Jack Jack Jack

"His name is Jackie-boy Robinson," says Maggie when people try to meet "her baby."

So, Jackie-boy Robinson, here is a bit about you right now.

You are 20 months old! I kinda can't believe it. Maggie has started telling you recently, "I wish you could just stay my little baby." I think she says this because she has heard me say it so many times. That being said, of course, I love watching you grow.

You are such a fun little boy. You are very loving and affectionate. There is literally nothing in the world that makes me happier than when you run up to me, climb on my lap, tuck your little lips in, and say, "mmmm, maw!" while planting a kiss right on my lips.

You love to make people laugh. You love to play with Maggie. You love reading books. Your favorite book is Goodnight Gorilla.You love cooking up creations in your play kitchen while I cook dinner or clean right beside you. You love sweeping the floor! You love sitting on my lap and putting the shapes into a shape sorter. You love pushing animals around in a stroller. You love  to copy Maggie and try to do what ever it is she is doing. You love to hit balls with our dollar store plastic golf club. You love taking baths and brushing your teeth (by yourself). You are a tough little boy. You will tumble off the couch or fall off a chair, and just pick yourself right back up. Every once in awhile you will come to me asking me to kiss whatever you hurt in your fall, and then you are ready to play again.

You are a great eater, and especially love fruit. I think oranges or berries are probably your favorite foods. I have to be quick to clear your tray when you are done eating because if I am too slow (and I usually am) you quickly clean your own high chair by throwing your food and dishes on the floor. That  simple act is your way of making it very clear that you are done.

You are a surprisingly good helper (really). You are very socially aware. If we are cleaning up blocks, you clean up blocks. After a snack you toss your dish in the sink. You can barely reach the counter. About half of the time when you are trying to put your dish away, the dish comes back down on your head because you didn't get it quite far enough. Undeterred, you pick it up try again. When we are trying to leave the house you bring me your shoes (usually not a matched pair). I love asking you to put dirty clothes in the laundry because you haven't quite figured that one out yet. You always put the clothes somewhere (i.e. in my clothes drawer), but not necessarily in the hamper.

You take one nap a day. Before your nap, we sit in in a rocking chair and read books. Then, we get up and turn the light off. I toss your blanket over my shoulder and you snuggle into my shoulder. I rub your back and sing to you. Usually I sing Brahms' Lullaby and a Primary Song. I love those quiet moments in your nursery. Then I lay you down in your crib and you go to sleep without a fuss.  After you wake up, you love to snuggle on the couch. I love these times too.

When you are unhappy about something (like getting your diaper changed) even though you might have a little tantrum, the tantrum usually passes quickly as long as I find the right distraction. You started attending nursery recently. You are always a little sad when I drop you off, but I hand you to my friend who comforts and distracts you while I leave. You cheer up after just a couple minutes and are happy for the rest of the time. When you first started attending, apparently, when music time would come around you refused to sit on the blanket with the other kids. Instead, you would go into the far corner of the room and play with a toy. When the music instructor tried to engage her, you told her firmly, "no."

You don't talk a lot, but here are some of the things that you do say: No (this is the one word that you say a lot!), yes, mama, dada, ma-ma (Maggie), ball, zoom, banana, up, please, uh-oh, ba-bye, drink, this and that, zip (as in zip up pajamas)...there are others I am sure, but that is a pretty good list.

Honestly Jack, I think you are pretty much perfect. I love everything about your little self, and I am excited to get to know you better as you continue to grow. I love making you laugh, I love kissing your cheeks, I love holding you close, I love being your Mommy!

Maggie Maggie Maggie

Well, I haven't written on here since September. This blog hasn't been forgotten, just neglected. I don't know that I will ever "catch up" so I am just going to pick up right here.

Tonight I am talking about Maggie. What a child. Sometimes she brings out the best in me and sometimes the worst, but she also brings lots and lots of joy to my world.

She has been cracking me up lately in what she says, and how she says it. Just a few examples:

"Look! I put my clothes all by myself on!"
"Sometimes I run away."
"Jesus is awesome! He helps me jump higher."
"Last day, when I was a grandma I saw one of those (a lemur)."
    Me: "Do you mean you saw one of those when we were at the zoo with Grandma?"
    Maggie: "No, when I was the grandma, then I was a baby and I saw one of those in my backyard.                         Cause that makes sense."
"Jack is getting bigger and poofier! Jack is almost poofy!"

 I hope I never forget the cute, funny, sweet way that she has about her.

"Look! I made a T and a 7 and an L and an L and an L!"

Recently I took the kids to Chipotle when Joe was out of town. Maggie asked me to bring her to an ice cream store. I told her, "No, and you already had too many treats today." She responded, "Next time, if you tell me that you won't take me to get ice cream because I had too many treats, then I will go by myself."

I was like, "what?" She caught me totally off guard--I am not even sure I responded. I think I just sat there in silence for a couple minutes trying to figure out if she could actually pull it off because I wouldn't put it past her to try.

Although Maggie has a bit of feisty craziness to her, she is my little ray of sunshine. She loves making new friends, like Melanie who works at our laundromat, and Miss Lisa, her old swim teacher. I can't count the number of times that I have heard her say, "She is my favorite friend!" As soon as we walk out our door, she is looking for a friend (adult or child that she can strike up a conversation with).

Maggie is a bit popular in her pre-school, or at least that is what Mrs. S told us. Recently Maggie attended Eamon's (a classmate) birthday party with Joe. When they arrived, Joe began introductions. "Hi, this is Maggie." Eamon's mother said, "Hi, Maggie." Then Joe said, "and I am Joe Webb." Eamon's mom said, "Oh, your MaggieWEBB! Maggie is popular. Eamon is always telling stories about her. One time, when I went to pick Eamon up from pre-school, I saw a cute girl walk by and I said, 'Who's that?', and Eamon said, "That's not Maggie Webb."At the end of the party, Eamon's mom asked to take a picture of Maggie and Eamon because she needed to send a picture to her mother-in-law who's always asking Eamon, "How is Maggie Webb doing?"

Honestly, I think that the reason that kids love Maggie is that she loves them! She goes out of her way to say hi and is always trying to strike up conversations with both friends and strangers. She is such a great example to me, and I hope she never loses her inhibition to approach people and make friends.