happy 4th of july!

well, as of this post, it's actually july 6th, but close enough. i decided to take the past week off of work and we had a great "vacation." we all headed up to connecticut last weekend for a visit with nana and aunt maureen and uncle josh were also there. we just missed pop-pop by a couple of days, hopefully we'll get to see him soon though! on the way back from CT we stopped off to meet patrick leone and then spent the rest of the weekend relaxing at home (4th of july parade, some swimming in the kiddie pool and lots of running!).

in the new "skills" category, jack continues to improve using his fork and spoon at meals. less food ends up on the floor and more in his mouth and recently he's started trying to jump and also takes a few swings at the ball when daddy "pitches" to him - maybe it's not wishful thinking to hope for a future major leaguer?!

here's some photos and video from the past week, enjoy.

playing at the beach

oh aunt maureen, you are funny...

he enjoys this toy much more than his face shows...thanks dave and sue!

hanging at camp jewell

running in the spray pool at wolcott park

jack and nana

happy fourth of july!

are there more firetrucks coming?

jack and patrick leone, again happier than his face indicates!

video of jack playing baseball

snip, snip

it was time...i love the curls, but it was time to clean up jack's permanent state of bed head with a trip to get his hair cut. we went to a place in chestnut hill specializing in kids cuts. they have all sorts of themed chairs, dvd player, etc...nothing was interesting to jack, who once the scissors came out the tears followed. the woman cutting his hair (who got tipped very well) remarked how strong he was as he thrashed about. we all survived the trip and the curls for the most part remained in tact.

before

fire trucks are fun, right?

yikes! (hysterics followed and i had to put the camera down to restrain him)


after


eating pizza for lunch with my new hair cut.

go h2l2

so, whether he likes it or not, jack has had the pleasure of attending all of the H2L2 softball games this year - hey we are 5-0, perhaps he's good luck! this past week's game was especially fun as i returned to the mound for the first time in 2 years and pitched a 5-inning shutout before the reliever (i.e. the coach) took over. ok, but enough about me - we've gotten some great photos courtesy of kristi (who is now engaged to vince - yeah!) and nicole, the team "photographer." enjoy!

watch out for those rocks

ouch. not looking where he was walking and mom and dad not sitting close enough to catch him, jack took a little spill out front and landed face down in the rocks. he more crumpled vs. fell but has the scratches to show for it. dad gave him a nice warm bath and then we read lots of books before going to bed. he was back up and running around the very next day. the first of many scratches, bumps and bruises to come i'm sure. boys.

running man...

in addition to jack's promising career as a baseball player as shown earlier, perhaps he's got potential as a track star. ready, set, go!





or then again, maybe something in the cleaning services industry.



regardless of his choice of profession, we're all having a blast. jack loves to go swimming, both at grandma and grandpa murphy's and in his little pool. we're up to 5 1/2 teeth and more on the way. he's soaking up knowledge like a sponge these days, picking up on simple commands after only one time and is as active as every as evidenced by the 30 minutes he spent literally jumping around in his pool over the weekend.

with clothes...

with bathing suit on...

for comparisons, here's jack one year ago, at 3 months old:

and now, 15 months old:

noses and cereal

jack identifying his nose while enjoying some lucky charms (minus the marshmallows)...next up, eyes...stay tuned. :-)




p.s. please excuse the bed-head...crazy hair...like father, like son.

the elephant goes bralooo!

as part of a mother's day weekend extravaganza, jack and i went down to washington, d.c. to visit aunt maureen, uncle josh, and nana flew in for the visit. after arriving, we took a spin over to the national zoo (a smithsonian museum, the zoo is free - perfect for unpredictable toddlers!)

we saw a bunch of animals, jack's favorite being the baby hippopotamus, he did not want to leave! enjoy the zoo pictures.

c'mon nana, hurry up!

hello baby hippo

i like the zoo

whhhhheeeee!