Playdate and Pizza

Jack and I hosted an exciting play date today. We had a great time with all of our friends. Our guests included Heather and Meg, Allison and Ansley, Erica and Miller, Cristina and Sophia, Donna and Patterson, and the youngest of the bunch, Karen and Wesley Kate. We started the afternoon with pizza for lunch...much easier than cooking and the tots loved it! Jack actually had his first taste of this Italian delicacy and it would be safe to say he is sold on it. He used his baby sign language for 'more' and pointed to every ones plate all throughout lunch. Don't forget to eat your veggies too buddy! After munching, we headed down to the playroom for the fun. I love to see his playroom filled with wondering babies and toddlers. Today was no exception, toys were singing, balls were bouncing, and books were being read. All the while, little ones were making their way around the room...so much fun! In his second year of life, Jack has found it much harder to share his favorite things. Today was a good lesson in how to do so. After agonizing over his favorite book Sophia was reading, Jack finally settled for a different one. Oh, and don't forget the busy ball popper. As soon as Miller inched his way over to it, Jack was there to tell him it was his. We had to show Jack that two can play with so many balls popping. I have a feeling this a life lesson we are going to be working on for a while. However, Jack was in awe of a full playroom...so much more entertaining than just Mommy or Daddy. After all of the busy playing and attempted sharing, Jack and I walked our guests to the front door. Jack stood in the doorway wishing everyone a friendly "bye bye". He babbled some other baby language with it too, maybe it was something like... "Ill work on that sharing thing for next time". From there it was off to the crib for a well needed afternoon nap. Jack babbled himself to sleep recounting all of the excitement of a play date and pizza.

"Hey, wait a minute Miller, that's my busy ball popper!"

"If I can't have the busy ball popper to myself, I'll just run over it"

"See what you have to look forward to Patterson?...this foreign concept called sharing."

"Okay, okay, Sophia can have my favorite book but, ONLY because she is girl."

Luckily Wesley Kate is still too young to play with any of Jack's favorites. She got to watch the moral lessons from her Mommy's lap.

"Oh now I get it...Ansley puts a ball in, then it's my turn. This sharing thing may not be so bad after all!"

Mother's Day

My second Mother's Day was absolutely wonderful! Especially compared to last year when Jack was less than a month old and crying nonstop. Last year we ended up eating "brunch" last minute at a very noisy burger joint. We thought the noisy atmosphere was a perfect choice to drown out Jack's wailing. Luckily he didn't wake up to test out our theory. Looking back, we should have just enjoyed the day at home. But then again, I think I was itching to get out of the house like a real person at that point. Anyway, that is all over with now and this Mother's Day proved to be much more peaceful. It started with sleeping in--my favorite thing to do. That could have been my gift in its self and I would have been thrilled. But, Clay and Jack decided I deserved more and surprised me with an one hour massage. Yea! That will be perfect for my ailing back that has been caused by toting a 24lb baby around. We spent the rest of the afternoon as we normally do on Sunday...mass and then lunch. Lots of Sundays we end up having a quick lunch do to Jack's nap time nearing. But today we took a chance, since it was Mother's Day after all. We enjoyed lunch outdoors, nothing too special, just sandwiches. I didn't need anything too fancy anyway. I was just happy to have my two favorite boys with me. You see, Clay almost had to play in a tennis tournament today. Luckily after about 5 wins, he finally lost yesterday (no offense hubby), which meant he got to spend Mother's Day with us. Who plans a tennis tournament finals on Mother's Day weekend anyway? No need to waste time pondering that concern anymore, thankfully it didn't become a reality. So needless to say, I was happy eating anywhere! But, that's not even the best part. After lunch we took a quick walk over to Stride Rite since we were so close. It had to be super speedy because Jack was overdo for a nap by this point. I just wanted to make sure his shoes still fit, they were beginning to look a little snug. I had taken him in to the store about 3 weeks ago only to be disappointed to hear that his feet hadn't grown and his shoes still fit just fine. But, today was Mother's Day and I was in for the best gift ever. After a quick measure...Jack's feet had grown! Yes, a whole size and a half... and in just three weeks! The sales clerk told us it can happen almost overnight. Well, it wasn't quite overnight, it was actually 21 nights to be exact, but I was thrilled. We bought Jack a new pair of shoes and now we can say his feet are officially average size. This Mommy is going to get a good night's sleep tonight! So, to all you fantastic Mommies out there, I hope your Mother's Day was just as wonderful! Happy mother's Day from our family to yours.

Birthday Pictures

You may be wondering where I have been lately...it's been a whole week since I last posted. Well, here is your answer. I have been looking at Jack's First Birthday pictures from HD Portraits also known as Heather Dahlby. Yes, I must have looked at them a hundred times, reliving that special day. She actually took about 250 pictures, but only edited her favorites. And those are the 65 that you will see in his Birthday album. The pictures include shots of the guests, decorations, cake eating, and lots of playing. There is even a shot of clingy Jack grabbing on to my pants leg...Mommy did not have permission to be out his sight on this momentous day! If you were there, I can almost guarantee there is an adorable shot of your little one too. I asked Heather to take lots of photos of Jack's friends. We don't ever want to forget who came to share in the joy of turning one. To view the pictures, just click on the "Jack's First Birthday" album to the left of the post <------. Then either click each individual picture or hit "slide show". Even more exciting, if you want to order one, click "order prints" on the top. I'm assuming you will be ordering the adorable pictures of your guest. Enjoy! And thank you to all who celebrated with us and we missed those who couldn't.

A Really Wet Rhyme

Water Baby

Written for Grandma Margie

It started with a birthday present Grandma bought

A blue sand and water table is what Jack got

Splish, Splash, Splish, Splash...Splash, Splash, Splash

Jack was soaking wet in less than a flash

His hair, clothes, and shoes were dripping wet

But was Jack having fun? Oh, you bet!

Off with his clothes--it just took a while

All Jack was wearing was a diaper and a smile

Turning the wheels to the left and the boats to the right

Just watching Jack's water play was quite a sight

After a little more splashing and a little more sun

Jack's outdoor water game was finally done

Inside we went to get all warm and dry

Tomorrow we will give water fun another try