Entertain Yourself

So there have been some complaints about no new blog posts this past week. Exxxcuuuse me faithful followers, but I have been busy having tons of fun with our latest round of houseguests. And after 4 nights of staying up late hanging out with friends, and 4 mornings of getting up early with never-sleeps-in-a-day-of-his-life Jack, I'm a tad exhausted. Too tired, in fact, to try to think up something clever to say tonight. Plus, our guests this past weekend have an awesome camera so I'm waiting until the photographer posts pictures so you can all have a top-notch visual experience, in addition to my rhetorical analysis of the events.

In the meantime, you may want to entertain yourself by checking out the webpage I created in my 8th grade computer class. This is how I channeled my html genius before Facebook and Blogger were on the scene. Actually, I had pretty much forgotten about this totally awesome site, until I got an email this week informing me that GeoCities is closing! So hurry, because after October 26 my labor of love will no longer be available!

Gentle Jack

I love watching Jack play with his toys. It's fun to watch his budding personality come through. It appears that he has his mom's patience and his dad's attention to detail. Then again, Jon and I are very similar in both of those areas. Sometimes I'm a little surprised at how rough he is with his toys. Where did he learn this stuff?? And where did this baby-anger come from?
It's also interesting to see which toys he plays with the most. Despite a pile of singing, flashing, moving, colorful pieces of plastic, his go-to toy is currently a compartmentalized plate (you'll see it in the video). He does the same thing every time, open and shut the doors, and take off the blue one. I put it back on for him, and within a few seconds he pulls it off again. He's very predictable.
And I'm always amazed to see how much he can concentrate on one little, tiny aspect of one, lonely toy. If you give him a stuffed animal, he will go straight to the tag and flick it back and forth for the whole play time. He loves to flick one of my finger nails when I'm holding him, and last night while we were laying on the couch his activity of choice was running his finger over the ridges on my front tooth. It was so weird I couldn't stop laughing, and then I was afraid I was going to accidentally bite him. But he was very serious about inspecting mommy's teeth.
So that's our son, our little mini-us whose quirks keep us entertained on daily basis!

Independence Day

We had a low-key 4th of July this year. We were supposed to have guests in for the weekend but they ended up arriving and leaving earlier than expected, so it was just the three of us celebrating our nation's independence. I must say, the long-weekend festivities just weren't the same as a new mom. Somehow "freedom" takes on a whole new meaning as the primary caregiver of a nursing, napping 8 month old. But we had fun enjoying having our house all to ourselves and recooping after a week with the cousins!
This is the third year in a row our little neighborhood has put on its own parade. Everyone is invited to participate by gathering together a few minutes before the official "start time." But we opted to watch instead. :) Basically it's just a group of people and pets all dressed in their patriotic best, walking, biking, riding, strollering, driving or golf carting down the street, waving at all their neighbors. It's a cute and fun addition to the day. Kind of like Jack. Speaking of whom, Lush Bucket loved all the attention. Their were ladies stopping to let him know how cute he was, fellow babies babbling as their parents pushed them by, and doggies eager to jump on mommy's lap and exchange kisses! Someone even threw us two pieces of candy! Unfortunately, it all ended too quickly. Poor Jack kept looking down the street to see if anyone else was going to walk by.
So here are a few pictures of what was likely our last 4th of July at The Beach...

Our youngest guest, 2-week old Rose.


And the neighborhood parade ...

And the parade's biggest fan taking it all in ...

The Tank Mobilizes

So finally, about 4-5 months later than expected, Jack has learned how to roll over! He's been so close since about 4 months but could never get that big ole thigh lifted over. And then one day, Jon and are playing with Jack on the floor, and he just flips onto his belly like he's been doing it all his life.
And that's all it took. Since then he's been rolling around like it's his job. Which poses a few new problems. Now he cries if he wakes up and finds himself on his belly, which has caused more than a few sleep disruptions. And he rolls until he hits an object (like a wall or the coffee table) and then cries when he can't roll anymore. And he rolls, and rolls, and rolls, until he's rolled clear across the room and is teetering on the edge of the steps. Yikes! Gone are the days of "plop Jack in the middle of the room with toys while I get some things done."
But all complaints aside it's fun to watch him grow up and learn new things. He's pretty proud of the way he can get around now. And I'm pretty proud I can finally cross "rolls over" off my devlopmental list. :)

Lush Bucket ... and yet more proof my son is very much like his father

The day after my parents left was kinda a letdown. We went from beach trips, movie nights and tons of new toys to our regularly scheduled Mondays. After a long day at work, or in Jack's case the sitter's, we were all a little worn out from the past few days.

So I walked into the living room to find Jack sprawled out on the couch, enjoying one of Daddy's back rubs. Look at this face. It must have been exhausting spending a few hours this afternoon being held and entertained by the babysitter. Such a rough life.

Summer Fun

So we are in the middle of 5 weeks of summer guests right now! We love hosting visitors and hanging out with friends and family here at the beach! Since this is our last summer here we're trying to make the most of it. That said, expect shorter posts these next few weeks. Or at least less words and more pictures!

These are from Marmie and Poppa's visit this past week:

This is Jack patiently waiting for Poppa to get off the phone and take him on a walk. Jack got more walks out of Marmie and Poppa this week than he's gotten from me all year!

Marmie's lap makes the best beach chair!

Jack's going to become a water boy whether he likes it or not! In this case, he kinda liked it.

Jack doesn't know how fortunate he is to have the Boogie Boarding Master as his grandfather. He has a rich legacy to carry on. We're starting him young.

This was Jon's first Father's Day. This is the gift Jack got him. I'm not sure who's more surprised - Jon or Jack.And of course what visit from Marmie and Poppa would be complete without new toys involved!? Check out Jack's new Gator. I'll have to get a video when he figures it out what to do with it. The voices and song it plays are too good to keep to ourselves.

And as Jon would say, "we've officially arrived" now that we have a toy box in our house. I'm having a hard time looking past the primary colored box sitting in my neutral/earthy living room but I'm sure I'll get used to it soon!

Celebrity Look-Alike

Jack woke up this morning with some crazy, uncontrollable hair. I told him he had Kate Gosselin hair and to smile for a photo. He decided to really "get into character" and gave me this face instead.

So here is Jack's best Kate Gosselin impression: