Delayed Satisfaction

Last year for Christmas we bought Jack a GIGANTIC stuffed dog. At the time it seems liked such a great gift. In fact, when I went to Costco to buy it several people in the store stopped to say what a great gift it was and one woman went so far as to say it had a large "wow factor" for Christmas morning. We couldn't wait to see Jack's face when he came down the stairs on Christmas morning, seeing the dog for the first time.

Unfortunately, things didn't work out like we wanted. Jack definitely was overwhelmed on Christmas morning when he came down the stairs but it had nothing to do with the dog. He "oooohed" and "aaaahhhed" at the Christmas lights on the tree and the stockings filled to their brims and all the other wrapped presents but he could care less about the dog. We tried in vain to get him excited about it but all he would say was "its a dog." For the next 7 months the anti-climatic dog stayed in the playroom, completely untouched and ignored. No matter how hard we tried, Jack showed no interest.

Randomly one day this week, Jack went into his playroom and pulled and tugged until he brought the HUGE dog into the living room. Keep in mind that this stuffed dog nearly weighs as much as Jack but he fought it until he had it right where he wanted it. Ever since then, it has become Jack's favorite toy and he brings other toys with him while he lays on it. Mommy is so happy :)

Baby Monsters!

We had our 10 week ultrasound last week and the doctor gave us the ultrasound pictures to bring home. Jack found them on the coffee table and I told him that those were the babies. He turned to me and said, "No Mommy. Those aren't babies. Those are monsters. Baby monsters."

I hope this isn't foreshadowing a bigger problem!!!

Happy Anniversary (a few days late)!

Mommy and Daddy celebrated their 6th wedding anniversary last weekend. Our wedding was so fantastic but it paled in comparison to our daily life together. After having been together for almost 13 years, we are definitely ready to tackle this next big adventure!

Double Your Pleasure, Double Your Fun!

The Spillman Family is (FINALLY) pleased to announce that we are expanding! We aren't just growing a little, we're growing A LOT! Jack will be a big brother to not one, but TWO, babies in January! Please wish us luck as we embark on this super exciting (and scary) journey!

WOW! at the Botanical Gardens

On Sunday we headed to the World of Wonder at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens. We heard about this place through our VB blog friends and we weren't disappointed. It reminded us so much of our neighborhood park in Chicago (excuse Mommy while she sheds a nostalgic tear) and Jack was in splashing heaven.I'm sure all of you mommies and daddies out there can relate--isn't it so magical to see the simple pleasures your child(ren) can experience??!!

It was so much fun, Jack really didn't know what to do with himself! (Or this could be when we told Jack for the 10th time that he wasn't allowed to take his pants off!!!)

Beach Days!

There is nothing better than a day at the beach (or the bay). Jack could play all day and never get tired of the water and sand. Mommy and Daddy especially love it because it usually means an epic nap afterwards!

Mr. Potato Head

Girls play dress up. We play Mr. Potato Head!

Just Call Him Hugh

Hugh Hefner, that is. Jack was seriously sporting his bathrobe this evening :)

Pungo Strawberry Festival

Sorry for the delay in posting. Daddy threw his back out a few weeks ago and was completely laid up for a few days which caused us to get behind in everything. Thankfully Daddy is almost back to his old self and we are back on track!

While Daddy was in bed, Mary Grace and Maya invited us to the Strawberry Festival parade. What a fun day! Of course the kids had to have something to drink so we bought them strawberry lemonades. Little did we know that the drinks were as big as their heads!!!Jack thought the parade was fantastic and he was most excited about the "marching men." He would cheer whenever a marching band came by and pretended to play his air drum along with them. I think, whether we like it or not, we have a future band geek on our hands :)
Jack thought the Shriners men were driving Lighting McQueen :)
For some reason Jack has a strange obsession with yellow cars so this part of the parade was particularly exciting...
What could be better than a parade, a strawberry necklace and a blue lollipop? I really can't think of anything!

Could it be true?

Well, its seems like we have overcome a huge hurdle in our house...Jack is done with pacifiers!!! 2 nights ago we were getting him ready for bed and we couldn't find a paci in his room. Daddy said that Wrigley ate one earlier in the day so I quickly told Jack that Wrigley ate ALL the pacifiers. He was slightly upset and asked for his paci a few times but fell asleep with very little fuss. Of course, as soon as Mommy and Daddy walked out of his room, we looked all over the house for the pacis, just in case! When Jack awoke the next morning he asked for his paci again but we told him that Wrigley ate them. He took a 2 hour nap at school with no paci and went to sleep last night again without it!!

Now, if we could only get potty training down and move Jack to a toddler bed!