Sugar Cookies and Cleaning... What a Combo!

Grandma Lisa and Aunt Stevi are coming for a visit today from Reno! I am busy cleaning up the house and doing laundry. I went grocery shopping before Kevin left for work so we'd have some food in the house. It's been weeks since I went shopping and we ran out of bread, milk, basically all the essentials this morning after breakfast. I've decided to whip up a batch of Laura's famous sugar cookies. Although they never come out like hers, they are still pretty darn delicious.

James is here for the entire day today, which is wonderful because he and Jack really entertain each other! Right now Jack is turning the lights on and off throughout the house, and James is playing in the pirate tent with the blocks. No tears as of yet, which is always an accomplishment with toddlers.

Oh my gosh, Jack would not go to sleep last night. I got home around 10pm from my CPR class (which I scored the highest in the class only missing one question. However, I am only certified for children and infants, so don't try to die around me because you would be so out of luck). Jack was crying because he didn't want to go to sleep. We tried letting him cry it out, but 45 minutes later we couldn't take it any longer. I thought maybe he was sick or injured, but as soon as I opened the door, he laughed and ran out straight for the TV saying "EV! EV!" When we told him no TV, he cried. We played with him, gave him some grapes, and tried to put him down again. It was hopeless though. He was happy as long as he didn't have to be in his room. We put a nightlight in there but it didn't help. Finally at like, almost midnight, Kevin laid down in Jack's bed and pretended to go to sleep, and that's how we got Jack to fall asleep. Talk about baby drama! Then we were up at 6am cleaning and grocery shopping. Sigh.... Come Sunday I am taking a long nap.

Well, I have a surprise for me in someone's diaper. Not sure if it is James or Jack, but either way, it's not going to be pretty. If you asked me 4 years ago if I would ever be talking about poo online, I'd say you were crazy. Now look at me. Wow...

Jack's new fish! Below you can see the sucker fish on the pirate ship. The yellow fish he's had for over a year.

Teddy Cat and His Side Kick, Mew Mew!

Every day at around 8pm, Kevin and I take Jack for a walk around the neighborhood for half an hour in his little red wagon. And by little red wagon, I mean all-terrain and totally awesomeness wagon. About half way through every walk, Jack likes to get out and walk on his own so he can explore rocks, bugs, and other boy related things.

The other day on one of our walks, we came across a beautiful calico (although she has nothing on our kitty cousin, Sweetie!). She was a very tame and sweet girl. She had a collar but no tag so Jack named her Mew Mew. That's right, Mew Mew. He knows how to meow and when he saw her he meowed at her, which means he associated cat with meow, and that basically means my child is a prodigy. He then got down real slow and petted her gently (as gentle as a 2 year old boy can). She was a very tolerant kitty and her place in heaven is assured.

One thing about Mew Mew is we got to teach Jack something about wild animals. We told him he couldn't pet her unless her owner told him he could. Since her owner was no where to be found, I inspected Mew Mew to make sure she was a healthy and nice kitty before giving Jack permission to touch her. He actually understood not to touch her unless he was told it was ok.

Ok, so you are probably thinking, "Yeah right. Like a not-even-2-year-old would understand that." BAM! That is where you are wrong, my friend! Last night on our walk we ended up at the park. After some super fun swinging and sliding, we started walking back home. A few yards away we saw a lovely brown kitty walking towards us. We got down so we wouldn't scare him, and I inspected the kitty. His tags said his name was Teddy Cat. Jack looked at me about to burst out of his diaper wanting to touch him but resisting. I told him it was ok so he petted him a whole bunch. Kevin and I started to walk again and Kevin said, "Ok Jack-Jack, say good bye to the kitty." Jack gave him a few more good pets, and then looked at him and said, "Buh-bye!" He ran to us, turned around, gave Teddy Cat one more sweet look of love, waved, and told him buh-bye again. Then he walked home. O.M.G. I thought I was going to melt right there on the sidewalk! It was the sweetest thing ever!

Cause Everyone Was Kung-Fu Fighting... HAI YAH! Those Cats Were Fast As Lightning!

Jack loves wearing my hair bands. Sounds kinda girly, right? Not when he wears them so he can play Kung Fu Panda with his mom and dad! Jack loves to karate chop, scissor kick, and basically emulate radness. Don't be jealous. Actually, yes, you should be jealous.

HAI YA!

Deschuttes Dash! (and some updates)

Jack & Kevin rocking out in the new wagon.

