Jack 25 Months

Look at that face!!! His zest for life is infectious! He wakes up every day, totally thrilled to see each and every last item he took to bed with him (and there are a lot these days). He greets each of us with an enthusiastic "Hi Emma!" or "Hi Mom!" when he sees us for the first time. It is the absolute greatest.

He remains remarkably attached to his new city bus toy which has affectionately been named "The 255" and I've spied him feeding it meals and even tucking it in for naps. He yells out whenever he sees a bus of ANY kind while driving and pleads with us to "ride it?" He knows the bus route by our house is "the 255" and so we get particularly excited when we see that bus driving around. He's getting in to trash truck too so Tuesday morning is an exciting time around here.

He seems to have a special affinity for riding things as this is the most common request he makes of us. Whether it be a horse, deer, bus, Canadian goose or the Honda, his question is the same: "ride it?"

He's learned a few other new phrases like "I'm sorry," "Help?" (when he wants to help you) "All better," and, my personal favorite: "Emma did it." He learned that last one from the accused herself. Right back atcha sister! I nearly died laughing the first time I heard him trying to shift blame. (One's parenting becomes especially stellar by the time you get to the third kid).

This kid keeps me on my toes, particularly in the kitchen. The microwave is by far his favorite appliance but he's also grown quite adept at opening both the fridge and freezer and warming things up for me. The other day I left briefly to use the restroom and returned to find the milk, half and half, buttermilk, neatly lined up in a nice row on the table. Thanks Jack! I also turned around last night to find he and Emma jousting with my metal skewers while I was trying to cook dinner. And there is a slight chance I may have captured a video of Jack struggling desperately to pull a chair up to the counter (which I shall refrain from posting for fear someone on the internet would call CPS on me). Sounds tame enough but the struggle was real y'all - he could only use one hand to tug that chair because, in the other, he was tightly clutching a glass bottle of cooking marsala. The scene was more than comical as he stumbled about so I did what every good mother does and grabbed my phone and started videoing.

The other night I was on triple kid bath duty. I got a crazy hair-brained idea and decided to speak only in a creepy French accent to keep the mood light as I dumped buckets of water over their little heads. Jack of course thought it was hysterical to hear mommy talk so funny and proceeded to press his little lips into a kissy fish face and say "Mom-mee" in the most adorable little French way. He hasn't stopped doing it since and we both laugh every time.

Jack is obsessed with the color blue. He always wants a blue plate, bowl, utensils etc at meals and now he also insists on his blue pajamas too (which he calls his "boo bamas"). If they are in the hamper, he will settle for his stripes ("bipes") but only his "boo bipes." He puts up a real stink about getting dressed so sometimes I just let him live life in his pjs. I mean, why not?

I am so thankful I enrolled Emma in afternoon preschool because he and Emma have really been enjoying their mornings together. They play and play and rarely fight and it makes my heart happy to see them loving on each other. Jack is always such a willing participant and yesterday I found them hunkered down in the ottoman together. This second picture is solely for your comic relief:

That picture was a perfect lead in to his sleep habits. Unfortunately his naps have been shortening significantly and though I do really miss his 3-hour sleep marathons, I still do get at least an hour a day. 

He's learned from the greatest (his sisters!) about how to prolong bedtime. He now typically asks for water, and then a song (usually Happy Birthday). You'll sing it once to Gideon and then he'll want you to sing to Lilly and then Lani and Josh and Ben and Grandma and Grandpa and Olona and each of her two dogs... Then he'll want the rain sound on his sound machine. And then change his mind to the froggy sound. And then back to the rain. This could go on for hours and so his wise parents eventually just walk out of the room and shut the door because his requests are never satiated. 

Oh! And lest I forget his sleep "accessories." Since taking away his binky, his crib has grown a bit crowded as we've essentially let him take whatever he wants with him to sleep. The following video is a good example:

Since this time, however, he has added a 3rd blanket, a baby doll and a book to his list of "usuals."

Jack is always, always, always singing. And passionately! Out of no where, he will walk through the kitchen absolutely belting Happy Birthday to Gideon (his cousin) or some similar song. He wakes up singing. He goes to bed singing. He sings in the car. It's awesome. I decided to start teaching him some Christmas songs so he'll be all ready for next month. I began with Away in a Manger but he refuses to sing the last line correctly. Instead of  "the little Lord Jesus asleep on the HAY," he replaces "hay" with "BED" (it only makes sense!) as loud as he can. It's so comical and someday I will catch it on video but for now I'll close with his super serious rendition of Happy Birthday. 

Ha!