Jack tends to become obsessed with certain concepts. His newest one is justice. Okay, he's never heard that word before so I'm inferring here...
We were driving around yesterday after work and a man in a car almost hit me and then proceeded to honk like it was my fault (don't worry about the details). I am proud to report that no swear words came out of my mouth (this time) but I did grunt or something.
Anyway, Jack said "Momma, what that man doin'? Dat man honkin'?" and I said that he yes he was honking and that he was being dangerous. I thought that the big word would make Jack stop asking questions. Oops.
The rest of the ride was filled with the following questions:
"Momma, dat man dangous?"
"Why dat man dangous?"
"Dat man bad driver?"
"Momma, you bad driver?"
"Momma, you dangous?"
"Dat man turnin'? - NO dat man NO turnin'!"
"Where dat man goin'?"
"Momma, you careful? Dat man no careful."
I tried to divert the conversation by asking where he wanted to go (he usually answers "Mall of America") and his reply was: "Find dat man."
He asked Chuck if he was "dangous" when we got home and today in the car he asked to go find that man again. I said that I didn't know where that man was and he said "he hidin' at Mall of America."
How young do they hire Mall security guards?
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
The Animals
I'm going to take advantage of a slow day at work to put some pictures up of our animals.
Finally there's Kitty. We've had her the longest, since 2001. Everyone kept saying she would grow, but she just never did. She's 7 pounds and used to do cute things like hide pens under the bath mats. Now she mostly just follows me around and tries to get as close as is physically possible to my face. She would prefer to have her nose up your nose or in your mouth (cue vomiting from all cat-hater-readers).
We'll do Norman first, our late Great Dane. We had to put him to sleep last summer because of some mental health issues (his, not ours). Norman was afraid of EVERYTHING - wind, bags, things in walkways that haven't been there for the past 3 years, noises of any sort, etc. Sad puppy. But he was adorable and sweet too. Anyway, here are some pictures:
The other doggy in that picture is Tugboat. We had her before Norman joined our family, and still do. She pretty much hates other dogs, but really loved Norman. We had to stop taking her to dog parks because she picked fights. At home she's very sweet and allows Jack to hang all over her giving her "hugs" and "petting" her. Jack thinks that Tug plays hide and seek also. Generally this involves him running out of the room and me putting Tug in a new place (the closet, other side of the bed, etc.) - then he runs back in and finds her and screams and she flinches and he laughs harder and the game starts again.
Tugboat loves to eat. She sits by Jack's highchair and eats his scraps, sits by Chuck when he's making his lunch in the hopes of getting a carrot, and has found that when I'm pregnant I'm constantly leaving food around the house (she loves me when I'm pregnant). Recently she's eaten an entire bread bowl from Panera, drank the remainder of the coffee in the coffee pot (she took it down from the counter and drank from the inside of it), and ate 3/4 of a family sized pizza from Papa Murphy's. If anyone's ever seen one of these pizzas they know that these are meant to feed the entire Brady Bunch, Alice included, with leftovers to spare. We got it as a special Super Bowl treat and planned on leftovers for the entire week. Tug had different plans. She pulled it down from the back of the stove and ate the entire thing - no trace of it left. And she didn't get sick.
Finally there's Kitty. We've had her the longest, since 2001. Everyone kept saying she would grow, but she just never did. She's 7 pounds and used to do cute things like hide pens under the bath mats. Now she mostly just follows me around and tries to get as close as is physically possible to my face. She would prefer to have her nose up your nose or in your mouth (cue vomiting from all cat-hater-readers).
We like them - they keep us on our toes, hiding our food and pens, and making sure Jack isn't pulling their whiskers out.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Toddler Quiz Bowl
Sometimes it feels like Jack is just a living, breathing quiz show - testing our knowledge of basic concepts in the world around us. It's more challenging than you might think. Have you ever tried to answer a barage of "why" and "how" questions from a 2 year old without ending it in "because that's just how it is"?
Examples of our answers to his questions:
On Santa:
Mommy: Well, Santa goes to the good boys' and girls' houses. [Vision in my head of a Jewish child telling Jack that Santa didn't go to his house and Jack saying he must be a bad boy.] ...I mean, he goes to the houses of the girls and boys whose families celebrate Christmas... But there are lots of good boys and girls whose families celebrate other holidays...And someone else goes to their houses.
On wind chills:
Mommy: We can't play outside today because all the smart people say we have to go inside.
On car washes:
Daddy: Look Jack - it's just like when you take a bath. Lots of soap and water. [Jack's eyes are the size of saucers as the huge soft-cloth brushes come toward the car from all sides.] No, it's okay Bud. Those are just like...giant washclothes.
On taking other people's things from the curb:
Daddy: See, it's okay that we're taking this from Randy's yard because he put it on the curb. That means he wants someone else to take it. But we couldn't, like, just go into his house or backyard and take stuff because that would be wrong.
On batteries running out in his toys:
Daddy: That toy is tired. It needs sleep.
On why he has to pick up his toys:
Mommy: So Tugboat doesn't eat them.
Maybe "because that's just how it is" would be better.
