The New Year Wish

Happy New Year Jack. 2010 has certainly been a somewhat challenging year for us. This was the year that you decided to become a very picky eater. Please, for 2011, eat some green bean and carrots! Your father and I make it edible. Mac and cheese and pasta can only get you so far with nutrition my son. Time to explore and like the world of the green vegetables. Perhaps Parents.com is right. If I create your veggies on your plate to look like a tree or sun, perhaps then you will eat it.

2010 also brought us the great sleep debate. We have yet to buy you the real twin size bed. We are sorry about that Jack but please, you must sleep in your bed. Yes, it is small and yes, the heat does come on primarily in your room first. I have slept in your room. I know how uncomfortable that can be. I just need to know the right words, and the right comforting song to put you in the best sleep ever. You have slept the whole night in your room a couple of times. I know it can happen.

Time outs have been introduced, the concept of sharing has been discussed, these are concepts that are still being discussed and yet to be perfected.

This is not to say that you have been a hair- yanking , arghghghghgh screaming child to us. Definitely not. Early 2010 had us wondering what word you were saying, to your father and I being the only ones who understood your words, to now full sentences with us. Your Spanish even has come out this year! Even more so in the past month. I couldn't be more proud.

I hope that 2011 brings everything that you deserve in life - peace, happiness and tranquility. And that is just when you sleep.

2011 may also bring a baptism/child dedication. I can see that you are now old enough to understand when to stay still and listen. Which means that when the priest wants to bless you, you won't be running around the altar. Where will this happen, we don't know yet.

How will you change in 2011? What will you like and dislike? We hope to be there more for you. Time is so busy and sometimes we only have a few minutes together.

I hope 2011 gives us a few extra seconds.

Be safe,

Love Mama and Papa.

The Christmas of 2010 - Thomas style

I want to thank each and every family member who contributed to making this Jack's best Christmas yet -My mom and dad, my in laws, The Morrisons, The Yurkos, The Dempseys, The Cejas. And Santa.
Nothing was left behind. Jack played with every new toy like it was the only one in the room. So much Thomas was lying around our house; underwear, books, trains, Thomas lego, Thomas model train set, new wooden Thomas friends, Thomas doodle book.
Christmas was great. Low key at my parents with great food. The only downside was that both Jack and I were sick. He was battling a stomach flu, and I was desperately trying to not have my sore throat win.
It didn't. All I have is a case of the sniffles. Jack is feeling better too. Pictures and video to come soon.
Happy Christmas.

The Recap of the Night out

When you go out with parents who have children under the age of 4, something is bound to happen. It was seven of us that went out last night, 6 of us are parents. Did I really think that we were going to have dinner somewhere and then go out to have drinks at a bar afterwards? A bar? We were in the burbs, so I relied on my cohorts to find the best place for us to go afterwards. Then, we started sharing stories about our last days of Black Wednesday, and who carried whom up the stairs. All the while , the excitement was building.
And while that was happening, our kids, who are sick, decided to throw up, not sleep at bedtime, go to sleep, but wake up an hour later, cry for their parents, play and watch TV.
One of us got a "frantic" text saying, kids are up, crying, Thank you in so many words. Now what? Have another drink? Sort of go on in the night knowing that our kids, while they are crying and restless now, will eventually go to sleep, cause we know their tricks and that is what they do.
Really, we didn't have the heart to say, "Hey mom, the kids will be alright, so we'll be at the bar down the street. Call us if really necessary."
So, in traditional Berg/Morowczynski/Bilas Holiday fashion, we paid the check, got some Baileys and headed back to our friend's parent's house, where the kiddies were.
Which we had a fantastic time as if we were in a bar. We talked. About anything and everything. Cause that is what best friends do.
The kids did go to sleep immediately afterwards. Jack is sick, but he slept thru the night alright.
My heart goes out to the babysitters of the night, Barbara Berg and Theresa Morowczynski. The two grandmas of the night.
Thanks for giving us at least two hours of kid-less time. It felt great.

