weekend update teaser

mommy forgot to download pictures, so you'll have to wait, gentle reader, for a proper weekend update.

but suffice it to say that a rainy saturday night made for a muddy trip to a farm on sunday. so muddy that it took quite a lot of time in the tub to clean jack up ...

and his overalls are still soaking in oxy clean (though they're not having nearly as much fun)!

jackie, they hardley knew ye

this week mommy has not seen as much of jack as she normally she does. she's been out the door earlier than normal and back home later. a couple nights this week she didn't even get to catch a glimpse of jack before he headed to bed.

all because she's been down at the white house. but while she's not seen much of her child, mommy has reconnected with a number of long lost colleagues.

one, who had spoken to jack on mommy's cellphone from kennebunkport some months ago, asked if jack still said, "doo-ay!" well, you could have knocked mommy over with a feather ...

that is ... a feather and the wind from the rotors of a particularly large nearby helicopter ...


mommy had completely forgotten about the little pre-verbal being who used to gleefully cry, "doo-ay!" that baby had fallen to the dusty corners of the memory, replaced by the buoyant little magpie who has an astute (although occasionally unintelligible) running commentary on everything in his world.

so, even though mommy hasn't seen to much of her little guy, she is reminded of him today in a very tangible way ...

luckily we have the whole weekend to reconnect. and we've got a good one planned ... so check back on monday to read all about our adventures.

reach out and touch someone

jack has had dialing fever lately. on tuesday he asked to call his nana. and this morning he wanted to call grandma. he has lots to say, apparently.



although we don't normally give "read outs" of his personal phone calls, we do have a summary of what was discussed in one call from a guest blogger. her nom de plume (or nom de clavier, as the case may be)? well ... let's just call her "nana" ...

I had a phone call today [ed note: tuesday] from my friend Jack. He was going to go to Spanish class today. So I prompted him:

uno (me)
he said: DOS, TRES
me: quatro, cinco,
he: SEIS
siete.
OCHO
nueve, DIEZ

I don't think he needed to go.
~ Nana

a visit from chandra

mommy's friend chandra was in town for some meetings, and she came over tuesday to spend some time with us before heading back to the big apple.

jack was particularly glad to see her. they had met in philadelphia when jack was still wee, and reuned again in philly two weeks ago when we were there. in fact, jack decided that chandra was the electronics maven, and so any device -- camera, cell phone, blackberry, ipod -- was picked up by him and handed to her, whether it was hers or not.

but this time, jack was more interested in climbing all over her, giving her hugs and kisses, and generally following her around. he wheeled her suitcase all over the house this morning -- her own personal bellman -- even though it weighed more than he does (and yes, sometimes the physics involved therein did win out!). he even told her all about the process of trash collection, which is his current fascination. and, at the apex of cuteness, he told her "bye, love you" as she prepared to depart this morning.

ah yes ... it was a nice visit with chandra and jack hopes that she'll come back soon!

babylicious weekend update

saturday was beautiful weather and jack spent most of it outside. at the park, in the backyard, on the patio, in the front yard ... it didn't matter. as long as it was outside, jack was there!

he also got to have his first lemonade at our neighbor's stand. appropos because we were her first customers. he also got to split a freshly-baked cookie with his daddy. let's just say he liked both things ...

and he really liked hanging with his daddy:

jack gives daddy "10 hugs" where they hug and count to 10. jack loses count in the middle, but he can declare, "ten!" every time. daddy can declare, "ten!" too ... when he's not too verklempt.



on sunday the rain came. and it poured almost all day. but our friends the winthrops braved the weather for the five minute journey to chez jack and enjoyed brunch with us. we all had french toast, but kay taylor only wanted milk. that's how she keeps a girlish figure, you know ...



and jack was fascinated with "baby taylor" and helped to make her bottle, bring her toys, etc.



she was interested in jack, as well. interested ... and somewhat frightened at times. that kay taylor is a smart cookie.

after brunch, jack -- soothed by the pounding of the rain -- took a more than hour-long nap and mommy cooked up some yummy vittles for the afternoon.



we headed to the eldridges to celebrate rj's birthday and meet their new baby, phoebe sage. she was a doll -- precious and beautiful.




jack also enjoyed hanging out with baby james ... who is the oldest of the babies he socialized with. james didn't mind so much either ...

and of course he horsed around with phia, lucy, grace and garrett. there are no pictures of that because the need to maintain order trumped the need to document it. and because once and a while mommy also likes to eat and socialize and enjoy the weird tres leches cake she made ...

walk the walk

jack and mommy hit the road this morning - jack in his stroller and mommy in her old college t-shirt and running shoes. hopefully we'll make a habit of it ...

it was a habit we had last spring and summer -- until the wheels came off the wagon...er, stroller -- but boy, things have changed since back then.

first of all ... jack is *heavy*! he is a lot more weight to push around than he used to be. mommy's going to have to work on making it up the big hill to our house.

and jack had an unstoppable running commentary for our walk. he pointed out all of the people who had not yet picked up their morning news by screaming, "pay-PEAR," like a deranged frenchman, at every plastic bag laying on a driveway.

the impressive thing is that most people in our neighborhood actually get a daily paper delivered. but very few pick it up before 7 am. hmm...they probably don't have the advantage of a little blonde alarm that goes off at 5:30. but perhaps there is a business opportunity here ... for a small fee we could wake our neighbors and simultaenously alert them them to their news's arrival by shouting "pay-PEAR" from the street. but i digress ...

