Torture

Our tough little baby boy is not invincible. He does have his kryptonite.
This unassuming little toy terrifies Jack. Stuart thinks I tortured our baby with it. For the record, he is fake crying...

He might know more than we realize...

I have been wanting to do a post about Jack's talking (or lack thereof) for awhile, but I wanted to capture some of it on video first. After a couple of months of trying, I realize he will not cooperate, so I will just do this without the video.

I have been worried lately that Jack doesn't seem to be as verbal as other kids his age. Stuart thinks I am crazy because the boy is clearly more focused on motor skills and thinks I should give it more time. But, I keep reading about kids his age who can string 3 words together now and it is a rare instance when we get 2. At his 2 year check up, his doctor said that at this age it isn't so much about sentences as we should be able to understand about 25% of what he is saying. Which we don't. I was advised to wait a couple of months because this is the time where his verbal abilities should explode. But, it is hard not to worry.

Lately, however, we are beginning to think that Jack knows much more than he lets on. I'll give you a few examples:

• A couple of weeks ago, when I went to Jack's crib to get him up in the morning, I was wearing a shirt that said true love all over it. Jack looked at it, and pointed to the "e" and said "e" and then pointed to the "o" and said "o." I was shocked.
• A couple of months ago, Stuart was reading to Jack in bed and was counting for him. When he periodically paused after a number, Jack would jump in and supply the next number. (Up to the number 8.) He won't count on his own, but does do this on occasion.
• Once, when getting Jack up after his nap, he kept calling for daddy. I asked him "Where is daddy?" and he looked at me and said, "I don't know."

So, maybe there is hope. Maybe he is smarter than he lets on. Maybe he just doesn't feel a need to say much. But, I can't help but worry anyway...that's my job and it never ends.

I Love My Jack

There are so many reasons I love this little boy. Here are just a few:

• When I hold him because he is upset, he always pats and rubs my back.
• He grabs my chin and makes sure I am looking at him when he has something to say.
• He laughs and pushes his way in between Stuart and I when we kiss because he wants to be a part of the love.
• When I sing him to sleep at night and he has had enough and just wants to go to bed, he covers my mouth with his hand and says "mom, mom, mom..." until I stop singing.
• When I sing 5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed he always says "owie" with such concern when the monkey breaks his head. Every time.
• When playing with other kids, he always stops if someone is crying and sits with them until they are better.
• When he has a lot to say, he ends his story with "mom, mom, mom, mommy." I'm not sure why, but it is sweet.
• When we cuddle, he lays as close to me as possible and wraps my arms tight around him. He loves it even more when he can get his mom and dad to do this at the same time.

Jack's Faves

Now that Jack is 2, I don't think I'm going to do the monthly "Jack Facts" anymore, but I will try to periodically post his favorite things of the moment. Here is a look at what Jack loves today:

• His favorite toy is his trains. To say he loves them is an understatement. He wakes in the morning and runs straight to his train table. He insists on plays trains with his dad the second he comes home. (When you play with him, he prefers you sit next to the table, while he sits on your lap.)
• He loves kitties. He still loves dog, but they aren't half as important as cats. He is obsessed.
• His favorite movie is Elmo's World Pets which includes 3 back to back episodes, featuring pets, cats, and dogs. We have watched it many times. We tried expanding his interests by showing him the movie Bolt, but he got way too upset when the dog left the cat and hamster behind to go search for his little girl. Poor baby.
• He loves hash browns from McDonald's, or as he says: hashie. (It could be his mom just loves their sugar free iced vanilla coffee...you know it is a sad thing when you drive past a McDonald's and your 2 year old points and yells, coffee!)
• His favorite bedtime story is Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now! (I have to admit this is one of my faves too.) He insists on multiple readings each night, crying for Marvin, until we force him to bed.
• And of course, he still loves his blanket. And making tents...

Singing

Jack has a favorite song. Well, at least it is the only song he sings along with consistently. It is so funny because he usually just repeats the last word of each line in the song. So cute!

I filmed this last night when we went to Yogurberry for dinner. Yes, you heard that right, we had frozen yogurt for dinner. Jack loved it! Don't worry, Stuart was driving while I was filming.

Oh, I should thank my cousin Sheri for making me this great CD that appeals to both me and Jack!

TALL

When Jack was born, he was a modest 8lbs 3 oz and 21 inches long. A good healthy size, but not unusually big. He got off to a slow start initially, but somewhere around the 3 month mark he hit a growth spurt that doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon. His weight and head are near the top of the growth charts and his height is off the charts. At his 2 year check-up, his doctor advised that based on his current height alone, we could expect him to be at least 6'4" as an adult. However, I found a website that does a more accurate prediction based on his height, weight, and his parents height. Barring any unusual environmental factors, it is supposed to be about 90% accurate within a couple of inches. Are you ready for Jack's prediction?!

6 feet 6 inches

Wow! That's tall. If you are interested in using this predictor, go the the Baby Center website here. I guess he won't be my little boy for long...

