"I Rip"

Jack was feeling particularly destructive yesterday and decided it would be fun to rip a Diego diaper mailing to shreads. (Perhaps it was the stoplight project from last week that gave him the idea? Oops.)

In the past couple days we've realized Jack has been saying a noticeable increase of two and three word phrases. While he was playing the rip game, he repeatedly said, "I rip. I rip," And, in the second video it really sounds like he says, "I wanna rip." His most common two word phrase involves the word "I" or "mine" as he claims his toys, but he also says, "I do" which is pretty cute. It's a pretty cool milestone and it's lots of fun for us as he gets better at expressing himself.

He had to resort to using his teeth.

Jack with his finished product.

Dirty Boy

Jack and I went for a walk last night and he found some dirt. He was very happy to show me his dirty hands.
He's such a boy, don't you think?

Tropical Storm Weekend

During the past week or two we've been watching more Weather Channel than one should while obsessively tracking Tropical Storm Fay. It's been a totally wacky storm and has done exactly what no one predicted right down to totally missing our area of the Panhandle completely. Of course, before we knew we were going to get lucky I prepared for our big weekend inside by getting together some activities to keep Jack occupied.


On Saturday the weather wasn't great and we really couldn't do anything outside, but it was nothing like I anticipated. It drizzled (I seriously wouldn't even call it rain) on and off throughout the morning and early afternoon. It was slightly windy in the morning, but I'm pretty sure Jack blows harder when he's trying to cool his food.


Anyway, I was afraid the storm was going to hit at any moment, so we got to work on our inside projects. Jack colored in his new Winnie the Pooh and Friends coloring book. He thought it was fun to color with more than one crayon at a time.

A friend recently directed me to this awesome blog full of activities to do with toddlers. I got together supplies to make a stoplight and help Jack learn his colors. Here he is working hard.



Finished project (now displayed proudly on the fridge).

Jack worked on learning shapes with his new shape sorter. You can tell he's concentrating because he's sticking his tongue out slightly. So cute.

Last, but not least, Jack played with his crazy musical truck!

Sunday, the day the forecasts said we would get the most rain, turned out to be a beautiful day. Sunny, some big pretty clouds in the sky and about 10 degrees cooler than it had been lately. We went for a walk (at the outlet mall, but that's not really the point, now is it?).

Budding Photographer

Jack got a fabulous new camera the other day and it has (temporarily, I'm sure) replaced his single-minded obsession with Cars. Although, if I'm being honest, this morning he used his camera to take pictures of his toy cars. The photographer at work. Nevermind that he's "taking pictures" of his eye.

Say "cheese!"

In case you're intested, the camera is Parents brand, which is only available at Target. Jack has several toys from this line and they have all been a big hit. If you're looking for an inexpensive gift for a infant / toddler I highly recommend this stuff.

Cruising Around the 'Hood

Tonight we went for a short walk around the neighborhood. Well, I walked and Jack rode his bike. He got very excited when I suggested a ride and ran to the garage to show me where to find his bike.

Riding is serious business. I kid you not, when I got out the camera to take this picture, Jack stopped, said "cheese" and gave me a big ol' grin.Getting started in the driveway.

Cruising down the street with the little man in charge.

Playing in the "Wa Wa"

Every hour at the Y there is a safety break when you can't swim in the pool. We made the most of our time and enjoyed the splash park during today's breaks. Jack likes trying to point the big water gun. (I love how he's on his tip toes.)Thinking about his next move... For as much as Jack likes the water, he really doesn't like it splashing his head.We also spent one break eating lunch. Jack had a PB&J and "Cars" graham crackers. Seriously, once you start noticing Cars, or have a toddler with telescopic vision for all things Cars, you quickly realize the movie is everywhere and on everything imaginable. (I am not exagerating when I say he can spot a Lightning McQueen product placement from 100 feet.) Jack stalked one boy at the pool today who had the misfortune of wearing a Cars bathing suit. He followed him everywhere, pointing and yelling, "CAR!"Jack intertwines his feet sometimes when he's sitting. So cute.The Destin Y has a small "ball pool" that Jack asks to play in every time we walk by. Today we stopped in on our way home.

A Great Morning

Jack had his weekly gymnastics lesson this morning where he worked on the floor, bar and tumble track. I managed to snap a few pictures, but none are really great.

Here's Jack hanging on the monkey bars with the help of Coach Melissa.
Taking a break on a big mat.
Climbing the "red mountain" (the vault with a big mat over it).
He's been sticking out his tongue recently when he's working hard or concentrating on something.

