From Head to Toe

This is what Jack does if you ask him where his teeth are.

My nephew Will, is a baby genius. He knows where his eyes, nose, hair, elbow, cheeks, mouth, and so much more is. Jack? He knows where the Doritos are (2nd to bottom shelf in the pantry). I really have no idea how to be a mom, so I've been winging it for the past 18 months. Did you know you can teach your child where their body parts are though!? With this exciting development, I have been teaching him his body parts. He knows where his teeth, tongue, and feet are. He knows where "Mommy's hair" is, but not his own quite yet. That's ok, he's making great progress and I'm very proud of my tot.

Feed a Starving Artist...

... Unless that artist is Jack. Because trust me, that little Picasso is not starving!

So, Jack & I let the paintings dry over night. The paint isn't as dark as we had wanted it to be, so he insisted on doing a second coat. Since Jack was doomed to another bath today, I figured we could limit the paint mess by having him work on his masterpiece in the bathtub. I am a genius! I may start feeding him in the tub as well. Ok, not really. That would be weird and I would hope someone would call CPS on me. However, paint time in the tub is wonderful. He got to paint the entire tub, canvas, and himself. Clean up was a breeze!

The piece he did today is still drying. Once it is complete & the grandparents have received them, I will post pictures of the final works. I don't want to spoil the surprise too much! I asked Jack what kind of painting it was... Landscape? Contemporary? He was much too deep into thought to respond. So, as the spokeswoman for The Artist Formerly Known As Jack, I've decided his pieces are abstract. I have asked him what he would like to name them. One is called "B.a.l.l.", and the other is called, "D.o.g." They are the only two words he has said more then once besides Mama, Dada, & Pippa.

Seriously, this baby is so cute. Check him out:

Bob Ross

In the mornings, Jack's usual routine is to play and jump around while we have PBS on in the background. At noon, his cartoons are over and a painting show comes on (every day it's a different artist). Today was Bob Ross. You remember him, white guy with the fro. He's my favorite of all the painting shows they have. Well, Jack felt inspired by Bob's work today. Although, Mr. Ross does make painting a forest and lake look a lot easier then it really is.

We had a bunch of blank canvases in the garage from the days when Kevin thought he wanted to learn to paint. So, I got those out, a long with the brand new brushes Kevin never used. The paint was care of Aunt Laura and Uncle Nick from Christmas. It's washable so the floor was easily cleaned afterwards. The brushes weren't very fun to use, so Jack threw them and dove right in with his hands and feet. Although I won't show you the finished pieces quite yet, you can be assured it is the finest art you will ever see. Jack has decided that he wants one to go to Lisa & Jay, and one to my dad. Since my mom lives on a boat in a Hawaii (but I'm not jealous or anything), we are unsure is she has room on her boat for a masterpiece. If so, Jack would love to make her one as well.

Here's a little sneak peek into the artist formerly known as Jack:

Needed a Break From Life...

Thank goodness I have Laura (and my sister!) to keep me sane. I am so stressed out from having to find a new home. Luckily, Laura had Jack and I over yesterday which was a huge help for my mental status. We brought cupcakes over, and Laura had made chocolate chip cookies that day, so comfort food made the world of difference. Jack was a little monster though. He did the Kansas City Shuffle a lot... that's where he would go in to give Will or Pip a hug, then trick them and smack them in the head. Unfortunately for Jack, his cousins are over the whole getting smacked in the face bit from him, so now their smacking him right back. Not that I like it, but I can respect it. As I sat there eating my cookies, Laura stepped in and made everyone behave. Is it wrong to depend on a woman who has not only her two children to worry about, but one in her tummy, too? Well, thank you, Laura. I needed your guidance!

Relocating...

