today i realized that i haven't done a single post about Jack on my blog. for the last 20 months, Jack pictures have taken up 95% of my phone storage, and he is like 75% of my instagram posts, and when/if i snapchat, Jack is more than 87% likely to be the lead of the production.....
AND YET HE ISN'T ON MY BLOG.
(ok, i did a birthday post for him when he turned one, and sometimes there is a picture that he makes his way into, but neither of those things give any insight on the kind of human this wild little boy is...)
sure, blogs are dead and no one reads them and yada yada, but i still have this glimmer of hope deep down inside that i'll magically find 500 hours laying around and actually catch up on this thing. (obviously, the place i'm caught up to is.......when Jack was born. 20 months ago. 20 months behind. i think i'll need like 1,000 hours to catch up).
anyways, i wanted to write about Jack today. Jack at 20 months. because Jack. is. awesome.
every morning i hear this little hum coming from Jack's room. it's not jabbering (yet). it's not crying (hardly ever). it's just a little hum. and that little hum is how i know that Jack is waking up. he hums himself awake, while sucking on his cute two little fingers and holding his lovie and i peek at my little video monitor (best invention EVER. wish i had one for all my babies!) and sure enough, i see those little eyes peeking open, his little body stirring just a bit, and then there he goes rolling around. i love that he does that. little hummer boy.
{that's Jack cuddling with Snoopy. i die.}
and then it's always a race of who gets to get him. if Ellie and Alice are home, it's: "Can i get Jack, can i get Jack?? PLEASE!!!! IT'S MY TURRRRN!!!" and if Mike is home, it's: "Is it cool if i get Jack? i mean, i don't have to if you want to, but can i get him?" but before they usually get the chance to say any of that, i usually rush in there because gosh dang it i'm the mom and gosh dang it there are some things that are just the best parts of that job and getting the baby from the crib in the morning is one of them.
and so i rush to the door, quietly open it....and as soon as that door opens, he jumps to his feet and yells:
"DADA!!!"
seriously.
every time.
every single freaking time.
UGH. (which, have you ever heard someone actually say "Uggghh?" my girls say it NONSTOP right now. (i know, where'd they get THAT from, right?) it's actually really annoying. but funny. but mostly annoying. "Ellie, will you do your homework?" "UGGGH." "Alice can you help me wipe this counter?" "UGGGGHH." "Ellie, can you come her for a second?" "UGGGHH." it's the worst. i'm raising a bunch of ungrateful complainers and i don't know how to stop it. tips?
wait. this post isn't about the girls. it's about Jack. i'm such a distracted human.
Jack is a daddy's boy. all of my kids are really. i thought Jack was going to be my shining star. NOPE. wrong. Jack loves his dadda and asks for him pretty much alllll day. "dadda" he's at work Jack. and then we eat breakfast. "dadda?" he's stilllll at work Jack!" we get dressed. "dadddda?" nope. still gone.
and i know what you're thinking, there's enough love in that little heart for all of us...but here's a little snippet for ya: he was like 18 months old and still calling me "ba-ba" or "ba-boo" or something entirely offensive that definitely does not resemble "mom" in any way. JACK I'M YOUR MOTHER. MAMA. MOM. MOMMY. MUM. MOTHA. NOT YOUR SWEET LITTLE BABOO.
anyways. i'm not really as mad about it as it sounds. that's the funny thing about blogs. you type in caps, and all of a sudden it means you're super raging mad about it. i'm not. i just wanted to type in caps because i'm passionate about him getting my name right and hope he does so before he goes to college or on his mission so that i can get that mother's day phone call.
and so our days go on.
Jack is independent, but doesn't like to be left alone. in fact, he doesn't like to be left anywhere ever. he HATES GOODBYES. he cries saying goodbye to daddy. he is sad saying goodbye to sisters when they go to school. saying goodbye to Gammy and Pops and Grandma and Grandpa is absolute TORTURE. and nursery.....he can't stand that separation to nursery thing. what is that all about? it's like they are desperate for nursery and you're ABSOLUTELY DESPERATE for nursery and then they turn 18 months and all of a sudden a switch goes off and they NEEEEED YOU SOOO MUCH. and they cry and cry and cry when you leave and so you're left with nothing else but to go back and watch babies eat goldfish and fight over toys and spill water all over the table and try to feel the spirit in a 10 minute lesson where the instructor is scolding a room full of 18 month olds to sit in their chair and listen. heaven bless nursery leaders everywhere.
