Hat Tricks

We have come to agree with what parents have said for generations...don't waste your money on fancy toys, kids will choose to play with the most simple things you have lying around the house! First it was the box that Grandma and Grandpa's TV came in; it is still in our garage being used as a playhouse! In Big Bear it was Grandpa's work hat! Jack galloped around the house for hours with it! Whatever floats your boat, Kid! We are going to invest in rubber tubes, packing peanuts and Tupperware instead of computer games, radio controlled cars and bicycles!

Cold and White

After our great trip to Big Bear, I'm finally scrapping 10 minute together to add a few new photos to the blog.

This first photo is in Grandma's studio, looking out toward their patio. Difficult to tell in this shot, but it was virtually a wall of snow out that sliding glass door! The snow was nearly to the top of their chain link fence around the dog run (almost 6 feet) and there was about 5 feet on the patio! But the squirrels and birds managed to make it onto the porch for food. Jack loved watching them come so close. Of course, Gracie loved to bark at them. Our watch dog...she protected us from all the ferocious woodland creatures!

This was taken on our way to Aunt Susie's for dinner. Jack was wearing his new outfit that Daddy bought for him on State Street. Collared shirt, white sweater and even a tweed sports coat

complete with suede elbow patches and collar. He was very handsome, and really out-shined all of us that night. He had Buzz and Woody with him for an exciting night out on the town!

Other than driving, the trip really centered around the beautiful new snow. In addition to tubing, we played for quite a while right outside the house. We tried to build Jack's first snowman, but honestly the snow was too fresh and fluffy. It was like trying to build a snowman with sawdust! We made the first ball and then gave in to snowballs instead. Jack had an absolute blast. Gracie did too! They both romped and crawled around in the deep stuff for about an hour. Daddy taught Jack how to make snowballs and throw them at Gracie.

We also tried to do snow angels, but honestly...

IT WAS JUST SO SOFT AND DEEP! It was really a glorious day. A good time was had by all. Jack finally whined a little and grabbed at his wrist. Turns out, his mittens slid down and they were packed with snow around the wrists. He was already red from the cold. But, he was so well bundled that this wrists were the ONLY thing that got cold. Back in the house for some hot chocolate, tons of lasagna and more playtime with Gracie and Ruby. We had a fantastic time.

SNOW PLAY

After 8 hours in the car yesterday, we were wondering if it was worth it to drive up to Big Bear for the fresh snow. Rest assured...it WAS!

We came up the mountain yesterday behind about 5,000 idiots, but finally made it to Grandma's just in time for homemade lasagna. Jack was such a great traveler it was amazing! We stopped once in Apple Valley at Target for a new toy, but other than that he made it straight through. He finally took his nap for the last 30 minutes of the trip!

This morning we woke to a glorious day. So after breakfast we bundled up and headed to Snow Play to sled in the tubes. It was great fun for all three of us. Then we returned to Grandma's for snowman building and a snowball fight before lunch. It was mostly us against Gracie, but she loved it! She hopped through the snow, biting the snowballs and digging for rascals. We've had a wonderful day so far. After nap time we hope for a little more play time and then dinner at Aunt Susie's. We hope you are all having a fun weekend too.

Super Jack

Our friend Lorena made a Super Cape for Jack as a Christmas gift. He loves to fly around now with Buzz Lightyear, pretending to save the planet from the evil emperor Zurg! He had us in stitches.

We have had a busy Saturday so far. After breakfast and a little lounging, we headed off to run errands. This included a trip to Target for a new humidifier for our stuffy, snotty little boy. Low and behold, what did we find on the Christmas clearance aisle? A huge set of play food for only $5! Once we got home Jack had a blast feeding his toys and parents from his new pantry. He fed Buzz and Woody, complete with chewing sound effects!

And if that wasn't exciting enough, our new mattress was delivered this afternoon. You would have thought they delivered a giant teddy bear tied up with a red ribbon the way Jack hooted and squealed over the new arrival. Geesh, who knew he wanted us to have a new mattress so badly.

