The Baby Chaud

1 year

2011-07-06T07:49:00.002-05:00

claudia is walking! she can do about 15 feet by herself but mostly likes me to walk with her. she gets very excited when jack is running around the house–trying to run while holding my hand. very soon, she will be running after him all by herself. these days claudia's favorite fruit is blueberries with strawberries coming in second. she utilizes her 2 bottom teeth and her new top tooth very well. she is a determined little girl who can be feisty and loving. she laughs and smiles a lot!

babble & speech

2011-06-01T19:50:00.003-05:00

jack is a great brother. he keeps claudia entertained and also is encouraging her to use her voice. often at dinner jack talks with her (loudly) and she reacts. lately, he's been getting her to say da da. she can say ma ma too. and today i think she said "all done" after she ate a cheese stick. exciting stuff!

claudia is also able to stand alone for a wee bit and has now taken 2 steps on her own. she loves the attention it brings her.

4 years

2011-05-14T14:43:00.002-05:00

jack is a four year old boy. tonight he will sleep in his big boy bed! it's getting harder to remember a time without my sunshine. he has been wonderful to watch this past year. he is so smart and passionate and creative. a great big brother. i love you jack!

mother's day weekend 2011

2011-05-09T20:00:00.002-05:00

yes, it is a whole weekend. claudia said dada & jack needed to have a big talk with daddy.

9 months

2011-04-12T20:03:00.000-05:00

my beautiful kids love to make funny faces and at 9 months, they look a lot alike

easter 2011

2011-04-10T19:05:00.002-05:00

jack makes the funniest faces. claudia was perfect and i love how i am in the frame!

spring!

2011-03-20T18:22:00.003-05:00

i am so happy today is the first day of spring. it was a long winter!

a couple days ago we went to grand rapids to see the butterflies! it's great to be in the tropical greenhouse while it's still cold. early that morning jack didn't want to see butterflies. he wanted to stay home and play blocks. i was a little worried that we would have a rough ride there. after chocolate milk in the car, jack was ready to see some butterflies. when we got there, jack watched a butterfly emerge from it's chrysalis. he really showed a lot of interest in what was happening. jack and claudia both really liked looking at all the plants and seeing the morph butterfly. it's a big, beautiful blue butterfly, the size of my palm.

claudia can climb stairs. she babbles a lot and is doing quite well with food. currently her game is to crawl really fast to the dog bowls and dip her hand in the water (if we don't get there in time). she likes to giggle with jack and be tickled by daddy. she has great empathy and cries when jack does too!

jack has an idea

2011-01-31T11:14:00.002-05:00

jack's lastest thing is to come up with alternatives to a lot of things we ask of him. most of the time, his ideas are reasonable and i find it so exciting and clever that he comes up with new solutions. at times, i have to counter his argument with a solution that will work best for the both of us. like when he woke up at 430 this morning for breakfast. we agreed to have a little milk instead!

yesterday jack had to stay home because he had a fever. that left me and claudia to do grocery shopping. jack didn't like the idea that we were leaving. he told me that he loves claudia and he didn't want her to go. he really is a good big brother. he also fed her avocado yesterday, in which she really liked!

she's eating!

2011-01-24T21:23:00.002-05:00

claudia has figured out that food isn't all that bad. she ate a good portion of her peas. while discovering her own knees can help her get around she is more interested in consuming calories.

Food Mash

2011-01-13T22:40:00.000-05:00

santa 2010

2010-12-19T20:20:00.001-05:00

jack said he'd see santa when there was snow. so, today was the day we went to the henry ford. jack was able to tell santa about the crantookey. we'll see on christmas morning what one is! oh, and claudia wants a blue car, according to jack

Dear Santa Claus by Jack Robichaud, age 3

2010-12-15T22:04:00.003-05:00

Happy Presents!
Platypus, Thanksgiving, Lighthouses
a Blue Car & Purple Truck
a spoon table
a picket
crantookey
light switch
a cannon with a monster
a dinosaur
a head
a bouncy head
picture of claudia
dog
pink piggy
$5
TV
a cup
nose
crayons
mask
cake
garbage bags

captain jack

2010-11-11T21:17:00.001-05:00

halloween 2010

2010-10-30T16:07:00.000-05:00

10.10.10–7 years of marriage, 3 month old and 3 year old

2010-10-10T21:27:00.004-05:00

i often wonder what my kids will look like when they are older. with jack, the moment he was born i knew just what he'd look like at 3. he still looks a lot like what he did when he was a baby. so, i think i have a pretty good idea of what he will look like at 20. i also know that he will still have a kind heart and a silliness about him like patrick and i. claudia, for me, is more difficult to read. i can't see who she looks like now which makes it difficult to see how she might look at 20. however, i am patient when it comes to my children aging. this time i get to spend with them is going to mean something completely different to them than it does to me.

tonight when jack and i finished our two stories, with gave hugs and kisses. as i left the room jack blew me a kiss and said "see you in the morning" and then "i love you momma". how can the night be better?

anniversaries are so much better with two kids.

must be halloween time

2010-10-05T21:21:00.000-05:00

baby on lawn

2010-09-20T07:22:00.000-05:00

claudia can roll from her back to her side!

riding!

