Making Lemonade

Short post cause I don't want to be a big downer. Our cruise to the Bahamas turned into a road trip to Nashville. Stupid weather and whatever else caused our flight to get cancelled and no other flights to be available. But we've decided to make lemonade out of the lemons we've been handed and we're going for a good time together in Nashville...and together is what really matters.

Christmas Past

Another Christmas has come and gone. I'd say this one was quite a fun one. Jack really got into things and did a pretty good job opening his presents up. However, he would get so excited about what he just opened that he wouldn't want to open any more. So he took a lot of breaks. Open, play for a bit, open another one. And of course he and his cousins always were interested in what the other one got. We had a lot of practice sharing which is really hard for a one year old who just got a brand new toy. Some of Jack's favorite gifts were his Dyson vacuum and his two new tractors. He got a lot of toys and I'm pretty sure once all of them come out of their packages he'll be even more overwhelmed because I know that he will really enjoy all of them. Jack's cousin Kyle also got a Dyson for Christmas so all day yesterday they ran around Grandma and Grandpa's vacuuming and screaming for joy. They were loud and got a little rambunctious at times but they had so much fun. Jack won't even let go of his vacuum to play with other toys. He just kneels down and holds it with one hand while he plays with his other toys with the other hand. It's pretty funny. Besides the presents it was wonderful to see so much family and spend time together. I love seeing Jack interact with his cousins and second cousins. On Christmas Eve after all the presents where open Jack had so much fun playing with Lexi and Kaden. They were pretending to be bears. There was all sorts of growling and laughter those things make me smile. And last night Jack got to play with Hailey and Micah. They played piano and chase and had fun playing with each others new toys. So another Christmas has come and gone and I'd say this one was a pretty good one based on the hugs and laughter and squeals of delight that came from the kids.

Christmas Eve's Eve

It's the eve of Christmas Eve. Lots of fun filled action coming our way in the couple days. Tomorrow we head down to Buckley to spend the afternoon with my mom's family and the evening with my dad's family. Friday will be spent in Morton with Paul's family and then my family in the evening. It's a lot in a day in a half especially for Jack but I think he'll do pretty well this year. We've been telling him daddy's all done with work for the year and he'll get to see both grandmas and papas soon and that all makes him very excited. He doesn't really understand the gifts but I have no doubt once they are open he will be thrilled. Saturday is a little bit more laid back. We have Kevin's 30th birthday party that evening and then Sunday afternoon we're off for Miami. That'll be Jack's first airplane ride. Saying my prayers that all goes well with that. I'm hoping he'll think it's all very exciting and I'm guessing he'll be saying a lot of his favorite phrase..."look at" and maybe a couple "whoas". Monday we get on the big boat for a week of fun in the sun. Paul showed Jack pictures of planes and our cruise ship tonight trying to help him understand what's going on next week. He seemed pretty excited about them though I'm certain he has no clue what's coming. Surprisingly, it's only 8:15 in the evening and I'm not scrambling to get laundry done or suitcases packed. That's not to say I'm completely done but since we don't leave until noon tomorrow I can do what's left in the morning. Have a Merry Christmas! Might not see me back on here until next year.

Mechanic in Training

We're having a very nice Sunday evening in the Friend house. Dinner is done and Jack's just playing a little bit before bed. He was driving his tractor around the kitchen floor on his hands and knees which I think is so cute. Then he decided to play with his big red car. He pushed it into the living room and found his hammer and went to work. He likes banging on things with his hammer trying to "fix" them. So he banged on his car all over and then walked over to the couch, set his hammer down and went back to his car. He got in looked out the window at the side where he had really been working, then got back out and went to grab his hammer. Back to work he went. He must not have got it fixed right the first time. And then he continued this little routine several more times. Hammer, get in and test it out, hammer some more. It's so cute and as I sit and watch him I think how great life is right now. Jack is a fun and friendly little kid and we're all home enjoying a pleasant evening together. I know as the years go by and Jack gets older nights like this won't be as common place so I suppose I tell you this simple story in an effort to recognize the little things in life and keep them as memories for years to come.

Sledding!

