LXVX

Jack is now way into shoes.
Mind you there was a time he hated shoes, hated socks and didn't want to have anything near his tootsies.
The other day we were playing in his room and he found his brand new red Converse high top. He held it up over his head and shouted in delight ...
"New SHOES!!"
... and then insisted I put them on him.

Now whenever he sees shoes he has to point them out.
"Mama shoes."
"Dada shoes."

Yesterday evening we opened Christmas gifts from his aunts and uncle from DC. He tore open the packaging and then waited for me to open the box. First, a Virginia Tech football jersey. He picked it up looked at it and then tossed it aside. (That gift was more for Uncle and Daddy to enjoy.) Then he pulled out another shirt. And then he saw them. Brand new KICKS.

He quickly pulled out one.
"New shoes! New shoes!" he said clapping. And then when he realized they lit up when he moved, he said, "ooooo."
We immediately had to put them on. He tried to do it on his own but he eventually let me help him.

Later that night Dada called from the road to see how we were doing. I held the phone up to Jack's ear and his father asked him what was going on.

"Dada. New shoes. New shoes!"
And as he was saying it, he pointed to his feet, smiling.

Day LXIX

First of all, I think my Roman Numerals are totally off. I have no idea where I lost track and I doubt if I will have time or the energy to go back and figure it out. I now question why I even started it that way.

So I realize I never really described the trip to Hawaii. Now that it's like a month later, who really cares, I say! I will include little snip-its or highlights not described through the pictures I posted.

The flight there.
Let me just say, I was a little cocky about this. I knew it would be difficult, everyone and their mother were quick to tell me just how horrible it would be but deep inside my heart I thought -- not with my Jack. He's a good boy.

And now, looking back, I don't really think it was a question of being a good boy or not. It was a tough trip and it would be for anyone. People skipped out on the wedding at the prospect of the flight. We didn't buy him a seat because, well, we didn't want to spend the money. A flight from Michigan to Hawaii ain't cheap and I figured he'd just want to sit on my lap the whole time anyway. I figured wrong.

By the time we'd gotten on the first flight from Grand Rapids to Chicago, he'd already had a leaky diaper. I wasn't worried, I packed a back up outfit in my carry-on. I was of course disappointed since I had bought and saved the outfit he wet just for the trip but I tried to brush aside my disappointment. That first flight wasn't bad. The plane was little but there really weren't many people on it. They all thought Jack was just such a doll. He had a blast walking up and down the mini-aisle saying "hi" to everyone. He even took a short nap. Whew! One down, one HUUUUGGGEE one to go. That wasn't that bad.

We got to O'Hare and met up with Husband's dad. We were running short on time so I didn't have time to use the bathroom and we didn't have time to change Jack's diaper. Oh well, we thought, we'll just do it on the plane once we were settled. Yeah, leak No. 2 occurred while waiting to check in the stroller at the gate. Panic set in. I didn't have a third spare!! When was the last time his diaper leaked! Once we discovered Huggies kicked Pampers butt we never had problems like this!!

When we got to our teeny tiny seats, I dug out the first outfit. The pants weren't that bad but the shirt was not wearable. The shirt he was wearing had a big wet patch on his hip. So, what else could we do? We quickly tried to change him. But the stewardesses wouldn't let us go in the bathroom. So Husband tried to block him as we tackled him into his not-new, not-dry clothes. I am sure he thought we were insane. The original outfit had a zip-up jacket. That's what my kid wore. Soccer pants and a zip-up jacket. No onesie. No T-shirt. I am sure all the other women on the plane were shocked and disgusted. But what was I going to do?

So while we were attempting the switch-a-roo, Jack was screaming. Maybe yelling is a better way to describe it. YELLLLLLLLING. Keep in mind, our plane had not even left Chicago yet. People were still boarding. Tray tables were not required to be in the upright position. If we weren't going to Maui, I may have walked. We finally got him settled, grabbed some fishies and he seemed to pull himself together. For the moment. Meanwhile I tried to hang the wet clothes around our area in anticipation of another leak. We had wet clothes hanging from the upright tray tables and the arms of our chairs. In retrospect, it's pretty gross.

