Fun in Houston

Jack is in Houston with Mimi and Popa this week. He's enjoying some time alone with his grand parents while Dave and I get things done around the house. He's feeling much better now that he has antibiotics in his system and has an appetite again. He even got to go to Chuck E Cheese's and see Barney. Mimi said he's been helping out with chores around the house (like loading the dishwasher). If that's true I've got a list of things that he can do around the house when he gets home..... :)

Holly Jolly Christmas

Merry Christmas! We celebrated Jack's 2nd Christmas with both sets of grandparents again this year. We are very blessed to have such loving parents and family. Jack has been battling a cold for the past couple of days and just didn't feel well this morning. He did enjoy ripping open the gifts and playing with his new toys. The only thing he ate was a whole container of M&M's that Santa left in his stocking, explaining the chocolate face. He'll be getting a new wooden swingset sometime soon..... maybe closer to his birthday though. In the meantime he'll enjoy playing with his new tool set, Tigger, ATM machine (wish it were real), Cookie Monster and countless Hot Wheels and Trains.

The simplest things

With all of the extra boxes lying around the house I had an idea......... Jack loves to put things "in" and then take them "out". Let's just say this little trick was a big hit. Hope all of his Christmas presents make such an impression!

Oooh, the tree

Jack is only allowed to touch one ornament, one that he made at Breakfast with Santa. He loves to move it around, especially around the house that is. Anyway, here he is playing with his ornament. The images are blurry b/c Jack doesn't stay still even for a second. Sorry!

Jack of all trades

I picked up Jack a firefighter and construction hat today and he seems to be quite receptive to both of them. As you can see, he likes to wear them together! He's also been very chatty on the phone lately and gets so upset when I'm on the phone (afterall, he should be the one doing all of the talking, not me!). You can actually see the tears on his face in one of the pictures b/c I had received a call right before I took the picture and didn't let him talk...... the nerve right?!

Daddy's hats

Jack has a new obession....... his daddy's hats. They are his new favorite toys. He still won't wear them for long, but he does parade around the house with them on his head.

Brr.... it's cold outside

We took Jack to a new playground Saturday night and it was 39 degrees outside that evening. Luckily his Mama sent him a warm hoodie that very day! His Mimi also gave him this horse backpack that we now use for diapers and snacks. Jack likes to wear it around the house :)

Lazy winter morning

I put Jack in some extra warm footed pj's last night. He looks so adorable in them (but I'm not biased at all). Here he is snuggling in the guest bed watching his morning dose of Barney. Oh if I could just freeze time.........

Tiger cub

Ms. Nell, a good friend of Gigi's, knitted this sweater for her grandchildren. When they outgrew it she kindly gave it to us for Jack to wear. Last year it swallowed Jack, but as you can see it's a pretty good fit now. Jack absolutely refuses to wear jackets and will fight like the Dickens if you try to get him to wear one. He will wear sweaters (luckily!) so we are very grateful to have this warm sweater.

Wednesday Night Dinner

We enjoyed fried chicken at our church tonight for Weds. night dinner. Jack was all about holding his drumstick and savored each bite. He's big on eating things like a "big boy" now...... like bananas from the peel. He's also pumped about the LSU Tigers upcoming trip to the Sugar Bowl against Notre Dame, as evidenced by his purple and gold. Geaux Tigers!!!

More Toddlearn fun

Jack just loves his Toddlearn classes. He enjoys the parachute time and bubbles in particular. Jack has also started talking up a storm lately. He was totally holding out on us...... just testing his Speech Therapist mom!! Dave and I have learned that you truly do wait and wait for them to talk and once they do, they never stop :) Here he is with his Gigi who has spent the past two weeks helping me out with Jack. Thanks Gigi!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas......

We took Jack to Breakfast with Santa at our church today. Of course his girlfriend Alyssa was there with her parents. Jack was sporting some serious bedhead that we couldn't tame for anything.

Jack was all interested in Santa until we walked up to take his picture with him.... He clung to me and pitched a fit. I think he secretly just wanted to be on stage b/c he's a natural performer. Jack made some crafts while we were there but mainly just ran around and tried desperately to get back on stage. Oh the memories!!

The big Dipper

Jack has discovered the wonderful world of sauces lately. He is a notorious double, even quadruple, dipper. Here he is making the most of his french fries!!

Fun at Mimi's

Here are some more pictures of Jack from his Houston visit. Aunt Jen and Corinne came over to play one day. Jack wouldn't cooperate for a picture of them together........ We took him to feed the ducks near Mimi's school one day last week and he loved it. At first he wanted the ducks to take the bread from his hands, but they weren't so sure. He learned really quickly how to throw the bread to them though! There was one duck that followed us around eveywhere for more bread (the one with the big red bumps). He was sad to see Jack leave. :)

Jack's first Shabbat

Our friends Clay and Christine were nice enough to let Jack and me stay with them before we headed to Houston for Thanksgiving. We happened to be there on a Friday and experienced our first Shabbat (Jewish dinner that begins the Sabbath). I think Jack liked the candles the most! He had a blast playing with Carter and Avi that night. Thanks for being great hosts Clay and Christine!

Jack enjoyed spending time with his extended family these past few days. He got to see his cousins and Aunts/Uncles. At first he was shy and warmed up after a while. Here he is feeding crackers to Grand Mama and cousin Cody. He was slowest to warm up to cousin Ashley, partly b/c I believe he thought she was a babysitter and that we were going to leave! He was extra sweet though and gave her a kiss when she left :) Little stinker! Getting pictures of everyone with Jack is tough........ it's the equivalent of capturing a wild animal on film!!!! :)

Fun at Mimi and Popa's

We're in Houston for Thanksgiving and Jack has been getting in some quality time with his Mimi and Popa. Jack loves to ride his Popa's rocking horse. He can climb that thing himself and start to ride. I think he could climb a pole though..... I definitely have a climber. Anyway, we also are testing out the "big boy bed" this week. If it goes well here we'll try it at home :) So far Jack loves to get in it but didn't want me to leave him in it last night. We'll keep trying though. We transfered him over to it last night and he slept in it very well till about 5:30 am. Not too shabby for the first time. I think he woke up and was like ???. He went back to sleep until 7 am though (thanks goodness!).