More Music Class

 

 I know I've posted about this music class before but I have to do it again. I'm amazed at how much he enjoys the class now. Sure, he's still timid and shy when we get there but he warms up pretty fast and soon he's bouncing off the walls and dancing and giggling.

 When we get there he knows the first thing the teacher brings out is the shakers so he points at the box and goes "shakers!". He's an expert shaker.

   

 Then there's an occasional drum bucket session which he also loves.

   

 The percussion session is always a crowd pleaser.

   

 But nothing compares to the scarf dance. I don't know why but Jack just adores flinging around the scarves and waving them and dancing. It is just the cutest.

 

"Dog Pile!"

Over Thanksgiving, Jack loved spending time with his Aunt Leslie and Pepe. Jack likes to rough house and one day when they were wrestling on the floor, Leslie taught him the meaning of "dog pile". Jack thought it was hysterical and kept saying it all day. And all week. He's so darn cute.

(Sorry my camera recorded it the wrong way...)

 

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

This past weekend John and I braved the crazy crowds at the local outdoor mall and took Jack to see all the festivities.  This isn't just any "mall".  It's actually pretty beautiful and certainly with all the lights and Christmas music it's even more cool.  There is a giant fountain in the middle of the outdoor green and Jack was MESMERIZED by it.  Like, seriously.

 

So mesmerized in fact that he wouldn't take his eyes off the fountain, ever.

   

 Then it started to snow. And, wow, he was super stoked. It was so cool to see him actually express so much excitement.

 

reaching out to catch the snow

 

 He didn't want to stand in line to meet Santa but we did ride the trolley and check out all the Christmas stuff.

 

riding in Santa's sleigh

We had such a great time and I will definitely remember it as one of the highlights of Christmas 2012.  Bring on more holiday events!

21 Month Doctor's Visit

Jack had his 21 month doctor's appointment which was thoroughly unexciting.  He didn't have to get any shots which was lovely.  He was nice to the doctor ("Hi Dr. Kleiner") and ran around the room naming everything and talking up a storm.  After the doc said that his speech was "great!" she started to examine him.  Jack wasn't too into that but as the exam only lasted about 5 minutes, so did his crying.

And here are his stats!

Height: 34.5 inches (still around 75th percentile)
Weight: 27.1 ounces (still around 50th percentile)

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 Happy Thanksgiving from San Diego! We had a great time this year, visiting everyone in SD. It was so fun because Jack's finally at an age where he realizes where we are and who we are with. He had such fun with grandma, grandpa, his aunts, uncles, and cousins. He could call everyone by name and got excited to see them. This year I was terrible about taking pictures which I really regret. Last Thanksgiving I got so many good ones but this year I literally took zero thanksgiving day. Which means I didn't get any of Jack playing with his cousins Johnny and Hank which is too bad. They were pretty cute together. Though his cousins taught him how to jump off chairs, couches, and beds so now Jack's being a little daredevil.

We went on lots of walks every day and Jack loved all the freedom to explore.

 
Jack and Grandpa

 He also picked up a charming new habit from all of his walks with Pepe (his Aunt Leslie's dog and his best friend). Every time after Pepe did his business in a bush, Jack would run up, smile, lift his leg, giggle, and run laughing towards me.

 

 

 There were lots of park visits and even the mud was no deterrent. I know all moms are different but I really love how much enjoyment he gets out of playing in the water and mud so I don't usually stop him. It makes for some dirty clothes but I don't mind.

 

 

On Friday my cousin Christy was nice enough to invite us down to the Humane Society where she works because she thought Jack would enjoy the kittens and puppies. While we probably timed the visit wrong for Jack (his grumpy nap time), John, Leslie, and I all enjoyed it! The kittens and puppies were adorable and I think my husband and sister really wanted to take one home. Good thing I was there for a reality check. :-)

 

 

 And a few more pics from our San Diego holiday visit!

 
Jack's favorite part of San Diego...the fire engine grocery shopping cart at Albertson's

his favorite spot in grandma and grandpa's house is this big brown chair

early morning read

making his own music with the shaker

playing at the park with our friend Leigh

nap time...too much turkey!

running on the putting green

if there's an alphabet somewhere, Jack will find it

hanging with daddy

Toddlers and mommies oh my.

 

Last week my moms club had our annual Thanksgiving potluck. We divide into three parties so that it's not too overwhelming and guess who was one of the hosts? That's right. Luckily our house is actually pretty good for hosting parties and for accommodating a lot of people. I ended up having about 20 adults and about 20 kids ranging from newborn to 4 years old. The biggest surprise was probably that Jack dealt with it really well! I was worried that he'd get cranky and clingy and want everyone to leave (because that's happened before). But he was a great host. I told him that all of his friends were coming over and he seemed excited. Then during the party he actually was pretty independent and played with the other kids and shared all his toys.

When everyone finally left he said sadly to me, "people left". It was so cute. Of course, with all the chaos and trying to organize the food and host, I managed to take exactly one picture (see above). Those were two of the lovely ladies who were so taken with little Jack.  Lining up for him already...  :-)

Week in Review - 11/17/12

(This post was supposed to go up on Saturday but....  Here it is anyways.)

Here's my boy.  You may think he's drunk from that goofy expression, empty paper cup, and beers in the background.  The only thing he's drunk on is goldfish and apple juice.  Nonetheless, he's as happy as a clam.  

His love of climbing continues.  Jack will climb on anything and everything that is available.  There he is climbing to the top of the step stool and saying "be careful!"  He loves making fun of daddy.

John has been working like crazy so Jack loves to spend every minute with him that he's home.  Including some quality time on his back while he does a push-up.  :)

Jack got to spend some quality time with his friend Violet this past week.  Aren't they the cutest?

His favorite activity currently is LITERALLY resetting the alarm clock.  Jack can do it for hours during the day.  He will stand next to the little side table and count with joy as he makes the minutes go higher and higher.  He can do 1 through 59 with gusto.  

And now, more pics from the week!

happy because he loves his "Back to the Future" shirt

covering himself with sand at the park

running like a madman at the park

wagon ride with his friend Nicholas

asleep...but can't let go of his balloon

"FULL OF BLACK BEANS MOMMY"

lifting daddy's weights

helping me clean the floor

me and jack!