See Jack {Mother's Day Weekend 2013}

This is an ongoing series of videos that I am sharing so that our extended family can keep up with how Jack is growing and changing in these early years. I have been trying to stay in chronological order, but this set of videos is from this past Mother's Day weekend.

See Jack work on his climbing skills... by the end of the weekend, he was doing some serious playground climbing. WITHOUT SUPERVISION.

See Jack ride a big slide with Daddy.

See Jack and his cousins do some "mechanical" work on the the Tonka Truck.

See Jack and Izzy ride the Uncle Mark Wagon Roller Coaster. The kids all love this game. 
I think it must be exhausting for Uncle Mark!

See Jack and Izzy bounce on the trampoline. 


See Grammy share her Mother's Day dessert with Jack.


Just for kicks, this was the lawnmower we watched at Centennial Park in Nashville. Jack pointed it out to us while swinging by saying, "Tractor" which is currently one of his favorite words.

Jack is 18 Months (1.5 years old!!!)

Things I would like to remember from the last three months...
(I made need to go back to monthly updates for the rest of the year since he is growing and changing so much each day. Be warned that this is a super long post!)

If you have ever wondered about nature vs. nurture, having a child to watch grow is the ultimate way to see how much influence you have. I believe both nature and nurture play a part, but it is evident with Jack that many of his traits are inherent in who he is. These traits often are eerily similar to Daniel. As Daniel likes to say, Jack has the "knack." If you don't know what the "knack" is, check out this video.

Every day when Daniel gets home from work, Daniel takes Jack out to the mailbox to "get the mail." This involves Jack meticulously removing each piece of mail, one at a time, and handing them to Daniel. Then he puts the mail back in the mailbox and starts the process again.

Jack also loves to move things from different drawers and place them where he believes they should go. Case-in-point: in his bathroom he likes to move all of the baby towels and washcloths from the middle drawer to the bottom drawer. 

He also likes to put toys in his shopping cart or dump truck bed and push said items around. Some items are also placed in the bottom two drawers of his dresser

Jack will often observe us doing tasks and then repeat said tasks until he figures it out. I recently watched him try to plug his sound machine into my cellphone charger. He knows the sound machine has a cord... he just had the wrong one.

Visits to the park are becoming more of a frequent thing for us. Jack loves to slide down the slide, though he is still not a fan of the swings.

Communication with Jack has been exploding these past couple of months. He emphatically shakes his head "No" if he doesn't want something. He signs "more" and reaches both hands up if he wants to be picked up. If he needs assurance on the playground, he reaches one hand up so that he can hold hands with one of us as we walk around. He also waves –backwards, mind you– when he says "bye." At home, this can also indicate that he is tired. He understands the concept of going "bye bye" and will say this over and over again when we are getting ready to leave. If Sophie is not going with us, Jack marches up to pet her "bye bye" just like his mommy and daddy do. He has picked up that I frequently tell Sophie, "shhhhhhhh" when she is barking excessively. Jack now tells Sophie (and sometimes people), "shhhhhhhh." I love observing him as he continues to learn about the world around him.

A week before turning 18 months, Jack said his name. He looked at me, patted his chest and said what sounded like, "Jack Jack." I was ecstatic. I tried to get him to do it again and he looked me right in the eye, patted his chest and said in a very serious voice, "mama." I died. We keep working with him and he says his name about 70% of the time when asked. The other times he says, "dada" or "mama." We love it and find it hilarious.

Jack loves to stand on things. I continue to get a kick out of all of the objects I have found him standing on.

I took Jack to the zoo for the first time (16 months). He wasn't terribly interested in the animals, but he did have a blast running around and playing on the enormous playground at the Nashville Zoo. We bought an annual pass, so we will be sure to visit again when Daniel can come with us.

We also took Jack on his first visit to a little farm at Burritt on the Mountain (17 months). He had a blast. The most notable thing was that he connected the real life farm animals with the animals in books we have been reading to him.  

Jack, what does a cow say? Meh.
What does a sheep say? Bah (in a whisper). 
What does a monkey say? Oooo. Oooo. So the monkey wasn't at the farm, but that his his favorite animal sound to make!

We took Jack on his first camping trip at the end of April (almost 18 months). He did amazing. He loved the tent and he loved exploring the campground and saying "hi" to everyone.

Jack has figured out how to climb into his Lego wagon. I am wondering how long it will be before he realizes he can use said wagon as a step to reach much higher things.