Well, we have just been served paperwork from Wells Fargo that our landlord hasn't paid the mortgage since August 2008, so they are foreclosing on the house! I called Wells Fargo today and the lawyer told me we have 10 days from the auction date to be out, which won't be until June 1st. The paperwork they gave us had a bunch of 30-day stuff on it, so I thought we had only 30 days to move. I asked her if I send Wells Fargo the rent money, but she said no and told me I needed to contact my landlord. So, I called my landlord and e-mailed him about it. Funny, I e-mailed him last month about some maintenance issues and still haven't heard from him. Has he disappeared? Unfortunately, we are still obligated to pay rent to the guy even though he's been pocketing the cash. So, Kevin and I are working hard at finding a new place to move to. I just sent our landlord our 30-day notice. Even though we are getting screwed, I don't want to do anything that will end up in small claims. There are tons of rentals here, so I'm not worried about finding a place. I just really liked this home and I felt like it was a good place to raise Jack. I hate moving. It makes me so sad every time I do. I wish we could just buy a house and have our own home. Sadly, that won't happen for a very, very long time.

Ok, I'm done with my pity party. At least it's not our fault that we are getting kicked out. Who knows, maybe some rich old lady in Alameda will die and leave me all of her money.

What a Morning...

I woke up this morning to a very tearful baby. The usual morning routine is Kevin gets up, brings Jack into our room to play and cuddle, and he goes off to get ready for work and leaves. This morning, he was running late so he didn't wake me up and since Jack was playing quietly in his room, he headed off to work. Well, I'm a pretty heavy sleeper, so my poor tot was in there about an hour past our usual get-up-and-go time. I felt horrible when I finally heard him and went in there. He had taken his own diaper off and was covered in poo. Yum. Serves me right for not having that motherly gift that can sense distress in their child miles away.

So, I get Jack in the bath and clean him up. That boy loves to eat bubbles and soap. It's quite the task just trying to keep him from eating the suds. Afterwards, I get him out and attempt to dry him off. I don't know why I bother. He doesn't want the towel or to be dry. He's a busy boy and doesn't have time for such nonsense.

Afterwards, I get Jack and everything else loaded in the car. We head over to Kevin's work to bring him lunch and say hello. Jack was very angry that he was strapped into his car seat, so he shimmied his arm out of one strap. Doh! How's he do that?

Instead of running errands, I've decided that I'll wait until Kevin gets home so he can watch Jack and I can go to Target alone. Until then, I'm cleaning the house. Yippy!

In other news, Lisa & Jay are unable to come visit this weekend. Looks like they are the newest victims of identity theft. Although, when Lisa originally called me yesterday, I thought for sure someone had died. She left me a voicemail that started out like this:

Lisa: Hi Chrissy, it's Lisa (long pause)... Umm (long pause)... We can't come see you and Jack this week (deep breath... long pause).....

Ok, so anytime someone has ever called me and it takes them 15 or 20 seconds to talk after stating who it is, someone has always been dead. I felt absolutely sick to my stomach until she started to tell me what had happened to her (not that I'm happy she had her identity stolen, but I was relieved no one had died). Whoever got her information, knows everything there is to know about her. They had the answers to her secret questions for her banking information, her social, mothers maiden name, everything. She told me that her sister had googled her e-mail address to find the link to her blog, and instead, Lisa's entire life was there for anyone to access (along with some poor chap from Texas). I googled it myself, and there it was, anything and everything I ever wanted to know about Lisa was there. So, now she has no access to her credit cards, bank account, etc. Can't really buy gas and get a hotel with good looks (well, probably Lisa could, but I doubt Jay would like that). Until she gets everything sorted out, they won't be able to come visit Jack.

So, as sad as Jack and I are that they won't be here, Kevin is even sadder. See, whenever Lisa comes to visit, I get into this strange massive cleaning mode. Like, I clean things that she would never even see like under the dishwasher and the underside of the bathroom cabinet. It takes me an entire week to get the house to where I want it to be (I started on Sunday with my insaneness, in fact). She's the only mother-in-law figure I'll ever have, so somewhere deep in my subconscious, I've made her out to be one of those scary and mean mother-in-laws, which, if you've ever met Lisa, you'd know she is one of the nicest people you'd ever meet (unless you piss her off, then yes, she's the scariest person you will ever meet. Which I pissed her off once, and it was the single scariest moment of my life.) So, now Kevin is totally bummed that the house won't be immaculate. He even told me last night, "Can't you just pretend she's coming to visit this weekend?" Poor guy.

