Bubble Bath

Jack,

You took your first bubble bath over the weekend (in spite of the fact that Grandma and Poppa Dough think that bubble baths are the work of the devil, I couldn't resist! So it's my fault if you come down with a bladder infection!)

You LOVE bubbles, so the combination of sitting in a sea of them was a little mind boggling. You would scoop up bubbles in your hand and - initially become a little upset when you couldn't wipe them away. They stuck to your hand and you couldn't get rid of them. Then, I found the perfect combination of turning on just a trickle of water from the faucet so you could wash the bubbles away and then you had a game for the next 30 minutes (I SWEAR!) of sticking your hands and your toys in the bubbles and then washing them off.

You have some foam cutouts to stick on the walls and you found that if you pushed the foam creatures below the surface of the bubbles, they disappeared from sight. Then, spring back to the top of the water with gusto when you release them because foam floats.

This discovery thrilled you.

And now, I'm going to toot my own horn a little. See those foam water creature cut-outs? I MADE THOSE! I'm so ridiculously proud of this little fact that I feel I must bring them specifically to your attention seeing as how much you enjoy playing with them when you are in the tub.

AND I also went out and purchased two butterfly nets from the Dollar store so you could "go fishing" for these little sea creatures and bath toys and catch them in your net.

Aren't I brilliant? Aren't you impressed with my creativity?

I'm Martha Friggin Stewart here.

I've always been curious about one thing in our bathroom. There is this mirror at the end of the tub and I've always wondered "Why did someone put a mirror in the tub?"

Well, now I have my answer. They had kids!

Here you are checking out how it looks when you get angry.

You are also fascinated at your hands and feet in the tub. The way they look under the water and when you pull them out, they are all wrinkled.

Check out those feet!

And those TOES!

Who is the cutest friggin kiddo in the entire world?

Raise your hand if it's you!

One thing I hadn't forseen was the fact that - when you play in the bath, you tend to get a little water on you. Any water that gets on your face, you rub your eyes for protection against.

This doesn't work so well when your hands are covered with bubbles.

That was the end of that.

And now, some obligatory photos of the shampoo mohawk on an adorable baby:

And, introducing Serious Mr. Bubble Beard:

In other news, you are pretty much moved into the two year old room by now. Yesterday marked your first day of attempting to sit on the potty like the older children do. According to the teachers, the first time you weren't interested, the second time you showed interest, but didn't go.

I tried to have you sit on the potty at home this past weekend. You seemed to want to and be interested in doing so, but when I took off your diaper, you hopped back off the toilet like the seat was on fire. I had to pull your little pants up because you were already off to play and I wasn't prepared with a new diaper thinking you might sit for a little more than a fraction of a second.

You didn't end up having an accident, but the first attempt at potty training showed me it's going to be a long road. :)

Yesterday we were playing with Calum and you wanted everyone to follow you and do what you wanted them to do. Calum - being a baby with no comprehension of your desires, wanted to go down the slide and this upset you to the point that you launched into your first full scale tantrum that I've witnessed. You brought your hands to your face, tears streaming as you cried to the ceiling and then, with your hands over your eyes, brought your face to the floor and stayed in a little bunched up position sobbing. When you are this upset, I have found that I can't talk to you. I have tried, but your crying increases in volume and I can't hear myself over the wailing, so I think it's best to let you have your cry and try to talk about it when you calm down.

You were exhausted last night. I think we headed for bed earlier than I can remember in a long time. 7:30! (Although this means that you didn't fall asleep until around 8:30, because once you get in bed, it becomes a TOTALLY different story).

It seems the minute that your head hits the pillow now, a new game starts based in denial that you are tired at all and you fight off sleep with every ounce of energy you have left until you finally fall asleep so deeply that you probably get twice the rest a normal person would get in half the time, which would explain how you could wake up with such tremendous energy in the morning and your father and I look at you like - REALLY? How do you DO that?

It's definitely not because your father and I are aging or anything like that, because we aren't.

Lately, the questions that you ask me in the dark of the room are cracking me up when I think back on them:

