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".