Conversations with Jack #6

While driving in the car today, Jack asked if we could get some chicken stars. I responded that I didn't know if the store had any chicken stars left, but we could check and if they didn't, I would make him something else for lunch at home. (Really, I just didn't want to stop at Carl's Jr....I had too much to do.) Jack then picked up my phone and made a pretend call. Here is what I overhead:

Hello? Chicken star man?

pause

Do you have any more chicken stars?

pause

Oh, great. Can you save me some chicken stars?

pause

Thank you.

I love that he actually paused for the "chicken star man" to answer!

ENOUGH ALREADY!

So, this morning, Jack ran out of our bedroom to follow his dad into the kitchen. He ran face first into the edge of the door.

You'll notice he has quite the bruise and a cut next to his eye. (The long red scratch on his cheek, however, is an old, unrelated injury.)

It's a constant battle to keep this kid alive.

Poor Baby

In the continuing saga of an active little boy and his injuries, the latest chapter unfolded Friday night... After giving Jack his shower, I sent him into Stuart to get his jammies on for the night. While Stuart went into the other room to get the jammies, Jack ran into our bedroom to hide under the pillows naked. (This happens most every night as Jack thinks it is a fun game.) I heard a crash. Apparently, Jack got tangled up in the covers and rolled off the bed. Between sobs he explained to me that he hit his face on the nightstand.

As you can see, he cut himself pretty badly. There was a LOT of blood. So much blood we had to strip the bed and wash the sheets.

His lip swelled up pretty big during the night.

This morning, he looks like he is improving, but he still has a big, loose flap of skin under his lip and quite the scab.

My poor baby.

Naps

Jack may be done napping, but that doesn't mean he isn't done needing a nap, rather it means that about once a week he falls asleep despite his best efforts to avoid it.

This can't be very comfortable for him...

Slow Down

Jack seems eager to grow up these days. I don't want to slow him down, but he is only 3...it's just too soon! Some examples:

• When asked how old he is, he will do his best to convince you he is 4 (and sometimes 5) instead of 3.
• When I give him a kiss, he doesn't refuse. Instead, after the kiss, he promptly wipes it off and then tells me, "How 'bout hugs?" and gives me a hug instead. (I love the hugs, but they're just not the same...)
• He always reminds me he isn't a little boy, but he's "big Jack." (On rare occasion he will still come to me and ask to be baby Jack so I can hold him in my arms, but after just a few minutes he tells me he is big Jack again.)
• Yesterday at the park he kept telling this little girl that he was a grown up. They had quite the debate about it before she turned and asked me, "Is he a grown up?" I love that he almost convinced her!
• He also insists on doing everything himself. This makes it impossible to leave him alone for even a second. Yesterday, he couldn't wait for me to use the bathroom and decided he should get his own milk out of the fridge. The jug was completely full and too heavy for him to manage without incident...

I'm OK with him growing up...I just wish he wasn't so eager for it to happen so soon...

Latest Injury

Guess who has begun climbing trees?

The important thing to note is, he didn't complain in the slightest when this happened. Rather, he showed it to me later...like it was no big deal.

Someone wants a pet...

Yesterday, Jack brought me a rubber rat he found in his toy chest. (It was left behind from Halloween.) He told me it was a hamster named Buddy.

He insisted we make a home for it, complete with a bed, water, and toys.

Jack took very good care of him.

P.S. Jack came in while I was creating this post and now is frantically looking for Buddy.

Scary Movie

How do you watch a scary movie?

Jack's Buddies

Here is my adorable boy, hanging out with his buddies: his two Jack Russells and Aiden, his kitten.

He takes such good care of them.

Transmogrifier

I LOVE Calvin and Hobbes. Favorite comic strip ever! (Do they still do comic strips or am I old?!) Anyway, Jack's recent activities reminded me of Calvin's transmogrifier.

Jackson loves to invent games and recently created this one on his own. He excitedly showed me this little invention of his, explaining that he wasn't Jack, but once he crawled through it he would become Jack.

Ta Da!

He then told me: "Mom, you a chicken. I need to turn you back to mom." I was then forced to climb through his contraption so he could get his mom back.

The Pseudo Sleep Over

Last weekend we had a neighborhood date night...yes, we got together with a few of our neighbors for a date night and left the kids with sitters at a neighbors house. (Have I mentioned how much I LOVE our neighbors. They are great!) Jack was beyond excited. We all got the kids in their jammies and ordered pizza for them to hang out at our neighbors house for the night. Jack excitedly anticipated this for days leading up to the event. We offered up our home for the kids, but since one couple had a 2 year old, they won out...the youngest kid really should be in their own home. The day of our big night out was insane, as Jack asked constantly about when the sleepover was starting. SIDE NOTE: Jack, however, also gave up his nap about a month ago. The problem is, he still needs it most of the time. (I don't push it because when he doesn't nap, he goes to sleep about 6:45 or 7pm and falls asleep within 60 seconds of me putting him down. As a bonus he sleeps until at least 6:30am. It's awesome!) So, on this particular night, Jack just couldn't make it and fell asleep on the couch at about 3:30 and I couldn't wake him. He slept for 2 hours.