Around 17 months, the days finally got warm enough for us to venture outside more. Jack adores the back yard. Lucky for him, we have 3 acres that he can explore. Well, not quite, since he's not really big enough to explore the woods yet! Jack also loves the garage and hanging out with his daddy in said garage. He cannot get enough of pulling and pushing buttons and gadgets and touching everything that we will let him touch. I have a feeling that he will be working on many projects in the garage with his dad in years to come.

Jack's favorite toy is his remote control car. He loves to put it on the furniture and then work the controls so that it tumbles off the furniture onto the floor. He thinks this is hysterical. Sophie is not a fan of this game.

Daniel and I always pray before meals. We hold hands, but have not insisted that Jack holds hands with us. Right before he turned 18 months, he started holding out his hands before meals to pray. He was very insistent on this. Soon he was holding hands to praying before, during and after meal time. It is really sweet when he does it. His power of observation continues to amaze us.

Jack continues to love for us to read to him. Though he also likes to look through books and read to himself as well. "The Bear Snores On" is one of his favorites. He knows that at the end of the book the bear wakes up and sneeze, "Ahhhh-chhhhooooooo!" Through the entire reading, Jack giggles and says, "Ah Ah Ah" in anticipation of the sneeze. He also enjoys reading "Hippos Go Bezerk." The reading of this book elicits a crazy tongue-rolling noise that we all make when the hippos go bezerk. Again, Jack will do this in anticipation of this part of the book. At the end of "Llama Llama Nighty Night" Jack will say "nye nye or "bye bye" to signal he knows that the llama {and Jack} are going to bed. We are loving this stage of toddler life. Jack amazes us everyday with what he is continually learning.
   

Quarterly Stats:
Height and Weight: At his 16 month check up, Jack was in the 95 percentile for height and weight coming in at 33" tall and 25lbs.
Teeth: He now has six teeth on top and two on the bottom. Our PED says this just means that he will keep his baby teeth longer, which isn't a bad thing.

Food: Jack eats just about anything we give him. While visiting my sister, I gave him the option of a casserole or plain noodles – he preferred the casserole.
Vocabulary: Around 35 words and sounds. See this post for complete list.

Words

Jack is almost 18 months old and his vocabulary has been exploding. I knew it would happen, but some days it is still quite shocking. Over the last week, he has been picking up between one and two new words everyday. Having a front-row seat to watch your child learn is an amazing part of being a parent.

Words in Jack's every growing vocabulary: 
(This is the approximate order he said these words. Also, he doesn't say them on command 100% of the time, but he definitely knows how to say them and what they mean.)

1. dada – he uses this for Daniel, but recently this also seems to reference any picture of men that he sees in books.
2. mama
3. bye bye – he says this at bedtime too, though occasionally will say "nye nye." He also uses this to end phone (and Skype) conversations as well as announce when he is ready to leave a place (like at church when we have been visiting for too long!).
4. boo – typically a reference to peak-a-boo, though once I heard him say it when his arm came through the sleeve of his shirt. #sillykid
5. oh wow!
6. okay – sometimes used when disagreeing with me. "Don't do that Jack!." Blank face. "Okay? Okay." And he does whatever I told him not to.
7. tickle – he loves to tickle his own feet or belly and say, "tickle tickle." He also loves to tickle us.
8. Cheree / she – we thought we broke him of the habit of calling me by name, but after a visit to see cousins, he is back at it.
9. buh (ball)
10. buk (book)
11. shhhhhh – he hears me tell Sophie, quite often, to shhhhh and he says it all of the time (mostly often to Sophie and in conjunction with the word NO).
12. na / nana (banana) – we think this may also be his general term for food
13. go / go go– courtesy of the TV show The Cat and the Hat Knows a Lot About That... Here we "go go go go" on an adventure. Go Go is often used when running.
14. no
15. hi
16. shoe – one of his favorite words
17. Jack – loves to point to himself and say "Jack Jack" though sometimes will point to himself and say "dada" or "mama"
18. yay! – he loves to clap for himself and say this

Words learned this week:
19. la (light)
20. ba ba (paci)
21. ma (milk)
22. mou (mouth), 23. nose and 24. ear – not super consistent with these
25. chee (cheese)
26. huh (hug)
27. baa (bath) 
28. truck
29. cah (car) – mostly in reference to his remote control car
30. side (inside)
  
Animal sounds he has been saying for about a month include his version of: 
31. moo (cow)
32. baa (sheep)
33. ssssss (snake)
34. oo oo (monkey)

He has also been making a 35. vrrrrrrrrrmmmmmmmm sound for trucks and cars for several months.

