June Update

I've been quite busy lately with some new ventures, as you might know if you've followed my design blog. Jack has been busy right along with me getting bigger and more mature. Here's a random update (finally)!

Tid bits of Jack

We've been to the beach and pool several times now and he has no fear of the water. We're looking into swimming lessons!

His cars 'talk' to each other now. (He knows all the characters' names from the Disney movie Cars) He makes up little conversations between them. This is really encouraging. He tells us stories, starting with "one day..." With this new creative imagination comes new fears. He's more afraid of the dark than he used to be, though it's not crippling. Thunder unnerves him too now. It's not been bad and I understand it's all part of the age, which means he's up to par with others his age. yay.
His shape recognition started about 2 months ago. He knows what a triangle, circle and square are, but he's recently started putting the letter and number shapes in their respective holes in his toys. It had me a little worried that he had no clue a while back but I guess he just needed a little more time.
He comes up with funny remarks like "here daddy, eat this monkey" while holding out his empty clenched hand. Of course David said "I'm not eating a real monkey, is it a candy monkey?" Jack said "ok it's a candy monkey - eat it!" (I blame this on David as he is always making up goofy things like this... I love it!)

He's growing 'up', his weight has remained the same. His communication skills have gone through the roof which has helped with the tantrums. He's able to understand what I'm telling him and can reason a bit more. He's simply becoming a little boy which can be sad at the same time as exciting.

He has me laughing all the time with the things he comes up with. He is a constant narrator on the road telling me what color or type of car is next to us or what has just passed (Hummer, trash truck, Jeep, Semi truck, money truck, dirty truck, etc.) Sometimes it's a little much but it's really cute most of the time.

Blueberry picking!

He's been at the "mine" stage a little while now, but just last weekend we noticed he thought the train another little boy was playing with should be his and took it from him. He acted very innocent and when I told him to give it back he said sheepishly "but I want it". This is the newest stage. Though he has also started the "why not?" when I tell him 'no' or 'not right now'.

I made him a cardboard kitchen from which he always makes people milk cups but won't let them drink it unless they pray first, like at a meal. He also makes his staple foods "pasta and meat"!
In the toddler class at church on Father's day the kids were given hand shaped foam and put their own handprint on them. Jack's handprint was red. When asked about it Jack said "I wanted blue paint but that girl said I had to use red." He sounded kind of bummed and he sounded so grown up! :(
He comes up with questions like "mommy want eat this paper?" and then answers himself with a "that be silly - hahaha"

Love that kid!

Hodge Podge of Stories and Updates (long)

CAUGHT IN THE ACT - Is this a bad sign? :)

One morning Jack was looking at the little cut on his knuckle. I happened to be telling him the requested "Squeeky Squirrel" story and said Mommy squirrel kissed Squeeky's booboo and made it all better! Of course, Jack said "Mommy kiss Jack's booboo" and of course I did with a loud smack! He looked at his finger, totally confused! I think, in his mind, he thought "all better" is the same as "all gone" and was trying to figure out why the booboo was still there!

On March 28th we had our 1 year anniversary of Gotcha Day (the day we got Jack in our custody). It's amazing to see how much has changed with Jack in just one year. To commemorate we had Jack do work in our backyard! HA-no not really. It rained a LOT and our yard flooded so he and David had fun playing in the water. They also found a few worms and Jack has no problem with them... unlike me! yuk. Jack is mostly right on target with other kids his age and in some ways he's more advanced. Amazing for us to see. Also, within a two week period just before this Jack grew 3/4"! His behavior alluded to such as he was pretty much a demanding bear. Oh well!
Grandma and Grandpa came from Missouri for a visit. It was a great time. Unfortunately it was during his 2 week growth spurt so he wasn't his nicest during our family get togethers. Just another phase with toddlers I guess! He was definitely more aware of his new cousin Josslyn and we got some fun pics with the grandparents and the 2 grandchildren! One of the days we went to our local park and spent time playing there and had lunch also. The weather was perfect and we all enjoyed it!Jack went to the dentist and had another great checkup! His teeth and gums are doing well! Whew!

