Mommy Wow, I'm A Big Kid Now!

I finally bit the bullet. I have been putting it off, only wanting to do it when I knew Jack was fully ready. So then when I learned that Jack could control his number 2s, I decided it was time. Monday we had a "potty party" full of new underwear, treats, games, crafts, etc.... He did so great!!! One time he tinkled a bit in his underwear but then stoppedand so "oh Man!" He was so disappointed in himself. Today he went to preschool without me there and did not have any accidents. In fact, I think he is overly careful with not wanting to have an accident b/c apparantly he went potty 4 times on him own. Better safe than sorry :)

So the last couple of months, we have been talking about what toy he'd want once he starts to wear big boy underwear.... and it was the Batman Cave. After we picked it up and brought it home, he played with it for hours....longer than any other toy! Glad it's getting it's money's worth!

Go Jack!

Movie Night

So we started 'Movie Night' with some other families every weekend. One couple has everyone's kids over for popcorn and a movie while the other couples get a night out on the town. It has been a lot of fun and definitely saves money on babysitters! Plus, Jack gets SO excited for it. Last weekend was our turn to host. We watched "The Sword and The Stone". It was one of my favorites growing up and Jack LOVED it. Here is a picture of the kids watching the movie. It's a bit blurry but I just had to post it. They were all so cute- laughing and cracking jokes (we're missing a couple of kids who were out of town).

Mother Nature, make up your mind!

The weather has been so crazy this past month. It has been as warm as 80 degrees and as cold as the upper 20s. We had spectacular weather a couple of weeks ago and decided to take advantage and go on another family hike. This time, we went on a different trail. It ended up being about 3 miles roundtrip. Jack did a great job! Of course we'd play games along the way to keep him interested (hide and seek, chase each other with a pokey stick, looking for creatures, etc...).

Just a few days later, it was back to a typical northern CA winter....rain, rain, and more rain.

After being cooped up inside for days straight, we decided to just grin and bare it. Playing out in the rain can be a lot of fun if dressed appropriately :)

Then, Mother Nature took another turn and San Francisco got its first glimpse of snow in 30 years! Unfortunately, it happened in the middle of the night so we totally missed it. Bummer. I was hoping to make some snow angels with the boys!

Jack-isms

So the other day Jack and I were building with legos and here is how our conversation went:

J: are you building me a surprise?

M: Do you want me to?

J: Ya-

M: Okay. Don't look

.....he proceeds to inch his way over to help...

J: Mom, I'm going to build you a surprise

M: But I thought I was building you one.

J: No- this is for you. Don't look. It's super special. It's a present just. for. you. I'm going to wrap it up and put it in my backpack....but it's too big for my back pack, so I'll just let you open it. I'm almost ready. You can almost see it. Don't knock it over. It's super special just for you.

Gotta love this kid.

Also, yesterday he called his friend Landon "Sweetheart Bud". Cute. I think that's my new favorite.

Best Buddies already

I just love watching my two boys interact. It is the sweetest thing in the world! Jack is such a great big brother- always eager to play with him- and Teddy just adores Jack. Whether it's hiding together, or building lego towers for Teddy to knock over, I hope this phase never ends! Here is a little peak into some of our downtime fun :)

For a few days there, Jack was really into building pirate ships out of couch cushions. So that's what we did morning, noon and night :)

The rest of them are just fun playtime pics. Usually Jack is doing something funny and he asks me to go grab the camera so I can take a picture of him......modest and shy? I think not....and I think Teddy is following in his footsteps..

Jack-isms

Jack was being incredibly chatty today (what's new?!?) and I pulled a funny face.....to which he replied, "Mom, I don't want to you to be super funny, okay?" At least somebody thinks I'm funny!

The other day in the car I was putting on some lipstick, and he asked if he could have some of that pink gluestick. I'm kind of glad he didn't know what lipstick was!

I was folding the laundry and Jack walks over, grabs one of my bras and puts it on saying "Look Mom, armor!"

....only in Berkeley....

(don't worry, it's water)

L.A. Day

Probably my favorite day of the break was spent up in L.A. with the family. I love going up to West L.A. and Malibu....some of my favorite days have been hanging out on Main Street or Abbott Kinney or driving up the 1 to the Malibu beaches. So we did just that. And I loved every minute of it!

We walked around Main Street in Santa Monica to shop and have lunch; then headed up the 1 to check out some beautiful homes and spend some time at the beach. It was a beautiful day...perfect for digging in the sand, looking for sea urchins, and watching the waves!

We then went over the hills to hang out with one of my best friends from high school, Laney and her husband Zach. She made us a delicious dinner, and Jack had blast playing with their dog Connor....and Connor loved Jack a little too much.....