New Skills

Look who figured out how to climb on and off of things? I've had to help him sit on his little truck but suddenly he knows exactly how to climb on and off without falling.

Of course, sometimes he gets a little confused...

Trains, Trains, everywhere

Thanks to our friends Stacey and Violet, Jack and I got to ride yet another train while we were in San Diego. At the North County Fair mall there is an awesome little train that runs around the whole shopping center. For $3/person this train provided us with a lot of entertainment. Sadly, I didn't get a lot of great pictures because I was cramped in a tiny miniature train car with Jack and his grandma. For a while I held my camera phone out the window at arm's length but then realized that a) i could hit any number of innocent mall goers with my arm, or, more likely, b) someone could swipe my phone. That left me with this pictures.

I also managed to get a little bit of video. Enjoy!

Week in Review - 4/14/12

How about that guy? Love that picture. He really is all smiles lately. What a fantastic age. He just keeps getting better and better and I'm wondering when it's all going to end. I'm worried it's sometime soon...when he figures out how to throw a temper tantrum or talk back to his mom. But, for now, I'm enjoying him.

We took an impromptu trip down to San Diego for a few days to see Grandma and Grandpa. He loved hanging out with them and running around their big house. Grandma was nice enough to read him tons of books.

She also had a huge basket of toys that Jack couldn't wait to dig through.

We visited the San Diego Zoo which I hadn't been to for probably 20 years. I was totally amazed by it. They've totally redone it and it's beautiful. Forget the animals, the layout and vegetation is really fantastic. I have some qualms about zoos but Jack does seems to really enjoy it so I'm happy to take him. I didn't take many pictures but here is Jack in the petting zoo enjoying the scratch brush a lot more than the goats.

And he here is with one of the wolf statues.

We even rode on the aerial tram that flies over the entire park. He was a bit hesitant and nervous at first but got into it in the head.

It rained all day yesterday so unfortunately Jack couldn't play outside like he wanted to. And, boy, he was bummed.

And now, more pics from the week!

Train ride

I know I've blogged about this before, but it had been a while since Jack and I visited Travel Town to ride the train. Since before Christmas to be exact. And I wanted to take him to see how a mature almost 14 month old would handle it.

Now that he's a walker, he really loved all the open grassy space as well as the rocks and planters and trees. The picture above is him running through an empty old train car. He was in heaven.

He picked this little bunch of flowers that he just didn't want to part with.

Nope, he decided he'd take them everywhere and it was pretty cute.

When it came time to take an actual train ride, he jumped right in.

Though he couldn't figure out why we had to wait for other people to get on. Not a big fan of waiting.

Of course when the train finally started moving, he was in his riveted, serious, focused mode. Which usually means he likes something but is concentrating to figure it out. Or maybe he was just scared because he held my hand (and leg) the entire time. :)

Why walk when you can run?

Jack is the type of kid that now that he can walk, all he wants to do is run. And run FAST. Truthfully, when he succeeds, he's pretty damn quick. He can shoot out of an open front door in seconds flat. But often times he trips himself up because he's still getting the feel of being upright. Yesterday he was running down the sidewalk with daddy when he took a header and actually landed on his forehead. Hard. Poor kid. It doesn't photograph well but his forehead has a gnarly red, scraped up bump. Sigh. John says it's awesome because it means he's a tough boy. I'm starting to think that way....

Week in Review - 4/7/12

Another week, another batch of cute photos. This really is such a great age. He is just so darn adorable. And the coolest thing is that he seems to be learning so much every day. His walking is so much better and he practices walking up steps every day. He can open every door. He knows where to go when I say we are going to get in the car or change his diaper or go in the front yard or do laundry. Yesterday I told him we were going to the store and he left the room and came back with the reusable shopping bag that I take to Vons every time. I mean, COME ON! That's amazing. I'm not saying he's a genius (in fact I'm sure this is quite normal) but damn if it isn't surprising to see him start to understand everything I say. Communicating is great. He can clearly tell me what book he wants to read and what food he wants to eat. He is even finally getting the "all done" sign. Better late than never.

He's in such good spirits too. Everything and anything is hysterical. He giggles and laughs all the time. Playing peekaboo in the tent? Hysterical.

Walking in the baby walker? Sooo funny.

Riding in the front of the shopping cart? "I'm the king of the world!!"

And crawling through the tunnel? Funniest thing he's ever experienced.

Jack definitely loves the freedom that walking brings. His favorite thing is when I put him down or take him out of the stroller and just let him go. He loves it and I love seeing how much he enjoys exploring everything. He's such a curious little guy and it's so cool to watch him. Here he is climbing all over a flat bed cart when I put him down at Home Depot.

Here he is running towards the park. Apparently I wasn't carrying him fast enough.

I put him down at the zoo in this big plaza and this is him before he took off like a shot. Exploring every corner of the plaza and playing with every kid he came across.

And now here's even more pictures from the week...

playing with his friend Violet in his tent

ready for his first swim of 2012

living the good life in southern california

big boy...too big to be carried.

praying to the god of ceiling fans

sleeping like his mommy...hands up!

locking mom out of the house

getting dirty and wet as usual

naked guitar playing time

those bangs might need a trim

absolutely fascinated by the shadows on the floor