things jack says

most of this lingo is used so often at our house that it's become part of our everyday language. i love getting to be the one who knows what it all means:

• pichu = a gun of some kind 

• queen of statues = the statue of liberty 

• pass it over = repeat [e.g. a song or story] 

• the pink lady = mariah carey [because she wore a big, pink dress in the macy's thanksgiving day parade] 

• buh-jammies = pajamas 

• the a-bobble head = the abominable snowman 

• map = game instructions, puzzle box, etc. 

• ticket = paper money 

• lip chap = chapstick 

• sh*t-tle bug = skittles [this one was both surprising and hilarious] 

• tracker = his stuffed horse 

• coolock = his baby doll 

• key = his toy snake [which mom is NOT a fan of] 

and these are some of his best quotes, most of which we hear pretty frequently:

• "happy sunday morning, happy sunday morning, happy sunday morning, get up and go to church!" [the song he sings every sunday morning] 

• "poop, poop, i went poop!" [the alert that lets us know he went poop] 

• "let me do something 'bery' quick" 

• "i just need tell you one thing. the thing i need to tell you is..." 

• "look, there's beautiful mom!" [pretty sure dad influenced this one, but i love it] 

• "okay my queen" [not sure where this came from, but it makes us giggle] 

• "an idea popped into my head" 

• "i got an idea...let's do a family hug!" 

• "mom, i think i really love you!" 

• "not today spikey balls! i have shoes on." 

• "...that's my plan. is that a good plan mom?" 

• "first i have to get everything situated." [like mother, like son] 

• "dad i like your shirt. you look handsome. you look like a handsome zookeeper." 

Read more

jack is four

these are ten of the things we love about you:  

1. you are polite and grateful, often without prompting 

2. the way you "whistle" when you want our attention

3. you love racing to give the first hugs when we're leaving dyer dinner

4. how you cover your mouth and scrunch your shoulders when you laugh 

5. you don't stay mad and are quick to forgive 

6. when you make heartwarming comments out of the blue, like "mom, i just love being with you!"

7. how you crawl into our bed to snuggle every morning

8. you catch surprise us by using "smart" vocabulary words in the right context 

9. your choreography to 'here come the grannies'

10. the way you play and giggle with archie

Read more

anniversary number ten

as our friend michelle was taking photos on our wedding day, she spotted a claw machine in the corner of the lodge and handed donald some quarters. these games are not exactly known for their high success rates, so i was shocked when he took one turn and pulled out a stuffed pink heart with the words "i love you" embroidered across. we snapped a quick photo with our prize and went on with the day, but it gave me the idea to start a little tradition of taking a photo with the heart every year. 

we've also been trying to make it back to pere marquette every five years, but since one of our little tagalongs was just two months old an overnight stay felt a bit daunting. so we decided to just make a day of it. we listened to our wedding playlists on the drive, took a chilly ferry ride, played some chess, and of course enjoyed the lodge's famous fried chicken [and scored some free desserts!]

Read more