jacksonjohnson

I have a new favorite toy:

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 00:06:04 GMT

My mom and dad got me a giant plastic tub to keep my toys in, but I think it is better suited to keep ME in!

An update from the zoo

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 21:53:03 GMT

We had a fun trip to the zoo this morning, and mom remembered her camera! The forecast was for rain, but it was actually a lovely -- albeit windy -- day. My friend Alex and I had a total blast, and as a special mom bonus for schlepping me across town, I decided to take a nap this afternoon!!

In the gorilla house, Alex and I were quite taken with the three-year-old gorilla, and she was fascinated by us as well. She was sticking out her tongue at us, and we were doing likewise back to her. In an attempt to capture the moment, Mom and Alex's mom posed the three of us together, but the three of us decided not to oblige. She did manage to get one of all three of us looking at the camera and sticking our tongues out, but fortunately, it was blurry beyond recognition. And then there were about a thousand where one or two were looking at the camera, and the other was looking off into space, and so on. Good times for sure.

We also saw the tiger (of course!!). When we visited the tiger after the San Francisco zoo attack during Wildlights, I didn't feel weird about it, but there were a TON of other people around. Today it was just Mom and me -- we got there before Alex and his mom -- and Mom thought it was a little creepy. I didn't, however, and got out the pennies I'd brought from the house to make her roar.

We saw lots of other animals, too, including the sea horses, which have been off exhibit for a while:

We spent a lot of time in the aquarium because it was a.) warm and b.) always fascinating!

Mom really likes the sharks.

Alex and I really like to run around and yell! (fortunately we had the zoo to ourselves, today)

with an occasional stop to check out the fish:

Seaturtle

Manitee

Ray

Here we are riding the croc:

Leopard

Markhor

We also saw the rhino,

the water monitor,

the baby langur and it's parents,

(Mom accidentally forgot to turn the flash off on the first picture, but it's the only one where you can really see his face)

and a very cool Eurasian Eagle Owl.

I've learned to talk about my body and the various functions and parts therein!

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 04:42:16 GMT

I know lots of new words, and sometimes mom and dad it's really funny when I use them.

In fact, they talk about it all the time. I suppose I should be taking notes in order to keep the laughs coming. Today Dad told Mom about what happened when he took me to pee in a public restroom on Saturday. We went to The Screens at the Continent to watch the Buckeyes game (Stupid Big 10 network!!) and though I love the Buckeyes, I quickly got bored with watching the game on a giant screen (Brutus and the band only come out every once in a while...). And when I am bored, I find that it is fun to use the facilities. Bedtime is another time in which a trip to the restroom is warranted, but that's another story. Mom thinks that Dad should have the experience of taking me to a public restroom as much as she can possibly get out of it, and he agreed to take me.

We entered the restroom at halftime, along with all the other guys at the theater.

Me: "I'm not touching anything, Daddy! (See Mom -- some things you tell me are sinking in) It's icky and I might get sick. Then I'd have to be with Jesus."

Me: "I want to pee standing up like you do, Daddy!!"

We go into a stall.

Me: "It smells like poop in here."

sounds of guy in next stall pooping

Me: "Someone is pooping! I don't have any poop."

And if that wasn't enough, Mom told Dad about how fun it was when two toddlers are discussing body parts together:

My best friend Alex came over to join me for a morning of racousness the other day. His mom changes him on the carpet in front of us and says, "You're getting dog hair all over your tiny butt!" (Maybe you should vacuum a little more often, Mom?)

Me: "I have a big butt"

They cracked up.

Alex: "Jack has a big butt!"

They really crack up.

Me: "Look, there's his penis!"

Alex: "Jack has a big penis!"

Tears are rolling down our faces.

A new zoo, and a trip home

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 03:57:34 GMT

On Saturday, Aunt Becky had to work, so Uncle Ben took us to the zoo. It wasn't quite as nice as the Columbus Zoo, but they did have giraffes, which are mom's favorite, and butterflies, which were mine. There was a Komodo Dragon that I was able to sit on, Uncle Ben even bought me a seed stick so that I could feed a bird, and we saw a spider that was nearly as big as my head.

Oh, and they also had hippos, which I was quite fascinated with, as well as a leopard who was right by the window, drawing quite a crowd. I thought I'd give mom a heart attack by wandering off on my own through the crowd. She and Uncle Ben found me quickly, though, and I recieved quite a scolding, which I suppose I deserved.

