Old friend, new friend

Last week, one of my oldest friends came to visit for a few days. She brought along her 2 1/2 year old son, Anthony, who turned out to be a perfect playmate for the boys. Aside from the inevitable (and only occasional) battles with sharing, everyone got along beautifully, and it was so much fun for Dina and me to watch our boys enjoy one another's company. Plus, it was nice for me to enjoy Happy Hour at home with an old friend. :)
The last time Dina and I saw each other was in April 2007. I was about 5 months pregnant with Alex, Jacob was 2 months shy of turning two, and Anthony was just 6 months old. Of course, neither of them remembered their first meeting. But, naturally, I had to take a look back at the pictures from their introduction. They hit it off right away back then too.

"Nice to meet you."

"What about now...is this too close?"

"Let's see who blinks first."

Open mouthed kisses are the customary greeting.

"I feel like I've known you since birth."


Fast forward two years later, and they were able to have even more fun together. Plus, Alex was able to join them this time.
Here are a few photo highlights from their visit, which of course seemed entirely too short. (And Dina, how on earth do I have no pictures of you from this visit?)

Understandably, Anthony wanted to scope out all of the toys in the house. So we spent our first afternoon indoors playing with everything. After only knowing each other for an hour, a rock band was formed. And if you know Jacob, you know that's not at all surprising.




"Table for two, please."

Who knew dinner could be so much fun?


Aunt Tricia invited us to join them at the museum the following morning. It was moderately difficult keeping track of 6 kids, so I don't have too many pictures to share. You'll have to take my word for it that they had a good time.

At the museum, our first stop was the Sound Space room, where everyone likes to run, fall, and jump(thanks, Tricia, for the great running pictures!).



Stirring a cloud with Lainey.


Beware...sometimes those clouds will get ya.

Turning a big wheel. (Worst caption ever. Clearly I have no idea what this is.) Oh, and look! There's Dina in the background.


"Oh, look, it's crystals and gems."


Jacob was fascinated by the baby alligator. Or baby crocodile. Definitely one of those.


"How did you find me in here?"


Jacob, Alex, and Daniel braving the rock climbing wall.


He isn't really supposed to be sitting in there. I think I pulled him out approximately 15 times. On the 16th time, he decided to throw a huge tantrum, which is always fun. Especially in public places.


"Anthony, pay attention. It's time to read about the 'Mission to the Moon'."


Everyone was worn out after the trip to the museum. After Anthony & Alex had a much needed nap, we decided to stick around the house that afternoon.

A post-nap snack calls for a little affection.


It was such a beautiful day, we had to spend some time outside as well.

Driveway art.



Bubbles are a necessary outdoor activity. (Oh wait, there's Dina in the background again! Guess I do have some pictures of her.)


Time to run (or ride) down the driveway as fast as possible, making moms of sometimes clumsy boys just a wee bit anxious.




Of course, there was some football to be played. I don't think we're looking at any future receivers since neither of them could catch, but we do have a couple of potential quarterbacks.

"Anybody open over there?"


I love the way Anthony is holding the football.


"Go long, Anthony! I know you're right in front of me, but GO LONG!"


I think the pictures speak for themselves. Not only did they have a blast, they sure did look cute doing it.

P.S. Dina, clearly you guys have to relocate. :)

J.H. on E.T.

Last night, "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" was on TV.
It was one of my favorites movies as a little girl, but I haven't seen it in years. We weren't able to watch it all, but it didn't take long for Jacob to become intrigued. Just before E.T.'s first appearance on screen, Jeff & I warned Jacob that he was about to see an alien from outer space. But we assured him it was a friendly one.

No worries. Jacob loved him.

While watching Elliott and E.T. together, Jacob smiled and said, "I wish I was in dis movie. I would give dat alien a hug."
And for the record, so would I. I find E.T. completely adorable.



As cute as it was watching Jacob smile at E.T. and enjoy him as much as I had when I was young (and it's still a great movie), probably the most entertaining part of the night came just before it was time to turn it off.

Let me set the scene. E.T. walks into the kitchen wearing a flannel shirt, unbuttoned and exposing his chest.
Jacob stared for a moment, then commented, "He has boobies."

Jeff: "I don't think he has boobies, bud."

Jacob: "Yes him do. Look at those hills."

