Ladies Man?

I had so many other potential titles for this posting.  Basically, I feel like I'm living in an email forward with all the cuteness in my home.  Blue and Jack provide endless hours of entertainment for me - and they're pretty good at entertaining each other as well!  Jeff thinks that Blue is Maverick reincarnated, sent back to us to atone for his sins.  He seems to know a lot of Maverick's old tricks.  For example, this morning I came upstairs to find Blue lying in bed with his head on my pillow.  I tucked him into bed and he stayed there all morning, which is something Maverick used to do. 

 

As you can tell, Blue still has the cone on.  Poor pumpkin.  We've been taking it off when we're at home, but Jeff forgot to put it on him last night and I woke up in the middle of the night to hear Blue going to town on his rear end.  He may have just been chewing on his tail, but Jeff got up in a half-awake stupor to put the cone back on poor Blue.  We go back to the vet on Sunday and we'll hopefully be cone-free by this time next week.  This is a good thing.  Blue really stinks and needs a bath. 

 

Blue will also do just about anything for a treat.  When I let him outside, I rarely hook him up and he loves to roam around in the back yard.  We had a huge snowfall on Friday and a bunch of the neighbor kids were sledding into our backyard on Saturday morning.  Blue stood in our kitchen and looked out the door, whining at the kids.  I opened up the door and he went tearing outside to play with the kids.  He just loved it.  I stood out on our back deck and supervised for a bit, but Blue wasn't going to endanger his romp for anything.  He loved running up and down the hill with the kids on their sleds, he chased snowballs, and ran laps around them while they were playing on the swing set.  So, when it was time to come in, I just shook his bag of treats and Blue came running. 

 

This is obviously something Jack has seen me do on many occasions:

 

 

Jack loves to give Blue a treat when he's back inside.  And, Blue is so gentle when he takes the tiny little treat from Jack's chubby mitts.  Like I said, there's way too much cuteness in our house.  I can't wait until Jack is old enough to take Blue outside to play. 

 

We did get outside for a bit on Saturday and Sunday.  Fortunately, the weather was really nice, so Jack and I took Blue for a "walk."  I use this term loosely, since we really just meandered up and down the street in front of our house.  Blue was so patient with Jack, who held the leash for a while.  Still, Jack would get distracted by puddles and let go of Blue.  A few of the other dogs in the neighborhood were out, so I took Blue off the leash so he could run around and play chase with his buddies.  Jack watched this with great interest and would squeal with delight every time Blue buzzed past us to "check in." 

 

On Friday, we had a bit of a meltdown in my office - our server completely crashed and so we couldn't get any work done.  We couldn't even check our email.  I took the opportunity to work from home, seeing as how we'd had a large snowfall and the commute would have been terrible.  So, I worked from home during the morning and then went to pick up Jack from school.  We went to my friend Tia's house for lunch and a little play date.  We had a really good time, and Jack played really well with her kids, which was nice, as it gave Tia and I some time to catch up.  Afterwards, we hit up Target and got home in time to take a nice nap.  That night, we had some pizza and snuggled down into bed to watch "Up."  I had never seen it before, but it was a really cute movie. 

 

I made Jack take a picture before the movie.  He was not pleased, but I thought he looked so cute in his little penguin jammies!

 

On Saturday, we ran our usual errands and then met one of my girlfriends at Southdale for a little play time and shopping.  Jack has absolutely no fear, as if this should come as any surprise.  I think I wrote about the new play area at Southdale last week - it's geared for smaller kids and they have this little castle in the middle of the area, complete with a slide with stairs.  Jack climbed up the stairs and attempted to jump off them.  Fortunately, I was there to catch him and prevent any injuries - to either himself or any of the number of children he may have landed on.  This led to Jeff and I placing bets on how old Jack will be when he breaks his first bone or get in his first fight. 