2010-09-14T05:30:00.000-05:00

2 months

2010-08-27T07:39:00.001-05:00

claudia is growing big! she already has gained almost 4" in length and is 13.5 pounds. she can pull her legs up in the air and is fascinated by jack's antics. her smile and coos are infectious.

2010-08-09T21:12:00.003-05:00

5 weeks

2010-08-02T12:53:00.002-05:00

claudia is 5 weeks old and doing very well. the last few days she has slept 5-7 hours which is so amazing for a breast fed baby. she is getting so big, almost 12 pounds. she smiles at big brother jack when he tickles her toes. she loves to be held and i love to hold her. her little eye lashes are growing and she has a little fountain of hair on top. i have an amazing family!

jack is on his way to underpants. he used the "man" potty all weekend while we were at Maker Faire. the man potty is the urinal inside the port-a-potty. i am so proud of jack. he has the most wonderful personality. he's wild, he's empathetic. fun, loving, smart and creative. while at the museum he created a story about a rocket ship while we hid out in the photo both as daddy was packing up the puppets!

official birth announcement

2010-07-08T21:44:00.002-05:00

family fun

2010-07-05T19:19:00.003-05:00

the past 12 days summed up with this shot!

She's Here

2010-06-30T16:36:00.002-05:00

home stretch

2010-06-06T18:27:00.002-05:00

yesterday was full of activity for us. we had a nice walk around belleville in the morning. we stopped for awhile and watched the baby ducks at the lake and someone water skiing. jack was very excited to see the activity on the lake. from there we walked back to the park where none of jack's friend's were playing–so we didn't stay long. when we got back home we did a lot of yard work because it's not going to be easy doing that with a newborn (much easier pregnant). for our evening out, patrick and i walked around royal oak quite a bit. i really appreciate that city every time i visit. it's very different than ann arbor in lots of ways. it's nice to find a pastry shop open til 1AM!

even after all that activity, no baby yet. maybe this little girl will stay inside for awhile longer than jack! jack was born at 38 weeks 2 days.

37 weeks

2010-05-31T19:21:00.003-05:00

i had a great day today. patrick and i weeded and jack and i watered our new raspberry bush. the burst of energy also allowed me to get the car seat together and my hospital bag (which i never did for jack's arrival).

mother's day 2010

2010-05-09T15:39:00.003-05:00

today brings back many memories from 3 years ago when i went into labor with jack. it certainly was a surprise that warm sunday in may 2007. we spent brunch with my family and were on our way to celebrate with patrick's when my water broke. there was no time to dwell on what was about to happen and less time to do a lot of complaining.

soon, jack will need to share his momma bird with another baby bird. that brings me lots of joy because i know that there can be lots of joy in having a sibling and if our little girl is anything like jack, we will have a lot of fun together.

jack gave me a really nice framed photo of the 2 of us on the beach from last summer. that picture means a lot to me for many reasons. it's quiet but stormy and peaceful and joyful. it was the vacation we decided we would have another baby.

jack, mommy & baby sister

2010-04-18T13:43:00.000-05:00

almost 3

2010-04-18T13:36:00.002-05:00

jack will be 3 in less than a month. i always like these photos that showcase his personality. he is so lovable, easy-going and one of the joys of my life. in 9 weeks, i won't be just my boy and me any longer. we are taking some time next month to do some mom and son things before our baby girl arrives. we will have to do a picnic and lots of park play!

Jackalackey

2010-04-09T15:51:00.000-05:00

feeling good

2010-04-08T19:11:00.001-05:00

30 weeks

2010-04-08T10:22:00.002-05:00

this week has been really good. i am feeling a little less uncomfortable and i am still able to get on the ground and work on our giant fish puppet. i am staying active with this pregnancy thanks to my big boy jack. yesterday we played hide-and-seek for quite awhile. abby and rosey always reveal where i am hiding. jack counts one, two, three...here i come. it is just the cutest thing to hear him count and understand what the game is about.

earlier in the evening jack was using his new scissors from the easter bunny and cutting out paper to give to those he loves. my piece was the first one and it was smaller than a dime. daddy's was bigger and more like the size of an apple. then jack cut one for his baby sister. that one was the largest.

it's official, i've lost my belly button! with jack, my belly button popped but it never became nonexistent. this time, the repetitive stretching has made it go away. i've always had a sensitive button but now it is even more so. watch out, don't touch it, no matter how tempting it might be. rest of the belly is fine:)

this week our baby is moving around a lot. patrick has been able to feel the kicks, but still waiting for jack to be there at the right time. most days i can see the movement across my belly. it's probably the coolest thing about being pregnant.

