and I was a satisfied Mommy.  This hour on a random Thursday afternoon was the most rewarding that I've had in a while.  He played, I read a magazine beside the sandbox, and we chatted every so often about life.  The weather was perfect and so was my company!

New Additions to the Family--a New Fish Tank!

Jack has joined the Wednesday library reading group for 2 and 3 year olds again this year.  Miss Judy is the leader again.  Today was the first session and my parents took him.  Everyone survived and vowed that they would go back next week.

Jack has a new addition in his bedroom.  We are now the proud owners of a 2 and 1/2 gallon fish tank.  To say he is obsessed with it is a gross under estimate.  Amazingly, he is more responsible than his Mommy and reminds me to feed the fish nightly.  If it were up to him, we'd feed them six times a day.  We started with four goldfish and some disgusting bottom feeder mini catfish looking thing.  On Monday, we had our first man down.  Of course, Ben was working late...I had to deal with the lost soldier.  I think it was Nemo the first who died, but who knows...they are all named Nemo (or according to Jack "Meemo").  We'll try to get a picture of him with his tank for the next entry.  The problem:  he moves so darn fast that the camera can't keep up with him!

2nd Night in the Big Boy Bed!!!!

Last night was Jack's first night in his "new" room and his big boy bed.  It was a little rough to begin with...sounded like a herd of elephants were in our upstairs for the first 15 minutes.  Lots of pounding with intermittent cries of, "Mommy!".  Tonight went much better...only five minutes of crying, so we're improving each night.  He seems to like his new bed, just not when he has to be in it alone and the lights are turned out.  He's such a trooper!

"Potty, Potty, Potty!"

Ok...we've entered the land of potty training.  It's going REALLY well.  Jack has successfully made it a few times in the car to and from Mimi and Pop's house without an accident.  Yesterday went out without a hitch, so I decided "why not?" today.

It was an early morning for us--cholesterol clinic day.  I got Jack up and he used the potty.  So far, so good.  I withheld his normal morning sippy cup of milk.  Smart, I thought.  We loaded up in the car.  Two minutes from home, he yelled, "Potty!  Potty!".  I pulled over in a church parking lot, of all places.  I popped open the hatch on the wagon, set the potty in, and he did his thing.  Ok.  I can deal with this, I am thinking.

Five miles later, "Potty!  Potty!".  Pulled off the paved road onto a dirt road.  Popped the hatch again and set up shop.  Successful, except for the eighteen mosquito bites I got while hanging out by the cornfield.  Pretty full morning...and all before 6:30am!  For the record, on a normal day, it's only a 20 minute commute! 

Our First Posting

Our first posting...I can hardly believe that I have crossed over to "the other side" of blogging.  I have always known that people do this, just not people I know.  Then came Bethany.  Now I'm feeling the pressure to keep up with her...

Anyways, this was a busy weekend for us.  Jack's second birthday was Sunday.  Saturday was his big birthday party--John Deere theme (of course).  Since Sunday was his actual birthday, Ben and I tried to make it extra special with chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast and swimming in the lake (complete with a trip to the island).  Jack ended his day with a stroller ride (which was very popular with him).  More pics of the party to follow.