 

Yesterday, Jack and I went to the Maple Grove Community Center for some more play time.  Again, we were in the toddler play area and Jack was attempting to crawl through some tunnel.  An older kid came through and was frustrated that Jack was plugging the entrance, so this kid punched Jack.  Right in front of me.  So, I asked the kid, "Did you just hit my son?"  The kid lied through his teeth and then I asked him where his mother was.  The big ol' bully ran off.  So, I grabbed Jack and stalked this kid around the playground and watched him punch a few other kids.  Yes, I am fully aware of the fact that I probably looked a bit psychotic.  Fortunately, his mom did see him smack and scratch another kid so she hauled him off the equipment and really disciplined him.  I decided to just stay out of it.  Karma - it'll get you! 

 

So, Jack and I took a little snack break while we were at the playground.  They have these little rides all around the community center and there was this car by where we were eating.  Jack got down off my lap after we were done with our snack, walked over to the ride, and asked to get up.  So, I put him in the car and fished around in my purse for a few quarters.  All of a sudden, yet ANOTHER big kid comes over, shoves Jack off the bench and tells me that he wants to ride the car.  Seriously, I never know what to do with this stuff.  So, I was looking around for THIS kid's mom, when she came over and said in a fairly disingenuous tone, "Sam, please get off the ride.  This mommy is going to pay for her little boy to ride the car."  Which made me respond, "It's okay."  At which point, she believed I was giving her the green light for her son to ride along, while Jack sat on the floor.  I kept trying to pick Jack up to put him back on the bench, but this kid was clearly interested in being the child that both steered the car and commanded the bench:

 

I will get better at this, right?  Fortunately, Jack was just happy to sit in the car and I think he was happy that he had a friend to ride with him - so whatever.  It still makes me want to bang my head against something.   

 

Anyways, we went back to play on the playground.  Jack and I had a great time playing on the see-saw, climbing through the tree house, and going down the slide:

 

As we were leaving, we ran into my girlfriend who was there with her two little girls.  She has a kid that's just a few months older than Jack.  So, they played together for a bit while we caught up.  As we were leaving, her little girl leaned forward to give Jack a hug and a kiss.  Jack seemed to dig the smooches from this cutie and leaned in to get some more!

When we got home, my grandparents surprised us with a visit.  Blue was all about my grandma.  He kept climbing up onto her lap, trying to give her kisses, and kept asking to hold her hand.  He would also lay on the couch and put his head in her lap.  Jack was all about my grandpa, and kept walking over to him, asking to be picked up and bounced on his lap.  This is good.  Throughout their visit, my grandma kept asking Jack for a kiss, but he wasn't having it - that is, until they were getting ready to leave.  All of a sudden, all Jack wanted to do was hug and kiss my grandma!  It was pretty darn cute if you ask me!

 

So, last night we went up to have dinner with my girlfriend, Tracy.  She has a little girl that's about a year older than Jack.  The kids played so well together, which gave Jeff and I ample time to visit with Tracy and her husband, Sam.  We had such a good time together.  As I was telling my mom this morning, it was a "good first date" and we all had so much fun.  As we were leaving, I told Jack to give Taylor (that's Tracy's girl) a hug good-bye, and he walked right up to her and laid his head on her shoulder.  Ugh, so stinkn' cute!

 

I think that we're FINALLY getting our new furnace installed this Friday, although it seems as though the worst of winter is over (knock on wood!).  We go back to the ENT tomorrow for Jack's post-operative visit, and I'm hoping we get the thumbs up and Jack can finally go swimming again.  When we were at the Community Center yesterday, Jack would walk up to the pool area, press his face against the glass, and stare longingly at the water.  So, hopefully we can go swimming sometime this weekend.  We've also got his fifteen month check-up next week, if you can believe it.  We must be having fun, because I can't believe how quickly it's gone! 

 

 

On a more personal note...

I went back to work exactly one year ago today. 

