Chats with Jack ⎮ June-September, 2015

I am determined to keep blogging about life, I know one day I will look back and be thankful I did. That being said, my kids are only 3.5-years and 4-months old and it is already getting to be more challenging. Hoping to just keep at it as I can. Here are some of the interesting chats we have had with Jack over the last couple of months...

I'll check the rer-mometer [monitor] and let you know when Isaac wakes up.

When someone works SO HARD to build something, we don't tear it down. 
[very upset at Sophie for knocking over a block tower].

Daniel and I were discussing an [electrical] transformer in our backyard and Jack wanted to know where the transformer [robot] was.
D: Some words mean more than one thing.
J: It's more than meets the eye?
D: Something like that.

Mommy, I found a nice spider! 

My tummy hurts... I had too much sugar.

J: God lives at CVS.
Me: Actually, God lives everywhere.
J: He doesn't live in my neighborhood.
Me: ...

When Isaac gets bigger we will have two Jacks.

Jack is convinced that sneezes are called "bless yous." 

Mommy has to read because she knows the words to all the books.
 

Aunt Emily is special, so we can park in the blue space [handicapped parking].

One of my friends doesn't love me. I love everybody, but not bad guys.

I can jump off the diving board, my goggles will protect me.

Me: Is daddy smart?
J: Yes.
Me: Is mommy smart?
J: All of us are smart.

 
Mommy, when I grow up I want to be a superhero.

Daddy does rock climbing for work.

Mommy, why are they the champions of the world? [listening to Queen in the car]

Everything is my favorite.

Hey Daddy, don't rest!
 

Done going potty but still sitting on the toilet... Jack was looking in Daniel's Northern Tools catalog and said, "I'm looking at all the machines."

D: Does Anya have any brothers or sisters?
J: Yes, I'm her only brother.
D: Are you anyone else's brother?
J: Yes, Charlotte and Audrey's.
D: Is Isaac your brother?
J: No.
D: Are you Isaac's brother?
J: Yes.

Is zoo-case really sugary? I like zoo-case. [koolaid]

It's a piranha [pinata].
 

 

There is a bad little cat with green eyes that is scaring me and making me itch inside. It goes in my leg and sucks my blood. Can I sleep with you? [has a recurring bad dream about a cat making him itch]

J: It's the Mariana Trench.
Me: That's the deepest part of the ocean.
J: No, it's the deepest, darkest place on Earth.
[thank you Octonauts]

Asher is my friend and he loves duct tape.
 

J: I want to paint my room.
D: That's a lot of work buddy.
J: That's ok it won't be hard for five of us.
D: There's only three of us.
J: I've got a couple of friends.

I have to get good at my new skills.

Mommy, grass and salmon are yummy. [dill on the salmon]

Note from Daniel:
The last few nights that we've “played” in the garage, Jack has insisted on setting up both camp chairs, then insists that we sit in them and have snacks while he props his feet up on the lift. [I suggested I use the office chair; but it just wouldn’t do].

Basically he’s been making his own man cave.

He also insisted on wearing the PFD [his old one that’s small]. Can’t remember why, I think it was to protect him from bad guys?

Sees picture of himself playing with Tonka truck at 10 months and says, "Look Isaac's playing with the truck."

Jack told me he wanted the episode with the five-zero and directed me to the number 50! 
He is also adding numbers up to 10 with the use of his fingers.

Jack dumped a box of craisins on the floor. He picked them up [they were all covered in dog hair] and proceeded to tell me that I could have the furry ones.

J: Go mommy.
Me: The light is red, we have to wait until the light says we can go.
J: Mommy, lights don't talk.

Says things are "easy peasy."
 

I've been rewarding Jack with tokens that he can exchange to watch TV, he calls them token tots.

J: Here you go sir.
Me: Thank you sir.
J: You're welcome sir.
[I've been working on teaching him that you are supposed to say "ma'am" if it's a woman]

Mommy, did you know that all boys are action figures? [after a conversation with Aunt Angela about barbies vs action figures]

Me: Did you know my name is Virginia Cheree Moore?
J: [shakes head] I don't like that name.
Me: What's my name?
J: Cheree and Mommy.

