How Do You Roll?

'cause this is how Jack rolls...he had to hang his silver Ironman from his tricycle before going for a naked cruise around the house.

No More Peas

I'm not perfect...not that I was fooling anyone into believing that in the first place, but last night I really screwed up...big time. For those of you who don't know, Jack is a picky eater. Really picky. Yes, he was awesome for a long time, eating everything we ate, including salmon, blue cheese, salsa, and even broccoli by the cup full. That all changed just before he turned 2 years old. Now he won't touch a whole piece of fruit or vegetable. Yes, I admit that I buy baby food for my 3 year old because, for over a year now, that is the only way he will eat veggies. Judge all you want, but I figure it is better than no vegetables at all. I have been trying very hard to change his eating habits. A couple of nights ago, I got him to eat whole peas. 4 of them. (It took the promise of dessert, but I don't care.) Last night I thought I could expand on that and get him to eat 6 peas...with the promise of Oreos after dinner. It backfired. Badly. I'll explain, but those of you with weak stomachs should stop reading now.

Stuart was out with friends for the evening and Jack and I settled down for dinner alone. I spoiled him with macaroni and cheese as a nice start to the meal; he was thrilled. I then laid out 6 peas on his plate and explained that he would have to eat them if he wanted Oreos. He cried. I stood my ground. He picked up a pea and put it in his mouth. He made faces, gagged, and put his fingers in his mouth causing himself to throw up. He was surprised and asked me "what's happening?" (Jack hasn't really thrown up since he was a baby.) I explained and he said he was sorry. Yes, you read that right, my polite little boy calmly apologized to me for throwing up. I decided to try it again. Same result. At this point, Jack is insistent that he is sick and needs a thermometer. I tell him I will check his temperature after he eats. I tell him to eat 4 more peas and explain that he can't put his fingers in his mouth or it will make him throw up again. He agrees and eats a pea, with only minor grimaces and no throwing up. I am hopeful. He eats a second pea. YEA! He eats a third one, makes a face, and throws up again. He continually asks, "what's happening to me?" At this point I feel like crap. In my guilt I gave him Sprite (to settle his stomach) and Oreos for dinner. Stuart is ticked off at me. He hates peas and thinks I am mean. (He brought Jack home a chocolate shake because he felt so bad for him. So, he had Sprite, Oreos, and a shake for dinner.)

I actually have video of the event...up until he threw up. I was recording it because I think the faces he makes while eating something he doesn't like are hysterical. Be grateful I am not posting the video. (I should mention that the boy loves watching the video of himself throw up. He has requested to watch it repeatedly today.) I will, however, share some still shots I pulled from the video.



For the record, I will never force peas on him again.

Star Wars

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Anticipation

It all started around Christmas. My dad made us a very generous offer to watch Jack for 2 days so Stuart and I could get away. Since I have rarely slept through an entire night uninterrupted in the last 3 years, I was ecstatic at the opportunity. Stuart was a little resistant. For some reason we seemed to run into trouble agreeing on something. He wanted to go to Vegas, but money was tight so he didn't think that was a good idea unless we drove. I didn't want to spend 10 hours of my 2 days away in a car. I suggested Sedona, but he thought that was boring. (I was more than a little insulted by that.) He suggested we skip the whole thing and take Jack to go visit his family in Canada. I agreed, but then he said he didn't want to spend the money to go when it was so cold. I got more than a little frustrated. I cried. I really was excited about the idea of getting away, so I offered to compromise and drive to Vegas. He was lukewarm to the idea. Everything was met with mild interest at best.

ARGH! This went on for a few weeks. Well, last Friday, while Stuart was at work, Jack had a playdate. I vented to my friend about Stuart's lack of interest in getting away. (Hey, I know, I know, but I was plenty frustrated at this point.) She suggested I let my dad watch Jack and go away by myself. (Trust me, I was tempted at this point, but really wanted some time with Stuart.) No sooner than we got home did we get a call from Stuart. He said he really thought we needed a vacation, but he wanted it to be worth the time and money. So, he booked a trip for the 3 of us to Hawaii! He remembered a coupon book I had shown him from Costco travel with some great deals. (Yes, I feel bad about all my complaining.) It's a great surprise and we could all use some time away as a family. There is one little problem. We made the mistake of telling Jack. He's pretty excited.

