Faux Hawk

He wanted it. 

I think it's totally cool.

 

It lasted about 3 hours and he hasn't let me spike it up since.





Jack's Wedding Day

This is an old story as it happened nearly two months ago, but it's too good not to have documented.

Jackson is smitten with a girl at school named Ruby.  They are great buddies and play together all the time.  Several months ago he told me that Ruby was growing her hair long like the princess in the movie Tangled (Disney's current version of Rapunzel) and once it was long they were going to get married.  A few days later he told me he was changing his name from Jackson to Bluejean.  Upon further questioning I figured out that he was referring to the "prince" in Tangled, whose name is actually Eugene.  (Eugene, Bluejean, same difference, right?)  Again, it was so that he and Ruby could get married.

Fast forward about a month.

While getting ready for school one morning Jack insisted that he get dressed up and wear a tie. 

"Ruby & I are getting married today!" he declared. 
"Wow!" I said.  "What will you do when you & Ruby get married?"
"We'll dance and then I'll spin her around."  he replied.

Because, duh, that's what happens in the Disney movies.  They dance and spin around!

On we went with the morning routine until it came time to brush his teeth.  Jack was fighting it and we were about to come to blows.

"Jackson," I said "You can't marry Ruby today if you don't brush your teeth.  That's gross!"
His eyes widened, he turned on his heels and marched into the bathroom.  "Oh, fine!" he said.

So for the first time (and I'm sure not the last), I used a girl at school to manipulate Jack.

After arriving at Princeton I told the story to his teacher, Alijah (the other girl at Princeton that he is smitten with) who was not a bit surprised.  According to her, the kids act like a little old married couple all the time.

A couple of hours later Alijah sent me the following pictures.

 

Turns out Ruby had dressed up too (it was her wedding day after all!).  And, by some weird coincidence, they totally matched.  Alijah took pictures of them and then they asked her if they could have a dance.  She obliged and their wedding dreams came true.

Ruby's mom and I exchanged e-mails and chuckled about it all day.

Since the big wedding day the two of them have continued their plotting.  We arrived at school one Friday in full superhero gear (it was "home toy day") only to find Ruby running around in her own cape and mask.  On "crazy hat day" during Dr. Seuss week the two of them arranged to wear their cowgirl and cowboy hats - hers pink with rhinestones and his brown.

They're adorable.  We'll sure miss Ruby when we finally head west to Colorado. 

Oh...and hopefully the next time Jack gets married he'll at least invite me to the wedding!

Stylish

This morning, while choosing his outfit for the day, Jackson requested a tie.  Sure, I said.  And after a quick call to Drew to talk me through how to properly tie it, my little man was looking quite handsome.

Then, he remembered that it had thunder stormed overnight (yay rain!).  A quick peek out the window confirmed there were indeed puddles on the ground.  Which, of course, meant the green frog rain boots were in order.  Ah, what the heck, I told him.

Finally, as we headed out to the car, I thought that was the end of the accessorizing when Jackson shouted, "Wait!  I forgot my hat!"

And this is how my little guy rolls.

Halloween Weekend

After several months of trying to make our schedules work, we finally had an opportunity to head west to Manhattan and visit our wonderful friends, the Stoddard Family, in their new home.  Since it was Halloween weekend, we were also able to take in some of the festivities in town.  The Sunset Zoo in Manhattan had a SPOOKtaculour event where kiddos could stroll through the zoo in costume and stop at various stations for tricks and treats.  A perfect activity for our three/almost-three year olds!


Trick or Treating at Sunset Zoo



Jack's first treat.



Jackson & Ashlyn rushing to the next stop




Buddies!




Getting a lift from their Daddies

 Here is Ashlyn being very brave and petting a boa constrictor.  Yikes!

Drew was relieved when Jackson decided he was brave enough to touch the snake, too.

As always, we had an absolutely fabulous time with the Stoddards.  Good friends are hard to come by and we sure appreciate Dustin, Brandie and Ashlyn.  It was especially fun to see the kids play so well together.  Our get-togethers have evolved from drunken tailgates to family outings at the zoo, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

The Halloween festivities continued for Jackson at school on Monday.  All the kids went to school in costume and then trick-or-treated at a nearby assisted living center.  He was so excited to see his buddies dressed up like Buzz Lightyear and Spider Man!