Jack refused to drink when we were taking off.
He hated everything about that plane and made sure every person who was in the section knew about it. Then his DVD player wouldn't work (probably because he kept shaking the thing) then he spilled Husband's Ginger ale everywhere. (Yes, we did have to rotate the other clothes back in.) Then the stewardess told us to walk him around the plane to burn off energy. Whoops, she forgot to mention to stay out of first class so Jack and I got screamed at for that. Then Jack became obsessed with the mini-kitchen in the back and would not leave the area even though the one stewardess made it completely obvious she didn't like him.

And did I mention Husband was on deadline for work and had to write a story while I took care of all of this?

I think this is when I cried the first time.

Then Jack became obsessed with the couple sitting ahead of us. They HATED Jack. They didn't hide it. They whispered and grunted and gave him dirty looks. But in his babyhood, he thought they were playing. But when he decided to tap the guy on his bald spot, I thought it was over.

I think that's when I cried the second time.

By this point, I told Husband I didn't care if he had work to do, I needed a break. The airline was showing and episode of Raymond and I wanted to watch a few minutes of it. It may have been the tears, or maybe the fact that I was shoving our kid in his arms but Husband gave me a break.

I'd like to say at some point it all became funny. It was funny when Jack dumped the glass of ice all over us and we were sopping wet -- and got the drying clothes hanging all wet again. Yeah, that was real funny. It was funny when all three of us had to cram in the airline bathroom to change the THREE stinky diapers he had somewhere over the Pacific. That was a riot. How funny was it that Jack dumped his bag of fishies in the aisle?! Oh yeah, that was great. Good times.

When I called my dad to say we had landed, I couldn't even speak. I was going to lose my mind. He asked me if I was OK. All I could say was, "It was bad. It was really, really bad." Then I hung up.

About an hour later, as I described what had happened to my mother, she laughed the hardest I have heard her laugh in a long time. She told me I would think it was funny someday.

Yeah, not so much yet.

Day LXVIII

Hawaii pictures, part 2

These shots were taken on a disposable camera and developed at Walmart. Quality = borderline. I should still receive more shots from other family members who went on the trip.

Here's another dorky shot of Jack on the beach. This is one to show a future girlfriend, that's for sure. Or maybe I should put it in his senior yearbook with some sort of lovey-dovey message from his "mommy." So what's he doing, you ask? He's flinging sand on everyone. Loved it. Especially loved it when it got in your eye and you screamed out in pain. He thinks that's extra funny.

(above) Watching the Hula dancers at the rehearsal dinner. As soon as it started he was so attentive that he forgot to run around.

Here's Jack at his new aunt's bridal shower. Soon he would start

to nibble on the flowers. We didn't get a picture of that -- or a shot

of him spitting out the petals after realizing Hawaiian flowers do not

make a good snack.

Day LXVII

Hawaii pictures, part 1

Please note these pictures were put in backwards. Because I am technologically inept, and lazy, I am just asking you the reader to start at the bottom and read up. Or just view them backwards whatever works.

Thanks to my sister-in-law who lives in DC for the shots.

Here he is dancing. Notice how he's taken off his jacket, his hair is a total mess and let's face it, he's sweaty.
Here's Jack at the wedding. This is after the ceremony and about half an hour into cocktails. At this point he has been running wild with other kids for a while. He was originally tucked in and combed.
Here's Jack at the family bar-B-Q we had one of the nights. If you look, his mouth is full. That's because he decided to take a bite out of every hamburger bun on the table. This picture demonstrates him getting caught. Also note: His t-shirt from his DC Uncle says "Here comes trouble." Nuff said, I say.
This is Jack at the pool with his Grandmother and Aunty. If you notice, he's out of the dork suit and instead we opted for a t-shirt with extra block on. We even covered his head with 45 because he REFUSED to wear the hat. Also note, he's holding his grandmother's phone and reaching for his aunt's camera. Technology freak!

This is Jack on the beach in Maui. I know, I know someday he will be really angry I made him wear the hat and the dorky suit. However, look at how white the kid is... and have you seen how white his dad is? He could fry like bacon out in the sun. And don't feel too bad for him, that hat was ripped off about 30 seconds after this shot was taken. On a side note: Check out the bite mark on his left arm. That chomp was from a red-neck monster at his school. When we saw that, we wanted to kick that kid's ass.