We have been going to a Creative Movement class for 2 year olds on Friday mornings. It's been really great for him to be involved in a peer group. He's both a leader and a follower with the other kids in the class, which makes me a little crazy. I wish he would listen to the teacher more, but this seems to be a trend with the kids his age so I guess it's something I have to deal with.
Today was our first state funded playgroup class for 2 year old children. It's a small group of about 10 and we were on a waiting list and finally got in. Unfortunately it's only until he turns 3 and they follow the school calendar. He'll have playgroup for another couple of months and then the summer off. He turns 3 before the next school year so that's all with this playgroup. It doesn't matter to me, I'm just happy he's able to be in a sort-of classroom setting with other kids his age. He did pretty well today and the teacher is great. We parents are still involved, guiding their movements around this huge toy sectioned room and helping with tasks, but the teacher does a great job redirecting and reengaging the kids.

A common theme I hear from those who meet Jack is "wow, he's not shy" - to which I respond "yeah, he knows no strangers!" Jack says hello to EVERYONE. Comments audibly on everything he sees (including calling men with long hair 'girls' and making sure everyone knows "that girl crying loud!?") He responds to questions plainly and emphatically and has a ton of enthusiasm about EVERYTHING. He tells his own stories, making a lot of them up and plays on his own now too. (It helps that Daddy is a great storyteller). He corrects things that we do 'wrong' and says "good job mommy/daddy" when he thinks we are doing something right. Sunday morning as I brought my coffee cup into my room to sit on my dresser while I showered he said "Wait, Wait Mommy - don't bring coffee in shower!" He notices EVERYTHING. When the teacher tried to hide something so he wouldn't get it, he went straight in and took it.... yikes!

The tough thing right now is that Jack is still going through the gaining independence stage. He feels he is owed everything. He's extremely demanding and still has melt downs (regardless of where we are) when he doesn't get his way. We're still working on techniques on how to get through this phase but we thankfully have good days in between the bad. Guess it's called Life. :)

Jack is extremely caring and very sympathetic. He doesn't like it when anyone is sad and asks for hugs to cheer them up. Then he says "[name] happy now!" He tends to be a clown when he knows it makes people laugh. This is one of the things I love about his personality. He knows his primary colors and counts to twelve. We're just thrilled with all the accomplishments he's made this year. If you would have asked me 6 months ago if I could have envisioned this, I would have said no. God has been so gracious and we are so in awe!
Today, when David got home we were finishing our little swimming time and David asked Jack about his day. He asked Jack where he went. Jack looked at him and (without any warning) went into Hulk-like mode and said "puuub-lix" with a long drawn out grunt. Daddy said "really, you went to publix?" and Jack said "n-o-o-o-o". Then he said "l-aw-maaarrrt". And Daddy said "really, walmart?" Jack said "n-o-o-o-o". Basically he went through all different places with "n-o-o-o" in between until finally getting to "pll-a-y-gr-oooo-p", each with a grunt and with his hands in a tensed up, near his side move. Then he went into hyper drive and started doing a boxing type move and then ran around the outside of the pool going "boom boom boom boom". It was hysterical! It's times like these that I absolutely LOVE. He is developing such a fun character - granted that was a bit rough! That's my boy!

Playing at the mall's kid zone - not shy

Singing

So you don't hear from me forever and now you get all kinds of things in a few days! Enjoy!

Jack had just woken from his nap so his hair is a little funky but he's always ready to go! He knows how to sing the first 3 lines of this song, but because the camera is on I have to prompt him to continue a bit. He also LOVES to see himself in photos and film so you'll hear him say "see Jack now" a couple of times.

Library visit

Not sure if this will mean much to others, but I have to chronicle it. (Jack is 2 1/2 now!) We went to the library again today. It can be very trying with Jack on the floor at the library. He's hyper, very loud and touches everything. If I'm trying to get in and out I usually put him in the stroller, but today I let him roam, on the condition that he agree to listen to me, stay close by, be very quiet, and not to touch but look with his eyes only. Of course he didn't really comply completely with any of those, but it wasn't too bad. We were in the children's area, looking through their video section. This was the first stop and he was mostly listening but he kept pulling the videos out of place. He would put them back as I instructed but continued to pull them out - over and over. During one of these times I was behind him looking at the shelf above his, I put my hand on his shoulder and my thumb rubbed his upper back. After a second Jack said "excuse me mommy, no rub Jack's back" and kind of shrugged. I busted out with a laugh and then had to muffle it. He's coming up with all kinds of stuff. Funny thing is, he loves it when I touch him. Guess it was distracting him from his videos.

