Look at me on a BACKHOE!

Today we looked outside and there was a backhoe in our front yard. (There was a gas leak, and the gas company came to repair it.) Grandmommy took Jack outside to take a closer look, and the operator offered to let Jack sit on it!

Haircut

I got a haircut yesterday. You can see from some of the pictures below that I really needed it!

One of the things I enjoyed doing with Uncle Doc and Aunt Bec was reading the Curious George and Mickey Mouse books they brought me. They sure do know my favorite things!

Big boy underwear and a visit from Uncle Doc & Aunt Bec

Todd and Rebecca were here this weekend visiting from Minnesota. Jack loved the extra special attention that was showered on him! (And, Brent, Sue, and I really enjoyed seeing them, too!) We were able to celebrate Todd's upcoming birthday while they were here. We can't wait for them to move to Memphis next summer; it will be so nice to have them closer to home!
While they were here, we also switched to big boy underwear "full-time" (that's all the time that Jack is awake. We're still putting him in a pull-up for naptime and in a diaper for bed.) We decided to see how it would go on Saturday, and it went well. So, we did it again Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. And, he stayed dry all day, every day! (It was nice having 5 adults to help with the bathroom-every-45-minutes-routine!!) Today, we sent him to school in big boy underwear. We thought they might switch him to a pull-up, but they didn't. He did have an accident during naptime, but other than that, he stayed dry the whole time he was awake....that's not bad, if you ask me!

Fellowship and horses!

Last Saturday we spent the evening with friends from our Sunday School class at Kane Overstreet's parents' camp. Their camp is beautiful, and the weather was perfect. There were several baby pools set up for the kids. There were horses for the big boys and the kids. And, there was plenty of excellent food! Jack has always loved horses, but this was his first time to actually sit on and ride one. Brent took him for a ride all around the camp (after he put his helmet on!!) I think both of them really enjoyed it.

Bye-bye Pacifier!

Yesterday evening there was a back to school pep rally on campus. The cheerleaders threw out little plastic footballs. (You've seen them. They are about the size of an adult hand; perfect for a toddler to hold and throw.) Jack was very excited to get one and carried it around the entire evening. At bedtime, he said he wanted his football, and without much thought I said, "Well, you can have it instead of your pacifier. If you sleep with the football, you can't sleep with the football." He thought about it for a minute, and said, "OK." Brent and I shrugged, and exchanged glances as if to say, "We'll see how well this goes!" I fully expected him to change his mind midway through the bedtime story, but he didn't. In fact, he slept through the night without a problem. (He did chatter quite a bit more than usual as he was going to sleep.) Usually, he'll wake up in the wee hours of the morning and crawl into bed with us and will need his pacifier to settle back down. This morning he crawled into bed with us at around 5:30 with the football in hand and no mention of the pacifier.

So, it looks as if quitting the pacifier may be easier than we expected. He's only been allowed to use it at naptime and bedtime for quite some time, but he has seemed very attached to it. He's been napping well at school without it, so we knew it is possible. Now we are expecting the "pacifier fairy" to pay us a visit to collect the pacifiers and leave him a surprise! Just because last night went well doesn't mean he won't have a meltdown in the next few nights because he wants a pacifier. But, if they are all gone, I think he might be OK with that. Keep your fingers crossed for a painless transition!! (And, I must admit, as happy as I am that this may go much more smoothly than I anticipated, there is a little part of me that is sad that he's such a big boy and that he doesn't need his pacifier anymore.)

Waterpark

On Saturday, August 2, we went to Geyser Falls Waterpark in Philadelphia, MS with the Adkersons. We weren't sure how much there would be for 2 year olds to do, but there was plenty. Jack and Emily had a great time. (And, so did Amy, Jeff, Brent and I!) There was a "Little Squirts" area with water squirting out of the ground, small slides that emptied into wading pools, small "lagoons" with waterfalls, and more! From there, we all played in the wave pool. Then, while Amy and I went on a big kid ride, the dads took Emily and Jack down the lazy river. Susu even met us there! We're looking forward to going again next year!

The making of a politician

I think I now know how politicians get their starts. It starts by trying to put a spin on things they aren't supposed to do when they are toddlers. Jack is practicing the art of justifying his behavior. It usually involves the phrase, "But, I'm just...." Here's an example. Picture Jack letting milk dribble out of his mouth at the table (very appealing, I know.)
Me: Jack, don't spit out your milk.
Jack: But, I'm just taking a sip and opening my mouth.
(He does have a point, I guess he isn't really "spitting.")

Additionally, I think we have taught him that as long as he is "just pretending," anything goes. For instances, if I catch him putting a rock in his mouth, I'll tell him not to eat rocks, and he'll say, "I'm just pretending." I usually concede that it is OK to pretend as long as he doesn't actually put the rocks in his mouth. Yesterday he applied the "just pretending" response in a new and creative way. Brent asked Jack to feed Gracie. Jack started to open the door to go outside.
Brent: Jack, don't go outside. I asked you to do something.
Jack: But, I'm just pretending not to feed Gracie.

Back to school

Jack's first day in his new class was Wednesday. Apparently two-year-olds are big kids! They eat in the lunchroom, use the potty, give up pacifiers, and play on the big playground. That's a lot for mommy and daddy all at once, but Jack seems to love it! Yesterday when I picked him up, he left screaming at the top of his lungs, "I don't want to go!!!" He cried the whole way home. So, I think he really likes his new class. His teacher said that he is doing really well with potty training; the first day, she said he went everytime they took him (which is every 45 minutes.) She said if he continues at this rate, she'll be ready to try out big boy underwear around the first week in September! (I'm not holding my breath for that, but it would be great to not have to buy diapers anymore.)
I was a little worried about naptime without the pacifier, but Ms. Janice said he has taken great naps with no problems. Now we just need to make that leap at bedtime at home!

Thursday evening, we had pancakes and bacon for dinner. (Yes, that was our 9th anniversary. Not a fine dinner out, but the pancakes were heart shaped.) After requesting another piece of bacon, Jack said, "Thank you. I'm welcome." So, he seems to be getting the hang of using good manners, and he covers all of his bases.

A quick update on napping in the big boy bed

Now that he is in a toddler bed, Jack doesn't go straight to sleep at naptime most days. He will often get up and try to play or come out of his room several times before he finally caves and goes to sleep. Sometimes we leave him alone and he eventually goes to sleep. Other days, we have to be a bit more forceful to tell him he needs to go to sleep.

Today, Brent was home with him. (He starts his new daycare class tomorrow.) After checking on him several times and finding him out of bed, Brent decided he would wait a while and see if he might finally go to sleep. After it had been quiet for some time, Brent decided to peek in on him. Jack was in bed sleeping peacefully, but he had brought some reading material to bed with him. As he carefully removed the books from his bed and put them away, Brent counted to see how many books there were. There were 45...yes, that is correct, not a typo, he had FORTY-FIVE books IN BED with him!

Bowling with Emily

Today Emily's daycare was closed for teachers to get ready for the new year, so she came over to play this morning. Then, when her mom got finished working, we all went to Lunch-n-Bowl at the bowling alley. Brent met us for a quick visit, too. It was fun, but 10 frames of bowling is more than Jack and Emily really needed. They were ready to go after about 7 frames.