if it's wrong ...

jack doesn't want to be right!

this post is sort of appropos of nothing, except this is something that happens practically every night ... in fact, happened just last night ... and is one of those things we're going to want to remember about him down the road.

as we've mentioned previously, jack (like his parents) is a tv-lover. he gets screen time in the morning and in the evening. "yi'l bit tv," as jack would say.

in the evenings, jack's show of choice is always "go diego go."

don't know who diego is?

he is a child animal scientist who ziplines around south america rescuing animals in a very non-darwinian way. mommy suspects, but does not have confirmation, that diego is chilean. he is also the cousin of dora the explorer.

don't know who dora is?

well, then may we suggest you come out from the rock under which you have been living ....

anyhoo, we love diego around these parts and have learned quite a bit about tapirs, pygmy marmosets and whale sharks, to name a few.

to reinforce the factoids taught during the story, the end of the show presents questions about the featured animal's capabilities and characteristics.

two possible solutions are given - the right answer and one clearly ridiculous answer, such as: "do tapirs have fur or feathers?"

for a while, jack answered very earnestly and, more often than not, correctly.

but somewhere along the line he realized he got more of a reaction and it was more fun to give the wrong answer.

so now, he will answer the question, with a mischevious and knowing look in his eye, and mommy and daddy, of course, oblige him by laughing and feigning shock at his answers.

jack has clearly decided, when it comes to diego's quizzes, if he is wrong, he doesn't want to be right...

weekend update

we're back on track with our weekend updates ... albeit one day late.

and we hope that this was worth waiting for. but please, manage your expectations, people!

so, this weekend, we here at llvj did our part to spur the american economy. who needs tim geithner when you've got a charge card and an ikea!!

we started saturday by going to the scandinavian superstore for some bookcases. we were shopping for replacements for all the built-ins we left behind in our "dinky" apartment. ever since we started livin' la vida, we have had no place for our books. in fact, they're still in boxes nearly three years later! but, with the growth of our family and the impending foul weather, we've realized that the basement can no longer be a repository of junk. well, our junk anyway. kid junk is what we're clearing the way for, hence the need for ikea's storage solutions.

jack was a bit of a handful while we were there, so we took no photos. it was all we could do to make it through unscathed (and without knocking down displays). despite his mixed behavior, jack did score his first train tracks set and has been in love with it ever since.

after a restorative nap, we headed out for ... more shopping! our plan at present (for those who have been on the edge of their seats wondering) is to move jack into the guest room and move the baby into jack's current room. of course, this requires the purchase of a dresser for jack's "big boy room." so, we loaded into the car for a visit to local baby store great beginnings, where we selected a lovely highboy for our big boy. let's hope that a nice wood case piece eases the transition of being booted from your room.

if saturday was a day of shopping, sunday was a day of socializing (plus a little shopping). jack and mommy headed out early to the local plaza, leaving daddy to enjoy some peace, whilst we enjoyed some fine french breakfast items.

not to worry ... jack is not missing a tooth, he just has flaky crust on his incisor

(photo credit: jack mershon)

afterward, we embarked on a massive pre-thanksgiving grocery shop, and jack was helpful for about 80% of it. the other 20% ... well ... don't ask.

we arrived back home just in time to ready ourselves for the first birthday party of jack's buddy, kay taylor. although the star of the party was reclusive, jack was all over the place -- enjoying the toys, the exotic cuisine, and (most of all) the cupcakes. before the cupcakes were served, jack repeatedly said, "i want to party!" in his book, i think this means singing and eating cupcakes.

"partying"

"eeww -- that does not taste like cupcake!"

after another restorative (but way too short) nap, we readied ourselves for a happy hour with our beach friends. as per usual no photos were taken because the chaos could not be captured digitally. but grace, garrett, lucy, phia and jack enjoyed playing with toys and making their own marching band (killer recorder/kazoo section) while babies james and phoebe looked on.

we have a big four-day weekend coming up, so our next update should be a cornucopia utopia of jack-tion.

(twenty)nine-and-a-half weeks

this has mainly been jack's blog since its inception almost two years ago, and admittedly the baby we refer to as "ita" does not get much play in its pages. it is called "livin' la vida jack" after all ... duh!

so here's a look at how she's growing (well, more accurately, how she's causing her poor mother to grow ... and grow ... and grow!) at 29.5 weeks.

we took a similar picture at the same point in jack's gestation, which we will dig out for comparison's sake. the doctor's office claims that mommy weighs less this time, but she sure doesn't feel any more svelte!

only 10 weeks to go ... we're all looking forward to her arrival!

oh my achin' back

in general, jack's a pretty sympathetic fellow.

he worries about kids who cry on the playground or at school and tries to console them.

if he hears mommy or daddy say, "ouch!" he is quick to give kisses and pats to soothe the boo-boo.

and lately, after hearing mommy's complaints, he has been regularly inquiring as to the state of mommy's aching back.

