Spinning

Yesterday, my good friend Herschel came over. Jack adores Herschel. He even got Herschel to give him a spin in the back yard. The best part of this game is how both feel afterward; Jack can't stand up and Herschel mumbled something about getting another beer.

Dinosaur Book

Today at COSTCO, I went in to buy one thing: a case of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale for the attractive wife. I emerged with a lot more including a very cool Dinosaur pop-up book for Jack which features battery-operated sounds and movement. The text is a bit too advanced for Jack three-and-a-half-year-old mind (I don't think he appreciates the difference between sauropods and therapods) but the illustrations and pop-up stuff are awesome. He's really enjoying it.

Medicine with Pa

One of Jack's favorite routines is to help his Pa with his morning vitamin and pill routine. Jack's calls it medicine time. Pa will announce, "Help me find my medicine!" Jack knows where to find it in the small bed-side table in the guest room. Jack will pull out the plastic bags of vitamins and pills and hand them to Pa. It's really cute.

Transitions ...

With all the hullabaloo about Baby Sister (who still remains at the "hostable") Jack inherently gets that things are changing -- yet the proverbial hammer has yet to drop. My parents arrived last week to help up with the baby's arrival but to Jack, it's like a normal visit. He does see my attractive wife and I rushing off to the hostable to drop off pumped breast milk and catch the next scheduled feeding. I think he appreciates things are about to change but they haven't and he's acting out in some ways.

Still, having my folks here is great; Jack loves his Nanni and Pa. Here's a picture of them eating breakfast.

Hangin with Baby Sister

We got Jack back into the Intensive Care Nursery today again to visit Baby Sister who's very close, we're told, to coming home -- maybe even next week. This weekend, Baby got a hearing screening, my attractive wife got a lactation consult, we both attended Infant CPR class, and a hospital discharge class.



Jack was pretty excited again to see Baby Sister. When we arrived, our ICN Nurse was feeding her as she's now on an ad hoc feeding schedule since she ripped out her feeding tube. After the feeding, the nurse gave Jack a small diaper and bottle for his Bebe Bear, which he brought along. Jack pretended to feed it. Jack patted Baby Sister's head and said, "Nice."

Firetruck

Our cool neighbor, "Day-Day," continues to buy supper cool-ass toys at the flea market under the guise of getting them for Jack. Here's his newest acquisition, a remote control ladder firetruck. You can steer it, drive it, and deploy the ladder in 360 degrees at a 45 degree elevation. Jack doesn't have the whole driving thing down yet but he loved working with the ladder this afternoon in the back yard. Thanks, Day-Day!

Funny Face

One of Jack's favorite shows at the moment is "Yo Gabba Gabba." One segment is called "Funny Face," where kids on the show make a variety of funny faces. This evening, I was trying to get Jack to come back to the common back yard area and get ready to go back inside for his bath. He wouldn't budge. I distracted him by invoking the "Funny Face!" command. This is what he did.

Glasses

Our condo association traditionally has a Memorial Day potluck our in our common backyard area. This year's celebration was unseasonably cold! It barely got to the low 60s F accompanied by a brisk wind! We made the best of it, though; everyone bundled up, ate quickly, and we fired up our backyard fire pit. While the pit does provide warmth, our north facing windows get bombarded with smoke.

As night fell and we gathered around the firepit, Jack mugged for the camera wearing a pair of hip glasses from a guest. He's sitting with my attractive wife who was enjoying a much deserved beer after eight months of pregnancy.

Rabbit Ears

Jack brings home a lot of artwork from preschool. Today he brought home some cool rabbit ears. My attractive wife snapped this picture with yours truly in the background. Nice haberdashery, Jack!

Playground

Our weekend routine includes a visit to the local city park (or, Parky, as Jack calls it) after breakfast. Today, we ran into Jack's best friend James. Jack and James have known each other since they were each six months old. They went to the same day care and now preschool. At preschool, the teachers say they behave like siblings. They have so much fun together.

Music

We have a cool neighbor, Bert, who is a musician. Now that the weather is finally warming up in northern California, our condo association neighbors are spending more time in our common backyard area. When we are out there, Jack likes to knock on Bert's sliding glass door and ask to play his piano. Bert is a jazz drummer by trade but plays guitar and piano too. While Jack plays the piano, Bert plays the guitar. What is remarkable is how Jack and Bert play off each other. At his age, all Jack knows is rhythm; while banging on the piano keys, Bert will strum chords on the guitar at the same rate. When I watched them, Jack slowed down and so did Bert. Then Bert sped up and Jack followed suit. Jack's first jam session!

