Working It

Not sure why Mr. Jack Peter's little expressions were so precious the other night (he's going to love being called precious in 15 years, I just know it), but he was in rare form. He doesn't demand attention in quite the same way that a certain someone else does but he also doesn't want to be left too far behind. He's got his own set of swanky moves, if he does say so himself, and thought it was pretty fun to show off his new winter gear from the Owens clan (sorry for the confusion :)). Thanks guys -- from all of us!

Here I am (and pay no attention to the naked girl in the background)!

Can I make my eyes be any bigger and bat my lashes any more? Nah. 

Doing the robot? Clapping?

I make truck sounds even better when my noggin is toasty warm.

Wowzer, I'm good looking!

Swing it.

Hey Ma, Look At Me

Even on the stressful days and the gray days and the busy days, I get to laugh at what these two nut jobs come up with the amuse themselves (and me). Why does it seem like a good idea to stuff yourself into a baby sleeping bag when you happen to be a tall-for-your-age almost-three year old with a big 'ol mess of curly madness on top? She didn't want to get out, either. Fine by me. Or why does "dressing yourself" with your sister's jammies entertain you for 45 minutes at a stretch nearly every morning for a week? I do enjoy watching your hard work that you show off by repeatedly trying to pull pants over your head. Heck, I don't care why they do it, I just care that I get to watch it. 

This? Now this did not amuse me. Thankfully, my coffee is 2/3 creamer so it wasn't hot, but I still wasn't the number #1 fan of myself for leaving my cup within lunging distance of the jacktopus. I went upstairs for two seconds (it always happens in two seconds or less), leaving behind a clean baby eating toast. I came back down (remember, in two seconds) to octo-arms jack who used one of his appendages to snag and dump my coffee and the others to eat his toast and smear peanut butter all over his ample cheeks. Not a fan. Dislike. Thumbs down. Boo.  

One More Time

Bad mama strikes again and she didn't post pictures from Jack's actual birthday. He reveled in more sugary goodness with some tasty ice cream (we were slightly better at limiting his pre-bed sugar intake with this than if he got his hands on a cupcake because he could inhale that in .03 seconds) and got his mitts onto some funtastic presents. (Not) Shockingly, his good pal Molly helped him open his loot and showed him (and continues to show him) how to use his new stuff. I noticed that another big sibling was similarly helpful with his little brother on his birthday... must be something in the water. 

Being one suits Jack well. He hasn't felt the need to stop going with the flow (thankfully) and he endures so much hugging/nudging/tackling/pushing that I cringe as I see a certain someone getting too close to him but he just gives her a big sloppy grin... and has the bruises to prove that he ends up on the wrong end of things too often. He's not walking on his own but does lots and lots of standing (and then proud clapping). I'm guessing 14 months before he gets around to dragging his booty around on his feet but we'll see. He's healthy, he's happy, he drools... what more could we ask for?

What was that that you wanted me to do, Dad? Can you show me one more time?

Lemme just see this for myself...

Hee hee. Hee hee. YUM. 

Oh look! Bunnies on this paper!

Jack Jack, why don't I just show you. You're taking too long. 

Ohhhh, lookit, wheels...

And blocks. I am very serious now that I have new toys.

Okay, not that serious. 

Boo to You

Is there any way you could not love Halloween when little kids are involved? There is some serious, saccharine, ooey gooey cuteness happening here and we haven't even gotten to the candy (well, that's not true for me, strictly speaking...). The kids had a Halloween party at school on Friday (I went dressed as the baby sitter) and both were digging their costumes, which was gigglicious (sorry Katie). Molly was pretty sick yesterday and it was rainy this morning so I wasn't sure we were going to get out for trick or treating tonight but the skies and the fever have cleared and I think we'll be good to go this evening.

Here a moo, there a moo, everywhere a moo moo.

