The Week Between . . .

Well, Christmas is over and John, Jack, and I are enjoying the wonderful week between Christmas and the New Year.  The "to do" list is dated January 1st so the next two days are free and clear.  So I am updating the blog at the request of many.  

Christmas Memories

Ringing handbells, Gingerbread silhouettes, Handmade puppets complete with a doorway theater, Beef Tenderloin and Roasted pear salad, the border collie in the Nativity, an itty-bitty Santa suit, Dad's old barn with a fresh coat of paint, lots of Baby Einstein, bribing Jack with Fruit Loops, Jack doing everything but walking, Sticky Buns on Christmas morning, a fire in the fireplace in Mobile, hugs for Ted the Panda, a traditional Christmas lunch with lots of family, pralines and chocolate, Carly in brown and cashmere all around, a 10K race with a fun run for Jack, lots of toys . . . lots of laughs . . . lots of memories.  

Happy New Year! 

Christmas Card 2008

Here they are . . . the perfect pics for this year's Penguin Christmas Card!  Aunt Lulu is so good!

Mama said there'd be days like this . . .

In an attempt to find the perfect Christmas card picture for 2008, Laine, Claire, John and I spent all day with a less than cooperative Jack as you can see from the following pictures. I have come to find out that photographing a 15 month old is hard work! Laine ended up in bed with a migraine, John escaped to Franklin Cruise, and Claire and I collapsed on the couch mid-afternoon. When we called Mother to tell her about our day, she just chuckled . . . apparently, we were just as dramatic during our Christmas card photo sessions growing up as Jack was! 

Bathtime is so much fun

Decorating for Christmas!

Yesterday Jack and I decorated the house for Christmas . . . well, I decorated the house for Christmas and Jack played with his toys in the floor. But we had a fun time! This video is of Jack and his first look at the Christmas tree in the den. He just didn't know what to think about a tree inside the house! The second part of the video is of Jack and the Christmas lights. He loved touching them until he started to put them in his mouth (typical Jack!). John and I both told him no and he burst into tears. We had apparently hurt his feelings. Naptime followed quickly!

Animal Crackers

While I was fixing supper tonight, John and Jack had some quality time watching Baby Einstein and eating animal crackers. It turned into a game for Jack as he climbed up into John's lap to get each and every cracker that was offered to him. Notice that he didn't even get one in his mouth before he was after the next one. There was also an attempt at bribery . . . Jack gives John one of his sweet hugs thinking that John would give in and hand over the cracker. Pretty sly for a little guy!

Fun with Jo

Jack had lots of fun with his Great-Grandmother Jo. She is just as much fun with Jack as she was with Sally and me when we were little. - John

Jack and Great-Granddad

Thanksgiving morning in Nashville with Great-Grandparents. As always Jack enjoyed a large breakfast and thanks to Jo the rest of the family did too.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

This just in from the North Pole....
Santa tries to take away Jack's goldfish crackers.

This morning we all went to Green Hills Mall in Nashville for Jack's first trip to see Santa Claus. Like most of the babies that went before him, Jack cried with the best of them. Obviously Jack hasn't figured out yet that Santa brings toys and fun stuff. I guess it would be strange to see a jolly fat man with a beard in a red suit with white fur for the first time. This Santa was great though. Not like the Santa that Ralphie and his brother went to see in "A Christmas Story" From the look on his face you can tell that the only thing Jack wanted from Santa was for Santa to give him back to mom. Next year Jack should be well into the Christmas Spirit, this year he was just hungry.

- John

Fire Station no. 9

So I received an order yesterday that came in a very large cardboard box. I decided that it should become a fire station. As just a cardboard box, Jack had no interest in it. As a fire station, however, we have thoroughly enjoyed it! As soon as I had cut out some holes, he was all about crawling in and out of the box. He didn't find the hole on the top until about 30 minutes into playing. That created a whole new level of play!

Spoooooky!

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Carving 2008

On Monday afternoon, Jack and I carved two pumpkins. Well, I carved the pumpkins and Jack looked quite bored in his highchair. We carved and owl in one and a traditional jack-o-lantern in the other (especially for Jack!) I thought later that I should have carved the jack-o-lantern with just two bottom teeth to truly represent Jack. I roasted the pumpkin seeds and John snapped some pictures. It was true family fun!

Jack's First Steps . . . with the Aunts' help

Claire and Laine gave Jack this walker for his birthday and I couldn't get him interested in it at all. When they were here a few weekends ago, Jack decided to try it out. He is cruising around on furniture right now, but has yet to take his first step by himself. He seems to have figured out that there must be a better way to get around than crawling but can't seem to put it together that he can walk just like we can.

Baby Einstein

If you have ever wondered why Baby Einstein is such a big deal to moms, this video should clear it up for you. The original video I took of Jack was over two minutes long and he looked like this the entire time. He is mesmerized by these DVDs!

The Great Pumpkin Patch

This past Saturday was Katelyn's 2nd birthday and we were invited to go to the pumpkin patch in Blue Mountain, MS. Jack had a great time watching everything that was going on around him and we even managed to pick out a Jack-sized pumpkin. Jack really just wanted to crawl around on the grass all day. Everytime he got down he would make a bee line to the nearest mud puddle. He brought home a tiny little pumpkin just for him and has been playing with it ever since.

John's First 5K

John ran the Burnsville Waterway 5K a few weeks ago and did very well for his first race. He ran it in 28 minutes and 51 seconds which put him in 2nd place in his age group. The next weekend he ran another 5K in 27 minutes and 21 seconds and placed third in his age group. Jack and I were there to cheer him on in Burnsville and we were so proud of him!

Caught Ya!

If my purse is anywhere within reach, Jack has it dumped within two minutes.

Jack's Tent

We made a tent out of some blankets in the dining room and Jack had a big time crawling in and out of his new secret space. We played peek-a-boo for days!

More Parties

Aren't these cute faces! We had some friends over to continue the one year celebration and several of them enjoyed a ride in Jack's new wagon. I wish I had taken a few more pictures . . . it was a fun night.

Beach Pictures

This is way bigger than the bathtub! Jack made his first trip to the beach at the end of the summer. It was loads of fun to watch him try and understand exactly what was going on. At first we put him down in the sand and he immediately started to crawl away from the ocean. It was as if a survival instinct kicked in and he knew that it was safer on land. Forget footprints in the sand, Jack tracks consisted of handprints and a seaturtle like track from crawling. After a few trips up the beach he settled down to play in the sand under the umbrella. Eventually he did notice the ocean and decided immediately that it was for him. We couldn't keep him away from it. He really enjoyed crawling around in the waves but it was exhausting for dad. I would wait until right before the wave came in and lift him up so the water splashed his legs and not in his mouth. Jimmy Buffett would be proud. - John

Jack's Birthday Suit

Claire smocked his Noah's Ark plate and Mother had his outfit made just for his party!

Party!!

These are my favorite pictures from Jack's birthday party with the family. He was very unsure about the cupcake at first . . . he has since become a big fan of sugar!