Hanging Out

Here's a photo of Jack and his buddy Russell. These two are hilarious together. They both love trains. And, although Jack's slightly more rambuctious, Russell may be a bit more mischevious - as shown by him dropping cheerios when we weren't looking and snagging Jack's puppy whenever he turned around:)

SF Zoo

We took a family trip to the San Francisco Zoo this last week and had a great time. Jack thought the sea otters and prairie dogs were hilarious. He literally broke out in hysterical laughter when the prairie dogs stood up. He also took a ride on the carousel, he refused however to ride the horse.

Thanksgiving Flight

We had planned to make the drive home to Turlock for Thanksgiving late at night to miss traffic and were certainly not looking forward to it. So, we were incredibly grateful when Grandpa Chuck called and asked if he could fly us home. When I asked Scott this week what the best part of Thanksgiving was he said, "the flight". Jack was in awe. He loved seeing the cars below.

Identity in Question

If you watch this video you'll see that Jack currently identifies himself as "me". And, if you take it a step further, show him a picture of himself and ask him who is in the picture he'll confidently reply "you"! (We always say, "that's you Jack").

Happy Birthday Christopher

This past weekend we celebrated my brother, Chris' 21st bday. My mom, Christy and sister Ruth came along for the festivities. Here's a photo of Chris making a wish. - by Scott (typed by Lisa)

Weekend at the Beach

We used Scott's 30th birthday as an excuse to spend time with friends this past weekend in Cayucos. Jason and Amber Ficht made a long 7 hour haul from Irvine on Friday with their son, Hayden (9 months). We were excited to finally meet Hayden. Amy & Garett who are lucky enough to live in the area also hung out and cooked their famous fresh fish tacos Saturday night.
So along with eating great food, Scott & Jason body boarded (reminicsent of their college days), and Hayden and Jack enjoyed the Morro Bay "aquarium" and the beach. The word "aquarium" is in quotations because when you think of an aquarium this is not what you think of - but the boys like it.

Monkey Time

Halloween this year was much more animated than last year when Jack was a pumpkin and not very mobile. This year, he was again true to his costume, a monkey. The first time he tried it on and looked in the mirror he smiled and said "hoo, hoo, hoo". And from then on he wore it many times. Yesterday he learned about jack-o-lanterns and tried to reach into the mouth to grab the light (pretty unsafe since the light was a candle) . He also ran around with his buddy Owen in their matching monkey costumes.
We didn't trick-or-treat but we did go to a neighbors house for pizza where Jack was surrounded by girls or really a care bear and princess. I've been told that next year he'll have an opinion about what he is, so I've enjoyed this last chance at choosing his costume.
Oh - and for those of you who thought he was going to be a lion, you are correct. However, after trying on the lion costume, let's just say it was a bit snug and hampered Jack's mobility.

New Boots

Who says a new pair of shoes can't give you confidence? The minute Jack put on his new rain boots, he had a new attitude.

Reading the Morning Paper

We recently celebrated Scott's 30th birthday and Jack gave him a Thomas the train birthday card (it was for a 3 year old, we added the "0" to make it 30). However, Jack seems to be much more interested in the card than Scott. We laugh everytime we watch this, he's so serious and focused.

First Trip to the Zoo

Jack and I met our friends Tiffany and Regan at the Oakland Zoo on Tuesday. The boys loved the animals, from the howler monkeys to the elephants. They went wild in the petting zoo, those poor goats had to have breathed a sigh of relief when we left.

Good Morning

Today Jack deviated from his normal 6:30 wake time and summoned me at 5:45am with an ear-piercing cry. Since we were up so early, we headed out to explore. We drove to a running path I had read about - The Dish in Palo Alto, next to the Stanford Campus(the dish as shown in the photo is actually a radiotelescope that's still in use). It was beautiful and quiet, the sun was just beginning to push through the clouds and the sky was a brilliant blue. I love being outside and seeing the vastness of God's creation.

Circling the Tent

Camping

We took our first camping trip with Jack this past weekend(Butano State Park). He absolutely loved it. He spent most of his time running wildly around the tent and picking up dirt and pine needles with his buddy Owen. It was great to get out for the weekend - our campground was great, and only an hour from home:)
Here's a few pics, I'll post a video soon....

Stopping Time

Many, many people have told us to enjoy the time we have with Jack b/c "they grow up so fast". And to be honest we really are enjoying Jack - well most hours that is. Here's some of the things that bring us joy right now about Jack:

- His hugs and kisses
- The sound of "chooo-choooo" that constantly comes from his mouth
- Sleeping in past 6am (new in the past 3 days)
- When he obeys a firm "no"!
- Playing - he's into stuffing our pockets with whatever is handy (blocks, etc.)
- New words: nigh-nigh, car, banana, choo-choo, Jack, more, milk
- Reading books over & over - and right now they have to be about trains
- Hugging his puppy, and doing downward doy into his blanket
- Walking around beating his tummy like a drum
- Running anywhere he can
- Taking us on walks around the block

These are just a handful of great moments with Jack. We'll omit the moments we want to sell him on Ebay (Scott's words);)

Friends

I think being friends at 18 months really means occasionally playing with another child but more often hitting them or stealing their toys. However, Jack and his friend Owen did have a breakthrough the other day and gave each other a hug - it was really cute. Here are a few photos of them playing at the park. You'll notice they weren't too excited to be in the same stroller on the walk over to the park...

Developmental Milestone: Dance

At this stage in our lives we hear the phrase "developmental milestones" at almost every turn. This can refer to a wide array of things in Jack's life - learning to crawl, then walk, the number of words he can utter, mastering the pincher grasp, etc. Dance is one of these skill - at least I think it is. Jack's been bouncing and doing what we call the "squat walk" to music for a while, but we are beginning to really work on refining his dance moves.

