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. 18, 2005 - 12:05 A.M.
Trucks and tractors and construction! Oh my!!
Jack adores trucks!
Even more than trucks, he adores construction equipment, which he calls "tractors".
Every trip in the car becomes an adventure to spot more "tractors" in new places! (Lucky for Jack if not for the rest of us, Michigan basically has two seasons, winter and construction.)
Imagine Jack's delight to wake up and find that the parking lot outside the bedroom window has become a construction site!
That's what has happened -- the management, always very good about keeping up with maintaining the property, has arranged for the entire several miles of parking lot and private road to be torn out and replaced. And that means lots and lots of "tractor" activity.
Sadly, there was only one day of activity right outside our window, and then the parking lot surface was gone. But every time we drive through the complex coming in and out, jack gets to see huge numbers of tractors and trucks.
Jack and Dad were out on the afternoon that they re-paved the car-park. Jack got to chat with one of the construction crew, and saw many big trucks and an asphalt layer ambling their way between jobs.... "BiiiiiiiiIIIIIIG Tractor-!!"
Life is good!
"But I don't want to be tired!"
Poor Jack.
He is at that age where he thinks he should give up his nap, but he's not quite ready to give it up physically.
That means that he alternates between staying awake all day, which makes him miserable from about 2 pm to bedtime, or he struggles against sleep, and then finally succumbs around 5 or 6 pm -- waking up fully refreshed, just before bedtime.
This isn't working well for anyone, and I hope he either starts giving in again soon and takes early naps or reaches the point that he really doesn't need the nap.
And still he grows!
Jack had another doctor appointment last week. His growth is back on track, as we suspected. He is back to being a solid 10th percentile for height, just as he's been since birth, and has moved from the 10th to the 25th percentile for weight.
I suppose in these days of obesity paranoia, we might be worried, but we're not.
It doesn't take much examination to realize that Jack is not fat in the slightest! What he is, is one solid little chunk of muscle! Where many children ride around in strollers when they go out with their parents, Jack prefers to walk -- or run. Where most two-year-olds ride in a shopping trolley, Jack walks. Where many children spent at least some time in front of the television, Jack plays actively most of the day, running up and down the hall carrying toys from the parlor to Dad's office, chasing the cat, and, if he can talk his parents into it, taking long meandering walks to feed the ducks and explore the apartment complex.
So, while is Jack is a lot heavier than many children his height, it's not because he lacks fitness, but specifically because he is so active! (Muscle weighs quite a bit more than fat does, and big muscles weighs more than less developed muscles.)
They're broken!
Background: when Jack was a very small baby, I quickly realized that I wasn't going to have a lot of time to worry about my appearance for a while. Jack was a pretty intense little guy who wanted to be in our arms pretty much any time he could.
But I still had to go to work, ideally looking like I intended to go to work when I got dressed that morning.
So, in order to make sure that I had at least a "sort of" polished office appearance, I bought a pair of earrings that were of moderate quality and well designed to be worn pretty much around the clock. I put them in, and I left them there for a couple of years.
Of course, even the finest quality jewelry won't stand up to being worn indefinitely, and as time passed, the earrings got less and less new looking. A few days ago, I noticed that most of the shiny stuff had rubbed off one of the earrings, but not the other. uh-oh. bad look.
So, I dug out the other pair of earrings I had bought for the purpose and replaced the now very old ones.
Jack didn't notice until next morning, when I came to the breakfast table.
"Oh Mamma!" he said, sounding very dismayed.
"Yes, Jack?"
"What happen?"
" I don't know, budgie. What happened?"
"What happen your earrings?"
"Oh, that's right! I have new earrings! Do you like them?" Pleased that he was so observant.
"No."
"No? You don't like the new earrings?"
"No." Quite certain now. "No. They broken. Dad, Mamma earrings broken."
And then he went back to his breakfast.
It finally dawned on mew why the new earrings, though rounder, shinier, and in all ways pretty normal, are "broken". I have worn the same earrings since Jack can remember, and I don't think he realized that they aren't part of my body! So, of course any major change is going to be similar in his mind to an injury.
What a funny boy!