Olives

Jack has a fondness for olives. His favorite trick is putting an olive on each finger and then eating each one. Our neighbor, Dewey, provided the yummy olives for this go around.

Goatee and Tats

This evening when I got home from work, I found Jack running around the house without a shirt on. He quickly found some of his washable markers and started drawing on himself. When he started drawing around his mouth, I picked up another marker and drew a goatee on him as well as an anchor tattoo on left arm. It all came off the bath.

Jack Meets Baby Sister!

The hospital where Jack's sister remains in the Intensive Care Nursery (ICN) finally lifted the ban on visitors under 16 years of age (based on concerns with the swine flu). On Sunday, we took Jack to visit and meet Stephanie. For the most part, she remained asleep but Jack was excited to meet her nonetheless.

Clone Trooper

Jack loves Star Wars: Clone Wars on Cartoon Network. A couple of years ago, Jack's godfather, Victor, sent us a Clone Trooper helmet. During this particular episode, Jack asked to wear the helmet. His journey to the Dark Side is complete. Heh.

Picture of Baby Sister

I went to the NICU to visit Jack's baby sister and much to my surprise she opened her eyes! The attending nurse snapped a picture with their electronic camera and gave me a hard copy to take home. When Jack saw the picture he was very excited. We snapped this picture of him holding the picture of his baby sister.

Playground Girl Friend

Jack has a cute Asian girlfriend! Well, at least that's my story. He met her a last week at the playground and they played together for quite a time. Then, a few days ago, we saw her again and they hung out. Jack's entire pick up line was, "Hi," and a smile. Enjoy it while it lasts, buddy.

Sister!

Say it like Darth Vader in Episode VI: "Sister!

Last Monday, Jack's attractive mom gave birth by C Section to his new baby sister, Stephanie! She arrived six weeks early so, for now, Mommy and Baby Sister are still at the hospital for a while. Also, Jack is banned from the hospital because he is sick with an eye and ear infection.


For now, Baby Sister is somewhat abstract. I've shown Jack pictures but I get the sense he's waiting for her to arrive home before he accepts her. When I told him her name, he said, "Sesame." There's a nickname there somewhere.

James' Birthday

On April 26 Jack and I went to his playmate James' third birthday party. Jack's third was held at Chuck E. Cheese's but James' was held at Super Frank's Adventure Club. From the get go, I could see Frank's was a much better venue. The toddler play area is walled off from the rest of the facility and has much friendlier toys, including a giant inflated slide. The area also has luxurious leather recliners for the parents. How did I not know about this place?

Jack and James cruise the Toddler Area in their sweet rides.

Like Chuck's there is an area with video games which spew tickets which can be redeemed for gifts and toys but it's comfortably walled off from the toddler area. There also glow in the dark miniature golf but Jack is too young for that.

Enjoying Super Frank's fine board of fare.

Jack and James had a grand time running around the toddler play area, using the inflated slide, eating pizza and cake.

Trifecta

Well, it's been a helluva week. The attractive wife is still on bed rest at the hospital. The baby is doing fine although my wife is going stir crazy. During her first 48 hours in the hospital, she was hooked up to several IVs: magnesium (for the contractions), two types of antibiotics (to prevent potential infection) and a glucose (for hydration). The magnesium in particular had terrible side-effects: dry mouth, a burning sensation at the IV site, and general levels of crappiness. After 48 hours, the doctors were pleased that her contractions were under control and took her off the magnesium. Almost immediately, she began to feel better.

By mid-week, she was on oral antibiotics and anti-contraction medication. Yesterday, the took the hydration IV away (although she maintains a saline lock on her arm in case another IV is needed). Also, our doctor weighed in that the baby was ready to come out, via cesarean section, on Monday (which corresponds to 34 weeks gestation). As of the last ultrasound, the baby is breech (feet down) so the safest route is a C Section.

Jack has been a trouper throughout. At first, we were making daily visits to the hospital but by mid-week, concerns about the spread of Swine Flu put the hospital on lock down: no more than two visitors at a time and no visitors under the age of 16. So for the last few days, he's been asking why he couldn't go see mommy. I keep telling him she has to rest to prepare for the arrival of baby sister or (lamely) that the hospital is closed.

Jack adjusting TV channels for Mommy before being banished from the hospital

To make matters worse, Jack came down with another viral infection late in the week. Today he stared a bad cough and a mild fever. I took him to the after hours clinic and the doctor who saw him said his lungs sounded fine but that he likely would get worse before he got better. Damn.

