Highlights from tonight:
We went to the New Families dinner at Jack's future preschool. It was nice, a potluck buffet, great enchiladas and lemon bars, a terrific storyteller... and this whole room crawling with little KIDS. My baby is one of those kids now. It was sad and joyful at the same time to see him jumping right in and playing with the other toddlers.... he is so grown up and though I am sad my baby is gone it is exciting to see the kid he is becoming. He really enjoyed the storyteller, gradually abandoning the coloring he was doing and moving slowly toward the circle of kids who were listening. And when the storyteller asked the kids to gather around, to see what happens when "mean juice" (vinegar) mixes with baking soda-- well, didn't my boy just head right in to the inner circle, leaning in on his knees to get a close as he could, sharing smiles with the kids on either side, saying "Do it adin!!" to the storyteller. I felt this amazing surge of love and pride for him, watching that. It doesn't take much, huh?
In other news, Jack can apparently now make the "j" sound. He no longer refers to himself as "Dack". Its just Jack now. Cool. But I am melancholy thinking about how much I am going to miss his funny toddler-speak....
Overheard from the back of the car on the way to preschool: "You remember, mommy, you remember how to make 3? (three fingers up). See? I be three too, Daddy! I getting to be 3. When I am 3 I go to preschool and I go to preschool now!"
Jack has it all figured out.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
A perfect son
Tonight is one of those nights when I am sure that my son is the world's most perfect child. Coming home from Lakewood at 10:30, the boy was sleepy and a little stuffy and super cuddly. Daddy brought him in from the car and settled into the glider for a little "tuggle" before bed. I headed off to refill and set up his humidifier. I remarked in a whisper to Nat that I was having a hard time getting it to reset and get running. Then from somewhere in the vicinity of Nat's chest comes a little, hoarse and sleepy voice: "You sould plug it in, Mommy, that will make it work." :) And thus it begins, a lifetime of my child helping me to deal with technology....
Nat and I laughed all the more as we remembered the classic story from college, when I complained to Nat that my TV was not working... and my brilliant then-boyfriend waltzed in and saved the day... by plugging it in.
To my credit, Jack, the humidifier WAS plugged in tonight. Really.
Nat noted, as we giggled and hugged on our sleepy and adorable child, that someday Jack would be bored by hearing that story, over and over again.
Jack lifted his head and with surprising enthusiasm, said, "Yeah!! I get bored at Gram's house...!" Then buried his head in Nat's chest again.
I love him.
Nat and I laughed all the more as we remembered the classic story from college, when I complained to Nat that my TV was not working... and my brilliant then-boyfriend waltzed in and saved the day... by plugging it in.
To my credit, Jack, the humidifier WAS plugged in tonight. Really.
Nat noted, as we giggled and hugged on our sleepy and adorable child, that someday Jack would be bored by hearing that story, over and over again.
Jack lifted his head and with surprising enthusiasm, said, "Yeah!! I get bored at Gram's house...!" Then buried his head in Nat's chest again.
I love him.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
the things he says....
Jack is quickly approaching 2 1/2. He's a really remarkable little being these days, becoming more and more independent, opinionated, at times intense, and increasingly affectionate. Most of all he is more and more verbal and he really does keep us in stitches with the things he says, and the way he says them. His current "speech differences" only add to the effect. As a general rule, initial-s sounds come out as "D":, initial-f sounds come out as "P" and initial-c sounds come out at "T". Once you get all that straight I personally think he's very easy to understand...
Here are some of the things he's said recently to make us laugh...
"Her have a cute little foot!"-- referring to Corydon's feet. He loves her feet and likes to pick them up and show them to us. He expresses his undying love for Cor at a ratio of about 1:5, compared to how often he says he loves us.
"look, look...." This is the intro to about everything he says recently. This can be followed up with "...there's an airplane" or "..I have a jet engine in my playroom" or, as this evening, "look, look, I'm cute!". yes, yes you are.
While brandishing his used kleenex towards me, repeatedly, from the backseat of the car: "tee, mommy, see, I got a lot of boogers! tee???" Over and over until I turned to look and compliment his production.
"You have really long arms" "Your'e really strong" "You can do it, I know you can"-- some of his recent repertoire of compliments. He is very very earnest about his compliments, and it is very touching.
"Fthwee!!!" Said with pride while holding up 3 fingers. A new skill, with which he is quite enamored. The really cute time was when NPR was playing an excerpt from MLK's "I have a dream" speech, and after hearing MLK say "Free at last", Jack holds up his 3 fingers joyfully and shouts "three at last!!" He is frickking hilarious sometimes.
Here are some of the things he's said recently to make us laugh...
"Her have a cute little foot!"-- referring to Corydon's feet. He loves her feet and likes to pick them up and show them to us. He expresses his undying love for Cor at a ratio of about 1:5, compared to how often he says he loves us.
"look, look...." This is the intro to about everything he says recently. This can be followed up with "...there's an airplane" or "..I have a jet engine in my playroom" or, as this evening, "look, look, I'm cute!". yes, yes you are.
