My only excuse for the long absence is the fact that I got a new camera. It’s taken me a while to figure out how to get the pictures from it onto the computer and how to format them so they aren’t 42 inches wide. Now we should be back on track. In the meantime I have taken a few shots of Jack here and there.

This was at the play area at Scottsdale Fashion Square:

Although he doesn’t look happy in that picture, he really does like it there. See?

Next I have a shot of him playing at his friend Pat’s house. Pat is moving away next week and we are very sad to see him go. I didn’t put up pictures of him because I don’t have permission from the parents, but here is Jack playing with liquid nails:

Last night Jack went to a Memorial Day cookout with my parents and their neighbors. We have been worried up to this point that Jack would turn out to be a vegan because he really never eats meat. That all changed when he was offered some ribs:

Apparently he liked them.

Here he is surveying the carnage:

I haven’t seen him since Sunday – he’s had a Grandparent Fest this weekend while Joe and I tried to get the house ready to put on the market. We need a little more space before the second kid makes an appearance in December, so hopefully we’ll find a good place to live!

This weekend we’re taking Jack to Palo Alto to meet all of our old friends and their new babies. It should be an interesting journey and I’ll take lots of pictures with my fancy new camera!

It's already broken 100 in Phoenix, so Jack and I are trying to find ways to stay cool. Our front yard is completely shaded in the afternoon, so the other day I got out the hose and let him run around with it. Here he is regarding the water:















He quickly became more comfortable:















and got completely soaked:















He got his face a little wet:















as did the rest of him:















His favorite thing to do in between hosing himself off was to run towards me and give me a big hug:















I finally took off his sopping clothes and let him run around for a while more:















This can only be described as marching:














And here he is inspecting some yard dust bunnies:















Today we had a wonderful Mother's Day celebration. This morning we had brunch with Grandma Gloria, Grandpa Tom, Great Grandma Connie, Great Grandpa Joe, and Great Grandma Elaine. Next we had dinner with Grandma Sandee and Grandpa Vince. It was great to be surrounded by so much family – it makes me happy that Jack and the new baby will grow up with so many people around who love them. It was quite a treat.

Jack went to visit both sets of Grandparents last weekend. My dad has a fancy new camera so he took a few cool pictures of Jack just being Jack.

Isn’t he cute?

Here he’s telling you he’s all done:

Eating a cracker:

Sitting on a step stool:

And posing with my dad and his new car:

Today we have playgroup at our house again, and I bought a new sprinkler toy with a spinning Nemo. Hopefully it won’t be too we to get photos.

Can it?

Today Julie, Mac, Caden, Jack and I braved the outside world and went to visit Chandler Mall. We decided this was the best place for an outing because A. The two older boys could play in the kids area (scary that they are the “older” boys at the ripe age of 1 and a half) B. It’s air conditioned C. We could get something to eat.

So with three kids in tow, we settled on the bench at the kids play area. Jack kept trying to leave, Mac didn’t like the screaming, and Caden needed to eat. I wish we had an extra hand for the camera, because it was quite amusing to see us try to manage these three. At one point Julie was carrying Mac, who was crying and holding Jack’s hand, who was weak in the knees and wouldn’t walk with her. I was feeding Caden so I couldn’t reach the camera.

Once they had enough, we headed over to the food court where the above photo was taken. Every time Jack would scream (which was often), Mac would cry. This went on long enough that Caden started up. Julie and I just sat there wondering what in tarnation we were going to do with four of them!

If you look closely in the picture you will see there were people at the table behind us. They chose to sit there in a food court full of empty tables. Here’s a note to all you mall-goers. If you see a table with three kids, you might want to sit somewhere else. They kept looking at us like “Can’t you keep your kids quiet?” The answer is a resounding NOPE.

Both Joe and Dave are out of town right now, so Julie and I are on full-time, round-the-clock mommying. While it wasn’t very relaxing for us, it was nice to get out and finally see one another again!

I took a few pictures this morning to show Joe since he is away. They aren’t very exciting, but this is what Jack does in the mornings:

Standing by the door holding a shoe

Walking with purpose

Telling me he’s hungry.

Getting mad at the keys.

I think we’re going to check out the Science Center this afternoon. Apparently there is a great Robot exhibit going on there and I think Jack will like that.

Last night and one other night this week, Jack couldn’t fall asleep because his stomach hurt. I’m only guessing this is the case, because he can’t talk and the only sign language he does is “eat”. He uses this sign for everything from “turn on the tv” to “open that door” to “I have a stomach ache”. Needless to say I am constantly trying to guess what he needs.

I think I figured out that the stomach ache is coming from drinking soapy bath water. Yuck, I know. I was discussing this dilemma with Joe last night and trying to figure out what I should do. Stop putting bubbles in his bath? Give him a sippy cup to drink while in the tub. Ever the smarty pants of the family, Joe suggested that I take out all the toys he can drink from – bowls, cups and Tupperware.

Duh.

Yes, I am responsible for the health and safety of an almost-one-and-a-half-year-old. One would hope I could figure out how to keep him from drinking the bath water.

I do have an excuse, however. I have it on good authority that there just might be another baby on the way for Jack to terrorize. If my last pregnancy is any indication I will not be able to string complex thoughts together for quite some time. Unfortunately this condition doesn’t dissipate with the birth of a new baby – a significant lack of sleep is just around the corner.

And with that big news out of the way, I have some photos to share.

Jack running around the children’s garden at the library:

And Jack’s visit to Grandma and Grandpa’s house this past weekend:

This last one is by far my favorite. My little couch potato:

Eventually the blog will have to move, but we’ll get to that after we know what kind of baby it is. I’m pretty confident it’s a girl but that remains to be seen.