Our Little "Spaghetti Bender"

Jack isn't the biggest eater in the world, so it's kind of a big deal when he has multiple servings of something. I posted before about Jack's favorite pasta dish and he continues to devour pasta with red pepper sauce like a champ. We were hysterical watching him eat tonight because he couldn't shovel it in his mouth fast enough.

Spoon? Waste of time.

At this point he was so into his meal he couldn't take a break to answer questions. His communication was limited to nodding. He also started using the spoon when he realized he could get more than one piece of pasta into his mouth at a time with a utensil.

Callisthenics

After going for a run yesterday Kevin did some sit ups in the living room and he had some company. Jack joined him for a little exercise and you can tell from the videos he was really feeling the burn.

Watch out, Richard Simmons! Jack clearly has a future in exercise.

Oktoberfest, Part Zwei

The Bluewater Bay Oktoberfest was kind of ridiculous - it was held in the Winn Dixie parking lot and consisted of a couple places to buy beer, a few vendors selling their wares and a stage with "performers." We walked to check it out Saturday afternoon since we didn't do much exploring Friday night. For Jack, the clear highlight of Oktoberfest was the firetruck from the local fire department. And, if you ask Jack, that large red vehicle is called a "facuck".

Doing some driving.Jack pushed all the buttons inside the cab so hopefully the firetruck still worked when the firemen had to drive it away.With his Fire Chief hat on the front of the truck.

With mama. Yes, I know I'm starting to get pregnant fat face.

Hair Bow

Jack woke with crazy bed head, as usual, this morning. Kevin was brushing it and we were admiring his pretty hair when I decided Jack should try on one of his future baby sister's hair bows. Sadly, we don't have a hair bow to match his Cars pajamas.

So, apparently this is what Jack would look like if he were a girl. Wonder if this is a preview of what Baby Girl will look like?

Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest is in full swing in Bluewater Bay and we attended a squadron farewell there last night. Even though Jack doesn't have leiderhosen, he did wear a fun hat. Jack hung out with his friends Alli and Regan.
See those pretty flowers in the plant behind the kids? Well, they weren't safe. Jack picked about 100 of them, but at least he was sweet and gave them away to the girls and his mama. He also enjoyed "smelling" the flowers, as you can see in this short video.

Kevin Baby Pictures

In honor of his birthday, here are some pictures of Kevin when he was just a little guy. Thanks to Papa Lou and Memere for these awesome photos.

Kevin was 9ish months here.

Kevin with his Memere.Another beach boy! About 2 years old.This should settle all questions about where Jack got his awesome hair!

September 24

Happy Birthday Kevin / Dada!!

We love you.

Picnic Party

Sunday afternoon the church we attend hosted a huge picnic complete with tons of food, bouncy castles, and assorted activities for the kiddos. Jack and his bestest girl, Claire, had a great time!

In we're being honest, Jack probably considers church his weekly playdate with Claire. We sit in the "cry room" because Jack is ridiculously active and has never sat still for an hour in his life and we don't want to disturb the entire place. Claire also usually sits in the cry room and every time we get to church the first word out of Jack's mouth is "Care?" as he looks around for his friend.

Bouncy castle!

Playing with bubbles.Drawing with sidewalk chalk. Jack mostly improved other people's art by scribbling right on top of other kids' drawings.Kevin retrieving Jack and Claire after they ran off giggling while we were distracted by the yummy food.
The weather was actually cool Sunday morning, hence Jack's adorable fall outfit. It was pretty warm by the time we were enjoying the picnic, but he didn't seem to mind.

Gone Fishin'

Yesterday the Honorary Squadron Commander hosted a barbeque on the dock of his watersports rental place. There was a young boy there fishing off the dock and when he went to eat dinner he let Jack hold his fishing pole. Jack liked reeling the hook in so Kevin would toss it out over and over again.Much to everyone's surprise, Jack and dada caught a fish! You should have seen the look on Kevin's face when he realized they'd caught something and the look on Jack's face when the fish was flopping around on the dock. Turns out Jack is not a fan of real live fish and was relieved when we threw it back in the ocean.


