The Littlest Cubbie Bear

Jack went to his very first Cubs game today and he had a blast! He had the full Wrigley experience complete with Cubs gear, a ride on the "L", and a hot dog. The weather was absolutely beautiful and Mommy snapped this great picture of Jack and Daddy waiting for the train.

Jack was so funny on the train. He insisted on standing on Daddy's lap and holding onto the pole just like all the other people on the train.

Jack loved his hot dog and drew the attention of all the fans around us for his Cubs outfit and hot dog eating abilities--he ate the whole thing!

Even though he didn't last the whole game, he did make it to the 6th inning and we were able to get a family shot in the "Friendly Confines" before heading home.

While we were waiting for the train to go home, Daddy was listening to the UVA football game on his XM radio and Jack decided he wanted to get the score too!

Cookie Monster!!!!

As a treat for being such a good and patient boy the other day, Mommy bought Jack a cookie and milk at Starbucks. The chocolate chip cookie turned out to be as big as Jack's head (literally) but he was not daunted. Before Mommy could break off a small bit for him to nibble on, he took the whole cookie off the table and sunk his teeth in. He ended up eating 3/4 of the cookie!!!

Just Hanging Out

Jack has an inner tube that he uses to jump on, sit in, and stand on. Lately Jack likes to take his books and toys with him in his inner tube and then he just plays and plays in the middle of it.

An evening at the park

Daddy was able to come home from work a little early today so we decided to take advantage of the nice weather before its gone (and knowing Chicago, it will be gone next week!). We went to Adam's Playlot and then to Twisted Lizard for dinner. Mommy rode with Jack on the slide and then Jack decided to try to run up the slide. He is completely fearless.

Jack also made a new friend. A little girl at the park took Jack under wing and rode the see-saw and the teeter totter with him. Afterwards, he went up to her and gave her hug to say thank you.

Like Father, Like Son

On a rather sad note, Chris' grandmother passed away this week. Yesterday we drove to Crawfordsville, IN for the funeral and on the way home, Mommy drove and Daddy rode in the backseat with Jack. Jack wants to be just like his Daddy in every way. He dresses like him, he imitates him, and he ALWAYS wants to play with Daddy's Blackberry. Jack is always trying to talk on the phone and he pretends that everything he holds is a telephone (including chicken strips, shoes, remote controls, etc). Yesterday in the car, Jack got to play with Daddy's Blackberry and tried to dial lawyers at the firm. While he was unsuccessful in that attempt, he did manage to hold the phone correctly and pretend to talk on it, just like Daddy :)

Mr. Singer

Jack LOVES to dance, and its a pretty recent obsession. He will dance anywhere at any time as long as there is some sort of music. He especially likes heavy metal-type music and tends to head bang, which is pretty funny considering we never taught him how to do it and we don't listen to that kind of music. Anyway, every Wednesday at the zoo Mr. Singer comes to entertain the kids in the big barn. He dresses in a sort-of farmer outfit and has a pencil-thin mustache and for some reason the little ones cannot get enough of him. They jump up and down the moment he enters the room and as soon as he starts playing his guitar and singing the area in front of the "stage" turns into a mosh pit filled with toddlers. Hysterical! I took Jack a few weeks ago and wasn't quite sure how he would respond and if it could keep his attention, and much to my surprise he was completely awe-struck and then proceeded to dance for 30 minutes!

Coffee Grounds

So Jack has a slight obsession with containers. Any container, any shape, any size. He LOVES to carry them around, put things in them, and take things out. We joke that he is going to be a janitor someday because of his obsession with trash cans and brooms! This morning Jack decided to play in the trash can so I turned it around so that he couldn't get in. Well apparently he is smarter than I gave him credit because he somehow figured out how to open it and pull out the coffee filter filled with coffee grounds. He ripped it in half over his head so that he was completely COVERED in coffee and then sat on the ground to play with his new mess!

Future 'Hoo

This past weekend Jack attended his first UVA football game. Of course, we tailgated in Vick fashion with UVA tables, chairs, napkins, etc and enough hot food to feed an army. Jack was decked out in UVA gear including orange shorts!
It was by far the hottest game we've ever attended...the temperature reading in the car was 100!!! We still managed to get a great family picture (despite the fact that Jack's mouth was full of banana)!Eventually the heat started to get to everyone as you can see by the red faces! By half time Jack was ready for a nap (especially since he skipped his morning one) so we left. It was a great day, though, and Jack had a blast.

Graham Crackers

Jack loves graham crackers but lately he thinks they are a toy and not food. Daddy captured Jack "eating" graham crackers at Nana and Papa's house this past weekend. Is he a ham, or what?

Happy Birthday Papa

Yesterday was Papa's 61st birthday and Jack was so happy to be able to celebrate with him. Unfortunately Jack is teething so his mouth was really bothering him at dinner. However, it wasn't anything a little ice cream couldn't soothe.
Happy Birthday Papa! We love you!

Tiger Woods, Y'all

It wouldn't be a trip to Virginia without a couple of golf outings and Jack is finally old enough to tag along! Since Daddy and Papa have already decided that Jack will be the next (or next next) Tiger Woods, we thought it would be a good idea for him to get started at an early age. 12 months old isn't too young, is it?

The day started EARLY...7:30am! It took Jack a little while to come out of his sleepiness...

But then he discovered the golf cart and thought it was by far the coolest and most fun thing he'd ever seen. He managed to find every place on a golf cart to stick a golf ball (including many places that I didn't even know a golf ball could fit!) and loved riding over the hilly terrain that is central Virginia.

Daddy was so happy to finally share one of his favorite past times with his favorite little person. I think there will be many more golf outings in Jack's future :)

Make New Friends, But Keep the Old

While in Virginia we took the opportunity to catch up with Mommy and Daddy's college friend Jayne. Jayne just moved to Charlottesville so it worked out perfectly! After taking a few minutes to warm up to her, Jack had a new best friend. As we were leaving dinner, he kept wanting to give her hugs!

Virginia Birthday Bash

Well we made it to Virginia after a VERY long car ride! By the time we arrived, Jack was ready to party! We had a big birthday party at Lake Monocan at Wintergreen and Jack was completely surrounded by family and friends. The day could not have been more perfect and look at the beautiful surroundings!

A whole lot of people traveled to see Jack and help him celebrate. Grandma Gail and Steve drove all the way from Virginia Beach as did Grandpa Ed and Pam...




Also, Uncle Dwayne, Trish and Chyann came and so did Uncle Dave. He rode all the way from Pennsylvania on his motorcycle!!! An even bigger treat was that Mommy and Daddy's good friend from college Tin-Tin came to celebrate with Jack and she brought along her parents and her boyfriend Simon!














We had lots of yummy food and another big birthday cake. This time Jack decided to have some fun, not only covering himself completely in frosting, but also sharing it with Mommy and Daddy!


Since Jack was completely covered in cake and frosting, we decided to dunk him in the lake to clean him off...

Then it was time to open presents but because Jack decided to skip his nap earlier in the day, he was kinda out of it and was really only interested in his cup and straw. Mommy and Daddy had more fun with the presents than Jack did!
Jack had a wonderful second first birthday party in Virginia and we were so happy that so many friends and family could join us in the celebration! We're spending the whole week in Virginia with Nana and Papa and Jack is going to have his first trip to the golf course!