Yesterday was perfect! The kind of perfect of how you imagined life was going to be with a baby when you were still pregnant, before reality hit. You know...no crying, no spills, perfect naps, just smiles all day long. The funny thing is I thought that it was going to be a very "imperfect" day. Clay had to travel for work and wouldn't be home until late at night, no one to cook dinner for, no baby breaks. I thought, "this is going to be a long day". I knew I could handle it...I've done it plenty of times before. I just would have never guessed it would have been, well, "perfect"! It all started when Jack woke up. Instead of giving me that stressful "I'm hungry look", he greeted me with the kind of look that said, "good morning mommy, I'm so happy to see you". He normally waits to give me that look until after he is fed and full. We then continued the happy morning with dancing, diaper changes, books, and our morning walk. We walk the same path every morning. But, yesterday Jack sat straight up in his stroller, hands on the tray, and watched everything around him in complete awe. He smiled and talked to me all about the things he was seeing. It was as if he was noticing our neighborhood for the first time. The day continued with long restful naps, full tummies, and lots of playing. Every afternoon is floor play with Jack. We lay down a blanket, to protect the carpet from his infamous spit up, and I pull a variety of toys out for him to play with. Every time I placed a new toy on Jack's blanket, he laughed, squealed and reached for it. We must of sat on the carpet for over
an hour yesterday having a wonderful time. He played with each toy like it was brand new and he had never seen it before. When I thought the day couldn't get any better...we took our nightly bath. I have always placed Jack in his baby tub so that he could lean back. Even though he is sitting up on his own, I figured the bath tub was not the place to perfect his new skill. Well, yesterday, Jack felt differently. Once I placed him in his tub, he continuously leaned forward, as if he was trying to sit up. So, I took him out, turned him around, and put him on the toddler side of his baby tub. I knew he liked it when he gave me a huge smile and reached forward for his wash cloth that was floating in the water. Of course, it went straight to his mouth. But, the exciting part was, I realized he was ready for bath toys. I've put toys in the tub before and they just floated around and got in the way of Jack's nooks and crannies that need to be cleaned. He never played with them or even acknowledged them for that matter
. But, since yesterday was "perfect", as soon as I put his dinosaur toys in the tub Jack played with them. He belly laughed when I squirted him, reached for them when they floated by, and taste tested each one. We played for so long that when it was time to get out, Jack was wrinkled from head to toe...one water logged baby! As I gave him his bedtime bottle, I stared at him...like I always do and thanked God for him...like I always do. But, I also thought about everything that happened in our "perfect" day and at that moment I fell in love with him all over again. You know, the kind of "perfect" love you feel when they put that newborn in your arms for the very first time.
This weekend we made our first visit to the Pumpkin Patch as a family. Clay said it was a little premature and I explained to him that pumpkins didn't just mean Halloween, they were a sign of fall. Then he mentioned how it cracks him up that I "have to do everything so early" and I thought, well, "it doesn't crack me up how you have do everything so late". As the saying goes...opposites attract! It had been rainy and cloudy earlier in the day and Jack and I were hoping the rain would hol
d off for our visit. Luckily it did and, actually, the sun peeked out for a bit. It didn't feel much like a fall day, rather very muggy and warm. Not the kind of weather you would imagine for a Pumpkin Patch day, regardless it was a wonderful visit. When we arrived Jack immediately got a glazed look in his eyes. Clay and I both wondered if he was getting a cold or maybe just really sleepy. Then we realized it was the sea of orange pumpkins that stood before him. He had never seen anything like it...he stared and stared and stared. As if to say, "where am I and why is everything orange?". Sometimes it's easy for us to forget that almost everything is a first for Jack. It's fun to think about what is going through his little mind at a time like 
that. To peek his curiosity a little more, we sat him down right in the middle of hundreds of pumpkins. Again the glazed look in his eyes and the staring continued. He sat there for almost 5 minutes before he was brave enough to touch his first pumpkin. But, once he took that first feel, it was hands on for the rest of the visit. He wanted so bad to reach out, pick up a pumpkin and put it his mouth. Obviously, the weight of the pumpkins prevented that from happening. While Jack explored, Mommy took lots of pictures and Daddy chose our two prize pumpkins, which now adorn our front porch. On our way out, Jack and I spotted a wagon of "Jack sized" pumpkins. A little smaller than those in the patch, but unfortunately still too heavy to pick up. We let Jack exp
lore the pumpkins in the wagon for a while before we loaded the car and went home. There must have been hundreds of pumpkins there in that patch, however, Clay and I did agree on one thing...Jack was the best looking little pumpkin there.
. He squeals, smiles, and stares at the other music makers. The class has babies and kids that range in age from 4 months to 3 years old. Jack is 