On Sunday, we visited the giant REI store in downtown Seattle after church, then Aunt Becky and Uncle Ben took us to eat at a wonderful restaurant right by where the ferry docked in Mukilteo. The children's menu was printed on the back of a mask: what a boon!!

Today, we travelled home and finally arrived back in Columbus -- exhausted but happy after our whirlwind journey.

Imagine Children's Museum

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 03:31:41 GMT

Today, Mom and Aunt Becky took me to possibly the best place on earth: The Imagine Children's Musum. This place blew my mind. I walked in and immediately noticed a large tractor with crates stacked up next to it so that I could climb aboard with minimal assistance. In the same exhibit, there was a cow I was able to milk.

Then I noticed an airplane that I was able to fly. I shocked my mom with my correct usage of the word "cockpit" and headed in:

There was a train room, a water room (which I was loathe to leave), a race car room, and a Van de Graaff generator, all of which were an amazingly good time.

Then we climbed onto the roof for even more mindblowing activities. There were dinosaur bones to dig for, giant xylaphones to play, a car to drive, and the world's largest playstructure to play on. It was three o'clock when we finally left, and we hadn't eaten lunch yet -- without a complaint from me! As we were walking out, we noticed there was a whole other floor of activities down below that we hadn't even seen.

More of the west coast

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 02:59:31 GMT

After the memorials, we got to spend some time with all of the relatives. It was nice to aquaint myself with everyone, especially since I figure the more attention I can garner, the better.

On Monday, I went to the beach with Uncle Ted and Alicia and Kasie, mom's cousins. Fortunately, Alicia brought her camera, since Mom accidentally left hers at Uncle Ben and Aunt Becky's house in Seattle. I got to eat some fried clams, which I loved, but may have given me hives, and then we went out on the beach and I dug in the sand and jumped the waves, totally soaking my clothes.

On Tuesday, I went hiking up to the top of Multnomah Falls with Mom and Uncle Ted. While I was up there, we hiked back along the creek that runs over the falls, and I met a young man (three) by the name of Wraif, whom I joined in throwing stones into the water. Then we went to pick up Kristen, who is dating Ted, and drove out to the Charburger for an exceedingly tasty dinner. On the way back to Portland, we stopped off at the fish hatchery at Bonneville Dam, where I was able to see a 13-foot-long, sixty-five-year-old sturgeon, and feed some baby trout. A fantastic time.

On Wednesday we got to go shopping with Aunt Jean. I like Aunt Jean a lot, especially since she got me a cookie along with my lunch AND let me sleep on my very own air mattress while we stayed at her house.

On Thursday, Uncle Ted and Kristen drove us back up to Seattle, where Aunt Becky, Uncle Ben and the big boy bed awaited. We went to see some locks where the boats go from the sea into a freshwater lake and saw huge salmon swimming upstream to spawn. They were climbing a ladder, which fascinated me to no end.

Then we headed out to dip our toes in the sound, which turned out to be quite a bit colder than the Oregon Pacific Ocean, which I had thought cold until the comparison. We got our first fantastic view of Mt. Rainier and then went to see a lighthouse, which turned out not to be very interesting, because it had a fence around it.

A memorial

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 02:26:36 GMT

Great Grandma Ruby died, which was the reason for the plane ride yesterday. Mom tried to explain it to me, but I still don't quite understand. We went to a tiny memorial in the cemetary today, which was lots of fun for me, especially after being cooped up in the car on the drive down from Seattle. I ran around in the grass with all my uncles and second cousins, and had a generally good time. I'm glad I was able to capitalize on being the only great grandchild in a huge group of adults who think I'm cute. When everyone was singing some of Grandma Ruby's favorite songs, I danced along, and when they were finished I exclaimed, "Sing it again, Mommy!" I also took the opportunity to announce during a quiet moment, in case someone was uninformed as to why we were there: "Great Grandma died. That's SAD. She's by JESUS." The best part was putting flowers into the vases that Aunt Sue brought -- I wanted to put all of them in, but they would only let me put in the one for me and the one for my dad, since he couldn't make it.

West Coast, baby!

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 02:19:14 GMT

I got to go on a plane today. Mom told me about it last week when she was trying to buy the tickets online and I was preferring that her attention be paid to me, and it was probably a poor choice on her part to mention it so far in advance. But the day finally came, and here I am in the window seat:

I loved it at first, but about two hours into the ride, it got a little old. I told my mom that I wanted to get off the plane now, but she refused to comply. She did, however, let me poop in the airplane potty, which was an adventure for everyone involved.