Potty Progress!

So my slacker plan to outsource potty training via preschool is showing some results. Over the last week, Jack has asked to go to the potty several times at home. When I do the pick up at preschool, I get a mini-report card of the day's activities which include diaper changes and/or successful potty events. I wildly praise Jack when I read about him going to the potty at preschool.

The first time he did it at home, I raced him to the bathroom, pulled down the pull-ups and boom, he's making a hole in one (#1, that is). More wild praise, which he enjoys. Two nights ago, while outside with the neighbors, I caught Jack developing that far away look that usually heralds a bowel movement. "Jack, do you need to go poopies?" I yell. "No, I don't," he says a couple times. Then, "I need to go." I rushed him inside but had a false alarm. "I was just gassies," he says. Back outside we go. Then he says he has to go again. We rush inside but another false alarm. After his bath we try again but it's #1. Still, not bad.

Tonight, my friend Herschel came over to help me out. I picked up some Asian food (Yan Can Cook) and we all ate and watched Tivo'd espisodes of Star Wars: Clone Wars. For someone who claims he hates kids, Herschel has a fondness for Jack and Jack loves him. Maybe because it's clear, at three and half, that Jack is gonna like SciFi. We three get along famously. Jack shows off his potty skills again. Then I get a phone call from a Toyota dealership I'm courting regarding the availability of a 2009 Sienna. I decide to take the call. Sure enough, Jack announces another potty event. To my complete shock, Herschel says he'll help. As I'm on the phone, I hear a, "Whoa!" from the bathroom followed by a flush. Jack comes rushing into the kitchen announcing, "Daddy, I went poopies!" Wow. We're getting somewhere!

Bye Scout!

The unborn baby's decision to kick and subsequently drain her water bag has put a temporary hold on our dog acquisition plans. When we visited Scout in Austin back in mid-April we clearly saw he was a pretty nervous and skittish dog. We thought, when we agreed to take him, we'd have two months to work with him before the newest addition to the family arrived in mid-June.

Clearly, Scout is going to need a lot of work to rehabilitate him. More than I can provide now, given the current circumstances with with the attractive wife's pre-term delivery problems.

Luckily, my wife's sister lives nearby and has agreed to keep Scout for several months. She has a three kids who really took to Scout and a big back yard for him to play in. It's not optimal for Scout's eventual transition, but it's better than sending him back to Austin.

Hostabul

As is our life couldn't get more exciting, my attractive wife's water broke at 2AM this morning. We rushed to the hospital thinking our new baby girl was going to arrive seven weeks early. The hospital staff got her contractions under control and she spent the day under aggressive treatment and close observation. For now, things are okay but it's likely she'll remain on bed rest at the hospital for the foreseeable future. Ideally, for the next seven weeks. And no, I haven't fully processed that reality yet.

Jack's bedside manner is tops.

I got back from the hospital around 9AM and later in the morning, took Jack over to see his mother. Jack can't say the word, "hospital" -- it comes out like "hostabul". He's familiar with the concept because of our neighbor Dave's recent motorcycle accident a few weeks ago where we visited him.

Jack is concerned and a little confused. He knows Mommy is in the hostabul because of baby sister and sees that she's doing okay but still wants Mommy home. I'm lucky because my mother-in-law, whom Jack calls, "Nana" is here to help -- at least for the weekend.

When it rains in pours.

Meet Scout!

Yesterday, my mother-in-law flew in from Texas with Scout, our new dog. My mother-in-law rescued Scout from someone else who in tern rescued him from someone else. We met Scout a few weeks ago during our trip to Texas and decided he's be a good fit in the growing family. Because he's been passed from a couple of owners, Scout is a bit timid. We hope exposure to our family cures him of that. We look forward to having him as part of the family!

Abuelita's 94th

My grandmother ("Abuelita") turned 94 in mid-April. On the heels of returning from Texas to visit my attractive wife's mother, we got back in a plane on the next weekend and flew down to San Diego for the Fiesta Royale.

Hugging the Birthday Girl

My aunt, Marta, is the usual hostess for this party and she spares no expense. She's got a big back yard with a pool, hires an authentic taco man and musical entertainment.

"Chunky" Sanchez performs

Jack is extremely social and loves my Big Fat Mexican family. He has myriad number of second cousins (the children of my first cousins) who range in age from one to eleven and fits comfortably into the brood.

Mmmm, tacos

It was, of course, a special treat to see my 94 year old Abuelita. She is the rock of our family.