He wakes up each morning asking if we are going on an airplane today. (I think he is more excited about the airplane ride then he is about going to the beach.) He packed his suitcase a few days ago and insisted I put it in the back of my Jeep.

Maybe we should have waited to tell him...

Too Much Snow

Saturday we took Jack to Flagstaff to play in the snow. He had a blast.

His favorite part was throwing snow balls at mom.

My favorite part was that it was less than a 2 hour drive from home. It was nice to enjoy our time in the snow and then come back to warmer weather.

SNOW

We had a rare treat just before new years. Snow in Phoenix. Jack was excited...and disappointed. It wasn't quite what he had hoped to experience.

Don't worry, we did take him up north to play in the snow. I'll post the photos soon.

Fireworks!

We were so tired New Year's Eve that we totally forgot we had these. That's OK, they were just as much fun a couple of days later.

Happy New Year

New Year's Eve has been low key ever since Jack joined our family. This year, we actually attempted to do something. Our neighbors down the street threw a very nice party. There was good food and the kids got to play while the adults hung out together. They have 6 year old twins that Jack just adores, so he was thrilled. Surprisingly, I wasn't tired and Jack was pretty good for being up so late past his bedtime, but alas, we had to call it an early night. They have a dog and Stuart's allergies got the best of him. So, we went home (Jack was NOT happy about this decision.) We toasted the new year with warm Sprite around 10pm and called it a night. I woke up at midnight to the sound of fireworks outside. I know, not very exciting, but trust me when I say it is an improvement on previous years.

If you are wondering what Jack is saying, he is saying Happy New Year in Chinese. I swear, I did not prompt him to do this, in fact, it took me awhile to figure out what he was saying. He got this from his favorite TV show, Calliou. In one episode, Calliou celebrates Chinese New Year with his friend for the year of the dragon. He has been obsessed with Chinese New Year ever since and asks to have Chinese New Year all the time. He especially wants to see the dragon.

Too Much

OK, we are 7 days into 2011 and I am already behind on my blog. But, since it is a self-imposed expectation, I am really only disappointing myself. I can live with that.

Anyway, I am still finishing up 2010 activities, so let me share some more Christmas stuff. Jack made out like a bandit. 3 year olds are so easy to spoil because they are so dang cheap in their requests. One of Jack's favorite phrases is "too much." He always asks if he can have "too much" candy, or "too much" chocolate, or whatever. I think it started when I told him not to take "too much." Now, "too much" is a desired state with him. Well, I think the phrase applies perfectly to his Christmas loot. I didn't get a lot of pictures on Christmas because we were enjoying the day so much, so I'll make due with the few I have.

He loved the doctor kit he got from his Grandma about a week early. He played doctor on us constantly. He also loves his "dangerous bike" he got from his Nana and Grandad. (It's the Razor and he loves riding it to the park.)

Yes, as you know, he did get his silver Ironman. But, he also loved his new Spiderman.



One great hit is a storybook castle from his great grandmother. He helped build it into a play castle. He loves to pretend play with it. Notice his Ironman trapped in the castle.

In this picture, Astro Boy is flying under the castle to hold it up...kinda like the character does to an entire city in the movie. I love watching him come up with some of these ideas when he plays.


We foolishly bought him a 1700+ piece lego set (well, the cheaper version: Mega BLOKS.) It took me 3 days to put it together. Please tell me how it was missing 6 pieces, but had about 100 extra! That is ridiculous! I used to love Legos. Now, not so much.

Of course, Stuart has already been back to the Lego store at the mall and got some additions. Jack has built a medical table out of them to attend to his Astro Boy.

If all this wasn't enough, Stuart got the Playstation Move for Christmas. I think Jack might like it too.


This was taken Christmas night. Jack decided he needed to sleep with his silver Ironman, his mini bad robot from Ironman, his garbarge truck, and his Mr. Bunny (sackboy from the Little Big Planet video game. He calls him Mr. Bunny because he designs his character with bunny ears.)


I should point out that he has slept with his garbage truck almost every night since he got it from his Grammie and Papa. Including naps.

Later in the night...isn't he precious?