The Night Out

Two parents that work = never having time to go out with each other. It's a sad but true fact. Jack's daycare teacher, Miss Ronna, has had parent holiday dinners at her house a couple of times this year. I have counted those as our semi -date nights. Only because Jack will run around with his friends and Brian and I can actually sit and talk to adults for about 10 minutes without getting interrupted.
Today, a Christmas miracle is born. Our best friends are in town from St. Paul , their kids will be taken care by their grandparents, Jack will be with Brian's mom, all is good.
7 great people going out to dinner tonight. Thank you Lord for the small great things in life.

The Update to the Delay

So yes, we do have a Christmas Tree. Thanks to the always thoughtful Rich Morowczynski. There was no time that Brian and I would have gone to Home Depot, look at every Christmas tree in every aisle and see which was the best one.
Brian and Rich finally got one last Friday, only because Brian was telling Rich the crazy schedules that we have been having. Finally , the father in law said, Alright, let's go right now to get the tree. Thanks Rich.
It's small and cute. I decided to be green and not put a lot of lights on it this year. Let's save energy right? Usually we put about 5 -6 strands of the small lights and about 2 -3 strands of lights with the huge bulbs. I decided to forgo the huge bulbs, fully knowing that Brian would say, what happened to the big bulbs.
He did.
I told him that we need to save energy and he wasn't having that as an excuse for Christmas.
As of right now, our tree still stands huge bulb-less.
Yes, we do have the Polar Express around the tree. I think this maybe the last year of our train. The lesson of this year is to take care of your Lionel trains, especially around train loving hyped up 2 year olds. Sooner or later, your train will have wheels missing, couplers knocked off and screws loosened.

The Proud Moment

Jack " Mama, are you done?"
Me - " Just about, a couple of more minutes."
This was said as I was finishing dinner at my parents. Usually, Jack doesn't want to wait til I finish dinner and starts to pull my hand so I can leave the dinner table. To which I say, Wait a couple of more minutes." And then he starts to do his impatient whine.
Yesterday however was a milestone. He asked, I said wait, and he did.
Let me finish this post by saying that while he asked, he has his hand outstretched.
If I could capture a picture for every adorable, sweetest moment that Jack gives us, there isn't enough film to do so.

The Christmas Portraits

One of many for the Holidays 2010. Happy Christmas.

The Cultural Center

This was my dad and Jack as they went to see some friends of ours do a concert there. Thanks a million to Brian for capturing this brilliant moment.

The Delay

This was supposed to be a big year for Jack and Christmas. We were going to have a tree, have him decorate, and most importantly have his Polar Express train set up so it would go around the tree.
Actually, I heard a rumour that Brian was going to set the train track throughout the whole living room. I don't know how well that is going to go since A. there is no space and B. we would be tripping over the track going from our room,to the kitchen, to Jack's room.
Once I heard that idea, I quickly gave the one eyebrow raise. Which means, I don't think we will be doing that.
It is December 16 and we still haven't gotten our tree. This month has been crazy hard. Brian has been working a lot, which means Jack and I are at home most of the weekends. It doesn't help that for some reason, Chicago had to get an ice storm in the beginning of the month. Which makes it hard to go out with a young one and have the harsh wind whip in your face, as you try to walk to the train station. Not happening.
So, the train track will have to wait a bit. I voted to go green this year, not get a tree, and somehow fake a Christmas tree on the wall with our Christmas cards or lights. That is when Brian gave me the one eyebrow raise.

The Old New Tricks

When Jack was a baby, one of the methods that we would use to make him sleep was just a simple dance.
A stroll around the living room and by the end of the song, he was out for the night.
Now at almost three, he has seemed to be growing out of his naps, and putting him to bed is more of an adventure than the simplicity that it was before.
My dad did mention that he has been using the Dance method for a nap, and that it seems to be working.
I tested that out this weekend.
Saturday - We watching White Christmas and the scene where Bob and Judy announce their engagement comes on. With a song that has lyrics like "The best things happen while you're dancing.." how can you not dance with your kid? So I did, and I sang and swayed. Jack was out by the time Bing Crosby tried to make up with Rosemary Clooney. OUT FOR THE NIGHT!!
Sunday - By 3:30, Jack was rubbing his eyes and fighting the nap. Why do kids fight off naps? You're not going to miss anything. Just bad TV, which your mother will clearly watch.
I had on the Holiday music station and nothing says Good night than The Carpenters singing Have yourself a Merry Christmas. OUT AGAIN!!
He slept for two hours, and by the time he woke up, he was ready and refreshed for dinner.
The best things, truly, happen while you're dancing.

