Thursday, November 22, 2007

Cute Things

Jair: Daddy, J.D. says cute things, doesn't he?
Jeremy: Yes, Jair, and so do you.
Jair: Yeah, I do.

No doubt about it, J.D. delights us all with his growing vocabulary. He is an expert in animal noises ("Doo, doo" for roosters is my personal favorite.), and he is hard to refuse when he asks for a "Dwink o' water, pwwwwease" or "Mo que-sa-di-lla pwwwwease." Jair has taught him to distinguish between cars, trucks, police cars, fire trucks, race cars, trash trucks, "schoo" buses, Jeeps, trains, tractors, and diggers and to make the appropriate sound for each vehicle. Ali teaches him to say "two bankets," bwue socks," and "cowboy hat." And as a third-born, of course he knows the all-important "J.D. turn."

Good Morning

Jair's wake-up routine couldn't be more opposite than his brother's. He runs to me without a word and asks for a hug with his always-bright brown eyes. He rests his rumpled brown head on my shoulder, and we snuggle for a few moments. Then he is ready to start his day.

One morning I said, "Jair, when you're a man are you going to give your wife a hug every morning?"

He looked up at me quickly. "When I'm a man, I will KISS my wife on the LIPS!"

She Makes My Day

Ali: Mommy, you're my favorite mommy in the whole world. I like you better than any other mommy. I just don't know why.
Me: Well, maybe because I'm your mommy.
Ali: Do you know how much I love you? (Stretching her arms out) If you added another arm to this arm, and another arm to this arm, that's how much.

Out with the Old, In with the New

Jair: Mommy, after Christmas when J.D. dies and our baby comes, then ...
Me: Jair, why do you think J.D. is going to die? ... Because we're getting a new baby?
Jair: Yeah.

Additions to December to-do list:
1. Emphasize that our baby will be born a whole month after Christmas, to avoid major disappointment on December 26th.
2. Discuss that, though we do purge old toys and clothes to make room for new items, we don't have to do the same with family members.

Family Vacation, Days 3 and 4

Sunday morning we again took the train to downtown Chicago. This time our final destination was the beautiful Shedd Aquarium on Lake Michigan.
Our next stop was the Hancock Observatory. I was surprised to see how much all three kids enjoyed the view 94 floors above Chicago. They loved looking at the cars on the road below, people on the beach, sailboats on the water, and swimming pools on top of skyscrapers! Ali and Jair had fun pretending to be window washers like Curious George.

Dinner came from a tiny pizza place near the train station. Leftovers doubled as the next morning's breakfast.
Before we checked out of our room, J.D. and Daddy said goodbye to the airplanes landing outside our hotel window.