At 5:30pm he woke up and was eager for the sleepover. He immediately got dressed for bed and packed his bag. It was hysterical. He kept rushing Stuart and I to get ready so he could go to his friend's house.

We had a great time. One of the 2 sitters is Jack's regular sitter so we had zero concerns. (One of our neighbors even offered to be the designated driver for the night. Score!) It was hysterical because at one point in the night when we checked in with the sitter, we were told all of the kids were asleep in the oldest child's, Martin's, room. All, except Jack that is. He was wide awake. When we got home, at about 11:30pm, all the kids were sleeping...except Jack, who was wide awake, quietly watching a movie, but wide awake. So much for sleeping.

I know Jack, so I knew if he wasn't in his own house and was surrounded by other kids, his likelihood of sleeping was small. He didn't even eat anything because he was too excited. But, he was in good hands and we had a great time.

We will definitely do this again!

First Real Bike

Jack got his first real bike this weekend. He has wanted one for awhile. We were waiting because he was really too big for the 12" toddler bike, and if we bought the 14" he would have outgrown it in a month, and I didn't want to waste the money. So, here he is on his 16" bike. I can't believe he is just 3 and a half. He looks so grown up now.

Blankets

It's no secret that Jack is a blanket baby...or should I now say, blanket boy...either way, that kid loves his blanket and sleeps with it every night. Having been a blanket baby myself, I prided myself on handling the situation pretty well. We limit it's use to indoors and I even thought ahead and bought 2 of them so we would always have a back up blanket available. When we went on vacation, I was extra careful. I didn't trust them packed into our checked luggage, and instead brought them in our carry-on bags.

All was well until we recently returned home from Hawaii, when I discovered we only had one of his blankets. I distinctly remembered packing both of them...it was the first thing I did. But, I guess I must have removed one to make room for Jack's toys and snacks and then never put it back in the bag. I called the hotel on a Sunday and they agreed to ship it back to us. YEA. The next day, however, I gave Jack some Silly Putty to play with and sure enough he got it ground into his blanket. I tried, but could not get it out. Seriously?! 3 years of success with his blankets and I manage to mess with both of them in 2 days?!

In desperation, I thought I would check eBay. I originally bought the blankets on clearance at Victoria's Secret 3 years ago, so I wasn't especially optimistic that anyone was still selling these. But, surprise, surprise, I found someone selling 2 of them...brand new. They charged 3 times the price I paid for them, but I bought one immediately. After a pleading email to the seller explaining the situation, she promised to get it in the mail the next day for us.

As I waited, I cut the Silly Putty out of his remaining blanket, leaving it with huge holes in it. Jack seemed to be OK with that. (I waited until he was asleep so he wouldn't see me do it.) Luckily both blankets arrived in the mail the same day...the one we left in Hawaii and the brand new one. Hallelujah!

Let me say, I didn't realize how worn they had become in 3 years time. The new one is so soft and comfortable. I thought Jack would love it. He doesn't. He only likes his old blankets. Really?! I guess I could just wash the new one until it is old and gross like the other ones...who knew?

Camping

Jack really wants to go camping...

How unbelievably cute is he?!

Creative Mind

Jack has quite the creative mind and an active imagination these days. Here are a few of his recent antics that had me laughing.

He struggled for awhile with the tape and this cup before finally asking me to help him tape it to his face. I guess he just wanted his hands to be free while he drank from it.

While we were repairing his aluminum foil snowman who had somehow lost his sticker eyes, Jack decided he needed new eyes himself.

Yes, he is still sticking things in his pants. Is this just a normal boy thing or what?

The other day he came to me with an inflatable pump stuck in his underwear and asked me to blow in the end sticking out of his pants. I refused and instead got out the camera. It actually got weirder. (Be patient, I had to censor the middle of the movie where he briefly flashed me.)

He is just so silly sometimes.

Battered Boy

Check out Jack's latest injury. Last Friday, he was sitting on our bed. I left the room to go to the bathroom when I heard 2 loud bangs, followed by screaming. Somehow he hit his face on the foot board of our bed. It's really developed into a nasty bruise.

And did I mention what happened on Sunday? He was sitting in the recliner and tried to throw a ball at me and went face first into the edge of the couch. Bit his lip and cut himself just below his bottom lip.

As if this isn't enough, at the moment, he also has a huge scab on his left elbow and a scrape on his left shoulder. The elbow injury is bad, with a thick scab so it had to have bled a great deal.

Is it bad that I don't have a clue as to how either of them happened?

P.S. After I posted this, Jack and I were playing in the park and I noticed another big scab on his ankle....