 

I thought about this on my drive into work this morning.  I remember how much I cried during those first few days and weeks back to work.  I remember how stressful it was and how I just didn't feel like I was being a good mother, or even a good attorney, for that matter.  When I was at work, I was missing my little boy and when I was home, I was stressed about work.   

 

I remember my mom telling me that if I was happy in whatever I was doing, then Jack would be happy too.  I've thought a lot about this over the past year and it has been some of the best advice I've been given, both for my career and in parenting 

 

If I was perfectly honest, it took me a while to get "happy" again.  I don't know when the tides turned, but one day I woke up, and realized that I was satisfied with what I was doing.  Maybe I just needed to get into a routine and adjust to being a working mother, but I'm happy.  It helps that Jack really loves going to school every day.  Moreover, the fact that I have a flexible job and an accommodating employer is equally important.

 

Everyone strives to achieve the perfect balance between work and family.  Well, I'm here to tell you that it's impossible.  One area will always take precedence over the other.  Your life will sometimes be dominated with work, and other days your family will demand your full attention. 

 

And this will always be the best part of my day...

 

 

 

Jack's First Kiss

Although I didn't plan our weekend to be eventful, it turns out that time does fly quickly when you have so much to do!  I hopped out of work early on Friday to head home and take some estimates for our new furnace and air conditioner.  Let me make one comment on this - it seems that all furnaces are pretty much on par with one another, but it's the company that really makes the biggest difference.  That was something I was pretty surprised to learn.  In my last appointment on Friday, I made this comment to the service representative, who kind of laughed and told me that in the industry, I'm known as a "one-legger," meaning I'm not going to sign on the dotted line the day of the estimate as I will need to discuss things with my husband.  At this point, I laughed and told the guy that if that was the mentality of some HVAC companies, they had another thing coming.  Basically, after all this is said and done, I'm going to tell Jeff what furnace we're buying, which company is going to install it, and how we're going to pay for it.  The fact that some of these representatives treat me like poop on their shoe does not provide me with the incentive to choose their company. 

 

So anyways, Jack was home with me and after the sales representative left, we had some dinner and then changed into our jammies.  I really wanted to see if Jack would watch a movie, since he hasn't shown any interest whatsoever in television, but it seems like a good Friday night activity, right?  So, we snuggled down in our bed, turned off all the lights, Blue hopped up on the bed with us, and we watched Dumbo.  Jack actually watched about twenty minutes of the movie before falling asleep, so I'd consider that a success. 

 

And another comment on Disney movies - watching them as adults gives you a much different perspective.  Commenting on this to my cousin last night, she remarked that we should count all the Disney movies where something happens to one of the parents, the main character is an orphan, or one parent is missing from the film.  Just think about it.  When it comes to Dumbo, Mrs. Jumbo doesn't have a Mr. Jumbo to come home to after her hard day of work at the circus.  Plus, she's shackled as a "mad elephant" leaving Dumbo to fend for himself.  And don't even get me started on the "Pink Elephants on Parade" scene.  Still, most of that seemed to be lost on Jack, and I think he actually liked watching the movie and snuggling with his mom and puppy.  I know I was in heaven. 

 

On Saturday, Jeff had to work most of the day so Jack and I were on our own.  We did our chores, took a nap, and had some lunch.  Afterwards, we went to the Eden Prairie Center.  I wanted to do some shopping - Jack needs new pajamas - and I wanted to poke around for a new belt.  Anyways, no trip to the mall is complete without a stop at the children's play area. 

 

We've been here many times before, but it's always been a "play at your own risk" kind of place.  It's usually overrun with kids, and kids who are WAY too big to be playing on the equipment.  Fortunately, a security guard came by about every fifteen minutes and kicked out the big kids, so it actually turned out to be a pretty good time for Jack.  He loved climbing on this wooden deck and jumping off of it.  Seriously, he must have done this for a good half-hour, which is a lot longer than anything he does at home!