After he takes his nap (wishful thinking) we have a wonderful evening to look forward to. Our neighbors are hosting neighborhood movie night in their driveway. They will be showing the movie Up, complete with popcorn and hotdogs. So we'll load up the wagon and roll on down for at least part of the show. A movie on a Saturday night? Feels like a date to me:-)

Vote for SMA

It should come as no surprise to anyone who follows our blog that we are supporters of the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation. Bill and Victoria Strong are a lovely couple from Santa Barbara with a beautiful daughter named Gwendolyn. While Gwendolyn was born perfectly healthy, she nearly died at 6 months old and was diagnosed with SMA type 1, Spinal Muscular Atrophy. SMA is degenerative and terminal! This is the #1 genetic killer of children under the age of 2. Like Gwendolyn, children with SMA lose all motor abilities and must be assisted via machines for the most basic of functions, such as coughing. However, their minds are very clear, they are bright and social! The good news is that the National Institutes of Health have coined SMA as the "CLOSEST TO TREATMENT". Given proper funding, treatment is expected within a few years! Furthermore, many scientists feel that SMA is a "gateway" disease that can lead to breakthroughs in treatments for many other diseases, including Parkinson's, ALS/Lou Gherig's, Alzheimers, spinal cord injuries, muscular distrophies and even some types of cancer.

Currently, Chase is planning on giving away $1 million to a deserving charity via Facebook. And The Gwendolyn Strong Foundation is in 4th place out of 100 charities! If you have a Facebook account please use one of your votes for GSF to cure SMA. If you don't have a Facebook account it only takes a moment to set one up and then you can vote too! PLEASE HELP CURE SMA! Thank you.

http://voteforsma.com/

Playdough

The other day I whipped up a batch of homemade playdough for Jack. It doesn't quite smell the same as "real" playdough, but totally works! We rolled it out and he loved stamping it with cookie cutters. I just bought some new neon food coloring, so I look forward to some fun colors for him to experiment with in the future. Like most kids, he couldn't help but taste it...mmmm.

Clean Room

Aaaahhhhh...the joy of multi-tasking. Yesterday I spent an obscene amount of time on the phone with Aetna Insurance. (Did we mention that the bill for Jack's overnight at the hospital was over $36,000? That is without any surgery or serious injuries. Thank God for our great insurance! Don't even get me started on the need for health insurance in this country.) Anyway, not one to let grass grow under me, I decided to use my hold time to sort through all of Jack's toy bins. With Christmas, his birthday and a trip to Disneyland in the last month things were getting pretty unruly in there. So I decided to get things organized. I put all of his transportation toys in one bin (planes, trains and automobiles). He now has so many animals that I needed to divide them into two bins. The science teacher in me decided to put mammals in one (jungle, farm and domestics); reptiles, amphibians, and sea creatures in another (are dinosaurs reptiles?). Then I put musical toys together (kazoos, percussions and Hallmark cards). Stuffed animals on top bins (so they won't hurt if he pulls them down on top of himself) and puzzles and heavy toys down low. Perfect! After resolving the closet and the insurance dilema I left Jack to play while I jumped in the shower. Clearly all that organization stimulated his creativity because...

What the &#@%*!? That, folks, is a pile of toys topped with a pile of bins. What are you trying to tell me , Son?

Bath Fun with Gracie

Despite the fact that Jack didn't want a bath, he seems to have enjoyed himself. First he played keep-away with Gracie's ball because she just couldn't quite reach it without falling in. Then Jack decided to splash like crazy, which apparently made Gracie thirsty because she proceeded to lick up all the splashes. Finally, being part dog, Jack got thirsty and decided to lick up the water too. Gracie even tried to lick the water off Jack's face, but her whiskers were too tickly. He shrieked and squealed the entire time! By the time he got out, my cheeks hurt from laughing so hard. I hope he's more enthusiastic for his next bath.