We arrived in Seattle...well, Bellingham International Airport (which is a very tiny airport with only one gate and free parking, much to the shock of Aunt Becky)...and were whisked away to the Pike Place Market for lunch, and then to the Seattle Aquarium. I got to see, among other things:

A giant squid

Seals, who were, incidentally, being trained to retrive foriegn objects out of their pools -- fascinating stuff

A huge starfish

A myriad of baby salmon

and a tiny seahorse.

I even got to touch some starfish and sea cucumbers with the help of Aunt Becky:

My favorite part was the underwater dome, where I saw all manner of fish, including sharks, and a diver who was cleaning the thing:

After the aquarium, we headed back to the market where we watched crazy guys throw giant fish around. One day, I think I will be big enough to do that.

Then we headed to a small park to look at the Seattle skyline. I was more interested in climbing on the sculpture that was there, but I humored mom for a moment and let Aunt Becky take a picture of us.

The Fountain!

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 01:36:52 GMT

I got to go to the fountain with my friend Alex today. We ate some grapes and ran around in the water. I found a bucket some poor sap had left lying around and commandeered it for my own, which led to a fabulous time of filling it and dumping it out.

When we were done playing in the fountain, we got to climb a big hill and look at some giant iron rabbits. Mom tried to take our picture, but we had fun stymieing her by taking turns looking away from the camera.

After that, mom tried to teach me to roll down the big hill. It looked fun while she was doing it, but for some reason, I could only roll sideways across the hill and not down. Frustrating to be sure. I ended up racing to the bottom, much to my mom's chagrin -- now that I look back on it, that was probably what she was trying to keep me from doing with the whole rolling thing. I enjoyed telling Alex to come back when he ran away from our coterie and thought it was a great idea when his mom suggested that I hold his hand and bring him back.

I did not, however, think it was a good idea to come back when I caught sight of this rock wall in the distance, despite my mother's insistance that I do so:

More pictures from yesterday!

Wed, 30 May 2007 19:22:42 GMT

Dianna also took pictures when we went to the fountain. She got plenty of me, in addition to her kids, because I like to ask to have my picture taken.

Swimming in the fountain

Tue, 29 May 2007 23:34:12 GMT

Mom took me to swim at the fountain again today. It was the perfect way to cool off on such a hot, humid day. I like this weather, but to be honest, it would be better suited to August.

Haircut

Tue, 29 May 2007 18:30:57 GMT

I told mom that I thought I was starting to look a little like Jennifer Aniston, so she gave me a haircut.

Here I am before:

And here I am today:

Quite an improvement, if I do say so myself. As hard as I try to ignore it, it really grates on my nerves when people ask my mom, "Oh, how old is SHE?"

More Birthday!

Sun, 27 May 2007 03:27:15 GMT

Fortunately, Uncle Dave took some pictures of my birthday party with his camera, so I have some real pictures marking the historic event, rather than just my mom's blurry cell phone shots.

I have cake on my face and bubbles in my hand. Bliss!

Baby Saffy with her mom and dad and my dad:

Ahh, more fun here -- presents galore.

I thought it would be a good idea to throw my new football to Alex.

I know it's a little silly, because not every football player falls down when they make a touchdown, but since the really dramatic and exciting players do, I do, too:

Summer fun

Sun, 27 May 2007 03:07:54 GMT

Today I got to use the new sprinker I got for my birthday. At first I was confused by the gift, but now that Mom has showed me how it works, I am amazed by it's brilliance and forethought. Mom set it up next to my pool, which we got out for the first time this year. I was able to stay in it until my skin got wrinkly; in fact, I would have stayed in longer, but Mom made me get out to come inside and eat lunch. She tells me I may be able to do it again tomorrow.

My birthday!

Sun, 27 May 2007 03:02:22 GMT

Yesterday I had a birthday party, and it was one of the best things I've ever done. It was a strange day. I didn't see Mom all day (I heard Dad mention something about "orientation."), and then my Noma woke me up from my nap and took me to my favorite park. When I got there, I saw my mom and what she had been up to! There was a banner that said "Happy Birthday" and had pictures of Thomas the Tank Engine on it, and several colorful balloons and a few streamers as well. Not only that, but most of my favorite people were there, too. My great friends Alex, Ellie, Laura, Marta, Mack, Greg, and Maylie came, and also many of my favorite babies were there, too -- Baby Austin, Baby Brinn, Baby Lucas, Baby Saffron, and Baby Mitch all attended. My Uncle Dave was there, and brought me a tent with Lightning McQueen on it. laserkitty, thinksnow and mayna were there, along with their families, and lots of people from church came, too. It was quite a party.

