Me, Jack and the Camera Just... Click.

Has summer arrived?

It's been a gorgeous week with temperatures in the 70's. Next week they are calling for the 80's. Hopefully this means we can officially pack away the sweaters and coats and pull out the shorts and T-shirts. It's been great how much of our afternoons Jack and I have been able to spend outdoors. We get much less irritated with each other when we can sit outside rather than being cooped up in the tiny apartment. He even got some outdoor nakey time yesterday (well, mostly nakey. He still wore a diaper)

Being outside with Jack is becoming much easier now that he is old enough to understand the concept of boundaries.  He knows where the limits of how far he can go in the yard and usually obeys them. If he wants to go past them, he'll ask. If I say no, he'll get this sweetest little smile on his face and ask again... and again... and again. I think he knows it's hard to resist such a charming face. But when I hold my ground and say "no" every time, he eventually gives up. And on the rare cases that he doesn't listen, all I have to do is say "Jack, do you want to go inside?" and he'll come running back. Even he knows that being confined to an area outside is better than being confined to the living room.
A couple of days ago, Jack had Buzz outside with him. He likes to glide Buzz through the air and make "swishing" sounds like he's flying. Buzz got to fly all over the yard.

After dinner, Jack came up to me holding out his sandals. I put them on for him and he bolted for the door. Apparently he wanted to back outside. I told him that this time he had to put some clothes on, so he ran to his room, grabbed a Super Man T-Shirt, and held it out for me. Apparently he thought that was enough.

Unfortunately for the both of us, spending so much time outdoors has it's consequences... ALLERGIES. Poor little Jack couldn't escape the inevitable. At his last check-up he was given a prescription for them, although it doesn't seem to be helping much. 

Jack is a great little test subject for me to practice different photo techniques with. In this next set I was playing with shooting into the sun, emphasizing the contrast between light and shadow. I love how the grass looks in each of these.

I've also been practicing pre-focusing on a spot in front of a moving subject and then taking the picture when they walk into the frame, rather than trying to focus on them as they are moving. Last night it worked spectacularly. I love this photo.

And just because Jack is so cute, here are some more photos to wrap things up. Sorry this post is so long. But when my internet time is very limited, times between posts become longer.

Jack loves sniffing those flowers!

A Couple More Firsts

The stinky one: I thought Jack might be pooping because he stopped playing and just stood there and squatted for a minute. I asked him if he went poop and he said yes and ran into his bedroom to get his diaper changed.

The cute one: When Jack went to bed last night and I said "I love you" he tried to say "I love you" back, followed by blowing me a kiss. It was a garbled mess, but coherent enough that you could tell that is what he was trying to say.

Jack's First Vacation

I'm back! The person we were "borrowing" internet from moved out. Therefore for the past week we've been without the internet and I've been going crazy. Josh has managed to give me access on my computer via his Droid so we'll see how this works out.

This past weekend Jack went on his first vacation! We went to Chicago to meet up with my sister and her boyfriend, as well as some other friends. We had a blast and Jack was a really good boy the entire time.

Jack loved the Children's Museum. Josh and I felt bad making him leave. I'm sure he could have spent all day there. It's definitely some place that we'll go back to. They do a really great job of catering to toddlers.

He even got to be a Paleontologist!

They had a full fossil skeleton of dinosaur that I had never heard of. I asked Jack if it was a T-Rex and he adamantly said "No!" He's such a smart paleontologist!

We also went to the Museum of Science and Industry. Jack's favorite exhibit the tesla coil (a lighting machine). I thought he'd be scared of it because it was so loud but he cheered every time it went off and  would sign and say "More!" He was also very interested in the periodic table of elements. I think he may have recognized it from the They Might Be Giants video "Meet the Elements."

In addition to the museums, we also went to the Shedd Aquarium and the Lincoln Park Zoo (yes it was a very packed weekend). It was so awesome for Jack to see all of these animals that he's been learning about in real life. He'd roar at the lions and leopards, say "ah! ah!" while tickling his armpits at the monkeys, and bark at the wolves.

Everywhere we went people would come up to Jack to say "hi" and tell us how adorable he was. I mean, look at this little guy. He's impossible to resist :)

For the car ride there and back, we bought Jack a mini dvd player. This was one of the best purchases we have ever made. We didn't hear one whiny peep out of him the entire trip. Granted we had to watch Toy Story 1 and 2 over and over again, but hey. It kept him quiet and happy.

