Dadelope

Let me just share a moment... For those of you saying, "Wow, great picture of blackness with some streak of light across it, thanks for sharing!", let me decipher. The photo is of John laying in Jack's bed with him. John is reading him stories and wearing a headlamp so they are reading in the dark as Jack gets sleepier and sleepier.

I just want to use this space to pay tribute to all the great dads out there. For every deadbeat, stupid, irresponsible, not-interested-in-my-childs-life-and-would-rather-be-out-partying-with-the-boys dads that are out there, there is a dedicated, loving father. And Jack has one, thank god. John has the same annoying habit as I do of being out on a perfectly good date night and suddenly wondering out loud, "I wonder what Jack is doing" or just smiling and saying "Little Jackelope." John loves to take Jack on tractor rides. He loves to have Jack right there when he is fixing something with tools and have Jack "pretend fix" right beside him. And lord knows he does his share of middle-of-the-night wake up session when Jack has a bad dream.

So, for all the attention that Moms get about the hardship of working and being a parent, I thought this Dad deserves some kudos as well. To Dadelope. Thanks. Olive juice.

If you build it, he will come!

Architect, engineer, designer of the next wonder of the world?

Jack had all those futures in mind today as he built with his new blocks from his nana (while Mommy and Daddy recovered from putting all the *&%#@ things together-"flap A inserts into flap B while holding flap C with your toes")

He congratulated himself on building his fortress of solitude-although maybe not since it only has one wall for privacy. Just a little more...
and then Captain Destructo made his appearance!
Thanks Nana-we love them!

Hello Date Night!

Last night was date night so Jack was brought home from school by his favorite "date" Marissa. He just smiles whenever she is around, gets a bit shy at first but then wants to show off. Our typical routine is that John and I both get some time right after work to do our own thing then we meet up for dinner. Last night...

SUSHI

You don't realize the things you change in your life when you are a parent. I mean, we still take Jack out to eat with us- heck, we even take him to a sushi restaurant where he dines on his favorites-edamame and gyoza. But when you get to do something that is not an option with a toddler, it feels gooooood. Like sitting at the sushi bar. You would have thought that I had won the lottery with the look on my face when I answered back to the hostess's inquiry of "Booth or sushi bar?". Sushi bar, you mean the high seats that all face forward and would make it impossible to keep a toddler entertained or block food as it is about to be thrown? We're there!

Of course, afterwards, to wrap up our hot date night, John and I sped off to Super Target and ended up in retail therapy buying books and DVDs for Jack. And 3 super size bags of diapers. Because really, even though you're happy to be out alone, you just can't get them out of your mind. And who would want to?

Let me go!

How can anyone resist a man on a tractor! 

Another one bites the dust

Yet another lead teacher has quit Jack's room at daycare. That makes 4 teachers in 6 months. At least we have two wonderful assistant teachers, but having a total lack of a consistent lead teacher is hard because they really set the tone for the room and are responsible for the qiuality of the activities. And we've asked whether our room is just a "problem room" but everyone says no, the room is wonderful, we've just had bad luck with the teachers (or the daycare is not doing a good enough job of vetting their choices.

I sat in the room this morning when I dropped Jack off and started reading a book and all the kids gathered around me and some gave me hugs and they were all laughing and making animal noises when I pointed to animals in the book. So I rewarded them by singing them two of my favorite camp songs learned when I was a child, "The Prune Song" and "Plant a Watermelon Seed" that both have funny noises. They laughed and clapped. I could have stayed there all day. It ain't hard to fall in love with all of these children- and I hope they find a teacher who will do just that.

Bite-a-palooza

What's happening at daycare? In the past few days, there has been a rash of bitings. On Monday, Jack had an incident report detailing that he was bitten by another child (they don't reveal who) in a struggler over a toy. John and I searched, but could not find any marks. But the next morning, clear as day, we found the teeth imprints (top and bttom) on his arm.

Yesterday, I was joking about finding the marks to the teacher as I grabbed Jack's comment card for the day, and what should I find but another incident report saying that Jack had bitten a child over a toy. Same child? No idea.

Ouch!

The Great Escape

Jack has spent his first weekend as a true "big boy" with his crib side removed and just a safety rail. He's done fine at night, stayed in the bed. But this morning I snuck upstairs to snap a picture before he woke up and what should I find but a full blown escape attempt in action. I've attached 2 pictures I'd like to enter as evidence.

Follow the leader

Jack could not have been more excited about his cousin Isaiah coming over the other day. He just wanted to do everything IA did. Here's J-lope following Isaiah as they both run with noodles from the pool. 

The Hunt is On!

The official egg hunt at daycare was on Thursday. They trooped them all outside and set them loose.
Here's Jack doing his hunting...or going to the bathroom- not sure which. And yes, he does have a nice shiner on his head since he knocked his head on the table just prior to the hunt. But look at that smile-I'll retouch out the bruising later.

Big Boys Can Have Toys Too!

Did I mention the big boy toy that recently was purchased??

Yes, we now own a tractor. With the new bigger lawn, John felt it was a necessary purchase. And who am I to argue since I have never offered to mow the lawn. Apparently, mowing the lawn is so much fun now that it has been mowed 4 times in one week. And the endless parade of people that have climbed on there means John might never have to mow the lawn again...my brother, my father, my uncle-and I must admit, me. It IS fun. Just winding your way around the yard, ignoring the random sprinkler head you might run over and snap off.

But the funniest is Jack. He can't get enough of it. Every evening we go for a walk along our street. But inevitably, instead of walking out of the garage and getting on his tricycle for our passeggiata ( it's Italian, look it up), he turns toward the tractor and before I know it, has climbed into the seat. Let me remind you...he's 2 years old! So we can only coax him to our walk by promising him a tractor ride later. When the walk is done, we return to the house and John obligingly (he secretly loves it!) gets on the tractor and puts Jack in his lap to take a spin up the driveway, around the cul de sac, and back down the driveway.

Oh, what would we do without you, John Deere!

Jack's Fabulous Adventures with Uncle Chris

Jack had a special treat over his birthday weekend...his Uncle Chris came to visit and was able to spend some quality time with the Jackelope. Not only here for his birthday celebration, but also here to accompany him to the doctor's office, to play ball with him in the yard, go in the hot tub with him, and to cheer him on for his first tractor ride. Jack spent the weekend practice chanting "ris, ris, ris" to get his uncle's attention. And by the end of his visit, he didn't want his Uncle 'Ris to leave him at day care when he was dropped off. And he's been smiling ever since when he looks at pictures from his birthday weekend.

Vote for your favorite

Jackelope took some pictures in the bluebonnets today. Let me know your favorite.

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