I was so excited this morning when we woke up and our roads weren't plowed and the temperature was pretty nice and we had no plans and no one was sick! That meant we could go sledding! We got all dressed and put Jack in his snow pants and boots and coat. I finally got him to agree to put gloves on and out we went to play in some snow. Jack wasn't too fond of it at first. I don't think he really knows what to do in the snow and he hates gloves because he can't use his hands when he's wearing them. So we got out his sled and plopped him in it. He looked a little concerned and a little upset with us for putting him through this. But turns out his facial expression had nothing to do with his enjoyment level. He loved being pulled around in the snow. Every time we stopped he would say "more?". So we took a few laps around the block and up and down the very small hill on our road. We spun him around and took him over bumps and he had a great time. Finally toward the end he started smiling and laughing, but before that his face was all serious. He also helped Paul do the shoveling which he enjoys. 

Baker's Initiation (Licking the Batter)

Using the stool he got from his grandparents for Christmas, Jack is now able to help me out a little better in the kitchen. Last Tuesday evening Jack helped me make a batch of cookie dough truffles. He did a really good job though he didn't quite understand about dumping ingredients in. He just put the whole bowl of chocolate chips in the batter, instead of just the chips themselves. He helped me dump ingredients and he helped me mix them too. He really liked holding on to the mixer with me. Then after we were done he got to lick his first beater. He absolutely loved it and licked off as much as he could. 

Santa Picture

I've been kind of a downer lately with all the sickness that has taken up residence in our home. Jack is finally better but Paul got sick with some sort of stomach virus yesterday. Praying that whatever he has stays far away from Jack and I.
On the bright side everyone was healthy on Saturday so we got to hang out together and Paul and I got a fun date night. We had dinner and then saw The Blind Side which was very good. We went over to Cabela's to return something we had purchased last weekend and they had a complimentary santa there. The line was quite short and since it was in our price range we decided to go for it. The picture isn't the greatest and Jack wouldn't crack a smile but I guess that makes it qualify as a typical Santa picture. (the flash is from me taking a picture of the picture)

Two other cute pictures to share with you. Goes back to last week and Jack's newfound love of his farmer boots. Jack wore his jammies and boots all day on Friday and it was so cute I took some more picture to share with you.

Still Sick

Long week. Jack's been sick since Sunday with his temperature peaking at 105.2 on Tuesday evening. Thursday he was fine, no temp, good mood. Then of course this morning he is puking his guts out. My theory is that he's not actually sick but that the mucus drainage from his cold is ending up in his stomach since he doesn't know how to blow and the sucker isn't really doing much. Then I think that's making his stomach upset. But still....I'm ready for a healthy family.

I Love My Boots

Jack's boot love continued today. Pretty much as soon as he saw them this morning he wanted them on...once again over feetie pajamas. I ended up taking him to the doctor this morning and indeed he went just like that, jammies and cowboy boots. Very stylish. While I did change him out of jammies, the boots have remained all day today, even through his nap. Every so often he just stops and points at them like he's so excited to be wearing them.

Sick Day

Sadly my baby is sick right now. He woke up with a stuffy nose yesterday morning and by the afternoon was running a temperature and acting as though he felt very poorly. Unfortunately, things didn't improve much today. His temperature has continued to rise today reaching a high 103.8 this evening. After speaking with a nurse I gave him a dose of Motrin which he promptly threw up in the following ten minutes. Awesome. Immediately after puking he saw the mac 'n cheese I had made for dinner and got super excited to eat some. I know I don't usually feel like eating right after I puke, but he sure went through his small portion quickly. We had to lie to him about there being more so he wouldn't eat too much too quick. Along with this sickness he has a slight cough. The other night I was showing him how to cough into his elbow to try and cut down on the germ spreading. He thought I said Elmo though, so know he thinks his elbows are Elmo's, or something like that. The picture below is from this morning. Jack found his boots in his room and brought them to me to put on. I told him that was silly since he had on feetie pajamas. But he insisted, so I obliged. He wore those boots around for a good hour or two before he asked to switch to his slippers...once again, over his feetie pajamas. So I guess if this is a sign of things to come Jack will be one of those kids who dresses super bizarrely because I let him pick out his own clothes. 

