Chats with Jack ⎮ July, 2014

For most of the month of July, I had the task of keeping Jack busy while Daniel worked long hours with very few days off. 

We celebrated July 4th, hosted one of my college friends, went to the discovery museum and library, took music classes, visited the zoo and played with friends.

Then the last full weekend of the month Daniel was finally off work so we went to a Lookouts game, took a fun bike ride, attended an outdoor concert and a movie in the park. It was a fun but exhausting month.

This month Jack enjoyed making smoothies on an almost daily basis. He also discovered Sonic slushies and now asks for them all of the time.

One of Jack's favorite games is to pretend that Daniel and Sophie are scary dinosaurs (or monsters or dragons). He runs away and then chases them in turn, all the while shouting, "there's a scary dinosaur" and roaring.

Jack continues to enjoying building with blocks and likes to try to build what he calls "the tallest tower in the world."

He is now tall enough to get water out of our fridge unassisted and loves playing with buckets of water on our deck – I just have to make sure the mess stays outside.

Jack has great balance and has been practicing walking on raised curbs unassisted. 

He has also mastered climbing on most types of playground equipment, unassisted.

And he likes to pretend to talk on our rotary phone (it came with the house, and works, but we don't have a land line hooked up). Evidently it makes a great toy! Jack is a bit confused though and thinks we need to charge it...

Imaginary play has really picked up this month. I love to see how his little mind works and how he views the world around him.

Below are a few of the things Jack is saying these days:

He calls raisins "errands"

He likes to pretend to drive a ship and says, "Aye aye captain" and "ahoy matey!"

A few of his favorite phrases:

"Yeah, I know." This is in response to when I tell him something.

"That's my favorite!" Right now, just about anything can be his favorite.

"No way!" instead of a simple "no" in response to questions that require a negative answer. 

He likes to say, "Ta da!" when he enters a room or when showing off.

A few funny things Jack has said lately:

About a week ago, someone asked Jack if he was ready for a nap and he said, "I guess so."

"Can I please have the salt, but not the pepperoni" (pepper)

"I need the chip chops" (chopsticks)

"Can I play the PS?" (piano)

"I want to go to old McDonalds." (McDonalds)

And finally a moment involving #mommyproblems with the official list of approved reasons to wake mommy up at 3am: 

You wet the bed. You fell out of of bed. You are sick. 

Not: you have a booger.

It's hard to believe that Jack will be 3 in just a few months! Or that he starts preschool in a couple of weeks.

Surprise Birthday, Sorta

About a month ago my brother asked if I wanted to go with him to visit our parents in Arkansas. Of course, I said yes. It turned out that the best time to go was around our dad's birthday. Once we had a date I asked Mark to keep it a secret that Jack and I were coming – I thought it would be a fun surprise.

When we were about an hour from their house, my brother called to let them know when we would be arriving. Right off the bat, my mom asked if Jack and I were with him. Uhhhh.... So he said, "No." Hah. He flat out lied. Anyways, our sister had called to wish Dad a "Happy Birthday" and she mentioned that we might be coming. I guess in the future, we better tell everyone to keep it a surprise! Oops. They were still pretty surprised when we walked in the door, just not shocked.

Jack was so excited to see family. He ran inside and gave everyone hugs and told my dad, "Happy Birthday." After a few minutes of visiting, we got ready for bed. Then Jack did the sweetest thing and walked around and tucked everyone in. Pulling their blankets up, giving kisses and telling them to stay in bed until the sun came up. So sweet.

Friday morning we got up and Jack ate muffins while we waited for everyone to get up. My dad was awake, so Jack insisted on taking him a muffing and a glass of milk. I am loving this stage with Jack.

To keep busy, we did lots of playing outside. Jack checked out one of Grandpa's rabbits. He also enjoyed wagon rides and pretending to drive the lawnmower, and a couple of trips to the park.

Inside playing included wearing a helmet (almost all weekend), playing with lincoln logs,

and playing with a small guitar (mandolin) and on the piano (which he called the P.S. for some reason). 

Friday night we celebrated my dad's 66th birthday with Shrimp and Veggie Tempura (a family favorite)

and Pistachio Cake with a recipe that my mom has been making for close to 40 years!

Saturday morning Jack woke up and got dressed himself. He put on a polo shirt backwards. I told him it was wrong and he insisted that was how it needed to go. That was fine with me. I don't argue over little things, especially when he is doing independent things like dressing himself (later that afternoon my mom and Mark took him grocery shopping and a lady told my brother that Jack's shirt was on backwards, "why yes it is, I'm so glad you pointed out the obvious").