I wish I could say there was a theme with these two but other than a train, I wasn't sure what went with a train conductor (and I think she's more of a train engineer but it was a cuter look). My sister-in-law had passed along the cow costume and it was too funny to pass up anyway. 

Sugar-free good times.

I ended up buying the hat and kerchief and only made the jumper but it satisfied my  need for something homemade.

Molly and I took advantage of Jack's early nap today and carved us up some jack o' lanterns. It's a good thing he wasn't around so that he didn't end up with a candle on his head, too. 

She preferred to scoop out the insides once I had done most of the dirty work.

There's the look of a proud scooper.

Inspecting her handiwork.

.

Buddies.

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

I leave one of our weekday mornings unplanned and un-activied so that we can go outside and enjoy our usually gorgeous weather. On these mornings when I wake up and see gray skies or big, non-playground-conducive clouds or rain drops about to be a-fallin' on my head, a little bit of panic can set in because we're the type of people who have a lot of wiggles and we need to get them out. The other morning, when the above happened, I didn't panic -- oh no. We embraced the rainy cold and got excited about an inside morning. Since my kids would always prefer to be in as few clothes as possible, they disrobed and became human paintbrushes. 

Not sure about this stuff, mom.

I, on the other hand, am completely sure about this.

I'd rather show off how I stand on my own...

and then have a dangerously close encounter with a plumber look (one with love handles).

and then I'll show off my stunning physique.
 

A little face pain always makes things go better.

I don't know why they call it "finger paint"...

 

it's much better described as body paint. 

I'm out of here with all this madness.

Jack "Dangerfield" Doyle

One for the Books

We had a little birthday brunch celebration for Jack's birthday this morning with our good friends. Although the muffins were a miserable failure, it was really fun to celebrate our little big man's day. True to the cliche, I can't believe it's been a year since we first met the little dude; he snuggled and charmed his way into our lives the moment he arrived (although, at this time last year I was wondering when the heck he was going to arrive).

They (the ever-elusive "they") say that the first birthday is more of a milestone for parents than for munchkins since it means we made it through the first year (relatively) unscathed. That may be true for the first kid but I think Jack deserves lots credit for making it through his inaugural year with an enthusiastic sibling, crazy schedules, multiple cross-country trips, the occasional "oops, I forgot to change your diaper all day" brain lapse on his mom's part, toys being unceremoniously ripped out of his hands, many hair brushings, sharing his bed with inanimate babies, countless bear hugs, lots of schlepping around, and many, many other moments of madness. He does it, best of all, with a sunny disposition and a good natured gleam in his eye. I'm already proud of my boy for his forgiving nature and  for having a lot of fight in him when he decides that he's had enough.

Thanks, most of all, little Jack Peter, for putting up with your mom's enthusiastic crafting today. Please don't outgrow your need for a cape and a crown.

The birthday plate for the littlest super hero.

Who could have guessed that Molly would try and take possession of ALL the crowns??

Super Jack

Look how happy he is in his birthday cape... 

Someone spies the cupcakes.

Hey people, what happened?? Bring the good stuff over this way.

Molly's birthday present to Jack -- maple leaf ribbon.

I spy something chocolatey...

No dad, I will not share with you. 

Fish Kiss

When I was little, someone asked me what my dad did for a job. "He counts sheets" is what I told them. Of course he did. Doesn't every hospital in the country need a sheet counter? I mean, my dad is good at math, he likes things orderly, and... I've got nuthin' else. I did think it was a cool job, though. What goes around comes around, apparently, because when Molly asked where John was the other day and when I said "at work, downtown", she said (with complete certainty), "oh, he's kissing the fish". Ummmm... Me: "Is that what dad does at work?" Molly: "Yup" and she went back to her readily scheduled programming like it was no big deal. In all fairness, there is a fish tank at John's work and I guess I never got a copy of his official job description so maybe she's on to something? The real question is if it's demotion since she used to report that he would "look at his computer and talk on the phone" at work. Frankly, that sounds pretty boring compared to kissing fish.