Is it Spring yet?

So this past weekend was unseasonably cold...and we weren't happy about it (especially that yucky snow part...it is almost Spring, right?!). But there's just no keeping our little guy inside. So we went outside to chase the birdies, bundled up in his cute little hat!

Here's Mr. Jack with his, "Oh, it is a bit chilly out here, Mom" face (I told you so!)
But it didn't take him long to warm up with a smile....

And what is this look? Wrinkled eyebrows and lip out...looks kissable to me!

Here is Jack chasing a birdie. Ever since Nani taught him about birdies, he's all about finding them! And apparently, all of the good birdies are in the neighbor's yard, because he never wants to stay in his own yard!

Boys will be boys...

With this ring...

Guess what?!!? our wedding has been featured on the amazing blog: With this ring...

We're SO excited (okay, me more than Jim)...and now I'm just getting more excited for Carey and Jason's big day...25 days to go...

"Let them be little..."

Some days I'm tired (okay most days I'm tired) and I often overlook the seemingly insignificant things...like Jack’s wonderful hands, or his chubby feet, or his perfect little face with beautiful eyelashes...and I realize, that he won’t be this little ever again.

It’s easy to let the trials of the day overwhelm me…and to get frustrated when Jack throws food, or doesn’t want to take a nap, or spills his drink on the new floor, or smudges little hand prints on the clean glass…but it’s in these moments that I must slow down, and enjoy him being a messy, determined, funny little boy!

So here is my homage to little, 15 month old Jack…(I never want to forget him being little…)

This made me think of a poem that my Mom has hanging in her house, Wet Oatmeal Kisses:

One of these days you'll explode and shout to all the kids, "Why don't you just grow up and act your age!" And they will...
Or, "You guys get outside and find something to do -- without hurting each other And don't slam the door!" And they don't.
You'll straighten their bedrooms until it's all neat and tidy, toys displayed on the shelf, hangers in the closet, animals caged. You'll yell, "Now I want it to stay this way!" And it will...
You will prepare a perfect dinner with a salad that hasn't had all the olives picked out and a cake with no finger traces in the icing and you'll say, "Now this is a meal for company." And you will eat it alone...
You'll yell, "I want complete privacy on the phone. No screaming, Do you hear me?" And no one will answer.
No more plastic tablecloths stained. No more dandelion bouquets. No more iron-on patches. No more wet, knotted shoelaces, muddy boots or rubber bands for ponytails.
Imagine.... a lipstick with a point, no babysitters for New Years Eve, washing clothes only once a week, no PTA meetings or silly school plays where your child is a tree, no car pools, blaring stereos or forgotten lunch money.
No more Christmas presents made of library paste and toothpicks, no wet oatmeal kisses, no more tooth fairy, no more giggles in the dark, scraped knees to kiss or sticky fingers to clean.
Only a voice asking, "Why don't you grow up?" And the silence echoes: "I did".

Jack-in-the-box

To show you just how much Jack loves his new home, here is a video of his version of "Jack-in-the-box"...or in this case, "Jack-in-the-laundry basket"! Apparently, an empty, upside-down laundry basket is way cooler than any toys we buy! Check him out enjoying his new game!

How old is Jack?

1...and he knows it! Here he is showing off his age with his cute, tiny finger...what a smart boy!

I...

I saw this survey on Hope Studios blog and thought it was fun...so if you want to know "more than you wanted to know" about me...

I am: Jack’s Mom/Jim’s wife/Laura, Bill, & Herb’s daughter/Carey’s sister
I think: I’m ready to get organized
I know: I’m too tired to get organized
I have: the smartest son!
I wish: that I should be so lucky to have more kids like him
I hate: celery, grape candy, being cold, when Jack is sick
I miss: college days
I fear: being hurt
I hear: clicking keyboards and the flaming lips
I smell: tanning lotion
I crave: almond M&M’s
I search: Etsy for the perfect gifts (and because I love it)
I wonder: what it would be like to take my time
I regret: that I rushed through college (and everything) too quickly
I love: Jim
I ache: from moving all weekend
I am not: creative or crafty
I believe: that it will all be okay
I dance: at weddings…and don’t care if I’m bad
I sing: in my car and to Jack
I cry: easily
I win: everyday, when I get to be with Jack
I lose: everyday, when I have to leave Jack
I never: want to go on a roller coaster (EVER)
I always: want to make my mom proud
I confuse: time together for quality time
I listen: to Jack snoring on the monitor and Jim snoring in bed (oh those genes...)
I can usually be found: somewhere
I am scared: to go into the basement alone at night
I am excited: about Carey’s wedding
I need: a vacation
I am happy about: my family
I imagine: what it will be like when Jim doesn’t have to work at 3 am and we can actually spend quality time together

WIP (Work In Progess)

Well, we're in our new home...however, we're also in a major WIP stage (to borrow a term from my Walmart days)!

Moving weekend was tiring, but with everyone's help, it went smoothly and we're majorly, thoroughly, overwhelmingly...disorganized! But we're so happy to be in our new home.

As it turns out, I didn't take nearly enough pictures to give you a good idea of the house, but I do have a few to share. I'll post more when we things clean up a bit.

The living room: Jack crashed out on Sunday afternoon...moving is rough!
Dad crashed out on Sunday afternoon...did I mention that moving is rough?!
Carey showing off the kitchen...we worked really hard while the boys were sleeping! :) Jack's very first bath in his new home...

After Jack's bath, Dad and Jack were practicing sticking their tounges out. I dont know why this makes me smile...but it does! Jack the lizard, or frog...

Moving weekend!

It's here! Finally...we are moving. (Please note that I did not say we are "ready" to move, but we are moving, none-the-less.)

