Mother, MAY I?

   

Titles are tough...but I do love a good play on words opportunity...May has been a bit of a whirlwind in The McQ Zoo.  We have had one thing after another with Mother's Day celebrations, the Warrior Dash, birthday parties and of course just regular old work.  This Saturday marks the beginning of Memorial Day weekend and our Brooks/McQuilken annual beach trip to St. George Island where we will spend the week with Brett's side of the family beachin' up and dressin' down.

Of course for now, we are busy trying to plan for our epic journey, as packing is always an adventure in itself.  I have no idea how we are going to make these kinds of trips work in our current vehicle when we add another baby to The McQ Zoo, but I guess where there's a will, there's a way!  And no, I am not pregnant...don't get any rumors started!  I am just speculating for the future...

In all seriousness, we should have plenty of room, but it is always a challenge to load everything into the truck bed, and this year we have the added dimension of an awkwardly shaped bike with a baby seat attached.  Fortunately for my impatient husband, I am THE Tetris Master, and I'll do the organizing while he does the heavy lifting, and that is just how I like it!  :-)

Okay, new topic...on the day we return from St. George Island, Jack will officially be 22 months old.  He will be starting Gymnastics the following Monday, and I am certain he is going to LOVE it.  I am stealing the format for this next bit of my blog from a friend who posts updates on her kids' development in a bulleted list, and I really like how simple it is, so that is what I am going to do here now.

At almost 22 months old, Jack: 

• Is jumping, running, climbing and galloping, all of which he has been doing for quite some time, although recently his run has changed to more of a big-kid stride instead of a baby/toddler waddle.
• Still loves playing in the water, including his baby pool and the big pool, the kitchen sink, the creek, his baths, and he is not afraid to go under, blow bubbles or have water poured on top of his head.  He also remembers how to swim using his water wings!
• Can catch and throw a ball.  He already has both a football spiral and a basketball jump shot.  He LOVES balls of all shapes and sizes, and he throws them everywhere, sometimes destroying things or hurting loved ones (mostly the dogs) in the way. 
• Is talking up a storm!  He communicates brilliantly, even if he is not pronouncing things properly, and for the most part if you ask him to say something he will try and at the very least duplicate the intonation with which it was spoken to him.  Some common words: football, ba-ball (basketball), shoot, miss, cook, down, out, drive, train, Chuggington!, flamingo, Gatorade, Mine!, thank you, EAT!, truck, bus, car, wa-wa, gokey (milky), orange, yellow, blue, purple, light, chair, dog, Della, Tug, kitty, turtle, GRandi, PaPa, Kiti (Aunt Christie), Logey (Logan), Boo-Boo (Braeden), Ann, zoo, MawMaw (Grandma), Baa-pa (Grandpa), Kady, hurt, toot, pee-pee, NO!, cup, hot dog, cheese, fruities, belly, duck, cow, pig, oh and the list goes on and on... 
• LOVES to cook!  This kid is obsessed with cooking.  He can shake a frying pan over the burner and practically cook anything in it using a wooden spoon or plastic spatula.  His specialties are hot dogs, eggs and sausage, but he has been known to dabble with fish and taco meat too!  He also ALWAYS wants to help with the microwave and any pouring of anything (pasta into a pot, water into a cup, adding ingredients, etc.). 

