Mommy's Little Helper

Jack has always been quite the little helper! Lately though, he just wants to do everything himself and everything for me. His favorite things to do are: help put the laundry into the dryer (and then LOVES putting in the dryer sheet), put his own diaper in the diaper pail, put his clothes into the hamper, sweep the floor, mop the floor, vacuum the floor, put his plate, fork, and cup into the sink, fill up the dishwasher with soap and turn it on, set the table, and the list goes on and on... And even though his "helping" usually causes things to take twice as long as they should, it is very sweet and I just love watching him learn! Here are some pics of him setting the table. Notice we all have plenty of napkins and actually, Jack's placemat happens to be a napkin!

And after he finished with that, he decided he needed to wear the "mask" that he found in our closet:















And here's a little video of some more Twinkle, Twinkle!

Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend, Randy, Jack, and I met up with the Spurgeons and the Barkers at the Parkhurst Pumpkin Patch. What a fun fall adventure that was! The pumpkin patch is family run and offers a petting zoo, cornfield maze, giant hay bales for climbing, pony rides, a hay ride, hot dogs to roast, and of course a pumpkin to take home. This was just the perfect activity for three little boys. Jack is already asking to go back and do the hay ride again! Luckily, he'll get to do another one at Storybook Forest next week. I just love fall!

We took a ton of pictures!

Some Recent Pictures

He likes to be a "bridge" and have me crawl under his legs. I've tried to explain to him that my tummy is a bit big for this game, but he thinks I'll be fine. :)

Big Smile

Mommy and Baby at 25 1/2 Weeks

We like to be silly with Mr. Potato Head mouths

Jack and Daddy Reading Books in the "Fort"

Fun Day at the Park

Jack is going to be SuperWhy for Halloween! He really like the mask.

May as well make use of the whole bed!

Cute Sooner Fan

Playing Piano on his "Stage"

And here is a video of Jack and Daddy singing, "Zacchaeus" quickly and loudly!

Some Recent Milestones

Since Jack has been out of the baby stage, I've noticed that I haven't been keeping track of his milestones very well. I think it seems like once they've hit the big ones- He rolled over! He's crawling! He said Dada! He's walking!- that the later ones aren't as noteworthy. But in reality, Jack has grown and developed so much this past year. He simply amazes us every day! Here are some recent milestones and just things I want to remember about him at this age (2 1/2):

• Over the past several months, his language/vocabulary has developed tremendously. We have full conversations with him now and they are always so cute!
• He can now count to 30 (and knows how old we all are- Daddy is 30! Hayley is 24! Parker is 1!)
• He can sing the alphabet in three languages- English, Spanish, and French. As for Spanish, he heard it once or twice on a toy and after that he had it down! I was truly amazed. Then Randy decided to teach him French and about 10 minutes later, he had that down too.
• He can identify all the letters of the alphabet and tell us what sound they make. He can actually read several words. For example, if he sees his name somewhere, he'll say "J-A-C-K...Jack!"
• His memory is just amazing so he picks up on things very quickly and is therefore able to recite long passages. For example, he can say the Pledge of Allegiance, several Bible verses, and can "read" all of his books to us by memory.
• He can trace and draw a straight line. He's learning to write the letters of the alphabet.
• He understands manners and usually remembers to say please and thank you. When he's finished eating, he asks Randy or me, "May I please be excused?"
• He can throw and catch a football, basketball, and baseball and can kick a soccer ball.
• He has become so coordinated. He can climb up the ladders at the park by himself now and is learning how to pump his legs and swing by himself.
• He is learning to dress himself...he's currently much better at undressing himself.
• He loves to set the table!
• His imagination is running wild! He loves to pretend play with us or by himself. He is so creative in the scenarios he plays out!
• He can ride his tricycle now. (Santa brought it to him last year and he's just now figuring out how to pedal! It's very cute!)
• He just loves singing! After he learns a song the "real way," he usually changes it and makes his own version, usually referred to as "the other way."
• He can play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on the piano! I'm not quite sure how he learned it, other than watching me play it once or twice, but the other day he just walked up to the piano and started playing it!

Here's a video:

And another rendition:

And singing the French alphabet (please excuse the mouth full of food at the beginning, gross!):