Basketball star in the making

GIVEAWAY!!!!

Remember CSN Stores? They are the great folks that sent us our sweet picnic table. They have many fabulous products and brands from le creuset to Little Tykes.

And now they are allowing me to host a giveaway for you! That's right! You can win a $60 one-time use gift code to any of CSN's sites.

All you have to do is leave me a comment letting me know what you'd like to get if you had the $60.

A winner will be randomly chosen on Friday, August 13. Will Friday the 13th be your lucky day?

Dance for Me

During Jack's first outing with his cane, he was in a very dance-y mood. We were watching this video tonight and Jack was repeating David saying, "Get on down!" I got up and started dancing. Jack leaned back in his chair and said, "Mama's funny."

Ham buh guhs....zzzzzzzzzzzz

We just left the pool and are on our way to church. Jack is so tired that he fell asleep on the way. I am making our usual run through McDonald's on our way to church. Jack stirred as I pulled up to the drive thru. He said, "Ham buh guhs!!" And I started to answer him when I heard snoring.

All By Yourself

Because of continued nighttime breathing concerns, Jack still sleeps in a toddler bed next to our bed. That way, if anything happens at night, we are right there next to him to tend to him. It's hard enough to wake up and figure things out in the middle of the night. I cannot imagine having to wake up enough to walk down the hall.

Recently my little brother got a new bed and passed down his twin bed to Jack. We haven't put the bed up yet but we've got the mattress in Jack's room. Yesterday, Jack went in there, knocked the mattress down from where it was leaning against the wall and said, "Lie down, go sleep. Jack sleep big bed." I responded, "You want to sleep on your big bed?"
J: Yes! Jack sleep big bed.
M: No more little bed?
J: No more little bed.
M: You sleep in here?
J: Right here!
M: All by yourself.
J: By yourself [pronouns are still confusing for him]
M: No Mama, no Daddy?
J: [pauses, thinking it over] No Daddy.
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Poolside Snack

I look at him & I think, "Wow, he's skinny" but he weighs 49.5 lbs! AND he's very strong!

Picnic Table Review--FINALLY!

Anybody remember this post way back at the beginning of June? I promised you a review of a picnic table--this table

from CSN Stores, the people that carry everything from toys and games to mailboxes to sofas.

The table arrived not too long after my teaser post about the review but somehow I got "too busy" and it sat in it's neat little box in the garage until the beginning of July.

Once I opened the box, I was very pleased to find that everything needed for assembly was right in the box! Also, instead of having all the screws in a plastic bag leaving you to sort the 7/8 inch screws from the 1 inch screws, the kind folks at CSN stores have the screws all sorted and labeled for you. I wish I had taken a picture of the holder they came in. I think I was too excited about putting the table together!

Here it is fully assembled and placed out on my back deck....

Elise was staying with us at the time so it was a table for two for its first use.

It's just the right size for two small diners. At first, Jack wasn't too sure about sitting at the table

so we pulled up another chair and he sat at the side of the table.

Then Elise complained about too much sun.....

and I remembered we still had our beach umbrella. It fit perfectly in the holes provided. After putting up the umbrella, Jack happily sat at the table. He must have just been trying to stay out of the sun too.

The kids loved the table for outdoor dining and I loved feeling like I had a little cafe right outside my back door.

My only caveat for other buyers is that you must have somewhere to keep your little table indoors. It is labeled only for occasional outdoor use. It is really light and easy to move but it can't be left outside. Thank you CSN stores* for sending us this great little table. We are thoroughly enjoying it!

*CSN stores provided the table to me for this review. However the opinions expressed and the adorable children photographed are mine (well mine in Jack's case and part-mine for Elise since she's my granddaughter, LOL!).

Just wait...