See Jack {late March 2013}

This is an ongoing series of videos that I am sharing so that our extended family can keep up with how Jack is growing and changing in these early years. This set of videos finish out the month of March.

On a random note, the is my 1,300th post! Daniel thinks I need a life. I told him that I have a life – it's just that 8+years of it are recorded on my blog.

See Jack play with his new {to him} Lego wagon and Legos.

{late March}

See Jack try out the doggy door again. He continues to try this out daily.

Thankfully {a month later} he still hasn't figured out that he can fit through this door. 
{late March}

See Jack try out his horsey for the first time.

He also tries to climb up on it by himself. 
{late March}

See Jack ride the four-wheeler with his daddy.

He was not a fan of leaving mommy behind.

I got on behind Daniel and held Jack and all was right with the world again.

Now he has no problem riding with just daddy.

{late March}

See Jack climb down off of his Lego wagon after climbing up on it.

{late March}   

Weekend Warriors: Screening in Our Back Porch

This post is better late than never – we wrapped up the porch project almost two months ago! 
*Pictures from project in second half of post.

Daniel was going through a bunch of old papers in our office this weekend {he was finding things like credit card statements from over 10-years ago!} and he came across our notes from when we were house hunting three years ago. We thought it was interesting that after viewing our current house for the first time, I made a note that we should screen in the back porch.
 
If you have known us for more than three years, chances are you have seen evidence of our endless house projects. That is what happens when you do a complete remodel of a house over the course of five years. Anyways, one of the charms of our new house {and part of the reason we bought it} was that no changes HAD to be made. We didn't even paint when we moved in. It was a load off of our shoulders to take a break from the endless renovations and try to reclaim our lives outside of projects.

That is not to say that there haven't been projects. For one, Daniel spent a good portion of the last year improving the attic insulation, air sealing, HVAC, and wiring in our house. Newer construction doesn't guarantee that everything is done properly... especially in a rural area where permits are not required for anything except septic systems.

About this time last year, I started dreaming up a new project. We love our back porch. It is huge and we spend a good portion of our time out there when the weather is nice. We especially love it on the weekends when we can savor our coffee in the mornings or lounge after lunch. Evening dinners on that porch have been a real treat as well. 

The problem is that when mosquito season is at its peak, we are driven indoors. And at the height of summer, we were discovering that carpenter bees, wasps and yellow jackets loved our porch as much as we did. They were making nests in the light fixtures and under the furniture. They didn't bother us too much and we always had a can of wasp spray handy so that Daniel could ward them off, but with Jack in the picture we have had more reason to be concerned. 

So I had the bright idea that we could screen in the half of the porch where we spend the most time. I knew that it would be a pretty large undertaking and I kind of thought Daniel would buck at the thought of the project – both at the cost and time involved. Surprisingly, it didn't take much to persuade him.

As usual, this project took way longer than we anticipated. The tv show, Weekend Warriors –is it still on anymore?– is a lie. Nothing gets done in a weekend. Not in real life anyway. Especially not when you have a perfectionistic engineer of a husband who has to make sure the work is done properly {for which I am thankful!}.

Step 1: Research
Daniel looked into what our options were; what made the most sense; what materials we would need; that kind of thing. He was going to have to build a wall to enclose one end of the porch, which would include a door. We also wanted to incorporate a doggy door that would make it easier for Sophie to come and go.

First we found a prefabbed door at Home Depot that Daniel could easily alter to match the rest of our deck. Then we decided on the Screen Tight System for attaching our screen and the Phifer BetterVue brand of screen material because it is easy to see through and prevents mold growth. On the note about being easy to see through: 1) When attaching the screen, Daniel tried to put his arm and face through a section that he didn't realize he had already finished; 2) Daniel's Grandmother tried to throw a cup of ice off the porch through the screen after it was finished; and 3) I saw a bird fly into the side of it the other day. In conclusion, we are very happy with our choice of screen! 

Step 2: Purchase Materials
We continue to discover that if you can find materials online, they are typically cheaper and in better shape than if purchased {in person} at a big box store. The screen and screentight system were bought on homedepot.com with coupon codes, and shipped to our door for free.

