The Many Faces of Jack

While in Florida on spring break, I was sitting across the pool from Jack. He was eating applesauce and I was playing with the camera's zoom feature. I took these pictures without him knowing that I was doing so. No one was near him and no one was talking to him. This is what I mean when I say that he has a million faces........

who knew that eating applesauce could evoke so many emotions?

Our little man is THREE!

Sticking with tradition, we celebrated Jack's birthday twice. Once, when we were with family and secondly, on his actual birthday. Yeah for Jack!

We snuck in a little party at the Outerbanks while most of the family was together. Being that Jack loves pirates and wanted a pirate birthday, it was the perfect place to celebrate! Jack and his cousins sported pirate tattoos (or too toos as Jack calls them) that his cousin, Megan bought for him. Keith was the "special" big cousin who was chosen to wear the last tattoo in the pack.

The kids each got a special birthday cupcake because I was too lazy to make Jack's pirate hat cake while on vacation. There was lots of singing and dancing, balloons and even some presents - does it get any better?
For his REAL birthday this week, we went swimming in the morning and then came home and played games. I made the promised pirate hat cake and we had everyone's favorite dinner - spaghetti and meatballs!

Will and Emma really had fun preparing for the birthday. Will made Jack a comic and Emma made him a very loving card.

At Jack's well check, he weighed in at 31.4 pounds and measured up to 38.5 inches. The nurse told me that his height is in the 75th percentile, but I just don't believe her. I am sure she isn't intentionally lying to me, but I do believe math isn't her strong suit.

It is hard to believe that Jack is three already. It seems like just yesterday that I was trying to induce labor with a disgusting concoction of orange juice and cod liver oil! I am sure most parents say this, but I really can't imagine life without Jack. He frustrates me daily with his strong will and independence. On the flip side, I want to squeeze him all day long because I love him so. Those cheeks are oh so kissable and his many faces make me laugh every time. I truly believe that he is an old man in a little guy's body. Some of the things he says just aren't commonly found to be coming out of a three-year-old's mouth!
Happy Birthday, Jack! We love you so!

Goodbye Pampers!

And hello more money in the pocket! For the first time in 7 1/2 years, we are no longer purchasing diapers. Well, there was a brief time before Jack was born, but it was so brief that it really didn't count.

I feel that I can safely announce to the entire world that Jack is potty trained! Wahoo!!!

It all happened on May 27th. There were issues that I won't go into and I simply told Jack that the only way to resolve the issue was to pee in the toilet. He had woken up dry that morning and I decided to keep putting him on the toilet whenever I thought about it. I really had no big expectations. In fact, we went to the outlet mall in Concord that morning, which is about 50 minutes away. That really wasn't the ideal situation to potty train, but then, I really wasn't planning to! He wore a diaper (from the previous day) and kept it dry into the evening. Logic told me that if he could stay dry for 12+ hours, this child was ready to wear underwear. So, the next day he wore his little boxers just like his big brother and the rest is history! I never put another diaper on him. I am guessing that he has had less than 5 pee accidents since then, but poo is another story. He did well at first and then changed his mind around the time that we were going on vacation. Thank goodness we had a washer and dryer at the vacation house! But, since returning home, he has decided that it much better to skip the middle man and just put it right in the toilet. Again, wahoo!!!!

We've been doing pull ups at night only, but he has only wet in them twice since May 27th. So, tonight is the big leap into wearing underwear at night. Stay tuned for that outcome!

I know it is easier said than done, but seriously, kids will potty train when they decide they are ready. I knew I was pushing Will, but I just couldn't stop myself. Let this be a lesson to all of you who have yet to potty train a child. Don't worry about when YOU think they should be trained. Let it up to them and it will be a stress-free, positive experience for everyone involved.

Hmm.....that line should be in a commercial.

Swimming, swimming...just keep swimming.....

Yep. I have the Dory song running (or would it be swimming?) through my head. We've been doing pretty much nothing but swimming for the past week and a half. We left for vacation at the Outerbanks on June 8th and swam everyday for 7 days. Upon our return, we've been to the pool twice daily. Normally, we would only be there in the morning for swim team practice. However, Will is also going to Cub Scout camp this week and can't make the morning session. This forces us back to the pool in the evening so he can get practice in.

Today, we were at the pool in the morning for Emma's team practice and stayed longer so Jack could get in a swim lesson. As soon as we got home from picking up Will from camp in the afternoon, we packed up again and headed to our first swim meet. We were there from 5:15 - 8:00. Normally, we would have been there until after 9:00, but I requested that the kids swim early due to camp starting at 8:15 the next morning. Whew! Did you catch all of that?!

Thank goodness everyone LOVES to swim! The kids did GREAT at the meet tonight. All of the practice has paid off because neither Will nor Emma had to stop to make it to the other end of the pool. We weren't the fastest, but we weren't the slowest either!!!! HOORAY!!!! This may not seem like a big deal, but just last year at this time, Emma couldn't even swim!

Words cannot express how much pride I felt tonight. To give you a good idea, Emma told me after Will was done that I had hurt her ear from screaming too loud!

Now, I am going to make my dinner since I was too nervous at the meet to eat. I am going to dine on hot, out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookies. MMMMM......... I promise to post pictures and details of our Outerbanks trip soon.