This morning, as we were doing our usual morning roll around the bed wake up & talking, Jack said, "Cookies." I really thought he was asking for cookies & was thinking about the best reply. Before I could come up with anything, he said, "Cookies. N is dot 1, 3, 4, 5." I did not understand the first two times. Patient Jack repeated a third time and I said, "Oh wow! Yes, N is dot 1,3, 4, 5." He has been learning the dot numbers of Braille letters. Ms. Sunny uses his cookies as dots to help him learn....
Anyway if I had jumped right in with a reply I might not have gotten to hear that he was rehearsing for his letter of the week!

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Go store!

The scene: sitting on the deck eating breakfast. Jack is on his last little bit of blueberry waffles. He is using his hand to scan the plate for more yumminess and getting distressed as he finds no more waffles on his plate.

Jack: Waffles! Waffles!
Mama: You ate all your waffles.
Jack: Waffles! More waffles!
Mama: You are all out of waffles. Would you like some fruit?
Jack: Waffles.
Mama: You ate all your waffles.
Jack: (pauses a moment, clearly the wheels are turning) Go store.
Mama: (giggles a little) You want me to go to the store and get some more waffles?
Jack: Yes!

He progresses daily! I am really enjoying his increasing ability to communicate his thoughts!
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Shoes Make a Difference

Please learn from me. I don't want you to have the same "Oh duh" Mama moments that I have. Here in the southeastern United States it is hot hot hot!

It's the time of year for sandals and flip flops, freeing your toes from the tyranny of socks and shoes! Jack won't wear flip flops so each year when it starts to warm up I buy him some crocs. They are oh so comfy and easy to get on and off.

Unfortunately this year his crocs rubbed two raw spots on the inside of his ankles. So I reluctantly put him in socks in his crocs.

Then, one day I was watching him walk in our backyard. He was nearly walking on the inside of his foot, on his ankles. Seriously, I did not realize you could lean that far in on your foot without popping something! That's when it dawned on me just how Jack got those blisters and the fact that the crocs do not provide anything in the way of ankle support.

Time to go shoe shopping again...*sigh*

We love New Balance for their extra wide widths and excellent support. Since he's gotten his new shoes he is much more adventuresome outside. He's not totally a sidewalk kid! He actually is voluntarily climbing up and down grassy, rocky hills!

I worried that his feet would be hot and he'd constantly kick off his shoes. OR he would lose some independence because he could no longer get his shoes off on his own. Neither came true. He is perfectly able to remove the shoes but seems to prefer having them on.

So apparently hot feet can be happy brave explorer feet!

Swimmin in the rain!

Only our third or fourth time in the pool this year (thank you nasty ear infections) so we were not gonna let a little rain stop us.

He actually said take a picture!

Then he said, "Wait, sit down curb, a-a-a-achoo!" Remember we used to achoo to get him to smile for pics.

Learnin from Daddy again

I gave Jack his Prevacid this morning and he said, "Thanks honey."
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My breakfast date!

Just wish this place wasn't Mom-cook, Mom-serve, and Mom-clean-up. LOL!

Have a Good Day!

Did you see my video from last night? You may be thinking....wait a minute, this kid does not really "talk" he just says a bunch of words and phrases out of context.

Well all that talking practice lead to the following conversation this morning...

Me: Well, I've got to go to work! I wish I could put you in my pocket and take you with me. (Kisses and cuddles while Jack is trying to eat his bagels.) You have a good day, okay?
J: Ok, you have a good day too!
Dave: I love you. Be careful.
J: Yeah, be careful.

If your child is not yet conversational, try making sounds or just saying words with them. At first you may feel silly but the results are completely worth it!
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Helping Jack to Communicate More

Here is a video of Jack and I "talking" while he is in the tub. This "conversation" continued for much longer but I only had a 512MB memory stick in my digital camera. In this particular conversation there really is not much exchange of information and some people might not consider this a conversation at all. Basically, I am just repeating what Jack says and sometimes adding on to his ideas a little and singing when he asks me to. BUT there are a couple of very important things going on here. #1 I am learning to understand Jack more and he begins to speak more clearly. As I repeat him, he refines his speech and has more clarity. When I don't understand him, he either repeats himself until I get it or tells me in some other way. Some things I just don't understand but that's okay too. #2 Jack is learning that staying "in conversation" with someone is fun and entertaining. #3 Jack is getting the oppurtunity to practice taking turns in conversation.