Jack double-fisting candy. He later levitated from the sugar high.

Hugging second cousin, Ivana.

"Happy Easter Eggs!"

Last night, after Jack went to sleep, Nana and Papa hid multi-colored plastic Easter eggs filled with Teddy Grahams and animal crackers (with the thinking that those were not as bad for him as actual candy). Jack was thrilled to discover the eggs when he woke up, and made sure to wish everyone a "Happy Easter egg!" when we all woke up.

"Happy Easter Eggs!"

Later in the day, however, laughter turned to tears when Jack helped Nana decorate hard-boiled Easter eggs with Paas dyes. First Jack thought he needed to break the eggs the way you do when you are making a cake (which he has helped Mama do). He finally got the hang of dipping them in the dyes and enjoyed seeing the different colors. But then he was distraught to learn that the eggs needed to go back in the fridge, and he couldn't take them to the park. He cried Big Tears until we managed to distract him with another activity.

Scout

This weekend we are visiting my attractive wife's mom and stepdad.  One of the reasons we came was to meet Scout, a five year old yellow labrador retriever they have rescued.  In his brief life he's had a number of owners who, for various reasons, have had to give him up.  As a result, Scout is a little confused and needy.  We are thinking of giving him a permanent home but are taking our time in making our decision; Jack is handful and we are expecting a new addition to our family in mid-June.  Still, we have always wanted a dog (my attractive wife and I both grew up with dogs in the family).  

Today, we went with "Nanna and Papa" to the local PetSmart store where Scout graduated from the first level of obedience school.  Scout's trainer, Christine, told us Scout will need a lot of attention because he has been moved from owner to owner.  We are naturally concerned (we both work full time) but think we can give Scout a quality life.  Watch this blog for more news on Scout!

Outsourcing

When I returned back home from Iraq, I had grand designs on getting Jack potty trained during the month I would take off before going to work. That plan fell flat on its face, mostly due to Jack's monumental disinterest in the subject. Over time, we've tried to reintroduce the subject with little success.

When we toured the Preschool we were asked if Jack was already potty trained. Sadly, no, we replied trying to hide our shame. We were informed that that the Two/Three group was divided in two; those that were potty trained and those that weren't. The staffers and teachers of the latter group would help in getting them potty trained. We nodded our heads sagely but inwards I was thrilled: we were outsourcing potty training! Maybe being surround by other kids would help, I thought.

Today, Jack's third day, his teacher reported that she got him to go number 1 in the potty after he woke up from his nap!

Light Swaber Fight

First off, I'll say this movie was sent to me by Jack's Godfather, Lance. I was watching it on my laptop when Jack came over, intrigued by the sound of a light saber fight. Needless to say, both Jack and I enjoyed it.



Jack said, "Oh, they are fighting with Light Swabers. Can I see it again?"

"Yes you can," I said. Heh.

First Day of Preschool!

This past Monday was Jack and James' first day at Preschool! We arranged with James' parents to all show up at the same time on Monday to make the transition easier for Jack and James. We spent all weekend explaining to Jack that he would be headed to preschool instead of daycare on Monday. When we got to the facility, James and his parents were already there. We walked in, were greeted by the staff, and escorted them to the Two/Three Classroom. It already had a number of toddlers in it with adult supervisors. The actual teachers didn't arrive until 9AM, after all the children had breakfast.

Jack and James immediately flowed into the room, initially oblivious to the other children, and started playing with the toys and other cool stuff arranged in the room. No drama whatsoever!

End of Day Care

Last week closed out a momentous milestone: Jack finished in-home Day Care. My attractive wife researched and found a great Preschool in our city. We brought up the idea of moving Jack and his daycare playmate, James, to James' parents. We thought it might make the transition easier if they made the switch together. After all, Jack and James have both known each other since they were six months old.

Before I left on my business trip, my attractive wife, Jack, James and his parents visited the Preschool. It's a great place tucked into the corner of an innocuous strip mall that has its own play structure and different rooms/programs for toddlers from the ages of one to five. Jack and James loved it so we were sold.

Of course, making the transition was traumatic for our beloved day care lady, Tanny, who's been watching Jack since he was six-months old. It's a occupational hazard of her business: caring so much for the kids she watches. It's particularly hard to let them go off to preschool.

To help ease the transition, we threw a small party for her last Sunday. Fortunately, the weather was great for an outdoor gathering. Tanny brought a yummy rice dish which we augmented with small sandwiches, fruit, pastries, white wine and beer. It was a great time with James and his parents, as well as some other friends attending.

