A note about Jack...

I have just noticed that my most recent post is a bit Ivy-centric. So to remedy that, here are some updates on my boy...

On my list of "little things I think I won't forget, but probably will because they won't actually last forever":

Jack's current obsession is with Hot Wheels (and yes, I mean Hot Wheels, the brand. He knows how to find the manufacturer symbols on his cars and he wants nothing to do with Matchbox. All Hot Wheels, all the time... He likes to carry this collection of about 10 cars around with him in-- get this-- a "Deceased Solder's Belongings" bag that Nat got from an Army-Navy Surplus store years ago. It is just the right size, with a nice little drawstring, and he calls it the magic elevator. He has named each of his favorite cars, generally by their color. "Orange Color Changing car" or "Silver Car", for instance, though "Car with the point things on it" and "Hot rod" do break the mold. There is one car that is designated the "mean car" and Jack has a new fascination with having all the other cars fight this mean car and make him go away. Much time is spent with these cars, sitting together on the playroom floor. I am getting better at engine noises but nowhere near Jack's level of (almost-freakish) realism....

The best moment with cars recently? Sunday afternoon at the park. We all went on a walk to Starbucks to capitalize on the crazy-warm weather and Jack and I stayed on at the park for a bit, just the two of us. We climbed up a few ladders together and then settled ourselves at the small slide (as it had no puddle of water at the bottom, an important consideration for Jack), where we raced his cars down the slide, again and again. He carefully lined them up to start and then pushed them down one at a time, exclaiming about whether or not they landed on their wheels. Silver car, his newest acquisition and thus his favorite, invariably won no matter which car actually went the furthest. I sat there with him at the top of the slide and watched the last of the yellow leaves drifting down in the afternoon sunshine, my hands a little cold and my heart so very full of love for this funny, wonderful boy.