Toddler Crack

I have to organize all of my photos from yesterday since I took so many, so I'm going to blog about meeting Oliver tomorrow. However, I must say that he is incredible. He is so soft, and is a total cuddler. I am head-over-heels for him. I almost didn't give him back, but then I remembered that Laura would rip my head off if I didn't, so I decided to give him back. So stay tuned for tomorrow's blog!

Here are a bunch of pics from Jack yesterday morning. I love toddler crack. We used to call it baby crack, but my baby isn't a baby anymore, so now we will refer to his butt crack as toddler crack. Nothing like a little crack to brighten your day.

Jack also has this thing with putting buckets on his head. Heaven forbid the boy put a hat on. He hates hats.... but a bucket... Sure! That's a fantastic idea! He walked into the wall yesterday since he couldn't see in front of him. Lucky for us, Jack can just fall back on his good looks if the whole being smart thing doesn't work out for him.

See what I mean about being smart? Jack was reading and it totally wiped him out. That's how I feel about reading anything but Twilight. I just collapse on the floor in misery. Apparently Jack feels the same way.

Seriously, we love Twilight if you hadn't noticed.

Oliver

Jack and I are busy cleaning up the house and running errands today that way we can go see Oliver at 3:30pm! I am so excited to be meeting my new nephew. It's been snowing these past two days (see picture above) which makes me very grouchy. I don't like the summer time, but I sure don't like snow either. Why can't it just rain all the time?

So, Jack has this thing with clothes lately... he really isn't into wearing them. He also has taken his diaper off two nights in a row. I thought maybe he was itchy or something, but he's not scratching and he doesn't have a rash, so I think he may just be going through the "I want to be naked" stage. Poor kid, I've been going through that stage my whole life.

Yesterday Kevin was working on his motorcycle and Jack was "helping". We found him a small wrench to help out, and he had a blast! Of course, when I came out with the camera he got all shy guy with me and wanted to be in Kevin's arms. Nothing says "I love you, Mom!" like choosing the other parent as their favorite.

Baby Reese Has a Name!

As most of you probably know, my sweet nephew Oliver David Reese was born April 26th at 10:55pm! I haven't met him yet as the family needs to bond with him and stuff, but I'm hoping to meet him tomorrow or Thursday, depending on how everyone is feeling. He's quite handsome and looks so much like his big brother, Will.

We bought him a really soft baby blanket from Carters and we also got him a book called Oliver and the Monsters. We ordered it online so it should be here sometime next week. Doubt the kid will be on pins and needles waiting for it. =)

I'll be sure to take loads of pictures of him when I meet him. I can't wait!

Push 'Em Out! Squeeze 'Em Out! Waaaaay Out!

Picture c/o GrAuntie Linda!

Laura and Nick are at the hospital having baby #3 induced.... he's a stubborn little guy! So, Kevin, Jack, and I are going to their place to see GrAuntie Linda and the kids and to bring donuts. Should be a good time and can't wait to hear how things are going at the hospital.

Go Team Laura!

Exhausted!

After an exhausting day of landing himself in the naughty spot for hitting (even as I was taking the picture he was trying to smack me!) and playing at the park with GrAuntie Linda, Jack ended up crashing pretty hard yesterday. Of course, he did it naked. That's my boy!

Where's Jack?

Just a few quick pics before I start my day of cleaning, scrapbooking, and eBaying:

I made this pizza from scratch last night for dinner and it was less then $5.00 total for ALL of the ingredients! It fed the entire family and leaves two pieces left over for lunch. I added some red wine to the dough which gave it a nice kick.

Can you spot the baby in the pile of laundry? Look for the cutest baby butt ever and you'll find him! He loves a good game of hide-and-seek.

Kevin has me hooked on playing World of Warcraft now. I have a level 19 undead warrior and a level 8 troll hunter. Here's Jack and Kevin playing World of Warcraft together last night. And that fantastic juice cup Jack has? I signed up for the Juicy Juice news letter and they sent it to me free! I have signed up for so many free samples lately that I've lost count!

Babycakes just hangin' out!

Scrapbooking Seemed Like A Good Idea At First...

As you know, I'm in love with Jack. Like, totally and completely obsessed with the boy. So, a while back I decided I wanted to take up scrap booking so I could make happy memories of his childhood. Like I said earlier, it seemed like a good idea at first...

