I have been trying to plan a trip to visit my brother and his family in Pennsylvania. They were expecting their 4th child the end of July and it worked out for us to go this past weekend, though it could only be a quick trip since David's vacation time hasn't come around yet. We left early, early on Saturday and got back late, late on Monday. Turns out, as we were in the air on Saturday, Stephen and Joanna were on their way to the hospital. Little Lila Elise decided to come early so when we arrived we couldn't find anyone to pick us up. I called the number I had in my cell phone and Stephen answered saying "oh you didn't get my message". Needless to say, things didn't go as planned, but we still had a really nice time with the family. Joanna's sister picked us up and drove us to Stephen's house where Joanna's parents were taking care of the kids. They left a little before lunch and we became parents of 4! Well, their oldest was a huge help since she was very informed and very anxious to help us with her little brother and sister.
Jack and Ava pushing Luca around in the car Jack was very fond of - Jack actually pushed Luca on his own once, he's one tough kid!Stephen came home during their afternoon nap and when everyone was awake we all took a ride to the hospital to meet the new baby! 4 car seats in a mini van, David in the front seat and Stephen driving - so where did I sit? Floating in between the 4 children! It was funny! The kids kept asking me why I was sitting there.
Looking out the hospital room window
going home from the hospital, Jack wanted to hold Bella's handJack did great in the airports and on the plane too. I was worried he would have a bad memory of it but nope! We used his car seat which was such a huge lifesaver. Jack did so extremely well with his new cousins. They are 4, 3 and 2 so he fit right in. It was so cool to see him interact with them. 2 year olds aren't known for playing well with others and he was typical but not mean. By Monday he did seem to want to instigate their 2 year old who also coincidentally wanted the toy Jack would happen to have at the moment. All the kids seemed sad to see him go and that was so cute.
Jack loved the big swings at the park near their house. He did great!Here's a thank you to Joanna and Stephen for letting us stay with you and for feeding us! We had a great time! A big thank you to David's brother and sister-in-law for watching our dog - again, and for giving him a much needed hair cut. I picked Chilly up on Tuesday and when seeing Chilly after his nap Jack said "uh-oh" and tried to pet his back. I really think he thought Chilly had a boo boo because his hair was almost gone! Too funny!
Well, Jack is almost two now. :( We're moving right along with language and comprehension, obeying, sitting still for more than 1 second, recognizing people like his cousins and other family, playing well on the playground and with others, and... sitting on the potty? :) He's not 'done' anything on there yet but we found that he totally understands you are supposed to sit there, so we've started to incorporate it in our routine. We tried this when we first got back from Russia as this was a part of his daily routine there but Jack was too freaked out to sit and so we let it go. He says Potty all the time, but hasn't connected it with the act of going potty and that's cool. At least he's not fighting it, or afraid. Now if we could only get the timing just right....
We're having a bunch of great times together and things are going well. He loves to imitate us and it's hysterical to see the things he comes up with. Though, it's often hard to watch him shake his hands in the air holding a fork packed with food on it, just because we're talking with our hands... I wash the floor quite often needless to say. :) Ahh, the joy.