Eleven

Jack has a head/chest cold today. He sounds like Darth Vader when he breathes and has a steady runny nose. One stream from each nostril (hence, eleven!) Fortunately it's a quiet weekend anyway. Rob is doing online traffic school, I'm grading papers, Jack is watching Toy Story 2 and Gracie...well, it's almost always a quiet day for her. As much as she would rather be an only "child", she has been pretty cute with Jack lately. Yesterday she was very patient when Jack insisted she try on his mouse ears. And now that Jack LOVES the dog park their friendship might blossom. She did share her new Christmas toy with him. This could be the start of something wonderful:-) Good girl!

Disneyland

Jack got to visit Disneyland for the first time this week. Stunned and amazed pretty much sums up his reaction to the whole thing. We went down to Redondo Beach for a birthday dinner with Kelsey on Sunday night (She will be 18 tomorrow! Holy cow!) Then on Monday morning we headed to Anaheim for the big day. We got an early check-in at the Disneyland Hotel and then headed to the park for the fun to begin. Everything along the way proved to be awe inspiring for Jack! There was a huge Christmas tree still assembled in Downtown Disney (gasps of amazement). We rode the monorail over to the park (Oh...aahhh!). We went on Astro-Blasters with Buzz Lightyear (stunned silence). Grandma and Daddy rode the carousel while Jack and Mommy watched (sensory overload). Over to Dumbo for his first flight (fear of flying?). And then a lunch break.

After lunch we took a quick spin on Casey's Train and then back to the hotel for a nap...this is what saved the day for us all! Despite the remodeling going on next door, Jack managed to finally sleep with Daddy while Grandma and Mommy relaxed on Main Street with a cup of coffee and some English Toffee.

For round two we decided to start with Small World. With perfect timing, someone at control central flipped the switch igniting all the lights in the entire park while we waited outside the ride. OK folks, the look on Jack's face was truly priceless. Shock and awe was frozen onto his visage for at least 20 minutes. His mouth formed the letter O until I was sure he'd need medical attention to have it removed. We went on the train around the park (dinosaurs!), had a very quick dinner, then finished with one more spin on Astro Blasters and a tour of the gift shop before heading back to the room.

Needless to say, he was so wound up from his big day that he played with his new toys for over an hour before we finally went to sleep. We were all so pleased with his first trip to Disneyland. Rob and I agree it is MUCH better with your own kids and that the three-to-one ratio of adults-to-children was ideal for total enjoyment. The visit may be over, but the Mickey Mouse ears live on!

Have Wagon, Will Travel

It was a beautiful day here in Ventura! About 70 degrees, clear sunny skies, slight ocean breeze. We decided to break in Jack's wagon on the boardwalk by the Ventura Pier. It was very busy because, like I said, gorgeous day out. So Rob maneuvered down the sidewalk while I directed the tour. "Oh Jack, do you see the big waves? The tide is high. Last time we came the tide was low, you could see the sand. This time the water is really high. Oh, watch it hit the boardwalk and splash! Isn't that fun? Do you see the splashers?" He was so cute in his little wagon that I stepped back to take a photo with my phone when--SPLASH!! Mommy got DECKED by a wave! Don't you just love the feeling of sea-soaked jeans against your skin? NOT! Well, needless to say it was a short walk today. But we will do it again in the future. Next time I'll check the tide charts and bring a change of clothes just in case!

Happy New Year

It's a New Year's tradition. Black-eyed peas, collard greens, corn bread and pecan pie with our friends Mark, Julie and Everett for New Year's Day. Yum!


We had a quiet morning at home. I remember watching a lot more football on New Year's Day before we had Jack. And sadly, the football we did watch didn't fare well for the PAC-10. But we did watch Toy Story with Jack, complete with him acting out some of the scenes with his new toys. After lunch Jack took a nice nap and then off to the Shipps'.

Sad circumstances brought our friend Staci to town, but it was a bonus for all of us to share the day with her too. Jack and Everett opened presents. I had a great time playing "Would You Rather..." with Everett (Would you rather eat a hair sandwich or an earwax omelet?) And Jack got a cool new doggie named Scout that sings and talks to him. He dragged it everywhere when we got home. He took it to bed and fell asleep with his arms wrapped around it. When he came to our room at 7 this morning, there was his buddy Scout with him. Too cute!