Thanks to Mark (and Joanie) who came in last weekend to work tirelessly, and John who has gone above and beyond the job description of "realtor" to carry over into "wood-worker" and "handyman"! They cut a hole in the wall for a breakfast bar, extended our closets (my fav. part!) and installed new doors, and re-vamped the bathroom.

Thanks, also, to my Mom, Dad, Herb, and Carey who have all put in more than their share of time to get everything looking amazing! Herb (the carpenter) installed an awesome chairail in Jack's room, Mom scrubbed the house spotless, and Dad has been doing any and every odd job we can think of! We're so lucky to have such a wonderful family to help us out! (love you)

So back to the move...all this week we've been cleaning/prepping the house so we'd be ready to go on Saturday. And I hadn't realized how much packing we (I) had to do, but we have most everything in boxes and ready to go! It won't be a relaxing weekend (by any means), but hopefully our excitement (and Red Bull) will give us the energy to get it all done!

I'll post more next week...hopefully I can get some updated pictures for you!
________________________________________
Random: Since I think it's always more fun to have pictures with a post, I'll post one of my favorite pictures of ALL TIME! Here's a picture of Jim and the groomsmen from our wedding. The photog said something along the lines of, "Look serious." Fair enough. However, Jim's friend Ryan took the idea in a whole new direction with his pose...see the second photo for a closeup.

Maybe this will get "lost in translation," but I just think it's hilarious!

Ryan...striking a pose! (Excuse the poor picture quality!)

Date Night!

Jim and I are officially an old, married couple! This past Saturday, we had a date night...don't get any ideas of a romantic dinner or a show...we had a painting date. That's right, we've officially started work on the house, and we rocked through painting to get most of it done by Sunday night!

Neither of us had any idea how long this would take or what to expect. Needless to say, we underestimated the scope of our first little project! We started in the basement, which is COVERED with wood paneling that we painted white. The basement alone, took us all day Saturday, with the help of Mom and Herb painting, and Carey who was in charge of entertaining the Jack-man (or vise-versa)!

Then Jim and I went back to the house Saturday night to tackle 2 bedrooms. I had SO much fun (really)...it was something fun and new, and it was our home! Jim, on the otherhand, not so excited about it all. We finished both rooms by midnight, and then cruised by Taco Bell for a very late dinner.

The next morning I was still in the painting mood, (and thus, Jim was thrust into the painting mood) so we went back to tackle the living room/dining room/main hallway! This time, Carey and Dad were helping with their brushes and rollers, while Herb continued in the basement, and Mom took care of Jack!

Apparently, it takes a village to paint our little house! But overall, it was a successfull venture! And the house looks cute so we're happy! Here's a few pictures from the weekend:

The basement BEFORE (ew!): Jim taping the basement:

The basement AFTER (what a difference! Don't worry we promise the splash some color down here!): Jack's room (I'm still debating on the color: Something Blue): The dining room (color: Simplify Beige):
And here's a few of Jim, pretending to enjoy the painting party!

Can't wait for demo and remodeling this weekend! More to come....

Carey and Jason's Wedding Shower

So last Saturday was Carey and Jason's first (of many) wedding showers. This one was given by the bridal party at Llewellyn's in Webster. It was so much fun, and everyone enjoyed themselves from the food to dancing (and Jim even managed to have fun with Golden Tee and basketball...and of course he was out there cutting a rug!) So here's a few pictures of the party:

Here is the happy couple, Carey and Jason:

And here is Carey and Jen Grana (isn't Jen's hair super shiny! Pureology! Yours is pretty too, Carey!)

Here's me and Care: And a pic of Carey, Jason, and the bridesmaids (minus Jason's sister, Kelli, who was out of town): Carey and Dad:Me and Dad:
Me and Jim:
Jim shooting hoops...he was really into the whole "shower" thing!Jason, Carey, me, and Jim...celebrating with a beverage! Go marriage!

As you can see, we all enjoyed ourselves. Now we are counting down the days to the REAL festivities...this is all just a "warm-up"!

Our trip to KC...

Thanks to Aunt Jennie who sent these pictures from our trip to Kansas City back in February. We went to a Wizard of Oz exhibit, and Jack and cousin Ava had so much fun running around exploring "Oz"!

Here is Jack ("Baby Jack" as Ava will most likely always call him) exploring the wizard's hot air balloon. He didn't want to come out! And when other kids wanted their turn, Jack would share his balloon with them...

Here are Jack and Ava exploring some more! Ava certainly looks happy to be here...but Jack is keeping an eye on his hot air balloon - making sure no one takes off with it!

Jack is riding on Ava's old Elmo rocker...what a smile!

And finally, here is "Chef Jaque" giving his best Will Ferrell look!

As you can see, we enjoyed our visit! Jack can't wait to get back to "Oz" to make sure his hot air balloon is waiting for him!

We're Officially Homeowner's!!!!!

Yes, it is finalized...Jim and I are now the proud owner's of our lovely home on Dandridge Drive! We're so excited and anxious to get started with the whole process...painting, decorating, renovating, and (ugh) moving... We are taking volunteer notices for those of you who like to spend your weekends doing heavy lifting!

The closing went well...Uncle John and Jennifer we're awesome throughout this whole process. They were patient and explained everything since we had no idea what to do...the only hitch with the actual closing was that we had to sign ALL of the paperwork...TWICE! Note: When signing important documents, always sign your full name; "J Greffet" doesn't cut it!

Painting begins this weekend. I see plenty of trips to Lowe's in our future...goodbye West County mall...hello home improvement store!

We'll post pictures and/or videos once we have something cute to show (besides our adorable Mr. Jack!)...

More to come soon