We made it safely to Oahu and back, and I have a billion pictures from the trip. To see the entire trip, click here. Otherwise I'll just share a few of Jack having fun in Hawaii.

Here is how he slept on the plane:















Of course it was only for one hour on a 7 hour flight, but that's beside the point. He was comfy and quiet for that small bit of time. The rest of the time he kept himself busy by reading:















and generally flailing about:















He also tried on my sunglasses:















It was a long flight, and we were tired when we arrived. I was also sick with some strange 24 hour bug (or food poisoning, I'm not sure which), so my mom had Jack duty for the first day. They had fun playing on the beach:















and digging in the sand:















But Jack was never sure about the waves – he didn't want anything to do with going toward the water:














He never got used to the water the entire trip. I guess he truly is an Arizona baby! One of his favorite pastimes from the week was sitting on the patio looking out at the sand and sea:















As well as climbing up on this couch that was the perfect height for him:















The boy next to him was visiting from Portland and they had a great time eating pancakes and commiserating about the general unfairness of napping.

Speaking of napping, Jack had a great new experience sleeping in a twin bed.















The only problem was that he could get up whenever he wanted – like at 5:15 every single day. Normally if he wakes up that early he plays in his crib for a while until we get him, but not in Hawaii! We had lots of fun playing quietly until the rest of the house got up around 8.

The next day I was feeling much better and we took Jack to the park. He sat in a canoe:















and on a big log:















Then we took him to Matsumoto's Shave Ice where he had the chance to sample some frozen sugar water:















It was pouring rain:















So we did some shopping. Jack actually preferred to climb up and down the stairs at the Patagonia store:















The next day we went in to Waikiki for some shopping and sight seeing. We started out at lunch, where Jack perused the Margarita menu:















Then we visited a koi pond















Jack was very interested in the fish and climbing the rocks:















He also did some shopping of his own:















And more climbing:














We visited the Aquarium where Jack's favorite activity was trying to hit the fish:















Unfortunately the fish keepers didn't agree with this behavior, so we had to move on to the seals, and get him out of reach.















Later on, Jack showed off his new Hawaiian outfit:















Those shoes didn't last long on his feet.















That takes us through Thursday I think. I'll post more later! We are very happy to be home and getting settled. Jack is going to visit Grandma and Grandpa this weekend so I'm sure we'll have some pictures from that as well.

Jack spent last weekend with the grandparents while Joe and I escaped to the White Mountains. Little did we know, there would be a humongous storm and we would be trapped for an extra day. If you want to see pictures of our expedition, click here.

The only recent picture I have of Jack to share is this one:



Yes, that is a yarn store. And yes, he is asleep on the couch. I took him down there Tuesday afternoon and he fell asleep in the car. So I carried him in and set him there on the couch. He slept for an hour. My friend Sherry met me and we knit and talked and had a grand old time.

I have one more photo, but not of Jack. This one is of Caden Redfield Clark, born Thursday to Julie and Dave Clark:



He is my Godson. I have never been a Godmother, and I will tell you it is an amazing experience. I got to see his first bath, I was the first to hold him other than his parents, and my best friend had a baby that I get to spoil like mad. (I love her first baby too, of course, but he was born 3 weeks before Jack and I was less-than-available for the beginning of his little life.)

He is wonderful and perfect, and he and mom are doing great. They go home tomorrow and Julie gets to spend the next few months without any sleep.

Jack and I are off to Hawaii on Monday. I promise to take a million pictures, although I may not be able to post until we return on the 28th. I am nervous about the five hour flight with my little busy body, but I know we will have a wonderful time.

I am running so far behind on posting pictures! It has been a busy week, and here are some shots from Jack’s trip to Grandma and Grandpa’s house last weekend. First, you can see him drinking from a sippy cup:















And eating a peanut butter sandwich:















and generally being blurry:
















He loves his Great Grandma, who treats him like a king:















and he loves being the center of attention at family gatherings:





























Joe and I are off to the White Mountains this weekend, and Jack is staying with my parents tonight and Joe’s parents tomorrow night. What a treat for everyone! My dad has a new camera, so expect a lot of great pictures when we return. I’ll try to take a few of me and Joe as well, so you can see what we look like super-relaxed.

“What is a sand and water table?” one of our readers asks. Well, it’s like a sandbox, but with legs, and one side has water. Except in our house where we couldn’t find the drill to assemble the sand and water table. So it became something different. Like a sand and water platform. Here it is:















It’s the blue and red thing on the right. Our yard was ready for the invasion of toddlers when playgroup met at our house this past week:















and from the other side:












Jack also ventured over into the neighbor’s yard to check out the Adirondack chairs:















All in all it was a successful day and Jack had fun playing with all his little friends.

I have more pictures to post from his weekend at Grandma and Grandpa’s house, but they haven’t been uploaded yet. We have a pretty busy week ahead so hopefully I’ll get a chance to put them up!

T is for Tantrum
or Terrifically loud
Throwing yourself on the floor
in a crowd.

Jack has learned the letter T. And boy did he learn it well.

His first tantrum was on Sunday at home (thankfully). It was nothing like I’ve ever seen before – he screamed, he threw himself on the floor, he kicked his feet, flipped over, wailed. His face was bright red and he could barely breathe.

Then yesterday in Toys R Us, he wasn’t ready to stop playing in this house:















(Please notice the new Converse Hightops. I couldn’t resist buying them.)

He was happily going in and out the door:















Having a grand time practicing his walking:















And just generally having fun:















When I told him it was time to go, this is what he did:


























And then he scooted away from me. I had to retrieve him from inside the house. He was not pleased.

Of course, the item I was buying (a sand and water table, not the house in the picture), had to be brought up from the back. So Jack and I stood at the front waiting, and he proceeded to have his second temper tantrum right there in front of everyone.

There are various theories about what you are supposed to do with a tantruming child. I haven’t had time to brush up on my parenting books lately, so I just guessed. Basically I let him lie there and scream. And every time he got near my I told him he was going to be okay. That’s about the extent of it.

When he finally calmed down and we were getting ready to leave, a nice old man said to me “Wow, he really has some healthy lungs.”

Indeed he does.