And here is our little pirate on Halloween Day 2011. 


Arrghhh, Matey!

 Jackson & I had a fantastic time trick-or-treating on Massachusetts Street in Downtown Lawrence where all of the businesses stay open late and hand out candy to the kids.  Thankfully, we got started early and were ready to call it quits before it got too crazy and crowded!


Water break



This year was Jackson's first real trick-or-treating experience.  As you can tell, he was quite impressed with the results.


What a haul



So that sums up Halloween Weekend 2011 for the Elser Family.  I still can't figure out where the month of October went.  Time sure flies these days.  But at least we're having fun!

And now...on to the next holiday!

An Interview with Andrew Jackson Elser - Attempt #2

Update:  Sorry about the technical difficulties.  I think I have it fixed now.  If not, leave me a comment and I'll try again!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jackson is full of questions - and answers - these days.  In fact, sometimes we have a hard time getting him to stop talking.  So I decided to document this stage and get him on camera in a little mock interview session.

Without further adieu, here is our little man about 6 weeks shy of his 3rd birthday.

Behind the Lens

It went like this:

Say cheese!

Now open your eyes.

And don't you dare laugh!

Oh how I love this face.

Happy Birthday Nana!

Sending wishes for a wonderful day.  Wish we could celebrate with you in person, but here's the next best thing:

Saturday Morning Cartoons

Story Time

Jackson & I read a lot.  Lately, after I finish a story, he likes to read it back to me.  Most of the time he just turns pages and points out a picture or describes a scene.

A couple of nights ago I read a book we haven't read together in several weeks.  True to form, he requested a turn when I was done.  Only this time, to my surprise, he actually did "read" it (and by read I mean have every single page memorized).  Word for word.

I manged to recreate the scene last night.  Please excuse the poor quality.  I had to keep the camera out of sight.  Once the kids spots our Flip he refuses to do anything video-worthy and instead wants to watch himself on the screen.  Weird.  Wonder where he gets that.

Here is Jackson "reading" his first book.  (For the record, he's not quite 2 1/2.)

Obsessed With The Elf

Since his first appearance the day after Thanksgiving, Jackson has been obsessed with the elf.

Here is Drew explaining to Jackson that the elf will be watching him until Christmas Eve and reporting his behavior to Santa every night.

The next morning, the elf moved to a new location in Jack's bathroom.  (He's a magical elf after all, and moves locations every night while Jack is sleeping.)

Since then, not a morning goes by that Jackson doesn't ask about the elf.  In fact, his first words are usually "Where 'da elf go?"  Followed by a search of the house until the elf is located.

Last week, while I was in Florida, Jackson awoke to find the elf in his bedroom.  The scene as described by Drew went like this:

Jack:  *Gasps and Points*
Jack:  *Whispering* "Whoa"
Drew: *Whispering* "What is it buddy?"
Jack:  *Whispering* "Da Elf!"
Drew:  *Whispering* "Is the elf in your room?"
Jack:  *Whispering* "Yeah"
Drew:  *Whispering* "Why are we whispering?"
Jack:  *In full voice* "I don't know"

I guess it was pretty hilarious.

At any rate, I think it's safe to say the elf tradition is a hit at our house.  Jack fully understands that the "magic" elf will be popping up around the house to keep an eye on him.  Now if only he understood the whole good vs. bad behavior concept!

Don't Know

This evening when I picked Jackson up from school, Miss Keirra asked if he had shown me "Don't Know" yet.  Somewhere (I'm guessing at school because I don't think Drew or I do this at home), he learned how to shrug his shoulders and reply "don't know".  Both Keirra and I find it completely hilarious. 

I'll let Jack show you himself.

Stay tuned for more video later this week.  We've been working on facial expressions!

Neat Freak

I've mentioned before that Jackson has shown some likeness to me in his desire for neatness and order.  I find it endearing and quite adorable.  However, I'm beginning to think we've created a monster.

His new favorite word is "ewww".  He says it at least 7,000 times a day.  Whether it be a dog hair on the floor (and you can imagine how many of those we have!), a stray bean from his bean box or a drop of water, if it doesn't belong there it gets an "ewww".  The same is true outside for leaves in the driveway, blades of grass on the patio or, heaven forbid, dog poop.

Lucky for us, Jackson doesn't mind cleaning up this filth that he is resorted to living in!