I was able to play in the park for quite some time. My cousin Dani followed me around to make sure I didn't eat any sand, and she was shocked when I told her I was allowed to go down the big slide by myself. My Mom confirmed it for her, and she finally let me go. Dani's fun, but sometimes she can be a real killjoy. Especially with the sand thing. Fortunately, I didn't actually need to eat any sand, since Uncle Dave, Dad, and Grumpy were cooking up my favorite on the grill -- hot dogs! We ate, and then I got to open presents. SO MANY PRESENTS! I could hardly contain myself. I got some fantastic books from Grandma and Grandpa and laserkitty, a cozy Thomas blanket, lots of toys and things related to Thomas, a picture of me at the zoo, a tunnel to crawl through...even some temporary tattoos! I declared, "Oh BOY!" and couldn't keep myself from taking a break from opening gifts and making a touchdown when I got an OSU football.

Unfortunately, mom forgot to bring her camera in all the excitement, so she had to take some pictures with her phone. I was too excited to even give her my fake smile.

After the presents, mom brought out a cake. It had Thomas on it too!! And candles. I blew and blew, and finally the candles went out. Then I got to eat a whole piece, all on my own. After the cake, I blew some bubbles and played some more. While exhausting, the party was some of the best fun I've ever had. And now I'm TWO!

Big disappointment turns into tons of fun!

Sun, 27 May 2007 02:39:25 GMT

My parents disappointed me for the first time last week. I mean, mom's disappointed me before in the sense that she doesn't ever allow me to have soda, and she keeps me from learning to fly from the loft, but this one was a terrible thing to do to a child. She promised me that I could go swimming, which is currently my most favorite activity to participate in. My dad was going to take me at the Community Center, after he finished working out. She took me over and my dad put on my swim diaper and trunks and took me out to the pool. Just as we were walking onto the deck, the lifeguard blew his whistle and said something about clearing the pool. And then Dad took me right back out of there, without even letting me put my feet in the water or go down the slide one time. Let me tell you, I immediately let him know how disappointed I was, but nothing could dissuade him. He took me to mom, who I thought would be able to change his mind, but she didn't take me in either. I couldn't believe it. Mom looked like she might cry too, so I have no idea why she didn't just take me back. To add insult to injury, they took me out and put me in my car seat. EGADS! They told me we were going somewhere, but I didn't understand what they were talking about, and let them know in no uncertain terms that I expected them to keep their promise. Eventually, the car stopped, and I let up on my castigation for a moment, because I saw a large fountain out of the corner of my eye. Imagine my surprise and delight when they allowed me to go and play in it! It was just as good as swimming, and I soon forgot all about the slide at the community center. It turned out to be quite a evening after all!

More zoo...

Sun, 06 May 2007 13:38:29 GMT

I forgot to put this picture of me with a goat up on the last post. I know, how could I? So here it is:

Mom said the goat had a baby goat inside of it's tummy, but I couldn't see it. I think the goat must have just been too fat.

The zoo!

Sun, 06 May 2007 13:35:10 GMT

We went to the zoo on Friday. Mom got me some new Spiderman sunglasses, which I absolutely love, and I got to wear them for the first time.

I thought I would pose by this tree.

Then we went to see the tiger, which is my absolute favorite animal. Unfortunately, both the lion and the tiger were taking naps. I like it best when they're walking around. Then we saw the elephants. The baby elephant was nursing, and it reminded me to tell my mom that I wanted to nurse. For some reason, she refused. She did offer to fill my car cup up with water at the drinking fountain, though, which I had to settle for.

The elephants have a drum near them that I like to play, so I took a little time to try it out.

My mom let me ride on the train for the first time. It was so fantastic. She made the mistake of trying to eat lunch near the train before we'd gotten to ride. Once I'd seen it, the train was the only thing I could think of.

We saw this monkey swinging while carrying her baby, and I told mom I wanted her to try that.

Once again, she refused. I think old age must be getting to her. Or maybe it's the fact that I weigh 30 lbs. now. She keeps reminding me of it when I want her to pick me up.

Wild hair!

Sun, 06 May 2007 13:13:54 GMT

Mom took me to the park this week. It was plenty fun, especially trying to climb on things my mom says are for big kids. The slide was fantastic, mostly because the static electricity I generated made my hair stand on end. I also like to make a "mess" by piling wood chips on the bottom of the slide. I tried to trick my mom into sliding into them, but she figured out what I was doing. I myself love sliding into the mess; I don't know why anyone wouldn't.