Sensitive Boy

Yesterday was a bad day. It involved screaming, tears, and even vomit. But before I can explain, I need to start with some background information about our little Jack. He is an extremely tough, but sensitive boy. He is rough and physical pain doesn't usually phase him. Bruises, cuts, scrapes, bumps, and falls don't often get a reaction from Jack. Hurt his feelings, however,and that is a different story. Tell him no or raise your voice and he cries like his heart is breaking. Let me give you an example. Jack doesn't like to leave anyone behind. If Stuart and I separate in a store, Jack cries for his dad, certain that we have left without him. It really is very sweet. Well, a couple of weeks ago, we decided to break from our normal bedtime routine and let Jack watch part of a movie we found on TV because it featured dogs. That was a big mistake. Here is video of Jack watching the movie. He was inconsolable. Note that the movie was not scary. He was upset because a momma dog was helping another dog find his way and left her puppies behind as she did this. He was so upset that she left the dogs. At this point, we couldn't turn the TV off because he needed to know everything was OK, but they never showed those damn puppies again. (Luckily we had just gotten the equipment to pause live TV, so we rewound the program until Jack saw the mom and puppies together again and then skipped the part of her leaving them. Sheesh!)

So, now that you understand little Jack, let me tell you about our day. I made plans to meet my friend Sarah at Chick-fil-A for lunch. Her daughter, Savannah, is about 5 months older than Jack. She is the only person with children I know who lives anywhere near me, so I was looking forward to the outing. Chick-fil-A has a great toddler play area that Jack has visited before and loved. It was a disaster. Most of the kids were around 3 years old and pretty bossy. Remember, Jack may be the same size, but he was younger than most of the kids he encountered. Some of them yelled no when anyone else tried to play on the equipment and each time, Jack burst into tears. It was so sad. When he didn't listen, he was pushed and pulled and that just upset him more. I swear he was the only kid there crying and screaming.

We stopped to eat lunch and Jack's face was all red and blotchy from crying. (Poor baby, he gets that from me and my heart just ached for him.) He seemed better and wanted to play again, but it only got worse. So, I decided it was time for us to go and I put his shoes back on him...some big rubber boots that he loved, but as soon as I got them on him, he immediately climbed up on the equipment to play one last time. Big Problem. His boots got stuck in the equipment and he was scared and crying. I tried to calmly talk to him while my wonderful girlfriend climbed into the maze to help him down. He got so upset, he threw up, which must have been terrifying, because he has never thrown up before this. While I calmed Jack, Sarah cleaned up the vomit (did I mention how awesome she is?!) Meanwhile, other moms came in very indignant and upset because Jack had puked and they now had to get their kids out of there. Needless to say I got some dirty looks as I was leaving.

I calmed Jack and got him in the car and immediately broke down crying myself. I have never felt like such a bad mom in my life. I should know that Jack can't last long at places like these and I should have taken him out sooner. If I hadn't been eager for my own socialization, maybe we could have left before he threw up all over himself. I so want to protect him, but must be doing something wrong if he has so much trouble when he is around other kids. Have I done him a disservice by not having him socialize more? Maybe if I did he would have thicker skin around bossy kids. Anyway, I was pretty emotional the rest of the day. Let's just say I won't be going back to that Chick-Fil-A again.

Does anyone else have this problem? My doctor tells me his craziness is completely normal for a boy his age, but I don't see other parents struggling in public like I do...or have those parents just resigned themselves to stay home all the time? Am I doing something wrong?

Gardening

I have so much Jack stuff I want to share, but have been so busy with house projects, I have gotten a bit behind. So, hang on, and I'll post as much as I can this week.

One of my many projects is putting our courtyard together. The previous owner put in pavers, but never did anything else. I have been busy planting and Stuart has been busy putting in the drip system. Jack loves helping with this. I bought him his own Sponge Bob gardening set, which includes a shovel, rake, and his very own gloves. He could care less. He only wants to wear my gardening gloves and use the full size shovel and rake. He is just so eager to be grown up...

He is just so cute!

20 Teeth!

Hallelujah! That last tooth finally cut through last night!

2 Year Old Pictures

Saturday, we had a lot of fun playing at the park next to our house. I foolishly thought I could get some pics of my little boy now that he is 2 years old. I was wrong. I have over 100 pics and most of them feature the back of his head as he is running around. He did sit still long enough for me to take exactly 3 pictures. Luckily, 2 of them came out pretty good.



Indulge me while I share some of the other pictures from the day because I think they are hysterical. They show him exactly as he is...a boy who loves to explore everything around him.





Stuart then gave Jack his first basketball lesson. They started easy, with a tennis ball.

Check out Jack's defensive moves!

Running for the ball is half the fun.

Hmmm. I think these pants are slowing me down.

Future star. (Or at least good enough for a college scholarship would be nice!)

He had so much fun, he didn't want to leave.

Thanks

Jack wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for his great birthday gifts.

He loved the sour worms that his sisters bought for him. (Well, it's kind of a love/hate thing, but he does ask for more!)

He loved the card from his great grandma Lambson, but when I left the room, he apparently found the $10 she had snuck in there for him. He carried it around and wouldn't give it to me. I didn't think he even knew what money was yet.

He loves his new shiny soccer ball from his grandma. He even insisted on sleeping with it the first night.

He has gotten a LOT of use out of his new tool set from Grammie and Papa. He has drilled everything in the house. When he ran out of things to fix, he started fixing himself.

He loves his Thomas the Train books from his Nana and Grandad. He plays the same song on them, repeatedly. Although, the other day, he discovered a new sound button that made him a little nervous.



Thank you everyone. He is getting a little spoiled. At this rate he might need a bigger playroom soon.

Jack Loves Dogs

If Jack is this excited when he just sees a dog on TV, you can imagine how he is when we get to see one live. I'm telling you, the boy is obsessed with dogs and cats!