Jack and mama looking for more fish.

21 Months

Jack is 21 months old today!

Here's a little flashback to what he looked like one year ago today. It's hard to believe how much he has changed.

Fat Lip

Apparently Jack had a busy day at school. When I picked the little dude up there was an "Ouch Report" waiting for me to read and sign. It was to explain the fat lip Jack is now sporting. Apparently, on the way to take the class photos he was all dressed up for, he tripped, fell and landed on his face. His lip bled for a bit and is swollen. He whined "I yip" and "mouf" throughout the afternoon. Poor little guy.

Oh, and the teachers at school said Jack did great during class pictures and they didn't think his fat lip would show up in the pictures. We'll see.

School Picture Day

Today is picture day at Wee School! The kiddos were asked to dress appropriately and in "fall colors." I think I went a little overboard when picking Jack's outfit. Obviously I had to pick something adorable, but I was excited to dress him in some fall clothes he hasn't had a chance to wear yet because it is only in the 70s this morning! (It's supposed to get up to the mid-80s, but we've been loving the cooler weather and have even turned off the A/C and opened windows.)

How cute is he?!?!

Jack had some texts and phone calls to make before heading to school.That must be one exciting message!Ready to go...

Bed Head

Jack's hair is getting long again and it's making for some awesome bed head. This is yesterday afternoon after his nap. And here he is this morning.

Jack is definitely due for a trim, but we're a little nervous to take him anywhere after all his hair was chopped at his last official hair cut. I think we'll probably trim it at home, but that is equally nerve-wracking. Maybe we'll get the courage to take scissors to Jack's pretty hair this weekend. Wish us luck and stay tuned.

Little Man

Jack isn't really anywhere near official potty training, but he has expressed some interest in sitting on the potty and often tells us when he has to go or when he has just gone to the bathroom in his diaper. We decided to get him his own little potty to sit on and get used to. While sitting on it the other night before his bath, Jack asked for a magazine. Seriously. Like father, like son...

High School Football

A couple weeks ago Kevin and I met some friends at Niceville High School to see the first home football game of the season. We have to cheer for at least one football team that actually wins big games and luckily the Eagles didn't let us down. We had a great time and even bought some Niceville gear so we are all set for the season.

We met our friends the McGills at the game. Kevin and Joe were roommates during F-16 training in Ohio and Joe and Stephanie just moved here from Korea.

Here are some pictures from the action.

Big Game

Go Buckeyes! Beat USC!

Sesame Street Live!

Jack and I had a big afternoon with our friends Claire and Lara. We went to see Sesame Street Live on base as part of a special USO tour. The Sesame Workshop is a nonprofit organization that, in addition to other neat initiatives, is extremely supportive of the military and its families.

When we first arrived for the show we were handed bags to fill with goodies they had arranged on tables - DVDs, stickers, mini-books, etc. One thing we were sure to grab is the Sesame video Talk, Listen, Connect about deployments. (We haven't watched it yet, but looks like we'll have to watch it a few times before January.) As we walked into the theater for the show, each child was handed an Elmo toy that spun around and lit up. This is the moment when Jack really got excited. I told him all day we were going to see Elmo, but he didn't really seem to "get it" until he had the fun toy in his hand and saw all the other kids excitedly playing with theirs.

Jack and Claire getting psyched up for the big show.Jack loves this toy and he got a very serious look on his face every time he made "Melmo 'pin."

I got really emotional when the show began because the program was so thoughtful and Jack was absolutely thrilled. I honestly teared up a bit. It was just awesome to see him so excited.Jack had a ball! It was too dark to take a video, so just imagine Jack alternating between dancing wildly, screaming "Melmo" and "Coocoo" (Cookie Monster), and staring intently at the giant puppets.

After the show, we enjoyed a little ice cream.

What a great afternoon!