Such a Daredevil

Jack still is afraid of the swings, but must have gone down the slide 50 times. He climbs the steps himself and I help him sit and he pushes off. Very funny. He is such a daredevil. When "walking" down our big stairs, I can get him to hold on to my hand and the railings, but then he puts his feet on the edge of the step and slides them forward so he just drops down a step, instead of actually walking. [Joan]

Poopy Butt Boy

Your boy got me good today :-) When he woke up he took a major and I mean MAJOR poop, and while changing him I realized I didn't have enough wipes and I didn't have a fresh diaper. So I wiped as good as I could with what I had, grabbed him facing me to my chest, and ran to the office to get a clean diaper. Of course while I was rummaging he peed all over my shirt and jeans. So, there I was holding a naked poopy butt boy, both of us dripping with urine. Hilarious actually, so I headed up to the bathroom and Jack had his first shower with Grammie. Jack enjoyed the shower, as did I. When I got out, I wrapped Jack in a towel and carried him in to Ken who was laying down on his bed. I wish you could have seen the mystified look he gave his wet naked wife as I handed him a wet naked Jack so I could quick dry off and get dressed and then get Jack dressed. I don't know what I would do if my life was dull and dreary. These guys really make me laugh.
P.S. Our little genius stacked THREE spools today, we both clapped and said Yayyyyyy [Joan]

I don't eat solids at Grammie's

Jack is doing great. I do see the temper coming though....I think a big storm will hit us soon. Today I had the baby gate leaning against the wall behind one of my spinning wheels. It was tipped forward against the spinning wheel, and Jack decided he wanted it to stand up straight against the wall. He kept pushing it up and it would fall back against the spinning wheel. He got increasingly enraged, until he was in a full hissy fit, hitting the baby gate, red faced and screaming. Oh my goodness he was MAD.
On the plus side, otherwise he has been a really good mood, and has apparently gotten over the "I don't eat solids at Grammie's house" thing. Ate two bowls of chicken cacciatore with noodles, a full bottle and is now sacked out. We went to the park this morning which he just loves. Jack went all over the sand pit handing out his toys to the other kids, except his little truck which he kept a tight grip on. Then an older girl took it out of his hand and walked off. Jack didn't yell or anything, just kept following her all over the playground, watching his truck. He didn't make any attempt to take it back either, just kept a little beady eye fixed on it. Her daddy then made her give it back. Too funny. Jack and grandpa were on the floor playing with trucks this morning, very cute. [Joan]

Getting a Reputation

What a darling! Also what an adventurer Jack is these days. Loves to play and throw that's for sure :-), also our little genius now stacks blocks, and puts lids on properly on toy cooking pots. Brilliant! He did however walk straight into the dining room table this morning and bonked his forehead. I'm afraid I'm going to get a "reputation" at the park; last week Kiva and her shiner, this week Jack and his forehead knot and eye owie. :-) We went to the park this morning and as usual Jack loved it. Cruised all the clusters of kids in the sand box, if they were filling a bucket with sand he would come back and get his little scoop and go over and help. He's a little toughie too...he took some real flops in the sand where he tripped, fell and rolled, looked up, and then went on his way. I think he loves the freedom at the park. I let him pretty much cruise around, as long as I can reach him in say 5 or 6 steps. He will walk over to the grass, over to the play equipment, but checks back to make sure he can see me. Jack's personality is really shining through stronger and stronger. He gets really angry if I step over the baby gate to get something and leave him behind, shakes the gate yelling. Playing lots of verbal mimicry games too, I love the clicking noise he can make now. [Joan]

All legs

Ken and I took Kiva and Jack to the park from about 1100 til 1PM. They had a great time and came home filthy so into the tub. Ken had lunch ready when they got out, and by 2pm they were both asleep. Jack very very attached to Ken. Jack will still not eat well for me although he loves me to cuddle him while he drinks his bottle. But Ken fed him his lunch and Jack ate eagerly for him...spaghetti...oh well, that's why we have two parents or grandparents so we can each take a shot at it. Jack all over the sandbox and play area today, visiting, playing with other kids. All the other kids very tolerant, let him grab their toys and then later gently took them back. Two little ones very patiently played ball with him, gently rolling a ball to him. Very sweet. Kiva doing huge leaps in the sand, she is all legs sometimes and boy can she leap a long way. Jack's wedding outfit about 75% done and looks adorable on him. [Joan]

