Mama's Boy

Dear Jack,

I am 34 years old today. Thinking about my birthday had me looking at some of my old pictures.

You are SO my son, sweet boy!

Love,
Mom

Swim Lessons

Dear Jack,

I signed you up for swim lessons this summer and technically, you were kicked out.

That's right, in our first lesson with our private swim instructor, Angie, you blew bubbles, passed from one adult to another underwater, jumped from the side of the pool and went under, monkey crawled on the wall, and floated. After Angie saw all of that, she said you knew all of the things two year olds can reasonable be "taught" and we could have our money back. All you needed, she said, was time to practice all of those skills and time to become coordinated enough to put it all together.

We decided to keep you in "lessons" anyway because it was nice to have another adult to practice with. Also, I realized after your sister jumped in the water for the very first time after seeing Angie playing with you jumping in, that your sister really liked Angie and when your sister really likes an adult, she likes that adult to pay attention to her and having Angie playing with you meant your sister would seek out her attention -- by doing braver and bolder things in the water. So really, your lessons were a big help to your sister.

You really are amazing in the water. You can truly swim underwater at this point. The only limitation you have is that you have not learned to come up for air on your own. Although at the Splash Pool yesterday, I had you swimming from me to the steps and knowing you could stand up at the steps, I let you go a little longer underwater than I normally would, and you flipped yourself over to get that breath, so maybe you will be learning that step very soon.

You like to swim from one person to the other and don't even mind swimming to your sister who thinks it's really neat to catch you.

One of the things I love about Angie is that she is oh so careful with her words. She agrees with your sister than you and she are both swimming very well. But one day, when your sister was out of earshot, Angie confided to me that she had never, ever seen a toddler swim as well as you do and that she has been bragging about you to her friends.

Makes a mama proud, my little Jackfish!

Love,
Mom

Fun Friday: Lego Day

Dear Jack,

Some days I am amazed by your little attention span and your little hands. We had Lego Day today and not only did you participate, but aside from some frustration at little Lego visors that would not go on as you wanted them to, you played as well as your older friends and longer than any of the others in the under six crowd.

We did have Andrew and Ava as we did last Friday, but this Friday I included Sam, my former student, and his three brothers. Obviously they were not strangers to Lego building and dove right in.

You, your sister, Andrew and Sam's brother Charles all took a break for lunch (this was after you had played for a good hour and half with the Legos already).

Then you went right back to the table to play Legos some more.

The whole process was made easier by Sam and his older brothers, Shelby and Nicholas. Nicholas in particular, was patient with you as you tried to play with him, and helped to clean up the Legos the exact way I wanted, which was very nice.

After the Lego play, Nicholas then amazed you by getting our piano to play more melody than you had ever heard from it before... your father and I being limited to a single note at a time, with only the occasional chord for added depth of sound.

It was a really fun day, and I have to acknowledge that a lot of just-turned two year old boys would not have been able to sit as long as you did, put little Legos together as well as you did, or keep from completely wrecking other people's designs like you were able to. I am proud of you, sweet boy. Not that this is anything new, I just thought I would mention it in particular today.

Love,
Mom

Museum Thursday: The Austin Museum of Art

Dear Jack,

What is art?

Is it a well designed Herman Miller chair?

Or a chaise lounge designed by Jack Nolen?

Is it a building of cards?

Is an Eric Carle board book "art"?

Or a scribbled drawing on a fold-able paper chair?

I don't really know much about art. I like to look at the things other people think are art. I like to take pictures of things I think are art. I am learning to paint, like a real artist.

But nothing I ever see or draw or capture on film or create will ever be more of a work of art to me than you and your sister.

Love,
Mom

Peter's Pool

Dear Jack,

Today we went to the pool by Mrs. Hazen's house. You are quite the water baby these days, jumping in and going under, being passed under water from one parent to another, blowing bubbles and starting to float on your own. We regularly go to the Splash Pool (at the rec center) and the Tennis Center Pool (for swim lessons), but today we went to Peter's Pool. (You are very intent on precision these days, so you had to know once you were in your swimsuit which pool we would be going to. "Peter pool?" you asked, uncertain, as you hadn't been to this one yet this summer.)

But of course the pool was a hit for you. Beyond the pool, though, what you thought was very nice was that Mrs. Hazen, like Mrs. Robinson who discovered your love of pretzels one summer afternoon, believes in bringing snack to the pool.

You and Peter just sat and chilled out with your snack baggies. You would think, seeing how much you love it when these other mamas bring food, I would do that for you more often.

I guess we'll see. You can hope anyway.

Love,
Mom

Fourth of July

Dear Jack,

What a wonderful Fourth of July we had today!

We shared it with our family friends... our friends who are becoming family as we spend our holidays with them when our family is too far away... the Robinsons and the Fords. If only the Hazens had been able to join us, it would have been perfect.

We started the day at San Gabriel Park with the annual celebration there.

