saturday in the park ...

a busy weekend schedule precluded the posting of this in a more timely fashion. and, as michael said, we can't fall into a situation where we don't spend time with jack because we're blogging about jack!


it was a nice day on saturday, warm and sunny and quite pleasant. and, given the snowy weather of just a week or so ago, a welcome taste of spring. so, after errands and our grocery hijinks, we headed down to the neighborhood park that is at the end of our street.







jack had a great time swinging by himself in the baby swing, but even more fun on the big boy swing with daddy.










he also enjoyed going down the slide with mommy

but by far, his favorite was the dinosaur that he could do all by himself

picture people

sunday was our outing to picture people in the mall to have jack's 9 month photo taken.





previously, his 3- and 6-month photos turned out pretty well and jack was a natural -- smiley and bright-eyed and cute as can be.

9-months -- well, let's just say it was a different story ...

as soon as we went to the camera, jack started bawling. he was scared of the camera...scared of the big wheeling tripod...scared of the weird kid, ariel, who was doing our pictures...and especially scared of this bizarre feather duster that the aforementioned weirdo ariel kept shaking to get his attention.

eventually jack got calmed down enough to start smiling at daddy's silly faces and noises and to be interactive. we tried pictures with him sitting on the floor, but we wanted some standing up as well, since that best represents what jack is up to at age 9 months. so we asked our buddy ariel la weird what kind of props they had for kids to hold on to and stand up. he suggested this red and white stool.

unfortunately, as you can see, the stool was ridiculously beat up and shabby looking, so the picture did not turn out as good as we hoped.

anyway, maybe this will be a funny story eventually. but, for now, it was a disappointment. but, considering that a return visit is unlikely to be much more fruitful, we took our free 8x10 and left. i'm hoping photoshop might improve things. one more thing for my never-ending to do list ....

definitely his father's son

saturday morning is usually a good time for errands. today, while daddy went to the hardware store, jack and mommy headed up to the plaza. we picked up daddy's shirts at the cleaner's, we bought cat food at the pet store (and looked at the hamsters and parakeets there), and we went to the grocery store.

the grocery store is a favorite of jack's, especially now that he can ride in the cart. he *loves* to ride in the cart. he also loves to ~lick~ the cart, which is why we cover it with something called a "floppy seat" that jack's great-aunt margie gave him (thanks, margie!). there is a lot to see at safeway, and the bumpy parking lot makes for a fun ride.

but jack decided today he was also going to help with putting away the groceries. since playing with the plastic sacks was not a game that mommy thought appropriate, jack instead headed to the fridge. but instead of putting away the food, he got distracted ...

by ...







yes ... by the hershey's chocolate syrup in the fridge door. a boy after his father's heart ....

but, after a while jack lost interest in the hershey's for something else ...

TABASCO!!!!!!!!!!

and that's sort of where this impromptu photo session ended. co-inky-dink? i think not.

i was walkin' along, minding my business ...

so jack is now walking with his walker. actually, he's been doing this since the tuesday after president's day (2/20). but i just now got around to capturing this marvel on camera.

here ....

he ....

comes ....

and there he goes!

whoa, what *is* that?!?

jack's grandma jane tells a funny story about one of the first graders she taught. this little boy had a mother who apparently never wore pantyhose. when mrs. mershon came to school wearing pantyhose, he just thought that was the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen. and, naurally, he demonstrated this fascination by petting her leg all day.

well, jack too does not often see pantyhose. and today, when he tried to use my legs as a means to stand up, he slid right down! he too was fascinated by my slippery nylon-clad gams.

don't worry jack -- it doesn't happen too often. we'll be back to pants tomorrow!

And so it begins ...

I'm pretty sure Jack and I had our first "stand-off" this morning. On our front door we have a door hanger thingy with a bell on it (apparently it's supposed to ward off evil spirits). Jack loves to chew on the bell. The first time he did it this morning, I picked him up, said 'no, that's yucky,' and moved him across the room to his other toys. He then proceeded to march (actually, to army crawl) right back to the bell, put it in his mouth, turn around and stare right at me.

I can't understand it -- it's not like he comes from stubborn parents or anything (Hi, Lici!) ...

Oh, it is ON!

Always on the run

Many have complained about the message that simply said "test" but that's what made it possible to post this from my cameraphone!