• Is pretty close to being able to ride a bike with training wheels.  He has a hand-me-down bike that has pedal brakes on it, and they are a little tricky b/c when he pushes the pedals they often get stuck in the braking position, but his cousin has a training bike with no pedal brakes (it actually pedals backwards!), and that one he can already ride!
• Eats a variety of foods.  Healthy favorites include strawberries, blueberries, grapes, diced tomatoes, broccoli, brussel sprouts, oranges, and hummus.  He has repeatedly rejected corn and carrots.  He also seems to love any meat that is ground in texture, and he likes chicken, but he is not crazy about deli lunch meat or bacon.  He especially loves tilapia and salmon.  He also loves popcorn, rice, bagels and rolls, although we suspect he likes the butter we put on the bread items best!  We never have to make him special food b/c he eats whatever we eat, and his appetite is pretty consistent.  Oh, and he can seriously put down some ice cream!
• Sings ALL THE TIME, including theme songs from TV shows (current favorites are Chuggington and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse), songs from his CDs or the radio, little songs we make up for him, and lullabies and nursery rhymes.  He especially loves his "Jack-Bo" songs I have created to the tune of "Bicycle Built for Two" and his favorite classic is "Old McDonald."  In fact, singing "E-I-E-I-O" is one of his most charming and crowd-pleasing acts!
• Is fearless!  He is daring and brave and pretty much not afraid of anything.  We don't know how long this will last, but it sure does make every day interesting!
• Has an amazingly loving heart and sweet spirit.  He wants to hug and kiss his friends and he always says thank you (usually w/out being reminded!), and for the most part he is good at sharing.  If ever he isn't handing something over to another kid we just have to tell him when he is done or in a minute to let someone else have a turn, and he is pretty good about it. 
• Still has some serious chompers!  Besides the occasional resulting-in-time-out biting, the kid uses his teeth to open everything.  I wonder where he picked this up, b/c it certainly was NOT from me; I hate using my teeth for things - it gives me that nails on a chalkboard feeling!  I suspect he picked up this skill from Daddy and GRandi, who often use their teeth to open snack packages and things like that.  :-)  Thanks, yall!  I'm (not) looking forward to the orthodontist bill!
• Has a few super duper adorable phrases!  Here are 2 of them:
• "Oh my gosh!" he says in a slow high pitched almost whisper voice when he is really wowed by something (like the presentation of his plate on his high chair tray when he is really hungry, or seeing something new outside like a certain kind of creature). 
• "Buck Bronx!" is a made-up "I'm a tough guy" saying by Daddy with a chest pounding gesture that Jack has picked up, only Jack's chest pound looks more like he is making a chicken wing motion! 
• Fights sleep pretty much every night.  He is clearly a night owl like his Mommy, but when he does fall asleep it is usually while cuddling, and I can't complain about that!
• Is a pro at camping!  He has been on several camping trips, and from manning the fire to cooking breakfast, he contributes in all sorts of ways.  If there is a great outdoors badge to be earned for the under 2 age group, he has earned it time and time again!
• Spends a LOT of "Time-Out!"  Yes, we are a time-out family, and it is working well for us so far.  The key is being consistent and only threatening it when we will actually be able to follow through.  At home we have a booster seat that we fasten him into, but out in the world it is a little more challenging.  At restaurants or parks I have had to just hold him on my lap and count until he stopped crying and/or trying to wiggle away from me.  Honestly, he is pretty well-behaved most of the time, but he likes to test us.  "Jack if you throw that golf ball one more time, you will sit in time-out."  "Jack, stop chasing the cat or you will sit in time-out."  "Jack, if you pull Mommy's hair again you will sit in time-out!" 
• Is exceptionally smart with an incredible memory!  If you show him how to do something once, he can pretty much repeat it.  He can unscrew any lid, drink right out of the water or Gatorade bottle, and then put the lid back on.  His ability to understand concepts is amazing!  He just gets how things work!  He remembers everything you tell him, and if something is lost around the house, he can likely find it! 
• Loves the zoo, especially the train!  He is super serious when he rides it, except for when we go through the tunnel and do our traditional scream!  He also adores the petting zoo animals!
• As of today, has gone both pee-pee and poo-poo in the potty!  We are nowhere near actual commitment, but right now I think I'll just follow his lead and see how things go!
• Is my angel, my little cherub champion, my precious little Jack-Bo. 

Once again, this blog has bled from one day into another due to time constraints and many interruptions.  Kudos to Lisa Rappa Photography for the beautiful pictures throughout the written portion of this post.  I'll leave you now with some recent pictures that I took (and probably a collage or 2!) over the last couple of weeks.  The next time I post we'll be in the month of June, and Jack will be less than 2 months away from turning 2 YEARS OLD!!!  Boy, time flies when you're havin' fun! 

Zoo MAY-nia

Jack & Braeden in B's pool w/ slide contraption

Relaxin' in the hot tub after a 16 mile bike ride on Mother's Day

Campin' Cousins

Cookin' Breakfast: Chef Boy-JP

Future QB???

More aMAYzing Memories

Happy Memorial Day Weekend from The McQ Zoo!

April is Over. . . Isn't it A-MAY-zing?

And just like that, a new month is here.  Man, it happened fast!  Countless visits to the zoo, a few Easter Egg hunts and a camping trip later, we arrive in May, and my little Jack-Bo is about to be 21-months old!  I just can't belive it!  the McQ Zoo has been busy, but even still, there is so much more right around the corner...but first, check out what we've been up to lately!

We had 3 Easter celebrations and egg hunts: our own special one at home and 2 more with our respective families.  Jack loved the sports themed eggs, but he kept calling them balls and would throw them, so we ended up making a game out of tossing them into his egg collecting pail.  Of course since he loves basketball and has already developed a jumpshot, he enjoyed this game very much!  He looked so cute on the Saturday before Easter in his McQ Zoo t-shirt and new Crocs!  We all proudly wore our shirts, together, for the first time.

