Don't forget to head over to IHeartFaces to see more photos that feature the color blue, and be prepared to be inspired!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
I Heart Faces, Week 38- Blue
Don't forget to head over to IHeartFaces to see more photos that feature the color blue, and be prepared to be inspired!
Monday, September 21, 2009
I Heart Faces, Week 37- Completely Candid
So, I have totally been slacking on my entries into I Heart Faces' challenges every week, but when I saw that this week's theme was "Completely Candid," I just knew that I had to enter it. Since I live with two boys who refuse to smile, look at the camera or even pause long enough for me to get a posed shot, candids are pretty much all I have!
Deciding which photo to post was pretty tough, but I finally decided that I just had to post this shot of Jack with daddy's headphones, since shows so much 'Jackness'. He is obsessed with music, and he is very serious about that obsession. I think this shot captures that perfectly.
And, as always, don't forget to head on over to I Heart Faces (you can click the button at the top of the post) for more fun, completely candid photo fun!
Friday, September 18, 2009
Leaves Make Good Boats
Jack loves going to the park. Our favorite part of it lately, at least at this park in particular, is the pond!
Grandpa taught Jack to toss leaves in the water, so whenever he sees the pond, that's what he wants to do.
After Jack and grandma tossed them in at the top of the pond, we watched them to see if they would make it all the way down each little waterfall! A lot of them got stuck, but we kept tossing more in (and I gave them a little push as needed).
Then Jack decided that it would be awesome to stand on the bridge and throw the leaves in.
Unfortunately, the leaves had so long to go that the breeze would catch them, which made it hard for Jack to actually drop the leaves into the water...
And then, grandma came up with a solution!
Let's throw sticks into the water!
Oh yes, that worked much better!
Grandpa taught Jack to toss leaves in the water, so whenever he sees the pond, that's what he wants to do.
After Jack and grandma tossed them in at the top of the pond, we watched them to see if they would make it all the way down each little waterfall! A lot of them got stuck, but we kept tossing more in (and I gave them a little push as needed).
Then Jack decided that it would be awesome to stand on the bridge and throw the leaves in.
Unfortunately, the leaves had so long to go that the breeze would catch them, which made it hard for Jack to actually drop the leaves into the water...
And then, grandma came up with a solution!
Let's throw sticks into the water!
Oh yes, that worked much better!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
Jack's Little Buddy
This Wednesday, Jack and I were so excited because we got to watch Baby Austin for a few hours while his mommy had an appointment! You may remember from this post that Jack and Austin are pretty great friends. They have so much fun together, and I'm pretty sure that they are going to grow up and continue to be close friends.
First, they occupied themselves by playing cars. Jack was very proud of himself for being such a good sharer when Austin wanted to play with the car that Jack had. He'd turn to me every time they switched cars and tell me "I sharing with Baby Austin! I'm a good sharer!" And then when Austin would give Jack a car, that thrilled him even more! He'd turn to me and tell me excitedly "He share with me!"
I so wish that I had thought to charge the batteries in my other camera so that I could have gotten a video of them! They were cracking me up so much! They were having so much fun chasing each other around the house, and they'd giggle so hard as they were doing it! Austin would go one way, and Jack would say "Where Austin going?" and then Austin would turn around and crawl quickly back towards Jack, laughing hysterically when Jack would giggle and yell "He's gonna get me!" Then Jack would go one way, wait to hear Austin start to follow him (since Austin is only 11 months old he can't quite participate in the verbal part of the game just yet), and then he'd turn around and yell "I'm gonna get you!" And they'd both laugh hysterically as Jack raced back towards Austin. Cutest. Thing. EVER!
Then we went outside to play! I had told Ang to pack Austin's swim trunks since it was a warm day, and the boys had so much fun playing in the water! Austin wasn't quite sure at first, but I put him in the middle where the water wasn't spraying onto him at all. He kind of batted at the stream at first, and then must have decided that it was pretty cool, because he started crawling in circles splashing all around! Jack loved sharing his 'pool' with Baby Austin, too!
