it brings me to my knees

the way jack develops -- seemingly overnight -- is really astounding. he is starting to get the hang of crawling on his knees (instead of the commando crawl on his belly).

he also managed today to transfer himself from his perch at the coffee table to his walker toy and then cruise across the room. he's even learning to steer the walker instead of just ramming it into the wall when he runs out of real estate. it was all so sudden i didn't snap any pix, but stay tuned to this jack channel -- there may be some with the walker in the coming days.


what can i say? he's a guy on the go. he's not even walking yet and mommy's already so tired ....

we're flush with new pictures!

some days the blog can be stressful. i start thinking in the morning, "what can i post? what cute thing has jack done that will translate to the blog?" i mean, michael has banned me from posts on baby poop, so that's limiting.

then again, some days -- just when you think you're going to have to take some made-up picture to assuage jack's hungry fans (and those who know my earlier work know that i'm not above that) -- some days, the subject matter just calls to you.

like today ....

jack learned to flush the toilet ...















and he learned that he liked it ...















he even learned that it's more effective if you wait for the toilet to refill itself.















smart little fellow. i mean, if you consider playing in the toilet smart. given how much he likes it, i'd say jack's a genius...

snowy sunday

well, we're back to the hectic but hum-drum rhythm of the work-a-day life today, but we did have an unexpectedly snowy sunday yesterday.

we enjoyed being outside and letting the flakes fall on our faces ...

... but jack found it a little perplexing at times.

he was all bundled up snug in his dartmouth bunting, courtesy of aunt megan, and ready for the hanover plain.

however, we only went as far as the neighborhood park.

2 peas in a pod

so mommy gets a little crazy when it comes to dressing jack. she can't resist putting him in "little man" outfits that are so cute.

it gets even worse when daddy gets dressed first ... as happened last sunday when grandma and grandpa were visiting.

oh, do your outfits match? how did that happen???

Bad hair day

Jack and I are both follicly challenged this morning. He apparently slept upside down in his crib, because when I went in to get him this morning his hair was sticking straight up on one side, a la Flock of Seagulls circa 1984.

As for me, I got a hair "cut" yesterday. I asked the woman to leave it a little longer on the top, but she decided to give me the "Britney" instead. Poor Jack barely recognized me this morning. "Don't worry, Dad," he seemed to be saying, "we'll find the butcher who did this to you." At least it grows back.

Test ~@

Test
~@

oh what a beautiful morning...

it was quite a morning with jack today. a good one, but a *long* one. it started at about 5:30 a.m. ... in the morning ... it was dark ... o'dark-thirty, in fact.

so, clearly our struggle with jack's sleep continues. but you can't blame a fellow who goes to bed at 5:30 p.m. if only he'd see the utility of napping during the day ... but that's a different post.

despite the early hour and his groggy parents, jack was in a terrific mood. he snuggled in bed with us for a while, even though his idea of "snuggling" seems to be scaling our prone forms while trying to get to our bedside clock radio. but he was giggly and sweet.

daddy played a game with jack of "near and far" -- alternately coming very close to him and then "running" away from him to the other side of our bedroom. jack was beside himself laughing. daddy only had to head-fake that he was coming near again to elicit peals of laughter.

mommy had to leave the house earlier than normal to cover the white house today, so our routine was off-kilter. coffee was drunk while showering, the bed was made up while brushing teeth. and, we had to do just a quick scan of the newspaper.

luckily jack was available to read it more thoroughly and brief us on the important points.

he advises skipping the home section. no must-reads in there today.

and of course he's reading the wapo ... if you don't get it, you don't get it.

our very own don music

remember that piano-playing muppet guy from sesame street, don music -- "i'll never get it! never!!"

i think we've got our very own "jack music" ... even the hairdo is getting there...

jack loves to play the fisher price sparkling symphony piano that he inherited from his older beach friends. and, although one might think he loves it simply because it allows him to stand up without old mom holding him up (which is one major reason for his attachment to it), he really does seem to like the music. he also eagerly plays his "baby grand" lap piano and drum set. he's truly a one man band...

he does not like to stay still long these days. but he does manage to take time out every day for the piano. i can only hope he shows this level of commitment when he has piano lessons in grade school!

open sesame

jack enjoyed a holiday weekend with his grandparents, but no matter how they dote on him and spoil him (and they do dote and spoil -- they're grandparents, after all) , they just wouldn't open the study door for him.

since jack apparently had some urgent business to do (maybe updating his quicken spreadsheet before tax time), he realized he was going to have open the door himself.

so he tried...

and tried .... he's so darn cute, he almost makes you *want* to open it for him.

almost.

the sixth sin

one of the parts of mommyhood i enjoy most is the gear. well, that and jackola himself, natch. but you know ... the accoutrements, the stuff, the baby junk. if it's going to take over your life and your house, you might as well examine it all and envy, covet, and pine for what's the latest and greatest. hence, the sixth sin of envy.

i'm currently coveting the Stokke Tripp Trapp chair, formerly known as the Kinderzeat. it's so stylish looking. and the kids look so happy in it -- probably cause he doesn't know how much it cost!!

but jack has a perfectly good seat for now and is eating like a champ, so for now i'll have to do without.

and besides, it would be nicer than my dining room set. sad but true.

cold weekend

Jack's grandparents came all the way from Florida to visit him this weekend. They haven't seen him since Thanksgiving and he's changed a lot since then. Back then he was sitting up, but not really moving anywhere. That is not at all true any more. In fact, Jack was all over! It took four adults just to corral him, and he still ended up getting his hands on the remote, the coasters, books, magazines, the newspaper, the study doors, and even the cat!

But, a nice visit was had by all. Jack and his father and Grands have the rest of the afternoon together, while Mommy is at work. I know a few tears will be shed when it's time to get on the plane today -- and not because they're flying Jet Blue, either!

I've just ordered a multi-format card reader and it's supposed to be delivered today, so maybe I'll get some pictures from the visit up before too long. And once I have a picture, then maybe I can actually publicize this thing and let Jack's adoring fans start reading...


NOTE BELOW to adoring Jack fans: unlike Britney, Jack's not going to shave his head or get a tattoo, so don't even hope for it...

here goes nada

I'm a lot of things, no doubt. Consistent is not one of them. So, right now I'm inspired to create this blog about Jack -- to share with friends and family not just the bimonthly transformations we see, but the incremental, the ephemeral, the stuff that really makes Jack Jack (or John or whatever). But will inspiration last? Will it get overrun by insidious perfectionism and an overcommitted schedule? I am optimistic, and I hope it will last. So keep checking back....