Jack and Josslyn

Last Saturday night we were able to visit David's youngest brother and family at their home. Jack finally got to meet his newest cousin - baby Josslyn. He's only been to their house once before so he was more interested in scoping it out than hanging with a baby who didn't know how to play with him. :) Still, we tried to get him interested and asked him to kiss her 'softly'. He quickly made the noise - moowhah - and that was that. We asked him to keep doing it so we could take pictures, but he didn't really get why he needed to keep kissing her. Funny.
This coming Friday is our 1 year post placement report visit. Our social worker will come and get an update on how things are going with Jack. I can't wait for her to see how far he's come. He loves to make up stories and thinks up the funniest things. He also likes to say things like 'amazing' and 'awesome'! I think his favorite word lately has been 'humongous' (he says it low and slowly builds up volume until it's heuuumuuuungus!) One morning when we were driving to my parents house I asked him about Nonno (grandpa) and said "is he drinking milk right now?" Jack said "noooo, coffee". I said "is he eating waffles?" to which he said "nooo, bread and cheese!" Hu! Didn't know that one. I'm so proud of how far he's come and I can't wait to hear what he comes up with next!

How is it past the middle of February already!?

I know, time goes by, but sheesh! It's going way too fast!

Some new things we've done have been a true babysitting evening. David's brother and wife, Mark and Gabriella (Gabby) came over last Friday evening and took care of Jack while we went to another couple's house. We gave them the lo-down on our typical routine and showed them where things were. Jack loves his Uncle Mark (unca mawk) and Aunt Gabby (au gawbby) and they've been around often for his bedtime routine so I didn't really worry. They did great, and Jack went to bed pretty easily. We feel he is very secure with us now and knows what position we hold so we're not worried at all about that. We're blessed to have family so close and appreciate all of them immensely! Here's some pics Gabby took that evening..


We take trips to our local library and there is a lake just outside where swans abound. We stopped and watched them waddle around and walked along the bank. I think Jack had a good time. We snapped some photos with my phone. He loves getting his picture taken.
Things have been running smoothly (mostly) here. We've had some trouble with tantrums and stuff and we are trying to figure things out. Jack is trying to be very independent, always saying "all by self" at every turn. Yet, he's showing great signs of attachment and bonding with us well. He understands so much and expresses himself pretty well. His diction is getting better and struggles only with words that have 2 consonants starting with 's'. For instance 'stick' or 'slippery'. He can say 's' words like 'see' and 'silly', just not if there is a consonant following. So, we're pretty happy about how things are progressing.

When I went into his room this morning, to get him out of bed, he said "fa found money!" and held out his hand shaped like it was pinching something. I exclaimed "yay! what are you going to do with it?!" He quickly said "buy something". I laughed and said "what are you going to buy?" Without hardly a breath in between words he said "bananas applesauce milk and yooogurt". I laughed so hard. It's funny how daily activities make an impression on their little minds.

Last night we all went to visit David's brother and his wife in the hospital with their first child. She is adorable! Unfortunately they didn't allow children under 12 into the Women's Center due to protection against the swine flu so we had to take turns going up. Jack was so good though, we were relieved. When they get home we will introduce Jack to his newest little cousin Josslyn and hopefully get some good snapshots.

That's all for now. Sorry for the long time between posts but Jack is getting busier and I don't always have the mental energy to write. Until next time!

Ending 2009/Beginning 2010 (very long)

Wow. Where to begin. It's been a long and busy month+ for us. I guess Christmas was where I left off. It was, of course, wonderful. So many people asked us if we were excited about having Christmas with Jack. Of course! He's part of OUR gift this year! Jack didn't really understand the whole concept, but loved opening presents. Such a difference from only 4 months before at his birthday party when he didn't really 'get' that he was supposed to rip off the wrapping paper.