I love watching Jack and Austin playing together! They seem to truly enjoy each other :)
First, they occupied themselves by playing cars. Jack was very proud of himself for being such a good sharer when Austin wanted to play with the car that Jack had. He'd turn to me every time they switched cars and tell me "I sharing with Baby Austin! I'm a good sharer!" And then when Austin would give Jack a car, that thrilled him even more! He'd turn to me and tell me excitedly "He share with me!"
I so wish that I had thought to charge the batteries in my other camera so that I could have gotten a video of them! They were cracking me up so much! They were having so much fun chasing each other around the house, and they'd giggle so hard as they were doing it! Austin would go one way, and Jack would say "Where Austin going?" and then Austin would turn around and crawl quickly back towards Jack, laughing hysterically when Jack would giggle and yell "He's gonna get me!" Then Jack would go one way, wait to hear Austin start to follow him (since Austin is only 11 months old he can't quite participate in the verbal part of the game just yet), and then he'd turn around and yell "I'm gonna get you!" And they'd both laugh hysterically as Jack raced back towards Austin. Cutest. Thing. EVER!
They spent some time playing with the refrigerator magnets while Jack tried to teach Austin his letters
Then Jack heard the street sweeper come by and had to go to the window to see it, as usual. Unfortunately, try as he might, Austin just couldn't quite see it.
Then Jack heard the street sweeper come by and had to go to the window to see it, as usual. Unfortunately, try as he might, Austin just couldn't quite see it.
Then we went outside to play! I had told Ang to pack Austin's swim trunks since it was a warm day, and the boys had so much fun playing in the water! Austin wasn't quite sure at first, but I put him in the middle where the water wasn't spraying onto him at all. He kind of batted at the stream at first, and then must have decided that it was pretty cool, because he started crawling in circles splashing all around! Jack loved sharing his 'pool' with Baby Austin, too!
I love watching Jack and Austin playing together! They seem to truly enjoy each other :)
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Labor Day
With Dave's schedule, and since Jack isn't in school yet, we don't generally get excited for the weekend or for extra days off. To us, our weekend comes when Dave finishes his go-around, as they call them, and he gets a 4 day or a 6 day.
As a firefighter, Dave works 24 hour shifts. His normal schedule is to work every other 24 hours until he's worked 96 hours, and then he gets either 4 or 6 days off in a row- it alternates. However, as he tries to pick up as many extra shifts as he can as well as teaches a class a few days a month for UCLA in conjunction with their Daniel Freeman Medical Center, he rarely gets the full 4 or 6 days. That makes our 'weekends' all the more rare- he's currently 'supposed' to be on a 6 day, but is only actually going to get 2 of these days off- the first and the last. He's teaching 2 of the days, and he picked up extra shifts 2 of the days. Have I mentioned before how blessed I am that my husband is such a hard worker and provides so well for his family, and also allowing me to be home with my child(ren)? I have? Good. I am so blessed.
We miss him a lot when he's gone- whenever he's not here Jack says "Uh oh, no daddy today!" But we love having him home all day on his days off, rather than just for a few hours each evening as it would be if he worked a normal 5-9. His schedule is rough, but it works for our family.
But anyway, I digress. What I meant to say was that 3 day weekends don't really hold a lot of appeal for the three of us just yet. Instead of looking forward to the weekend because our family will be able to spend time together, we look forward to Dave having a break in his schedule. In fact, we even prefer if this break does NOT happen on the weekends, because we like to be able to avoid the crowds and go places during the week! I'm sure this will all change once Jack Jack goes to school (ooooh I better move past that thought before I get all teary-eyed about how he's growing up too fast!), but for now, the main reason that Jack and I look forward to the weekend is because we can do weekend stuff with other people that have a normal 9-5, such as my parents or my sister (when she's not home on maternity leave, as she is now).
So, all that to explain that Dave worked over Labor Day weekend, and so Jack and I were left to our own devices. Which means, since it was the weekend, that I called my mom to find out what she was doing! Ok, I admit I didn't have to explain all that and could have just jumped right to my point, but aren't you glad that you know all that now? No, you aren't? Too bad. It's my blog. :P
Anyway, when Jack and I woke up on Labor Day, I tried to come up with a fun activity for Jack and myself. I couldn't think of anything that wouldn't be incredibly crowded on a holiday, but since it was promising to be so hot (and since it had been a few days and I needed my Baby Luke fix!), I decided that it would be fun if we could go swimming! Since I knew that Amy was in the foggy haze of the sleep deprivation that comes when you have a newborn I didn't want to wake her up on the chance that she was getting a much needed nap, so called my mom to see if she had heard from her yet. She said that she had, and she was actually headed over there pretty soon to watch baby Luke so that Amy could get some sleep! She said that she would love to come sit by the pool with Luke if it was okay with Amy, so Jack and I packed up and headed over there to swim and stare at Baby Luke!
