He makes me laugh

I love this kid with all my heart, more than I ever knew I could love someone.  This is one of the COUNTLESS reasons I love him - he insisted on eating dinner with his mittens on the other night.  He then proceeded to eat his bowl of popcorn (we had movie night at home) with them on also.  He's just awesome and I'm completely in love with him.

Future Firefighter?

Jack's preschool (he attends a co-op preschool one day a week) took a field trip to the fire station last week and it was so much fun!  He got to use the hose, climb up on a firetruck, sit in the driver's seat, watch the firefighter put on all his gear, and he even came away with his very own firefighter hat!  This field trip is just one of the many reasons why I love this new preschool so much - the teachers are wonderful, Jack feel comfortable there, and we get to go on FIELD TRIPS! 

I've waited my whole life to be the parent on a field trip with my child, it was fantastic!

The newest member of our family

No, we are not pregnant.  The newest member of our family is this darling little puppy!  Her name is Rampage (though we find ourselves calling her "Page" more than her full "flyball-tough" name) and she is quite a spunky handful.  She will be 3 months old  tomorrow and has been with us since the middle of October.  Paul is training her to be a flyball dog and she's already made a lot of progress!  Jack wasn't sure about her at first but nowadays if you ask him who his favorite dog is, he'll say "Rampage".  :)

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins!

It was very important to me that we took Jack to a pumpkin patch this year, after last year's "Quick, take his picture with the pumpkins at Fred Meyer" experience.  For the last few weeks we've been talking about pumpkins, reading books about pumpkins, learning how pumpkins  grow, and on Saturday we finally got to go to the pumpkin patch!  And what a perfect day for it!  Jack loved the tractor, the hay ride, picking up pumpkins, finding one of his own, it was fantastic!

We started with a wheelbarrow ride to the field

Then took a hay ride to the pumpkin patch

Then we searched for just the right one

And finally, the must-have family pumpkin patch photo :)

 Here we were 2 years ago, it's amazing how fast life goes by!

This kid melts my heart

Jack is TWO!

Where does the time go???  Our little man turned 2 years old this past Saturday and it feels like it was just yesterday that we brought him home from the hospital.  We had a great party with our family and friends and Jack did wonderfully!  I was a little nervous that 30 people might overwhelm our little toddler but I was wrong, he did great!  He played with his friends, sat nicely to open his gifts, thanked each person for his present, and said goodbye as everyone left.  He was a true gentleman and a great party host :) 

The food table

A craft for the kids, coloring cars and planes

Opening gifts

Ready for cake!

He blew it out on the first try!

 

 

Yummy :)

What is Jack doing at 2 years old?

• Playing soccer every Saturday
• Wearing 2T and 3T clothes
• Talking a TON and singing songs (Twinkle Twinkle, All the Ducks, Jesus Loves Me)
• Running, jumping, somersaulting
• Going to Crystal Springs Co-op Preschool one day a week
• Playing outside as much as he possibly can

His favorite color is green, his favorite show (when he's allowed to watch TV) is Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, he eats almost any food and will now tell us that it's "too picey" (spicy), crunchy, "gweet" (sweet), and tasty.  Just the other day he was looking a picture of a puppy and said, "that's soooo cute!".  He amazes us every day with his memory, vocabulary and overall intelligence and makes us laugh on a daily basis.  He is more wonderful than words can express and I feel so grateful to God that he chose this perfect little guy to be ours.

Oops, Summer is almost over!

I'm not sure if it's because I have a very active toddler or because I now have a bigger house and a yard to tend to, but...I have been a terrible blogger!  Let's quickly recap the summer:

Jack had his first popsicle and LOVED it!

Soccer became a big part of our lives - practice on Saturday mornings and kicking the ball around the yard almost EVERY day :)

We went to Mexico and had a blast!

And then we were lucky enough to be able to go to Hawaii also.

What a fantastic summer of running around in the sun, walking up to the neighborhood park, drawing with sidewalk chalk in front of the house, running around in our backyard, playing, playing, and more playing!  Jack is growing and changing on a daily basis, amazing us with his knowledge and verbal skills - this kid is spectacular!

Father's Day

For Father's Day this year Paul wanted to go for a family hike and have sushi for dinner so we did just that.  We packed up the truck with water, snacks, the hiking backpack and the camera and headed east to Rattlesnake Ridge.  We were both very impressed with how far Jack hiked on his own before asking to be carried, he did a great job!  I told Paul that as a Father's Day gift to him I would carry Jack in the backpack - I really should have thought that one through.  Let's just say it was a GREAT workout :-)  It was a great day for a hike, the view at the top was breathtaking (and also a little nauseating), and we even got to hear thunder, so cool!! 

Happy, happy Father's Day to the man of my dreams and the father I always imagined for our child.

What can I say, the boy likes to eat!

Summer fun!

I know it's not officially summer yet, but the weather has been so nice that it sure feels like it is!  I love our new house and all the extra room we have, but I am most thankful for our yard.  Watching Jack play and run and find bugs and get dirty and drive his trucks through the yard makes me such a happy mom.  Our upstairs deck is a perfect play area for him while I'm making dinner (much better than him pulling on my leg) and today we brought his water table up to add to the fun.

 

The end of an era

Last week was Jack's final preschool day of the year.  He and I have been attending a co-op preschool through North Seattle Community College since he was 4 months old and it has been fabulous in every way!  At first it was just an hour and a half every week that I got to spend with other adults while Jack rolled around next to other babies, but it turned into much more than that.  I made friends, Jack made friends, we both learned songs, Jack learned routines (his favorite routine being as soon as the teacher sings "scarves in the basket" that means it's time to wash hands and have SNACK!), and it was his first introduction to school.  School has always been a place I love - I love to learn, to teach, and to be part of new experiences.  Of course I want Jack to do well in school but even more than that I want him to love school like I did (and still do).  I pray that he is confident in his abilities, comfortable with himself, and has a desire to learn.  That's not too much to ask of a toddler, is it?

My fuzzy-headed little guy on his first day of co-op.  January, 2012

And here he is on his last day of co-op, looking so grown up!

Tulip fields

We might have a lot of gloomy days here in the Northwest, but we also have some spectacular sights to see!  One of which is the tulip festival is LaConner where you can walk through huge fields filled with rows and rows of gorgeous tulips.  This was Jack's first year going (ok he "went" when I was pregnant but I'm not sure that counts) and he had a great time splashing in puddles and smelling the flowers.

Jack made sure we took the time to stop and smell the flowers too

Pointing at the school bus with Gra-Dave

Paul, Jack and Gra

Here's us as a family:

And here's the two of us 4 years ago:

Wow.  A lot changes in 4 years.  Notice the motorcycle gear?  Yea, we drove our car to the tulips this year complete with car seat and diaper bag.  We've both lost weight, gained a fabulous son and ditched the motorcycle gear (at least on the weekends, Paul still rides to work).  Memories are wonderful but I also love the life I'm living today and wouldn't change it for the world.  I'm thankful for the past and look forward to everything the future has in store for us.

Outside

I am positive that if, given the option, Jack would live outside.  From the time he wakes up in the morning till the moment he goes to sleep, the word "outside" is spoken (or whined) at least once every ten minutes.  He loves to run, smell the flowers, climb, slide, splash in puddles, and even pick up the occasional piece of poop (we're working on not doing that).  By far, the hardest part of my day is getting him inside.  But don't get me wrong I'm MUCH rather have trouble getting him inside than getting him to like the outside :)

 

 

Yes, we are getting him a bigger slide soon :)

He loves to climb up and down the stairs on the deck

On the porch of the playhouse at GG's house