Actually, you are nice

Kiva exploring other boundaries too. She is pushing a little harder with her will, and today when I wouldn't let her have a second cookie she told me "you are not very nice grammie". I told her I was sorry, I was trying to be nice, and she looked at me for a minute and then said, "well, actually, you are nice" Very funny to see her testing and exploring. She is also exploring her freedom with her body. At nap time she said she was too hot and could she take her dress off? I said yes, and she said "of course I won't take off my panties". I said, well either way is ok, since it's just you and grammie, so she stripped everything off and snoozed under the sheet in the buff. Later she wanted to pee pee outside in the grass, which I again said was ok. We had a discussion about animals peeing and pooping outside, and agreed that for people pooping outside was not ok, and most of the time peeing inside was best. These conversations just tickle me so, and I laugh again when I remember them later.

Kiva helped me bake cookies today for my guild board meeting, she is so proud of helping out. [Joan]

Growing Up

Today for the first time Kiva played in the children's pool at the gym by herself....meaning I wasn't at her elbow in the pool, I was in a chair about 3 feet away. She is getting so grown up I can't believe it. Kiva was playing with another littler girl who had her mother with her. I saw the mother asking Kiva about her shiner, I'm sure the mother was wondering....
Kiva also played in the yard with Dancer by herself (Kiva's idea) for about 15 minutes this morning. I had the windows open from the kitchen so I could see and hear her, but she didn't call me until she felt like they needed some food. [Joan]

Mr. Communicator

Mr. Communicator is working hard today. This morning we were playing and he started rubbing his sleepy eyes. Then he walked over to me looked me in the eye and said clear as a bell, "ni ni". So off to bed he went and went right to sleep. He is a genius! We went to the park and he loved watching the kids. He stuck right by me for over half an hour, watching intently and imitating the big kids with his little spoon and bucket. Then he started walking around and visiting. Jack didn't like the swing much, it seemed to scare him, but he really enjoyed the park overall. [Joan]

But, Grandpa...

Ken said he was going to take a shower, and Kiva immediately jumped up and said “I’ll take a shower with you grandpa”. Grandpa said “no that’s ok, not this time” in a flustered way. Kiva then looked at him with those liquid blue pool eyes and said “but Grandpa, I want to see what you look like in the shower”. Grandpa utterly nonplussed and sputtering...uh uh uh uh. I told Kiva that “grandpa likes his privacy when he takes a shower”, and she was immediately ok with that. The look on Ken’s face was utterly priceless though, sort of like a completely panicked landed fish gasping for air. That girl is such a treat, and has an innocence that just squeezes my heart (and grandpa’s). I can't wait for Jack to start speaking up, I know he has a LOT to say as soon as he get the mechanics down. He "talks to me" all the time anyway, I'm just not as good in his language as I want yet. [Joan]

The Lightning Stab

Jack is such a honey pie. He has walked a little bit for me. A couple of steps, and once almost 10. He is soooooooo adorable when he does it. Jack slept through most of the weavers meeting, but was a huge success when he finally work up and made his entrance. What a flirt he is!
When Jack first got here he didn't want to come to me. I think he forgot me in the week you were gone. Very cute; he crawled over to Jim, stood between his legs, turned his back to me and put his head down "I know she can't see me now". He warmed up quickly and we are old pals again now.
Today at bottle time he was absolutely determined to stick his finger up my nose. No tantrums or anything, but every time I put my head down he would try a different strategy. The lightning stab, the slow creeping up on it, the "I'm only playing with your hair" and then the quick jab. Very very funny. He wound up drinking most of his bottle with me staring at the ceiling to keep my nose out of range.
Jack loves watermelon as much as his sister does. :-) [Joan]