 

 

Anyways, he was sitting around and taking a break when a little girl came up to him, grabbed his face with both of her hands and planted a big kiss, right on Jack's lips.  It wasn't just a little smooch either.  After she was finished, Jack started squawking and flapping his arms, almost like he didn't really know what to do with himself.  This, of course, prompted big laughter from all the watching parents.  I was fumbling with my phone, trying to get a picture, but I couldn't get there fast enough.  Suffice to say though, I saw it, I laughed, and I don't think Jack will be running around, stealing kisses from other little girls any time soon...

 

Afterwards, we hit up Barnes & Noble to get a birthday present for Cousin Wim and we had some story time as well.  We got home and sat down to have some resting time and look at our new books - not the ones for the birthday party though!  Jack seems to be transitioning to just one nap a day, and it's kind of hard to figure it out.  My rule of thumb has always been that he'll go down for a nap about every three to four hours, depending on what he's been doing and how well he slept the night before.  Now, it seems he's ready to go down for his morning nap, but doesn't want to take his afternoon nap.  This creates a whole host of problems because he get really crabby around 6:00 in the evening.  It's been quite the challenge.  On Valentine's Day, for example, I had this vision that I'd get Jack from school, we'd come home and cook a nice dinner for Daddy, and color him a Valentine. 

 

No such luck. 

 

He was whining the minute we walked in the door.  The only thing that would seem to calm him was if I held him and walked around the house.  He didn't want to sit on my lap and color or look at his books, he just wanted me to hold him and walk around.  This was exhausting because it feels like you're carrying around a bag of rocks.  As I was trying to cook dinner, he would wedge himself in between my legs and the stove, and press his face into my knees and just sob.  This proved difficult to maneuver around, especially when I was working with a hot pan.  He will grow out of this, I know, and we will figure out his new napping schedule, but for now, I'm just deciding its a good lifting regimen.  This was the ONLY picture he would let me take on Valentine's Day, and keep in mind that this was in between hysterical sobs:

 

 

Yesterday, poor Blue had some "surgery" which left us kind of home-bound for most of the afternoon.  I feel so bad for our poor little buddy.  Jeff dropped him off at the vet early yesterday morning and then headed to the gym to work out.  Jack and I stayed home and got our things ready for today, and made a huge pot of jambalaya for dinner last night.  Jack went down for his nap a little before 11:00 and slept for maybe twenty minutes and then was hollering for me to come and get him out of his crib.  I'd heard that there was a new children's play area at Southdale, so I dragged Jeff to the mall with me.  The play area was nice - definitely made for really little kids, so it wasn't too crowded and there was little danger of Jack being bulldozed by screaming eight year-olds.  Afterwards, we walked around the mall for a bit and Jack ended up falling asleep.  We managed to transfer him to his car seat without waking him up, but Jeff couldn't make the second transition to the crib when we got home. 

 

I went to pick up poor Blue.  Seriously, I feel so badly for him.  He's got this HUGE cone on his head and can't seem to figure out how to move around the house with it on.  It will get stuck on a doorway and Blue will just stand there, hanging his head in shame.  Really, it's pretty flexible and he could get around, but he hasn't gotten that far yet.  We kept him in our bathroom most of yesterday because we didn't want him going nuts and playing with Jack and we didn't want Jack beating on him either.  Jeff got Blue a really nice bone to keep him occupied, but I could hear him crying upstairs every once and a while - almost like he was wondering what he had done wrong.  My poor little buddy.  He's got to keep that cone on for two weeks - and it's going to be a long two weeks, let me tell you.  I took it off for a bit last night so he could eat and his first instinct was to go for his stitches, so I guess it's a good thing he's got it on, but he just looks so pitiful. 

 

Anyways, my cousins, sister, and Cousin Wim came over last night for our First Inaugural Cousin Dinner.  Both Wim and Jack were feeling pretty short on sleep, so the tears were flowing pretty freely, so dinner didn't last that long.  Still, we had some wine, jambalaya, and dessert, so it was a success, in my opinion - and a good way to cap off the weekend. 