Doesn't he look so comfy?!
I don't know why he's making such a silly face... I think he was in the middle of telling me something
Luke decided to be a big boy and hold his own bottle!
Emmaleigh got to come swim with us for a bit, too! Jack adores Ems, and he was talking about her all the way home.
As a firefighter, Dave works 24 hour shifts. His normal schedule is to work every other 24 hours until he's worked 96 hours, and then he gets either 4 or 6 days off in a row- it alternates. However, as he tries to pick up as many extra shifts as he can as well as teaches a class a few days a month for UCLA in conjunction with their Daniel Freeman Medical Center, he rarely gets the full 4 or 6 days. That makes our 'weekends' all the more rare- he's currently 'supposed' to be on a 6 day, but is only actually going to get 2 of these days off- the first and the last. He's teaching 2 of the days, and he picked up extra shifts 2 of the days. Have I mentioned before how blessed I am that my husband is such a hard worker and provides so well for his family, and also allowing me to be home with my child(ren)? I have? Good. I am so blessed.
We miss him a lot when he's gone- whenever he's not here Jack says "Uh oh, no daddy today!" But we love having him home all day on his days off, rather than just for a few hours each evening as it would be if he worked a normal 5-9. His schedule is rough, but it works for our family.
But anyway, I digress. What I meant to say was that 3 day weekends don't really hold a lot of appeal for the three of us just yet. Instead of looking forward to the weekend because our family will be able to spend time together, we look forward to Dave having a break in his schedule. In fact, we even prefer if this break does NOT happen on the weekends, because we like to be able to avoid the crowds and go places during the week! I'm sure this will all change once Jack Jack goes to school (ooooh I better move past that thought before I get all teary-eyed about how he's growing up too fast!), but for now, the main reason that Jack and I look forward to the weekend is because we can do weekend stuff with other people that have a normal 9-5, such as my parents or my sister (when she's not home on maternity leave, as she is now).
So, all that to explain that Dave worked over Labor Day weekend, and so Jack and I were left to our own devices. Which means, since it was the weekend, that I called my mom to find out what she was doing! Ok, I admit I didn't have to explain all that and could have just jumped right to my point, but aren't you glad that you know all that now? No, you aren't? Too bad. It's my blog. :P
Anyway, when Jack and I woke up on Labor Day, I tried to come up with a fun activity for Jack and myself. I couldn't think of anything that wouldn't be incredibly crowded on a holiday, but since it was promising to be so hot (and since it had been a few days and I needed my Baby Luke fix!), I decided that it would be fun if we could go swimming! Since I knew that Amy was in the foggy haze of the sleep deprivation that comes when you have a newborn I didn't want to wake her up on the chance that she was getting a much needed nap, so called my mom to see if she had heard from her yet. She said that she had, and she was actually headed over there pretty soon to watch baby Luke so that Amy could get some sleep! She said that she would love to come sit by the pool with Luke if it was okay with Amy, so Jack and I packed up and headed over there to swim and stare at Baby Luke!
Doesn't he look so comfy?!
I don't know why he's making such a silly face... I think he was in the middle of telling me something
Luke decided to be a big boy and hold his own bottle!
Emmaleigh got to come swim with us for a bit, too! Jack adores Ems, and he was talking about her all the way home.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Kid Concepts
Last Thursday (at least I think that's when it was... the days all seem to run together!), Jack and I headed over to Kid Concepts, USA for a playdate! They have a lot of fun stuff for kids there, including a McDonald's-style (except not really McD's style, because this one is way cooler!) play place, a toddler room with soft tumbling equipment and swings that hang from the very tall ceiling, soft blocks to build towers and forts, a playhouse, a rock-climbing wall, a stage to play dress-up, and a while lot more! The first thing that you see when you walk in the door is usually what traps Jack's attention, though, and it's killer trying to pull him away from it!
