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.