Blink, blink

You know how you envision Christmas morning with a little one... all sleepy-eye-rubbing and then this moment of contemplation that something must be different... there seems to be a lot more stuff under the tree... and wait, is that a bike? with a bow?! Is this for me?! 

Yeah, we blazed right past all that this morning as Jack literally ran through the family room, past the tree, into the living room and asked for his water. Maybe next year.

Still, what a great Christmas! 

The end of an era

Jack has officially becoming a forward-facing passenger. After 27 months of looking out the back window, I think he likes it!

Boo!

A few days late, here's our Halloween re-cap.

The Sunday before Halloween, we headed to Roger Dean Stadium's Trunk or Treat. A local church had their members drive their cars and trucks onto the outfield of the stadium and decorate their trunks for the holiday. Folks went all in and handed out candy in full costume. It was a nice event and Jack's very favorite part was getting a rocket balloon made and then running around with it on the outfield.

On Halloween day, we headed first for Judy's house as Jack's first official trick-or-treat. How we don't have pictures is beyond me - except it did rain so we had our phones away. Jack got a bag of candy and goodies that has set the bar rediculously high for all Halloweens to come. 

Then we headed to Chipotle for our $3 boo-rito bowls. I almost had to use my first aid training to help a choking baby there so that was an adrenaline rush I could do without again (the baby is fine). 

Finally, we went to Publix for their in-store event (and because we needed to buy water). We got there at the end of the event so the employees were extra generous with their candy offerings. 

All in all it was a very successful Halloween and, although he only got to eat a half a piece of chocolate, Jack had a blast!

So excited!

We've been working on teaching Jack what to do when he's anticipating something cool but there's a wait involved.  Like, for example, when you get to ride the flamingo on the carousel but the ride can't start until the other children pick their animals. Jack has learned to say he's "so excited!" And while he is certainly excited, I suspect he also says it to mean let's get this show on the road!

Can you tell me how to get?

Today was one that my cousin Sarah and I have been looking forward to for months. We took Jack and Lily to see Sesame Street Live at the Kravis Center!

Lily had a story before the show started. We had box seats so we had our very own little section.

Checking to see if the show was starting (it wasn't). Not pictured are the multiple trips up and down the stairs in the lobby to burn energy.

Hug sequence...

Show time!

Intermission snacks!

Round 2!

Best seats in the house

Hugs for Elmo after the show (and thankfully, not a single souvineer came home with us).

Splendid

Jack's vocubulary is growing daily. He learned "delicious" from my friend Judy and, about a week ago, he started declaring that his artwork is "splendid." We think we've traced this back to an episode of Thomas the Tank Engine. It definitely isn't a standard word we use around the house - or at least it wasn't until last week.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tA-sxLSyd7g

Pictures of life

Another busy few weeks have gone by so I thought I'd share some photos snapped during all the fun.

School playtime 

Lunch date at Coolinary Cafe

Two-bite brownie in one bite

Touch-a-Truck - not a huge fan

(except he loved the dogs at the adoption RV)

Napping after his nap - he's been averaging 2.75 hours of sleeping every day. Growth spurt?! (He sleeps 1.5-2 hours in his bed and then finds a parent to snuggle with and continue sleeping/pin to the furniture.)

Napping during the Florida vs. LSU game. Turns out it was a good one to sleep through.

Science Sunday

This Sunday we headed to the Science Center thanks to, of all things, Bank of America's Museum on Us program. I honestly don't know if we would have gone until Jack was a bit older without the free admission through their program, but it was well worth it!

Matt got to feel 79mph winds

Jack easily identified almost every animal from their skeletons. The "el-phant" was his favorite.

They have an awesome aquarium section and they do a touch tank almost every hour.

Jack dug for fossils in cat litter - the clean, pine variety.

Matt found an old RL-10 and I made him stand next to it for a picture.

Jack? Jack had a blast!

Tough

Sometimes it is straight up tough being two. Jack woke up from his nap a bit grumpy and just couldn't find his way off the couch for a while this afternoon.

Family & 2 year pictures

Attention family members and other parties interested in having copies of these pictures: We have - and will share - high-quality digital copies of all photos ready to print without the photographer's watermark. Please do not attempt to "fix" the images posted here - just let us know which ones you want. :)