Happiness

Jack's favorite back yard activity is a game he calls, "Ball Catch." It's really just kick-ball but that's what he calls it. Now that more milder spring weather is here and afternoon daylight is more lengthy, I can get home from the office in time to get a game of ball catch before dinner and then the bath time routine take over. Jack loves it and love playing with him.

"You wanna play?"

Haircut

On Sunday, 29 March, we decided Jack should get a haircut. Unlike most three-year olds, Jack actually likes going to get his hair cut. I think this is mostly related to the fact he knows he will get a lollipop after the haircut is over. His boyish charm is a big hit with the hair cut ladies at the local hair cut salon.

Jack in the Big Chair

Backyard Bullfight

While I was away, my parents flew up from Los Angeles to help out my very pregnant wife with Jack. I arrived back home on a Saturday, exactly two weeks after I left. My folks didn't fly back until Monday morning so I got to spend some time with them as well before they left.

Jack loves my parents (well, he loves everyone) but he has a special affinity for his "Nanni" and "Pa." On the Saturday afternoon after I got back, we were hanging out in the back yard with our awesome neighbors Dewey and Day-Day. Jack had brought out a red balloon that was close to deflation. My father picked it up and, out of no where, proceeded to perform the most amazing matador-like dance with Jack using the red balloon as a cape.

Ole!

What was amazing was how he gracefully moved the balloon just in front of Jack enticing him to charge at him, just like a bull, moving it just out of reach and around him. He hardly stepped around, just sort of twisted adroitly as Jack charged to and fro. Where did my dad learn that? Maybe there's story there...

While you were out...

For my seven readers, yes, the posting has been woefully inadequate these past few weeks. In the middle of March I had to go away on a business trip for two weeks. Upon my return, I got caught up in -- well, catching up and the blog suffered. There's a lot of Jack-related news to get caught up on so here we go.

Glow Stick

The weather in northern California slowly is warming up after a very wet February. While we're not out of the woods of a drought by any means, it's nice to see the sun, especially after Daylight Saving Time. My attractive wife and I are especially happy for the extra daylight which allows Jack to romp around in our condo association's shared back yard area.

This evening, we hung out with neighbors Dewey and Day-Day and Pavel and Zenia. It was still a little cool to eat dinner outside, but we enjoyed being outdoors together for a time. I played catch with Jack.

As dinnertime approached, we all retreated back to our respective units. Day-Day gave Jack a green glow stick, which Jack later wanted to take into the bath. For fun, we turned out the lights in the bathroom. The glow stick gave off a pleasing light as Jack played around with it in the bath.

Poops Ahoy

My attractive wife had the day off from work and she ventured to Target (aka, The Mothership) and bought Jack some Cars-themed big boy underwear. Jack loved them and after dinner wanted to try them on. We told him they were for wearing after he knew how to go to the potty. Jack announced he was ready to go potty now! He raced upstairs and tried to sit on the toilet before I could get the training seat on it. I told him he would have to first remove his diaper. He decided he'd had enough and ran back into his bedroom were I helped him out of the diaper and into his new underwear. He loved it and ran downstairs to show my attractive wife.

We kept trying to tell him the underwear was for when he knew how to use the potty. I finally got them off him and ushered him back into the bathroom where I drew up his bath. Early into it, he got that far-away look he normally sprouts when he's getting ready to be poopies. Uh oh.

"Buddy do you need to be poopies?" I asked. "No, I was just gassies," he answers. "Are you sure you don't need to be poopies?" He then answered in a whisper, "Be quiet," which he's said several times when I've called him on going poopies in his diaper. My attractive wife said from the hallway he had already been poopies this morning. Jack wiggled around in the soapy water and then seemed okay.

That's when I see it submerged in the water. "Buddy, you went poopies in the bath!" Jack continues to deny it. The commotion draws my attractive wife's attention from the other room. When she sees it, she screams, "Oh, he was poopies!" This causes a peristaltic chain-reaction in Jack who realizes what he's done and he starts crying. I carry him out and put a towel around him while my wife rushes downstairs. She returns with a giant stainless steel ladle and hands it to me.

I'll spare you the clean-up details but let's say I was thankful for the high amounts of fiber in Jack's diet and the power of bleach. We gotta get this kid potty trained.

Serenity. Now.