One last thing before I go; My friend, Tabitha, is running a marathon and all of the donations from her sponsors will go straight to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Her step father has it and so she's trying to raise money. If you are interested in sponsoring her, here is the link: http://www.firstgiving.com/tabithaluke1

Grandpa Bruce

Kevin's dad, Grandpa Bruce, sent Jack money for his Christmas. The only request he had was that the money goes towards toys and non-essential items (so not a Reese! We love practical and essential presents!) Since Kevin and I couldn't afford the pirate tent we wanted to get him for Christmas, we were ecstatic with Bruce's idea and ordered the pirate tent with the money.

The tent arrived two days ago and I put it together myself. Anyone who knows me, knows I can't put anything together, so now I'm kind of a big deal. =) At first, Jack didn't know what to make of the tent. He was giving it the stink eye and staring it down a lot. But, once we got inside with him (6'5" daddy is a bit big for the tent though!) he got used to the idea and now loves it. He's storing his toys in there and climbing through the tunnel. I barely fit through the tunnel myself. Where did those hips come from? I don't remember those!

And that Star Wars shirt, you ask? Yeah, that was from Grandma Beautiful/Grandpa Jay. Kevin and I want one in our sizes, too. It is awesome!

A Bit of Everything

Jack went down for an early nap today, so I thought I would play a little catch up with the pictures I've taken of him this past week:

This first set was taken the other night. We finally refinished the chalk board side of the easel. Jack loves to draw! He took a short break for some dinner, but went right back to work after he scarfed down his food. He's actually hugging his easel in one of these photos, and sticking chalk in his ear in another. What a boy! Oh, and that's our heater vent. Jack likes to hide his chalk in there.

This was from the other day we made cupcakes together. He was my taste tester, and I think my cupcakes got the seal of approval. I made myself a coffee, and since I was in a sprinkley mood, it got sprinkled as well.

This last set is from yesterday. It was a nice day so we spent a large portion of it in the backyard. Jack had an absolute ball exploring the plants and rocks. He was so sad once the sun went down and we had to go inside. He went to bed with no fuss. He sleeps in the most awkward positions though..

Sugarrrrr Cookies!

We just bought some pirate cookie cutters on amazon.com so we can make some sugarrrrr cookies! (Yeah, I stole that joke from my friend, Mary.) I can't wait for them to get here!!! I need to learn how to properly frost as my frost always looks like a toddler did it. In fact, I've seen Pippa's frosting skills, and I am confident that a toddler is much better at frosting then I am. 

GrAuntie Michele (my aunt, Jack's GrAunt) is very creative. She's the one who made Jack booties when he was born. For Christmas, she made shopping bags, scarves, and even gloves! She even dyes her own yarn. I personally think she should start her own business. 

Well, Miche and I have been discussing the shoe situation with Jack. His feet are just so big! So, Miche is going to make him shoes. She asked me for his foot measurements so she can get the 

right size soles ordered. Sounds simple enough, right? Not if you are measurement impaired like me. So, I e-mail her the first set of measurements: The length, three different widths on his foot, and the width that goes all around his foot. I send them to her, and she writes me back confused. I told her his foot was something like 5 inches, 2 cm. She tells me that inches and centimeters don't go together. So I call my mom and she busts out laughing at me. I told her I counted the little dashes in between the inch marks, but guess what! THOSE AREN'T CENTIMETERS! Yeah, I'm 26 and now just learning that.

So, I write Michele back, uber embarrassed, and send her a new set of measurements. Now that I know my inches and my centimeters, this should be a piece of cake. I get a phone call from my mother later that day. She tells me that the measurements I sent my aunt seem really off, like, Jack's feet would almost be adult size they are so big. I tell her, "MOTHER! I know how to measure!" and totally am blowing her off. I hang up the phone, go over to Jack with the tape measure, and low and behold, I measured his feet wrong AGAIN. Why is this so hard for me? I'm a pretty smart girl, I shouldn't be having these kind of difficulties!

Alas, GrAuntie has now requested that I send an outline of Jack's foot, that way there are no mistakes. I think I am going to go back to 3rd grade. 