we also saw a cat, two school buses, myriad birds and squirrels, and a red van -- all of which jack pointed out, and then recounted for daddy.

daddy and mommy did notice that our morning seemed to go smoother. especially the transitions between parents as we handoff so that everyone can catch a shower.

so we'll keep at it and keep walking. at least for as long as jack wakes up early. and something tells me that's going to be happening for at least a while ...

spring has sprung

looks like it's finally warming up here ... so we broke out jack's shorts and sandals today:



he and roxana have a picnic at the park and an afternoon walk planned ... sounds better than the office to mommy!

sayonara

no, jack can't say that yet ... but he is saying both "bye" and "adios"

last night, jack -- perhaps still remembering the round-robin goodnight kisses he was giving in philly -- went around saying goodbye to all his toys

bye, car
bye, flowers (looking outside)
bye, dino
bye, chase!

in case you didn't quite catch that last one, "chase" is apparently the name for jack's popcorn popper. it's designed for beginning walkers, but these days it gets wielded by the chaser (usually mommy or daddy) in pursuit of the chasee (usually jack) as we run circles around the house.

but by this morning, jack had decided to bid "adios" to all manner of things departing:

adios, daddy
adios, floyd
adios, trash (today was trash day)
adios, elmo (dirty diapers -- a.k.a. "elmos" -- were put out ... see above topic: "trash day")

so, as jack would say, "adios," dear readers. see you here next time!

weekend update ... philly style

it was a big adventure this weekend ...

jack and mommy kissed daddy good bye on saturday morning and headed off for philadelphia and a weekend with mommy's girlfriends from college.

the drive was manageable -- a quick 2.5 hours with one small pit stop at the maryland house to retrieve all the toys and snacks that jack had flung -- and we arrived in time for lunch and mail delivery to my friend's house ... two of jack's favorite things.

pretty soon all the girls trickled in and jack was hanging out among 9 ladies ... he was in heaven:


making friends with doctor tee ...

"hey, wanna see my train?" works as a pick-up line ...

slip slidin' away ...

mommy's friend, heather, hosted us all at her house in the cute mainline town of narberth, pa. this would be an ideal town for jack, as it has a post office (complete with several mail trucks parked out front), a train station, a fire station and a great playground all within a few blocks of one another. jack particularly enjoyed the playground:

after some fun in the sun, jack held court back at the house and entertained the girls with his antics.

he also discovered the joy of lacrosse, using the sticks belonging to the 18-month old resident of the house, who had decamped to grandma and grandpa's ...

who would have thunk our little maryland crab would have had to go to the city of brotherly love to learn about lacrosse?!?

and although liam was not there while jack was stealing his fiddlestx, he did reappear on sunday and he and jack spent an afternoon playing together with allison, the babysitter, while mommy and company had brunch downtown. mommy returned to find jack down for a nap in his pack and play ... where he remained for almost 90 minutes!

note to self: find out if that babysitter is willing to commute to dc ...

jack bade farewell to all our friends, bestowing hugs and kisses on all ... and on liam (whom he called "baby") several times over ...

as we headed south down 95, jack told mommy that he was "all done" (about 87 times) and screamed blue murder between the chesapeake and maryland houses, before falling asleep around baltimore. and sleep he did, until we pulled into the driveway, at which point his eyes popped open and he exclaimed, "home! daddy!"

my feelings exactly ...

but a great weekend, on the road, with jack.

this is radio nowhere

more like radio silence ...

sorry for the blog blackout, but mommy and jack have a big adventure planned for the weekend and we promise to have more stories for you in the weekend update.

weekend update

most of this weekend was spent out of doors ... in good weather and bad ...

saturday saw a record 4.5 *hours* spent at our park. an hour and a half before lunch and then three -- count 'em -- three hours at the park in the afternoon. we had to force him to come home.

sunday was a rainier kind of day, but that didn't stop jack ...

after all, there were puddles to be jumped in:

and to make daddy jump in:

golf continued to be played ... just like tiger would do at st. andrew's ... if st. andrew's had holly trees ...

and a previously unscheduled visit by nana landed jack a doctor's kit ...

and landed jack's parents and nana with bruised knees for having their reflexes "checked" over and over again. jack is a doctor in the tradition of the little shop of horrors dentist ...

so we'll hobble our way through the week and send dispatches as we're able ...

Catch me if you can

Regular readers know that Jack has mastered the art of throwing things (balls, plastic eggs, cats, tantrums, etc.). He's now figured out how to catch, as well. Last night, he and I were playing around with a small stuffed football. When I tossed it at his chest, he was able (mostly) to wrap his arms around the ball quickly enough to keep from dropping it. This new development will go a long long way toward furthering his football career, which Lici is just THRILLED about -- football being a very safe sport without any injuries and all.

more weekend pictures

jack had a great time entertaining young starlet kay taylor at the playground near our house this weekend.

he showed off for her on all the equipment ... but she feigned boredom (coy little thing!) ...

hitchin' a ride

due to a faulty transmission ... daddy took mommy's car today and jack and roxana drove mommy to work. jack enjoyed pointing out all the sights to mommy -- mostly just buses!

now if only he were as good at transmission shifter cable repair as he is at bus-spotting!