Lazy Saturday

Apparently we have a teenager on our hands...Jack slept in until 8:40 this morning! Now we are all cuddling in bed. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Pearly Whites

For those of you keeping count...16!. Jack has all of his baby teeth, for now. We are looking forward to less drooling. (We have 12 months worth of photos with wet rings on the front of his t-shirts from teething.) And now that he has all those beautiful chompers he is very serious about taking good care of them. What does your dentist say? Twice a day? For Jack it is at least 3 or 4 times a day! Honestly, as many times as we will accomodate his request. He also prefers using 2 or 3 tooth brushes at a time! And he will NOT relinquish the brushes until he feels he has done a thorough job. I'm glad we have a nice bathroom, because I'm logging plenty of hours in there! But he does have a beautiful smile!

Daddy Come Home

Rob was running a bit late getting home from work last night. When Jack realized he was wearing his pajamas, but Daddy wasn't home...he freaked out! Fortunately, Rob was only minutes away, so Jack climbed up on the banquette to watch for his car. I only wish I had the video camera on him as he shrieked with delight when Rob finally pulled in! "DA! DA! DA!" Even Gracie got into the act, waiting in the window and whining. If that's not the best reason to come home, then I don't know what is.

Dr. Pepper

Jack had a great afternoon last Friday...playing in Mommy's classroom, watching the bulldozers replacing the blacktop on our playground and creating mayhem while Daddy breathed new life into the OLD classroom computers. Then we stopped at Taco Bell for a quick bite before heading to Redondo Beach. Quesadilla, yummy. But we are sure you'll agree that he wouldn't wanta be a pepper, too!

We Need A Ranch

Today was Dollar Day at the Ventura County Fair, so Jack and I met some friends for a few hours of fun. Jack LOVES the livestock. He got to pet sheep, goats and even his first horse! He is really getting good at his animal sounds, too. He is now a master at "baa" after watching a sheep get a haircut! He also loved the pig (with her 7 piglets) and all of the fish aquariums. So many animals to see!

After viewing al the animals, we tried 4 different ATM machines to fund our junk food binge, but NONE of them worked. Frustrating? Attitude is everything I guess...I count myself grateful for not having induged in a chili dog and funnel cake! I figure I saved myself about 5 hours at the gym.

The only bummer of the day? Jack fell asleep in the car for about 5 minutes and is now wide awake in his crib, refusing to nap. Sleepy-sleepy little booboo! Please! For Mommy!?

Cold Turkey

Just a quick post note to yesterday's prayer request...we are binky free! The first nap was a bit rough yesterday, but he slept all the way through the night until 7:00 this morning without so much as a peep! In fact, he even fell asleep in the playroom at the gym this morning. I loaded him into the stroller, we strolled home, removed his shoes, put him in his crib...still sound asleep! Is it possible he sleeps better WITHOUT his binky?

Big Bear Lake

Since Rob had Friday off, we headed up to Big Bear to see all our mountain family. (By the way, special thanks to CalTrans for finally completing the 210 to San Bernadino and saving us about an hour each way!)

Part of the mission was to help Grandma and Grandpa lay a bit of sod in their side yard. We had perfect weather, a little overcast due to a thunderstorm that was passing by, and then some rain drops to keep us cool and the lawn damp. The instant gratification of sod is always stunning. They now have a nice patch of lawn, some pretty white arbors and climbing red roses...what a lovely view from Grandma's studio and Grandpa's office. We were all filthy when it was done, but we had a lot of fun making memories.

Jack is a dog lover (we can't imagine where that comes from), so he enjoys visiting with Ruby and Tazzie as much as his human family. This visit, he especially loved climbing up on the couch with Ruby to look out the front window. When Ruby barked, Jack said, "woof, woof" too! It was hilarious! He's even big enough now to tell Tazzie "no, no" when she peppers him with kisses. Another year and he'll be giving that little terrier a run for her money.

I wish I got video of Jack with the light house (paper towel holder). It has a button on top that activates the light and sets off a low fog horn sound. After showing Jack once, he was thrilled to do it a million more times. Even when we put it back in Grandma's studio, he'd occasionally drop what he was doing to run in, push the button again, and then return with a huge grin from ear to ear.

We had two great dinners with all seven of us together...Friday night at Grandma/Grandpa's and Saturday night at Aunt Susie/Uncle Daniel's. Did you know the active ingredient in Tamiflu (for swine flu) is made from the same flower as the French drink, Pastisse? Well, Dr. Labouri fixed me up with my dose for the week! Hee Hee!

Thanks for a wonderful weekend. We had a fabulous time. And now....wish us luck.....last night was Jack's last night with his binky! He is currently lying awake whining and whimpering. He thinks his Mommy is stupid..."She forgot to give me my binky for my nap and she didn't understand when I reminded her 50 times! Doesn't she speak English? What part of 'binky' doesn't she understand? It is exhausting training parents to behave appropriately!"