 

So, all in all, it was a busy and fun weekend.  Even though it's a federal holiday, I'm at work today and have a pretty slow week, which will be nice.  Jeff heads to Duluth on Friday for some conference, but I think he'll be back on Saturday afternoon.  I'm going to use his absence as an excuse to snuggle the crap out of my little boy and watch endless movies with him in our bed all Friday night! 

 

 

Vacation

Well, we did it!

 

Obviously, all my worry was for nothing, and I think everyone had a pretty good weekend - at least I know that I did!  I dropped Jack off at school on Friday morning and headed to the airport.  Of course, I was all tears until "Your Song" by Elton John came on the radio.  This was the song Jeff and I danced to at our wedding.  I took that as a sign that I needed to refocus and get excited about some time alone with my big guy.  So, I did. 

 

When I landed in San Diego, I picked up our rental car and headed up to our hotel.  I got to our room (which was beautiful) and then headed out to explore the surrounding area.  I got a pedicure, sat outside at a coffee shop, read a book, and did a little window shopping around downtown Carlsbad.  It was heavenly.  Then, I came back to the hotel and got dressed for dinner with Jeff, his boss, and his boss' wife.  The food was amazing and I had not one - but TWO - drinks!

 

On Saturday morning, we woke up early and I realized that I didn't have to get up if I didn't want to.  There was no dog to feed, and no baby to get out of the crib.  So, I lounged around in bed for a while and then Jeff and I went to have breakfast.  Then, Jeff and I decided to go to Sea World.  Here's the weird thing about us - we love tourist traps like that.  Amusement parks, especially. 

 

Saturday didn't turn out to be the best day, weather-wise, but it worked out well for us since Sea World was practically deserted.  We were able to spend a lot of time at each exhibit and get up close and personal without lots of kids swarming around our legs. 

 

 

Afterwards, we went to La Jolla for lobster tacos on the beach.  We ate entirely too much food, so we went for a stroll down to Child's Beach to watch the seals snoozing in the sand.  Then, we went back to the hotel and took a blissfully indulgent nap before getting ready to go out for dinner. 

 

 

Sunday was a bit of a nightmare.  We knew it was snowing back in Minneapolis, and sure enough, our flight was delayed.  I started to get anxious, and this was only compounded by the fact that the sitter called to tell me that Jack was running a fever.  I just wanted to get home.  Fortunately, we had a plane and I figured if we take off, we have to land, right?  Well, we obviously got back to Minneapolis, but it was snowing like crazy when we landed.  I think we finally got back to our house a little before 1:00 in the morning.  Still, we were home and I could rush upstairs to see my little man.  And no, I didn't wake him up, but I spent a fair amount of time stroking his hair and rubbing his back (and maybe secretly wishing he'd just spontaneously wake up!).

 

Jack had a good time with the babysitter, and it sounds like both Blue and Jack behaved themselves.  The sitter did tell me that Jack woke up on Sunday morning, asking for me.  Broke my heart.  However, there were no incidents to report, no disasters occurred, and everything remained in one piece.  So that did wonders for my peace of mind.   

 

However, Jack did wake up yesterday morning and was still running a fever, so I kept him home from school (shoot?).  Anyways, he slept pretty late and after he woke up, we had some snuggle time in bed and read a few good books. 

 

 

Afterwards, we got ready, had some breakfast and went into the office so I could get a few things taken care of that had piled up on my desk last week.  Then, we ran some errands and came home to tackle the piles of laundry that somehow had magically accumulated.  I finally sat down to put my feet up around 4:00 yesterday afternoon when I realized that the house was cold.  I went to check the furnace, and discovered it wasn't working.  So, I called the HVAC emergency repair guys (this is literally what I put into Google) and an hour later, the furnace was repaired (temporarily) but I was given the news that it wouldn't be working for long. 

