Dak uhn

This is how Jack now says thank you. He doesn't quite get the concept but he's getting there. Instead of saying thank you in response to receiving something, he says it repeatedly every time he gives YOU something.

First Lie

Tonight, Jack toddled away and went around the corner and hid. This either means that he is hiding or pooping. He ran over to me and then sprinted quickly away and I could tell by the sagging diaper and smell that it was the latter. When I found him, back sitting down where he had done his business, I asked him, "Jack, did you go poop?" He looked up at me, shook his head and said, "Nooo."

Mama

Jack's been working on lots of new skills every day and it amazes me how much he learns and how much he already understands. Just today, I made a stack of blocks and called him over. He usually gets really excited and knocks them over but just before he did his "Jack Stack Attack" I asked him to wait and pointed to one lone block more than an arm's length away. I asked him to go get the block and bring it to me. He stopped and went over grabbed the block and gave it to me, then waited for me to stack the final block before attacking it.

He also knows a lot about what he should and shouldn't be doing. He will go to places that we have told him not to go and he will sneak up there, then turn to look at us and shake his head no and often say it. He's even reminded us that we have forbidden certain areas. He's even started shaking his finger to say no. Yesterday he went over to the TV and started shaking his head no and waving his hand just to let us know that he knew that he wasn't supposed to play near the glass on the TV.

He's talking quite a bit and has been acquiring new words just this past week. We do alphabet cards every day and he can recognize A, B and L (yes, L) without being prompted to repeat. He points to his ear when I say the letter "I" (he still confuses ear and eye), and does it again when I say "R". He's also started recognizing some of the pictures that are also on the cards. He kisses the card with the cat on it and says "apple" when he sees the A and "ball" (sounds like buh) when he sees it on the B card. He's also become quite good at "up" saying it whenever he wants to be picked up and when we go up the stairs (together or if he goes by himself). He's has taken to pointing at pictures in the house and declaring that "Dah-dah" or "Mah-mah" is in the photo.

And just this evening, I actually watched him process and put two and two together. No, I don't mean he's doing math (with any luck he's gotten math skills from Paul because he's doomed if he has mine!) but I saw him realize that he understood what we were reading. "Llama Llama Mad at Mama" is Jack's favorite book and "Llama Llama Red Pajama" runs a close second. We read one or the other each night as the final book of the night. He simply adores the books and starts grinning ear to ear when we finish the first book of the evening. Anyway, just recently, he has begun to be a more active participant with reading. When the word "no" comes up, he looks at me and shakes his head and smiles. In both books, the word "mama" appears frequently, along with a bunch of words that rhyme with llama. In Red Pajama, which we read tonight, the book begins with the Mama reading a bedtime story to the baby who is holding a stuffed toy. I always point each character out and then point to each of us (including JoJo!). About halfway through the book (and around Mama #6) he reached over and touched my chest, looked up at me and said, "Mama", as if he finally understood that this book wasn't just some sing songy mumbo jumbo. I thought it was coincidence until he did it 4 more times, each time with a tone of voice that was like, "Holy cow, I get this, it makes so much sense!" I love watching this kid learn!

Sweet Boy

Yesterday, I came home with a killer backache. My shoulders, neck and back were one big. Paul lent a helping hand (or two, rather) and offered up a backrub. We sat in the living room, where we watched Jack play as Paul began to work on my back. Right away, he found a particularly tender spot and I cried out. Jack immediately stopped what he was doing and came to me with this concerned look on his face. Then he handed me his stuffed monkey, JoJo to help me feel better. That 10 second action completely negated my back pain AND the crappy day I was having!

On the Move!

My boys

My little Toddler!

Chasing Mommy!

Jack's Dictionary

Words he says on his own: Mommy and Daddy (though mostly we have to ask him to say it), car, bye-bye, book, banana, up, ball, Moose (Moose and Zee cartoon on Nick jr.)

Things we think he is trying to say: No (shakes head), No (scrunches up face and says, "uhnnn"), bah-boo (we don't know what it means but he says it a lot), elephant ? (turns to page in book with an elefant and says "eh, eh")

Things he can repeat: Nonny, Poppy, Grandma, alphabet (he's really good at A, B, D, L, M and pretty good at H, N, P)

Phrases/Words he knows/recognizes (shortened version--aka just the stuff I can think of right now): Jo-Jo (stuffed monkey), kitty, kiss, bring it to Mommy/Daddy, give it to Mommy/Daddy, throw it, Randy (stuffed cow), night night, eat, milk, water, where is. . ., ear, eye, nose, mouth, go bye-bye, music (for his music box in his crib), honk the horn, turn off the light, push the button

First Time Out?

I think we just had our first time out. On Sunday, Jack had a complete meltdown like I had never seen before. I wasn't sure what it was about but I think it was an accumulation of things that just became too much for him.

We started out going to the grocery store after his nap. He liked it at first but wanted to come out of the cart after awhile. Fortunately, the ample balloons and mirrors kept his interest. When I was bagging some apples, I saw him look up and smile big. At first I thought he was smiling in recognition of the apples and pears but I looked up and noticed a mirror above the produce shelves and he was checking himself out. I wonder if he'll be like one of those guys at the gym who pump iron and admire themselves in the mirror as they curl. God, I hope not.

Anyway, upon our arrival home, I put him into the playpen so I could bring the groceries in and not worry about where my little runner who puts the toddle in toddler was headed next. He did not find this to be fun and whined everytime I walked away from him. I gave him some milk which appeased him for only a little while. Then he whined some more. I finally finished putting all the frozen foods away and left everything out to attend to him. I pulled him out of the playpen and put him on the ground, thinking he wanted to run. Nope. He whined for me to pick him up. I suggested water, which he liked but then stupidly took the cup away to fill it with more water and, guess what--he whined. Actually, he started to cry. I asked him if he was hungry and he seemed to perk up. Aftet trying many different foods, he decided that he liked NutraGrain bars and was NOT happy when he ate it and there was no NutraGrain bar left. I told him he couldn't have more and, you guessed it, whining ensued. Finally, I said, "All done," and he started to really cry. I wiped his face and hands and thought that all these signs (including his rubbing of his eyes) were adding up to one solution--naptime. Unfortunately, I said it allowed and he started to howl. I got him upstairs (each step increased the volume and displeasure.) I set him in his crib and tried to comfort him by stroking his hair and face, which he usually loves, he pushed my hand away and threw his stuffed monkey. I took this as my cue to leave.

Jack cried hard for a good 3 minutes and then the tears and cries gave way to babbles and playing. I let him play for about 30 minutes (he never did nap) and went in to retrieve my smiling son. He was a brand new man. I guess we all have our moments--even babies!