Dr. Suess

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 12:50:03 GMT

I adores Green Eggs and Ham. Grandma and Grandpa got it for me for Christmas, and it is a great read. Mom thinks it is an amazingly long book, especially when she's already read it 4 times in one day. But I have taken it to a new level, yelling "YUMMY!" when the green eggs and ham appear and then yelling "YES!" to every question, along with violent interaction with the pictures. So the story goes something like this:

Sam-I-Am:"Would you eat them in a box?"
Me: "YES!"
Sam-I-Am: "Would you eat them with a fox?"
Me: "YES! FOX!" *pokes fox so hard the book falls out of Mom's hands*
Sam-I-Am: "Would you eat them on a train?"
Me: "YES! Choo-Choo!"
Sam-I-Am: "Would you eat them in the rain?"
Me: "YES!"
Sam-I-Am:"Would you eat them in the dark?"
Me: "YES! Light Off!"
Sam-I-Am: "Would you eat them on a boat?"
Me: "Yes! SWIMMING!!" *pokes book out of Mom's hands again*

Sam-I-Am: "Try them, try them and you may!"
Jack: "YUMMY!"

She thinks she's putting one over me by skipping some of the diatribes the protagonist enters into, in order to express his displeasure at being offered green eggs and ham. I've let it slide so far, but someday I'm going to let on that I've figured out her tricks, and that will be the end of that.

Finally, an update!

Sun, 25 Mar 2007 02:45:21 GMT

I convinced mom to buy me a cowboy hat the other day. I found it on the clearance shelf at Von Maur, where I like to go to play with the Choo Choos. I was trying to hide when I came across a whole pile of these hats, and I just had to try it on. I went to the mirror and declared, "Hat on! Cute!" Whereupon mom insisted on buying it for me. I'll have to try that trick again in the future.

I also received my first haircut recently. I was quite enjoying the shaggy look, although the occasional hair got snapped into my bib, which I didn't appreciate. In fact, I don't appreciate the bib at all, so it was quite a convenient excuse to avoid wearing it. But I digress. Mom decided to cut my hair after she heard "Oh, how old is your daughter?" for the fiftieth time.

Here I am before the deed:

And here I am after. Fortunately, she allowed me to keep a little shag. But I'm told it's much neater in the back.

I also got to go to the park earlier this week, and decided to try my hand at being a monkey. I'm a big fan of monkeys, and I enjoy actually being one from time to time. I love to eat bananas and make monkey noises. This is the first time, however, that I had the opportunity to swing like a monkey:

obligatory bathtime pictures

Tue, 06 Feb 2007 21:33:29 GMT

I assured mom that these pictures would self-destruct before I'm 10, so that no further embarassment can be caused. Dad got me some Mr. Bubble, so that I can have mountains of bubbles in the bath instead of mere hills.

The many faces of Jack

Fri, 19 Jan 2007 18:40:49 GMT

Angry Jack

Grinning Jack

Serious Jack

Horrified Jack

Shaggy Jack

Happy Jack (right after I smacked mom with my hammer...)

Clueless Jack

Fri, 19 Jan 2007 14:33:21 GMT

Mom took me to the mall to play the other day. I take going down the slide very seriously.

Christmas pictures!

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 01:18:16 GMT

I had the most interesting day a couple of weeks ago. I woke up and my mom and dad were putting a table together in my room. It looked a lot like the train table that I like to play with at Barnes and Noble, and I started yelling "Choo-Choo! Choo-Choo!" I couldn't imagine why it would appear in my room. We went over to Noma and Grumpy's house and there was a tree with lights all over it. And all kinds of boxes wrapped in brightly colored paper. Suddenly, everyone was giving me a box and telling me to rip the paper off. What fun! The first one contained a bike that I've had my eye on for several months. I never imagined that it would be in my possession.

And then I got to open Brutus Buckeye. Amazing. I love Brutus even more than I love football, so this was exciting. I put Brutus on the back of the bike and rode around.

And then I got to open the trains. And a red car. I couldn't believe it!

My parents told me that I got these presents because of Baby Jesus's birthday. I took him out of the creche and thanked him by putting him in my highchair and trying to feed him. I also tried to give him a ride in my new car, but my mom said he needed to be in his car seat first. So I went and got the manger and put him in that before I let him ride. I think he had a good time.