We Heart Ikea

Pippa and Will have this adorable table and chair set that they love. Every time we are at their house, Jack plays with them at it. I thought it would be a great if Jack had one, too, so he could make art projects and eat his snacks there. The one I want is from Ikea, but Ikea doesn't ship them from their website, so I went on craigslist for one. Alas, the only things on there are total garbage. So, I went to ebay and found the exact set I want, for $25! And, to pay for it, I sold my baker's rack and a magazine rack today on craigslist for $36 (the difference was used to pay for shipping.) So, not only am I clearing out the house, but my tot gets a sweet table and chair set. Next on my list is a bookcase I want from Target. So, I'm selling a bunch of Jack's old toys (that are actually in awesome condition) that we got as hand-me-downs. 

Now all I need is a potato peeler, a new frying pan, and some measuring spoons. I think I will sell some of my club tops and dresses for the money. Who really need 7 black clubbing tops, 12 dresses, and 6 mini skirts? Well, apparently I did 3 years ago. But now I can sell some of them. Yay!

Phase I: Complete

Helping daddy is hard work.

Well, the moment I asked Kevin to get rid of Jack's bottles, it was done. He had no problem what-so-over throwing them out. He put Jack to bed two nights in a row with nothing and Jack went straight to sleep. Kevin did put a cup in there with water in case Jack got thirsty, but he didn't drink out of it to fall asleep. So, it looks like I was the only thing holding Jack back. He was more then ready to let go of the bottle.

Who Knew Lipstick Could Taste So Wonderful?

I just got out of the shower and was reading my e-mails. Jack was in the bedroom with me sitting quietly on the floor playing. He was being extremely quiet, which is never a good thing when it comes to my little tank. You always know when he's being mischievous because he does it so quietly. So, I got up and went over to where he was sitting. Guess what he was eating... Yeah, my lipstick! He got about 1/2 an inch in him before I could get the rest out of his mouth. Boy oh boy, glad I work today and Kevin gets to change that diaper. At least he chose a color I hardly wear.

Time For Some Changes

There are three things I have been dreading to change in Jack's life. The first one is getting him off the bottle. The problem is more me then him. Jack doesn't mind sippy cups at all. I just find that he enjoys a bottle more. So when we are out and about, I always bring the bottle with me because I know if throws a fit, the bottle will quiet him down and a sippy cup won't. Kevin is all about throwing away the bottles, but I'm having a really hard time with it. To me, the bottle signifies a baby, and Jack is my baby. I don't think of him as a toddler, which is my problem. So, naturally, I need to let go and throw away the bottles. I'm not sure if I should just toss them all, or if I should wean him off of them. I truly believe Jack won't care either way, so perhaps just tossing them is what I should do.

The next change on the list is a more complicated matter. Jack sleeps in a crib right now (aside from being monkey in the middle when he's having a really bad night and wants to be with us). Kevin's niece, who is several months younger then Jack, is already in a toddler bed. And just recently, Jack's cousin, Will, has transferred to a toddler bed without any problems. He just happily goes to sleep in his bed! Jack, on the other hand, needs bars to keep him confined. Even when we sleep in the guest room where the mattress is just on the floor, Jack wants to get out of bed and explore. So, what do we do? Do we get a toddler bed and deal with him getting out of it, banging on his door, and crashing on the floor? Or do we continue with the crib that he loves so much?

Lastly, the next change I want to attempt is potty training. I know he's only 16 months old, but I read that the sooner you start the potty training, the easier it will be to transition. My sweet boy though has no concept of going potty, and I wonder if it would just be a lost cause. Can anyone recommend some good books on that matter, or offer opinions with experience in this field? 

Thanks a bunch!!!

The Inspiration of Walmart

Last night, Jack and I were shopping around at Walmart. We decided to hit the fabric/craft area for some inspiration on an art project that Jack could do. As we were walking around, I found about a million things I wanted to buy for my niece, Pippa. She's so creative and smart. Anyway, as we were shopping, I was talking to Jack (I like to explain what we are doing and what we are looking at... not because I want to educate him, but because no one else will listen to me talk about randomness). I kept saying, "Oh Jack! Look! It's the letter "P" as in Pi- Pi- Pi- Pippa! Oh, and over here are sparkles. Pippa loves sparkles." Then all of sudden, he looks at me and says, "Pippa!" My reply was, "What did you say Jack?" and he said, "Pippa! Pippa!" and the rest of our trip consisted of him taking items off the shelves and saying Pippa's name. Wow, I had no idea I talked that much about my favorite niece. I mean, she is pretty phenomenal. 

