"Santa brought me a bike"

The ultimate Christmas morning exclamation. Santa brought Jack his first bike this Christmas morning and Jack loves it! It's an obnoxious bright green and blue Hot Wheels-themed bike - perfect for a four-year-old. Since Christmas he has continued to sigh, "Mommy, can you believe Santa brought me a bike?"

Good going Santa.

"Last Night, Two Weeks Ago"

For months, Jack referred to anything in the past as happening "last night." A few weeks ago he was beginning such a story and I told him that the event had not happened "last night" but "two weeks ago." Now, every story starts with "Last night, two weeks ago." It's adorable.

Spiderman

"Mommy, Don't sit on Jesus"

If I ever get around to writing a book or even a short article on life as a Mom, this will have to be the title. Religion studies begins in the three-year-old classes at Jack's preschool so once a week they read a paraphrased bible verse and participate in a related art activity. This is all brought home in a four-color "pamphlet." The first, entitled "Jesus loves the children," was a big hit with Jack and he carried it around the house. He refers to it as "Jesus." He showed "Jesus" to the Moms that came for music lessons with his kids, to Grandma, etc. When getting ready for bed, he brought it with him along with the guys and his bedtime stories. When climbing onto the bed with him, I nearly sat on the pamphlet. Thus, "Mommy, don't sit on Jesus."

I love my kid.

First Day of School

The first day of school has come and gone and with it another milestone in jack's life. It's all going by too quickly...but everyone knows that.

Jack is a big fan of his new teachers and this year eats lunch at school. I had a first Mom moment last night when I packed his lunchbox. I missed having him home for lunch but I have high hopes that eating with the other kids will improve his eating habits or at least learn that there's more to lunch than peanut butter sandwiches or grilled cheese. Can someone say deli meat?

Cutest picture to date

This is the best picture of Jack...ever. He was in the elephant room at Zoo Atlanta. Photographer: Yummy Mummy

"You're not that important"

This is Dave's latest comment to me. I was explaining to him that I'd like to find a theme for this blog...cooking, motherhood, being married to a musician...all with the hope of creating a blog that is a must read for thousands around the world and generates revenue from advertisers. His response again: "You're not that important."

I love a supportive spouse.

Learning to Swim

Jack is finally zoning in on the desire to swim by himself. He's now swimming with the help of a "noodle" and can go back and forth across the pool by himself. Although there are only a few more weeks left of summer, we're hoping he starts to go under water and will swim by himself soon.

Comment of the Week: When asked how the guest room looks (i've been painting for it seems weeks), Jack put his hands on his hips, surveyed the room and said "wow, this room looks really great." It was done with a very grown-up air.

A Hot Summer Weekend

This weekend was typical for Atlanta in August. Temperatures hit the mid-90s and we had several ferocious thunderstorms tear through the city.

Jack and I were having a lazy Saturday night laying on the floor and watching movies when the most severe storm hit Marietta. The tall pines were pitching left and right - I thought for sure one was going to come crashing down. After Jack and I moved to the slightly safer zone of the couch we lost power. Jack looked at me and asked "why did you do that?"

This morning we had a classic kid action/comment. Upon waking us up a little earlier than usual, I told Jack that he should get in bed with us even though Daddy was smelly (he really wasn't but it was early and I was speaking jibberish). In response to this, Jack brought Dave his deodorant so that he "wouldn't smell anymore."

Opening Post - July 30, 2008

It's hard to believe that August is only a few days away. The most troubling outcome of our summer is that Jack has still showed no interest in going underwater. We'll keep working on it but maybe next year. The most exciting outcome is that my first attempt at growing tomatoes and peppers is off to a good start. I've been able to harvest some cherry tomatoes and my heirloom plants have finally started to flower. I'm not sure what's going on with the pepper plant as we've had flowers but no peppers yet. Dave's prediction is that we will soon be delivering peppers to all neighbors and family members within a 50-mile radius as we won't be able to keep up with production rates.

I've taken on the task of painting our guest room - you can see some of Jack's painting in this picture. One quick painting tip: if your child uses a heavy brush stroke, it will come through all of your paint layers; be sure to have them create their "ART!" strategically behind future pieces of furniture.