"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. :-)

 

When the temperature hits 90...

My son loves to be outside about 75% of every day and we have the tans to prove it.  But lately it's been around 90 degrees and it's just so so hot.  So I had to find some way to for Jack to cool down.  He just adores water but, oddly enough, he doesn't love getting in the pool with me.  I think because he's not "free" and doesn't think it's fun to have me hold him the whole time.  But he does love running through the sprinklers and the tiny blow-up toddler pool I got him.  He jumps in and out of that thing and runs around naked for an hour.

He seems to like his naked time so I let him run around and have fun.  He goes in his little pool, runs through the trees, and goes down the slide over and over.  Yay for summer!

Getting dirty

There is no doubt that my son likes to get dirty.  And, for one reason or another, I seem to be the type of mom who lets her son enjoy dirt.  Lately though he's taken to throwing dirt and sand and wood chips all around.  Up in the air, at me, in his hair.  Every night in his bath, I find tons of sand embedded in his scalp.

He just is so passionate about the throwing...he throws with great force and gusto.  Even when he's sick.  I took this picture of him two days ago.  He refused to leave this dirt planter.  I caught him right after his threw a fistful of dirt in his face and as he was coughing with snot dripping down his nose.  John says it's the worst picture I've ever taken of him.  Which is obviously why I had to put it on the internet.  It cracks me up.

Jack's house

 

 Ever since Jack could pull himself to a standing position, he's loved little playhouses. Our friend has one in their backyard and there's one at the local indoor playground...and he LOVES them. He'll spend literally 30 minutes just opening and closing the door, shutting the windows, walking in and out and around. It's weird but he loves it. So Grandma and Grandpa were nice enough to buy Jack a house of his own which we put together this weekend. (By "we" I mean my very skilled husband.) It was a huge hit!

 

 

 The next morning was so funny. It was early around 6:30 and Jack was still in his pajamas when he went to the back door and started pounding on it like he wanted to go outside. I don't usually let him go outside that early when it's still wet out and he's in PJs. But this morning he just wouldn't let it go. He started screaming and crying and throwing a massive temper tantrum. So finally I just opened the door and he raced out. He got to the grass, pointed at his new little house and started giggling uncontrollably. He raced over to that thing so fast...it was pretty darn adorable.

 

A Boy's Boy

This is sort of a random post but I am continually amazed at what an adventurous, daring, "boy's boy" Jack is. It really stands out when we are at the park with his play group. While the girls are daintily stepping around the playground (yes it's a stereotype but it's true in our group), the other boys are cautiously climbing one step at a time. They get to the top and think about whether they want to go down the slide. Meanwhile, my kid is literally doing laps around them. He flies up the steps past everyone, teases me by faking like he's gonna go off the sheer drop side then sprints to the slide. Usually I make it over in time to hold on to his shirt or his hand before he zooms down the slide. But today at the park he just laid down on his tummy and shot off. Bam! Flying down the slide head first. No guidance from mom. The kid can't even walk yet. Every time he dove down the slide he giggled hysterically. Obviously there are no pictures because I was frantically trying to make sure he didn't crack his head open.

soaking wet pants from crawling through all the puddles

In addition, I'd say 75% of his pants are permanently stained. Because he can't walk, he crawls through mud, dirty water, grass, sand, and muck. The wetter the better. Today at the park a woman dropped her thick red slushee (why?) drink and, like a homing beacon, Jack saw it and made a beeline. I caught him just as he had put his hands all in the gross combination of the sugary beverage and mud.

I say none of this to complain. In fact, I'm rather proud of my little guy for being adventurous and not scared of a little dirt. It makes for a little more work for me but I don't mind. Especially since he's clearly having so much fun.

Today Jack is...49 weeks old.

This week Jack and I got to do a lot of fun things (as usual). The big news is that he has a new stroller that he seems to really like.

I know he doesn't look super happy in that picture but that's because he's mesmerized by the seals at the zoo. I found an Uppababy Vista stroller on Craigslist for an awesome deal so I went for it. He loves sitting straight up and much higher and can hang on to that bar.

Prior to the new purchase, we had a play date with one of my favorite moms and her son who is the same age as Jack. They were nice enough to patiently stand by while we filled up our frozen yogurt cups.

Jack definitely enjoyed being with his bud.

This week was full of more exploring and getting into things. He can now lift up the toilet seat as well as flush so that's fun. It's pretty exciting that he's learned how to climb stairs so well but also to climb back down feet first. He used to just dive off the step and cry when he fell. But now he's learning!

It was really warm this week (80 degrees) so Jack got to play outside a lot. He truly LOVES the backyard. I let him out the door and he runs wild, crawling from one end of yard to the other. Which is a long distance if you know my yard. He starts on the one side with the trashcans which he seems to really enjoy.

And here he is picking lemons off our tree.

And studying the trees.

Oddly, after I saw this photo I thought of Wyeth's Christina's World

He loves playing outside so much that I've got to start researching some outdoor play stuff. Maybe one of those plastic houses with doors or maybe a miniature slide with steps or something. I don't know but I know he would really really love something like that.

He's not walking yet but still cruising on everything. He can stand without holding something pretty well now. He still loves his walker though.

And now more pics from the week!

"Let me into the pool!"

And a little video from our park visit this week. He was a speedster climbing up this one piece of equipment so I wanted to take a video to show his dad. He usually got to the slide and then sat down and waited for me to help him. Of course, the time I chose to record a video, he got a little more adventurous and threw me for a loop at the end.

Today Jack is...48 weeks old.

More cuteness this week and the little guy gets more and more mischievous. He is into everything. Nothing is safe. Every day he pulls out all the towels and cookie pans and tupperware and every night I put it all away. Sort of a defeating exercise.

More than anything, he loves to be outside at the park. I try to take him at least every other day. He loves being in the sand, he loves going down the slide, he loves the swings, and he loves crawling like lightning to the nearest big kid. Luckily we've happened upon some really lovely 3, 4, and 5 year olds. One boy this past week played peek-a-book with him and then played dead so Jack could crawl all over him.

The kid is curious. Many moms remarked in our play group that Jack certainly is an active adventurer. Their kids were content sitting in one place in the grass or the sand and my son was sprinting from one end of the park to the other. He also loves getting dirty. LOVES it. I don't even try to resist because I know he'll win every time.

His room is covered in sand from when I take off his shoes and forget that they're filled with the stuff. He loves climbing all over the playground equipment and I think he thinks he's pretty hot stuff because he can hang with the older kids.

My husband thinks this looks like a JC Penney ad...
when is this kid going to start bringing in money?!

He's eating so many foods and I'm really happy about that. I'm trying to give him more dairy so he's eating cottage cheese and cheddar cheese. He doesn't like yogurt so we'll work on that. More than anything he likes meat. Chicken, turkey, sausage...he wants it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Luckily he also loves fruit so I try to balance it out. John gave him a cucumber the other day and it started out well...and then deteriorated.

I'm extremely happy that he loves the bath so much because it's such a nice way to unwind and calm him down after a long day. He loves playing with his bath toys and can't wait to dive into the water.

This past weekend Jack took his girl friend (girlfriend?!) Violet to his favorite indoor play area. I'm not sure what's going on between these two but I think he's a little too young for her.

And now, more pics from the week!

Sitting in one of his favorite spots, his fireplace throne.




Jack's first carousel ride...Sorry the picture isn't very good, I had to hold on to him for dear life. Who doesn't put safety harnesses on a carousel?!






Excited to see the gorillas at the zoo


Pulling out daddy's Replacements album








Obligatory swing shot.