For breakfast Jack helped my mom make pancakes. He loves to help in the kitchen. We also spent time visiting with my Grandma (Jack's Great Grandma). She really enjoyed Jack's antics. Every time he would come in the room, he would make sure she had her little stuffed dog.

That afternoon we went to Riverside Park to play and followed that up with a slush from Sonic. Jack specifically asked for "a sonic." 

After playing and Sonic we stopped at my aunt and uncle's house to visit. Jack enjoyed all of the animals. He walked Susie around on a leash (she is a 9 year-old shih tzu) and then tried to coax one of the cats out from behind the couch with the help of Aunt Linda.

That night mom and Mark took turns reading Jack bedtime stories. After he was in bed, I enjoyed a game of Super Scrabble with my mom.

For Sunday dinner, my aunt and uncle came over and we enjoyed my mom's pot roast and mashed potatoes. Nothing like a home-cooked meal made by your mother! 

Jack insisted on eating with chip chops (chopsticks). Probably because we used them for the Tempura night. He liked to stab his food with the pointed end. Silly boy.

After eating, we said our goodbyes. It was a great trip and nice to catch up with everyone.

Local Food

The city of Chattanooga, and the people who live here, really emphasize the importance of eating locally. This means that most of the money you spend stays in the community. Also, many of the local restaurants use local food sources, so your money is going even further than just the restaurant. Here are my thoughts on some of the local places we have tried recently...

The Big Table, base of Signal Mountain
Daniel heard about this little cafe at the base of Signal Mountain and suggested we try it out one night. It is a little dainty restaurant that serves fresh southern food. We ate on the front porch so that Jack wouldn't bother those sitting inside. 

The portions were big enough that we were able to order two adult portions and share with Jack. Daniel tried the trout with a side salad while I had the casserole of the day – Poppyseed Chicken. Both were good.



Olive Bean, Signal Mountain
Olive Bean is a restaurant that recently opened on Signal Mountain. They serve a limited, but excellent selection of gourmet coffee. I am so thrilled to be able to go out for coffee (close to my house) and I also like that they have outdoor seating.

I have heard that their brunch and sandwiches options are excellent – I look forward to trying brunch soon. The Olive Bean is also a local grocery store that sells organic and local foods. It is expensive, but not astronomical by any means. I hope they stay open for a long time!


Off the Grill II, Signal Mountain
This is also a new restaurant on the mountain. According to the local weekly paper, it promised to be a great place for BBQ. Unfortunately it did not live up to expectations. The night we went, the water was turned off. We should have just left, it kind of weirded us out that they were running a kitchen with no water. Also, it just felt overpriced and the food wasn't that great. I don't think we will go back.


Hummingbird Pastaria, Signal Mountain
A couple of weeks ago, we took advantage of family visiting and let them babysit Jack while we ran out for a late cup of coffee and dessert. At first we weren't sure where to go since a lot of places on the mountain close early and we only wanted dessert (we even considered walking to the local gas station for coffee!), but then I remembered that the Hummingbird Pastaria (previously Ninos) served dessert. 

This was our first visit since it changed owners. We only had dessert but it was delicious. I had the Tiramasou and Daniel had the Chocolate Mousse. I also ordered their French Press Coffee. Unfortunately the coffee didn't taste that great – probably because I ordered decaf instead of regular. The desserts were a win and we will be going back to try their meal time offerings.

Clumpies, NorthShore (Chattanooga)
Last week we went to Clumpies for ice cream before attending Movies in the Park. 

They make their waffle cones and ice cream from scratch and it was all amazing! Daniel chose peanut butter ice cream, Jack picked strawberry with sprinkles and I had a waffle cone with espresso chocolate chunk. I can't wait to go back!

BrewHaus, NorthShore (Chattanooga)
Last week we attempted to go to the Flying Squirrel in an effort to support the LiveStrong program at our local YMCA. Unfortunately when we arrived, they told us that you had to be 21 to enter. Since we had Jack with us we had to find another place to go, so we settled on the Brewhaus in Northshore. 

The Brewhaus (which is also a bar) had no problems with kids eating at their establishment. It was a Tuesday so we thought we would get right in, however it was Trivia Night so the place was packed. After about a 10-minute wait, we lucked up with seats on the back porch with a great view of Lookout Mountain and the Walnut Street Bridge. It was great to watch people while we waited. And wait we did. I don't know if they are normally this slow or if Trivia Night had them going slower, but it was SLOW. 

Thankfully the food made up for the slow service. Daniel had a burger with bleu cheese and I tried the Rooster Schnitzel Weiner Art with a side of veggies and potato cakes. It was all amazing. Jack gobbled up the potato cakes. I hope we go back and try some of the rest of their menu (maybe when it isn't so busy). Jack was a trooper considering we were out until 9pm!