What Did You Ask Santa For?

Jack asked Santa for a croquet set for Christmas and was stoked when he saw it under the tree on Christmas morning. For some reason he has been talking about playing croquet for months so the excitement was killing him. Unfortunately the ground was wet for days after Christmas so Jack wasn't able to break out the new set until yesterday afternoon. As soon as he got home from school Jack and Daddy headed out to the front yard for a friendly (and cold) game.

A-a-a-l-v-i-n!!!!

Jack recently became obsessed with Alvin and the Chipmunks. It all started a few weeks ago when Mommy thought she was being nice by "dvr'ing" the movie for Jack. It, however, came back to bite her in the you-know-what because Jack insisted on watching the movie EVERY day for 3 weeks straight. He became especially obsessed with the farting scene and required anyone in watching distance to focus on the television when the scene approached. Ahh, boys!!

Daddy has been wanting to take Jack to the movie theater for some time so when we realized that "Alvin and the Chipmunks-The Squekquel" opened in the theaters at Christmas we decided to sacrifice our sanity and take him. Nana and Papa came along for the experience and to say that Jack was excited would be a gross understatement. He jumped up and down at the posters outside and when we walked in the theater, we were greeted by the Chipmunks themselves!!!We really didn't know how well Jack would behave at the movie but he was instantly mesmerized. When the movie started the 20th Century Fox logo appeared on the screen. Jack became so excited that he yelled, "The 2 and the 0! YES!! Just like my movie at home!!" It was so cute. From that moment on he stared at the screen in awe and didn't move a muscle :)

Twins Update

Allison here--well I made it through Christmas! I had serious doubts that the boys would hold off long enough for me to enjoy Christmas with my family but they did. In fact, I will be 37 weeks on Tuesday and the babies seem to be incubating quite well. So well that they each weigh 6 pounds as of last week! I am seriously carrying around 12+ pounds of baby plus 2 sacks and 2 placentas!!! Uncomfortable, yes, but I am so grateful that the boys are big, healthy and strong. I really have no idea when they will make their grand entrance but I am scheduled for a c-section on January 6th if they don't come before then. In the meantime I am trying to take it easy, rest as much as possible, and enjoy the final moments we have as a family of 3!

One Final Christmas

Grandma Gail and her fiance Steve joined us for Christmas dinner and Jack was so happy to see them. Steve is recovering from quintuple bypass surgery (did you even know they could do that??!!) but Jack refused to go easy on him. Gentle has a different meaning to 3 year old boys!Jack loves them :)
They gave Jack a tool bench with lots of very loud tools like a drill and screwdriver. Of course no tool set would be complete without goggles!

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning was so fun in our house and Jack was beyond excited. He woke up at 6am and came running into our room saying, "I think Santa came! I think Santa came!" We managed to get him back in bed and he even went back to sleep until 7:15 at which time he came back in our room and told us again that he thought Santa had come and that he drank the chocolate milk!

Jack then ran to the office/library/2nd guest room to wake Aunt Tricia and Uncle Dwayne. Needless to say, Uncle Dwayne was none too excited about the early time!As we headed downstairs and into the living room, Jack could hardly contain his excitement!
He immediately ran to check out his loot from Santa and was quite happy to see the croquet set he asked for. Too bad the ground is so freaking wet that we haven't been able to try it out yet!
Jack got Buzz and Woody dolls that talk and each says 50 sayings. Jack is in love :)
Jack also got Gator Golf which he insisted on playing as soon as we finished opening presents.

Merry Christmas Eve

Not knowing when Will and Henry will grace us with their presence, we decided to spend Christmas here this year and it was so nice to be home and not traveling. Here is our family picture in front of the tree before church on Christmas Eve. Jack was singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" complete with hand gestures he learned at school.Nana and Papa were here too!
After church Grandma and Grandpa came over for dinner and presents!

Baking With Nana

Christmas Program!