parenting is hard work

2010-03-22T13:14:00.005-05:00

it was about a month ago that nothing i did could get jack to do what i wanted. i was on the edge and i needed to be reasoned with. patrick was a big help like always. he gave me time to be alone and collect myself. since then, i promised myself that i needed to change my behavior if i wanted jack's behavior to improve.

i can't argue that being a working mom is harder than being a stay at home mom or vice versa. being a mom is the most challenging work either way. although there are times that i give into the short term fixes, today i am reenergized to put in long hours to be the best mom i can. at work we talk about taking as much time with each customer interaction and not simply passing them on as quickly as possible. at home, i try to do the same thing with jack (yes, harder to do sometimes). for example, when jack has something to say, i let him know that it is important to me to understand him and let him know that i care about what he's talking about. i've learned to give him choices, ones that i can live with either of his decisions. i am in the middle of reading 4 parenting books. two of them are pretty extreme in views, which i think is great. for example, one book believes in time outs and one does not.

after reading a bit, i am very interested in how to apply the techniques. for the last month or so, jack has been wanting me to do EVERYTHING, not daddy. although patrick doesn't seem to be hurt by his words and actions, he does want me to have a break. so the challenge now is to get jack to make choices that involve help from daddy and not mommy.

parenting is not intuitive and it's okay to read as much as you can. and it's ok to take a break, sometimes it is mandatory.

getting bigger

2010-03-17T05:40:00.002-05:00

26 weeks

2010-03-16T08:58:00.002-05:00

This week our baby girl's ears are more developed and highly sensitive. i have noticed a lot more movement probably because she can hear jack's laughter and the dogs barks and cried. whenever i feel the baby, she stops moving as soon as jack or patrick try to feel her. jack's going to think it's pretty cool.

she's continuing to put on baby fat and now probably weighs about a pound and two-thirds and "measures the size of (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel." love the food reference.

23 weeks

2010-02-24T11:31:00.002-05:00

i am feeling pretty good this week. even though i felt little tickles a month ago, it is now that i am able to feel the jabs of our baby girl. in a few weeks jack and patrick will be able to feel it too! this last week i got my first cold. during the last pregnancy i got sick A LOT. so i guess i can't complain too much about a week long cold. i am trying to take care of myself with xtra sleep, lots of water and intervals on the treadmill.

things that i've been craving: fruit, salad and of course pastry!

jack told all the kids at school that his baby sister is coming. it is going to be a magical day when the two meet and a day i won't forget like the day i met jack.

Titan Figure

2010-02-22T20:22:00.001-05:00

I make a point to have my son watch me throw snowballs over our house. I assume in five to ten years he will remember tonight as the day his father launched truck sized snow boulders into the stratosphere.

my 33rd birthday

2010-02-18T12:34:00.003-05:00

i love this family shot. it tells a lot about who we all are!

Doubling Down on Fatherhood

2010-02-03T21:18:00.002-05:00

So we're going to do this again. I guess I was just that good the first time, it's a hard argument to against the proverbial 'why not?'.

A little girl! I'm intrigued by this sudden crystallization of our family thumbnail. Instead of the rock tumbler that is a male dominated clan like the one I experienced, we will have a more neopolitan family of poise and parity. And while I can name a handful of new parents with an elder son and junior daughter, we have none of reasonable comparison in either of our families.

With Jack it has been a rather simple plug and play strategy for me, as I am also a first born son. Basically I can provide and apportion with little more than intuition and timing. With a daughter ... I hesitate to say the same attitude is insufficient, but it's a road never traveled. A child tends to bond to the opposite sex parent, what can I utilize from that arrangement?

It was a bit of a surprise to thumb through a variety of bookstores when I was looking for books for dads about raising daughters. There appears to be a veritable library of information on raising sons, even a section on raising geeks, but fathers and daughters? I found three on my initial inspection.

The first one was written by a Dr. Meg Meeker, M.D., which initially drew me in, as I was expecting a tome steeped in rational thought and chock full of scientific studies. What I got was a Catholic conservative telling me unless I was a huge asshole my daughter would contract a STD by age 12, and that would make her RUINED FOREVER. Essentially she preached there was no such thing as being too overprotective, that my daughter will only think I love her if I'm a dark menacing shadow in her social world and that smoking is a better habit than sex, a topic the woman seemed obsessed with. Indeed, there seemed to be almost nothing in the book about years zero through twelve, it just warped ahead where every third page was a sobby anecdote about one of her patients blaming her herpes on daddy not cleaning his guns on the porch when boys came around.

The other books seemed better, but I'm quickly coming to the conclusion that we have exceptional parenting potential and coupled with the lessons we learned with Jack, I'm as well prepared as I can be.

Hey, I've got two girl dogs, that's at least worth the benefit of the doubt.

Hope she likes kibble.

