Jack-isms

I guess this post qualifies as a "things they say" post. But these are just Jack's. He has a few things right now that are close, but no cigar. He knows what he is trying to communicate. His message just gets mixed up with other closely associated vocab words. Don't worry, speech pathologist friends. I tested his speech and language recently (just for fun of course), and his PPVT, EOWVT, and PLS scores are A-OK. Anyway, please enjoy.

Lasterday: translation, yesterday. A combo of last night, last week, etc., and yesterday.
Ex. Lasterday we went to the zoo.

Brown new: translation, brand new. Ex. She got a brown, new car (even if the car is red, black, yellow, or green).

Atch (other derivations include atchy, atches, atched): translation: itch, itchy, itches, itched, can be used as noun, verb, adjective. An oh-so=cute combination of itch and scratch.
It itches + I scratch= atch. Ex. My bug bite atches, so I have to atch it. (this one is my personal favorite)

More on "Jackie Boy" and his hygiene habits

For those of you who spend time with our youngest, you have probably heard him refer to himself as "Jackie Boy" (and he insists that others refer to him that way as well). At a church basketball game last night he actually introduced himself that way. "What's your name? I'm Jackie Boy." I imagine that this sort of odd nickname will wear itself out in time. I mean as as infant he was "Chachee" since Sam was practically a babe himself and couldn't say Jack. That was kind of a side note. Anyway, I picked up my little guy from school the other day, and the teacher asked Jack if there was anything he wanted to tell mommy. Oh dear. Those words strike fear in the hearts of many a mother who is honest with herself and realizes that her cherubs are, in fact, just littler sinners (mommies of sinners, you know who you are). Anyway, Jack did NOT have anything that he wanted to tell his mommy, but Jack's teacher wanted to inform said mother of her cherub's antics. Apparently, they were playing on the play ground. It's fenced in on 3 sides with the brick wall of the building enclosing the other side. They were all playing, having a grand and peaceful time. Teachers looked up to see Jackie boy with his pants around his ankles, booty bared for the world, peeing on the brick wall. He makes his mother so proud. Luckily they saw the humor in it, and I promised to make Tom start using indoor facilities and to teach his son to do the same:). If ever I think I've got parenting figured out- I have moments like this to humble me and bring me back to earth.

Good Times!

I'm going to brag about my kiddos for a moment. I feel like I have shared some of the bad and the ugly, so here's the good. Last Friday we drove the over 2 hours to Atlanta. Big Dad (Tom's dad) was coming for a visit, and we decided to go ahead and make a day of it. We went to the Children's Museum and had A BLAST! I saw good behavior, right choices, consideration of others, sharing, patience, kindness (and a couple other fruits of the spirit). The boys were super. Granted, we were in a giant center of childhood goodness- painting, moon sand, water activities, hands-on learning, tap-dancing (seriously), and kid-centered activities, so what kid wouldn't be in a good mood? Regardless, I have to brag on their behavior. The flight for Big Dad was delayed, so we had more time than we had originally planned. Sooooo, it was on to IKEA (a mommy-sized playground). After a quick stop at the snack bar (who can resist a 50 cent hot dog?) I got to do a little browsing while Tom and the boys played in the children's area. At this point I was wondering how long our blissful outing would last since Jack hadn't had a nap. Meltdown in T minus...how long? Nope! He hung in there like a champ! We picked up Big Dad after 5:00, so we wouldn't be back home in time for a reasonable dinner time, so we stopped at a restaurant. Reality check, Staci! Since the kiddos had been sitting in the car for over four hours over the course of the day, I was wondering if I was mildly insane or if just delirious with pride and over- confidence for my well behaved, non-shrieking, sans melt-down, calm and sweet children. They were great in the restaurant too (we did have to take away the chop sticks since Jack has a "sword of the Lord" thing going on- thanks, Loni)! Even so, it was a day in which we saw a level of maturity (if you can call a Children's Museum mature), flexibility, and cooperation that was totally encouraging! Maybe I don't give them enough credit sometimes, or maybe there is more seeping into those little heads and hearts than I think. We had so much fun with them! Good memories!