Our families both traditionally open gifts on Christmas eve. We went to David's parents' and kicked off the holiday there. The morning of Christmas Eve, as Jack was eating breakfast, I decided to putting the finishing ribbon on the family's Christmas gifts. A client of mine called and then came over to deliver a gift and wanted to see Jack. I got Jack out of his breakfast chair to greet them and then he wandered the living room while I talked with my guests. I had forgotten that I left out my wrapping accessories. I looked over and Jack was playing with tape... took that away, along with the scissors that were right there. WHEW! A few minutes later I look over and here's what I see:
Several rolls of ribbon, unrolled. I had to laugh and once my clients left I snapped these pictures. Took forever to get the ribbon back on the roll, but oh well.

Christmas Eve at David's parents was wonderful and very fun. There were 8 adults and Jack was doing pretty well even though it was getting past his bedtime. At one point he got really bored and decided to play with my mother-in-law's decor. He broke it...yikes!
Then it was time for gifts! Jack got to open a few of his first (we all take turns) and wow, he really got into it. Of course he wanted us to open each toy immediately! The night was a blast and then it was time to go home to get enough sleep for the next full day of family and fun.
Christmas morning we didn't really have enough time to open our own family's gifts since we were hurried to go to my parents' house for a big family meal. We got there and had my aunts and uncles and cousins over and it was a good day. Unfortunately David picked up a cold, at the beginning of his vacation and he didn't feel good at all. Once the meal was over, and the locals left, and Jack woke from his nap, we finally had time to exchange my family's gifts. Jack knew the drill and was totally ready. It was so fun, all over again. What great families we have!

By the time we got back home from a full day, David and I decided to wait until the next morning to give Jack his gifts from us. So, in essence, Jack had THREE Christmas gift exchanges. We took out the wrapped presents and he said 'more'! Jack would open just enough to see a little part of the box and then stop and say "look at that!" and then he would say it over and over! We had to convince him to keep opening it! Too funny!
On the last day of the year we decided to go to the zoo. It was a lot of fun and Jack enjoyed seeing all the animals. I think his favorite were the goats because he jumped right in and had no fear. Here's a little video clip:

Then he wanted to get the goat off the fence... didn't think it was right I guess. Hilarious.
I snapped this a few days later. When did my little boy get so big?
On January 3rd, we were finally able to have a Dedication service for Jack at church. Time has just flown by. David's parents were moving to Missouri and my parents were going to Haiti and we wanted them both there so we scheduled it for the last Sunday they would both be around together. What an experience! Jack still doesn't sit for very long. Here he is with our parents praying a blessing over him (see the squinty eyes, lol)
And now he's had enough but David is still hanging on to him...
I'm so glad for everyone in our small church. They are so encouraging and totally understanding!
After church Jack got to play daddy's drums like he usually does. The boy's definitely got rhythm!
The last update would be that I finally made Jack's bookshelf for his room. I've been sketching a design since before we went to Russia and I finally finished it! We put it up last night and Jack is in awe and loves it! Thankfully he loves to (try to) read.
A few months ago I put up these letters I made out of styrofoam and felt. I think the room is set for at least a while now.
Almost forgot, Jack just got in his final 2 year molar. He's been acting like a bear lately and we finally figured out why. His mood has lightening up and I'm pretty sure it's because that tooth finally broke through! Hopefully we're done with teeth for a while!!!!

It's now time to schedule our 1 year post placement appointment. Amazing how time has just flown by. Amazing to see how far Jack has come. Sobering to think of Jack possibly still being in the orphanage. Giving God the complete praise for our Amazing Gift of Jack. He fits us so perfectly, I can't imagine life with any other.
You have now been updated! Sorry it took so long!

Boom Shakalaka

So David teaches him how to say Boom Shakalaka and now that's all he says.... just out of the blue. It's too funny.

Since it's cookie season, I had Jack help me make a small batch of snowballs. He did well at first, being gentle with the dough.
Then, as I was putting a tray in the oven, he decided he needed lubricating and rubbed his hands all over his head and face.... oh well, he got some cookies out of it. :)
Last Saturday night we ventured out for a second time to "Lights of Lakeland". A local church puts on a huge Bethlehem type display along with other fun things like dress up movie and tv characters, not to mention Santa and his elves. The first time we went we forgot our camera and my sister-in-law took some nice shots for us. This time we were armed and it was fun watching him interact with so many things.