Ok, so I love the whole art aspect of it. I love cutting things out with my fun scissors and using stickers and layering things... it's totally fun! I started on a new book last night and after an hour I only had 3 out of the 20 pages done. Doh! But still, it is very relaxing and I am enjoying it. The only part I don't like about it is how expensive it is! OMG, the start up cost for the basic supplies that I'll reuse like scissors, glues, etc. was over $50. Then, each book and the paper I use costs about $20 and any extras like stickers and decorations is another $20 per book. So, I'm looking at about $40 a book and that just seems insanely expensive to me. And it's not like I'm buying my supplies at some fancy scrap booking store. I buy my stuff at Walmart and Target! I think I'm going to have to limit myself to one scrapbook every 3 months.

In other news, Jack is doing fantastic! He got to see GrAuntie Linda again yesterday. She made him a superhero cape which he wasn't too big of a fan of, but I LOVED it and wore it all yesterday. Hey, if he's not going to wear it, I'm not going to let it go to waste! William and Pippa got capes, too, so we all ran around really fast! Then we stuffed Jack with more cookies as GrAuntie Linda is making cupcakes today and we need to make room for them! She is doing several practice rounds of cupcakes as she has agreed to do several hundred for a friend's wedding, so we get the practice cupcakes! And a practice cupcake by GrAuntie Linda is better then any cupcake in a fancy bakery. If you think Jack was a big boy before, wait til you see him in a week!

I am so excited that GrAuntie Linda is in town! Jack & I went over to Laura's house yesterday afternoon and at first Jack was a shy guy with her, but she buttered him right up with THREE different kinds of cookies she made for him! Snickerdoodles, chocolate crinkles, and toffee cookies. If Edward Cullen was a cookie, he would be my Aunt's snickerdoodles! So, after she stuffed him full of goodies, he was all about playing with her. They played in the tent and with a tent tunnel, and ran around the backyard a bunch. It was a gorgeous day yesterday so all of the kids were in the back running around while the grown ups got to relax in the chairs and sip Pepsi. Except for Aunt Jessica who had to spin all of the kids... I guess that's why we call her the Spinster Aunt (haha! I amuse me!).

Since we had skipped Jack's nap yesterday (bad idea), by the time we got home he could barely keep himself together. He hardly touched dinner so it was an early bed time for him. Today I am cleaning up the house, making enchiladas for dinner, and depending on how Laura feels, we might go over to her house again today. I love having her & the family only 7 minutes away! She has a midwife appointment today, and if this baby doesn't come by Friday, she will need to be induced. I told her to bounce up and down and eat some salsa, but nothing seems to be working! Silly Reese boys, always giving their mamas grief.

A Great Weekend!

This past weekend was awesome! Saturday was Pippa's birthday which was a complete success. She went to an Earth Day Parade, had pink donuts and a pink birthday cake, loads of presents, and an overall wonderful day. I think she liked the presents we got her. She had her juice in her new giraffe mug and stirred it with her spoon. We played with her new play-doh which I'm pretty sure I'm going to buy some for myself. That stuff is so much fun!

On Saturday, we also went to the Humane Society. We found our dream kitty, Stretch. Him and Jack bonded instantly and played together. Then, the worst happened. Kevin sneezed. And then sneezed again. Then he couldn't stop sneezing! Poor guy, I know he really wanted to get a cat. So, we said goodbye to Stretch and have decided the fish are a better pet.

Sunday I massively cleaned the house. You know one of those cleanings where your hands crack from all of the chemicals you used to disinfect your house? Yeah, I did one of those. I still have a ton more to get done, but at least I got a good start.

Today GrAuntie Linda arrives so we are going to go to Laura's house this afternoon to see her. I think I might make cupcakes or cookies in celebration of her visit.

Here are a few pictures from Pip's birthday that I took from Laura. The apron, you ask? I just bought it on eBay. My clothes are constantly getting dirty when I bake and now I have an ultra hot apron to keep myself clean. Who says being a homemaker can't be stylish?

And Now We Know!

I think it's safe to say we now know where Jack gets his "sturdy" size from... look at his mama at his age! I was ginormous! My parents must have fed me hormone induced chickens with ice cream on the side. I look like I just ate a small country! Anyway, that's me and my Papa. I must say, Jack and I sure do look alike! Take off the pink bow and we could be twins. I guess that explains why he is so irresistibly adorable though. Go Team Reese!

