Party Saturday

Saturday was full of parties. Once Nick got home from Saturday School the fun began! I was off to the first half of Lisa's Baby Shower which just so happened to be at a local nail salon where everyone was getting manis and pedis....so I had to do it too. What an inconvenience! :) Jack and Nick picked me up when the girls were heading back to Katie's house to finish up the shower and off we went to Olivia's First Birthday Party. There were tons of people, lots of food, and the kids had a blast in the water/sand table (which we didn't let Jack partake in-but did order him the exact one when we got home...the other has been returned because it was broken). By the time we got home all of us were in bed by 10:30. Today is all about recouping from our busy social calendar.

Here is Olivia before she devoured her cake...I'm talking within minutes, half of it was gone, and when they took her away from it to wash down....the tears were a-flowing. She loves her sweets!
Jack and Nick watched as the cake eating occurred...I think Jack was wondering why he didn't get any...he is one now after all.
One of Olivia's gifts was this red wagon. The two of them had an absolute blast while Nick pulled them around the backyard. Afterwards they had just as much fun playing with it while it wasn't even moving. This was a hard one not to order when we were ordering the sand/water table...it has beer holders and an ice chest built into the seat...but we have the LSU wagon already, need new carpet, and well....don't have any space. I need to stop going to other people's houses because I leave thinking I need everything that they have....so we decided....we'll just go over to Olivia's and use hers.

Messy Meals

Ever wonder what I spend most of my time during the day doing...these pictures explain it all. Jack's meals are a mess! Not always this messy...but never just a quick wipe and we're done. Therefore-breakfast, lunch, and dinner consist of cutting and prepping his food, feeding him small portions at a time so he doesn't stuff his mouth so full he'll pop, and then the lovely joys of cleaning up him, the highchair, and the floor. I can't wait til he masters silverware so some of this mess will be avoided...until then....no matter how big the mess...I'm glad I'm the one that gets to have meal dates with him and not a daycare provider.

"Mom, you can't complain...your the one that gave me avocado...you could have given me chicken nuggets and french fries...less messy." "Look, the blackberries smashed up looks like blood when I smear it everywhere."
"MmmmmmMmmmmMmmmm!"
"You think I am about to eat this piece over here....but just watch."
"I'm going to smash it up, spread it around, and then throw it on the floor. Time for you to start cleaning and sing that silly song that you sing when you do it."

Watch out Rachel Ray-Chef Jack is in the KITCHEN!

Jack has been loving his kitchen (me too because it buys me a few minutes to do things while he is entertained-contained). He loves to go in and out the door, play with the flower in the "living room" part on the back, open the fridge and point to all the things in it, and use his skillet to cook the pretend food I pulled out from our teacher store (oh, I mean our garage). He even pretends to fill up his little blue cup at the sink, drink from it, then hand it to you to drink from. Too cute! Here are some pictures of Chef Jack working away in his kitchen.

Car Entertainment

I've had these pictures for awhile and thought I would share with ya'll how we go about entertaining a one year old on a 7 hour car ride.

Jack might not love to have his leprechaun hat on his head...but he sure had fun playing peek-a-boo with it for about 30 minutes on the way back to Dallas.
Clearly he is not as ADD as his Mom because he managed to read a book, suck on his wub, while listening to his Radio that Uncle Brian gave him...all at the same time!

I Got A JOB!

I wanted to let everyone know that my job search for next year is officially over. Mike, my old principal from MST, called today to let me know that the First Grade Team at his new school, McGowen Elementary in McKinney ISD, wanted me to be their newest member and I accepted. Obviously I love working for Mike, the school is great, it is up North about 15 minutes away and against traffic, and there are quit a few teachers from MST already there....one is even on my team. I'm full of emotions about it right now....but I am excited and think it will be great. Here is the school's site if you want to check out where I will be next year.

http://www.mckinneyisd.net/Campuses/school_websites/mcgowen/index.html

Who Needs Bath Toys....

when you can have so much fun with bodily functions in the bathroom?!?

I went in to visit Nick and Jack in the bathroom during tub time and all was well. Before I knew it Nick was calling for backup because he thought Jack was about to make a number 2 in the tub. By the time I got there it was too late but since we needed to get him out, I thought hey....toilet is right here...maybe he can finish there and it will score one in his memory towards potty training. Not so much...when I put him down on the toilet seat he squirmed and in both his feet went.

While Nick was cleaning up the mess so they could finish his bath Jack was just walking around talking and waiting so patiently.

See here is is waiting so patiently holding his rubber ducky in just about the exact spot where he proceeded to pee on the bathmat and floor.

Jack is so much FUN!!

Arbor Hills

Today Jack and I went to Arbor Hills, a Nature Preserve in Plano, to do a little walking, playing, and visiting with some of our friends. The weather was very pretty but extremely WINDY. So much that people were loosing their hats and we had run away strollers....no babies were in them though. Jack had fun and was wiped out afterwards....so was I!

After putting a thick layer of sunscreen on I set him down and straight to the stairs he headed. Grandma Relle...start looking into those gates because this boy loves to climb stairs.

The wings were really big and there were a lot of kiddos...Ashley and I being creative as we are thought that it would be a more safe fit if we let the boys share a swing and that way all the kids could swing at the same time. Nathan loved it...Jack as you can tell...not too impressed...but Nick thinks it is because I had him in blue socks with light colored shoes so he was embarrassed in front of his friends.