You might notice the Cars bandaid on Jack's right arm. Don't worry, he didn't injure himself. It's just part of his Cars obsession.

After gymnastics, we went to the pools at the Destin Y to take advantage of the beautiful weather. I was a doofus and left my camera in the car, but rest assured we had a great time. Jack once again found some noodles to play with and he's really getting good at floating on them. We put him on two of them and he "swims" along paddling and kicking while laying on them. He doesn't like me to touch the noodles at all while he's swimming with them as he prefers to brave it by himself.

We've Created a (Cars) Monster

A week or two ago we received the movie Cars from Netflix. We requested it because neither Kevin nor I had seen it and we heard it was fun. Jack saw the DVD and immediately recognized the image on it from a Cars book he received for Christmas. "Car!" he yelled over and over. I thought I'd play the movie and see how Jack reacted. That was my first mistake. He was hooked from the first big race scene, yelling and cheering at the speeding cars. He didn't (and doesn't) sit through the movie, but he asks to watch it often. To the point that he seriously asks shortly after waking up and all day until he goes to bed.

Luckily we now have other Cars activities to feed his craving. Jack often colors in his Cars coloring book. Here he is with the book that started it all.

How can I resist playing a bit of the movie for Jack when I see this?

I tried to get another video of Jack talking about Cars, but he saw the camera and said, "Cheese!"

Fun at the Y

Last week we joined the Niceville YMCA and we are so glad we did. The Niceville Y is fairly small, but it has a good amount of cardio and weighlifting equipment, an indoor pool and a child watch facility for Jack. As part of our membership package we can go to any Emerald Coast Y, including the brand new Destin facility.

Jack and I went to the Destin Y yesterday after gymnastics class and it is freaking awesome! There are amazing outdoor pools and we were literally the only people in the spray park and family pool for the first 15 minutes we were there.

The family pool has a beach entry area where the water goes from nothing to 3 feet so it was perfect for us. Jack could play and walk around by himself and I could sit near him the shallow water and relax.

There were noodles ("noonoos" in Jack speak) available for play so Jack used one and he loved it. He got the hang of it right away and wanted to float on it by himself without my help. I honestly had to put down the camera and run to get Jack after taking this photo because he started doggy paddling towards the deeper end.

We will definitely be regulars at the pool this summer!

Mom's Little Helper

Even simple tasks are fun if you have the right company. Jack proved that today when we went to get the mail. He asked to read every piece of mail, loaded each onto his bike and pushed it all home for me. It was all his own doing and it made our walk to and from the mailbox much more entertaining than normal.

When we got back with the mail, Jack wanted to help clean by sweeping the driveway and the street. Could he be any cuter?

Rainy Day

It was a nasty stormy day here today and Jack and I were without plans so we were stuck playing inside but for a wet trip to the grocery store. Luckily, Jack wore his new favorite shirt from Aunt Amy and that in and of itself provided some entertainment.

In addition to wearing Elmo, Jack played with his Elmo doll.He also read books to Elmo.Jack also kept busy playing golf. Here he is picking the perfect club.You're not the only one who likes to read the blog (and you know you do). Jack LOVES to look at himself on the computer. Any time Kevin or I is doing something on the computer, Jack asks to look at "baby." He doesn't seem to make the connection yet that he's looking at himself.While we had a good day, I really hope the weather clears up so we can get outside tomorrow!

Baby Bookworms

The Niceville library has a program that meets Friday mornings called Baby Bookworms for "walkers" to 3 year olds. The nice librarians read books, sing songs and entertain the little ones (and their parents) for half an hour. Sadly it only meets every other week during the summer and today was the first time we've been able to go since May, but we had a great time like always. Jack enjoys listening to the stories, looking at the pictures, and he also adds his own commentary and sound effects. Today he yelled "Mooooo!" vey loudly when there was a cow in one of the books. When it's time to dance to the music he tends to observe more than some of the other kids. Turns out Jack is more of a freestyler so he doesn't really do the motions to the songs like "Wheels on the Bus" and "If You're Happy and You Know It". He just does his own moves, watches the bigger kids and claps when the song is over.

Showing off his sticker from the librarian.

For some reason Jack thought everyone was being too loud during sing-a-long time so he told everyone to "Sssshhhh!!" He said something about "baby" so I'm guessing he thought everyone was disturbing a baby? Who knows.

On our way out, Jack recognized the computers so he sat down to watch and listen to a book.