The Other Kids

This was a great article that I read from the NY Times Motherlode blog, Other People's Kids.
From a perspective of a mom with a toddler who encounters the bully every now and then, I can relate all too well as we have expierienced the same thing.
Yes, Jack does the pushing sometimes at his school. He is still learning on the fact that sharing can be a good thing, and that eventually he will get his toy back. When I see this happen, I immediately correct Jack, in the bestest , softest, but most stern voice that I have.
However, I have seen in more than one occasion of the other kid doing the pushing, the yelling, the biting.
As soon as I see someone else bite my kid, this sense of protection goes into overdrive.I scoop Jack up immediately and all my thoughts start to ramble on in my head that its time to place him in another school, where can we find that school, why is this kid still biting? My instinct is to tell the kid " What is your deal?" and then go to the kid's parent " What is your kid's deal?"And then walk away cause at that point I would be too upset to say another word. My child was bit by someone else. It's not easy to just say, well that is a fact of life. Children will argue, blah blah. My child is upset and crying, It is my job to do the swoop and save. And like the author in the article, give the kid a nasty look.
I have corrected other people's kids. I don't yell or shout, but I do correct them in the same way that I correct Jack. Especially if the parent didn't witness it, you can bet that I am there to tell the kid the ever popular phrase of "That is not nice."
Jack is a sweet kid at school. I refuse to think that Jack is an instigator. Brian laughs when I say that. Because he says that there are times where Jack starts the pushing first, but my response is always " Yes, but where do you think he is learning that from?" Us? I don't think so. However, kids will be kids, and our job as parents is to always lead them in the right direction.
To the new moms out there - when your child gets to this stage, and yes, they will be the instigators at some point or another. Correct them with love.With a hug, Be patient and tell them that we do not push our friends. They will understand.
Jack does get it. I know he does.

The Friend

This is Miles Christensen, who is seven months older than Jack. And an all around adorable little guy. I will be posting some pics of Jack's buds. Because it is really sad when 10 years from now, you look at a picture of a child and say "Oh yeah, what was her/his name?"

However, we would never say to to Miles.

The Christmas List

Everytime Jack mentions of a toy that he wants, we tell him that he has to write a letter to Santa. I think that momentous occasion will happen this weekend. The list is long , and a bit predictable for anyone who knows Jack.

The List

Thomas the Tank Engine Friends ; Emily, Gordon, Henry, Edward, Jack, Molly, Duncan, Douglas, Arry, Bert, Bertie, Bill, Ben, James, Cranky, Victor, Hiro, Dash, Bash, Ferdinand, Bulstrode, Sir Topham Hatt, Duck, Daisy, Sir Handel, Rheanas, cargo cars, freight cars...etc

Basically all of these guys...only in wooden train form of course.

Listing all these trains just broke my heart. All my little guy wants is just these little trains. Nothing else. Even if he got one or two more new trains, he would be such a content guy. I love him.

Ok , back to the list. He needs sweaters, shirts, pants, socks and underwear. This is what I tell Jack that he needs from Santa.

Anyone know Santa's address? I am a bit embarrased I don't know it.

The First December Weekend

Dear Jack,
We are going to be faced with lots of trials this weekend. Papa will be working basically all weekend. We are on the brink of our first snowstorm. We are supposed to get 6 inches yet how will we get to Cafe Iberico by 5 on Saturday night? Hopefully, CTA will cooperate with us and get us there on time. Also, if I decide to not take the stroller Saturday, please walk with me. 90% of the time you do, yet there is that 10% that wants the kittyback ride ( piggy back ride) and I don't know if I can offer you that sort of entertainment in the snow.
Also, will you nap this weekend? We all know that I am not the parent that can put you down easily. Papa is the master, I am the one that you just want to play with. And while I appreciate that you like me enough to play with all day, let's just nap for once ok??
Sunday, it will be cold. So let's pray that your gloves will stay on. What is with the gloves falling off? Or else, I will have to bundle you in the blanket in the stroller. Believe me, if someone told me
"Hey ,why don't you just sit here, and I will make you nice and warm with a great fleece blanket and I will stroll you around"
I wouldn't even let them finish the sentence. I would hop right in. No questions asked.
So, let's get together and wish for a warm weekend, easy walking, no slush on the ground, and happy dreams and sleep.
Love,
Mama