The Love of My Life!

I'm going to start today's blog entry off with some updates. Grandma Tutu is here and we are having a blast with her! Jack loves her so much, and not just because she bought him a new red wagon to rock out in. Grandma Lisa & Aunt Stevi will be here on Thursday to visit Jack for an early birthday. The weather is perfect right now, so I'm sure they'll have tons of fun outdoor things they can take him to. Museums, parks, the river... loads of fun is to be had!

I decided to take on a few kids every week to make some extra money. It is not a daycare, but then again, it sort of is. Well, our first kid is James, who is 14 months old and he'll be here twice a week (Thursdays and Fridays, sometimes on Tuesdays.) for a few hours. Friday was our try-out day, to see how the boys liked it. They had a ball together! James' mom is a nurse and his dad travels a lot for business, and their current daycare can only do it a few times a week, so after meeting with them we decided it would be a good fit to have James over a few times a week. The second boy we'll be having who will be on weekends and sometimes weekdays is Gadge, who is also 14 months old. Our practice day was today to see how he adjusts and if it will be a good fit for us as well. Jack and Gadge were crazy boys and played so much that Jack fell asleep on the floor. Looks like this will pan out well. I don't want to overlap Gadge and James as that would be too much for me to handle, so I think it will work well having them on separate days and on a part-time basis. Who knows how it will go. I'll keep you posted. I have my 1st aide/cpr classes this Wednesday and Thursday. I already got my OR food handlers card and background check, so I am well on my way.

Jack & Gadge dancing.

Jack would do Baby Yoga, and Gadge would knock him over. They did this for an hour laughing. Boys!

Ok, Saturday was the Deschuttes Dash! Nicholas and Jess have been training hard for this triathlon, and it shows! They were amazing! I have no idea how they do it. Swimming, biking, then running. I drive to the mailbox, so I can't imagine how hard it must be to do what they do. No, seriously, you can ask Kevin... I really drive to the mailbox. Hmmm, perhaps that is why the kids call me Aunt Lazy. They also call me Aunt Likes to Hike A Lot, but that's a whole nother story. Anyhoo, I slept through my alarm, but luckily my BFF texted me at 7am to work on her virtual farm with her so I woke up. Jack and I got there just in time for the swim, but I couldn't figure out which person was Jess and which was Nick. Afterwards we walked a million miles (seriously) and watched them bike, followed by all of that running. The kids screamed and played together. At one point, I traded my screaming toddler for a less loud one. I love Pippa and her flexibility. She ate Jack's entire Costco muffin within seconds. She's amazing!

I have tons of pics of everything. Laura and Valerie (her husband was in the tri as well) took pictures, too, so some of them are theirs. Enjoy!

Before & after of Jack and Will during the day.

Jess hanging out Wyatt and Ginger, Jack's new friends.

Apparently I was voted out of the Reese family and replaced by Rob. But I'm not bitter. Wait, yes I am!

Bad Mother Award

I should get the "Bad Mother Award" for not blogging about Jack's week. I'm still working on it, as he was a very busy tot.

Speaking of awards, here is Jack's certificate for completing swim lessons. Basically, he's the most amazing boy ever.

The Alaska cruise is coming up soon! Here is a sign I found on mountain lions in Alaska. Good tips, if you ask me.

Haha, Cole, I knew you'd appreciate this one!

Tutu = Too Too Fast For You!

So, I showed my mom the wagon we wanted to save up for Jack's birthday. My mother just laughs (ha ha ha ha!) and the next thing I know he has not just the Radio Flyer red wagon, but the All-Terrain upgrade. That one goes for $149.99 - $200 online. My mother got it for $40 though on craigslist in like-new condition! Jack absolutely loves it. Kevin took him for a walk in it last night and that little boy couldn't be happier. It just made my heart burst with joy at the sight!

I'll take a picture of Jack in it this afternoon. Oh so cute!

4th of July Park Trip

I know I post a lot of pictures of Jack at the park, but really, he's just so darn cute! These are from the 4th of July. It was so nice and sunny that day... yesterday it hailed again. Sigh....

Grandma Tutu arrived safe and sounds last night. She got to meet Baby Oliver and see Pip & Will. She's staying at our place first. Today we are bleaching the kitchen cabinets and fridge to kill the weevils that manifested from my flour. I am so grossed out and upset. Then we're going grocery shopping to replace stuff. I found them in my cayenne pepper... what kind of bug eats cayenne pepper!?!? Yuck.