 

Shoot. 

 

Anyways, after Jack woke up from his nap, we baked some chocolate chip cookies and had some play time.  Jack's favorite game currently is "Peek."  This involves me putting a blanket over his head and wondering aloud, "Oh no!  Where did Jack go?"  At which point, Jack pulls off the blanket and laughs hysterically. 

 

In the alternative, he also likes to have me dress him up like a Jedi knight and call him "Obi-Wan-Ka-Jackie."  Alternatives of this game include having me hide behind the blanket whereupon Jack will come barreling towards me and he'll throw himself at my torso.  If I'm quick enough, I can drop the blanket and yell, "Peek!"  This at least allows me to anticipate where the hurtling child will be coming from. 

 

And, probably the cutest development - Jack has started "reading" to himself.  We read stories every night, look at his picture books, and he listens to stories every day at school, but he's taken to sitting down by himself with a book.  He'll open up the book and start babbling as he flips the pages.  Maybe it's because the chatter rarely stops, but I really think he's reading to himself.  And then, of course, the book goes away on the shelf afterwards.  So, not only did he get his mother's love of literature, but he's continuing to develop her sense of cleanliness as well.  I also think he got my thin, fine hair. 

 

 

Anyways, Jeff and I are going to see "Book of Mormon" tomorrow night, so we're trying out another new sitter.  But, other than that, we've got no big plans for the rest of the week, which will be nice.  I feel like I need to play some catch up with my little man...



Nerves...

It should come as really no surprise that I'm a bundle of nerves today.  Even as I typed that last sentence, I had to go back and fix about four spelling errors because my fingers are jumping across the keyboard.  I'm so nervous about leaving Jack tomorrow for the weekend.  The weekend, that's it!  Objectively, I know that leaving him is a good thing for everyone - Jack will be with someone he knows and trusts, and I will get some much needed rest and relaxation time, but I'm still nervous.  On my drive into work this morning, I ran through a whole set of emotions - from excitement to tears.  Yes, my constant companion, Mother Guilt, has settled herself firmly on both of my shoulders.

 

And here's the other thing - I feel like I've got about a million last-minute things that I "think" I need to get done.  Last night, I started worrying that Jack wouldn't have enough milk to last through the weekend.  I've decided I need a pedicure and more travel-sized products since I'm going to carry on my suitcase.  True to form, I don't feel comfortable until I've got everything settled.  I calm myself through planning and preparation, which may be totally weird. 

 

Still, I know that the minute I'm settled into my seat on the airplane, I can pull out my People magazine and finally sit back and relax.  I will have no child to entertain, no diapers to change, and my day doesn't need to be planned around a certain pint-sized individual's nap times.  This is a good thing.  And I feel guilty for being excited about that! 

 

I guess the reason I feel so guilty is that I can't explain to Jack what's going to happen.  He's going to wonder why I'm not picking him up from school tomorrow and why I'm not getting him out of his crib on Saturday morning.  He'll get home tomorrow night and wonder where I am.  Or maybe he won't, I don't know.  But the thought of creating any kind of undue anxiousness in my little man has my stomach in knots.  

 

Jeff has been traveling all week, and so I've been running the show at home.  It's hard work.  I've had to shovel the driveway, walkway and back deck twice this week.  Yuck.  My arms and back are sore.  Plus, it's been a bit lonely, although Blue has been doing his best to fill Jeff's spot.  On Monday night, Blue hopped up onto the bed (which he never does) and settled himself right down on Jeff's side of the bed.  It was almost as if he knew that Jeff wasn't going to be home and decided to treat himself to a night of luxurious sleeping.  The one thing I do like about being home alone is that I can command control of the television, so I've been able to watch all my cheesy shows! 

 

So, enough of my whining. 

