"ma-ma"

No, Jack isn't talking yet. But, I did have a dream that he was. :) Last night, I dreamt that Jack said "ma-ma"--and it was his first word. It was so gratifying. The reason this dream was particularly noteworthy is that Shannon did not say "ma-ma" until he was 20 or 22 months old. I was "pa-pa," along with Sean, for about 10-12 months. We would say to Shannon, "Can you say ma-ma?" And Shannon would say, "pa-pa!" with excitement and certainty. (Now, he regularly just calls me "mom," and he sounds so adolescent when he says it too.)

So, perhaps my dream will come true. We shall see.

jackie boy

Moments after we determined his name was Jack, I started calling him "Jackie boy." This nickname was inspired by one of my favorite childhood movies -- The Newsies. Shannon has recently taken to this nickname and now regularly refers to Jack as "Jackie boy." Here are a few photos of Jackie boy:

a child of habit

Sean and I have determined that Shannon is a child of habit. It isn't necessarily order he needs, just for things to happen the same way all the time. The first time we noticed this truth was when Shannon was about four months old. Every time I breast-fed Shannon, his fingers would fly up to my mouth. If he was receiving a bottle, the same would not be true--only breastfeeding. Here are a few more recent examples of patterns that Shannon has instituted and must follow:

--When Shannon says "Thank you," you must respond with "You're welcome." He will continue to say "thank you" until he hears "you're welcome."

--When Shannon points something out while we are driving (like going "over a bridge," "beeg truck," or "red light"), you must affirm that he has spoken correctly. Or, he will continue to repeat himself with increasing urgency.

--After a bath, Shannon enjoys running around naked. I'm sure this is true of most kids his age, but Shannon has added something that I'm not quite sure all kids would be drawn to. He sits, with his naked butt, on a pile of shoes by the front door. Can't quite explain that one.

--Shannon insists on sleeping sideways and at the foot of the bed. He must have his head on a pillow, and be covered with blankets (except his arms and head).

--Shannon has learned that if you hear someone fall or drop something, you should ask, "are you okay." So, earlier when I nearly dropped a jar of applesauce, Shannon from the other room called out, "you otay?" Yes, it's adorable and I gave him a hug and kiss, but I'm not completely convinced that Shannon was concerned with my well-being, so much as he knew someone was supposed to ask. :)

a day with thomas

For those of you not familiar with little boy heroes, Thomas is the name of a train-character from the show "Thomas and Friends." Shannon, being a two-year-old boy, loves Thomas and his friends. So, when we heard that Thomas was coming to the local railroad, we decided to take Shannon on the excursion. He loved the trains! The train-ride itself was fun, but nothing like the train-ride I remember from my childhood trip to the Northeast. Of course, that trip was probably closer to 2 hours, and this one was only about 20 minutes--which is the right length for a two-year-old confined to a seat. :)

Now, before I share the pictures, let me explain something about Shannon. He is a very . . . contemplative little boy. So, when his face appears . . . expressionless or disinterested, it is because he is absorbing the experience in his head. He can be very animated; but in a new experience, he is very reserved--just drinking in his surroundings.

Shannon petting a goat at the petting zoo:

All of us on the train:



And, posing with Thomas:

yes, we're sure they're brothers

Since Jack was born, Sean and I (and other members of our family) have marveled at how much Jack and Shannon DON'T look alike. So, I decided to find a picture of Shannon at about this age (4months) to compare. Here are the results. Shannon is the top photo; Jack is the bottom photo. Would you ever guess they're brothers?

And, here they were at birth. Of each set, Shannon is the top photo, and Jack is the bottom photo.

camping

We went camping this weekend with my family. This year was the fifth year we have all gone together. It was certainly better than last year's camping trip, when about 70% of us got the stomach flu.

One funny moment for me this year happened on a particularly cold morning. This was the morning that my Dad, John, and Sean put up a tarp windbreak on the north side of the fire pit. Everyone was huddled around the fire--most covered with blankets. Well, everyone except for Shannon, that is. Shannon was off playing by himself, apparently oblivious to the cold. He loves to be outside. Here are a few pictures:

Playing with trucks:

Playing in the "boat"

Waiting for a ride in the "boat" with cousin Ellie

Riding in the "boat"--notice Shannon's hand trailing in the water.

Jack did very well camping. He seemed perfectly content with the change of scenery, and he gave us all lots of adorable, dimpled smiles.

more fun with pronunciations

When Shannon says "grasshopper" it sounds like "supper"--however, I'm not sure it's a supper he would want to eat.

I also play a little game called "snap snap" with Shannon. My hands become the mouths of alligators, and he "tries" not to get eaten. He loves this game, and when he wants to play, he calls the game "sump sump." I love it!

heavy sigh

Shannon had finished his breakfast, and had said "all done." Sean was reading the paper, and I was writing the last entry--basically, we were ignoring him. He had apparently said "all done" a few times. The next thing I hear is a heavy sigh. We both look up at Shannon. He has is head in his hand and a rather forlorn look on his face. We both laughed.

pronunciation & discoveries

At two and a half, Shannon, of course, is still learning how to pronounce various sounds in our language and doesn't always get it right. One of my favorite "mis-pronunciations" is "p" if it occurs other than at the beginning of a word. So, "nope" is "note" and "poopin'" is "pootin'"--either that or he is very musical and highly interested in Russian politics.

As for the discovery, I'm a little ashamed to admit that I have lived in my house for nearly five years and only last night discovered that I live within about 15 blocks of an awesome bike trail. When I have visited my sister in the past, I have been jealous of the trail she runs on at a park about a half mile from her house. I thought I would have to drive clear to West Des Moines to find such a treasure--a path that wanders through woods and by little creeks. Well, a few months back, I stumbled upon this trail head while looking for a park for Shannon. But, I just figured it was either short or not that great.

Well, last night I took the boys for a walk down this trail and discovered how wrong I was. It is a very well kept bike path, complete with woods, train tracks, a river, wandering paths through open fields, and even a horse barn. I was so inspired, I even did a little running behind my non-jogging stroller. Shannon loved going fast. He enjoyed watching the horses having "num-nums" for supper. He also got to see a 5-car train go by, standing only about 30 feet away. We waved at the engineers, and they blew the horn just for him. Of course, as soon as the horn sounded, Shannon's arms flung around my neck. I asked him if he wanted to ride the train, and he said no. But, by the time we got back to the van, he decided that he did want to ride a train. That's good, because we bought tickets to the Boone Scenic Valley Railroad's Thomas excursion.