Jack figures...

Jack told me it's not fair that girls get to pee since they don't have penises.

I'm still trying to wrap my brain around a value scale that associates fairness and peeing.

Firetruck puzzle

Jack got this awesome firetruck puzzle from Nana a little while ago and loves it

He needed a little help to get started but could put it together by himself the first time!

School

On October 30th Jack's class was using the magnetic tiles to make rainbows. Previously they were using them to build bridges, towers, skyscrapers and pyramids.

Also they've been very interested in prisms

November 4th the class used yarn and tapestry needles

Jack loves Halloween!

The purple stuff on his face is from where he was drawing on his face at school today, completely unrelated to his Max costume, but he refused to wash it off before we put his costume on....

Jack had a total blast trick or treating this year. He still wasn't interested in eating the candy, but he got into going up to the door, and cautiously holding up his pumpkin bucket, sometimes he remembered to say "trick or treat" and he was pretty good about saying "thank you" too.

He elbowed his way in when the bigger kids were blocking the way. And when we met up with his great friend Lucas from school, Jack showed Lucas how it was done.

And just an added bonus, Jack finally agreed to wear his Max costume from Where The Wild Things Are, created by none other than the amazing artist Gail Dawson!

Wisconsin October 2011

We weren't planning to go back to Wisconsin this year, but my nephew Jake announced he was getting married, and since I adore him, we decide to partially represent Team Simon Arms Simon.

We stayed with my dear friends Delia and Mark, and their sons Enzo and Nico. Enzo is about 5 months younger than Jack and the two fell hard for each other, eventually fighting like brothers.

preschool as the best job training

I thought this was an interesting article:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/08/12/139583385/preschool-the-best-job-training-program

all about how the basic skills kids get in preschool are actually the ones that will most determine if they will succeed later in life or not.

Presidio Habitats walk

Sunday we went on a walking tour of an outdoor exhibit in the Presidio with Quinton and Elana.

It was a beautiful awesome day.

what Jack wants and what he doesn't

this morning Jack woke up and the first thing he said was,

"Nancy, flies can't come in my room, but bees can come in the house because they make honey and they help the flowers grow big and strong."

Later he typed his name on the computer while I was in the other room.

Then he said he wanted to type EXIT. So he did.

I asked him if he thought he could type STOP and with a little assistance on the "P", he did it.

He was so proud, it was awesome.

slowly but surely

I know I haven't been keeping up with the blog lately, my photographs are in a mess and I need time to sort through them, order copies for people, post some to the blog, update the photo albums we keep for Jack, update our family photo albums, finish the "Family sheet" of photos for Jack's school, etc. etc. etc.
School is getting better. We talked a lot with Jack over the past couple weekends about his role in school, what he doesn't like and what solutions we could find to help him like it better.
Jack didn't want me to leave this morning but I think he just has a hard time finding something to engage in, so he wanted me to stay for entertainment. I went to the two way mirror to watch him for a little while after I left today and he kind of floated around without purpose for a while before half-heartedly playing with the magnets at the science table.
We were kind of late and most of the other kids were outside, which is nice because the room is quieter and he seems less freaked out.
We also took Jack to his first "soccer group" on Saturday which he did not want to participate in at all. He didn't even want to kick the ball around by himself.
I worry about his lethargy.

into the second week of preschool

Jack has had some ups and downs with full time preschool.

He's very hesitant when I drop him off and he doesn't openly engage with the other kids. By the time I pick him up in the afternoon, he seems to always be playing with other kids but is ready to run over to me and get going when he sees me walk in.

He says a lot that he doesn't like his school. Last week it was because somebody was hitting him, but Sean reminded him to use his strong words and say "NO! I don't like that! give me some space!" and it seemed to improve things.

Yesterday I was talking to him in the car about how things were going.

He told me in this "I've seen it all" kind of way that "things are working out on the playground, we're not having problems out there anymore. but today me and Isaiah were not communicating under the loft."

As good of a talker Jack is, lately he's been resorting to grunts and hitting to get what he wants. We're trying hard to impress on him how important it is to use words.