Later that night, we watched Toy Story for Jack's first time and ate popcorn together.  Then Jack built a tower out of cat food cans while The Easter Bunny was hard at work preparing for Easter Morning in The McQ Zoo.

Jack's favorite part of his Easter Basket was the "num-a-nums."  

I suppose there are worse breakfasts!  

Daddy got an Easter Basket too...

...with "Too Tall" Chocolate Bunny!  Okay, so Jack may have had a little of that for breakfast too...

The hunt was on!  Tug and Della were just as enthusiastic as Jack about looking for the eggs!

Jack, what is that in your coffee pot?  How 'bout your Microwave?  Is that Elmo under your sink?

Why, yes!  It IS Elmo!  Look, Tug, an Elmo Easter egg! 

 The Easter Bunny was vey creative.  Other hiding spots included the rocking chair pocket, the high chair seat cover, the dog food bowls (a personal favorite), the slide mailbox and Jack's Tonka Truck Fold 'n Go sets.

The Easter Bunny hopped by at GRandi and PaPa's.  The other McQuilken's enjoyed a picture with him...

...but Jack preferred to stand at a distance and just wave hello.

He looked so handsome in his Easter outift!

 Jack got lots more Easter goodies, but after the egg hunt he mostly just wanted to play in GRandi's sand!

After all that playing, Jack was hungry!  He chowed down GRandi's ham loaf and ate lots of broccoli, cheese and rice casserole.  He also had a hollow chocolate egg!  It was Eggs-tremely messy!

Then he felt very sleepy and decided to rest his head on his high chair tray!

GRandi took Jack up for a bath and then tried to get him to lay down in her bed and rest, but he was too Egg-cited to sleep with all the commotion going on downstairs.  The girls were playing with colored bubbles and everyone was back and forth between in and outside again.  Cousin Kady also tried to go to bed a few times, but it was just too noisy.  Finally Mommy and Daddy decided to take Jack for a bike ride.  After a few times of screamimg "Wee!" down the hill, Jack couldn't fight it anymore, and he fell asleep in his bike seat, helmet and all.  We took him back inside and sat him with PaPa until it was time to go home.  He snored so loudly in that uncomfy position, but he never woke up...until we got home of course!  After a few days of going to bed late and waking up late, a 2 hour nap had him ready to play, so we had to read stories and lay together in Mommy's bed until he finally fell asleep...

Mommy fell aslep too!  Or else I would have done this post then!

Easter monday we went to the zoo with Ann and Braeden.  Of course the most favorite part of the zoo is the train, and we have a tradition of taking a screaming pic while passing through the dark tunnel.  Here are some great ones!

Braeden sat with us the next ride and got in on the screaming fun!  This is one of my all-time faves!

And of course Ann had to join!  

After all that crazy screaming train excitement, the boys konked out as soon as we got in the car to go home.  It was another zoo-rific day!

This weekend we went camping with our friends Soy and Craig in the Upper Chattahoochee National Forest located just north of Helen.  We stayed at a pay site, and we were lucky to get THE best site there (ironically, #13!).  Turns out, this is also the site we had for Jack's very first camping trip back in October 2009. 

That was THEN...

...and this is NOW!  Look how much Jack has grown in just a year and a half! 

The #13 site is perfect!  It has a large open field for playing, awesome water and creek access, a well pump for drinking water, tent pads, a picnic table, lots of gorgeous foliage, and it is the most tucked away and private of all the sites there, nestled at the end of a little loop off the main campground road.  On Saturday we hiked a trail up to a beautiful waterfall, our first time seeing it, and we played around at the top for a little while before heading back to our campsite for naps and dinner.  The weather was perfect, and Jack was a super duper happy camper!  Camping is in The McQ Zoo blood!

Here is another highlights collage of our first 2011 camping trip!  I am sure it is obvious to all you readers out there that I have a lot of pics to share when I start throwing in collages.  It means there are just too many to choose from, so this lets me post them all at once!

And now I am home, and my boys and dogs are sleeping while the kitty bats (and bites!) at my feet under the computer desk.  The condo is a disaster with all the camping gear needing to be washed and put away.  I have laundry to do and the kitchen to clean, and I need to run some errands.  Tomorrow is Monday Son-Day, but we will not make it to the zoo b/c of ou other chores.  Don't worry though, Jack and mommy will still find something extra special to do together!

Welcome to May everyone!  Have a great week!