Frosty Month

2010-02-01T09:48:00.002-05:00

I made a puppet.

baby girl

2010-01-22T10:41:00.002-05:00

it's official, in june we will be a family with a new little girl. the ultrasound today revealed that our little girl is free of abnormalities, has a healthy heart and weighs about 1/2 pound. she moved around a lot and we got see a lot of her. at one point she was clenching and unclenching her fist. amazing!

17 weeks

2010-01-19T21:00:00.002-05:00

jack wants to see inside my tummy for the baby. i hope i can prepare him enough for this little one. baby is growing big and i have been feeling flutters for a couple weeks now. those flutters are in the exact spot that i was feeling jack, kinda cool. baby makes it known that it doesn't like the tummy sleeping anymore. from now on, i am now on my side for the most part.

16 weeks along

2010-01-06T19:15:00.000-05:00

week 16 for the sequel

2010-01-02T20:49:00.001-05:00

baby is the size of an avocado and will be going thru a growth spurt in the next couple weeks. i think jack is doing the same, both intellectually and physically. his imagination is profound for he makes up stories about gardens and eating monsters.

snow prints

2009-12-27T20:03:00.001-05:00

tonight we walked the block with our boots on and made footprints as we went along. jack loved looking up to the sky and catching snow on his face. it was very magical and an evening i won't forget.

first santa visit

2009-12-21T19:11:00.002-05:00

last week of first trimester

2009-12-09T21:47:00.002-05:00

next week my energy is going to return! i have had bouts of energy lately so i am hopeful. babychaud II is the size of a lemon and has many of it's reflexes that i just cannot feel yet. my belly is protruding a lot now, so the announcement of our newest baby came at a perfect time. bye bye abs for now, i will find you again in the fall.

For Immediate Release

2009-11-28T16:34:00.003-05:00

From the creators that brought you:

Coming this June, 2010:

The Sequel.

yoga

2009-11-23T10:19:00.002-05:00

after watching patrick do yoga most mornings, and jack being told that i am at my yoga class on saturdays, he took up yoga for himself this weekend. he went to the closet and took out a yoga mat for himself and mommy. we put rodney yee's dvd on and jack started to do downward facing dog. he is quite flexible! i only wish i had the flexibility of a 2 year old. since rodney does yoga without a shirt, jack wanted to be like rodney. now shirtless, jack progressed to taking off his pants and eventually his diaper. jack was really impressed with himself. patrick and i were quite amused.

Marathon Boy

2009-10-19T21:31:00.004-05:00

Completed my first marathon this past Sunday after a raging 20 weeks and 537 miles of training. I set a blistering 8 minute mile pace until mile 16, but a couple key mistakes of not stretching my iliotibial band in the days prior or popping my pre-race ibuprofen made my right wheel begin to protest around mile 17 and was pretty much totally blown just past mile 22. Gutted out the last four on tenacity but I figure I lost about 30 minutes on those two flubs alone. Still, nothing to complain about: 3:57:27 got me under my 4 hour goal with time to spare, and at least the bar isn't too high for the next one, whenever that may be.

A big thanks to Mom for all the vegetables in my childhood, Dad for all the two milers in high school, Rebecca for hosting both amenities and triage and Scott for being the day's Detroit Recondo. I, of course, would be without any victory if my attractive graphic designer wife hadn't put up about a dozen Sunday mornings on her own while I ran around like a deranged gazelle.

A giant fake mustache of celebration for my boy, who suffered through the last 70 hours of pre-race mania with a nasty rotavirus. He somehow managed to stay upright and cognizant while thousands of masochists plodded through the city.

favorite holiday!

2009-10-17T15:49:00.002-05:00

last weekend for patrick and i celebrated our 6th year wedding anniversary with jack at henry ford village's halloween nights. they carve 800 jack-o-lanterns every week for 3 weeks. most of the pumpkins are really cool but some look like they were done in 2 minutes. seeing them reminds me of our pre-wedding pumpkin carving event when we carved 20 pumpkins for the reception tables.

jack enjoyed opening almost every pumpkin and peeking in. he was very concerned when he came across a pumpkin with no candy. competing with the jack-o-lanterns was the chocolate money he got in his bag. great time!

make believe

2009-09-20T18:50:00.001-05:00

jack pretends he's delivering milk at calder dairy

2009-08-24T23:33:00.002-05:00

Took a little extended weekend to the coast. That's kind of a neat perk of Michigan, you're always less than an hour from a pretty spiffy beach. Well, downriver isn't exactly pristine rurality but still.

Southaven sits about an hour north of the Indiana border on Lake Michigan, has more loyalty to Chicago and their old money than the D, and definitely is the living embodiment of a summer resort town. A walkable downtown that's got a healthy crop of fine eats, striking distance of art colonies and hardwood fruit orchards and plenty of family charm. Too bad it barely got over 68 degrees the whole time.

Jack somehow managed to stay awake for the entire three hour trip to our destination. Not the best result but he can handle a couple hours before he gets real punchy. Grabbed some Panchero's in Kzoo along the way. I like Panchero's as a cheaper, tastier alternative to the corporate Xtreme feel of Chipotle.