"Ayyypo Mommy Ayypo?"
"No, Jack - it's sleepy time. April's asleep."
"Moooooe Cooookeeee Mommeee!"
"No more cookies tonight, Jack, and we already read the cookie book" (I usually say both to have my bases covered)
"Twade, Mommy?" - this said with binky extended. We have a deal that until you fall asleep, you can trade me your binky for your milk, but you have to give me the milk back - aka: TRADE - before you can get your binky back. This helps to keep milk from spilling in the bed and makes it a little game you understand and are comfortable with.
"Trade, Jack. Here's your milk."
"TWADE! TWADE! TWAAAAAAAADE!!!!!!"(Screaming your excitement that the game continues to be what you expect)
"Shhhhhh, Jack. Night-night. You're Soooooooo Tired!" (I often tell you this to try to convince you it is so)
Quiet now while you drink....
"Twade, Mommy?" you hold out the milk and I hand you your pacifier.
"Katchow, Mommy?"
"One more time?"
"KATCHOW! KAAA-CHOW!"
(We read your Cars book for the 90 millionth time)
"Huuuuu, Mommy?"
"I'd love a hug Jack" (I bend in for a hug)
"Nuuuuh, nuuuuuh, nuuuuh, NUUUUUUUHHHHH!" (you change your mind and push me away anxiously as though I'm smothering you)
"I love you, Jack. Night-night"
"hoooooooo-hoooooo"
"That's right. It's night time with owls and it's time to go to bed"

Two more days till your birthday and tomorrow is your party with the Dougherty clan and your class. I'm so excited!!!

Love,

Mommy

Like Father - Like Mother

Jack,

The other day I picked you up from Grandma Rose's and she said:

"Watch this"

She took out a picture of your Daddy when he was just a little muchkin like you, but maybe just a weeee bit older and asked you who it was.

And, just like you these days, you wouldn't say. No. You knew you had said it before and you knew the answer that you wanted to give, but - no. As an expression of your first amendment rights, you decided to remain silent.

She swore to me over and over that you had been identifying that picture as "Jaaaack" all day - and I believe it. MAN, do you look like your Daddy. The main difference being that your Daddy had a LOT more hair than you do when he was young. It was like a blond fro. I mean - REALLY. Check it out for yourself.

Your hair, on the other hand, has been coming in SO slowly that you still haven't had your first haircut and I don't see the need to schedule it anytime soon.

I see your Daddy in you through your appearance and through your intelligence. You pick things up SO quickly. Yesterday at that park, I was finishing a sentence with the word "shameful" - don't ask me why. I don't even remember WHAT I was talking about that would require me to use such a word, but I know I did because you said "shaaaamflllllll". I thought - Oh, crap. Not something I want you to say, because HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THAT? I would never tell my child he's shameful, but if you start saying it, people will think it's because you are hearing it.

worry worry
frett, frett
stew, stew

Where do I see myself in you? I definitely see me in your - let's call it - zest for life. You are a passionate child. You want what you want when you want it. And that means now. Right this minute. Hurry.

I can understand. I've never been much on this delayed gratification thing either.

Lately, though, I'm seeing it more and more. I was changing you the other day and you were DONE WITH IT. Getting up now, Momma, okay? Stop messing with me, momma - I'm DONE, can't you see that? I dealt with this by saying without even hearing myself "Wait wait wait wait wait wait!"

You were equally anxious about escaping, so you kept struggling, but started insisting "WAIT WAIT WAIT WAITWAITWAIT WAAAAAIT!!!!"

I think your father almost choked on his soda because we must have looked like Me and Mini Me struggling with our two impatient personalities. It's a good thing that he DID hold it in, though, because we both have fiery tempers, too.

Yours is mostly triggered by frustration when you can't do something or when you are tired or hungry.

Again.

I can understand.

So - you really are a combination of me and Daddy. Probably the last thing you'll want to consider when you get older, but I don't think you mind so much now. It's fun to see you developing, Jack! YOU'RE ALMOST TWO! I can't believe it! I'm so excited! I LOVE YOU!

Love,

Mommy

Pape

Jack,

I am thrilled with your growing vocabulary and expanding knowledge. You can now proudly mimic the sound of any animal I can think of that makes a recognizable noise (what sound does a squirrel, badger, deer make? These we just don't talk about....)

In the evenings, when it's time for bed, we head up the stairs to begin our routine of brushing our teeth. You are good for us as you INSIST that we ALL brush our teeth at the SAME TIME. If one of us is missing - YOUR DADDY! - you will yell out DA-DA! until he arrives to participate in this event.

When he's not there, you call out for him anyways, but leave off after one attempt.

When he IS there and arrives to participate in the family brushing, you point to the cabinet and say "Daddy, PAPE!"

Pape.

That's right.

SO CUTE, but it took me SO LONG to try to figure out what it was you were saying because frequently you would say the word WITH the brush IN YOUR MOUTH, making it very hard to understand.

I now have deciphered that you are saying: Paste, but in a much better way than anyone else in the world has figured out and I was just sitting here thinking of your tiny voice saying: "Daddeeee - Pape! Pape, daddeee, pape! - and a smile crept on my face and suddenly, I can't wait for the sun to set and night to come.

I love you!

Love,

Mommy

P.S. - Exciting news today! We learned that your Aunt Erin is carrying a baby boy! Another BOY COUSIN for you to play with! I hope you will be as inseparable with him as you are with your sweet cousin, Cal, honey!