The Cabin Fever

The Friday after Thanksgiving was as expected. It was very low key. Nothing to do.
We had Thanksgiving at our place, so naturally we were home the whole day. Which was a nice change of pace considering that other Thanksgivings, we go from one house all the way in St. Charles, back to the city by nighttime for another meal. We are always exhausted so to cook and be at home this year was great for us.
Coming into Friday, there was no way that we wanted to spend Day 2 cooped in the house. We sort of were, cause it was blastfully cold that day. Plus the whole universe was out shopping, so there was nowhere decent that we could have gone to.
Alright, so we did make a tiny detour for 15 minutes to buy Brian some snow boots. But , other than that, it was home for us.
I took a nap at 4:30. I never take naps.
Brian took one at 5. When he woke up , he walked to the living room and sat down. And had this really down, I am sooooooo bored look on his face. I could feel it cause I felt the same way.
If I was the marvelous mom, I would have thought of making crafts, painting, coloring, exercising, whatever. Just to keep busy.
However, I just folded fresh,laundry smelling clothes. I said, Alright, let's just go out. Walk around and see the Christmas lights from our neighborhood. That lasted just a block cause it was brutally cold and the wind whipped inside our jackets and Jack kept saying "oh , it's cold , it's cold, it's cold.
Brian finally said" Forget this, let's just go somewhere. Let's get in the car. I don't care where we go so long as it is not at home. "
As soon as we got in the car, we decided to call my best friend and her family, Allie Perez.
Enter the saviors.
Their plan was to go out for sushi and would we like to join them?
A BIG YESSSSS!!!
It was great. Her oldest daughter is nine months older than Jack , so they hung out together. Brian and I were able to hang out with our friends and have an adult conversation.
Friday night turned out to be brilliant.
Thanks Perez Family.

The First Time

Jack has saved his milestones for my parents. Not us.
He started walking at my parents house.
And now he has done pee in the potty for the first time - at my parents house.

So mark the date - November 29, Jack did pee for the first time. I am seeing this as the start of a beautiful friendship with the potty.

The Words

This was right before we were to head out to go trick or treating.
We attempted to have Jack take a nap, with no such luck.
- for those who are trying to understand what Jack says,it is "Off the track and we crash on the bend." I am sure that is dialogue from a Thomas episode.
- the song that he sings is from the Pixar short " Boundin".

The Cousins

Jack and his cousin Nathalie. It is right before we are about to leave
for a Halloween party. Jack is Charlie Brown and Nati is a
50's secretary.

The Follower

The first set of feet is Julian Catania, trying out his new remote car that he got for his birthday. The feet that are following and jumping around behind Julian is Jack.

The Nighttime Quote

"Thanks for spending the day with me. I had a nice time with you."
Brian to Jack as he was putting him to bed.

The Tradition

Brian and Jack have a traditional boys day.
This is the second year that they along with my father in law, have gone to Milwaukee train fest.
The love of trains can take someone very far.
Hey, it's about two hours away, and that can be a guaranteed two hour nap for Jack.
I am told that this fest just has a plethora of train tables with model trains running around. I have not gone to this as I think that this is a great day where the boys can spend hours looking at one layout. I like a good model train set, but I like more for the fact that this is a just Brian and Jack day.
Plus this is a guaranteed just me day as well. I had every intention of going out, being in a different neighborhood. Having a coffee and reading.
Yet, I got stuck watching Beaches. If my husband was home and Beaches was on, I would never hear the dialogue cause all I hear would be his snickers. And not the chocolate kind either.
There are tons of video that Brian took. That will be uploaded later.

