Jack on the Go

Jack Vincent has always been a wiggle worm. Kicking his legs, waving his arms, and of course wanting to bounce and bounce.
The poor kid was beyond frustrated with his lack of mobility. For months he spent his days rolling around, crying on his stomach as he tried unsuccessfully to propel himself forward. After about seven months of tears and tantrums, he finally mastered the army crawl. At first it was just short distances but it quickly turned into the span of a room.  And just a few weeks ago, without much warning, he took of on all fours. Crawling like a big kid.
His new found mobility has turned our lives and everything within reach upside down. We are always on the go.
He is unstoppable. Nothing can slow him down. Stuffed animal in one hand? He can handle it. Footsie pajamas on slippery floors? Not a problem. Stairs? Oh how he loves to climb the stairs. He can cruise right up them. I am constantly helping him slide down the stairs feet first on his belly. I hope if we do it enough,  he will catch on. Because the constant heart attacks that come from seeing him try to go down the stairs head first are getting old.
His curiosity is growing just as fast as he is. He needs to investigate everything in his view. He gets into everything. The strangest things. I don't know why we ever bothered to buy toys.
He is a pro at pulling himself up to turn on the Xbox and pop out his Elmo DVD. We had to make some adjustments to keep him from breaking the Xbox. (And his Elmo DVD)
He likes to untie my shoes. He loves drawers. Especially the one with all of the tupperware. And he chases the dog all over. Even climbs into the dog bed with him.
He is so fast. So so so fast. The other day in church he was playing by my feet. I looked up for about ten seconds, looked back down and Jack was gone. I could hear him blowing those goofy raspberries, because he blows them through all of church as loud as he can. I turned around and there he was. Laughing away playing with the girl sitting behind us.
He is always busy. Always up to something. We keep his toys down low enough for him to get into on his own. Half the time he takes all of the toys off and just plays on the shelf. It is hilarious to watch him go after things. To see what he is interested in.  I love it.
This new phase has been a lot fun. A lot of work keeping him out of trouble. But a lot of fun.  I am so happy for him because he really has wanted this for awhile now. All this new independence that mobility brings. He is growing up. Right before my eyes. It really is such a privilege to be a part of it all.

Great Big World : The Zoo and The Aquarium

About a week ago we went to the zoo. I covered Jack in sunscreen, tried to get him to wear his hat, and packed lots of snacks and water. It was so much fun we stayed all day long.

Jack was pretty straight faced about the lions, giraffes and zebras. He cracked a few smiles for the elephants and crocodiles. He really was not even terribly impressed by the train ride. I chalked it up to him not feeling great, and maybe being a bit young. But then we saw the bats.

Jack's whole face lit up. The bats were being fed. I had never seen a bat eat. To be honest I have never paid much attention to the bats. Partly because they are kind of gross looking but mostly because they are in with the birds. But there they were, hanging upside down feasting a way, stretching their wings. Jack went crazy. He was flapping his arms, kicking his legs and making enthusiastic ohhs and ahhs. He seriously wanted to get in that cage. He cried when we left. 

The way he gravitated to something so random, something I never would have steered him towards, makes me very very happy. He decided he liked those bats all on his own. My little weirdo. Learning his likes is a constant adventure and often surprising. 

It was only a few days after the zoo that we took Jack to the aquarium. To Parker's delight Jack was quite smitten with the penguins. We must have gone at the perfect time because it was not crowded and the penguins were all swimming. We sat in front of the glass watching the penguins zoom by for a long long time. Both of my boys smiling ear to ear. Jack also enjoyed the otters. He was not the biggest fan of the sharks. He wasn't afraid they just didn't capture his interest for long.

Jack was just as interested in the people as he was in the creatures. He loves people watching. He really loves watching little kids. He enjoys all of the excitement, the hustle. He embraces the crowds and the chaos. Which I find very courageous for someone his size. 

With Jack every little thing is an adventure. Those bright eyes light up with curiosity and wonder for a single blade of grass. There is a great big world to explore and we have barely scratched the surface. Watching Jack discover the world and his place in it, is one of my greatest joys. 

The Hair Pull

These grainy iPhone photos tell the story of my life right now. Jack pulling his own hair until he is in tears. Crazy kid. Also he has started putting all of his food in his hair. I feel like meal time gets messier and messier every day. He pulls his bibs off, and lets get real they weren't helping that much in the first place. So we have resorted to an over sized t-shirt. Covers him from neck to knees. We pin the neck while he eats and unpin it for a quick slip over the head. So far so good! 

Happiest Fathers Day…

To my best friend who has become the best dad.

I believe that Fatherhood is a divine calling. My heart is full, ready to burst, with gratitude that my son has Parker for a father.

Oh Boy

A boy, his dog, and a hot rod. 

Father and Son

Me: Jack say Mama.
Jack: Dadadadadada!
Me: Jack say Mama. Maaaamaaa. Ma Ma Ma.
Jack: Dadadadadadadada!
Me: Mama.
Jack: Dadadadadada!

I love everything about my boys. But I especially love how much they love each other. 

Made of Blankets

 Today we built a small blanket fort. It was the perfect cure for a windy Sunday. And put a big smile on my little boys face. Crawling in, out, and around the fort made for one big game of peek-a-boo. We spent a whole evening as a family playing and exploring. All thanks to a few blankets. 

The Blog on The Back Burner

It's been awhile. Pretty close to six months awhile.  But it isn't because I haven't had anything to say. I have had so much to say.

I wanted to sit down and write about how much Jack loves Ella Fitzgerald. For real the kid already has excellent taste in music. I always want to remember late nights in the kitchen swaying back and forth while Ella sang him to sleep. Her voice will forever take me back to footsie pajamas and fuzzy bed head.
I wanted to write about how those bright eyes get more and more curious everyday. How Jack is into everything now that he has the army crawl down.
I thought about writing how much he loves water. Bath time, the pool, spilling it on the tray of his high chair and splashing it all over himself.
I wanted to write about leaving Logan. About how my first night in my freshman dorm I prayed so hard not to be homesick. And how I felt comforted and knew inside that Logan would become home to me. It really did. I wanted to write all about the place I met the love of my life and became a mother. I've been a lot of places, and seen a lot of things, but my two biggest adventures started in Logan.
I thought about writing how Jack likes peas. What baby likes peas? And how he can say dada and not mama.
Mostly I wanted to write all sorts of things about Jack. But I didn't want to take time away from being with Jack. I find myself trying to soak in every.single.second of him. Because he is constantly changing. Growing. Learning. It is all so amazing to be a part of.
Plus I wondered if anyone else cared to read endless blog posts about my son. Or if I should only keep them written down in my heart. Just for me.
I still read blogs even though I haven't been keeping up on my own. It is easy to read blogs on my phone while I nurse Jack. I read blogs by people I know. Blogs by people I don't know. Blogs by people similar to me. Blogs by people very different from me. Parker doesn't get it but, I just love reading about the human experience. When I was little I would sit in the back seat of my parents car and look at all of the cars passing by. I would try to see into their windows, to get a look at who was inside. Who was driving? Who was in the back seat? All those people passing by. They all had names. Families. Dreams. Hardships. Favorite songs. I wanted to know their stories. I guess in a way I still do.
I believe our story deserves to be told. So here I am again blogging. Documenting snapshots of this time with my family. Our day to day proceedings are ordinary. But, to me, everything about this life we share is extraordinary.