He's such a big boy!

Last night, in the interest of safety (see this post), we decided it was time to convert Jack's crib to a "Big-boy Toddler Bed"...and he loved it!

He loved jumping in his new bed...

...climbing out...

more jumping...(and making the face like, "I know I'm not supposed to be doing this!")

"Uh-oh!"

And testing out his new digs...

Night-night, Baby!

And I couldn't be prouder that he stayed in his big-boy bed all night long! No falling out...no "escaping" to play with his toys...no waking up for a midnight play-date!

He did, however, manage to make a 180° flip and end up with his head at the other end...(Please notice the excessive amount of pillows and blankets next to his crib, in case of an accident! Even though his bed is a whole 5 inches off the ground...you can never be too careful!)

And he just had to cover his head when it was time to get up...(either that, or my incessant camera flashing was too much for 6am!!)

He's just growing up so fast: sleeping in his new bed (and I'm sure we will have some stories from our little escape artist to come), going potty on the big-boy potty (Aunt CC has pictures of this...I swear, right Care!), singing, talking, running, (definetly NOT throwing tantrums...not my Jack!)...what a big boy!

Next thing you know, he'll be driving and bringing home his first girlfriend...I think I have about 20 years until I have to worry about that, right?!!?

(love)

girls just can't do it!

I would like to preface this post by saying I believe that girls are just as good as boys. Like Obama said, "Yes we can!"...but in this instance, "No, we [women] cannot!"

What on earth am I talking about?!?! Well, please observe Jack here:

This is his favorite position: "Crouching Jackson..."

And he's always bee able to do it, like in this post when he's playing with Papa and hunkered down!

I don't know any girls that can squat like this: flat-footed (this is the key...heels must be flat to the ground), down in the sitting position...

I have a hard time being told that I cannot do something ("No" is definitely not a word I like to hear!), but I've tried and tried to recreate this and I just cannot...it's a boy thing! I've come to terms with the cold, hard facts of life!


Don't believe me? You try...right now, male or female, boy or girl: hunker down in Jack's favorite position and tell me if you fall over! Have your friends and family try and let's get to the bottom of this debacle!
And ps girls, it doesn't count if you're wearing heels...apparently that's cheating!

Cousin Love

Fair Warning: This post is chock-full of pictures of Jack and Ava...we pretty much think they are the best thing in the whole wide world! They were so cute together and had such a fun time playing...ah, cousin love...

Here's Ava getting ready for the boat ride...

And here's Jack enjoying nature!

They shared snacks with one another...

and, whoops!...there goes Jack...

Can you tell by Ava's orange fingers (and lips) what they were eating?!?! (Doritos, baby!)

Speaking of lips...here's Little Miss Lip Gloss Bandit...

Note to self: Apparently, Sephora lip gloss does NOT come off carpet easily!

Ava and Jack had fun in the sun...

And Ava was brave enough to take a dip...

While Jack found it more enjoyable near the edge...(these Small Paul boxer-briefs are amazing, right!?)

"See what happens when Daddy makes me go in the pool!" Despite the tears, I think this "cry-face" is adorable!

Ava, on the other hand, loved playing in the pool with Uncle Jimmy...

I don't know if it was the "Ava-flinging" or skiing, but Daddy is sore this week!

Have I mentioned that these two are THE cutest cousins ever!?!

Back in the Lou!

We had a nice trip to the Ozarks with the Greffet family. It's always hard to come back to the real world after a trip, but we do have Table Rock to look forward to next week (all week long)! For now, here's a few pictures from our mini-vaca!

Here's me and Jack on his first boat ride ever! (I don't think Jim did a sufficient job capturing the "death-grip-hold" I had on Jack...but it was there!!)

And Jack checking out the view from his room! Every morning we got to wake up to Jack saying, "Boat! Boat!"

COUSINS! (Love to see these two play together...)

Here's Ava playing in the pool...she was more than happy to keep Jack entertained: by chasing (I mean, lapping) him around the condo, giving him snacks, sharing her Hannah "Batana" doll...couldn't be cuter!

