The Great Playgroup Easter Egg Hunt of 2013!

 

It's not that mesmerizing of a photo, but that is over 100 eggs scattered and "hidden" about my backyard. Jack's playgroup came over for a little Easter Egg hunt this week. I didn't know exactly how well two year olds "hunt" so I mainly put the eggs in plain sight. Some where back in Jack's jungle (aka the bushes) but nothing too crazy. All at once, we unleashed 10 toddlers in the backyard with their baskets and they went at it. Some (the girls actually) chose to carefully pick up an egg, open it, and then examine it's contents thoughtfully (either a sticker or a goldfish). Others (the boys), ran around like maniacs putting as many eggs as they could in their baskets. I was really happy to see how much Jack was into it. He LOVED discovering and egg and then ran back to his basket to put it in and then ran back to get another one. So cute. I should have taken video but these photos will have to suffice.

 

ready to go hunting

"found one!"

This kid loves his daddy

 

Jack has always had a special bond with his daddy. It's amazing that while John has worked a lot the past two years and is never home in the evening, Jack still "knows" him so well and wants to go to him and loves him so much. I don't know if this is just how it was meant to be or if the fact that John was home for almost four weeks when Jack was born made a difference.

Since around Thanksgiving, John has been working seven days a week and poor Jack has missed his daddy.  For the past three or four weeks, John's been getting home around 2:00am.  Then back up around 7:30am.  We get about 30 minutes with him in the morning.  It's no wonder that he is currently sick as a dog.  So sick in fact, that he actually left work early today and was home by 4.  Jack and I were playing at the park when I saw that he was home and wanted to go.  I told Jack that it was time to go home and he ran away from me yelling "no". (typical response when having fun at the park)  As he was running away from me I said "Daddy is home!"  And he froze, turned around, ran back to me, and said "let's go home!"  It was amazing.  And adorable.  He was delighted to see John at home and tackled him in his sickbed.  Then all night he was all about his favorite phrase.  The one that breaks my heart.  "Mommy and Daddy are both here!"  He says that with a smile anytime we have the rare occasion to all be together.  Aww...

John's insane job will be over in 6 weeks and we are looking forward to a more normal schedule where he gets weekends off.  Can't wait for family time.  :-)

"Are you in the jungle?!"

 

Lately Jack has been playing non-stop in our backyard. The weather has been gorgeous and, as usual, there's no where he'd rather be than outside. It's pretty cute because he loves sneaking back behind all of our trees and bushes and hiding behind everything. He loves to ask "Are you in the jungle?" (We are still working on pronouns). It's pretty adorable. I'm happy we have this space for his to run around.

He has also discovered the tiny side alley next to our house.  I'm not so excited about that, but, like I said, his joy and sheer delight makes it all worth it.

   

Jack's been really into the little lawnmower he got for his birthday too. He runs up and down the grass with it. In fact, one of his favorite things to do is make the lawnmower go up and down stairs and crash into things. Today he decided to try to sneak it into the house. But I just wasn't having it. :-)

 

Man, it's been a while since I did one of these.  I'm so behind.  And my mom keeps asking me where all her pictures are so I'm finally getting around to it.  But, I have to warn you, there are a lot of photos...

A few weekends ago we took a little trip to the park with Jack's friend Violet.

Jack loves hanging with Violet and they are so cute together.  On a see-saw or off.

He goes through phases of eating really well (tomatoes, chicken, spinach patties, etc.) and then only wanting to eat his fruit squeezies all day.  I swear he goes through so many boxes every week.

He still LOVES playing in the backyard and in his "jungle".  

We do our weekly play dates with Jack's little buddies.  I will say that most of them interact and play together but Jack is happier doing his own thing.  His little friend Cooper does enjoy the alphabet though.  Here is Jack teaching him all the letters.  (He doesn't know braille yet though...) 

Swing time with friends is always fun too.

A week ago we went to San Diego to bid Aunt Julie bon voyage and she leaves for her new job in Italy.  Jack got in a little basketball while we were there.

One of his favorite things to do at Grandma and Grandpa's house is to "explore" and just take long walks through the canyon.  Pretty cool.

Of course, lying in the bushes isn't bad either.

He will miss his Tia Julie!

John was lucky enough to actually get one day off last weekend and he got to attend music class with Jackie.  

Then it was off to some fine dining at a restaurant where they served milk with a giant straw!

We even got a date night at the Clippers/Pistons game!  Fun.

And here are the rest of pictures from all the weeks...

more counter time

he loves climbing around the park play set

dandelions are everywhere!

mommy and Jack at music class

shaking his sticks

stirring the water in the drinking fountain

learning how to swing in the big kid swing!

bath time

playing in the airplane at the local kids museum

anything water related is AWESOME

"dieciocho!"

my boy

Best buddy's birthday party

 

One of Jack's best buddies celebrated his second birthday last weekend and Jack had a ton of fun. It was craziness as usual with 20 toddlers running around an indoor playground. There was a bouncy house which Jack enjoyed, of course.

  

He rode in the rocking row boat.

 

He took this little cutie for a ride in the camper. She was skeptical as he checked the gas gauges but they ended up having quite a nice time.

  

The highlight for Jack though was probably the food. They had pizza and it was Jack's first time experiencing this magical food. Let me tell you, he LOVED it. He had two slices and probably would have eaten more if I had let him.

 

 

A week later he was still talking about pizza. In fact, the doctor asked Jack about his 2nd birthday party and all he could talk about was "pizza". (Wrong party kid. Glad you appreciated all the homemade food I made.)