Scrub-a-dub-dub

Jack changed his routine a while back, wanting to go up for bath early so he can come back downstairs for a wind-down video. He runs naked from the bathroom to his room. There is nothing cuter than a clean and fresh toddler in PJs.

under his towel



















wearing his hard-hat watching "Thomas".



















Sorry for the nakedness, but I'm hoping you can see the proud look on his face.

This Morning . . .

After I got Jack up and was in the process of getting him dressed, we had this conversation:

Me: Oh, Jack. You've got a big bruise on your leg. (He inspects)
Jack: Oh, mommy, I see it.
Me: Those can get sore.
Jack: We'll wash it off in the bathtub.

Ice-cream Cones and Buzz Lightyear

Jack really likes ice-cream cones now. He's your typical 3-year-old when it comes to the messy factor. Here are some shots of his enjoyment. It's really good chocolate ice-cream...not that I'm eating it :)

Open wide!

Maybe tilting my head back will make it run in my mouth.

Nice.

When Sam got home from work the other day, it was so sweet how Jack was just chomping at the bit to play Buzz and Woody with him. They looked so cute sitting here I had to get the camera.

More Apple Pickin'

Jack and I took our own little field trip with Jessica and Makenzie to the Eckert's in Millstadt. Jessica had free passes and generously shared them. We saved alot of money going the extra 20 minutes away. The kids had fun but it was pretty hot that day. This was over a week ago and I'm just now posting the pictures.


Jack and Makenzie

















This is as close as they were wanting to get to the tractor.

Jessica, Mak, Jack and me - heading out to the orchard on the wagon.

I think Jack is trying to pick off the stem.

Jack is an expert now at apple-pickin'.

Mowing the Lawn

Jack woke up from nap, heard that Sam was mowing and couldn't get outside fast enough. With his own lawn mower in tow, he went along with Sam the entire time. If Sam lifted up the mower to get over tall grass, Jack would do the same. At one point he said, "mowing the yard is hard work".

This is video of Jack following along with Sam. When Jack catches me taking his picture, you can hear him say, "cheese". Never misses an opportunity to pose.

Unexpected Playdate

Makenzie came over for a little bit the other night. Mrs. Jessica needed to swing by and Jack was thrilled for the unexpected playtime. Jack definitely plays much differently with Makenzie than he does with his boy neighbors. He is so willing to share and hand over anything that Makenzie wants. It's sweet to watch. I think these pictures are really cute.

Clubhouse fun




















Sharing the phone


















Jack looking cool and relaxed.

Makenzie talking on the phone while playing in the sand.

Where'd Jack go? . . . There he is!

Sitting nicely so I can take this picture.

Apple-picking

These are the pictures of the field trip I received from one of Jack's teachers.



















Me, Jack and Mrs. Holan (his teacher).


















Trying out the cider while I enjoy the apples (Jack didn't like the apples - of course).



















I don't think he liked it, but at least he tried it.

Singing and Playing

Here are shots of Jack with Brendan and Niko. Jack has made himself at home - going over to Brendan's house any chance he gets. They were taking turns in the box. Rachel took these pictures.



















Jack's first ice-cream cone. Yummmm

Jack singing the "hot dog" song that plays at the end of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

School Field Trip to Eckert's Orchard

Jack's class had their first field trip today. It's apple-picking time at Eckerts. It's the neatest place. They have a country restaurant, a market and an orchard for picking apples and pumpkins in the Fall. Peaches and strawberries in the summer, other things in Spring, Christmas trees in the winter. They take you out to the orchard in a tractor-pulled wagon and it's so much fun. Before we did our apple-picking, we toured the grounds where they had a ton of animals. Later, we sat on bleachers and listened to "Tommy Appleseed" tell us all about Eckerts and the orchard. Unfortunately, I only got pictures of the beginning of the trip as I didn't charge the camera battery the night before. But, luckily the teachers took lots of pictures and promised to send me some. I will post apple-picking pictures when I get them. Jack had so much fun and wore himself out. Here are the shots I did get:


He got to ride the yellow bus with his teachers and friends.

The tractor.

















Baby pig



















My little apple-picker.

Tractor style tricycles

These are really small camels, although they don't look like it.


















These looked like little kangaroos.
























I swear these little goats were really trying to escape - bless 'em.

Good times!

Misc. pictures and catch up

These are just shots of Jack this past week. He has really enjoyed taking walks and playing in his clubhouse. The weather has been so mild and nice. I feel like I've been slacking on picture-taking lately.





















Head-first sliding.


















Out for pizza.

Out for a walk with our lawnmower.

Jack and Mommy to the Doctor

Jack went for his three-year-old appointment two days ago. He is 80th percentile for weight, 70th for height. I coached him about what the doctor would do and he and I practiced opening his mouth and saying "ah", etc. If he was a good boy, he was going to get a special treat - which he did get. He was a jewel. The next day, I had a doctor appointment (yeseterday). At breakfast, I asked Jack, "where does mommy have to go today?" He said, "The doctor". He of course is thinking this over for a few moments and then says, "You be a good girl at the doctor. You're gonna get a special treat if you're a good girl. You're going to get a sucker." When I picked him up from our neighbor's house after my appointment, the first thing he asked was, "did you get a sucker?" He makes me laugh.

Jack Reading

Jack made a book at school called, "Baby Bear, Baby Bear, Who Do You See?". The teachers took pictures of the kids in class and put one student on each page. Jack has read it at least 30 times since Friday (and today is Saturday). I was fortunate to catch him reading.

A Funny Conversation with Jack

I need to first give a little background on this conversation. I was very sick yesterday and Sam had to come home and take care of Jack. When Jack came home from school, he came up to my room to see me. I wanted to hear all about school. I asked my usual questions; who'd you play with? What did you do in circle time? Did you play outside? Were all your teachers there? And apparently, he was getting tired of the 20 questions and finally this is what he says:

"Mommy, it's getting really hard to talk to you. Okay, here it goes: Mrs. Holan was there today. I'm going to go downstairs and watch a little bit of Ratatouille and then I'll come back and talk to you later."

I just laughed and asked why it was hard to talk to me. And his response to that was, "Mrs. Holan was there". Clearly he was done visiting me. I thought it was hilarious, but yet scary, too. Is he already blowing me off?


















This is not a paci but a whistle he got at school. He wouldn't take it out of his mouth the entire day.

Memom

This is the only picture of Jack and Memom that I managed to take. Mom is going to hate it, of course. Memom was so helpful and selfless while she was here. She cooked, cleaned, mopped, did laundry, vacuumed, grocery shopped, weeded in the yard, etc. I could go on and on. Thanks, Memom!

Feet

I'm soooo not a feet person. But there's something about your children's feet that is very tolerable. The other night, Jack was watching TV and had his feet sticking out of a blanket, laying on Sam's lap. They looked so sweet - I had to take a picture.

These are shots of Jack after he tipped over his "thinking chair" to make a table to play cars.