two classics...

there have been two classic jack moments over the last few days that i feel need to be documented, if not for anything other than preserving the memory for him to read about when he's older!

story #1:

we're in church on christmas, and politely decided to stay in the "cry" area since jack tends to get a bit fidgety. mike was walking him around a bit and they happened upon a statue of jesus on the cross. well jack proceeds to tell mike how jesus "looks stinky, he stinks...he's dirty and stinky." um, right, i'm pretty sure that is not what was going through jesus' mind while he was dying on the cross, but only a two year-old could come up with that!

story #2:

mike took jack to the park this afternoon so i could attempt to nap. he wore his rain boots because we got a ridiculous amount of rain yesterday--the boots don't really stay on his feet all that well. anyways, mike and jack are playing with his ball...mike misses a b-ball shot (ahem, big surprise;) and jack says to him "let me do it." he throws the ball, misses, and then face plants...tears ensue and jack pleads to go home so "mommy can kiss it." well, on their way home while mike is carrying both jack and the ball, jack's boot falls off not once, but twice...when it happens the second time, mike let's out the following: "f'ing boots!" jack immediately looks at mike and says "f'ing boots!" quickly mike tries to alleviate the situation by letting jack know he's not supposed to say that word, and jack looks at him and goes "you're not supposed to say f'ing boots!" mike then says yes, please don't say that and especially not in front of mommy (ha)! so what do you think jack does as soon as they come home...he runs up to me and says "i got a boo-boo because i fell at the park and you're not supposed to say f'ing boots!" i about fell over and mike could barely contain himself. mike was promptly given a time-out and jack now goes around saying "we're not supposed to say bad words!!!"

merry christmas!

this was the first time that we didn't head upstate for the holidays. since it was just the three of us on christmas eve, we headed into the city to see the tree to get us into the holiday spirit! it was about as ridiculously crazy as you would expect it to be, but nevertheless we survived...

jack had the best seat in the house;)

reading our stories by the tree before bed

opening presents!

mike got the best "cheese" face of the day!

snow!

we finally got our first snow of the season! while it wasn't nearly as much as anticipated, it was definitely enough to go out and play. mike bundled jack up and headed to the park yesterday afternoon. surprisingly, he didn't mind all the gear. however, he did not like getting snow on his mittens, which could be problematic since it is a bit hard to avoid!?

here's a funny sequence of a fall and his realization that he does not like snow on his mittens...

uh, oh...there's snow on my hands

aww, man!?

well since my hands are already covered in snow i may as well use them to help me get up!

ugh, now what?

visiting santa claus

we decided to take jack to visit santa after church on sunday. little did we know just about every other person in westchester decided to do the same thing! come to find out people get there right when the mall opens at 10am and santa doesn't even "open" until 11am! so we waited it out, about an hour, and surprisingly jack was great and waited in line with us the entire time. i think he was just so excited to see all the kids, look at the decorations, and of course let santa know what he would like for christmas. i have to say i thought for sure there would be massive tears despite my letting him know he would sit on santa's lap and tell him he had been a good boy, however, he totally surprised me and didn't shed a tear. now that doesn't mean he smiled either, but hey no crying is a big feat! here are some pics from our first santa experience!

hanging out in line

he had to get on mike's shoulders to get closer to the hot air balloon christmas decorations hanging from the ceiling...i guess being 6+ feet tall is better than 3 feet tall when you're looking up 3 stories in the air!

uh, who are you?!

the closest we got to a smile...soon after fear set in a little bit and he started to get upset!

Guest Blog: Preview of Jack's two-year photo shoot... Part III

Guest Blog: Preview of Jack's two-year photo shoot... Part II

Below are a few more shots from Jack's shoot this fall. More to follow....

loving two

i've begun to realize that at this point in my pregnancy i have become both overly emotional and a tad sappy, but i have been coming to terms with just how much our life is about to change. in the midst of all this change, there is a little boy who i hope will always remember just how much i have cherished our time together just the two of us.

i came across this poem, it seems to say just about everything i am feeling these days...

Loving Two

I walk along holding your 2-year-old hand,
basking in the glow of our magical relationship.
Suddenly I feel a kick from within,
as if to remind me that our time alone is limited.
And I wonder: how could I ever love another child as I love you?

Then he is born,
and I watch you.
I watch the pain you feel at having to share me
as you’ve never shared me before.

I hear you telling me in your own way,
Please love only me.
And I hear myself telling you in mine,
I can’t, knowing, in fact, that I never can again.

You cry. I cry with you.
I almost see our new baby as an intruder
on the precious relationship we once shared.
A relationship we can never quite have again.

But then, barely noticing,
I find myself attached to that new being,
and feeling almost guilty.
I’m afraid to let you see me enjoying him as though I am betraying you.

But then I notice your resentment change,
first to curiosity,
then to protectiveness,
finally to genuine affection.

More days pass,
and we are settling into a new routine.
The memory of days with just the two of us is fading fast.

But something else is replacing those wonderful times we shared, just we two.
There are new times only now, we are three.
I watch the love between you grow,
the way you look at each other, touch each other.