one way to help with the goodbyes is to get Jack blowing kisses. aw, that kid throws the best dang kisses! you know that guy Higgins on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon? you know how when he does or says something dumb or awesome he walks away from his little podium, waves and blows kisses like "he's done for the night?" Jack blows kisses like Higgins. they are like my favorite thing right now. he is definitely selective about who he'll blow kisses for- but he is Mr. Charmer and whips them out in the perfect moments every time. like to the exasperated postal worker at the Post Office. or to the woman in the wheelchair who looked like she was going to cry. or to the really grumpy looking man who all of a sudden lights up and says in a deep scruffy voice, "thank you little man, that just made my day." actually today he blew a kiss to a pharmacist who looked totally stressed out and had been pretty short to me about some antibiotic confusion. once he blew her the kiss, all of a sudden she melted like butter and was so helpful and i think Jack could've gotten any drugs he wanted in the world at that moment.
just say no, Jack.
thankfully he doesn't know that word yet. it's a miracle really. because i say no to him all the time. like "no Jack! don't hit the Christmas tree with the bat!" or "no Jack! don't hit Alice's face with a bat either!" or no Jack! don't write with marker on the cabinet!"or "no Jack! don't put any more toilet paper in any more toilets!!!" or "no Jack! you can't wave your gogurt in the air! it sprays yogurt EVERYWHERE!" or "no Jack! you can't eat those marshmallows at 7:37 am!" or "no Jack! you can't throw a baseball at the tv!" basically that book "No David!" is a biography of Jack's life. they just changed his name because Jack didn't want everyone to unfairly judge him. but now you know.
and since i mentioned baseball, Jack is OBSESSED with baseball. and Jack is OBSESSED with football. and Jack is OBSESSED with basketball. and basically Jack is obsessed with anything that has to do with a ball. all day, he is kicking a ball and throwing the ball and he has a better swing than any 5 year old out there. this kid is athletic. i'll let you guess how that makes his daddy feel!
and did you know that before Jack learned to walk, he learned to run? i'm actually not even kidding. he would try to take steps, run and fall on his face over and over and over. this kid didn't want to use his feet unless he was going to be able to run with them. and once he figured it out, he has been running ever since. i love hearing the pitter patter of his little feet everywhere he goes. sure, he falls a lot and sure those little feet mean that he's bound to be getting into trouble right now, but man those busy fast little feet are cute.
and speaking of quick-lightning-fast Jack, guess what just happened while i took a little dinner break from this post? so i was moving things in and out of the oven, and Jack was hannnngry, so i put him in his high chair for some appetizers (cheese and yogurt). well, while i was distracted with the oven stuff, he wiggled out of his buckles like he always does, stood up, and reached to the wall behind him where our house alarm box is and pressed the fire alarm button. the house started siren-ing sooo loud that i yelled and then saw Jack and said, "no Jack! don't touch the fire alarm!" (sound familiar? see 3 paragraphs back) and i deactivated the alarm real quick, canceled the call, and Jack just looked at me with his big round eyes like he was proud of himself. not an ounce of remorse. and less than 5 minutes later, what do you know, i hadn't canceled the call because a big ole fire truck with it's big ole proud lights blinking all over the place pulled up to the front of my house with a crew of fully-uniformed firemen ready to save us from peril. and there was Jack in dadda's arms yelling "BIG TWUCK!!" over and over and over. and he even blew them kisses. it was hilariously humiliating.
i can't make stuff like this up.
that seriously happened.
oh man, Jack.
he has more nicknames than any of our other kids: boosky boy, booskarooskie, budjy boy, Jack Jack, Jack Attack le Mack, and Bruiser... he can be such a punk, picking fights with anyone smaller than him, and even kids bigger than him. why does he always want to push someone who is in his space? why does he randomly come punch Alice in the face with a truck? he's trouble, i'm telling you.
but he can also be such a love, giving the sweetest kisses, and saying hi to everyone he passes at Target. he lives for when the girls get home from school and is their little shadow, following them wherever they go.
he loves playing with cars and BIG TWUCKS and choo-choo's, looking at books over and over and dancing, and singing songs (especially Twinkle Twinkle, Jingle Bells, and the song Stronger from Finding Neverland (he's very particular)). he loves to be chased, has tickle spots all over his body, and cheeks that beg to be kiss-attacked underneath those ocean eyes. such a busy, wild, fun boy with the best smile i've ever seen and most infectious little laugh i've ever heard.
the truth is this wild happy boy with all his ferocity has healed the pieces of my heart that i was certain were broken forever. i think that could be a forever gift and talent of his, to heal broken hearts. what a powerful gift... and what a love, that 20 month-old wild Boosky Jack Jack boy.
xoxo