Fairytale Day at School

It's Jack and the Beanstalk!

This Mama LOVES Rejection!

When I picked Jack up from school today, the "other" Jack was leaving too. He said, "Hey mom, that's Jack-a-doo. He's funny!" I wasn't too sure of how to take that comment and neither was his mother as evidenced by the way she hurried him off to the car.

They loaded up much quicker than we did and soon the other Jack was waving at us (well I thought us) and saying, "Bye bye!" I called out, "Bye!" and waved as my Jack was climbing into the car. The other Jack then looked at me funny and said, "Oh, I'm not talking to you. I was talking to Jack-a-doo! Bye Jack-a-doo!"

I was a little embarrassed but thrilled! He wasn't talking to me!!! He wanted nothing to do with me. He wanted to talk to Jack and only Jack and he expected Jack to answer! I never thought I'd be so happy to be so rejected! Woo hoo!

And then I read Jack's progress note from Ms. Sunny today. Today the other Jack and my Jack aka Jack-a-doo played for a short while on the playground. And the playing was initiated by MY Jack!!!

Oh happy day of rejection!
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Things that Break Your Heart...

When he woke up this morning, Jack said, "Wake up, Lise." [He tends to drop the first E.] This has been his habit since she's been staying with us. He loved waking her up in the morning. We reminded him that she'd left the night before.

Then when it was time to head out for school, he asked for her again. We reminded him again that she went home and would not be going to school with him.

When we came home from school, he asked for her again. We reminded him again that she went home.

He seemed fine. Ms. Sunny reported that he had a great day at school. He had lots of fun playing with us when he came home. He seemed quite joyful.

But then...bedtime came and he asked for "Lise". We reminded him again that she had gone home.

I thought he was fine until he got into bed and his little mouth just contorted into a frown and you could tell he was fighting it but the tears just poured. I asked if he had an "owie". "No owie," he said. "What's the matter?" "Lise. Lise!" "Do you miss Elise?" "(Sniff sniff) uh, yes"

So we called Patrick and Elise said, "Hi Uncle Jack!" Jack did not say a word but a little smile crept up and after we hung up we did our bedtime prayer and stories and he went to sleep after one more little "Lise. Lise!"

The Three Musketeers

are alone again. Patrick picked up Elise yesterday evening. Jack is enjoying having us to himself again.

Sleepy Math

1 full day of fun in sun + 1 cute niece + 2 sweet neighbor children = 1 tired boy

1 tired boy + a little Beethoven + 2 furry friends = zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Add tiny neighbor

This is awesome!!!

The kids, in their own words, are having a blast!

Poor kids!

If only there was something to do out in the backyard.....

Poor kids!

If only we had something to do out here!

Sweet neighbors

make play time even better!

Zooooomm!

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Chillin with Daddy/Grandad

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Making Ball Angels

Who needs snow? We've got a ball pit!

Look familiar?

I should do a collage from all the years we've been going to Rolen and Brock's birthday parties!

Making a cake?

Sandbox fun

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Birthday Princess

Rolen, the butterfly princess, invited us to her birthday party on Saturday.

Group Shot?

Trying to get a group shot at Rolen's birthday party. The kids, especially Jack, were most cooperative!

Going for a ride

with cousin Jeanie. She's a good driver.

Fillin' him up!

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Gorgeous

This place is big and beautiful. There's plenty of room to run and practice cane skills. We may not even get on the silly playground equipment.

Breaking the Law!

Hrmmmmmm.....come on and fine me and we'll talk about whether any federal funding went into this playground. And this playground is not accessible to my child unless I get on the equipment with him. Sincerely, Marie

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Mmmmmmm.....cake

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