Sleep Talker

We've discovered that Jack inherited my sleep talking gene. The other night he woke up and yelled, "Bad Dog, Cocoa!" Then he started to cry and told me that Cocoa just ate his pizza.

Soon, I will have to put bells on the door in case he also inherited my sleep walking gene. Fun things to look forward to!

The negotiator

Jack is learning the art of negotiation. When his friend, Aubrey, came over to play and her mommy told her that she had 5 more minutes, Jack said, "30 more minutes, right?" This goes well with his "one more time."

"Polka-dots"

After drinking a blue gatorade (although yellow is his favorite,) I told Jack to look in the mirror to see his blue lip. When he looked in the mirror, he said he had "polka-dots" on his face - freckles! :)

Nancy's Pumpkin Bread

Our neighbor, Nancy, makes the best pumpkin bread. It was one of the first foods that Jack ever ate. He asks for it all the time. She finally gave us the recipe since she figured out that she made a loaf almost every other week for him since Christmas. Here's the recipe:

Nancy's Pumpkin Bread


4 Eggs

3 cups Sugar

1 cup Salad oil

1 16 oz can Pumpkin

2/3 cup Water


Mix until well blended Then Mix

3 1/2 cups Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

2 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Salt


Add to the other mixture. Season with

1 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp Nutmeg

1/2 tsp Ground Ginger

1/4 tsp Ground Cloves


Pour into well-greased loaf pans, filling about 1/2 full. Bake at 325°. Small pans take about 45 minutes, larger one takes 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes. Freezes beautifully.

Jack's Bad Day

Jack had a tough day today. When he woke up, I told him that Charlotte's mommy called and said that Charlotte had a new baby sister. Jack said, "but I don't have one." Then I told him that we could visit Charlotte's new sister any time we wanted, but then he asked, "can we take her home?" Then when I picked him up from his school at 11:45 am, he ran to me and started crying. After I could understand him, he said that the assistant teacher said that he couldn't be line leader anymore. He thought she meant ever and was almost hysterical. I couldn't get him in his car seat so we sat in the parking lot for 45 minutes as he kept crying that he wants to be line leader. Fortunately, he had to go pee-pee which was a nice distraction. We ran behind the bushes by the parking lot (there's no way we were going to go in the school). Then he was open to my earlier suggestion of going to McDonald's. Once we got to the new McDonald's and he could play on its new playground, he was much happier.

Picnic at the Arboretum

It was a fantastic Presidents' Day! Daddy had the day off, so we made a picnic and headed to the arboretum. It was beautiful. We must have seen every plant, rode on the tram and fed all the coy.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Jack had no problem hurrying to get to school this morning knowing that there was going to be a party. Daddy's clients were so nice to push back their lunch meeting so that Daddy could come to Jack's Valentine's Day party. Jack was so happy to hand out heart balloons to all his friends. He also loved the Chicken Nuggets and ketchup followed by two heart cupcakes. His friend, Arabella, (in the picture) prays for Jack every night, her Daddy said. Arabella tells her Daddy all the time that "Jack is so funny." Jack loves playing with his friends. However, when he thought his friend, Wes, was leaving, he got very upset. Although Wes and his mommy don't know that they are in a race, EVERY DAY, Jack has to beat Wes out of the parking lot. Today was no exception. He started to cry thinking that Wes had left, but once he realized that his mommy was still in the classroom, Jack told me, "Hurry, Mommy, we have to beat Wes." So with his balloon and valentine bag in hand, we ran to the car and he cheered when we were first to leave. (I wonder where he gets his competitiveness?) Then, later this afternoon we went to soccer practice, and Jack was so excited to get his first jersey! Then we had a Valentine's hamburger dinner with Mimi and YoYo.

Jack's Funny Little Sayings

"Oh, Pickles!" - When things go wrong and close to Oh, S... Try it, it's fun to say.

"I guess I can" - What he says after he accomplishes something he was just told that he couldn't do. (The first occasion was when we were at Whataburger and he wanted to squeeze between a tiny space between the booth and the window. After I told him to go around the other side because the space was too small for him, he squeezed as hard as he could and made it.)

"I'll try my best" - What he says when he is about to do something that he shouldn't do. (like straddling between bar stools or standing on his jeep or climbing into the Suburban from the ground through the rolled down window. Video of this to come soon...

"Is that a good plan?" - What he says when he has a detailed plan of events like "after we have lunch, we'll get gas, and then ride my bike to the playground, is that a good plan?"

"Now that is what I'm talking about" - What he says when you understand what he is saying.

Playdate with Charlotte

Jack loved giving Charlotte a tour of the backyard in his Jeep that has a real FM radio.