Job training

I heard this great story on NPR about how preschool is the best job training for kids because it gives them the tools they really need to make it in the workplace: ability to work with others, resolve conflict, etc....
anyway, as I look towards entering the workplace full time and face not getting to hang out with Jack during the week, it was reassuring to know that Jack will benefit from the time he spends at

keeping up with Jack

It gets really hard with kids at this age to keep track of the amazing things they do because so much of what's amazing is how they cross-reference things and build connections.
Jack is very fascinated by signs right now and especially signs that have the NO-slash through them. He asks over and over, "what does that mean?" and I tell him "that means they don't want you to..." or "there aren't any .... allowed"
he's also preoccupied with the sign on his car seat that says it shouldn't be installed in reverse in the front passenger seat. He looks forward to the day he is as tall as a grown up and can sit in the front seat.
Lately I've been really able to visualize how Jack will eventually take up the space of an adult. It's incredible and exciting. The only consistent with kids is change. It's such a good reminder for life.

Last week of summer Toddler One

This isn't a picture of Jack, but featured here is his great teacher from the summer, Indica and guess which kid we call "Ambassador Paloma"?
Climbing the hill---once Jack got the hang of it, he helped his friends up!
Working with blocks, that little white-blonde boy is Parker John, he and Jack hit it off right away.

This letter from Jack's teacher:

Dear Toddler 1 Families,

What’s been happening in Toddler 1?

I can’t believe it’s the second to last week of summer, it truly has flown by. The first week of August is now behind us and the last week of summer is upon us. This week the children participated in small group activities inside and outside of the classroom; from going visiting the Preschool classrooms to working on art projects. Another stand-out part of the week was the children’s interest in dramatic play that allowed them to explore their imaginations. Despite the cooler temperatures we as a team made it a point to let the children still have their quality time outdoors through walks and trips to the front grass area.

I noticed over this week during art activities that children were very interested in mixing and making new colors. We daily make a strong effort to provide an opportunity for the children to have access to paint, this week it was set out daily as a small- group table activity. On Monday morning it was painting with Q-tips; Wyatt dipped his Q-tip in red and then smeared blue on top of it. As he blended the colors together he said,” Look,” Paloma glanced over and said , “Hey purple.” This conversation then sparked Evelyn to mix white, red and blue together; as she mixed her colors she loudly explained, “I made purple!” This type of conversation and realization was very present in the classroom during art activities. On Thursday the children spent time mixing water colors together in the morning; Parker discovered he could make a brown/black color by mixing all of the colors together.

The children’s play this week also involved their imaginations greatly. During the mornings the dramatic play area of the classroom was bustling. The children prepared several meals that were distributed among their peers and teachers. The clothes in this area were also put to use; Paloma brought in a hat from home that she explained was her “cowgirl-hat” which sparked an interest in all of the hats in the classroom. Diego and Parker wore construction hats but announced that they were also cowboys. The new and improved sandbox was another setting for dramatic play, it was also transformed into a kitchen. Isaiah baked several dozens of cupcakes. Wyatt also prepared a large cake with aid from Ruby. Through dramatic play the children are able to explore they creativity and incorporate their friends into the imagination.

As the summer is ending Preschool is approaching, this week a few trips were made across the hall to their future classroom and yard. Bonita took a small group on Monday morning after snack and the children played in their future yard until lunch time. They’re always very excited to go to Preschool! Tuesday afternoon provided another opportunity to let Toddler 1 explore the yard, the children seem to becoming more familiar with the space. On Friday morning Ruby, Gus, Isaiah and Ryka were able to spend a significant amount of time in Preschool 2 classroom. Gus and Ryka built with their various block materials and Ruby and Isaiah had a tea party in the kitchen.

I hope you all have a great weekend.

Alli

good times in Charleston

The first week of August Jack and Papa went to Charleston to visit Nana. They met up with Uncle Scott, Cousin Annie, Cousin Charlie and suprise guest Uncle Mark!

Sunday work day ---the bench!

Jack found a firefighter hat and was already to go. Jellyfish T-shirt courtesy of my dear friend David at General Assembly in Brooklyn, NY.

the hay and mud bench that we were adding glass stones to

Sunday work day---another nice shot of the bench!

Sunday work day---Nancy contributes

Nancy applying glass stones to the hay and mud bench at Jack's school.

Sunday work day---Sean contributes

Sean helping to build planter boxes for the preschool play yard

Sunday work day---Jack helps with the bench

Jack really liked letting the glass stones tumble out of his hand onto the bench.

Sunday work day---Jack adds stones to the bench

if you want to see the snapfish photo album from the entire day you can click on this link:
Click here to view photos

Sunday work day---Sean on the first stage of the bench

Sean helps add the slurry to the bench
Click here to view photos

New School July 27

during our campus walk Jack says "Parker, you're my good friend, thank you!" and gives him a big smile.
Jack enjoyed looking at the different buildings and trying to figure out what was inside of them.

