Jack has changed so much this past month. He has gotten SO much more into everything and just never stops. I feel like he "hit the 2's" last month and hasn't slowed down! We can hardly go anywhere right now and relax. He runs off to the kitchen and either a) climbs on the table and starts throwing my decorations, b) pulls a chair over to the blinds and pulls on the cords, c) pulls a chair up to the light switch and turns it on and off. He runs off to the laundry room, climbs into the chair, and starts hitting buttons on the computer. He runs into his room, climbs up his dresser to where he can reach his sound machine, and turns it on or off. He runs into the bathroom, pulls the stool over, turns on the water, and plays in the water. He runs back to our bathroom and plays in the drawers (lipstick, eyeliner, etc), starts flushing our toilet (sometimes dropping things in there first), or climbs up on the ledge of our bathtub and tries to take down the decorations. Those are just his hot spots. The usuals. I truly can't get much of anything done with him around right now. Even in the back and front yards, he just wants to do all of the things that put him in danger!! I feel (hope) that this is just a stage, and that he'll mellow out for a little bit soon. While all of this is tiring right now, I find it very endearing, and he looks so adorable when he runs off with an idea of something mischievous to get into that excites him.
Jack loves to hear himself talk. In the car, he will call out what he sees repeatedly in a very loud tone, as if he is seeing how many words he can say before we get to our destination. The other day, he had been saying "Mustat!" each time we were in the car throughout the day, over and over and over, getting madder and madder each time. I couldn't figure out what "mustat" was! Finally, I started grabbing for things on the floor of the car and handing them to him. He would throw them down angrily each time. I then grabbed a monster truck, and he said, "Mustat!! Mustat!! Eh-ee-are!!! (There you are) Awesome!!! I got it! I got it!" I laughed all the way home!
One of my favorite times of day with Jack is at bedtime. Daddy always gets him ready for bed, and then he always wants me to put him to bed. We jokingly ask, "Jack, do you want Mommy or Daddy to put you do bed?" just so he'll bury himself into me even more. Last night, after getting Jack ready for bed, Josh brought Jack to me in the kitchen. When Jack saw me, he went from a normal expression to an excited expression with arms raised, and then quickly threw his arms out to me and cocked his head with a huge smile. That was one of those moments I never want to forget! When I pick him up, he will gaze lovingly into my eyes, and then slowly bury his head into my shoulder. He then won't move and will cuddle with me until I put him to bed. He just melts my heart to mush!
One of Jack's quirks is that he knows everybody's names. He knows names of people at church that I don't know how he knows, he knows all of his friends and classmates' names, and he knows a lot of James' friends and classmates' names. They call him the class greeter in his PDO class, because he excitedly calls out everyone's names as they come into class. Most of the time, I don't tell him their names, but he just picks them up on his own.
Jack is obsessed with "choo choo twains", construction vehicles, and all other vehicles..."schoo buth!", "digguh!", "taxi!", "ambilimp (ambulance), "hot rot! (hot rod)", "fiya gin-gin (fire engine)", "deep" (jeep)
Jack calls himself "Dack" now. James is still "Mae-Mae", but he's now saying, "Matthew" perfectly and "Mockol" for Michael. He calls his doctor "Docta Hohnah" (Dr. Horner).
Another thing he says perfectly that cracks me up is "Be quiet!"
Jack has a slight aggressive side that can get him into trouble at school. He was in timeout the other day when I picked him up. His teachers said that he'd pushed over one of the girls several times. I said, "Jack! You need to be sweet!", and he looked right at the girl and said, "No thir! (sir)" He tends to go up and touch their cheeks, and then follow through until he's pushed them over! He can be so sweet to babies and he really knows how to be gentle, but he has a problem with this sometimes!
In the car, we sing and take turns with picking the song. James a lot of times will go first, then Daddy, then me. Jack now says, "My tuhn" and will always pick "Jethuth luh da lil' chi-dwen" He cracks me up, because he sings that song line a lot, then will laugh at himself and say, "I funny!"
Jack can give the sweetest kisses, but he will look at us and decide whether or not he wants to when asked. Sometimes he will, and sometimes he won't. Sometimes he'll lean away with a look of disgust, and sometimes he'll kiss me over and over. He has a mind of his own for sure!
That's my little sweetie pie in a nutshell! I can't believe he'll be two in one month!!
*He has become much more independent. Last year, he was much more clingy with us, but he's really coming into his own. He will hesitate for a second, and then run off to class saying, "Bye Mom and Dad", on Sunday mornings. He wants to walk to children's church all by himself during worship assembly. At MDO, he doesn't like to be with me until the last second...he likes to play in his classroom beforehand while the teachers get ready. Last year, when he'd see me in the halls, he'd give me and big hug and kiss, but this year, I have to get it from him! So bittersweet!
