The McQ Zoo: August 2011

Come September, The McQ Zoo lives, eats and breathes FOOTBALL. Last year we became Falcons Season Ticket Holders, the proud owners of 2 seats for 10 home games, and we took Jack to all but one. He loved it, of course, so this year we got him his very own seat! The first pre-season game was at home, and we made our way through Atlanta rush hour traffic down to the Georgia Dome to claim our spot in the Blue Lot, where this year we accepted the lucky offer to purchase a season parking pass. Our tailgating friends skipped this one, so it was just our little family hanging out and kicking back a few cold ones while Jack ran around in the grassy field in the corner of the lot and launched himself off the truck bed. We missed kick-off, but we had a great time watching our boy enjoy himself before the first "put-bawl dame" of the season.

After we trekked our way up the hill on Northside Drive to the B Gate entry, we stopped to give Jack his own ticket. He walked like a big boy through the security check point where he raised his arms for his first "pat down." Mommy of course got all of this on video! Next, Jack handed his ticket to the gate attendant and scooted his way through the turnstile. Inside the Dome his eyes grew wide with wonder! Brett and I both thought he was having a deja vu sort of moment, knowing he'd been there before, but unable to place the memory. Daddy scooped him up on his shoulders, and we began the escalator ascent to the Upper Level, Section 312. Some call it Nosebleed; we call it home.

Jack hiked up the cement steps himself, Mommy and Daddy following behind, with lots of friendly smiles and curious eyes watching to see where we would end up. Row 12, Seats 18, 19 and 20. We sat with Jack between us, and so began his little mind observing, evaluating, calculating with every snap of the ball. When the crowd cheered, Jack clapped. When the music played, Jack danced. When the game got good, Jack sat on the edge of his seat, alert and aware of the heightened intensity. I spent most of our time there just staring at him, taking pictures of his expressions and soaking up the memory of this wonderful experience with my precious son.

We had promised him popcorn, but at Half Time Daddy went to find some and came back empty handed. Apparently the concessions were a bit under-stocked (possibly due to the NFL Lockout?), and as hard as he tried, there was no popcorn to be found. I decided to try my luck on the same conquest, but ended up with Italian Ice instead, hoping Jack wouldn't be too terribly disappointed, and irritated at myself for taking so long. When I finally returned to our seats, Jack was thrilled with his "eye-peam," and all was right with the world...

Except that we were losing. That is never fun, but winning wouldn't be nearly as exciting if we did it all the time, right? Hmmn...not sure about that, but a pre-season loss won't hurt us. The 2nd string got some practice and field time, and we got to spend a family evening doing what we love most: being together and watching football. We left the game just shy of the 4th Quarter 2 minute warning, and Jack resumed position atop his Daddy's shoulders for the walk back to the truck. It was a lovely night; the air was unusually less humid for August, and the moon was bright and beautiful, peeking out around wispy clouds and reflecting in Jack's eyes as he looked up to the sky.

We have spent the last 3 weeks talking with Jack about our next football game, and at last, the moment has arrived! Tomorrow we will go to the 2nd exhibition home game, and hopefully this time, the Falcons will win! I can't wait to see Jack's reactions throughout the season, and I am just so thrilled that our family can share such an awesome gift of football and togetherness all wrapped up into one by our decision to become Season Ticket Holders. Oh yes, it is worth it...

And who knows? With the McQuilken Family Football history, and Jack-Bo's advanced athletic skills (I know he is only 2, but when you got it, you got it, no mater what age, and trust me - he's got it!), maybe one day we'll be sitting a little closer to the sidelines.

And YES, we'll be ready!

Jack is 2 years old now! At his 2 year check-up he weighed in at 31 pounds, and he stands almost 36.5 inches tall! He is in the 95th% for height and 75th% for weight. What a big, strong boy! Jack loves trains, so we thought it would be fun to do a train theme for his 2-year pics with Lisa Rappa Photograpahy! The ones in this blog post are just the sneak peeks from facebook! I'll post the rest soon!

Here are some facts about 2-year-old Jack:

