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!