Last week was Jack's Christmas program at school and it was so incredibly cute. Jack practiced for weeks and talked constantly about going up on the stage. He even invited Mommy to join him :) The show was held in the sanctuary of the church attached to Jack's school which is more like an auditorium. We thought Jack would freeze on stage and not perform but he proved us wrong!

New Blog Name

So, I need your help! We are having a difficult time coming up with a new blog title. With 2 new additions imminent it won't be "just Jack" much longer. Many of the names we have already come up with are already taken and my "pregnancy brain" seems to be in overdrive, meaning I am working at very diminished mental capacity ;) Apparently 2 babies suck twice as much intelligence from you! Anyhoo, any help and suggestions my loyal blog readers (all 2 of you!) could offer would be greatly appreciated!

The Nursery

We are in full-on twin prep mode here in Casa Spillman. The duo could arrive anytime between now and the first week of January and to say that Mommy is nesting would be a serious understatement! We finally put the finishing touches on Will and Henry's nursery today and we are so pleased with how it turned out. Now all we need are 2 babies to fill it! (Just keep your fingers crossed that they wait until after Christmas!!!)

Such a Big Boy!

The sad sad picture at the top of our blog was taken 2 years ago when Jack visited Santa at the Macy's in Chicago. It obviously was not a good experience. Last year Jack was more interested in Santa but refused to sit on his lap. He would wave at Santa when he saw him and was excited for Christmas but the idea of actually interacting with him was too much. Needless to say, Mommy was convinced that she had ruined the magic of Santa for Jack forever.


This year, however, Jack was very excited to see Santa. Daddy and Mommy really thought he would change his mind at the last minute, but instead he marched right up to Santa, sat on his lap, and got down to business. He told him everything he wanted for Christmas (a croquet set and a dinosaur gumball machine) and then proceeded to tell Santa that he was also getting 2 baby brothers :)By the way, it really is amazing to see how much older Jack is from the picture at the top. When did my little baby get replaced by this sweet little boy??!!

Uncle Dave!

We got the most unexpected and wonderful surprise the week after Thanksgiving. Uncle Dave managed to come home for few days from Dubai and Jack was so excited to see him. It had been almost 9 months and both of them have changed A LOT! Jack is, of course, much bigger and Dave, well, he has much less hair! Instead of going bald like Jack's Papa, Uncle Dave decided to shave his head!!!

We had such a great time with Uncle Dave and can't wait for him to come visit again, or even better move back!

We took Jack bowling for the first time while Dave was here. Nana and Papa even came along!
Jack loved bowling and even managed a spare!

O Christmas Tree

It is so much fun to see Christmas through the eyes of a three year old. There is something so magical about it and Jack really seems to find joy in the smallest things. When we are in the car and we drive past a house with Christmas lights, he gets so excited and starts cheering. He is obsessed with his Advent house and always asks for us to put Christmas music on the radio.

Jack couldn't wait to go pick out a Christmas tree and decorate it. Of course, the CavMan ornament had to be the first on the tree while Jack chanted "U-V-A, Go Hoos Go!" It turned out that Jack was much better at dictating where to put ornaments than putting them on himself but he had a great time!

Lite Brite!

Jack found Mommy's old Lite Brite and convinced Daddy to do it with him. After a lot of patience, this was the final product :)

Aunts and Uncles Galore!

The hardest part about moving away from Chicago in February was leaving our amazing friends (and Jack's aunts and uncles). We have been very fortunate to maintain those friendships across many miles and a few weeks ago our friends came to Chicago for a visit and a football game.

Jack loved hanging out with Brendan, even if he was rooting for BC.Alison is one of Jack's favorite people and he can't wait until she marries Brendan next year!
Matt and Meghan have always held a special place in Jack's heart. When their baby boy arrives in February, Jack will have a lifelong playmate!
Tim and Olivia just got married this past summer but Jack wanted to make sure that they didn't get a picture with just themselves!

Our whole gang before the game, including Nana and Papa. We are so thankful that our friends are willing to come visit us and we can't wait until they come again (or until we make it back to Chicago!).