Jack Jack adores trains, and he loves train tracks, and he loves running trains on train tracks! He talks about this table all the time, and he had remembered it from the last time we had gone there, too. When we pulled into the parking lot he started talking about how he had played with his friend Pippi here, and that there was a fun train track table to play with!
The other thing he remembered was the swings. These swings are so much more fun than regular swings, because the ropes go all the way up to the ceiling. Also, the ceiling is much taller than any normal ceiling! Jack Jack spent a lot of time in this swing, begging me to "Make a really really BIG swing," meaning push him really really high!
Austin had a blast in the swings, too!
Then I taught Jack about twisting the swings, and he had so much fun spinning around and around! The ropes were so long that the twisting just kept going and going!
I was really proud of Jack when he decided to be brave and climb the 'play house' all by himself! Usually he's very careful about making sure that mommy or someone he knows is right behind him, but he didn't even flinch when he climbed up and saw that I was staying firmly on the ground. Of course, the second he turned a corner and I could no longer see him I had to keep reminding myself of how it was a good thing that he was being brave and that I was so proud of him, because it was so hard for me not to worry that he was going to get to a point where he'd be stuck and would get scared because he couldn't find me!
After what felt like an eternity, I finally saw Jack's face pop up in the window of the space shuttle! He looked a little worried, but as soon as he saw me, waving like crazy at him, a look of relief passed over his face and he said "Momma, I stuck! Come get me!"
I didn't even hesitate to haul my big fat pregnant self up there to show Jack which way to go, no matter how awkward it was with this belly in the way! My boy needed me! Of course, I was very relieved when Savannah, Serena and Sadie showed up and he had some friends that were young and small enough to go up there to play with him and guide him! He even went down the crazy pitch-black-can't-see-squat tunnel slide, which I'm told is extremely steep! And he asked to go again, two more times! My boy is getting brave :D
I felt really bad making Jack leave his friends to come home and take a nap, so I told him that he could play in the ball pit for 5 minutes before we had to go. He and Sadie ran in there and immediately began stuffing the balls in these little holes in the wall.
It was obvious that the balls were supposed to go in that hole, but I didn't know why until a few minutes passed and Jack looked up with excitement and anticipation, and suddenly...
All the balls came tumbling down! That was pretty cool. Why didn't they have anything like that when we were kids?
Jack Jack adores trains, and he loves train tracks, and he loves running trains on train tracks! He talks about this table all the time, and he had remembered it from the last time we had gone there, too. When we pulled into the parking lot he started talking about how he had played with his friend Pippi here, and that there was a fun train track table to play with!
The other thing he remembered was the swings. These swings are so much more fun than regular swings, because the ropes go all the way up to the ceiling. Also, the ceiling is much taller than any normal ceiling! Jack Jack spent a lot of time in this swing, begging me to "Make a really really BIG swing," meaning push him really really high!
Austin had a blast in the swings, too!
Then I taught Jack about twisting the swings, and he had so much fun spinning around and around! The ropes were so long that the twisting just kept going and going!
After what felt like an eternity, I finally saw Jack's face pop up in the window of the space shuttle! He looked a little worried, but as soon as he saw me, waving like crazy at him, a look of relief passed over his face and he said "Momma, I stuck! Come get me!"
I didn't even hesitate to haul my big fat pregnant self up there to show Jack which way to go, no matter how awkward it was with this belly in the way! My boy needed me! Of course, I was very relieved when Savannah, Serena and Sadie showed up and he had some friends that were young and small enough to go up there to play with him and guide him! He even went down the crazy pitch-black-can't-see-squat tunnel slide, which I'm told is extremely steep! And he asked to go again, two more times! My boy is getting brave :D
I felt really bad making Jack leave his friends to come home and take a nap, so I told him that he could play in the ball pit for 5 minutes before we had to go. He and Sadie ran in there and immediately began stuffing the balls in these little holes in the wall.
It was obvious that the balls were supposed to go in that hole, but I didn't know why until a few minutes passed and Jack looked up with excitement and anticipation, and suddenly...
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