A New Friend

Last Friday Tanya brought Mikayla over for the first time for a few hours. Jack wasn't overly interested in her for a while but then Tanya laid her on the ground and Jack got brave. He knelt down near her and reached out like he really wanted to touch her but he was nervous. And then he laid down on his belly and reached out to touch her hand. It was the sweetest, cutest thing. He was so gentle with her and so interested in her. Every time he would just touch her hand he would pull back real quick and sit up like he was really excited but he wasn't sure if it was ok that he just did that. Tanya and I kept encouraging him and he held her hand several times for very short periods. He also waved to her and blew her kisses. Of course this very sweet, gentle side of Jack didn't last terribly long, before we knew it he was throwing his tractor around and Tanya and I were fearing for Mikayla's safety!

Monkey See, Monkey Do

I've been meaning to write this post for a while now and I just keep forgetting. As many of you know, Jack adores his daddy. For the past couple of weeks Jack has been making us laugh at dinner. Paul tends to not sit still very well, he's always tapping his fingers or something like that. Jack has picked up on this and now when we're all at the table together Jack has started copying almost everything Paul does. If Paul swats at a fly, Jack swats at a "fly". If Paul drums his fingers on the table, Jack drums his fingers. If Paul takes a drink, Jack takes a drink. If Paul taps on his glass, Jack taps on his glass (and wonders why it doesn't make the same sound). If Paul scratches his head....well you get the point. It cracks me up and it has really made Paul aware of all his little movements that I don't think he realized he did before. 

These pictures below really have nothing to do with the post above, but I took them recently and they make me smile so I'm sharing them with you. In the first one Jack just starting grabbing his face on day. Over and over he would do this as though there was really something wrong. The second picture of of Jack getting ready to jump. He has become a pretty good jumper lately and there are times that that's all he does is jump around as high as he can. He bends real low and shoots up. It has been observed that he possibly has a higher vertical jump than me. I'm sad to say.

O Christmas Tree Part 2

We finally got the tree decorated this evening! We've had the lights on for a few days and Jack knows how to turn them on, so every morning when we come downstairs he goes over to turn them on. But I don't really think they need to be on all day so we made turning the lights on a special event. Every evening when daddy comes hom Daddy and Jack go and turn all the lights on. It's a big deal and Jack gets a kick out of it. Jack wasn't the biggest help with the ornaments but we tried to make the evening very festiv and he definitly caught on to that. We had Christmas music playing and we tried to make everything seem very exciting. He loved the music and would get worried every time a song ended and we had to wait for the next song to start. He did "help" put up a few ornaments. The first one being a new Elmo one I bought him.

Not sure if we'll do the new ornament every year for him, but I saw this one and thought he would enjoy it. We hung it at his favorite spot to look at the tree and then we hung all the soft, non-breakable ornaments around the rest of the bottom. He helped select a few spots for those. And after running off to do a little dancing he came back and gave his Elmo ornament a hug followed by a few hugs for some nearby ornaments. Too funny. So the tree is done and the stockings are hung and to top off the night we enjoyed some milk and cookies and Jack got a bath which he loved. It was such a fun evening as a family and I found myself almost tearing up as I watched Jack enjoy his bath and thought about how much fun he'd had today and how much fun it was to get ready for Christmas as a family and how much I love that little squirt. Ahhh, emotional mommies. I don't think that will every change.

O Christmas Tree

Last night after Paul got home from work we went off in search of our Christmas tree. This is actually Jack's first Christmas tree as last year we did without due to traveling and a crawling baby. The few years before that we had gone to a tree farm and cut down our Christmas tree. But this year we traded in the "experience" for the convenience. Thankfully I don't think Jack will care and we are glad to have a tree now rather than later. So we packed up in the car and headed to the Jewel parking lot. We walked up and down the row of trees a few times and picked our tree. Jack was excited about the idea of it all and really liked to touch the trees.

We brought the tree home and set it up int he dinning room. Jack helped daddy put on the lights since he loves lights so much. 

Funny thing is after we put the lights up we didn't really like them because they were so stark white. We tried the LED bulbs and found we really missed the soft yellow glow of traditional white lights. So after dinner we went to Target and picked out different lights. Unfortunately, Jack had to go to bed before we replaced the lights so he didn't get to help with round two. And no ornaments have been put on yet because we just ran out of time. So hopefully tonight we can finish up the decorating. I think Jack will enjoy it. Every time he comes in the house or down the stairs he goes up to the tree, says his version of Christmas tree, and touches the branches and the lights.