I watch how he adores you as I have for so long.
I see how excited you are by each of his new accomplishments.
And I begin to realize that I haven’t taken something from you,
I’ve given something to you.
I notice that I am no longer afraid to share my love openly with both of you.

I find that my love for each of you is as different as you are, but equally strong.
And my question is finally answered, to my amazement.
Yes, I can love another child as much as I love you only differently.

And although I realize that you may have to share my time,
I now know you’ll never share my love.
There is enough of that for both of you, you each have your own supply.

I love you both. And I thank you both for blessing my life

Author Unknown

o christmas tree....

we were able to finally decorate our tree tonight, and i am amazed at the difference a year makes...jack wasn't very interested in the whole decorating process last year, but this year he was so excited to put lights and "ormaments" on the tree! i wish i had captured his face when he hit the button to turn the lights on, because it was priceless:)

mike and jack putting on the finishing touches

and just for good measure...last year's pic

i just loved how he ran through the picture with his big smile...the repercussions of a slow shutter speed!

Guest Blog: Preview of Jack's two-year photo shoot...

About a month or so ago, we had a local photographer shoot Jack's two-year photos in Congress Park in Saratoga -- somewhat special to us since we were married there in 2006. We bought the digital versions of all of them, so I guess we will post them incrementally over the next week or so...

Attached is a sample set for your perusal...







P.S. The photographer we used was very nice, professional, and great with Jack -- she specializes solely in newborns and kids. Her name is Ashley Brown, and her website is http://www.ashleybrownphotography.com/.

Guest Blog: After a short hiatus, we're back...

As it has been over a week since Kristin's last post, I thought I'd step in to bring everyone up-to-speed. We kicked it all off last Sunday with trip to Marist, the FDR estate in Hyde Park, and a surprise party for Kristin -- celebrating her 30th birthday (ahem) -- at the Beekman Arms in Rhinebeck. I worked on Monday, Kristin's actual birthday, and we had another mini party that night at home. We headed upstate to Saratoga on Tuesday, and had a week full of turkey, Skidmore hockey games, visits to Uncle Greg at the farm, Christmas tree hunting, and lots of time outside (followed by doses of antibiotics). Since we're just getting back now, below are a few pics from the week -- more to follow later...

Jack's face after eating a birthday cupcake on Monday. Of course he chose the orange one -- it continues to be his favorite color... (Interesting Fact: Children do not fully digest orange food coloring - not even close).


The view from the new gazebo above the Marist Boathouse in Poughkeepsie.


Jack climbing the "BreakFree" sculpture outside of the FDR library. It was created by Edwina Sandys, Winston Churchill's granddaughter; the concrete parts were crafted from sections of the Berlin Wall.


Jack scaling the mountainous terrain at Kuzmich's Christmas Tree farm in (very rural) Greenwich, NY. He was keen on chasing Greta, the farm's handsome German short-haired pointer. Alas, she was too fast for all of us...

mmm...chicken teriyaki:)

as requested by jack, that was our dinner tonight! it is one of his favorites, and one of the few things we can all eat, since most of the time he's either eating hummus, peanut butter or raviolis. the best part of our dinner tonight was getting to eat together:) we usually can't because by the time mike gets home, its pretty much bath time, and then bed. so chicken teriyaki nights are special nights these days.

of course what's better than a dinner together followed by a dance party...one of jack's favorite things to do! we cranked up "the boss" on the sound dock and danced our dinner off;) its a lot of fun, but i'm sure if anyone saw us they'd think we were nuts!

its times like these i realize how lucky i am. jack brings so many smiles and laughter. i have 2 of the best boys in the world...

men at work;)

just a little spontaneous dancing on this rainy saturday morning...much more fun than 6 loads of laundry!

e is for elephant

each week we try to accomplish at least one letter. this week was the letter "e." jack seems to really like his "project" as he is always asking to "do a project!" he's getting better at listening to directions and following my lead as we go along. its amazing to watch his dexterity develop as we conquer the alphabet!

my attempt at getting him to smile:)

if there's glue, jack will come...he loves to use glue!

these are a bit out of focus, but he was really concentrating!

so proud:)

busy weekend...

we started off on friday with a visit to central park and met up with aunt melissa & jake who were in town visiting...


when we got home that night, jack told me he would like to go on the potty without his diaper on--he often sits on it with his clothes on, but always says "no" to doing it sans diaper. well, wouldn't ya know jack went poopy on the potty!! i'll admit that i never thought i would even write about this, let alone say the word poopy, but alas times have changed;)

this is the classic "mom are you seriously taking my picture?" we didn't even
have a chance to take his hat off when we got home!

saturday morning...catching up on the news;) actually he's looking at a slide show of himself...
he loves to look at pictures of himself--he gets that from his father!

then baby hudson came to visit us saturday afternoon...look at this cuteness! mike and i now realize just how challenging of an infant jack was--hudson is so easy going and content:)


we decided to just get up and go sunday morning...we headed to stone barns, which is this amazing agricultural center & restaurant. they farm everything and use it on-site--very cool.

we saw cows, chickens, sheep, donkeys, horses, bees...right up jack's alley as he loves "aminals"