July 21 new school

July 21 (Jack's day to bring something to share at group time: when we were leaving the house he couldn't decide whether to bring a book (Shadowville) or his Sesame Street CD)

Jack suggested that we could listen to his CD during snack time. He was very excited to share his book with friends. He showed them pictures and let them....(unfinished)

July 19th at the new school

Jack's teachers write a sentence or two on a group sheet that the parents can see at the end of the day.

July 19
Jack was very excited to help make the pancakes for snack. He also worked with Parker to build a long train track to drive the train on.

New School day 3

So just for the record, Jack will go to his new school Tuesdays and Thursdays through August and continue on at his "Old School" or "The Orange Room" on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. At the end of August he'll go to his "New School" five days a week.

This morning he was really excited that it was his day to bring a snack for the class. I showed him the big fruit salad I had made and he said, "oh! whoa!"
Jack talked about how the last time he went to school it was his friend Parker John's day to bring a snack.

Jack was not feeling so well

Jack has had an ongoing cold lately, and yesterday when I picked him up from school he was really hot and didn't look so good. By the time we got home he was telling me that he "didn't get enough rest today" and he "is not feeling very good".

I hooked him up with some apple juice in the big bed and a video, and he promptly threw up. Later he referred to throwing up as "stuff shooting out of my mouth!"

He felt much better today.

When we got to school (new school, where he'll be going full time in the fall), his teacher Allie told me that one kid in his class, Isaiah, has been napping with Jack's picture on the days that Jack is not in school.

music in preschool room

Jack's class went to visit the preschool room where Jack will go in the fall. His teachers said that Jack played the piano with headphones on and sang "The Alphabet Song".

Yerba Buena Gardens with Quinton

the innocent joy of a 3 year old and a fountain

doctor check in

Jack weighed in at 30.8 pounds today and measured 38 1/4" tall

Jack annual check up

Jack got his annual check up and look over for school at Dr. Goff's office on Friday.

Jack is 38 1/4" tall and weighs 30.8 lbs.

Jack did a good job following the doctor's directions and answering questions like "how old are you?"

After we talked with the doctor for a little while about where Jack is at developmentally, Jack thought to mention that "I am not old enough to watch that Sesame Street video! I can watch it when I am a little bit bigger."

No shots were needed and Jack got two rubber duckie stickers for being such a good patient.

First day at The New School

We had been prepping Jack for his new school for a little while, and his teachers had been prepping the kids in his class! His teacher told me that each day during group time she would show the kids a picture of Jack and they would talk about their new friend.
When Jack arrived the first day there was a sign on the door that said, "Welcome Jack!" with drawings by the kids on it.
Jack had his own cubby with his picture on it and a picture of our family on the family wall.
I had planned to stay as long as I needed to to make sure Jack was comfortable in his new surroundings. By the time I left at 10:45 am, he had already shared Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel with the kids at Group Time and sat on Teacher Indica's lap for story time.

library requests from Jack

Jack would like to find an age-appropriate book on cyclops and one on electricity.

Red=Fire

This morning Jack noticed that I was wearing red pants to work. He eyed me suspiciously and asked, "why are you wearing firefighter pants today?"
I think he was afraid I was visiting the fire station without him or something.
He's been having a little bit of a hard time being in day care full time. So have I.

The lastest words from the mouth of babes

Jack calls the glove compartment the "glove department" and life preservers are "life preserve us".

Jack's new kite

insight from Jack

"Our shadows look different when we walk in the shade" ---19. May 2011

glad to be living in Bayview

as we drove from the Bayview to the Sunset today, Jack and I argued about whether the big gray thing in the distance was fog or a mountain.

construction

I could make a full time job of documenting Jack's constructions and explaining what they do. This was one that he was very proud of, although I was never quite sure what it was created to do.

the rain is finally ending it seems

but Jack has told me several times that he (and Tycco) like the rain. He says they like to splash in the puddles and Jack loves walking around with his National Wildlife sea creatures umbrella.

Jack's welding uniform

This morning Sean snapped a picture of Jack in his welding uniform. Notice the badge.

As we sat on Pebble Beach, looking out to sea

I asked Jack, "Jack, if you were a rock, what color rock would you be?"

After a pause and without taking his eyes off the water he said, "I wouldn't be a rock, I'd be a big fat wave. With a shark in it."

Incident report: April 22, 2011

11:30 am
Jack bumped head/scrape on forehead
While playing with another friend Jack was bumped by one of the brooms they were using.
Ice pack.

this morning

Jack came into our bed sometime early this morning and went back to sleep. When he woke up later he laid on the pillow next to me and said, "let's rub noses". then he giggled like crazy.

