What did one pancake say to the other?

Dear Jack,

Your language is really taking off these days. You speak regularly in four, five and even six word sentences... "I like my pink bear."
"I want pop tart right now!"
"I love my daddy so much."
"Where is my race car?"

At the same time, you are starting in on some great imaginative play. This morning, I was watching you with two little pancakes. One pancake said to the other, "You's too wittle." Then the first pancake replied, "No, I'm big now!"

Funnily enough, this is the exact same conversation that two toy grasshoppers had in my classroom the other day.

I wonder what's on your mind these days?

I love that you now have the language skills to let me know.

Love,
Mom

Your Fords

Dear Jack,

We went over to your Fords house last night. As soon as you walked in, you started looking around for something. It took me a good five minutes to realize Lincoln, your favorite of their dogs, was hiding and you wanted to see him. We found him together. "Lick-on!" you yelled as you ran up to him. He promptly stood, mostly to avoid being stepped on, and allowed you to pet him and then followed you out to the main part of the house (once Mrs. Ford directed him to do so).

From there, you went to the fish. You tried to pull open the drawer with the food, but Mrs. Ford explained that you would have to wait for Mr. Ford to get home.

When Mr. Ford did get home, you ran up to him as well and soon the two of you were off to feed fish together.

At dinner, when I told you that you couldn't have another drink to carry around (having spilled the last one), you actually went over to Mrs. Ford and asked her to overrule me. It's a common enough child tactic, and one I think you have done with me to your dad. But you have never asked someone other than a parent to get you something after you were told "no."

But the Fords are very special to you. You still call them both "my Fords" and are so excited when you see them.

The only thing is this: sometime in the next five or six weeks, a new little Ford is coming into the world.

Prepare yourself, sweet boy. Your dog, your fish, and your Fords are going to have another little one to love and care for.

But I promise, they will all still love you. Well, maybe not Lincoln; but since he's only recently transitioned from "terrified" to "cautious" around you and is many years away from puppy love, I think he will still allow you to build on that relationship. And fish are fish. But Mr. and Mrs. Ford will still love you. And when we do get to meet their baby, I hope you are every bit as sweet to her as they have been to you.

Love,
Mom

Jack and Grandma

Dear Jack,

Your Grandma came for a little visit Monday. You seemed to recognize her right away and while it took us a few repetitions to understand "Kay-maw" as your best pronunciation of "Grandma," you were calling her by name right away.

Grandma brought you a Mater (from Cars) and a new airplane. You flew that plane (and your other plane and the space shuttle) all around your Grandma.

She even let you play Trouble (since you weren't allowed to play with your sister and Aunt Jennie Sue and me the night before when we were trying to follow "rules" and not just do the fun thing of popping the dice bubble over and over again).

You and your sister and your Grandma played with the play dough at the table. You kept asking for snakes and worms and your Grandma turned herself into a worm/snake assembly line worker just for you. I don't know how many little lines of play dough she churned out for you and your sister. (Which now seems to call for some joke on the life of a play dough factory worker, but I am dry right now.)

Lastly, before she left, your Grandma read one of your Richard Scarry books with you.

I am so glad you had such a wonderful day with your Grandma.

Love,
Mom

In Mama's Classroom

Dear Jack,

You are finally big enough to think that coming to my classroom to play is a treat. I love it!

Aside from anything else, my room is more fun with you in it.

Love,
Mom

Just a Normal Evening

Dear Jack,

Back when you were a toddler, there were evenings when we would sit on the couch and I would blow bubbles with my bubble gum and you would pop them and we called that "entertainment."

I just thought you would want to remember that for some reason.

Love,
Mom

Baby Shower for the Fords

Dear Jack,

These, of course, are the Fords. You have taken to calling Jenny "my Ford" and understand that together "my Ford" and her husband make "Fords" as in, "Fords here now!" you said when you saw them in our driveway last night.

I am not sure you understand quite how literally your Ford and her husband are making "Fords" these days, but I imagine it will become clear hopefully sometime in September.

This past weekend, while you played with our new (and wonderful) sitter, Sara, your dad and I hosted a baby shower (well, two showers, really) for the Fords.

I was in charge of the ladies' shower, which was mostly traditional and very Seussical. I enjoyed planning with the Seuss theme a lot.

I also enjoyed using the glassware your Gram had passed along. I love your Gram and her need to get rid of random things. I also love that Mrs. Ford, who shares a lot of philosophies with your Gram, particularly about finding uses for things rather than letting them go to landfills and just a touch of old fashioned sensibility that appreciates vintage things, got to be the first to use the set. I thought it was funnier when I did some research and found that the trays I thought were so charming were snack-sip-smoke trays... as in, they have a place for your snacks, your drink, and your cigarette. That would not be something your Gram or Mrs. Ford would ever use these for.

