Happy Birthday Jack....from Jack

For a while Jack kept saying he was 2 months old. He realized he was incorrect but thought it was funny anyway....

Happy Second Birthday, Son

You've made us happier than we knew we could be.

Love,

Papa and Daddy

Last night before going up to bed, Jack wanted to drink some agua. He's all about being a big boy these days and often resists drinking from the sippy cup -- "Top off! Top off! Open!" So, I took the top off, and he totally wowed me with his drinking skills. He's even figured out the dismount, which was causing him problems for a while. He'd pull the cup away from his mouth without tipping it down, so water poured down his chest.

I'd planned to take a video showing his great skill and progress. But once I was filming him, he got a mischievous smile on his face and started blowing bubbles to show off for the camera. You can't really hear it on this video, but each time the cup comes to his mouth, he's making bubbles in the cup. What's more fun than that?

Papa is in London for a week and Daddy is home on his own with Jack

I am over in London for work for the last week and to keep me from leaping off a ledge, Jeff has been sending video updates of the boy. This is the latest vid that Jeff sent and involves Jack's preparation for his morning bath.

Enjoy.......I certainly did!

Scenes from the first annual Seifert/Mulvaney Jingle Bell Bowl...

Uncle Dave Bertanzetti going for the long bomb...

Cousin Michael scoring a touchdown. Aunt Mary Ann is in hot, but futile, pursuit. Note the victory finger pointed skyward!

Cousin Mark ALSO scoring a major touchdown, with Papa in vain pursuit!

Funny Animal videos...

In a moment of weakness one night, I used YouTube videos of funny tiger cubs to subdue our own little raging beast. Ever sense, Jack has routinely asked ot see funny TI-jer vi-does. Uncle Mike was kind enough to show us some while we were in Birmingham. Jack and Mike share a love for funny animal videos....

Our little Elf...

One night in Birmingham, Jack spilled some water on his pants. While we were drying his pants, I pulled an old trick of my mom's (and countless other parents, I'm sure) and tucked Jack into one of my Dad's t-shirts. We used a tie to hitch up the t-shirt so he wouldn't trip.

He seems mighty pleased with the get-up.

Big Gay New Year's....

Tom and Vince invited us down to join them for Big Gay New Year's.

It was a hoot. Lots of really fun people, great food and a weekend of relaxation. Vince is a whiz at decorating a table too!

Contemplation, after yogurt

I'm freeeeeeeee........

Why is it that little kids, freed of the restriction of pants, love to head for the hills?

The third gift of the day...

Grandma Ruth was a hit with this plastic cup that was just right for a little boy's hands. Jack has taken to calling it his "coffee cup."

We are still working through the subtleties of drinking out of an unsealed cup.

Currently, Jack will take a sip, then pull the cup away from his mouth with the cup still fixed at the maximal drinking tilt resulting in dribbling liquid down his chin. He follows with a big "Aaaahhhh." And then he dumps the rest of the liquid out on the floor.

Parenthood. It's not for the weak.

The beginning of a long relationship...

Jack's second gift of Christmas 2011...

My very wise sister said to me: ALWAYS buy back-ups of the favorite toy. You forget that toy at a rest stop and you are going to be driving 175 miles in the wrong direction to go get it. Looks like we need to go out and get some back-up Elmos....

Jack opens his first Christmas present...or as we lilke to call it: THE BIG REVEAL!

We had our family Christmas on Christmas Eve. We thought we were being pragmatic and sensible about not overwhelming him with gifts. Thank the Lord, Jeff's mom doesn't believe in pragmatism when it comes to her grandchildren! The tree was inundated with beautiful gifts in amazing wrappings - a Ruth specialty.

To ease into the process, we brought Jack into the Christmas Tree (his pronunciation is something akin to "Xshixshimus Tree"). We decided to start with a wonderful gift from Tom and Ernesto, which was in a large bag (at least 2/3ds the height of Jack).

Note the strong concentration.

Deciding that the vertical route was too difficult, he improvised and turned the bag on its side. He is still not sure about what's in there, but he's going in.

I was especially happy to see the Tongue of Concentration, which he carries by affinity from both the Dygerts and the Seiferts.

Voila! The Dragon Pirate Boat. Thank you Tom and Ernesto for a wonderfully fun and consuming toy.

It was so consuming we didn't open another gift for 20 minutes. I was a little antsy. Jeff reminded me that this was a good trait to instill in our son - to love the moment and experience what he has rather than tearing through the pile to see what's next, next, next.

Merry Christmas all.

DATELINE: 11:56 pm December 24, 2010

....And all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.


CHECK THAT. STIRRING CREATURE ALERT ON THE FIRST FLOOR.