before yoga: "mama, you going to make your back feel better?
after yoga: "mama, your back feel better now?"
upon waking: "mama, how your back feelin'?"

yesterday morning his sympathy turned to empathy. as soon as daddy retrieved him from his crib (after his clock had turned green), jack announced, "daddy, my back hurts." he then repeated, "my back hurts ... i need to go to the doctor."

daddy asked some questions ... "where on your back does it hurt? did you fall on your back?" soon it was revealed that his back was okay and he mostly just wanted a lollipop from the doctor. when reminded that his doctor does not give lollipops, but instead gives stickers, jack announced he actually needed a trip to the barbershop (where they do give lollipops).

empathus interruptus ... caused by dum-dums.

but mr. empathy was back at it this morning, telling mommy his back hurt after watching mommy try to stretch her heavily burdened lower spine.

it's all very sweet. but let's just say we don't even want to imagine what complaints jack might be parrotting when mommy starts nursing the new baby!!

monkey business

scene from the breakfast table this morning:

jack: mommy, i see a monkey outside!

mommy: you do? what's the monkey
doing?

jack: he's cleaning our house.

mommy: really?

jack: yeah. with a vacuum cleaner.

mommy: oh, so a monkey is going to clean the outside of
our house with a vacuum cleaner? well, i guess it's dirty.

jack: yeah. it's really dirty.

mommy: well, we'll have to pay him with bananas.
but we're out of bananas. maybe you can give him a hug to pay him.

jack: yeah. a hug. and i'll give him my
ball.

mommy: great idea!

so ... note to all readers ... special limited-time offer ... if you want a ball and a jack hug, dress in a monkey suit and come vacuum the outside of our house. and byob -- 'cause yes, we have no bananas.

jumping the shark

so we've jumped the shark on politeness.

last night, as we sat down to a spaghetti dinner courtesy of daddy, jack gave his normal, effusive, "thank you so much daddy."

daddy replied, "sure, buddy."

jack's rejoinder? "no, daddy. it's *your* pleasure!"

after which we, of course, cracked up laughing.

incidentally, it's been a busy couple of weeks for us, but we'll try to get llvj back on track and hopefully will have some new posts, new pix and maybe even a weekend update (if you're lucky!). thanks for bearing with us.

la politesse

politeness is a universal concept. the french call it "la politesse" and, as they do with so many things (such as snobbery and stinky cheese), really elevate it to a whole new echelon.

when mommy studied in france, a whole unit was dedicated to "la politesse." the french take this kind of thing very seriously (as they do snobbery and stinky cheese).

we were drilled in the specifics of who should be introduced to whom and in what order, based on social rank, age and how well you know the two parties.

we were quizzed on the many ways to couch everything you might ever want to say in the floweriest of language.

we were even instructed on the proper way to use a spoon to eat soup -- fyi, spoon the soup away from you and eat from the tip of the spoon, *not* the side of the spoon like the english do (
vulgarians!).

so, it is only fitting that with a genetic line so "bien éduquée" jack would turn out to be a polite little guy.

now, of course, there are limits to the politeness a 2 year-old can muster. but jack often gets notices from friends and strangers alike for his well-mannered ways.

before leaving the table, jack will almost always say, "excuse me please." okay, granted, sometimes he says that from the moment the meal is set before him and in a quite strident tone, but he does say it. he is also strapped into his booster and needs help getting released, so that's an incentive ...

he is usually very grateful for the meals prepared for him and will say, "thank you soooo much!" when presented with a repast. granted, he also chides anyone eating with him, "say thank you!!" but at least he's grateful ...

but the absolute kicker happened this past weekend. daddy told jack, "thank you for helping me rake leaves, buddy." to which jack responded, for the first time and completely unprompted, "my pleasure!"

ah, la politesse. like musique to our ears.

hickory dickory dock

jack got a new clock!

6:48

that's what the aforementioned new clock read this morning when jack first called for mommy to come get him from his crib.

now, lest you think this is a complaint, let us reassure you gentle reader that this was received as a godsend.

first of all, mommy was up a wee bit late last night what with the historic election of america's first black president and all ... so she needed the extra beauty sleep.

second, jack had been on a bit of an early rising streak, with waking times that began with the numeral "5" or, even (in the bleakest of times) "4."

so ... after trying various explanations of what position the sun should hold in the sky before he awakened for the day, we finally settled on getting jack a clock.

it was recommended by another parent and it has been working quite well so far.

since its implementation (done just in time for the "fall back" at the end of daylight saving time) jack has only once awakened earlier than mandated ... and that only by a few minutes.

the clock turns green at a predetermined time (in our case 6 a.m.) and jack very proudly tells us in the morning, "i wait until my clock turn green. i'm not waking up until my clock turns green."

blessedly this was true today ... and in fact was true even 48 minutes after the fact.

so it seems that now is the time to push the green light until 6:15. the way mommy figures, soon enough we'll be sleeping in until 10am!

well ... maybe not. but at least it's not 5.