There have been plenty of times when either my attractive wife or I have yelled out in true Frank Constanza fashion, "Serenity now!" when dealing with our rambunctious three year old. Tonight was oddly different. Instead of resisting every step of the bed time process, Jack slipped subtly into the groove. We came out of the bath and watched an episode of "Ni Hao Ki-Lan" (the Chinese Dora). Jack contemplatively drank his milk laying between my outstretched legs, his own legs crossed.

He didn't fuss when we put on his jammies. He howled with delight at two sessions of the "Hey Now" song (the latter one with me dancing alongside him at his request). He didn't resist brushing his teeth. He was his normal spastic self saying "good night" to mommy in the bedroom but acquiesed to giving her a kiss and moving back into the bedroom.

Here's the kicker, he sat in the chair with me, Bibi Bear and his blanket and snuggled while I read him three books! After the last one, he turned off the light, climbed into the crib (yes, he's still in a crib; we're bad parents) and started playing quietly with my Palm 125 (circa 2000). He's figured out how to light up the screen and enjoys playing with the calculator function.

As I write this (2121 hrs) I can still hear him via the monitor rooting around in his crib but serenely.

Pretty Lady

So we went to church today. I must admit we haven't been going regularly since my return from Iraq, mostly because Jack is in a continual state of hyperness and talkativeness and the prospect of him sitting still and quiet doesn't bode well. While I was away in Iraq, my attractive wife largely opted out of taking Jack to church (and I don't blame her; two parents vs. one three year old is much better odds than one parent vs. one two year old).

Given the rain today, we opted to try and get out of the house. We were a little apprehensive but he was pretty good. We sat up front, near the choir hoping it would entertain him. My attractive wife presciently decided to pack a coloring book, washable crayons, a couple of hot wheels, an empty tennis ball plastic container, and a ball. All of that kept him pretty busy in the pews. After communion he got a little uppity and we discreetly went to the back of the church near an alcove that has a three-quarter scale color statue of Saint Teresa.

When Jack was six months old, he was baptized in the same church and he had a keen interest in this statue which is very life like. I remember Jack reaching out wanting to touch the statue which my father, who was holding him, thought very cute. That day Jack wore the same baptismal gown I wore when I was a baby. Jack's yet-to-be-born baby sister also will wear it (although with pink ribbons).

Photo taken on June 26, 2006

Today, when we passed by the same statute Jack once again expressed interest exclaiming, "Look! A pretty lady."

Post TV Camera

Jack has introduced a new pre-bedtime ritual: taking pictures. After his milk and post-bath TV show he says, "camera!" and runs downstairs to retrieve my digital camera. He only wants pictures taken so he can view the pictures on the camera. This activity is related to the I-need-to-push-buttons-on-things-that-are-not-toys mania. As I've written before, he expresses this desire by wanting to push buttons on remotes, buttons in the car, and my wife's iPhone.

Tonight, I convinced him to swing around a toy that has two plastic balls that light up when under centrifugal force.

Hi There

Jack says hi to his baby sister.

Hey Now, Hey Now

One of Jack's favorite music videos from Noggin is The Dirty Sock Funtime Band's "Dino-Soaring." The band and the song were featured on "Jack's Big Music Show" on Noggin but we caught the video on the tail of a "Wonder Pets" episode. The chorus features the phrase, "Hey now, hey now," and that's how Jack refers to the song (and when asking to see it on the upstairs TV).

The video shows the very psychedelic band members dancing around with kids on a rainbow like sound stage. The song has a great beat and is very danceable. You can see for yourself:



Tonight, I snapped the following pictures of Jack dancing to the song.

At the Park

Today both my attractive wife and I accompanied Jack to the park. When we arrived, we saw Jack's Day Care playmate James and his mom. Jack and James love hanging out together and were thrilled to see each other at the park. We spent well over an hour trawling around the park together.


At one point, we reached the Big Kids Swing Set. For some reason, Jack has an aversion to swings and has not yet tried the kiddie swings in the 3-5 year old play structure. My attractive wife got on a swing and Jack asked if he could push her. I snapped the picture below. Quite possibly the cutest picture I've ever taken. :-)

Few More Minutes ...

Jack firmly is into testing boundaries and limits, especially at bed time. For the last three nights, he's opted out of story time which usually follows bath time and saying goodnight to mommy. Jack's favorite line these days is, "Few more minutes," which is used to extend whatever activity he's currently involved in. He's used to try to get more TV time, more bath time, more play time, etc.

"Few more minutes..."

I first heard the phrase at the park when I told Jack it would soon be time to go back home. I can only imagine he heard my attractive wife or myself say it on some occasion. He loves to say it while taking bath and after I say something like, "it will be rinsy time soon."