happy birthday, daddy!

i could tell you all the reasons i love my daddy, like i did last year ... and what good care he takes of me ... but i'm not very good at typing yet, so instead, here's a look at the last year that daddy and i shared:

weekend update - with apologies

the weekend update was ready yesterday but a snafu with the often-hinky blogger video module caused the post to fail. as i was posting while running out the door (and doing several other multi-tasky things), we didn't realize until today that it had not gone through. so ... apologies. and llvj.o.u. another post ...

without further ado ... the weekend update:

a fun-filled weekend for us ...

saturday morning found us at the pool, enjoying the water and the sunny-but-not-too-hot weather. there happened to be a birthday party while we were there and jack enjoyed watching the "happy birthday balloons" and hearing everyone sing.

after a trip home for lunch and a nap, jack awoke to the news that we were going to the farm! it was montgomery county's annual farm tour and we took advantage of it with a trip out to homestead farm.

jack was excited and enjoyed the drive out through a more rural part of the county that included several private horse farms.

we arrived and found a lot of fun to be had at the farm ...

the whole drive home jack repeatedly told us, "i like farm." they had tractors to take folks out to the blackberry patches and peach orchards to do your own picking, but jack was quite scared by the giant tractors pulling pontoon-like wagons behind them. we settled for buying a few pints of already-picked blackberries and white peaches, ears of corn and tomatoes and enjoying them at home. however, despite the tears when initially facing the tractor, jack also told us he wanted to ride the tractor. next time, buddy, next time.

once back at home, we rounded out the evening with a bit more basketball play ... a near daily activity ... and did a little farming of our own:

sunday brought an invitation to brunch with friends. the crowd ended up being six parents and five kids ... jack had a good time playing with ethan, just two months older than he, and watching out for 9 month-old "baby james."

a long brunch led to the need for a nap and jack took a long one. we had hoped for some more afternoon pool time, but the heavens did not cooperate, so instead we enjoyed some indoor imaginative play and storytime.

we had a really nice weekend, though it was nice when monday morning came and 'xana walked back in the door!

daycare summary

so what started as a very difficult week ended up quite well.

jack had a good time at daycare and overall it was a net positive. also, not having to scramble with piecemeal care or take off a week of work and burn our vacation was a huge boon.


here's how his day on friday went:

but ... he was very glad to see roxana again this morning. after an initial standoffishness (which is typical of any transition for jack, whether it's mommy coming home from work in the evening or mamaxana coming back from vacation) he was very happy to be by her side. he even told her "need mamaxana!" which made her beam. there are promises that jack's buddy, roxana's daughter "sesi," will visit tomorrow.

also on tomorrow's docket ... our weekend update. and not to tease or anything but we have some fun pictures to share, so check back!!

many media

jack has been doing quite a bit of art at daycare this week.

today we arrived and they were finger painting. jack was quite interested, but a little reluctant. in the end, he declined the offer to finger paint, opting instead just to wash his hands. guess he felt messy just looking at it!

but ... here's a look at some of his other art from the week using many different media:



"happy birthday, nana" crayon on paper

"moon and stars" sponge paint on paper

untitled, chalk on construction paper

mommy and daddy lavishly praised jack's chalk creation last night ... even showing it to floyd. jack was very proud of his work and the fuss we made over it.

he also had another good day yesterday ... as we knew he would.

(single-click the image to enlarge it)

more daycare

as the morning portended ... yesterday was our best day at daycare to date!

(single click the image to enlarge it)

today was the best drop-off yet ... when we rounded the corner into the hallway leading to daycare, jack (who saw it monday and started to panic) said, "my schoooool!" and while he did implore me, "stay here, mama," he was quickly mollified by suggestions that he read max & ruby with one of the teachers.

daycare update

well ... monday's drop-off was rough. jack was chipper in the car and walking up the stairs to the daycare, but as soon as we walked down the hall leading to the center, he recognized where we were and became very trepidatious. "mommy scary," he told me with concern written all over his face.

but we soldiered on and went into jack's classroom. that's where he got upset and started crying, telling me, "mama, want to go home!" eventually mommy pried herself away and blew jack kisses. it was a tough goodbye, but we knew jack would be okay once he settled in.

and he was:


(remember you can single-click an image to enlarge it)

tuesday went slightly better with jack less afraid to walk in the door, but still clinging and tearful when it was time for goodbye. hearing him cry for the second day in a row was hard, but he bounced back:

the center even sent mommy some pictures of jack at mid-day to ease any concerns about leaving him. clearly he settled in just fine!

it was a busy couple of days, with jack exploring many new activities and skills.


today's drop-off was the most successful to date, with no tears (from jack or mommy!) . by week's end he probably won't want to miss going to daycare when roxana returns!

Alexander the Grape?

One of the small joys of parenting is watching kids develop names for their favorite people -- friends, relatives, neighbors. Often, these names are so much fun that we parents find ourselves using them.

For instance, our friend Diane is "Auntie Dine," because Garrett and Grace called her that. And Garrett and Grace are called "The Dee-Dees" because that's what they called each other.

Grandparents are prime territory for these pet names. Alicia's parents are Nana and Granddad. My parents are Grandma and Grandpa (which tend to come out as "GammaGampa").

Last night, Jack and I had occasion to call my beloved grandmother in Ohio. Our nephews Brady and Parker call her "Grandma Great," which seemed like a good moniker to adopt. So I told Jack that we were going to call Grandma Great and say hello.

He loved this idea, but somehow in the synapses he combined two of his favorite things -- grandmothers and fruit, and came up with "Gamma-Grape." "Bye Bye, Gamma Grape!" "Love you, Gamma Grape!"

That's one that's going to stick, I think.