Turning 2 at the Car wash

We celebrated Jack's 2nd birthday on Saturday. It went fantastic-- just as I had imagined. Usually reality wins over my imagination, so I was thrilled that everything went as planned! The weather was perfect, the kids had lots of wet fun, and Jack was a happy Birthday Boy. I coudn't have asked for more.

The theme was a "Car Wash". All of the tots brought their favorite rididng toy and wore their swimsuits. We had an inflatable car wash in the front yard and roped off the driveway with flags. Goodies for the guests were buckets, sponges and towels. Now you can see why I needed good weather--no rain and sun. Believe it or not the parents actually started getting hot out there. That was a surprise considering how April has been around here.

After lunch we headed to the backyard for a little play on Jack's new playset. A friendly turtle even greeted us back there. By this point the kiddos were filthy and wet...perfect! Jack topped off his birthday celebration with a 3 1/2 hour nap. It was definitely a great day! As Jack would say, Happy "Number 2"!

I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story...

Aren't We Blessed

I feel so blessed to have my Grandma. She is such an amazing, spiritual, and warm woman. She has been such an influential part of my life for as far back as I can remember. If you've met her, you know what I mean. Anyone would love to have my Grandma.

But, I feel even more blessed that Jack has had the opportunity to get to know her. Even in her 70's, she is outside playing ball with my vivacious two year old, putting pj's on his wiggly self at bedtime, bathing my silly splasher, and chasing him around the house without even a wince. Jack LOVES her and chants "GG" (great grandma) constantly during her visits.

We were graced with one of her wonderful visits this past weekend through the early part of the week. She left us with a smile, good memories, and a stocked fridge and freezer of home cooked meals. Yes, she thinks she is blessed to have us, but Jack and I know the real truth...we are the blessed ones! We love you Grandma/GG!

A hug for GG...



and a kiss!

Jack loved playing ball with GG. She taught him a little game of "up, down,sideways, sideways" and he has been chanting it ever since.

Ring Around the Rosies...

...and we all fall down!

Hmm...now what can I get GG to play with me?

We Took The Plunge

Some of you may have already heard of the ISR swim program before. The first time I heard about it was when Jack was about 6 months old and someone forwarded me the link to this video (I pasted the link below). I truly was amazed, but didn't really see my need for it...we didn't have a pool.

Fast forward 7 months and Jack was about 13 months old. At this point he was walking and we were at the neighborhood pool all summer long. On two separate occasions last summer Jack fell into the pool. One time in the baby pool and one time into the big pool. Of course, I was right there and actually chasing him around one time and the other I was even holding his hand. But, it just goes to show you how quickly and easily it can happen.

I still wasn't completely sold on "our" need for this program, again we don't have a pool in our backyard. That was until we went to Jack's best friend Sophia's house to swim last summer. Sophia was nearing the end of her ISR lessons and she was only about 14 months old. And I do not lie, when I say the toddler was swimming, not just plain swimming, but jumping of the pool step and swimming under water to her Mom. Meanwhile, Jack was just hanging out on the pool steps while I had my eagle eyes on him. At that moment, I declared "that's it...we are doing it next spring".

Well here we are next spring and we are about 4 weeks into the program. I'm not going to lie, it is very intense, a serious commitment, and not cheap. But, how could I ever put a price of money or time on Jack's life? The more I thought about it, ALL of our family lives on or near the water and we belong to our neighborhood swim club. It just started to make sense to Clay and I. We are seeing a lot of progress with Jack, but I know we still have a ways to go. The average is 6 weeks, but I see us possibly staying in the program a bit longer. Whatever it takes. I am just so thrilled that Clay and I decided to do this.

Check out the video link to the program...it's only about 2 minutes and it's pretty amazing!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwvv5IyPkXM

It's Here...Finally

After 4 full days of waiting, Jack's new play set is finally up and running! I don't know who was more excited Mommy and Daddy or Jack! But, I do know we all were getting tired of seeing our swings and slide laying on the ground waiting for power. Jack pointed to it daily chanting " men fix it". The wait was well worth it when we saw Jack's excitement as he sprinted across the lawn. Is it just me or are kids awfully lucky these days?...I never had anything like this in my backyard until I was 31! Happy Belated Birthday Buddy! (and by the way I'm banking on his birthday behavior being due to the storm...since then he has been a terrific 2 year old...knock on wood)

The initial sprint across the yard. Cosby couldn't resist the excitement either.

First stop-the swings...I could have guessed that one!

I would have never thought to get one of these gliders until we tested it out in the store. Jack and I are both able to ride it at the same time and he loves it! After that we put it on our must have list.

I'm X's and your O's. If Jack turns it ever so slightly the "O" hides behind one of the wooden slates and looks like a "C". Believe it or not this thrills him!

Down the slide with Daddy. Jack has a bit of a slide-phobia, so a parental spotter is needed for each trip down. Don't ask?? (hoping it's just another phase)

Jack peered through the telescope and repeated "I see ____" (just fill in the blank with anything that could be in a yard). However, the majority of the time the missing word was Cosby.

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