Mr. He-Man [instead of Mr. T] says "I pity the fool." 
[keeps confusing Mr. T and He-Man action figures]

   

I'm doing it the old fashioned way.

Me: That's how we learn, we investigate and discover new things.
J: And we do flip overs.

To me: You went poop. Great job!

D: Who knows more about cars, Mommy or Daddy?
J: Mommy does.

When they talk fast it's called Spanish.

 

Me: Are you flying in a spaceship, airplane or helicopter?
J: None. I'm flying with rocket boots.

 

Recently learned how to spell his name: J A C K spells Jack!

Daniel is 35

Another year is in the books for Daniel. It is hard to believe that he is already 35 (and that I will be in a few months). 

The last couple of years have been a bit of a blur. Between Daniel's crazy work hours and raising little ones, the days are both long and short. We blink and another day, month, year has passed us by.

We have been desperately trying to find ways to embrace this stage and to take advantage of the short time we have with each other and our boys. Thankfully Daniel was able to have his actual birthday off (after the last year, I will never take Saturdays for granted again!) and we were able to spend some quality time with family.

We started our morning by sleeping in. Winning! Then went to Lookout Mountain for a 3-mile hike at Lula Lake.

After our hike we stopped at the newest location of Mojo Burrito (one of our favorite burrito joints) in St. Elmo at the base of Lookout. The food was fantastic (as usual) and we loved the outdoor dining space.
 

Daniel's mom and sisters met us at Mojo and then we all went back to our house to celebrate Daniel's birthday with delicious cupcakes they had brought with them from The Painted Cupcake in Nashville (this is becoming a tradition). 

After cupcakes and visiting, Daniel and I cleaned up and left our boys in the capable hands of their nana and aunts and made our way downtown to the Bluffs View Art District for coffee at Rembrandt's Coffee House (a favorite, and also becoming a tradition).

We savored our coffee and the much needed date (though we did end up talking about the boys a bit). The best part of Daniel's day (for him) was that when he was parallel parking our car, some young whipper snappers walked by and said, "That guy must have a back-up camera." Indicating that Daniel did such a good job parking there was no way he could have done it in one shot without a camera. Kudos to my husband and his proficiency at parallel parking!

The boys had a wonderful time with our family and it was nice to have an evening off from bedtime duties.

Sunday after church, we met Daniel's dad and his wife at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, Abuelo's, in Hamilton Place. We discovered this restaurant while I was pregnant with Isaac and we love their chips and salsa.
 

We are so thankful Daniel was able to be home with us for his birthday and that we were able to see his family and pack a lot into our weekend.

Happy Birthday, Daniel. We love you to the moon and back and I look forward to many, many, many more years together!

Lula Lake Land Trust

For the first time in a very long time, we had a normal (to us) weekend. Daniel found out on Friday that he would actually have Saturday (his birthday) off. So we quickly made plans to take advantage of the fact that the Lula Lake Land Trust would be open.

Lula Lake is a conservation property that is open to the public two Saturdays a month. With six miles of trails for hiking and biking, and a waterfall, it is a perfect place for a family day trip. It also has trails that connect to Cloudland Canyon.

Jack can currently hike about 1 mile at a time. Our goal is to build up his stamina as we add more hikes to our hectic schedule. On Saturday, we chose to do a 3-mile loop. We started on the Middle Trail, making our way to the falls. Then after a snack break we walked back to the car via the North Creek Trail, ending with the Ford Trail. 

To keep Jack moving, we allowed him to pick up rocks (which he stored in his pockets), and we found him a sturdy walking stick. The stick kept him focused on the trail and helped him with balance (until he was too tired to walk on his own).

About a mile into our walk, Jack was tired so Daniel carried him the rest of the way. At almost 40 pounds, Jack made the hike more of a workout for Daniel (I was carrying 20-pound Isaac, so we both got a good workout). 

The falls were pretty. There are signs everywhere saying not to swim. While we were there, several people did take a dip in the water. Jack didn't understand why he couldn't get in while others were clearly getting wet. 

If we go back, I would consider skipping the Middle Trail and taking advantage of the Creek and Ford trails and letting Jack wade in the creek. 

There were quite a few people there, but the trails were not crowded. It was so nice to finally be back in the wilderness and spend some quality time together as a family.