The Halloween of 2010

I have to admit that after the scare of Monsters. Inc. and the ability to wake up every night and come to our room, I really wasn't in the Halloween mood this year.
Am I ever? Not really. My Catholic upbringing just make me more aware of the "true stories" of ghosts, bad spirits and all that negative energy.
Plus, we are just getting over the Monsters, Inc scare. Do we really need to start over all again with the night frights? I would imagine Jack walking down the street, and he would see the skeletons and faces of Dracula, and only see those pictures as he closed his little eyes and would try to go to sleep.
My idea for this year was to introduce Halloween, and just tell him over and over again that those images are silly. Whenever he hears that something is silly, that basically means to him, Do not be afraid. It worked. He didn't get scared at all.
Trick or treating was great cause he understood that you would have to go from house to house to get candy. It was cute to see his face dig in his basket after every house that we left to see what candy he got.
Fortunately, we live right by the MARS chocolate factory. There was huge line of people , but the wait was worth it. It was a dream to see the factory workers approach you with handfuls of Snickers and Twix to place in your basket. They even asked if we wanted more to which I happily said "YES". But Brian took me away. How dare he.
We still have Halloween candy, but Jack is forgetting about it day by day.
Yes, he would get a candy after dinner. And yes, he did wait patiently for it.

The Diapers

We are tired of changing diapers. Where is the potty fairy??
Potty training is tough. End of post.

The October Moments

Nap in the afternoon.

Laundry in the evening...

means kisses in the tunnel...

as well as trying to hide from me, as I was the monster
in the tunnel.

October 16th marked the 1st birthday of our niece Frances.
We are just waiting for the moment when she can run around with Jack.
And the parents can sit back and watch. Until then, she is a crawling
machine.

Relax when you can with your kid.

Daybreak means straight to the train table.

The Audience

It is official Jack, you are a Worldwide sensation.

I was just looking at this tab in Blogger called " Your Audience" and I see that this blog has been viewed in Ireland, Italy, England. ??? Sir Paul McCartney, are you there???

I have to admit that I have no idea on how this Blogger works. I haven't really looked at all the corners of this site. All I know is "Here is your New Post tab. Type, click and post.
That is what I have been doing for the past three years.
Three years of this blog. I am glad that I haven't given up on this blog.

The Changing of the Seasons

Jack , for the first time, really understood what Fall was about. He realized that the leaves were changing color and that all the leaves eventually fall off the tree.
What is it about jumping in the pile of leaves? I don't think that I ever did that as a kid. Am I deprived? Who knows? I think that my childhood was good considering that I watched a good amount of Tom and Jerry.
Jack got every chance that he could get when he saw the pile of leaves to throw them up in the air. He also became curious one day and thought it would be a good idea to take a handful and crunch them in his mouth. Now I know I didn't do something like that as a kid.
This Fall was a strange one. It was mild - about 70's , 60's. Just when I packed away the summer clothes, I had to bring it out one last time for a couple more weeks.
We are now coming upon that dreadful season we call Winter. I love that every year, I always ask Brian what state can we live in that would be the perfect temperature all year round. About 80 degrees and sunny.
His response is always the same :We could live somewhere else but that would mean goodbye to our family and the free daycare ( my parents take care of Jack Mondays and Tuesdays).

oh.

Well, then I am glad that we are raising our boy in Chicago. Land of the windchill. It toughens you up doesn't it? If you can survive a winter in Chicago, you can do anything!
We are also coming up on the season of the colds and runny noses. Jack currently has one and I am bravely trying to fight off whatever is brewing in me right now. Pleeeeaase! I don't think I have another sick day at work and I will be upset if I use a vacation day as a sick day.

The Barn and the Smile

Jack's little face was priceless as he used a toothbrush to comb the bunny.

Now it is unto combing the cows.

We did not get this little girl's name, but she was nice enough to give Jack a brush so they can
brush the sheep together.

Only in the Midwest will you find a huge box of corn....

that acts as a "ball pit".....

so the kids can jump around and lie in. We did come home with
a few kernels in the pocket.

It was October and about 70 degrees. Perfection.

This is perfection x's 1,000.

Another Family portrait!