And to end this post, here is an awesome photo(s) I took of the Chicago skyline and photo-shopped together.

Happy Mother's Day

 My mother and me.

When this picture was taken, my mother was just about the same age as I am now and I was just about the same age as Jack.
My mother and I have always been alike. Even at an early age I could see this. I am the spitting image both looks wise and personality wise of her. But while other young women grumble, "Oh my God, I'm turning into my mother," I've always embraced and loved the fact that we are so similar. My mother is a remarkable woman and throughout my entire life I've looked up to her in many ways. I'd never quite know the influence she'd have on me, however, until I became a mother myself. When dealing with Jack, I find myself thinking all of the time, "How would my mother have handled this situation?" I have such a deep admiration for how she raised us, and how she still is today with children. She was and always will be "natural" mom. Sometimes I feel like motherhood doesn't always come as naturally to me. But whenever I have those moments and I don't know what to do and I feel like a terrible mother, it's comforting to know that I have the wisdom of my own mother to rely on.
Happy Mother's Day, Mom. I love you.

Oh and here's a picture of my Mother's Day present. Josh says I shouldn't get used to this :)

NO!

Jack's latest response to everything is "Nuh-Uh" while he wildly shakes his head back and forth. Yes, we've reached the age of "No."
Prior to a couple of days ago, Jack was really good at lettings us know what he wanted. "Are you hungry?" if he was he'd nod yes and say "Uh-huh!" "Do you want a drink?" If he didn't then he'd say "Nuh-Uh." But now it's impossible to know what he really wants because everything is "No!"
Josh and I have been having fun with it by asking him things like "Do you want to go do Disney World?" and he'll say no. So then Josh will reply "Good! Now we don't have to take you and that'll save us a lot of money!"
Jack has also discovered my "sticker box." I have loads and loads of stickers from when I was younger and collected them. Jack loves looking at them. But now we find random stickers stuck all over the house.
Josh and I bought a new vehicle today! It's a Ford Escape XLT. I am so excited. I've always wanted an SUV. I feel like such a "mom" driving it. Josh is excited because he told me now I'll have room to haul all of Jack's hockey equipment around. Speaking of hockey equipment, holy crap Johan Franzen! Last night as we were watching the game we finally got a "yes" out of him. I asked Jack if he wanted to be a hockey player. He said no. I then asked if he wanted to be a football player. Again he said no. So then I asked "Do you want to be a dancer?" and he said yes and started spinning in circles.

Bubbles!

Today was the perfect day to play with bubbles outside since it was really breezy and Jack doesn't really get the whole concept of blowing into the wand. All he had to do was dip the wand in the solution, hold it up, and let the wind do the rest.

I love getting my back scratched and I ask Josh to do it pretty much every night. Lately Jack has been wanting to help and squeezes himself between Josh and my back. This evening I was sitting on the floor with Jack and said to him "Jack, want to scratch my back?" never dreaming that he'd understand what I was asking. Much to my surprise he walked around to the back of me, lifted up my shirt, and began scratching away! I knew there was a reason for having kids. I can't wait for him to be strong enough to give me back rubs!

Life Changes Coming Our Way on This Wonderfully Sunny Day

Today we just found out Josh got a job in Lansing. Our lease is through the summer here, so we won't be moving until the fall and in the meantime Josh will commute. We are so excited. Not only is it a great job with great benefits, but we are so ready to move on.  When I moved down here to come to CMU, I never imagined that I'd end up spending nearly 10 years in Mt. Pleasant. And Josh has lived here his whole life! So we are so ready for a new scene and to face new challenges together.
Today was a beautiful sunny day. The perfect day to receive such news! So Jack and I spent the afternoon playing outside in the field.

He thinks Dandelions are really pretty and goes "Ooo!" whenever he sees a big patch of them. He likes to pick off the heads and throw them. Every time he does it I think "Mama had a baby and it's head popped off!"

Jack also likes to "sniff" the pretty "flowers" (He doesn't really get the concept. He exhales instead of inhales).

A little Robin made a nest in the corner of our carport and there are two little babies in it chirping away that caught Jack's attention. I lifted Jack up so he could get a closer look. He kept pointing at them and saying "Bir" (minus the "d"). He sounded just like Bambi.