Jeff & I both immediately looked at each other over Jacob's head, and Jeff mouthed, "Hills???"
Then we both started cracking up. Hearing Jacob say "boobies" is already enough to get me to giggle (I'm very mature), but "hills" was more than I could handle.

In my mind, I flashed forward to an image of Jacob in high school, leaning up against his locker with the other cool, good-looking guys. As a girl passes by them, Jacob nudges his friends, and says, "Yo. Check out those hills."

I don't know how he comes up with this stuff. But I love it.

P.S. Did you have to take another look at the picture and check out E.T.'s hills for yourself? :)

Birthday Lunch

We celebrated my mom's birthday this weekend over lunch at a restaurant. Naturally, I have pictures, so I thought I'd share.


It was way past our usual lunchtime of 11:45 a.m., so the boys and I were starving. As you can see, Jacob was very ready to eat, and declared, "My food is takin' a long, long time." The full body napkin coverage looks like he was about to dive into a plate of messy ribs, but no- he ordered the cheeseburgers with "no salad" (i.e. no lettuce or tomato).


The food seemed to take such a long time to arrive, that my poor child had to eat imaginary food.


After perusing the menu, Alex decided he would like chicken tenders & fries. Although once the food arrived, it only took him two bites of chicken to determine that the fries were more delicious. However, it was loads of fun to take a bite of chicken and spit it out. He knows Mommy LOVES it when he does that.
Sure, he looks innocent...


"Oh dear, I seem to have spilled many packets of sugar. Accidentally, of course."


Alex and his Aunt Kerri.


Time to sit on Uncle Matt's lap. Nan was behind me, performing who knows what kind of antics in order to coax a smile out of Alex. His expression screams "Um, what are you doing, Nan? I'm 19 months old...not a baby. Let's get some age appropriate humor up in here."


"OK, now that was pretty funny."



There was no birthday cake, but the boys were able to enjoy their very own personal cup of ice cream for dessert. It was chocolate with chunks of brownie in it. It looked delicious, and must have been, because both boys devoured almost all of it. And Jacob was on a chocolate high the whole way home...which is fun. Especially in a car.

Alex signing "More". I guess Pop Pop wasn't spooning it out fast enough.


I like that Alex is "sharing" a bite of ice cream with Pop Pop, but there is absolutely nothing on the fork.
"Here, Pop Pop, I'll eat this delectable ice cream you're kindly spoon feeding me, while you enjoy this invisible food."


Eating ice cream is a serious business. You have to eat slowly to avoid brain freeze, and...


...keep an eye out for dessert thieves. They target small children.


Jacob & Pop Pop. I love this picture.


Sitting with the birthday girl.




Happy Birthday, Nan!

A Big Heart

Over the weekend, we had dinner at Nan's & Pop Pop's house. After eating a big meal, Pop Pop suggested that we go for a walk. As you will see, our outing turned out to be not so much of a walk as it was an after dinner jog.
As soon as Alex set foot out of the house, and in typical Alex fashion, he broke into a run. Pop Pop hurried to keep up with him (the kid is FAST), and Jacob decided to join them.


At one point, even Nan was running.


Then, Jacob decided it would be a good idea to take things up a notch and race with Pop Pop. Enough of this jogging stuff. Let's get serious, guys.

On the mark...get set...


Go! (I like that Jacob is running while pulling up his pants.)


And in spite of the wardrobe malfunction, Jacob crossed the finish line first, raising his arms in victory!


Even though Pop Pop was a very good sport after his "loss", Jacob whispered to Nan, "I gonna let Pop Pop win dis time."

And so, after asking Pop Pop to race again, they took their marks, and were off running a second time. Only this time, it was obvious that Jacob was deliberately slowing his pace, carefully watching Pop Pop's feet to make sure his own stride didn't pull ahead. Because he loves his Pop Pop and it wouldn't be fair if Jacob won every race. Essentially, Jacob was returning the favor he was unaware Pop Pop had just done for him.


And when they crossed the finish line at the same time, Jacob excitedly declared, "It's a tie, Pop Pop! We both win!" And he erupted into cheers, clearly proud of them both.

I find it amazing that an almost 4 year old can be so kind and sensitive to other people's feelings. And I hope as he grows, this trait stays with him. I think it's a precious and valuable one to have.

It's hard to believe sometimes that such a little boy can have a heart as big as he does.