Here is the only smile that we got from Jack and of course...it was Ashley acting silly that made him finally crack. Me....he doesn't think I'm very funny :(

After swinging Jack and I were sitting on the other side of the swings and off he went with open arms towards Ashley and chose to sit with them and not me. I'm really starting to get a complex- but I have to keep telling myself he loves me best, but every now and then we both probably need a little space. Surely that is why once Nick gets home it is Dad, Dad, Dad.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!

This morning Jack and Nick went to get donuts for breakfast (for us that is) and when he came back, to his surprise, the Easter Bunny had come to visit. Later today we might try to hunt for eggs but like last year...Easter here is cold and probably wet.

Here is the basket pre-Jack. As soon as they walked through the door he noticed the basket and headed straight to it. It was so cute because he actually took things out one at a time and inspected them...I know the day will come where with holiday gifts it is just a mad dash to open and get through them all.

"What is this....it for sure wasn't here when Dad and I left?!?"

"Hmmm, it looks like the peek a boo Gymbo but it has a chicken in it. Interesting! I'm sure she'll be shoving it in my face soon shouting, "Peek a Boo!".

"Oh, I like books...The Story of Peter Rabbit. It's long too which means I'll get to stay up even later while we read it. Maybe since it is Easter we can read all the books Papa C and Bebe gave me for Easter too. Party in my nursery!"

"Cheerios...I've seen Dad eat them before...are you sure these are for me?!?"

"Travel Silverware...Mom I think the Easter Bunny put a gift for you in my basket. Here you go."

"More dishware...not sure about Easter...for Christmas and Birthdays you get toys. What the heck is a Snack Trap anyway?"

"Oh I get it...cute design, nice handles, full of Cheerios, and I won't get in trouble for spilling them because of the trap door. Pretty Cool. And these things taste AWESOME."

"Another Easter Basket for ME? And this is from the Nolans...I didn't know they were bunnies."

"Thanks Relle Grandparents...this plate works perfect for my Cheerios and banana."

"OK, I've had my healthy breakfast so now I can lift this THIRD EASTER BASKET from Grandma and Grandpa Relle. It has a cute outfit for the Spring and flashcards that Mom will move onto when she is bored with the peek a boo chicken."

No Longer Accepting

The Relle Clan would like to thank all of those that love Jack and offer him such wonderful things BUT we are going to have to put a temporary hold on accepting anymore gifts. This afternoon Nick and I spent the majority of our time trying to find places to put all the clothes, toys, books, puzzles, and other odds and ends...and honestly we are out of room. Every closet, drawer, cabinet, under every bed, the attic, and the garage are full to the max. Therefore, until Jack has outgrown what he has we are just going to say thanks for thinking of us, but no gifts please. Of course we will always accept gifts in the form of cash, check, gift card, savings bonds, or 529 donations. Off to continue our Spring Cleaning.

Love,

The Relle Clan

Easter Fun

This morning Jack and I went to Lisa's to dye Easter Eggs with Ethan, Lisa, Mary (Lisa's Mom), Katie, Baby Jack, Grace, Ashley, and Nathan. Everything was set up and ready to go, the weather was perfect, and away the Mom's went at dying the eggs.

Grace did the best at dying the eggs...wonder why?!?

We soon found out it wasn't as great of an idea for this age group as we thought.

Ethan was having a little too much fun with the eggs and dye so he stepped down and let Lisa finish them up.

I gave Nathan a plastic egg to play with and you know him...he was happy as can be while Ashley dyed their eggs.

Jack is clearly my child. He held the paper towels for us so they didn't blow away.

At the end I traded him his plastic egg for a real one so he could feel, smell, and put it in the dye. Once I saw those hands going for the bowl of dye next to his new booster chair...he joined Ethan away from the table.

Jack had troubles staying balanced on the lawn because of a slope and everywhere he fell turned into a red, bumpy rash since our grass here isn't soft and green yet.

Not wanting Jack to have the only dud Mom I finally let him get into the sandbox with the others. He wasn't very big on it and crawled right out.

But he did have fun leaning over and playing in the sand with the sand cups. Guess he is like me...no one likes sand up your pants.

After we finished outside we all headed in for a tasty lunch together.

It was a great time. Thanks Lisa!

12 Month Check Up

This morning Nick and I took Jack to his 12 Month Well Check Up with Dr. Mathieus. At his appointment we got a lot of questions answered, they did the usual stats check, gave him a once over, and then the dreaded shots. Today he got his pcv7 shot and the chicken pox vaccine...we are holding off on the mmr shot until around 15 months. We came home to lunch, sleep off the shots, and then as a treat Nick put together the water table that Aunt Betsy, Uncle Reid, and Gabriella got him for his birthday.

Weight: 19 lbs. 8 oz- 8%

Height: 30 inches- 55%

Head: 18 inches- 25%

"Being ONE is awesome...cake, eggs, and whole milk....but the shots suck."

"I love you Mr. Plump. Kiss, Kiss. Thanks for sticking with me all these months...sorry, but now I'm going to attack you!"

Here is a video of Jack doing one of his favorite past times....attacking Mr. Plump. Sorry Nick and I are so obnoxious and loud in the video...we need to remember to keep quiet on the set.

One Year Photo Shoot

This morning we had Jack's one year photo shoot. LE sent us the picture proofs via email tonight and I love, love all 190 of them. Tomorrow we will get the CD so that we can upload them for those interested in purchasing....but I just can't wait til then to share some of them with ya'll. He was in a great mood up til the end....which is expected because an hour of photo taking, even for this seasoned star, is a bit much. Have I mentioned how much I love Jack?!?!