Examples of our answers to his questions:
On Santa:
Mommy: Well, Santa goes to the good boys' and girls' houses. [Vision in my head of a Jewish child telling Jack that Santa didn't go to his house and Jack saying he must be a bad boy.] ...I mean, he goes to the houses of the girls and boys whose families celebrate Christmas... But there are lots of good boys and girls whose families celebrate other holidays...And someone else goes to their houses.
On wind chills:
Mommy: We can't play outside today because all the smart people say we have to go inside.
On car washes:
Daddy: Look Jack - it's just like when you take a bath. Lots of soap and water. [Jack's eyes are the size of saucers as the huge soft-cloth brushes come toward the car from all sides.] No, it's okay Bud. Those are just like...giant washclothes.
On taking other people's things from the curb:
Daddy: See, it's okay that we're taking this from Randy's yard because he put it on the curb. That means he wants someone else to take it. But we couldn't, like, just go into his house or backyard and take stuff because that would be wrong.
On batteries running out in his toys:
Daddy: That toy is tired. It needs sleep.
On why he has to pick up his toys:
Mommy: So Tugboat doesn't eat them.
Maybe "because that's just how it is" would be better.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Our Muffin Man
There was a time when Chuck and I thought the song about the Muffin Man was funny - mostly because in Shrek there is a part that goes like this:
Gingerbread Man: All right. I'll tell you. Do you know... the muffin man?
Lord Farquaad: The muffin man?
Gingerbread Man: The muffin man.
Lord Farquaad: Yes, I know the muffin man. Who lives on Drury Lane?
Gingerbread Man: Well, she's married to the muffin man.
Lord Farquaad: The muffin man?
Gingerbread Man: THE MUFFIN MAN!
Lord Farquaad: She's married to the muffin man.
Okay, it's funny in the movie. Anyway, Chuck and I used to always recite this at random times and crack up.
Well, apparently Jack inherited this love for the Muffin Man. He talks about him all the time and tells us that we're the muffin man or Tugboat is the Muffin Man, or random people are Muffin Men. When the song starts on his CD he shrieks "MUFFIN MAN!!!!!!!" just like teenage girls scream when they see a rock star in concert. He hasn't fainted yet, but that probably isn't far off.
We are forced to play the song for him at every meal and while he's going potty, because as luck would have it, his MP3 player (yes he has a toddler version of an MP3 player) has little British children singing the Muffin Man as well.
It's really getting old.
If anyone has suggestions for how to make a 2 old kick an addiction, we'd be interested in hearing them.
Gingerbread Man: All right. I'll tell you. Do you know... the muffin man?
Lord Farquaad: The muffin man?
Gingerbread Man: The muffin man.
Lord Farquaad: Yes, I know the muffin man. Who lives on Drury Lane?
Gingerbread Man: Well, she's married to the muffin man.
Lord Farquaad: The muffin man?
Gingerbread Man: THE MUFFIN MAN!
Lord Farquaad: She's married to the muffin man.
Okay, it's funny in the movie. Anyway, Chuck and I used to always recite this at random times and crack up.
Well, apparently Jack inherited this love for the Muffin Man. He talks about him all the time and tells us that we're the muffin man or Tugboat is the Muffin Man, or random people are Muffin Men. When the song starts on his CD he shrieks "MUFFIN MAN!!!!!!!" just like teenage girls scream when they see a rock star in concert. He hasn't fainted yet, but that probably isn't far off.
We are forced to play the song for him at every meal and while he's going potty, because as luck would have it, his MP3 player (yes he has a toddler version of an MP3 player) has little British children singing the Muffin Man as well.
It's really getting old.
If anyone has suggestions for how to make a 2 old kick an addiction, we'd be interested in hearing them.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Introductions
It seems fitting to start our first post with introductions. First, the adults - Jamie and Chuck:
We're a loving husband and wife, proud parents, pet enthusiasts, homeowners, tax payers, sports junkies, and generally fantastic people. And humble too...Next, the kid - Jackson:
Jackson is 2 and a half - just ask and he'll tell you. He looks exactly like a 4 year old version of Chuck, only with blue eyes and blotchy skin (sorry Bud, but it's true). And yes I said "a 4 year old version" - he's huge. And adorable. His favorite topics to talk about right now include people getting on and off busses, Barack Obama (or "Barackobomba" as he says) and caucuses and picking leaders, and ogres and wicked witches. Favorite question - "Momma, what dat lady doin'?" Jack's going to be a big brother this summer. I'd post a picture of the newest addition, but we don't have the ultrasound pictures uploaded. It's definitely a boy though.
Finally, the animals: Reese and Tugboat. I'd post pictures of them too, but they aren't saved on this computer. I'll get to it eventually. Anyway, Reese is a cat that we got as our first pet in 2001. She's 7 years old and the tiniest cat I've ever seen. She also acts like a dog, which is the only reason Chuck tolerates her. We never call her Reese, so from here on out she will be referred to as Kitty. Tugboat is a boxer mix that we got in 2002 when she was 2 and a half - making her 8 years old. She can eat like no other dog, earning her the following nicknames: Fatboat and Fatty McPancakes. Jack calls her "Buh-bope". If Jack was listing our pets he would include Roomba, which he thinks is a real live member of our house.
So that's our family. With love from Minnesota,
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