Safety shirt

I meant to tell you-

Jack inherited a Green Bay Packers Brett Favre #4 mesh jersey from Aunt Lisa.

He showed no interest until one day, which weirdly enough was Superbowl weekend, when he said he wanted to wear his safety shirt. He tells us every once in a while what the letters on the back say (F-A-V-R-E). One day he told us they said, "The rule is you have to see your tummy through the holes in the safety shirt. The next time he told us the letters say "SAFETY!" The next time it said, "STOP! GO! SAFETY!"

When people see him in it and question him about his love of the Packers, he looks at them like they've mistaken him for someone else.

strawberry season!

Jack with strawberry at the Farmer's Market last Saturday

the significant things you couldn't imagine if you didn't have a kid

There are about 100 of these moments every day.

This morning Sean heard Jack waking up, talking to himself, clearly dreaming. Then when Jack was awake he told Sean that he saw the pizza but then the pizza was gone and he wanted the pizza. It was probably the first time we had a clear example of Jack experiencing dreams vs. reality.

Later today I gave Jack a yogurt and a spoon to eat before nap. I went off to the bathroom and when I came back Jack had decided to eat the yogurt with his hand, just one hand, while he held his favorite stuffed animal, Dalmation, in his other hand. I told him that I didn't know why he decided to eat his yogurt with his hand today, but that next time if he doesn't want to use his spoon he should really wash his hands first because his hands have a lot of germs on them (nevermind that I should have made sure he washed his hands before he sat down to eat anyway). But I'm walking him into the bathroom, looking at how thoroughly he has covered himself in yogurt-his sweatshirt, his face, his forehead, his arm, the floor, the table and I'm kind of blown away by how he can make this much of a mess without being intentional about it. I mean, he really was just happily eating yogurt, talking to himself and to Dalmation, clearly not trying to make a mess, but not aware that the yogurt is going everywhere either.

As I write that it sounds like nothing, but it makes me stand in awe and wonder at kids.

snow

In San Francisco, one "goes to the snow". That's how they say it here. It still strikes me as weird. Not so much that you have to get out and go to where the snow is, just grammatically it sounds weird. It seems like one should say, "we're going on vacation to the mountains" or something. But I guess a lot of people here do actually just drive until they see the snow, then they get out of their cars and frolic for a while, then they go home.

Jack was into it. We stayed at a lovely, understated resort that served hot chocolate for free until 5 every day, with whipped cream and cinnamon sprinkled on top. Jack doesn't like chocolate, and he wasn't interested in the hot chocolate but Sean and I got our money's worth. The snow was really high, but the weather was warm so it was pretty much the best of both worlds, although I guess if I had to find something wrong I could say it would have been nice if snow had fallen while we were there. But I'm not going to find anything wrong because the trip was awesome. We went into South Tahoe one day and Jack tried ice skating on skates. He was a real champ and did remarkably well.

I want to talk about

Today Jack said, "I want to talk about...costume parties"

so we talked about it a little while and decided that if we went to a costume party Jack would dress as a cowboy (like Curious George) and when I asked him if he would want to dress as Curious George dressed as a cowboy, he laughed uproariously.

Later he said, "Nancy, I want to talk about...fleas"

According to Jack, fleas are about the size of an medium size adult's fist.

snow

Wednesday morning I woke up next to Jack (long story) at about 5 am or something and he bolted upright and said, "Nancy! we have to finish our snowman!"

When I told him I thought it was still too early to wake up and that it was still dark out he said, "but see my head? my head is UP! that means it's time to wake up and go finish our snowman!"

things a mom and her boy say to each other.

often I am overwhelmed by how much I love Jack and I feel like I will burst. And I think that if I loved him even one little bit more, I might explode. I might explode into a burst of ....what?
I found myself saying to Jack one day, "Jack, I loved you anymore I might just explode into a hundred million....jellybeans!"
and Jack said, "Jackbeans!"
so now when I feel that surge in my heart I say, "Jack, if I loved you anymore I would just explode into a hundred million Jackbeans!"
and he says, "Nancy, if I loved you anymore, I would explode into a hundred million Mamabeans!" and then we laugh and I say, "do you know what love means Jack?" and he says, "I don't know."

night/morning

Jack has been coming into our room in the middle of the night. If we have our wits about us, we walk him back to his room, but sometimes I'm too lazy. Also, Jack has been sick lately, and I'm much more lenient about anything that helps him sleep more.
He does tend to sleep later into the morning when he's with us.
The funny part is that he always ends up sleeping ACROSS our two pillows, which if you're picturing it, really means he's lying across Sean and I.
So this morning I woke up to his little legs draped across my chest and it was just about the sweetest thing you can imagine. He's all passed out, snoring away, and his little perfect feet are right at eye level when I lift my head.

