Lots of Updates

Where should I begin...how about with our recent outings?

A couple weeks ago, Jack, Grandma and I checked out a few of the area playgrounds. It was a lot of fun, and Jack loves exploring and climbing on everything. When your child learns to walk, people say "watch out, now he'll be getting into everything!" I feel like we got to that point when he started crawling, but the walking to me is a relief. I no longer have to worry about him crawling on yucky public floors or scraping his fragile little knees on rough surfaces - now we can go to playgrounds and wherever we want, and he can toddle around. I much prefer this stage!

Playing with Grandma:Peek-a-boo!
One of his favorite pastimes:
Grandma, Grandpa, Jason and I took Jack to his first carnival a couple weekends ago. It was the annual church picnic at my grade school, which was one of the big highlights of our year growing up. For some reason, it didn't seem quite as big of a deal now that I'm in my 30s. Jack did get to go on two rides though: the big slide and the carousel. I'm told he had a look of shock while we were going down the slide. He did great on the carousel, but that's old news to him now since he's been on about 3 carousels already. After the rides, he just got to walk around a little in his adorable Puma track suit. It was a good time.

That's Jack & Mommy at the top:

Grandma & I also took Jack to Grant's Farm that weekend so Daddy and his friends could watch opening day of football. It was a lot of fun and Jack did great despite being long overdue for his nap. We fed the goats, and boy, those things are aggressive! I had this sweet image in my head of Jack holding the bottle while the goat fed from it, but that's not quite how it went. Instead two goats were duking it out over the one bottle I held while jumping up on my legs. It was all I could do to keep Jack out of the skirmish. Phew - it was a little stressful! BUT, other than that, it was a great afternoon, and an outing we're sure to repeat many times.

Riding the tram:
Jack and a little horse:Feeding the goats:
Those crazy things! Notice the paw prints on my shorts:
Here Jack is modeling the new snow pants and snow boots I got super cheap at Once Upon a Child - he's all set for winter!
And demonstrating how he will make snow angels when the time comes:
Here's Jack getting ready to cheer our Tigers to victory last weekend. He has on shorts that were Aunt Kelly's and mine when we were little. It's very clear they are from the 70s and were likely made for girls - they're technically a size or two too big for him, but yet are quite snug! Jason has forbidden me from putting them on Jack again. Good thing I took this picture!
A day care update: Jack is doing awesome in his new toddler class at day care. Drop offs are getting easier and easier - he didn't even cry the last few times! One day this week, he took such a long nap (3 hrs, 15 min) that they had to wake him up for snack time. One mishap this week though - Jack had his first run-in with a bully. He was playing with a push toy in the common area and a little guy from another class decided to bite Jack on the arm to get the toy from him. His teacher said Jack was absolutely hysterical when it happened (rightfully so!), but calmed down after some cuddling and ice pack application. This was Wednesday and he STILL has bite marks on his arm. Poor baby. I'm sure this won't be the last incident, but you just hate to hear that your little guy was in pain!

And last but not least, Jack has mastered his throwing skills and now has moved on to kicking. I think we have a budding soccer star on our hands: