Sleeping Essentials

Jack has been sleeping in his big-boy (toddler w/o side) bed for about a month now. He's been doing very well! He's only fallen twice and usually lays in bed until I'm out of the room. He then plays for about 15 mins and then crawls into bed.

He's taken to bringing a few choice with him. In the picture to the left, he's chosen to treat his big, fluffy dog to a nap on the big bed.

He's a pretty generous boy. Not only does he love his toys, he also loves his kitties. He seems to think that when they sleep that they also need toys. Below is Charlotte who, while contently catnapping the early evening away, earned a visit from the sleep fairy. Obviously every cat needs a remote and Tonka quad runner while she sleeps, right?

Jack Talk

Some people pride themselves on decoding long-lost languages or even made-up languages (we Trekkie fans...yes, I had a Klingon dictionary in the early 90s); however, no words can describe the pride that comes with interpreting the pronunciations, utterances and shouts of a almost-two-year old.

Jamie and I are quite adept at understanding Jack's language, only half the time having to shake our head in ignorance. To help the non-Jack mommies and daddies, here is a list of his spoken vocab (he understands more words than he says). We didn't count his numbers and letters that he has learned.

	What it means			What it means			What it means
Daddy	Dad (and most men)		Mom-ee	Mommy		Ah, me	Ah, man (Swipper the Fox)
Ah-Pull	Apple		Baby	Baby		DoraBoos	Dora (sometimes Boots)
Go	Goat		Ganpa	Grandpa		Ganma	Grandma
Nana	Banana		Oran-g	Orange		Geen	Green
Eye	Eyes		No	Nose		Ed	Head
Yawhoa	Yellow		Ca	Car		Aarplane	Airplane
Daygo	Diego		BubBob	Spongebob		Door	Door
L-kee	Milk (cup)		itty	Kitty		Patty	Patty
Moo	(for cow)		Moo	Emily (cat)		Shooos	Shoes
Elllllmo	Elmo		Abby	Abby		Zoo-ee	Zoey
Ernie	Ernie		Boot	Burt		NaNa	Nathan
Boo-ook	book		Stow	Star		Art	Heart
Pdoh	Playdough		Bubbles	Bubbles		Ball	Ball
Ceercle	Circle		Angle	Triangle		TanYou!	Thank you
Bye Bye	Bye Bye		El-oo	Hello		Hi	Hi
Go	Go		Dinkle	Twinkle		Fwol	Flower (always followed by a sniff)
Ov You	Love You		Tiki Tiki	Tickle		Moww	Mouth
Coo	Cool		Pee Pee	Pee Pee		Ah Dow	All Done
Puppy	Puppy		WoofWoof	Woof Woof		Kack Kack	Quack Quack--all birds
Pooh	Pooh

Reinvigorated!

Ok, so one might ask why I haven't blogged in awhile, considering I'm unemployed and living on a farm in the middle of nowhere. What else do I have to do, right?!?

Well, it seems that Jack and I are settling into a pattern of playing and learning (usually both at the same time). I'm fairly uncertain of the time line of the events of the last few months and often forget what day of the week it is. So, in order to catch everyone up, I'm heading to my computer picture folder to assemble a briefing of the recent past.

1. We arrived in Oregon in February. It's not as cold here as in Illinois, so by early March we were able to play bubbles outside!


2. We've been enjoying trips to "Uncle Doug's Park" as my nephew Nathan calls it. Uncle Doug has a Thomas the Train for the kids to play on, a sandbox, swings and a slide. Lots of fun!

3. Jack and Nathan are getting to know each other and Jack loves to be around his "Nay Nay". (I couldn't get a good pic of the both of them at Freyer Park...so, here's Nathan stuffing his face.)

4. The Woodburn Tulip Festival and the Molalla Park have afforded us day trips away from the farm.