Here he decided he needed the money more than the beggars:
He wanted the Wise man's hat and actually pulled it off of the guy. They thought it was funny... whew!
This donkey decided he needed to move around a bit and when Jack was first put on it, it took off. This time the donkey just wanted to eat....
Jack has been acting up a bit more than usual and we noticed his top 2 yr. molar had popped through already. No drooling or bleeding or anything. Then, I looked to the other side and the bottom one is just about to come through... Tons of drool this time, and he goes in and out of the 'little monster' stage quite often. Doesn't seem like it is taking as long as that first one a few months back, so that's nice. Just one more to go...

And then there was Nonno (grandpa in Italian) and the tractor. Jack saw it in my dad's shed and said "drive! drive!". So, my dad gave him a ride. At first, because it's so loud, Jack hesitated while leaning towards it. He really wanted to ride it but when it came time, he wasn't sure. As soon as he got on it though, he wanted to drive it. I think he had a good time going around their backyard. :) Thanks Dad!
I can't say enough how blessed we are with Jack. He's come so far in such a short amount of time. I'm not going to say it's been easy, or that it is currently easy, but it has gotten a lot better and Jack is able to express himself quite well. He makes us laugh and is constantly laughing himself. Such a difference from the child that would only laugh when he was tickled. God has truly blessed us!

This is funny - to us...

So Jack has been in a great mood all day. We got to visit with Jack's Aunt Sarah and Uncle Jon, along with Grandma and Grandpa and then we did some shopping. Jack talked up a storm. Every day he says something unexpectedly funny and makes me laugh. He's very tired tonight and so he's more determined to get his own way. He was trying to close a door that he shouldn't have and it bounced back and hit him in the side of the head. He fell down and immediately said "mommy kiss it" and came my way, then as I was getting him he said "daddy kiss it" so daddy did. To our amazement he turned around while walking away and said in a low, calm voice, "Thanks."

The other day I was vacuuming down his hallway and he couldn't get into his room. As he tried squeezing through he said "Excuse me!" (didn't know he knew how to apply that one!)

We were also trying to get him to eat some dinner, which usually isn't too difficult. He decided he wanted to call his cousin, Bella. David had already been talking on an imaginary phone so he 'dialed' the number and I (secretly) answered. Apparently I sounded just like her because he was surprised she answered (as was David 'cause he gave me a funny look and said 'how did you do that?'.) David asked 'Bella' about their trip to Disney and if she gave Minnie mouse a hug. I didn't want the conversation to end with a 'yes' so I just said "no, I was scared." David suggested they pray for Bella and Jack closed his eyes tight, said "help Bella, Amen". Then he said "Bella all done scared."

All things going well

It's been a long time since posting. I haven't been taking a lot of pictures lately... just how it goes. It's been really busy and never seem to have my camera when I need it. Things have been going very well with Jack. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. He says just about everything and tries really hard to put sentences together, usually successfully. He's really getting the hang of playing by himself, with his toys and little cars/buses and such. He pretends with things, and role plays a lot. It's just amazing to watch his transformation with things, seemingly over night.

With the cooler weather brings warmer clothes. I tried on a sleeper outfit that we used while in Russia and it's just about too small. Even the sock cap we used doesn't make it all the way around his head anymore. It's sad and encouraging at the same time. He's growing steadily and I just can't say enough how blessed we are with him.
We are so thankful that God put our family together with Jack. We can't imagine any other child fitting us better!

November

Hard to believe we're already in November. Seems like it was just July. The heat is still prominent so it might as well be July... Actually this morning the weather cooperated just a bit with the season so it should be nice for a little while at least! We've had a few things happen over the past couple of weeks. Jack got his first real haircut. (I trimmed it up a bit here and there but since he didn't have much hair when we first came home, it took a while for it to finally need shaping!) His Aunt Sarah did a wonderful job at the salon and Jack did pretty good too!
We also had a visit from my brother's family and Jack got to spend several days with his cousins who were ages 4, 3 and 2. They also have a 3 month old who Jack loves to talk about but she wasn't up for playing with him just yet! :)
Let's see. We took a short trip to Downtown Disney (free outdoor mall with restaurants and theaters) where Jack got to walk around and see all the shops, including the Lego store and the Harley shop. He also rode the merry-go-round and didn't get too dizzy. :)
Jack has also had his first real fever since he came to us. Made me very uncomfortable but he's doing much better and is still as busy as ever!

That's all for now. Hope everyone is doing well at the start of these busy holiday months.