 

I'm pleased to report that Jack continues to improve with his new tubes.  His nose has dried up, and I think he is FINALLY over the cold that has plagued him for the past several weeks (if not months).  I obsessively check his ears for any sign of drainage, but he's been in the clear.  I really hope that this round of tubes does the trick.  My mom said that she always wondered what Jack would be like if he was actually feeling well, since he was a pretty active kid even when he's under the weather.  Obviously, he's still active and into everything, but believe it or not, I think he's more affectionate.  His teachers have commented all week that he's been "ninja hugging" them.  Meaning, he'll run across the room and jump into their arms.  He's been doing this at home as well.  He's also wants to sit in my lap and look at picture books and last night, he actually let me rock him at bed time.  Mostly, when I'm trying to read him a book or sing him his lullaby, he's trying to pull off my earrings, smudge my glasses, or stick his fingers in my mouth.   He's been laughing more, listening better, and generally just a happier kid.  

 

Last weekend, we stayed pretty close to home.  We went up to the Maple Grove Community Center on Saturday afternoon for a little break.  I'd heard good things about their play area, and I wasn't disappointed.  There is a great "tot" area there and I'm pleased to report that it's better policed than the indoor play area in Edina.  So, here's the thing - you need to buy a wrist band to play.  They've got sticky ends so you can wrap and stick it around your child's wrist or ankle.  Most parents, however, elected to throw the tabs covering the sticky part of the band on the ground.  While the "tot" play area had lots of things to climb, crawl through, and slide down, Jack preferred to walk around the play area and pick up the discarded tabs and hand them to me to throw away.  The kid loves to clean, what can I say?  When we were leaving, it took us twenty minutes to get out the door because Jack insisted on picking up any stray piece of paper he saw lying on the floor.  The community center should offer him a job because he was cleaning better than any of the employees we saw working there that day! 

 

On Sunday, we ran some more errands and I went to Urgent Care for a nagging cough I've been having.  I got some antibiotics and I'm pleased to report that they did the trick.  The only thing that would make this weekend terrible would be if I was sick!  Jack and Blue had quite the play time on Sunday afternoon.  They play this game that I've dubbed "chase and wrestle" which basically means that Blue runs laps around the basement and Jack tries to chase him.  Eventually Jack throws himself on the ground so Blue can tackle him and then they wrestle.  Mostly, I think Blue is trying to pull Jack's socks off, but Jack seems to think that's pretty funny:

 

 

Like I said, we had a pretty low key weekend.  Jack was feeling pretty good, but I didn't really want to press our luck.  The sitter would probably never come back if I left her with a sick kid! 

 

Since Jack can hear now, he's started babbling about a mile a minute.  We've got two new "words" that have come out since the tubes.  Last week, I think he said "pizza" when I was getting his lunch ready.  And he's got "Blue" down pat.  Although it's not really "Blue" so much as it is "Blah."  But I know what he's saying.  Every night when we come home, we walk in the door, take off our coats, and I ask Jack if he wants to go and get Blue.  Jack runs over to the staircase and waits for me to follow him up the stairs to our bedroom to get Blue out of his crate.  The entire time, he keeps chanting, "Blah Blah Blah."  And when we finally get Blue out of his crate, Jack just squeals and tries to bury his face in Blue's fur.  I can't stand all the cuteness in our house sometimes. 

 

We've also been working on our "utensil-using" skills.  Obviously, this is a life skill, but man, is it a work in progress!  I've give Jack some applesauce in a bowl with a spoon before, and I've had to clean it off our light fixtures.  This week, we tried some spaghetti with a fork, and that seemed to go over much better:

 

 

And I don't think I have anything else to report.  I've been working hard all week to make sure my desk at work is squared away (even though I'll only be gone a day) and I am going to try and scoot out of work a bit early so I can get all my last minute errands done.  I'd also like to try and get Jack from school a bit early so I can get in some last minute snuggles before I leave tomorrow. 

 

So, until next week, wish me luck!