We're very lucky.
Jack is the sort of child
we all assume we'll have
when we decide to have children,
and the sort of child
less experienced parents
congratulate themselves for.January and February 2004
March and April 2004
May and June 2004
July and August 2004
September and October 2004
November and December 2004
Blogs we read:
Thursday, Aug. 04, 2005 - 4:06 P.M.
Time Flys!
I'm seeing a pattern here where I spend several minutes every time I blog trying to come up with a new way to say "Sorry it's been so long".
Sorry it's been so long, folks. My access to the blog site from work has been cut off with the new security program -- and time to blog at home remains scarce.
But Rod has offered to post what I write, if I send it to him during the day. of course, he also has to upload and include photos, and that means I'm in trouble. Oh well. Let's see if I can make this work.
Traveling with Jack, The Adventure begins
This has been a pretty big year for travel for Mr. Jack.
In February, we traveled to Teckomatorp, Sweden to visit two of his brothers. I never got around to blogging that properly because were came home exhausted and I had to hit the ground running at work -- but suffice to say that an 8 hour flight to Frankfurt wasn't the optimal beginning to Jack's travels. He whimpered, cried, and carried on most of the time. About 6 hours into the flight, we finally realized that the "white noise" was driving him mad. We tuned the in'flight music to a familiar classical piece, put ear phone on him, and within minutes, our budgie was fast asleep.
We spent about 8 hours wandering around Frankfurt before the second leg of the trip -- and the second flight went fine. Evidently, once he knew what to expect, flying was OK. White noise and all.
Note to self: start long journey with a short hop.
In early July, we took Jack over-night camping a couple hours North of here to get him used to the idea of sleeping in a tent. 
We picked up one of his favorite adults, Miss Celeste, along the way, and she camped with us. 
It was great! 
So, last weekend, we took Jack much further afield, a two-day drive to New York state to a family reunion! 
Jack was not thrilled by being in the car for "hours and hours" as he put it. Frequently.
We did stop every two hours to let Jack stretch his legs. Along the way we discovered some truly intriguing adventures -- including a Cheese Museum in Ingersol Ontario! 
We picnicked and took walks and fed birds and explored local sights -- but it was still a lot of driving.
He was a trooper, but oh my was he glad to be home! He has never been so happy to play on his own with his very own stuff as he has been the three days since we got home!
Of course - -once we got home, my thoughts turned to "the big trip". In just about 30 days, my guys are leaving for Australia to visit with Mormor (Dad's Mum) and Jack's other two brothers. Rod has arrnaged a trip with lots of stopovers, which although it lengthens the trip, will, I think, make it easier on both Rod and Jack.
All except that Jack may be able to sleep -- probably will, as a matter of fact. Like Mamma, he can sleep any time and any place. But Rod won't have access to his CPAP, so even if he could manage to fall asleep in an airplane,. it wouldn't be safe for him to do so.
Man, that's going to be grueling!
And a well-rested Jack isn't going to be happy that Dad needs to sleep for half a day when he arrives! Fortunatwly, he'll have Mormor and Auntie Karen and Auntie Anne and Auntie Trudi for company.
After that, I am hoping we can make a trip back to Sweden this Yule, but I'm not counting on it. It doesn't take long for all this travel to hammer the budget!
Chapter Books
As I mentioned a while back, we have gotten Jack some chapter books. He was very, very inetrested when we first started to read them. He still asks to hear them, but we have't made it all the way out of a chapter in a long while.
Possibly because Jack usually asks for them in the evening, and he's too sleepy to sit and pay attention. Possibly because he just isn't ready yet.
Oh well. In time. And he keeps asking, so I know he's interested.
Potty time?
Nope. Afraid not.
After several weeks of mostly success, Jack has decided that toilet use is highly over-rated. As a matter of fact, he's even become wary of the flushng of public toilets. When he accompanies me into the loo in shops or while we're travling, he insists on leaving the stall befpore I flush -- and he usually holds the door shut on me until the last toilet sounds have quieted.
I have no idea what's that's about -- but it's going to make the airplane fun! Poor Rod.
Well, after over a month, I know there's more to say -- but I have to get back to work. Maybe this new arrangement will mean you won't have to read past so many typographical errors -- Rod may edit as he reads and before he posts. (I, obviously, rarely do.)