They always have rides and booths with food and crafts to buy. They also have a petting zoo, which you thought was absolutely amazing.

I was a little surprised that having the goats and sheep running up to you to get the food wasn't overwhelming in any way. I was even more surprised when you managed to catch and hold a bunny (or three).

The best/silliest part of the celebration in the park is the parade, though. I somehow always forget that the Fourth of July "parade" is really just a bunch of kids riding their bikes, driving their Powerwheels, being pulled in wagons, or even pushed in strollers, all decorated for the Fourth of July. Your sister asked me how they got to do that. Apparently your sister wasn't the only one with "parade envy" though...

We ran into one of my friends and her daughter, who is a month younger than you and was herself upset at not being in the parade. So you and she waved your flags around and we cheered as though you were in the parade. So there.

From the parade (and the coda to the parade) we went off in search of cool treats and "carny food" as your dad calls it. You and your sister got so comfy sitting in the middle of the walkway drinking your milkshake that another random boy came and sat by you. He figured it must be some sort of official rest stop, I guess.

From there, we walked around and looked at all of the booths that you and your sister could stand before the heat got to us and we headed home. At home, you were fast asleep, worn out from all the heat and hard playing. Sweet boy.

During your nap, your dad made the cookie cake we were supposed to bring over to the Robinson's. Every other time your dad has made a cookie cake, there has always been someone else (mostly your Grandma, but once it was Mrs. Hazen and another time it was Mrs. Hazen's step-mom, Diana) to decorate the cake. This time, it was all me. Happily, it was a low-pressure occasion and Mrs. Robinson is known for her hand waving dismissal of formality and I knew anything I could pull off would be just fine. So I started my very first attempt at cake decorating.

I have to say that I was well pleased with the result. Watching your grandmother decorate cakes for you and your sister really did pay off.

Then we were over to the Robinson's for grilling and outdoor fun.

Some of the Robinson's other friends were there with their two super sweet boys, Corbin and Devin and they and you and your sister and Andrew played together very well.

Around seven, we headed over to the park that we always go to, and there we were joined by the Fords. They brought not only Lincoln and Gracie, but Mrs. Ford's parents as well.

You were taken with Lincoln as usual. Hugs and kisses all around.

We were now all assembled. Obviously that meant another group picture was necessary. I have to say, I am extremely proud of this one, as not only are five children still and mostly looking at the camera, two dogs are as well.

Since Mr. Robinson was in charge of grilling and Mrs. Robinson was in charge of stocking the cooler with drinks for everyone, and your dad was in charge of the cookie cake, I was in charge of the entertainment. I brought bubbles, glow sticks and cheap water bottles. You guys had a blast!

This was a particularly good thing since we usually try to get to the park between seven and seven thirty and the fireworks don't start until nine thirty. That's a long time for a little boy.

Unfortunately, once the fireworks started, you were very much ready to go home. I'm not sure if the noise bothered you, the darkness scared you, if you were just tired, or if there was an element of disappointment. All day long as I said "fireworks," you kept repeating back to me "fire trucks" and I could not get you to understand that we would not (hopefully) be seeing a parade of firetrucks and I'm afraid that's what you had been looking forward to.

But the fireworks were very nice and there were no firetrucks needed, thankfully. Truly, it was a near-perfect Fourth of July... celebrating the birth of our nation with our little family and the family friends we hold so dear. I mean, yes, there were moments when we were all hot and tired and grumpy. There was a long wait for the fireworks to start. It was a trying day for a little boy. But it was also a lot of fun and worth the tiredness and the heat and the waiting. It was Independence Day and while I can think of some things I might say are sweeter and dearer to me than my independence, none of them could be enjoyed the same without it. And for that reason, most of all, I love this day.

Happy Fourth of July!

Love,
Mom

Fun Friday: Water Day

Dear Jack,

I love having your friends over to play. I enjoy planning the activities and getting to see what things are a hit and what are a miss. Today was our first Fun Friday and it was Water Day. We invited the Hazens, Andrew and Ava over to join us.

Everyone but Andrew liked the popsicles.

The water balloons were a big hit, especially with Peter who took one home for some reason known only to himself. (Particularly since it was 90% deflated and empty of water, but still held a bit of water and charm, apparently.)

The watermelon was a tasty treat for the three and up crowd, but you and Danielle gave it a pass.

The various water stations around the backyard were a hit for almost everyone... Danielle preferred sticking close to her mom and rearranging backyard furniture.

For the other kids, though, the pools and the water tables were great fun. Peter stuck mostly to the water table. Ava liked the pools, but they both liked the fishing game.

Andrew and your sister were thick as thieves and stuck by each other, moving quickly from one activity to another.

As for you, the best part of water day was, of course, the mud. For once I let the sand and water table be a sand AND water table. Yay!

The silliest moment of the day, though, was sitting out in the pool, under the umbrella, drinking pink lemonade, watching Finding Nemo.

I love having the summers off with you and your sister!

Love,
Mom