And here's 3 Generations of Greffet men: Jack, Jim, and Mark...Jim, I don't care how often you get made fun of for your sweet tat...it has sentimental value and I like it! :)

Finally, here's Jack riding on Daddy's shoulders...love it!!! Except for the fact that Jack kept pinching Jim's neck, and because Daddy kept saying "OW" Jack thought it was hilarious and continued to pinch! (I tried my hardest not to let either of them see me laugh!)

Much more to come...Happy Monday!

Mini-Vaca!

We're off for a trip to Lake of the Ozarks...I can't wait to play in the water and take plenty of pictures! For now, though, here's a few of my favorite person...(second is L. Woods, of course! Miss you!)

Just Because...

Just because I'm really strong...(or was back in the day)

And I like to think I'm Super-Woman...(ps: I fell right after this picture was taken)

And just because watching my BIL jump over fire makes me laugh...and this makes me think he's more of a gymnast than a hockey player (not that there's anything wrong with that!)

ps: pictures dated circa 2005(ish)

More sprinkler love...

Jack, thank you for always making me happy...no matter what else is going on in life...

You can squirt me with the sprinkler anytime...even if I'm in my work clothes (just don't get the camera wet!)....

...because nothing makes me happier than seeing you smile!


"Children have a remarkable talent for not taking the adult world with the kind of respect we are so confident it ought to be given. To the irritation of authority figures of all sorts, children expend considerable energy in "clowning around." They refuse to appreciate the gravity of our monumental concerns, while we forget that if we were to become more like children our concerns might not be so monumental." (Conrad Hyers)

So, Jack, let's "clown around" and you can help me forget the adult world for a while!

i {heart} faces: Sports in Action Contest

Running through a sprinkler is a sport, right? (If you don't think so, come on over and try to keep up with my water baby!)

Well, I'm finally taking the plunge and entering the i {heart} faces weekly photography contest. I always check the blog, and figured it might be fun to finally join in the fun!

Here's my entry for the Sports in Action category. I love this picture...like, love like I want to wear it as a t-shirt and it always makes me smile, kind of love!

Make my (Tues)DAY

Sooo….last night was rough. But it wasn’t one of those rough nights when I woke up this morning crabby and so tired, thinking, “Didn’t I just lay down?!”. I woke up with a smile…literally. Jack rocks my world!

At 1:30ish Jack was restless. (I immediately blamed Jim for picking out the lizard pj’s–shorts and a short-sleeved shirt–because it always seems to get so cold at night. )

Anyway, Jack didn’t want to go back down to sleep and even when I resorted to my last-stitch-effort of (gasp!) bringing him into our bed, he thought it was playtime! So after an hour (or so) I put him back in his crib and let him whine.

I must have dozed off, and next thing I know, my little man is running in my room saying, “Mommy, Mommy, pathi*, pathi!” WTH! “How did you get out of your crib, Mister!”

Yes, ladies and gents, Jack is our “climb-out-of-his-cage/crib monkey man”! So when I realized that I wasn’t dreaming, I got out and he lead me into his room where he proceeded to get on the ground and try his hardest to reach under his crib to get his paci!

Once we successfully procured this, he was back in bed with Mommy and managed to remain calm. (After jumping all over the bed, playing with my cell phone, cracking me up!)

So, 5:30 rolled around and I woke up with a smile, thinking, “Was that a dream…?” and then I saw Jack snuggled next to me (for a little guy, he sure takes up a lot of bed!). Every once in a while, you need a momentous night of crib-climbing, bed-jumping, and Mommy/Jack-Jack-snuggling to remind you what it’s all about!

* pathi = paci = pacifier (And no, he doesn’t have a lisp, that is my best attempt to mimic his break-my-heart, little voice in writing!)

PS: I think it's about time to switch to the toddler bed...just the thought makes me shutter!

"Superman is my Hero!"

"You don't raise heroes, you raise sons. And if you treat them like sons, they'll turn out to be heroes, even if it's just in your own eyes." (Author Unknown)


Superman may be his hero (as proclaimed on his shirt), but he is mine! (wink, wink!)