I enjoyed making a baby blanket for Mrs. Ford and am trying, mostly unsuccessfully, to get over the fact that it is not a perfect square. I console myself with the fact that once a cute little Ford baby is wrapped up in it, not even I will notice the imperfections in the sewing.

And what were your dad and Mr. Ford doing while all of this was happening?

They were skeet shooting with the other guys. Of course.

It was what they did for Mr. Ford's bachelor party, too, coincidentally.

When you are much, much, much older, you can go with the guys to shoot skeet. But I promise you that you will have to wait your turn with the shotgun because your daddy and Mr. Ford will be taking their daughters with you and it's still ladies first, even on the range.

Love,
Mom

The Last Day of Summer

Dear Jack,

Every year, I think The Last Day of Summer celebration gets a little bigger. More folks seem to be joining us and as you and your sister get older, you can go longer and do more. Pretty soon, the limiting factor won't be you; it will be me!

This year, we took nine kids... all five and younger, and most of them two like yourself... and seven adults. Not a bad ratio, really, but still enough of a group that all of the teachers were acting like we were on a field trip and counting heads at every transition. We had our family, Mrs. Hazen, Peter and Danielle and two little boys that Mrs. Hazen was baby sitting. Mrs. Shelby brought her son. Mrs. Robinson took off work especially for the last day and brought Andrew, of course. My friend Elissa came with her son, Ben, and then Mrs. Edwards also joined us.

We all met up at the Austin Science and Nature Center when they opened at nine in the morning. You and your sister and Andrew were the first ones to arrive and your dad took you right to the Dino Pit before it got too hot.

From there, it was on to the stream! My friend Elissa and her son, Ben, were late and missed out on playing in the stream. She did not seem too unhappy about that....

By the time everyone was in dry clothes and had looked at the animals, it was time for lunch and we packed up and headed to the Umlauf. After assuring the docents that we would not be spreading crumbs (or trash) in the gardens, we had a little picnic on their patio.

Then it was on to the actual garden to see the statues. I appreciated Carol Edwards taking pictures again.

Your dad also thought it was funny to get a "behind the scenes" picture of Carol shooting pictures and the mamas trying to get nine young children in the frame.

We also got your dad to use Carol Edwards' SLR to take a group picture that actually included Carol (the photographer never gets to be in the pictures, as I well know). I wish I had arranged for him to take pictures with one much sooner... the day after The Last Day of Summer, your dad had figured out how to buy one used from a friend for about half price.

From the Umlauf, our youngest friends and Carol bowed out and went home for naps and errand running (respectively). The rest of us went over to the Children's Museum.

You had a great time playing with the main exhibit with all of its brightly colored golf balls. "Two balls, two balls!" I heard you shooting excitedly, and I looked over and there you were, with four balls... two balls and two balls. Smart boy.

Other than the main exhibit, you spent most of your time serving and eating food with Ben. Elissa and I tried not to be too grossed out as the two of you could not help but try the play food. It looks so real!

Just before the inevitable meltdown, we left the Children's Museum to put kids in the car for car naps. We all drove around until the naps were out and then met back up at Kiddie Acres.

I love how these group shots get smaller and smaller as the day progresses... a sign of our dwindling numbers in the face of such exhausting fun!

For one of the first times, you really enjoyed the rides, although you still gave me a little pouty face as the ride went away from where I was standing and then grinned at me as it came back. I think you may have been playing your mama, there.

Your favorite part of Kiddie Acres, though, was the ice cream treat. Yummy!

From Kiddie Acres, we met back up with Mrs. Hazen and her kids at her pool.

You and your dad enjoyed playing in the water. Everyone else enjoyed when I made your dad stop spraying everyone in the face with the water cannon.

I actually brought pajamas to the pool; Mrs. Hazen provided the baby body wash and we washed you and dressed you for bed at the pool.

Mrs. Shelby provided the Rice Krispy's.

We drove you and your sister home, put each of you in a different bed in front of a different movie and then I went off to participate in the newest Last Day of Summer tradition: the Last Day of Summer Happy Hour.

As a special bonus, my friend Jerri was even able to join us for that portion.

It was a long, long, long, long, long, long, long day.

But it was so very worth it and it captured perfectly the spirit of this summer.

I cannot believe our summer is over. I mean, I know I have two weeks after this one, in which I am in workshops all five days, but I do have to get my room ready and do my back to school shopping. And there is something nice about having a day or two to myself to recharge my batteries before the new school year. So while my summer still has some time left in it, your summer really is over. You were back at day care today. All summer long, you cried when I left you, but somehow today you understood the routine was on (maybe because I got you there on time for once) and let me go with a kiss and a wave.

The summer is over.

I'm going to miss it, but I cannot for a minute say we didn't make the most of it!

Love,
Mom