The Countdown

My birthday was October 8 and I celebrated a lovely 34.
My mind on my birthday now always resorts to Jack's birthday, and how close we are to that date. Do we really have to countdown to his third birthday? THIRD???? Sheesh, we are nowhere near close to completing potty training, and this kid will be three. My wish is that once he turns three, he will automatically say "Mother, I will now use the washroom."
He will close the door, do his business and flush, all without me or Brian trying to help him.
I feel that Jack has a baby face, and that he looks younger than other close to three year olds. I thought that by this age, he will sleep better and accept carrots, green beans and spinach.
No such luck.
The sleeping is another story on it's own, as he is still waking up in the middle of the night, not wanting to be in his own bed. I have this superstition that if I talk about any good tactics that we do to keep Jack sleeping the whole night, that is my jinx and whatever we worked on will go out the window. Sorry, no stories here.
I am proud to say that on my birthday, Jack blew out all the candles on my cake. He didnt' even give me chance to blow them myself. Nice job son.

The 1,000th Day

October 18, 2010 marked Jack's 1,000th day of life. Brian actually figured this out back around March, so we waited a long time for this day. We wanted to do something great. Something huge.
The 18th comes, it's a Monday and Brian tells me that he has some photography meeting to go to .
That is fine. I will pick up Jack from my dad's, go home and we will go have a celebration ourselves.
There is some cookie dough in the fridge, we will be fine.
As my dad and I walked home, Jack fell asleep. I thought for sure that Jack would wake up as soon as we got home. He did not. I set him on the couch and there he became more comfortable to sleep the whole night.
He had no dinner that night.
Brian was out.
My son was asleep since 6 pm , and I watched TV. Boring Monday TV.
I was thankful for the quietness however, and I had some me time just curled up on the couch with my son sleeping.
Happy 1,000 days Jack.

The Fall

And so begins another season for us - It started off with Brian being away from home for about 4 days. He was in Dallas and it wasn't so bad except for the nights when Jack would wake up crying in the middle of the night. I turned to do my usual - Brian wake up, when I realized he wasn't there. Oh, I guess I have to do this myself. That sucks. And I really didn't like reading the bedtime stories to Jack by myself. Brian is a much better story teller than I am.

I just missed his company. Of talking of everything and nothing with him. And being a threesome again.
So we took the opportunity of a free day when he came back. We went to go apple picking somewhere out in Indiana. It was a nice place, but it was nicer to be there together.


The apples weren't ripe for picking anyways. There were some, but because of some frost from last year! the apples aren't good this year.
So we walked away with some apples, a walk around the corn maze ( those things scare me a bit) and a ride around the tractor.

Now that I am looking at these pictures, I realize how huge Jack looks. He is such a beautiful little boy. Never did I ever think that whenever we would have a child, it would be like this.

I keep thinking, what next , what next.

Walking? Done. Saying Mami and Papi? Done.
Talking and conversations, we are there,almost. Potty training. Ugh. Not there yet. But if someone were to tell me that in a week Jack would be potty trained, a Hallelujah would come to mind.

The Letter

Dear Jack,
I am so sorry that I have not been keeping up with this blog at all in the past couple of months. Things have happened, good and bad. I can blame all of those reasons for my lack of creative writing. But the best excuse I can come up with at this time is pure tiredness. Is that a word? What is a better word than tiredness?
You have been waking up in the middle of the night for about a month now, for no reason. Your father and I thought that because you were watching “Monsters, Inc,” you began to think that there really were monsters in the closet.
There are not.
You haven’t seen that movie in soooo long now. Could it be possible that you are still scared of the closet? Or are you just growing up and are your sleeping habits changing? It has come to a point where I cannot sleep at all for the whole night. I get up at least once an hour, waiting for your cry. When I don’t, I go back to sleep, but not before I either wake up the next hour or you wake me up because you really are crying to get out of your room. I have no idea on what to do. I am tired and confused, as all mothers would be when they have three year olds.

Our plea is this – Please , please PLEASE! Go back to bed. Sleep the whole night. Dream of beautiful dreams. Wake up refreshed the next morning. What do I always say to you? If you have a bad dream, you wake up, you look around your room, and say to yourself, Oh, it was just a dream. I am back home where I belong.
I even changed your room for you!! I think it’s a nice set up. The bed doesn’t face the closet anymore. That’s a good thing, right?
Sleep little one. Sleep well. And I promise you, Mami and Papi will be there when you wake up.