Jack takes gymnastics every week at Hammond Park and he LOVES it! He is especially good at the bars and climbing the ladder wall!
He rides his Buzz Lightyear Scooter with ease and steers perfectly.
He is talking in complete sentences, and he repeats everything, although not always pronounced correctly.
He sings all the time. Current favorites are "Oh Shenandoah" and "Happy Birthday."
He can almost ride his bike (with training wheels). He gets stuck on the pedal brakes, but we are working on it.
He goes pee-pee on the potty almost whenever we ask him to, and he has gone poo-poo a couple times too, but not as often; we encourage him to use the potty at bed and bath time, but Mommy an Daddy are not 100% committed to the process yet!
He runs, climbs, jumps and gallops. He can throw all sorts of balls and he loves to "shoot" baskets. He also can toss a ball in the air and hit it with a bat!
He can swim under water w/out his swim vest around in a circle or out from the pool stairs and back, and he can "dive" for things under water on the steps. He also can do multiple "styles" of jumping into the pool, including a "flip" (more like a forward roll into the water), the "pencil," and the trust game falling in backwards. He also loves to jump off the diving board!
He is really into the computer right now, and I wish we still had the iPad from Brett's last job b/c Jack loved it.
He eats a big variety of foods including fruits and veggies and meats and fish. He loves pizza; it is probably his favorite right now. He can even say "pepperoni!"
He anticipates things and always seems to be one step ahead, knowing the routine of what"s next. Like I can say it is time to go home, and he says something like "go home, cook dinner?"
He can almost count to 10 perfectly, but he skips 6 a lot. He can sing his ABCs, but misses some of the letters. We are certain school is going to help him master these things soon enough! (He starts 2 days per week this September!)
He knows lots of colors, and we think his favorite color is yellow!
He loves to "write" and he can recognize his name in print. He also loves to paint and color.
He is play-doh obsessed.
He LOVES football, and keeps asking to go to the "put-bawl dame!"
Jack is loving and sweet and very polite. He almost always says thank you without prompting, and he is very good at sharing (so far!). He gives lots of hugs and kisses and he seems very concerned for others, always wanting to know "what happened, Mommy?" and making sure everyone is alright. He has the kindest heart!

10 Days before he turned 2 years old, The McQ Zoo took a family bike ride to Hammond Park

where Jack climbed the rock wall with minimal help from Daddy!

Starting out on his own, then getting a little boost from Daddy...

Daddy lets go and Jack is almost to the top!

SWEET VICTORY!!!

After that we thought it would be fun for Jack to get a little dizzy!

Later that week we celebrated cousin Taylor's 10th birthday with dinner at Mellow Mushroom.

There was a crazy balloon lady there that night!

That Friday (July 29th) we went to Fernbank with Jack's best GF, Audrina and her little sister Adalyn!

Look who we ran into!

Aunt Christie and Grandma brought cousins Ethan, Logan, Cole and Austin to Fernbank too!

The next day Jack and Mommy left for Hilton Head to vacation with Grandma and Grandpa and The Hunt Family. Daddy stayed behind to work. :-( The beach and the pool were lots of fun! We had pretty much perfect weather, and we rode our bikes nearly every day. The condo was beautiful, and there was a pond with a gazillon turtles; every day we would throw bread and watch them eat. We also saw frogs and toads!

We celebrated Jack's birthday with Grandpa on the 2nd since he had to leave the next day. Mommy made Jack's favorite spaghetti dinner and ice cream cone cupcakes! Jack was super excited and a bit overwhelmed when we all sang Happy Birthday to him! Grandma got Jack a beach themed Play-Doh set and Grandpa gave him a special starfish keychain and a new beach ball!

On August 3rd, I let Jack open a present from Mommy and Daddy a day early! He loves his new finger paints and storage easel! Then when Jack was fast asleep I took the last picture of him before his actual birthday, my sweet, precious, sleeping, not-quite 2 year old little angel!

The next day was August 4th - JACK'S BIRTHDAY!!! Jack had been eyeing a mini-golf place with a waterfall during our bike rides, so we decided to do a pizza dinner and putt-putt for his special birthday adventure! After a day at the beach and a nice afternoon nap, we headed out. The pizza place had an awesome fish tank, and of course Jack and Mommy had to take some silly pics. As it turned out, the big waterfall wasn't working that night at the mini-golf place, but there was a little one Jack liked just as well. Every time Jack hit the ball in he got sooooooo excited! Jack had a blast playing mini-golf, but by the 16th hole he was putt-putted out! In the end I think cousin Logan was the winner!

On our way back to the condo (riding bikes of course) we stopped for more ice cream for round 2 of Happy Birthday to Jack. This time Daddy and Grandpa sang with us over both mommy and Grandma's phones!

On our last night in Hilton Head, we went to Sea Pines to eat dinner at the Crazy Crab.

YUM! They have amazing hush puppies!

Jack and Mommy were very happy to get home to Daddy on Saturday! We really missed him!

Then on Sunday we celebrated Jack turning 2 one last time with his Petting Zoo Birthday Party!

This was his awesome invitation!

Stokes Photography took pictures for us at Jack's party.

There are way too many to post, so below is a collage (of course) of a bunch of the ones they took.

I squeezed 28 images into that one rectangle using Microsoft Research AutoCollage 2008!

And here are a few I took myself, including some from the after party dinner at Mellow Mushroom with some of the family and friends, where Jack and his best buddy Braeden played some video games (without any money, of course!). I'm so glad we got that family pic in the middle!