Size Really Does Matter...

...When it Comes to Snow

Flip Sprinkle Snowshine Wilson, or whatever credibility inspiring name our weatherman uses, predicted one to two inches of snow and we got close to four! Jack woke Friday morning declaring he doesn't want it to snow...because snow is too cold and wet. Then, it snowed and we all took noticed that a different tune was being hummed.


Jack went sledding...(kind of...we really need to find a real hill and a real sled.)




He got in a snow ball fight with dear ol' Dad...

Saturday morning we made a snowman...

Then Jack ate his nose...

Then Jack decided the snowman needed a bit of surgery...

And now we have a snowwoman...

He ended his romp in a snow with a ride in his tractor down the rapidly melting snow-covered street.

As They Grow...So Do Their Imaginations

At bedtime tonight:

J: I can't go to sleep mommy because there is music in my head and it keeps me awake. Don't you hear it? *insert twilight zone music*

J: I can't go to sleep because my head is broken. I broke it when I fell on the rug at school. It split in two and I can never sleep again...only play, play, play.

Good grief :)

Jack Plays School

Jack has found a new game...playing school. On a rare occassion he allowed me to play the role of teacher, typically played by Jack (and he is stern let me tell you!) I took full advantage by sneaking in an easy spelling and reading quiz to capture his new passion and skill on video. We played this game after pizza night with cinnamon dots...so the hyper activity, a.k.a. distraction level, was at its peak. Enjoy!

Jack's Thunderstorm

On the way home from school Jack started to inquire about thunder, rain and lightening. "What sound does lightening make?" "Where does thunder come from?" We googled the subject and learned some fun facts, like did you know the clouds that produce thunderstorms are called ‘cumulonimbus’. Me neither. Though Jack and I found 'thunder clouds' easier to spell and pronounce. We then made our own thunder and lightening (using static and a blankie). After I realized teaching a three-year old how to "shock" his mommy was not a bright idea I was pleased to see Jack took it upon himself to draw a thunderstorm.

So this is a big deal! Jack never draws. I got a fireman out of him last week and now a whole scene? WOW! Maybe one of you will get a homemade Valentine card this year??? I left to get the camera right when he started drawing the rain drops and when I came back he proudly explained that the yellow line at top was the lightening. The clouds were filled with thunder (which is why he colored them black) and the blue on the bottom were puddles. He was very upset with his cloud (upper left) and said it looked nothing like a cloud and even threw his chalk at it in anger. Anger issues or a budding perfectionist? hmm... regardless we now need some new white chalk :) After this he attempted to draw a car wash. This did not go over very well and we also need new green and purple chalk. :(

A Message From and Typed by Jack

hi

jack looooooooooooooooooooooooooooves            mom

(and) dad

On Becoming a Grown Up

While daycare has not put a pull up on Jack in three months for nap time...we still do.  Why?  Who wants to change sheets if they don't have to.  Well, Jack politely requested to wear his underwear for nap time this weekend.  With fingers crossed I obliged.  SO PROUD OF HIM.  He took a marathon nap and still stayed dry.  Here was our exchange afterwards:

M:  Jack, you stayed dry during your nap.  Aren't you proud?

J:  I am dry.  I am a grown up boy now.

M:  A grown up? WOW!

J:  Yes.  And Daddy is going to give me his lawn mower now that I am a grown up boy.

M:  His lawnmower?

J:  Yes, and Grandpa's lawn mower because it is a riding lawnmower which is better than Daddy's handled lawnmower.

Fireman Jack Continues

This week Jack has painted, drawn, spelled and "obsessed" over firefighting.

My favorite is how he made a fire out of pick-up sticks.

We also this past week played our first game of charades with Jack. Guess what he "acted" out.

Did you figure it out? This was Fireman Jack with his fire mask on using the hose to put the fire out and save Mom and Dad. Want to know the icing on the cake? I came home from New York (business) last night. It was Jack's bedtime. He said to me in that bedtime dreamy voice "My funnest best toy (we'll work on the grammar later) is my ladder truck. My second funnest best toy is Mommy." Nice to know where I rank!"

Jack a Future Spelling Bee Champ?

Here's a fun new development for Jack. He has started to spell out words. Certain words I should say. The first word he spelled was...J-A-C-K. Shocking, I know. He is keen on pointing out his name whenever he spots it. Lucky for him his name is on his lunchbox, spoon, bedroom wall, snowglobe, and almost every pair of underwear (daycare necessity). Hog heaven for my self-absorbed, yet adorable little munchkin! He then showed interest in writing his name. I got a solid J out of him and then he realized he was DRAWING...aghast...and quickly stopped.

His obsession with his name continued the other evening during bath time. He asked for his bath foam letters for the first time in six months. After ensuring they were mold-free (working mom card being played there...no picking on me!) I filled the tub with his letters. Here is where we discovered that potty humor and spelling is like chocolate and peanut butter...a wonderful discovery. The rest of the evening Jack learned words like P-O-O; P-E-E; P-O-O-P; B-U-R-P; and P-O-O-T-Y...so I am thinking his first sentence may be J-A-C-K P-O-O-P-S and B-U-R-Ps. He will be so happy when he figures how to build his own sentences. Good grief.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

Oh the weather outside was...well, mild! But who cares...we live in the south and it SNOWED! Jack was thoroughly excited! Here he is on our deck right when the white stuff started to fall.

And here he is completing a milestone...catching a flake with his tongue!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
They said an inch...and it turned out to be exaggerated by about 70%...but that is okay. The neighborhood was full of kids sleighing down every steep driveway they could find. As southerners, we do not own a sleigh...so we improvised and Jack took his turn down the hill in our recycling bin. He LOVED it...but the grass peaking through slowed him down a bit (which I loved...the slow it down bit, that is!)

Jack LOVES snow and apparently has a new super power...can have his whole body covered in the wet stuff with his nose a dripping and still claim to feel great and want to stay outside. His mother who does not share this super power lured him back in with promises of sitting by the fire and Hot Chocolate. It worked. Thank goodness!

...and a Happy New Year!

We had a fabulous New Year's Eve for a family of introverts...we stayed in with good food, movies and family! We wrote our 2010 goals and stuffed them in our stockings, no not so they are out of sight out of mind...but so next Christmas we can check and see how well we did. Here is what Jack told us to write for his goals.

1. Play more.



2. Play more with Daddy.



3. Play more games.



4. More movie nights.



5. Learn to play Karate.

Hmm...

At midnight in Banjul (7pm EST), Jack rang in the New Year's. We all picked a toy to make noise with. Jack picked his abacus...that should be good for a few laughs when he is a teenager.

On New Year's Day we decided it was time to demolish the gingerbread house. Jack went right to work even using two hammers at times until it was smashed to smithereens!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!