We returned to a Bed and Breakfast we used last year. Nice, 150 year old lodge run by an eccentric feminist painter and her younger Colombian husband, Alberto. Literally across the street from the beach and full of character.

We blew the evening wandering the downtown and out to the breakwater where the remnants of a loose storm system were blowing in. Quite baroque in feel, I wondered how much of the tides and Lake Jack remembered from last year.

Jack wound down as we slipped into a local family Italian joint, then found a second wind to suddenly polish off a whole plate of spaghetti. I opted for the house lasagne and a homemade Italian soda, neither of which really impressed me, but filling. Horrid service was a product of unintentional negligence and structure.

Saturday morning starts with 'Alberto's Breakfast': Yogurt parfait, hardboiled eggs, banana bread, fresh fruit and coffee. Top notch stuff, Jack can't seem to get enough eggs.

Slipped up the coast to Saugatuck for the day, a bigger, ritzier town known for it's gay-friendly, French-influenced art culture. Rained on and off all day as we dinked around. Found a puppet show and I was all Hell Yeah before it turned out to be ten bucks a head. I'd rather talk to my own sock in the face of those prices.

Smencils. Perhaps I bag on a lot of food and the horrible exploitation of the word 'gourmet', but throw me a bone here.

You know it's a highbrow vacation when you practice your phonetics in a wine shop.

Hey, I know we're all supercool with gay people here in Saugatuck, but Come on.

Decide to have lunch in Douglas, Saugatuck's burgeoning sister town on the other side of the Kzoo river. We had planned on going to the local hipster sandwich shop but ran into a thirty minute wait and some annoying waitstaff. Bailed across the street to the Wild Dog Grille offering Neo American food with decor that seemed to say 'African Studies Professor'. Nice gazpacho, though I didn't care for how they presented sour cream on top. Fantastic tilapia tacos and a forgettable if quaffable house beer.

Took a power nap back in Southaven and tried to brave the beach. This shot here was snapped in our five minute stay, as a rogue wave conspired with another and was able to set a new standard for high tide. No one was dragged out to sea, but it did kill the mood. Note to self: deal with conflict of securing video camera before first born son when imminent flood was upon you later. At least he's waterproof.

My attractive graphic designer wife wasn't really up for anything substantive, so I was free to drag us into The Thirsty Perch for some fried local fish. Awesome perch, though I imagine if you beer batter just about anything you're liable to get ahead in the gustatory games. Fun apricot flavored beer which was carefully balanced to not taste like a cross between a floral bouquet and a smencil. You know what I mean.

Wandered more through town and ended up at a very quiet coffee shop and took in the harbor. Got a real twinge of nostalgia for college sitting there with my attractive graphic designer wife at a coffee shop heading towards 10pm. It was a nice treat to have Jack up that late, too. Breaking the rules for vacation actually means something when you are diligent about them elsewhere.

Decided we hadn't been punished enough Sunday morning and went back out to the beach after breakfast. Jack enjoyed having a sandbox about a million percent bigger than the one back home.

We decided to thrust a 300 dollar camera into his hands to see what he could do. This was his third shot.

Holy crap, I never smile like that for the camera. That's parental love coming right through your screen.

Found a funky PF Changesque (read: super-Americanized) Mexican analog joint called Su Casa for lunch. Great service, solid food, awesome guacamole. Since we hadn't punished ourselves enough, chocolate and coconut gelato for dessert.

I think he had a real good time.

funny boy

2009-08-17T20:42:00.002-05:00

i pulled out my cookbook tonight. jack wanted to go and get a book too. he came back to me with the binder from our home inspection. he started to pretend to read the text and count. he quickly grabbed the #10 envelope from the back and was referencing the clock and the number 5. he then would walk to the wall where we track his height and say five and some other gibberish...i think we have a genius on our hands.

lately jack has been creating new sentences everyday. he knows his colors, can count to ten and like to be really loud. he is always asking me to "watch" or "look". he amazes me and i am so lucky to be a mom to the best son ever,

cheers to a week vacation with my baby jack!

Chihuahua!

2009-08-02T21:48:00.003-05:00

Nicole and I have somewhat quietly amassed a collection of lounge music. One of my more recent acquisitions was a mambo themed record which has a nice spread of cha-cha's and Latinized versions of songs like Peter Gunn.

Little did I know how much the boy would like it. It's pretty much is favorite music right now.

TrainFest

2009-07-30T21:40:00.002-05:00

A few snaps from our trip out to Owosso

Chooo-chooo

$3 corn

2009-07-20T20:58:00.002-05:00

ok, i know i spoil jack cause i bought a $3 ear of corn at greenfield village on saturday. but really, how much does cotton candy cost? jack has been known to eat corn when he had only 4 teeth. the only thing that stops jack is the occasional need to floss. yes, jack demands floss!

