Lil' Trickster: Today Jack is...47 weeks old.

This week Jack learned a bunch of new things which I think will just make my life a tad more difficult. I can't help but be amused though because he's so darn proud of himself. First he learned how to flush the toilet and now he just loves the noise.

Then he decided to help me wash the dishes which I would have appreciated more if he hadn't been brandishing the dirty knives. Might have to watch him with those sharp objects. That's what moms do, right?

He also helped me with my laundry which was quite nice of him. But then he got pretty mad when I actually closed the door and started the dryer.

Of course, what I really have to look out for is his climbing. Climbing on his little rocking chair to be precise. He just grabbed hold, climbed right up, turned around and sat down.

Then the little bugger decided to stand on the chair. This might not be so bad if it wasn't a rocking chair, but man it was tipsy.

In other news, we put a fence up around the pool and we feel a lot better about that. Jack is a little confused though.

But although his beloved pool is no longer reachable, he does love his newfound freedom. I sort of "let go of the leash" as it were outside and he's been crawling around from one end of the yard to the other. Man, he loves being outside.

Our best outing this week was to the little play area at the local mall. I thought I'd let Jack run around after a thrilling trip to Bed, Bath, and Beyond. As usual, he was the youngest by a mile and the only non-walker. Usually he tries to make friends with the older kids and they rebuff his advances. But, for some reason, these kids just loved him. They fawned over him and got down on all fours and crawled all around with him. And when the little guy reached out to wave/pet one little girl, she reached out and grabbed his hand. I think it was the cutest thing I've ever seen.