Jack and Tycco

this morning Jack woke up and said, "Tycco?"
they have an extraordinary friendship. At school this morning Jack even bypassed reading a book with me because Tycco arrived and Jack wanted to go find him.
Their teachers tell us that Jack and Tycco are the only kids in the class who can completely resolve conflict on their own. They will start off screaming at each other and by the end they are happily saying, "okay, let's go play".

our little rock star

one freak morning Jack slept until 7:40 and I had to load him into the car to go to school while he was still in his pajamas. As we pulled out of the garage and the morning light burst into the car Jack said, "I need my sunglasses!"
Then he said, "I need my breakfast" so I passed him a muffin I had brought. He looked like a young Bob Dylan with his messed up hair and shades, eating in the car on his way to the gig.

recent developments

Jack really likes these hooks from the kitchen pan rack we haven't installed yet. He carries them around the house just like this. The clearly represent something to him, sometimes he talks about it, sometimes he doesn't.

the other night Jack's alarm clock accidentally went off at midnight. I rushed into his room to turn it off and found him sitting up in bed with his hands over his ears yelling, "IT'S AN EMERGENCY! IT'S AN EMERGENCY!"

after dinner one night Jack wanted to go into his room but the light was off (too high for him to reach). He waved his pointed finger at Sean and I and said, "hey, can any of you guys, Nancy, Sean, any of you guys, turn on my light for me?"

Jack's sticker book

We use a sticker book to encourage (bribe) Jack into using the potty. The book has different fire fighting scenes. Jack is very particular about making sure the water from the fireboats is getting the fire out.

how to unravel the question

Jack said to Lucy in a big, scary voice, "Lucy, your fur is so soft!"
Then he turned to me and said, is that a mean word?
And I was totally thrown off because I knew I had to explain that dogs understand tone, not necessarily the words, so even though what he was saying was nice, Lucy might thing it was mean.
And then I started realizing that I DON'T really know how a dog's mind works, and what they recognize and what they don't and I didn't want to give Jack wrong information until I had a chance to look it up. Wow.
Anyway, I sort of stumbled through it, trying to put it in terms that we've used before when discussing what are nice things to say and what aren't, but I don't think I gave a very good explanation.

recent pictures

water----Jack at the Academy looking at the Banner Fish and in the bath with bubbles

music

Jack and I have started debating what music we are going to listen to in the car. I know this will continue until he gets his own car.

The Legend of Santa Claus according to Jack

In the car today Jack asked me "where is Santa Clause now?" so I gave him a few of the details and this is what he pieced together.:

There are two very good friends named Santa and Santa Claus, they are both very old men. Santa is almost as old as Santa Claus.

They live at the North Pole which is at the very tippy top of Ponterpanty Mountain (ed. note: for those of you without toddlers, this is a Fireman Sam video reference) which is at the very tippy top of the planet Earth where the polar bears and arctic foxes live (ed. note: as seen in Your Big Backyard magazine).

AND THEN! the firefighters go and drive up to the top of Ponterpanty Mountain to rescue Santa and Santa Clause and bring them to the (our) Orange House.

On St. Nicholas day Santa and Santa Claus bring us treats like stickers and firetrucks and put them in our shoes. Then they hang around and play with blocks and read stories and sometimes they go to the coffee shop to see the police men.

AND THEN! On Christmas day they bring presents to the Orange House and so does Grandma and so does Nana and so do Nancy and Sean and Mama and Papa but they are all very quiet.

Then the firemen pick them up and take them back to the top of Ponterpanty Mountain where they rest their bodies a little bit and have a snack.

finding his stance

Lately, like maybe in the past couple weeks, Jack has begun trying out putting his hands on his hips when he is trying to sound and look serious about what he is saying. He puts his balled up little fists on his waist and then they sort of slide down as he forgets they are there. Then he looks down and sort of cocks his head sideways and puts his fist back on his fist.
It is really hard not to laugh when he is doing this and it's obviously so important that we don't because Jack is really upset at these moments and wanting to be heard and taken seriously.
It's completely adorable.

very steep mountain

Jack has begun multiple drawings of "very steep mountains". The best part about it is watching his face as he concentrates very hard to close the circles at the end.