Building a Rocket

Christmas means lots of boxes, especially if you do your shopping online, like this sick pregnant lady did. The boys had seen on Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood (a favorite PBS show) kids decorating a box to look like a rocket. So we saved up some toilet paper tubes and got our the tape and crayons and they went to work creating and decorating, and then flying their rocket.

Jack's fine motor skills

For Christmas, the boys each got a toilet paper roll filled with coins for their piggy bank. When we got home, we pulled out all the piggy banks for them to fill with their coins. Each boy loved it, as I knew they would, but Jack surprised me with his ability to pick up each coin and put it in the small slot without any help. As I'm writing this it occurs to me I need to remember this the next time he needs something to do. It will entertain him for hours. And he didn't even try to put any of them in his mouth.

Christmas

We spent Christmas in AZ with my family. We always have such a good time and the boys are always so excited. I think much of the reason is that it is always better weather than at home and they spend a lot of time outside and at the nearby park. The favorite present this year was the cheap M&M light sabers Santa left in the stocking. They ran around with those things all week long and even now 3 months later, they get a ton of play time.

Green for JJ

Blue for Ryan

My 3 cute Jedi

Red for Jack

Jack seemed to enjoy these toys the most.  He would grab two and just keep turning them on.

Can you guess what JJ is?  A pirate, with an eye patch he designed himself.

Each boy asked Santa for a Slinky

And Ryan asked for a blue train.  We certainly did not need another train at our house, so Santa was kind enough to brainstorm and find a Thomas flashlight.  It fit the bill and was multi-purpose

Jack was not interested in opening presents.  Weird, I know because most kids his age are all about tearing paper and playing with boxes.  He left most of his gifts untouched and we brought them home still wrapped.  Santa left this ball popper, which was not wrapped, so Jack was perfectly content to play with this.  I also got him to unwrap a stacking toy, which was also hugely popular and today is still probably his favorite gift from Christmas.

Santa also brought the boys scooters and my parents have this long hallway that they rode up and down while they were waiting for an adult to take them outside to ride their scooters.  It was so nice to be in Arizona because Utah got tons and tons of snow and ice and they never would have been able to ride their scooters if we were home.

For me, the nicest part of being home is that the kids have someone (or in this case 4 someones) who are new and they can talk their ears off, and I am completely uninteresting and they don't talk to me as much.  We had a great time baking cookies and visiting places with Christmas, but resting was the best part of the trip.

So behind

Oy vey,  I am so behind. Enjoy the post about Jack and really, I'm trying to catch up.

 

Jack at 18 months

Another milestone, Jack turned 18th months in December. And if we thought Ryan was a monkey, Jack is 3 monkeys rolled into one little body. This kid is a fire ball.

I don't know if I've shared this story, but before he was born, we actually were debating between two names.  Jeremiah said (name 1) is a nice guy, but Jack will kick your butt.  As it turns out, Jack is a very appropriate name for this kid.  He is not mean, not at all.  But he is aggressive and loves to be physical.  I've mentioned before that if one of us is on the floor, he'll come jump on us, but recently, he's started grabbing the boys when they are sitting on the couch and trying to pull them off.   Ryan gets annoyed enough to resist, but JJ is generally oblivious, and so Jack can sometimes get him on the floor.

Jack is a super picky eater.  When I started writing this post I had a list of 6 foods I had never seen him refuse.  Chicken nuggets, pizza, lollipops, soda, milk, and ice cream.  But since I started the post, I've seen him refuse ice cream.  He will also occasionally eat granola bars, graham crackers, apples, quesadillas, Kraft macaroni and cheese (but no other kinds) and other assorted candies.  Seriously, that's it. Pickiest eater ever.

He's not a big talker but he does say one word very clearly and very, very often.  GO!  It is used in "Let's Go!" an unintelligible "Ready, Set" and then Go.  Also "3, 2, 1, Go" and "Go, Go, Go." He is always on the move.  He chases his brothers up and down the hall and around the couch.  He gets so excited when we get ready to get in the car.  Of all my children, he is the least likely to sit in a stroller or cart.  He would much rather be walking than riding.

He loves to watch TV,  I've been a miserable failure in this regard.  He loves Mickey Mouse and Baby Einstein.  And almost anything on PBS kids.  And when he's not watching TV, he loves to play ball and zoom his cars and trains.  He will be so excited when the weather warms up and he can be outside.  Honestly, we all will.

He started going to nursery and absolutely loves it.  I've been so lucky that my kids all love to go and we don't have a fight. 

Jack is so fun and playful.  He loves to snuggle and is just generally happy.  He is good at mimicking faces and sounds.  This picture below is one of the faces he makes often and one of my favorites.  He actually uses this appropriately when he is trying to show his displeasure and trying not to smile at the same time.  He hates having his picture taken professionally, always has, and this is him letting me know he is not happy about this, but the photographer is making him smile.  It's awesome.

Ryan is 3

Ryan turned 3 in October. We love him and don't want him to feel left out. He was pretty excited to open presents.

This is Ryan and his best friend G.  They are about 10 days apart and have been great friends since they could be friends.

Really, the only thing he needed was balloons, we could have skipped the presents.

He worked so hard to be able to make the three.  It took a couple of months before he could do it regularly on his own. 

A Buzz lightyear themed party.  This was by far the hardest cake to decorate.  But he had a great day.

Ryan is a bundle of energy.  His nursery leader taught him that his middle name is Monkey and that pretty much sums up Ryan's life.  If it can cause trouble he will find it, get into it, climb on it, jump off it, and mess it up. Smiling and laughing like this the whole time.  I love his whole body smile.

A little about Ryan right now.  His favorite color is blue.  His favorite food is beans (refried, black or pinto), rice, and cheese quesadilla.  He loves root beer, and he is a sugar hound. 

He loves the outdoors and anything athletic and physical.  He also loves legos, trains, cars, and hide and seek.  He is always very interested in helping out in the kitchen.  Which I think has also helped turn him into a great eater.  He loves most food and will at least try most foods.

Ryan also really likes music and catches on quickly to songs.  His favorite job for Family Home Evening is leading the music.  He is in Sunbeams now and has so much fun during music time.  Although he always wants to participate and sometimes has a hard time when he doesn't get an opportunity.

He cannot wait for next year when he gets to go to school.  Everyday he asks if he can go with Jeremiah.  He sits with us at the table and does "homework."  He is so lucky to have brothers to play with him and help him expend his energy.  They spend a lot of time running up and down the hallway and around the couch.

He can wear me out sometimes, but he loves his snuggles and it's hard to stay mad when he says "Sweetheart, can we have a snuggle.  You're my very best friend."  Love this sweet boy.

 

It's a Boy!

I think everyone who reads this blog probably already knows, but just in case, yes, we are having another boy. We are all so excited. The only down side, we have no name. So we are enlisting your help. We are selling naming rights to the highest bidder. I've removed the word verification ( I didn't know it was on in the first place), so go ahead and leave your bid and your name suggestion. Even if you don't have money, leave your name suggestion.

Seriously.

We're desperate.