Tall Man???

The other day we were at Jack's playgroup. (Which, if I haven't already whined to you about this in person, has been canceled for the rest of the school year. I don't know what we're going to do. It was our morning outing at least one or two days a week. Our Parents as Teachers is severely understaffed, so they had to stop the group. I'm so sad. Jack loved it- he would just run & play & jabber with the other kids.) Anyway, at the end of the group they sing songs. Jack loves this. He bounces along with the singing, claps at the end of each song & then signs "more" so that we'll sing more songs.

The leader started singing "Where is Thumbkin". I didn't really remember this song. I certainly didn't expect her to go through all the fingers. I couldn't contain myself when she got to the middle finger & started singing "where is Tall Man?" while giving everyone the finger. I looked around thinking, surely I'm not the only one who thinks this is funny, right? But everyone was just singing along, giving each other the middle finger and helping their toddler do it too. I guess I need to brush up on my kid songs!

Decorating fun

We did a little more decorating in Jack's room the other day. You can see our handiwork on display- the new shelves, blocks & bird counting cards. Yes, he is sitting unattended on the dresser. That's what all safety conscious parents do!

John has been away for four days. He comes back home tonight. Jack & I have both missed him, but have had lots of laughs together. And lots of cuddling. And very few tantrums! Hooray! But, we're both tired & ready for him to come home.

Jack & Grandma

Jack loves his Grandmas more than any other people on earth. My parents babysat on Thursday & when we came home we were treated to a few surprise shots on our camera. This is Jack & Grandma sharing a sweet laugh. Enjoy.

An Open Letter to Winter

Dear Winter,

Oh Winter, where did we go wrong? I remember eagerly awaiting your arrival. You meant warm, fuzzy sweaters, hats, cookies & cocoa, soup by the fire, and, of course, Christmas.

But Winter, you have overstayed your welcome. We are tired & bored with you Winter. We long to see our old friend Sunshine. We miss the park, the grass, the birds. We're tired of wet shoes, slushy sidewalks & runny noses.

Winter! Our skin is dry, our hair is full of static, our toes & fingers are so cold. We are tired of being your frozen prisoners. We have cabin fever and need to be free to run & play & sing again!

Don't make us beg Winter, please just leave quietly and invite your cousin Spring to come and stay awhile.

The Hendrix Family

Sweet cheeks

New Toys

U.City has a great toy library. I checked out this water table there. Jack loved it. He even likes to stack in the water. He pulled the step stool out of the bathroom himself so he could stand on it.





Jack also had his first encounter with Playdough. One thing we learned- Playdough & water tables don't mix!

Tickle your eardrums....

Jack is not only enjoying my keys in this photo, but also Dan Zanes. He's every parent's answer to the Wiggles & Doodlebops. When I put him on Jack ran around on the couch jumping & screaming. He has 4 short little videos that show on the Disney channel that Jack dances to over & over.

Other music I've enjoyed this year include the Ditty Bops (not kid's music & not the Doodlebops- they are quirky & fun). My favorite new band of this past year is called The Weepies. Possibly the most terrible band name ever, but the music is delightful. Check them out.

Fun times

This kids loves to stack.

For your viewing pleasure

Fun with paints- just like daddy...




I miss his arms when they go into hiding for the winter.




This is the newest style with toddlers.




Jack & John love to hang out together on our bed.

He Speaks

Jack's first official phrase is "bye-bye balloon" which was said as his Trader Joe's balloon floated off into the sky. Of course in Jack-speak it sounds like "bye-bye bbboooo".

Mama, or anything referencing me, is still strangely missing from his repertoire of words.

So Sweet...

Jack loves to clap. He loves to clap for himself. He loves to clap for other kids. He claps defiantly when I say no & he means YES. And, he claps when people clap on the radio.

He fell asleep in the car this afternoon on the way home from church. A Prairie Home Companion was on, so there was a lot of clapping. He fell while some music was playing & when it stopped he woke up to clap along with the audience & then fell asleep again mid-clap. John and I couldn't stop laughing. It was just so sweet.

Uh-oh

Not only is uh-oh one of Jack's all time favorite words, it's also what I thought at his 18 month check-up on Thursday when the doctor's response to my question about when to take away the paci was NOW. They used to say later, but the dentists said 18 months is the right time.