Happy Birthday, Pip!

Today is my favorite niece's birthday! She is 3 years old and is so excited for her birthday as there will be balloons and pink candles on her cake. The girl has been raving over her pink candles for the past two weeks; It's very sweet! We are going to go over to her house in the afternoon once all of the kids have napped so we can give her her birthday gifts. We bought her a giraffe mug with hot chocolate, marshmallows, and a unique spoon to stir it with. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures of the birthday girl. Today is her day to be the special one!

And the World Makes Sense Again...

As I was sitting here at my laptop checking my eBay, Jack decides to hop up on the chair with me. Except, he decides to push me to the front of the chair and he sits behind me in it. Then, he popped his head under my right arm and watched me type. I can't imagine this would be very comfortable, but I let him do as we wished. After a few minutes, he started to breath really heavily, and I realized he had fallen asleep against my back with his face squished against me! I wish I had the camera close by to take a picture because it was so sweet! I woke him up and set him on the floor, which made him very grumpy. So, he walked over to Blue Bunny (the answer to all of his problems) laid down, and fell asleep.

The world makes sense again in the eyes of Jack....

*Thanks to my Twilight Sister, Claudia, we all now know Entertainment Tonight is having an exclusive behind the scenes look on the set of New Moon on Thursday, April 23rd! EEEK!

Nap Time = Mommy Time

Thank you, Evolution, for making babies and toddlers need nap time. If Jack didn't take a nap everyday, I think I would have had to sell him on eBay a long time ago. Don't get me wrong, he's cute as a button and fun as can be, but when he gets really mad for no apparent reason, it's nice to be able to set him down for a nap. This also allows me to get a few things done like blogging and "cleaning" around the house. And by "cleaning", I mean I intend to do it, but never do because Ellen or Oprah is on.

As I was getting Jack ready to go grocery shopping, he had an absolute melt down. It wasn't even 10am yet! I tried cheering him up by playing with him, watching Word World, feeding him, giving him a drink, checked his diaper... nothing seemed to explain his unhappy mood. So, for an hour I gave it my best shot to make him happy. Since nothing worked, I asked him if he needed a nap. He burst into tears and fell to the ground. I think that was his way of saying yes. So I scooped him up and put him in bed. This was Jack before the nap:

This is Jack with the nap:

See the difference in him? So, now I get mommy time to "clean" and get a few other things done. Yay for me!

In other news, another one of Jack's fish died on Easter. I'm really torn up about it. Those fish were born in our tank and now they're dropping like flies. We still have 6 from the litter (do fish have litters?) which had started out as 19. Most died as newbies because mom and dad ate them (not me and Kevin, but their actual parents). 11 survived, two more got eaten, and then we had the 9. 9 wonderful little fish. Then BAM! We move and they die! I check on them all the time now. Kevin thinks I'm a little obsessive over them, but I'm really just a concerned mother!!!

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

Happy Easter, Everyone! I hope the Easter Bunny spoiled you all with candy and eggs. Jack received a visit from him this morning. Once I figure out how my video camera works, I will post the video of Jack looking for Easter eggs. It is so cute! He would shake every time he found an egg because he knew candy would be inside.

After Jack found all of his eggs and his Easter basket (which was full of toys and candy!), we had an awesome breakfast care of me! I made waffles, bacon, and eggs. Then we decided to dye some eggs. We boiled the eggs and made a rainbow of dyes. I'm sort of on a rainbow kick right now. Below you will see a painting I made last night. I really like rainbows! Anyway, we colored the eggs with crayons and then dyed them. Jack got bored of dying eggs after a while, so we set him free of the kitchen. While working on one of my eggs, Kevin told me to look at Jack. He was hiding behind the counter scarfing down Peeps!

After the egg dying, we cracked them open and made deviled eggs. I was going to bring some to Laura and the family today, but since they look like dog poo, I'm too embaressed to share the eggs with them. I'll need to practice my deviled egg skills before I force people to eat them.

Jack is down for a nap right now. This afternoon we are going to go see Pip and Will to bring them some presents for Easter. Tonight I'll make a nice Easter dinner. Probably just pizza. =)

Kevin made this egg special for my Mama! It's an island with a volcano, palm tree and little sail boat!

Last Week

Last week Kevin and I took Jack to the park down the street. Here's the photos from his adventures!

Jack took his shoes off and threw them! And yes, his socks do not match.