We love you,
A very tired but always loving Mami and Papi.

The Monday Morning

It was a brilliant Monday morning.

Jack came out of his room, gives me a crooked smile (it is one of the cutest smiles that I have ever seen on a kid) and he says “I played with Grandma at Grandma’s house. I played with Max. I watched Baby Einstein.”

He has never given me a run down on what he did the day before. Since I wasn’t with Brian and Jack yesterday, maybe he felt like he needed to tell me as soon as he woke up on what I missed.
He ate his breakfast and stole my toast with cream cheese. He asked for it however, so I can’t say that he stole it.
“Can I have that?” That is his favorite question when he wants something. So I did.

And when I was leaving for work, I said in Spanish “You are going to have a great day with grandpa. And you will behave and be nice.”
Jack’s response “ Yeah.”

And he kissed me goodbye. I do love the good mornings like this. Then I do not feel so guilty about leaving for work.

The Never ending Question

"When is the second one coming?"

Well, considering that we are not pregnant, I don't know. How can you plan for a family? Is that a stupid question to ask?
The likely scenario that we would like to be in would be debt free, making a decent amount of money, and then we can plan for the second child. However, can that happen soon enough? What if it doesn't?
I think sometimes that it would be better to have Jack fully potty trained and speak in complete sentences before we have a second one. Yet, I see our friends having the second child and their first one is not potty trained yet. I say to myself " Wow, how do they do that?" Duh, Andrea, it is not rocket science. People raise two kids every day. We could too.
But our lives are so hectic now, and running from here to there, could we have another kid? How? When? HOW?
People ask us the second child question all the time - wouldn't Jack like to have a little sibling? It makes me feel sometimes like I am not giving enough to my child. We give our child food, clothes, all our blood , sweat and tears when we work. It is not enough though because we have to give Jack that sibling. And what if it never happens? Would we fail as parents?
There is nothing better that I would love to do now than give Jack a brother or sister. But When is the ever ending question. When? Hey, I would love to tell you but I am not sure when myself.

The Vacation - Photos

Fly away Jack!

We really try to get Jack to smile but c'mon -he's driving a firetruck!

Pretty much sums up Little Amerricka - a couple of rides and a whole lot of farmland.

Family Portrait- never mind that guy in the yellow.

Two miles of the train track - wouldn't you lay down too?

Last night in St. Paul - where everyone was there. Shari - you were missed.

Note: There are hardly any photos from St. Paul. We placed our cameras down it seems for that part of the trip. There are more photos of Jack and Bridger, but that was taken with our camera phones. Sorry guys!

The Vacation

Our summer vacation was in St. Paul. It is safe to say that it was one of the best that we have had yet. July 29 - August 3 . It pretty much solidified a new friendship for Jack and a certain boy named Bridger Berg.

Thursday -we stopped at a small town USA joint called Little Amerricka in Sun Prairie WI. That is the correct spelling of that place. It's an amusement park and it was probably the same size as Kiddieland. Not as many rides for the little ones, but when the ride conductor says that you can ride the fire trucks more than once, the lack of rides really doesn't matter.
Quality over quantity at this place.
There was a train ride that spanned 2 miles. Which meant it was a good 15 minutes of us sitting and relaxing and soaking up our vacation for what it was worth.
Onto our next stop which was St. Paul to visit the best people ever - The Bergs, The Carlsons, The Mader- Browns, The Nelsons.
Bridger is the son of Brian's best friend, and just when you hope that your son will be buds with your best friend's son - it happened. And there was no better feeling in the world.
It was wonderful to see these two little guys getting to know each other. And realizing that the other likes to run around the house like you do!! And hey! This guy likes mac and cheese, just like me. It was these realizations that these two had that made me really want to live in St. Paul. Just so Jack and Bridger can tell each other stories, play make -believe and share each other cookies. It's hard to give that to Jack here, with our running around so much from this house to the day care.
He sees his day care buds twice a week, and there aren't any boys his age that we know that he can play with often. I did get a little weepy when we left. I wanted so much for Jack to be with Bridger just a couple of minutes,or hours longer.

My plea is this, and the Bergs hear this often..Come back to Chicago. Wouldn't you want our boys to eat mac and cheese and eat Oreos every weekend?
Jack still asks for Bridger. And when I ask him what we are going to do today -he sometimes says "Bridger's house?
No joke.

The Day

I deem today Jonathan Joseph Morowczynski Day. Just because.
There are so many stories that I hear from my friends of their little ones being sick, having to go to the hospital daily as if it was day care, miscarriages.

How fortunate Brian and I were that on our first time being pregnant, I carried full term. There were no complications. No medical procedures. Jack came out healthy and has been since Day 1.
Except for the broken toe incident. But I believe that was meant to have made him a fast and incredibly strong runner. Have you seen how fast Jack goes? It's amazing for a 2 year old.
We have such an intelligent and strong boy that we take it for granted sometimes. When I hear stories of other children being so sick, it makes us thankful a thousand times over.
Recognizing this today, I am calling this Jack Day. Any movie that he wants. Anything for dinner that he wants. He said he wants Apple Jacks for dinner. Let's see.....
We are on our second movie for tonight. We'll have some dinner, and run in the sprinklers afterwards.

The Treme and Jack

I was giving Jack a bath last night and was singing the Treme theme song. For those who don't know, Treme was a great HBO series that Brian and I watched. It has one of the best theme songs that I have heard for a TV show. Not since Family Ties, have I have been singing a TV show theme song and liked it. Over and over again.

So as I sang, Down in the treme, just me and my baby”.. Jack would sing the exact words a couple of minutes later. So after the bath, and while putting in his PJ’s, Jack would sing

Down in the Treme
Me and baby
I’m jumping and fun

Here is the song. I would not blame you if it got stuck in your head as well.

The Park Splashes

Summer is unbelievable this year. It has been so disgustingly humid and hot, as we were in the park, Brian and I just shot out the water from the fountain and let Jack have his day.

The Anticipation

We are about to go on our first family vacation trip by car that lasts more than 2 hours in the car trip.
Jack now realizes that enough is enough when he is in the car for too long. And he does get a little antsy.

I want out? He will say. And please know that he does say this as nicely as possible. And he does say it in the form of a question.

My fear is that he will be growling as soon as we pass by the Sears Theatre on I-90. Sorry, I have no idea in what suburb that is in.
And then when we reach Rockford, he may just growl a bit longer. And when we get to Wisconsin and we stop at a rest stop, it will be over. Because Jack will want to stretch his legs and run around. He is 2 1/2. He doesn't understand the concept of a rest stop yet.

Our end of the journey will be St. Paul. MN, a lovely 7 hours away. I think we have been spoiled this whole time where the most we had to go by car is New Buffalo, MI. And that is only two hours away.
OK, I lied. We did go to Minnesota when Jack was 8 months. But he was so little at that time, that he mostly slept the whole way. So that wasn't a real test for us.
So here we are, on another milestone in Jack's life. I wanted to do a flight to Minnesota, only because I wanted to cheat ourselves and endure just an hour and a half trip for Jack, and delay the 7 hour trip for another time. No such luck.
Wish us luck, one week and counting til the big trip.

The Great Photo

Just because......

The MP3

The great discovery of this weekend is a little thing called the MP3 player.

I wanted to see how Jack would like to listen to something so close to his ear, so I had listen to Pixar's Greatest Movie Songs. ( is there a day that we do not do something Pixar-ish? I don't think so.)

The first song was from Monster's Inc. Jack had this intent look on his face. It was like God himself came down and showed himself in the form of melodies and rhythms. I wasn't sure on where the volume should be placed for a kid his age, so I placed it on the lowest setting possible.

Yet , with that, he still shouted to me over the music saying "This is the song to Monster's Inc!"

I started to laugh and when I came back to the room, I found Jack lying down, listening to the music. He was definitely in a deep trance.

The New Friend.

Wouldn't it be great if Buzz Lightyear really could talk? This was Brian's Buzz Lightyear, back when Toy Story came out, which was 1995? 15 years later, Buzz has found a new home and playmate in Jack.