Step 3: Pressure Washing
The concrete floor and existing wood framing had to be pressure washed. 

 
Step 4: Staining and Resealing Existing Porch Frame
After pressure washing the existing porch frame, we stained and resealed the wood. At six years old, we needed to do this as a part of the regular maintenance of the porch.

Step 5: Staining and Sealing Wood for New Structure
After that, we stained and sealed all of the new wood to match the existing wood. At this time Daniel also built a hand rail for our rear steps – which meant more wood to stain and seal. The new rail means no more 10' fall to the ground if you miss a step – which is pretty important with a toddler around.

Step 6: Wall Enclosure
Daniel framed the new wall with an opening for the new door. He also added pressure treated 2x4s along the floor {between the posts} to serve as a backer for the screen system.

Step 7: Set Up Scaffolding
Daniel set up 12' scaffolding on a trailer that was attached to our four-wheeler. This allowed him to work safely at the height of our porch. One of my tasks was to move the four-wheeler every time Daniel was ready to move to the next section of porch. Daniel sat on the scaffolding while I moved the four-wheeler and trailer that held the scaffolding. Thankfully it was strapped securely to the trailer, but this was my least favorite task.

 
Step 8: Attach Track
Before attaching the screen, Daniel had to attach track to the outside of the porch. The track is used for stretching the screen taut across each 10' opening on our porch. The top and bottom sections each hold a separate screen. There were a total of 8 large openings and 5 small openings where we had to attach the screen system.

Step 9: Attach Screen
Daniel did most of the work...

but I helped to stretch and hold the screen taut as he fastened it to the frame.

To do this, he used a tool that looked like a mini pizza cutter to roll the spline into the track. The spline is what holds the screen in place {it looks like a long, black rope}.

Step 10: Attach Basecap
Finally, the last step for each screen was to cover the track and spline with a basecap. We chose white to match the white trim that is on our windows.

Step 11: Modify Door
Daniel modified a store-bought door to include a doggy door for Sophie

The door was the very last thing to get hung. Once it was in place, Daniel added hardware including a handle on the outside and a latch on the inside. Then trim was attached to create a stop for the door.

Step 12: Enjoy Our Porch
We actually purchased some close-out furniture online back in October. 

Over the years we have managed to get some pretty sweet deals on outdoor furniture at the end of the season.

We are looking forward to many hours spent on our newly screened-in porch. 

Hopefully this will solve our pest problem! So far, mosquitoes have not been a problem, but a few wood bores are still finding their way inside the porch. We are working on a solution for this.

Play Date: EarlyWorks Museum

Today Jack and I headed to Huntsville for a play date at the EarlyWorks Children's Museum in downtown Huntsville. There are actually three museums in the EarlyWorks complex: The Depot, Constitution Village and The Children's Museum. For a toddler, The Children's Museum is the way to go.

We showed up at 10am, played for two hours, took a break to eat our sack lunch and then played for another hour and half. Jack was pretty worn out by the time we left and slept all of the way home.

There are two areas for toddlers and young children to play in. The place we spent the most time in was Biscuit's Back Yard (Biscuit is a dog). There is a water feature and a pretend grocery store, farm and garden. There is a puppet theater and a place for crawlers (18 months and under) to go crazy in. There is also a secret clubhouse – Jack did great climbing the stairs without me. He has become quite adept at stairs.

The other area for toddlers is the Kidstruction Zone which offers a train and lego table, as well as tools and hardhats and anything that you could think of that involves building and toddlers. Between the two different toddler areas is a 46-foot Keelboat that Jack loved exploring.

I thought that the price of admission was a bit steep – $12 for adult and $5 for a toddler. I think they must want you to buy their annual pass – $60 for two and $85 for a family pass. If you go with someone who already has a pass, the admission is half price (a much more reasonable $8.50 instead of $17).

We really liked this museum and we may consider getting a pass if we keep going back! If you have young children, I would definitely recommend that you visit the EarlyWorks Museum. 

See Jack {late March 2013}

This is an ongoing series of videos that I am sharing so that our extended family {and friends} can keep up with how Jack is growing and changing in these early years.

See Jack at play. He loves to make "vrrrrrrmmmmm" sounds with his trucks.

{late March}

See Jack in a box. We keep a few empty boxes in the playroom 

and they are among Jack's favorite toys.

{late March}


See Jack practice his version of toddler soccer.
{late March}


See Jack try to figure out how he can climb out the doggy door.
{late March}