Now, any of you who know how Scott and I dance might hesitate to watch this video. But if you are so bold, enjoy. We're working on more dance moves such as the running man and break dancing...:)

You Bought a What?!!!

We just purchased a....minivan. And yes, some may say (and have said) that we've sold out. I personally am eating many comments I've made in past years about how I would never own one of these ugly beasts. The truth is, I love our new car. It's great, and somehow I don't think it's so ugly anymore:)
Here's some great things about our new wheels:
- I don't have to wrench my back leaning over to put Jack in his car seat
- It has something like 17 cupholders - that's actually obscene
- Window shades that Jack loves to pull up and out of the doors
- automatic doors - yes!
- It doesn't feel like you're driving a tank - a plus for my driving style;)
- we don't have to strategically pack and leave items out for our next trip
- I can take my bike everywhere:)

Jack loves the car. He'll see it out the window of our house and say "car" and try to coax me to take him to it. Scott spent almost a half hour watching him the other night roam around the car. It's like a Jack-sized house.

So yes, we bought a minivan and I'm still standing. Smiling too.

A Hearty Reputation

Jack's beginning to develop a reputation for a lot of things such as his contagious smile, speed in getting around and comfort in using the word "no". However, he is also quite famous for his ability to consume large amounts of cheerios, Joes' O's, etc. Here are just a few quotes and stories from different aspects of Jack's life:

After picking up Jack from the nursery at church, all of these statements have been used:
"He can really pound those cheerios"
"He ate a lot of cheerios"
"Jack loves those cheerios"

Parental Instruction:
"One at a time Jack"
"Slow down"
"You need to finish swallowing the first handful before you can have more"

Social Interaction
At play dates, and library storytime, no matter what time of day it is, if another mom pulls out a snack for their child Jack is on the quest to take a share of the food. I find myself constantly holding him back from consuming other children's food. He puts on his big smile and then earnestly and rigorously signs "more".

The Ultimate Park

This past weekend we took a morning outing to Golden Gate Park. One of our destinations within the park was the Koret Children's Center. We didn't know it then but it was just reopened after remodeling a week ago. If any of you have a chance to visit I highly recommend it - even if you don't have any kids in tow. Scott and I had plenty of fun climbing the rope structure, sliding down the concrete slide and spinning on the crooked seat (on this I laughed hysterically).

For more info and pictures of the park go to the SF Gate article at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/07/15/BAG5ER0QD71.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea

Birthday Party Flashbacks

Scott's parents, John & Christy had their milestone 60th birthdays just a few weeks ago. Because there birthdays are only 4 days apart, we kids through them a joint party. After MANY ideas and discussions, and with the leadership of Sarah, one of Scott's sisters, we planned a party. In the end it wasn't very creative at all because we merely recreated birthday parties past. We decided it would be fun to have his parents play all the games they had their 5 kids play at their birthdays. Among the line up were Pin the Ear on Snoopy (Australian twist on the classic), Dropping clothespins in a small vase, Cottonball game (race involving spatulas and cottonballs), and a pinata (I think that was a new one).
After the party, I had a few thoughts. One: Watching family together playing games and reliving childhood memories is the neatest thing. The energy and laughter was contagious. It makes me excited to grow up. Two: When deciding whether to have a pinata or not, always have the pinata. We kids thought it wasn't going to be a hit because there are many non-candy loving members of the family. A pile of wild screaming Tyndalls fighting for candy proved that it's the competition, not the candy that motivates action.

Jack's Best Friend

We spent the weekend before the 4th in Cayucos with our friends, the Stapps. This is an annual vacation that we look forward to each year. This year was especially fun with the addition of a new member, Ruby, the Stapp's brand new boxer puppy. Jack loved having Ruby lick his hands and when Jack wasn't chasing Ruby, she could be found close behind him.

Like Father, Like Son

Anyone see a little resemblance here? Jack has become dad's boy lately - following him around, wildly waving goodbye in the mornings, screaming with joy when he gets home and giving him big hugs all the time. It's fun to watch.

Premeditated Uh-ohs

The other morning, Jack woke up happily talking in his crib. However, the only word he said was "uh-oh". Over and over, in different tones, he practiced this one phrase. It was as if we was preparing himself for the day, planning all ways he would test the rules and then sweetly cover it up with an innocent "uh-oh". And sure enough, the first offense started early and was quickly covered by you guessed it, "uh-oh".

First Boat Trip

A few weekends ago, Jack had his first boat ride in Sacramento on Grandpa Chuck's boat. He wasn't too thrilled about the boat at first - in fact he was at a rare state - speechless and motionless. However, after a while he was very excited to roam around and try to take over the steering wheel himself. He even went fishing and watched Grandpa catch a fish.

Reverse Skinny Dipping

As always Jack loves the water. Whether he's charging the icy streams of the water hose, running through the sprinklers or sprinting towards the waves at the beach, he's all about water. He's also taken a new approach to fashion in the water. In my hands he'll approach the water in his bathing suit. On his own, with my back turned, he doesn't care what he's wearing as long as he's in the water. As you can see, by his fully dressed body, he doesn't waste any time getting into his pool.

The House that Jack's Parents Built

Jack absolutely loves his new house. Never mind that it means he's living in a cardboard box. In his house there seems to be only one thing he is responsible for...entering and exiting. He'll open the door and then close the door. Open. Close. Over and over again all the while laughing hysterically. I wish we could be that happy in a cardboard box.