So, this is going to happen in the next few weeks; when I get the nerve. And he just started sleeping through the night again! I'm scared and preparing myself for a lot of screaming that first night...

(but, how about my gross photo of paci soup??)

It's a beautiful, sleep-filled world

We're living in bizzar-o land at the Hendrix house. Not only has Jack slept entirely through the night the past two nights (yes, I know, not a big deal for your average 18 month old...), but he's slept until an obscenely late hour in the morning. On Saturday he slept (in his own bed too!) until 8:30 and this morning until 7:30. Both times when I went in he was just sitting there playing with his pacis.

I never thought 7:30 would feel like sleeping in, but it does!

So, if you call and we don't answer it's because, quiet possibly, we're living in an alternate universe where babies love to sleep.

Kitty????

Kitty, come play with me!!!!

That Mom...

I've been THAT MOM numerous times this week. We've all seen her. She's at your local supermarket, Target, mall on a cold and rainy day, pushing a shopping cart or stroller with a serene vacant stare on her face as her child throws a fit. And you wonder, why doesn't she take her kid home??? I found out why this week. Because if she did she would pull all of her hair out.

Jack threw a tantrum in Target when I put him in the seat part of the cart (he was previously in the big part & wouldn't stay sitting down, so the 100th time he almost pitched over the side I forced him into the seat). He screamed & screamed & screamed until I finally held him in the checkout line. All I knew was I couldn't go home or we would both have meltdowns. He's also been hitting me all week. If he was stronger I would have little tiny fist marks all over my face. We both need the weather to get nicer so we can run around outside.

This week as I've been grappeling with how in the world I'm supossed to discipline a toddler who doesn't have any impulse control to begin with, I've been concentratrating on not wishing away his toddler years, or rather toddler months. I know the time will come very soon when I'll miss his sticky little hands in my hair & I'll miss when the whole world was waiting for Jack to discover it. We get a thrill with every new thing he does & every new word he tries to say. He's learning so much right now it blows my mind. Yet, weeks like this are trying. I think if he could say the words he would say he hates me this week.

And so I ask God to give me the grace to raise my child gently, with patience and love and not with the frustration I often feel that makes me feel like such a bad mother. And I get blessed with dance parties, laughs & bath time at the end of each day.

Drinkin' Time

As I said before, Jack loves to drink in the tub. He just sits there and drinks from different cups & bottles for about a half hour. I think maybe I shouldn't let him drink his bath water, but he loves it so much!

Brush, brush, brush

As you can see, we're working on tooth brushing at our house. This photo might actually convince someone that Jack brushes his teeth, he's really just playing with the water though.

Yesterday was rotten. It seemed to be one mishap after another. I figure we were due for a bad day though since Jack has had a string of deliriously happy ones. I think he's working on those 2 year molars. Nothing makes him happy for more than 5 minutes & he sticks our keys all the way in to his mouth & chews on them. This morning I'm taking him to get blood drawn. He doesn't know it's coming...poor kid...

Bath time was great as usual though. The best time of the day! I've decided to call it bar time since Jack mostly sits and fills up cups of water & drinks them down. No wonder he wakes up in the middle of the night with such wet diapers!

Stay tuned for a year in review of all things baby Jack...I think I might do a best of list...I'll have to see if I have any energy in the evenings!

Nifty Gifties

Jack was sufficiently spoiled this Christmas. I already feel sorry for any other children we have. They'll get Jack's old toys for Christmas. We gave him an all terrain wagon. We'll all have fun cruising the neighborhood in this pimped out ride.




My dad made Jack & Connor amazing easels with a chalkboard on one side & a place to hang paper & draw on the other. At first Jack was more interested in climbing inside the easel, but got very excited once he figured out how the chalk worked.




And, the hit of Christmas is this tunnel from Jeff & Marcy. Welcome to our house of fun!

Blond boys

This is Jack & his cousin Connor looking pretty cute!

Our New House

We're all moved in & mostly unpacked. Just don't look in our basement. It looks like a box explosion. I didn't realized when John was throwing empty boxes down the basement stairs that he wasn't later breaking them down. Oops... Enjoy the photos!


The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...






Our newly painted kitchen






Jack's room