Jack knows a good thing when he finds it!

Last week I found Jack climbing into the dishwasher to find the spatula we had just used.  I know it's kind of gross and I probably should have redirected him away from sitting on the dishwasher, but instead I grabbed my phone to take a few pictures:

Here he is today licking the spatula (and the bowl and his fingers) clean:

Whippy Dip

After our Sunday night dinner at Nana's house, we all headed over to the Mt. Healthy Dairy Bar for the season's first whippy dip.  Jacob generously shared his cone with Jack, and I shared my Oreo flurry.  I'm pretty sure that Jack enjoyed them both!

First taste

20 weeks

Here are two quick pregnancy shots.  I can't believe we are half way through!

Jack wanted to show his belly too! 

Just me and the baby:  20 weeks!

Zoo

At nearly 16 months, Jack has truly begun to enjoy our time at the zoo.  I feel like this was the first time that our visit was more than just a nice (hilly) walk.  He pointed at the animals, made the animal sounds that he knows, and smiled and laughed as the gibbons swung from branch to branch.  It was so much fun to watch!

Sorry about the quality of these videos.  Again, I'm having trouble dumping my phone photos and videos.  This was the best that I could do!

Jack's impression of a gorilla:

The elephant:

I tried and tried to get a good picture of Jack watching the polar bears, but he was much more interested in the big kids that were hanging around.  He is such a people person!

The spice cabinet

I can't tell you exactly why, but Jack's favorite place to play in our kitchen is the spice cabinet.  You can frequently find him pulling out the spice jars, giving them a shake, a little sniff, and sometimes a lick.  I've learned to keep the cayenne up high!

While I was taking a work-related phone call recently, Jack wandered off into the kitchen.  I assumed he was searching through the containers of cinnamon and nutmeg, and that he was happily entertaining himself.  I had no idea that he had found the one jar with a semi-broken lid and had managed to open, pour, and play.  He was happily entertaining himself -- just in a different way than I had originally imagined.

Here are a few shots of his encounter with the espresso powder.  Luckily he slept just fine after this dose of caffeine, and the mess wasn't anything that the vacuum couldn't pickup in a few seconds.  I am so thankful that at that moment I was in the right mood to laugh, grab the camera, and make a bit of a mess with him!

We're alive and well...

I'm sorry to be so behind on my blogging.  We've been busy around here:  Jacob's finishing the basement, Jack is on the move, and I am growing a baby.  Whew!

I'll do my best to fill you in on what we've been up to:

The weather has been hit or miss lately and we've tried to get outside as often as possible.  Jack loves getting out his sidewalk chalk, but I'm not sure that he understands exactly what it's for.  Occasionally he'll scribble on the ground, but he typically prefers to taste the chalk, inspect the chalk, and put the chalk back into the box.  Oh well, at least we're outside!

On the days that we're stuck inside, we've tried to be crafty.  After we colored the pasta last month we strung a necklace.  I tied the string to the end of a crayon and Jack was able to get the noodles onto the necklace by himself.  (Well, he got the noodles onto the crayon and I helped him to finish it up.)

And then there are the days when we need to just kick back and relax.  Jack is pretty good at that:

I've got a ton of fun pictures and videos on my phone that I'm having trouble uploading.  I hope to get them up soon and I'll share Jack's newest milestones!  

Enjoying the weather

Jack and I have decided to take full advantage of the unseasonably warm weather these past two days.   Yesterday we took a quick trip to the zoo, and today we enjoyed a long walk around College Hill.  We hit all of the hot-spots:  the post office, the bank, a peak into the fire house, and of course the park.

Here's a picture of Jack standing up at the reptile house.  (In reality, he's just propped up against the railing - but it counts, right?)  I think he's wondering when I'm coming back to rescue him from standing alone.

He wasn't 100% sure about the swing at the playground.  One second he loved it, and the next he was about to cry.  Literally.  It was as if he had a split second to think about being scared on the way back, and on the swing forward he was having to much fun to be frightened.