Meijer Gardens

2009-07-13T20:49:00.004-05:00

jack enjoyed his trip to grand rapids to see lots of outdoor sculpture and a very nice garden including a children's garden with an alice in wonderland theme. we first came here last spring when jack was 10 months old. at that time, we only visited the butterfly house and indoor atriums. this year he really enjoyed the freedom of running EVERYWHERE!

summer has begun

2009-06-07T19:12:00.000-05:00

jack loved the pool today. he thought it was pretty fun to slip and fall. this picture captures the moment well!

terrible twos aren't so terrible

2009-06-01T21:16:00.002-05:00

sometimes in the moment, the tantrums can make me sad, but i dig deep for patience and enjoy every moment of jack. each moment that passes will only remain a memory. jack can say sentences now and can understand so much more than 2 months ago. he is trying out what he can get away with and i am learning to let out more rope.

2nd birthday cake

2009-05-21T19:52:00.001-05:00

Bubble Boy

2009-05-04T21:11:00.001-05:00

spring time

2009-04-13T20:35:00.002-05:00

jack tries to say every word we ask of him and he is actually pretty good at it. i can't believe how quickly he's picked up words in the last month. he is keeping busy with great interest in trains, airplanes, bubbles and puppets.

Festifools

2009-04-12T09:43:00.000-05:00

The Pink Panic storms Ann Arbor

jack loves abby

2009-04-03T07:35:00.002-05:00

jack often wakes up with abby on his mind.

Corktown Races Sing This Song

2009-03-15T21:32:00.003-05:00

Jack got carded.

Lunch at Le Petit Zinc!

Piiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeee!

Fun Generator

2009-03-08T22:45:00.005-05:00

Lots of generators!

The boy has manufacturing in blood.

cranbrook art museum

2009-03-01T19:54:00.000-05:00

we saw some superheros today!

Master of Pancakes

2009-01-25T21:24:00.004-05:00

Saturday the family went down to the open house breakfast for Festifools, a local street puppet festival that will be in its third year this coming April. Last year we had such a blast we decided that building a giant wacky puppet was right up our family's wacky alley, so this kicked it off.

I have no good reason why we don't have a stage like this in the corner of our family room. I apologize. He totally loved closing the curtain.

Painting like a baby Van Gogh, with crazed, manic purpose.

The pancakes were enormous!

snow, lots of snow

2009-01-19T21:10:00.002-05:00

he likes to move the snow around and mash his boots into it.

Cranbrook Exploratations.

2009-01-11T22:48:00.002-05:00

Inside the turtle shell, things are awesome.

I think he wanted to climb that skull.

one day

2009-01-11T20:24:00.000-05:00

i realized today, that one day jack will be as big as patrick!

vacation is over

2009-01-04T21:08:00.003-05:00

the last 2 weeks i have been off work and taking care of jack. most of the time has been great ( a few difficult times). it's not clear to me if jack changed a lot during this time or if i just got to observe a lot. (it's been the most consecutive time with him since my maternity leave.) these last 2 weeks he pretty much tries to mimic everything. one night he was playing with my garlic press as if he was james bond wielding a pistol. at first i was alarmed that he was using it like a weapon but patrick reminded me that boys with do that with everything and there is no secret desire to do harm. he also learned the word 'no' a lot. our neighborhood had a progressive dinner party and jack was the only child there. he did an amazing job for a 19-month old. he is quiet the charmer!

we all have been playing a lot with his new train set. jack can play with that for almost 45 minutes at a time. when he's not doing that, he's calling for abby. "abby, abby, abby"

Merry PunkMas

2008-12-21T12:28:00.001-05:00

19 months

2008-12-15T12:10:00.002-05:00

jack has a great personality. he likes to be silly and gives lots of hugs. we wrestle and tumble and when he does get hurt, he likes scold the floor for hurting him. it is just the cutest thing ever and helps relieve his cries.

favorite foods are milk, broccoli, butter and salt.

xmas 08

2008-11-29T19:18:00.002-05:00

i thought jack was feeling better this morning, but this picture would say otherwise. gracie did a great job, while jack just wanted me to hold him tight. sorry sunshine!

High-larious

2008-11-19T22:58:00.001-05:00

G-Mom's birthday was funny.

museum

2008-11-09T11:47:00.000-05:00

halloween 08

2008-11-01T18:43:00.001-05:00

jack loves all the scary decorations. he enjoyed putting candy in kids bags. lat night the grandparent ratio was 4:1. jack excels in this kind of enviroment.

little helper

2008-10-26T20:30:00.001-05:00

i can't believe it. jack's been throwing his diapers in the trash for a few weeks now. but tonight he went to his diaper bag and brought me the pad and wipes. he laid that down and went back to the bag. in his hand was a diaper! when i asked him to lay down, he did! his diaper was actually wet. my little boy is so smart. he amazes me everyday.

more fall fun

2008-10-18T19:38:00.002-05:00

jack went for a hike today at the arboretum in ann arbor. it was a lot of fun with cousin gracie, auntie and patrick and i. jack really liked the leaves, dirt and water. gracie and jack played with the milk weed!

