Jack-a-Lope is THREE! (Whew, finally!)

Okay, so i know that I've been MIA for the past month and a half, but i think i have a pretty good excuse.  The fact is that there's so much to be done when moving that I can't quite justify blogging as the guilt of not being more productive is overwhelming.  Truth is, it's okay for me to blog and not feel guilty as this is really like a journal to me, documenting my life and thoughts, that one day will hopefully be valuable to my posterity.  So today's blog is about Jack's birthday, which, yes, was the 12th of March which is exactly one month and one day ago, HOWEVER i did take the pictures and i do want to remember the memories. 

Be prepared that in the next few days as i get back into the habit of blogging there will be a vomiting of them like a woman with morning sickness!  I have lots to catch up on so please excuse the "outdatedness" (nope that's not a real word) of it all.

Back to Jack! 

Jack-a-lope has been excited for his third birthday ever since Christmas. (mainly because the only way i could appease him that he would soon get more presents that he didn't get enough of for Christmas - apparently, was to tell him he had a birthday coming up soon).  He pretty much asked everyday though from Christmas to his birthday if today was his birthday.  :-)

We celebrated on the Sunday after his birthday and had our dearest friends over for dinner after church.  Jack decided that his cake was going to be pretty much like what Eden's was except he really focused on the Zebras.  This time i made even the frosting from scratch as i recently found out that even white frosting bought in the stores has food coloring in it too (the shock and the horror) and having two kids that really can't handle coloring i was forced to forgo the Betty Crocker cream cheese frosting we all love so much. Hey, if anyone has a "from scratch" cream cheese frosting suitable for cakes, let me know please! (i know you do!) :-)

I think Jack had a fabulous time being the center of attention and thanks to the Schutzes, as usual, Jack had endless gifts to open, the TRON cars were a huge hit!  ;-) 

Jack has mastered how to hold up three fingers when he's asked how old he is and is now finally not asking for things for his birthday, lol.  Boy do i love this little guy of mine!

Also from the Schutzes!  He loves it!

Yeah, I Did It, I Did It! (Being a Big Boy is So Liberating!)

The other day i thought to myself, "ya know, Jack really should be trying to dress himself by now."  We've been working on him doing his own shoes and coat (velcro shoes of course) and he's been doing well so far.  But on this morning i decided to see if he was ready for the full monty.

I had to help set up his clothes laid out on the floor so that he knew which way to start putting them on, but slowly bit by bit, he put each article of clothing on.  It made me laugh so hard when he kept trying to put his arms and feet in his shirt at first, but he eventually understood what i was saying in that the shirt had nothing to do with the feet.  The fun part for me was that he was as giddy as a little kid on Christmas morning.  In fact for Jack i do believe he was more giddy about this than he was about Christmas. Grinning from ear to ear with each thing he put on he exclaimed, "I did it, i did it!"

Socks were another story and i definitely had to help get them halfway on his feet before he could do the rest, but still he was completely satisfied and proud of himself.

I love the simple pleasures in life.  Normally for me teaching my kids to do something for themselves proves to be a bit of a fight as they get frustrated when they aren't as able as they think they should be.  But for Jack it was pure joy.  After he had finished every thing he did a victory dance and was literally screaming, "YEAH I DID IT, I DID IT," while dancing across the room. What a fun experience for us both!  ;-)

Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies.....

 

{The bestest cookie book in the world!}

I love to make cookies, but i have to admit chocolate chips are kinda boring....Don't get me wrong they are delicious to eat, but just so simple to make and i like new things that challenege average-ness (yes i know that's not a real word, but humor me for today).  

Anyway i promised a friend and her darling 4 yr old son some chocolate chip cookies as a returned favor and well, after not hearing the timer on two batches (not totally wasted, but only good enough to let my kids eat) and ending up with only a dozen or so nice ones i decided to keep them for myself....or rather for the ladies i have grown to love at work.  Don't worry i will make some more for that good friend and her darling 4 year old.  In the meantime the ladies at work enjoyed them and my boss's husband came over from his office next door to her office to have seconds.  I think that's a good sign, even if they are just plain old chocolate chip cookies.....

Maybe it's all about the cookie bible as i like to refer to it as....Well after all the author does refer to them as "Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies."  Maybe a slightly fancier name does the trick....or it could just be all that sugar, butter, vanilla, and chocolate.  Mmmm! ;-)

Anyway even if i am making boring cookies, it's always fun when i have my baking crew.  I now have a new addition, his name is Jack-a-lope.  :-)

I just cannot stand how cute this little man of mine is.  He was so excited to help that he was dancing and "shaking his bootie" to the music i had playing.  He also frequently reminded Sarah of how it was "my turn, my turn" when he wanted to add the next ingredient.  

I have been making cookies with my babies since Iman was about 2 years old and it NEVER gets old for them.  It reminds me of all the sweet memories i have when my mother would let me and my sister bake with her....the smell as the mixer creamed the butter and sugar....eating raw dough that revolted my mother....and of course licking the spoon!  I hope my children also look back on these days with fond memories....and perhaps one day they will be able to make yummy cookies for me too!  :-)

Joyful Reunions.....

Finally the day arrived.....

The Claytons came back to Tennessee (well minus Phil initially as he was driving back)!!!  It was SO great the see them all again and Amanda and I can get back to active match-making!  ;-)

Jack just adores Evelyn.  We joke about arranging their marriage, but honestly they really do love each other.  The first couple of days after the Claytons had returned we spent over at the farm and the kids all played very well together.  The first day we didn't come over Amanda reported that Evelyn asked for Jack and when she was told that Jack wouldn't be coming today, she began to cry.  Jack likewise one evening as i was putting him to bed, when we hadn't seen Evelyn all day, said to me out of no where, "mommy, i LOVE Evelyn!"   For real though, whatever happens happens of course, but in the meantime we are really enjoying to cuteness of it all.  ;-)

Jack was also excited to have Dallyn back as he's totally in "will you play with me" mode.  Dallyn and Jack share a love for cars and so hopefully Jack will find a great playmate in Dallyn as they are only a year apart.  It has been so sweet to me to have these best friends of mine back home.  Dallyn randomly told me the other day that he loved me, and it truly warmed my heart.  Amanda is the greatest friend ever and i can just be with her and say nothing at all and feel good.  Phil has also already got back to telling me awful jokes and it's almost like they never left.  :-)  It really was like having Christmas 10 times over.

Here are a few pictures of the joyful reunion.  Evelyn is just a doll, although she was a little out of it from their day long journey of planes and car rides.  We gave Dallyn a car and he said, "oh this is a GREAT car!"  We gave Evelyn bracelets as she has a small obsession with them and the smile on her face was enough to know she thought they were fantastic too. 

 Showing us the new red car we gave him along with his 

Lightening McQueen cars.

 Showing Jack his cars....

 So excited about the bracelets!

 Look at that smile!

 Cuddling with Grandma Schutz!