Best Friends

This week, Jackson has taken quite an interest in feeding Ruby. If it were up to him (and Ruby too, I suppose), she would eat several times a day. He picks up her dish and heads to the closet where her food is kept. Since he is not yet able to open doors (thank goodness) he just looks up at you with those big blue eyes and "please help me open this door so I can feed my poor, starving best friend" written all over his face.

If it happens to be meal time for the Labradiva, we'll open the door. Once again, the big blue eyes speak volumes, "now can you open this bin of food for me so I can fill up the dish for my poor, starving best friend".

With the food finally exposed, he dives right in. Usually just grabbing fistfulls instead of actually using the scoop to fill the bowl.

It's no wonder those two are best friends!

Stay Tuned...Winter Onederland Details to Come!

Saturday was Jackson's Winter Onederland party and I am so excited to share the details with you. As far as I could tell, everything went off without a hitch.

This is a busy week...one year doctor visit this afternoon, department Christmas party this evening, Jack to the eye doctor tomorrow (just a routine visit), Drew's birthday on Friday and mounds of work at the office. Plus a lot of catch up from a weekend of company in the laundry, cleaning and grocery shopping department. Oh yeah, and Christmas is 11 days away.

I promise I will sort through the zillions of party pictures (157 to be exact) and share them with you as soon as I can.

For now, here's a sneak peak at the birthday boy anxiously awaiting his guests.

The Giggles

1 Handful of Cheerios + 1 Labradiva = Endless Entertainment!

Thunder Thighs

Jackson is bursting the seams of his summer wardrobe (mostly sized 6-9 mos.) Since there are likely just a few warm days left, I've resisted the urge to purchase any new clothes for the summer season. Until a couple of days ago when I found a set of 5 Carter's short sleeved onesies on the clearance rack at TJ Maxx for $7.50. I figured he could wear t-shirts with jeans or sweats for a few weeks yet so I bought them.

As it turns out, he had the exact set of onesies (courtesy of Auntie Cortney I believe) in size preemie. And I happened to have a picture of him in the All*Star t-shirt from back in December.

What a difference 9 months makes.

Can you believe those thunder thighs?!

Zerbert

Jackson is learning to make all sorts of new sounds. It started a couple of weeks ago with the tongue click, which is now one of his favorite sounds to mimic. We have entire conversations just by clicking our tongues.

Shortly after that came the ahh ahh ahh ahh ahh that is the result of tapping your hand over your mouth as you say ahhhh. Although, in Jackson's case he prefers to use my shoulder as his tapping device.

His latest discovery is what Drew tactfully calls "fart noises". When I was a kid we called them zerberts. Whether it be on the back of his hand, arm or sofa cushion Jackson has mastered the zerbert.

Which brings me to this morning.

Both of the boys have this terrible habit of waking up extra early on weekends and holidays. During the week I can barely pry them out of bed. But do they extend me that courtesy on a holiday morning? Oh no. By 6:15 am Drew was getting in the shower and Jack was standing in his crib hollering. I was far from ready to get out of bed, so I broke my own rule and allowed Jackson to crawl into bed with me while Drew showered.

It was then, in my grogginess, that I was treated to a perfectly executed, slobbery, wet zerbert right on my cheek.

I giggled. Jack giggled. And it was time to start our day.

No More Fear

Despite his initial dislike for the bath tub (oh my gosh...he was so tiny!), Jackson is now a huge fan. Maybe our Aqua Mom & Me class has helped ease his fear of the water. Or maybe he's just more comfortable now that he can sit up on his own and doesn't have to rely on me to keep his head above water. In any case, bath time is now a favorite time of day for both of us.

As far as Jackson is concerned, unlimited splashing and a duck dressed up like a baseball player are pretty much the coolest things ever. And as far as mommy is concerned, nothing beats a clean baby that smells like Baby Magic and is ready to snuggle before bed!

Textures

Jackson's latest discovery is textures. Some of his favorite toys right now are "Touch and Feel" books. He is constantly scratching and rubbing everything he can get his hands on - from his sheets, to his bottle, to his highchair tray to Daddy's whiskers.

Needless to say, that makes playing outside all the more fascinating!

It Must Be Exhausting

All that growing sure does wear an infant out. Sometimes you fall asleep in the middle of play time.


And on the really tiring days, a little nap mid-bite doesn't hurt either.