Jack Steamboat

2008-10-12T21:23:00.003-05:00

Jack's getting ready for Halloween. HE BETTER. Halloween is essentially a high holy holiday around our house, replete with all sorts of ephemera that speaks to the darkness inside the mind. Jack has taken a quick shining to our Jack-o-lanterns, macabre busts with glowing eyes and our moaning mummy. Too bad he seems to hate his costume, I have a feeling he'll have it on for all of 19 seconds.

I'd say he found the perfect pumpkin, but that would suggest we only get one...

Pigs is fun.

So are snapping turtles.

Almost ready for Halloween.

Contemplation with Mom.

officially walking

2008-09-24T19:50:00.001-05:00

jack's attitude changed this weekend. he now has the confidence to walk on his own and run. he likes to hide around the corner and laugh when i find him. he is the best!!

cider mill in the summer

2008-09-22T13:38:00.002-05:00

we managed to get a visit in to the plymouth orchards before fall officially began. this leaves ample time to visit often during the coming months. the weather was great and gracie and jack enjoyed the wagon ride, sans hay! jack enjoyed the cinnamon donut very much too.

greenfield village

2008-09-02T20:16:00.003-05:00

yesterday on a really hot labor day, we took jack for his first visit to greenfield village. we has a great time learning and relearning. we rode the steam engine train, watched many model t cars drive around and enjoyed a little lemonade. jack even slept (and snored) an hour in the backpack. patrick says he's going to hate this picture as a child.

day at the pool

2008-08-22T14:43:00.000-05:00

jack loves the water and the camera!

hugs

2008-08-20T19:51:00.002-05:00

tonight jack stood up on his own and walked toward me and gave me the sweetest little hug. it was a nice way to end the day. after i laid him in the crib, he waved to patrick and i.

jack took his first steps 2 weeks ago. now he is up to about 8 steps. he prefers me to hold his hand and run from place to place.

jack went to the doctor today. he is pretty much perfect! he is 20 pounds 15 ounces and 31" tall. he is long and lean! this visit was the worst for shots. he got just 2 ( there was a month that he got 4) but he was very aware of what was happening this time. the recovery time was short. he accepted some graham crackers from me to help forget what happened.

ear of corn

2008-07-30T21:49:00.002-05:00

jack eats a lot of what we eat now, along with baby food. he loves butter and eating the whole cob! he is working on his 5th tooth and is such a great son. we do many laps around the house each evening while he holds my hands and literally runs. jack has a lot of confidence and takes giant steps up the stairs or giant leaps off the beds.

2008-07-09T22:03:00.001-05:00

On the 4th we descended into ~~Hell~~ Toledo to enjoy the relaxed yet always enriched Toledo Zoo with Jack and his cousin.

Jack's favorite activity is to be lead around in brachiating style. This week he's attempted a couple one-handed variations. I think we're gonna have a walker on our hands in the next few weeks.

Animals caught feeding:

Pacific Octopus
Sloth Bear
African Elephant

I think we'll be lucky if I get another summer of carrying him backpack-wise, which is a lot of fun. On the downside, he's quickly becoming heavier than just about anything I'd put on my back, including my backcountry pack, and a six hour day of hustling him around really works the upper back. On the upside, it's a lot of fun, he has a place to sleep and I satiate a deep tribal psychological need that I'm battle ready.

Animals caught doing it:

Seahorses
Giraffes (the guy really gave it the college try)

We really strive to give our (only) niece this kind of experience. She's just getting to the point at 3 where she can at least take some direction, and I've already excited her about dinosaurs and robots, so there's plenty of tinder there for us to light a spark in the arts and sciences when she matriculates to 4 and up. I'm not sure she'll remember me explaining to her how bromeliads are great epiphytes, but I've learned in my short year of parenting that persistence is a virtue.

Best in show:

Japanese Giant Salamander (For being a bigass amphibian)
Orangutan (Disturbing show of strength in the pullup competition)
Cheetah (for showing predator instinct towards dangling toddler)
Giraffes (hats off and pants off)

he's walking_almost

2008-07-09T21:37:00.001-05:00

jack is keeping us busy. i am glad we've been jogging, cause jack is moving quicker and quicker!

baby jack 1 year

2008-06-19T08:42:00.001-05:00

what can i say, he's a natural!

Apparently, my work is done.

2008-05-21T20:53:00.004-05:00

Take a gander here at this review of some recently published research on parenting. The short shrift is basically that moms can sorta nudge kids to become upstanding citizens, but generally only with their daughters, while dads can pretty much put it on autopilot, they ain't doing nothing.

Of course, that's probably brushing it a bit too broadly, my parenting styles are probably more closely shaped to this style. That is to say, I only have two goals for Jack: To become a successful adult in our society, and I hope we all have a lot of fun getting there. I tend to feel I got each of those ideas from one parent. I'll let you guess which.