Talking Tator

Jack,

The ways that you have changed in the past week are so are so incredible that, when I think about it, I kind of feel a little dizzy.

At this point, I don't think there isn't a word you won't say.

Which means we have to be more careful now than we have ever been before.

About a week ago, I was trying to change your diaper and you were being a little stubborn - which means that you were trying to kick my hands away, twist and run while I tried to turn your legs at the exact moment you tried to twist so you wouldn't be able to wiggle away and still thrust the new diaper under your bottom and attach the tabs on the sides all the while avoiding the karate chop action of your legs as you tried to get even with me for torturing you in this fashion.

When all was done, your new diaper was on and you were already forgetting the horrible torture you had been subject to, I gathered the old diaper, took a deep breathe and said, "Oooh, boy."

I walked into the kitchen to throw away the stinky diaper and heard a voice from the other room say:

"Ooooooooh boy."

I walked back into the room and you were on top of the slide smiling at me and saying over and over: "Ooooooh boy, oh boy ohboy oby oooooooooooh boooooyeeeeeeeee!"

I thought - thank GOD that's what came out of my mouth.

Now you are in the habit of repeating a lot of the last words that come out of my mouth when I finish a sentence and, when we read bedtime stories together, you wait for the end of the page because you know the last word that each page ends with. If I don't say it fast enough, sometimes you yell it at me until I am able to read fast enough to get it out. Then we repeat that word like five times and I reread the page at it's normal pace and go to the next one.

"Nothing could stop McQueen...."
"TRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIX!!! TRIXXXXXX! Trix! Mommy! TriiiiiiiiiX!"
".....Not even Chick Hicks....."
"MEEEEEEEEEEEEANNN! MEEEEEEAN! Meeeeen! Meeee!"
"...and his Mean Tricks!"
"Meeeen triiiix! HA HA! Meeeeeeeen Triiiixxxxxx! HA HA! CRRRRRASSSSHHHHH!"
"That's right, buddy. He made them crash!"
"CRAAAASSSSHHHH! KA-CHOW!"

Also, when you say "KA-CHOW" you have the cutest habit of closing your eyes and squeezing them tight while your face contorts from the effort of getting this very important word to come out EXACTLY RIGHT!

This communication skill is both a relief and a little bit of a - how can I put this diplomatically - scary, pain-in-the-ass, must-be-dealt-with-immediately-kind of urgency to your requests so much so that it is clear at times when we know that your accompanying behavior will need to be addressed immediately. I have found that you are encountering some frustration when we are among other children that want the same toys you do, or when you are tired and automatically want everything that everyone else wants. Escalations happen very quickly. You make the initial statement of "myyyyyn", but if the toy isn't immediately dropped and given to you, the follow-up behaviors could include hitting, pushing, grabbing or shouting.

I know this is age appropriate and many have told me that you are two already even though you haven't turned it yet.

We're working on these behaviors to learn the right way to deal with these situations.

This weekend, we spent down at the Lake with Bobby and Kelly and they got a first hand look at this little dictator phase or "tator" as we lovingly refer to it. At least on three occassions, we were all running in circles around the upstairs balcony chasing you because we LOOOOOOVE YOU, and the alternative was to hear the names of the missing persons shouted in anguish at the top of your lungs for all to hear: "BAAAAAAAAA-BAAAAAA! BOBBY! BOBBEEEEEEEE! BAAAAA-BAAAAAAA!!! UPPPPEEEEEE! UPPEEE, BAAAAA-BAAAAA! UPPPPEEEEE!!!!"

I hate to admit it, but it's very effective. Makes me think that the next time someone won't give me a raise at work I'll simply say "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAISE!!!! RAAAAAAAAAISE!!"

Oh, who am I kidding? I'm not as adorable as you!

Speaking of adorable - Kelly and I found some "Us" time this weekend thanks to Daddy and Bobby to go shopping and we lost ourselves in the fun. We were out shopping for 6.5 hours! Yeah! That's right! I didn't think we had it in us, either! AND we didn't buy the whole mall in that time!

Now, I feel like a fashion plate in my new clothes and am in the mood to dress up. I can't wait to do it again!

Well, I know I could go on and on, so I'll wrap this up.

I look at the words developing and the tantrums and the excitement you exude and I think that the personality you have is too big for your little body to contain so it has to come out in large ways - and I love it!

Can't wait for the next thing!

Love,

Mommy

Here is some more of your sweet little art projects, angel!:

I swear, your projects are becoming more and more detailed. You can do lines and circles and often focus on little areas of the paper as though you are trying to draw something.

I think it's fascinating.

Here's a beautiful paint on canvas drawing you made: