The Greatest Social Thing You Have Ever done

Jack and I at Rainbow Cone this past Sunday.

"That is probably the greatest social thing that you have ever done."

That is what Brian said to Jack this evening as we went for a stroll around the neighborhood. Here is why;

As we were reaching our house ,two little girls were running around the front lawn of their house. The girls must have been at least 5 or 6 at best. Jack heard their little squeals and immediately started running after them . They started to laugh even more and that made Jack run circles around them, laughing with them. When they stopped running, Jack introduced himself by saying "My name is Jack." He points to himself when he says that now, and he does say that to every new kid that he meets in the playground.

Brian and I just stood there to watch our son, laugh with the girls, trying to talk to them and just collapsing on the grass with giggles. I think that we have found our summer friends.
Their names are Amelia and Julia. Their moms were standing by and couldn't help but say "Awww" every time Jack ran past them . Yes, ladies we know, he is the cutest ever.
Watching Jack having such a great time with the girls, it hit me. He needs a sibling. Someone that he can run around with and have a good time with. Someone that he can play with and can talk back to him. There it is. The feeling is there and it is strong. I think now is the time for another. Brian has been saying it , and now I can say the feeling is mutual.

The Habit

Brian and I have this habit of snacking on some fruit while we wind down the night. Grapes and strawberries always have a spot in our refrigerator.

Last night, Jack was watching his new show "Wow Wow Wubbzy" when he announced

I bring strawberries.

Brian and I looked at each other and said "Did we hear what we thought we just heard? We then heard the fridge door open , slam it SHUT, and seconds later, Jack was carrying the plastic container of strawberries and placed it in front of us. He took a huge strawberry and happily munched on that one as he watched his show.

The Front Runner

Out of all of our college friends, Brian and I are the only ones that has a child. Which is hard to believe, but it is true. We do have friends ( from grade school and high school ) that have kids, but for some reason, we do not see those friends as often as we like. Which is strange, because shouldn't it be reversed? You would think that we would see the friends with the kids more so our kids can play together. Shouldn't we be those parents that just relax with a cup of coffee while our children color together?
The times that Brian and I have had get togethers at the house, Jack has been the only kid there. I like it. I like that the adults will be gathered at the kitchen, talking and Jack can come in and say something to someone and then walk away to the next room. No big deal. Jack keeps himself well entertained. And in fact likes that they are more people that he can talk to.
I also love that our friends have become the type of friends that do not shy away from our child. There are people who when they see a kid, they have no idea on what to say or do with them. And won't pay attention to them. Not our friends. They play with him, ask him questions. pay him attention. I have always said that Jack is a type of person that if you try to get to know him, he will talk to you, and not shy away from you.

Our friends have made sure to let us know that Brian and I are the exact same people that would once go to Billy Goats with them. Now we are a couple that has a little person that depends on them. And that is alright. I don't think we have changed. Just our availability a bit.
So thanks to all the "PJ" friends....for coming out our way every now and then. And making Brian and I feel that even though we are parents, we are still the same people that can have some Malort in the house.

Jack in April

Jack in April meant big things. The molars finally popped thru. Thank God! Jack has been chewing his fingers and treated them as teething toys for the past two months. Finally , I saw the white marks in his gums about a week ago. Poor kid was not having a good day. I hope that this marks the end of the teething. Plleeease!
He also likes to correct you when you say something wrong. Especially if you name the wrong Thomas the Train character. I accidentally called Salty the Train as Diesel 10, and he said" No, that's Salty." My mistake Jack, you're right.
He still cries when Brian drops him off at the sitter's. Our sitter reminds us that he only cries for about a couple of minutes after we leave and he is fine for the whole day, but we still feel horrible to hear that cry every Thursday and Friday. His sitter is a lady who has converted her basement as a day care. Jack is one of 6 or 7 that she takes care of. We like to call it the Melting Pot day care cause there is a French-Asian,a Russian, an Asian-American, and Irish-Italian and yours truly, the South American- Eastern European.
Another thing that we still do - whenever Brian and I go out for the night, we will say to each other "I miss him. Let's take Jack with us now. " It's good to have our nights to ourselves, but it is so hard to leave that adorable face for the night. Wouldn't it be hard for you too?

The aquarium at the Elmwood Park Library. Jack likes to run over there
and call for Nemo, but the fishes hide from him instead.

A typical night at grandma's house, as Jill and I try
to put on Pjs on our kids.

Jack, Frances and Grandma going for an evening stroll.

Jack teaching Frances the ropes; First item on the
agenda is to watch Baby Einstein.