While brandishing his used kleenex towards me, repeatedly, from the backseat of the car: "tee, mommy, see, I got a lot of boogers! tee???" Over and over until I turned to look and compliment his production.
"You have really long arms" "Your'e really strong" "You can do it, I know you can"-- some of his recent repertoire of compliments. He is very very earnest about his compliments, and it is very touching.
"Fthwee!!!" Said with pride while holding up 3 fingers. A new skill, with which he is quite enamored. The really cute time was when NPR was playing an excerpt from MLK's "I have a dream" speech, and after hearing MLK say "Free at last", Jack holds up his 3 fingers joyfully and shouts "three at last!!" He is frickking hilarious sometimes.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Happy Valentine's Day!
We had a fun Valentine's weekend, which seemed to center around baking. Jack is becoming quite a little chef. He absolutely love cooking with us and while his help means things do take a little longer, and get a little messier, it's worth it. Here are some images of this weekend's work.
This first one is a video; click on it and it should link to the album...
This first one is a video; click on it and it should link to the album...
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Winter continues...
We had a brief spell of weather in the high 30's long enough to melt every bit of our 2 feet of snow and turn the world into a rather muddy, disgusting place. Then it froze up again and now this weekend we are blanketed once again in a nice covering of snow. If it has to be cold it may as well be white.
We had a lovely jaunt to Cumberland Park this morning, and Jack learned how to make snow angels. Corydon had a wonderful time bounding about in the dazzling, unmarred white of the fields, and we all spent some time "chugga chugga-ing" around making train tracks. Jack has discovered the glory of snow pants and (finally!) adequate mittens and spent much of snow-playing time laying on his belly pushing the snow around. For a while he would yell "ready and one two set go!" and throw himself down face first. He's a riot.
He continues to be increasingly verbal these days. Yesterday evening we enjoyed a feast of Dewey's pizza and during the mea Jack decided that wearing his sauce-covered napkin on his head like a hat would be fun. Hard to stop him from doing these things when you see the joy on his face. It was SUCH a good idea to him, SUCH fun. Then, after realizing that there'd been a bit of sauce on that napkin, the boy thoughtfully remarked, "My hair is really, really.....pizza-y. We haf to wash it with the bathtub." I was pretty impressed with the invented adjective.
He and I had a lovely time in the tub later in the evening.
He's really been a very pleasant, good, funny little boy these days. With the exception, of course, of his ever-increasing manipulations at bedtime. It's not that he's BAD about going to bed, and he's very sweet and appealing the whole time... but it is really amazing the number of stalling techniques that boy can pull out! He has discovered, unfortunately, just how much we do like to "tuggle" with him (as he denies us this pleasure all day) and now will ask for "one more tuggle, please.." So hard to refuse.
Another heart-wrenchingly cute new development: Jack has learned to apologize. Which is a good thing! But he now thinks he needs to apologize anytime anyone is upset. So he will apologize if HE falls down. It is ridiculously, pitifully cute when he is crying and getting a hug and saying "I torry, I torry I fall down, Daddy!" And now, today, he has added "It's my fault..." It may soon be impossible to deny him anything!
We had a lovely jaunt to Cumberland Park this morning, and Jack learned how to make snow angels. Corydon had a wonderful time bounding about in the dazzling, unmarred white of the fields, and we all spent some time "chugga chugga-ing" around making train tracks. Jack has discovered the glory of snow pants and (finally!) adequate mittens and spent much of snow-playing time laying on his belly pushing the snow around. For a while he would yell "ready and one two set go!" and throw himself down face first. He's a riot.
He continues to be increasingly verbal these days. Yesterday evening we enjoyed a feast of Dewey's pizza and during the mea Jack decided that wearing his sauce-covered napkin on his head like a hat would be fun. Hard to stop him from doing these things when you see the joy on his face. It was SUCH a good idea to him, SUCH fun. Then, after realizing that there'd been a bit of sauce on that napkin, the boy thoughtfully remarked, "My hair is really, really.....pizza-y. We haf to wash it with the bathtub." I was pretty impressed with the invented adjective.
He and I had a lovely time in the tub later in the evening.
He's really been a very pleasant, good, funny little boy these days. With the exception, of course, of his ever-increasing manipulations at bedtime. It's not that he's BAD about going to bed, and he's very sweet and appealing the whole time... but it is really amazing the number of stalling techniques that boy can pull out! He has discovered, unfortunately, just how much we do like to "tuggle" with him (as he denies us this pleasure all day) and now will ask for "one more tuggle, please.." So hard to refuse.
Another heart-wrenchingly cute new development: Jack has learned to apologize. Which is a good thing! But he now thinks he needs to apologize anytime anyone is upset. So he will apologize if HE falls down. It is ridiculously, pitifully cute when he is crying and getting a hug and saying "I torry, I torry I fall down, Daddy!" And now, today, he has added "It's my fault..." It may soon be impossible to deny him anything!
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