I figure Nicole and I already did the heavy lifting to much of Jack's success through our shared values, and our pooled wealth and education ought to chip in to that happiness quotient quite nicely. After that, it's really not up to us, which is fine by me.

jack's cake

2008-05-21T20:46:00.003-05:00

many months went into dreaming about the perfect cake for my little boy. 3 days to make the cake and 3 pounds of butter, many cups of cocoa and a giant bowl to mix the batter. i surprised myself, how close to my sketch it turned out to be.

one year later

2008-05-15T05:16:00.002-05:00

a baby's first birthday is a great celebration for everyone. i take pride in that patrick and i haven't screwed up too much this past year. jack is a thriving, happy little boy with lots of curiosity and creativity. for his first birthday, we celebrated with his first cupcake. it was very cute to see jack at daycare around all his friends (who like to give lots of kisses). he certainly has made a little world for himself there. i am so proud. at first jack just looked at the cupcake. second, a finger slightly touched the frosting. soon, his whole hand grabbed it and ate it. he ate quicker than some of the others. we then went to dinner and jack ate some guacamole.

as i think about the last year, it's all so fantastic. being jack's mom is the best thing. yeah, i've learned a lot about babies, but i've also learned a lot about myself and life itself.

jack has this way about him that just makes me melt. he is a gentle boy who is happy and eager to learn and love. thank you, jack, for the best year of my life.

first hair cut

2008-04-24T22:16:00.004-05:00

jack did amazingly well! and so did mom:)

on the move

2008-04-16T07:03:00.002-05:00

jack is crawling all over the house. it amazes me that when he finds things on the floor like dog hair, he likes to hand it to me. last night, jack was able to pull himself up to the end table. i am so proud of him. he also recently began to play independently. he has a series of little cars that he moves around the ground and makes car noises that patrick taught him.

jack loves his jog stroller. i haven't yet jogged with it, but it is a nice stroller for walking too, this weekend i am going to try to jog a mile with him.

JackPack in Grand Rapids

2008-03-29T13:59:00.005-05:00

We took a vacation day to head out to Grand Rapids for some exotic food, local famous architecture and thousands of BUTTERFLIES.

We had lunch at the San Chez Bistro, a tapas restaurant with a ridiculously exotic menu. I haven't seen baby garlic squid for sale since a rather unpleasant experience at a local Chinese place. Jack got his first taste of plantains, maduros, minty cucumber and corn salsa.

Next we ventured into one of Grand Rapids' more venerable neighborhoods to see the local Frank Lloyd Wright creation, the Meyer May House. Unfortunately, they only offer tours three days a week, so it was a short trip, and not worth extracting Jack from the car to stand on the sidewalk. It's on our list for a return trip.

Finally, we spent a wonderful time at the Meijer Sculpture Gardens, who are currently boasting the world's largest traveling butterfly collection in their big atrium. There were thousands of insects in what made for a pretty amazing experience. Meijer Gardens is a stark contrast to your local branch, this place was full of people working, nay, volunteering, that seemed happy to be there! We also got to enjoy their esoteric Carnivorous Plant Room, their cacti collection and a nice collection of modern African tribal art. We ventured out into the giant sculpture park a bit, but there was plenty left to warrant a second visit.

Jack had a really great day. Visit Nicole's Flickr for more images!

10 months

2008-03-13T21:18:00.003-05:00

i guess you can say we've been pretty busy. my last post was in february! jack had his first ear infection at the same time he was cutting his second tooth. these days, we are keeping a close eye on our little guy. he can make his way across the room just by doing the "worm"–rosey doesn't seem too worried. (so far, jack has been very gentle.)

jack has been enjoying a variety of foods. some of his favorites are sliced mango, hummus & baby veggie pasta. he is really starting to show his independence with eating. last weekend we went out to breakfast with grammy and pa and jack enjoyed his first pancake. his coordination is amazing. this age is very fun. seeing jack experience new things is a blast. jack is about 19 pounds now and almost 29".

jack has the most infectious laugh. that sound is the most magical sound. the only thing that makes it better is when gracie laughs with jack!

best buddies

2008-02-13T17:57:00.000-05:00

Primordial Education

2008-02-03T09:03:00.000-05:00

Jack had his first visit to U-M's Exhibit Museum of Natural History, the first of many, many, many visits as I expose him to the great fossils of ancient megafauna, the rich diversity of Michigan wildlife, the dynamic histories of the many peoples who have lived in our state and of course, the origins of life and evolution.

The museum has always had an excellent collection of display cabinets and uses as many actual fossils as possible. Additionally, this museum has opted not to cut down on the informational content in their displays as many museums have done in recent years to streamline displays and theoretically boost attendance, that is, to make a musuem less museum and more amusement park, but I digress.

I fully envision Jack's 5th birthday celebration to be in this institution, complete with an excursion into the research lab. Everyone remember to bring their lab coats.

We have a little brain to shape, afterall.