Sugar Cookies

On Tuesday, Jack and I went over to Aunt Laura's and made sugar cookies! Jack is still a little, ummm, "small" to help make them, so he settled for playing with toys and eating a little dough. Pippa was so incredibly adorable helping us. She snuck more dough into her mouth then I think Laura saw. Who am I to tell that sweet little face no though? Once they were baked, we frosted them which was my favorite part. Every cookie that Pip frosted ended up in her mouth though, so after a few cookies, Laura decided that frosting time was over for her. I finished up the cookies and ate a bunch, with Jack's help of course.

Take a look at the picture below. The alien is from the movie Toy Story. His "Aunt" Cindy sent it to him all the way from Walt Disney World where she works. It's remote controlled so Jack can make it talk and move. Way fun! I won't lie, when we put Jack to bed, Kevin and I play with it. Alot. Thanks Aunt Cindy!!!

As Pippa Would Say...

Here is the table and chairs we want to get Jack. $133 is a bit steep for something he is going to end up destroying with crayons, markers, stickers, food, throwing it, etc. As my darling niece Pippa would say though, " I NEED THAT!" Seriously, when we become gajillionairs, we are so getting this for Jack.

Jack: The Artist

One of Jack's favorite Christmas gifts came from Nick, Laura, Pip & Will. They hooked him up with tons of art supplies like paints, crayons, markers, paper, etc. I found this awesome easel on craigslist that we bought today for only $15. We are redoing the chalk board side tonight, so within 48 hours it will be all set for the tot. Jack loves to color so we thought this would be perfect for him. Oh, we will be getting him a stool as well, since he's not quite tall enough for it yet.

While we were out and about today, we stopped by Petsmart. We looked at the kitties. I was not impressed with their felines. Of the four there, three of them were not children friendly according to the paperwork. The one that did like children was all mangey. She was a real sweetheart, but I did not like the way she looked. She seems like the type of girl where I would have to groom her often which is not something I would be looking forward to. Kevin and Jack fell in love with her though. So, I told the boys we should go to the Humane Society and look at their kitties before we jump into anything. Why can't they just be happy with the fish we already have?!

A New Addition to the Family?

Ok, so Kevin and I have been throwing around the idea for a few months about getting a pet. Whatever we get, it has to be mellow and good with Jack. Babycakes is our top priority and whatever we get needs to be able to handle a toddler. We've been weighing the pros and cons of dogs vs. cats. Myself? I am all for the felines. They are cleaner, smell better, and really do a good job of taking care of themselves. We could put it outside if we wanted to even. On the downside, litter boxes make me gag (as do paper cuts and dirty diapers). I also am worried about Jack hurting a kitty. He's a big boy who likes to throw and sit on others.

The cat of my dreams is one of two... my first choice is a Persian. Oh how I love their noses scrunched up into their faces! Not a fan of the long hair, but with a nose like that, well, they can shed anywhere they want in my house. My second favorite is a Siamese. Ok, that's just because I really like Lady and the Tramp.

Dogs... Grrrr.... Kevin is a much bigger fan of cats, but has always wanted a husky. Just the thought of a large dog makes me woozy. If he would pick a dog like Dyna, Lisa's long haired doxie, then I would be all in. Dyna is an angel and I would love to have a pup like her. She can't be more then 5 or 7 pounds I don't think. Imagine the sweaters we could put on her! But, dogs do bite, especially when children pull their tails or throw markers at them. Example: Jack's face has two scars from a dog bite. Cats bite, too, but not like a big dog.

Either way, we have to be ultra careful on whatever we choose. Whatever we get, it will need to be inexpensive, so the chances of finding a Siamese or a long haired doxie at the Humane Society/craigslist are slim to none. I've been on their websites looking for the ideal pet, but none have really caught my eye. Most of their dogs fall in the category of pit bull, rottweiler, or hyper. Three things that do not fit my criteria.

So, what do you think? Should we really get a pet at this point in our lives? Is Jack ready to be a big brother to a furry friend? Any thoughts are much appreciated.