Reading or Napping?

This is what I found when I checked on Ethan during his nap time. He fell asleep reading a book that weighs as much as he does! The greatest part is that it was upside down.

Our Little Pixie

Yesterday morning Brian found Alyssa behind the lazy boy recliner with a pair of scissors. He quickly took them away, not knowing what it was she had been cutting. It wasn't until evening that we noticed she had cut a chunk of the hair above her forehead to about one inch in length. It obviously wasn't too noticeable, because it took us all day to find it, but the main reason for that was because it was covered is by other hair was hanging over it, into her face. Alyssa refuses to have her hair done each morning, and the times that I actually succeed in convincing her, she fights the whole time and takes it out again within the hour. It is constantly hanging in her face, which is the reason she gave us for cutting off the chunk that she did. "It was in my eyes," she said.

So taking all this into account, I decided to cut it. At first the goal wasn't to have her hair match the part she cut, but to get it out of her eyes. We put Curious George on the televsion and I gave her a very cute, chin-length bob. It was great to have her hair out of her face, but now it wasn't covering the one-inch spike on top of her forehead. So I kept going, and we ended up with this.


It really is quite cute (the picture doesn't do it justice), especially with her little pink headband, but it's going to take quite a while to get used to. I lay in bed for over an hour last night grieving the loss of my little girl's hair. Why didn't I just leave it alone? Why did I chop it all off? What is Brian going to think? She has to go to kindergarten like this!

All in all, it will grow out, and until it does, it will just have to do. The great part is that it's out of her face. There's about five different facial expressions I've seen her do today that I never knew existed. She really is a cutie.

I Really Do Love Him

Despite yesterday's link to Brian's horribly rude and funny comment toward the "shape" I am in right now, I would like to take a moment to say just how much I love him. He is such a wonderful guy! He works so hard for our family: going to school, studying for boards, practicing for clinic, etc. And he always takes time each day when he comes home to play with the kids. He's always doing little things to let me know that he loves me. On Thursday night I was having a rough time putting the kids to bed. We extended their bed time by an hour to see if they'd go to sleep better, and by the time they were down, I was absolutely ready to "clock out" for the day. He saw that I needed a break, so yesterday he found a babysitter and surprised me by taking me out a movie. (It was crazy to take a bathroom break halfway through and think, "I'm actually walking somewhere by myself. There's no kids with me." If you don't count the baby, that is.)

A while ago I was thinking about how important Brian is to me, and I realized that I know him better than anyone in the whole world. My mom sees Brian as being perfectly confidant in himself. When finals were approaching in May I told her that Brian was so nervous for the proficiencies coming up. She was baffled. "Brian? Nervous?!? He doesn't get nervous, does he?" There's so much you can learn about a person that comes only from living with them. It's crazy, because thinking back six and a half years ago, I hardly knew him at all. He was just this tall, good-looking guy that I was madly in love with. I don't know if it's that I really didn't know him back then, or if it's just that I know him so much better now. I love being so close with someone and loving them for the wonderful things about them and even loving them despite their faults.

I know that even though Brian likes to tease me, that he loves me so much. I can see how happy he is when he makes me happy, or when he says something hilarious that makes me laugh. And I can tell he worries about me when things aren't going right. When things were at their worst when I was pregnant with Ethan, Brian's mom came to stay with us to help out. I was in and out of the hospital, and nothing they did would help me to stop throwing up. Brian's mom told me that one night before Brian went to bed, he came into the living room and said, "I'm scared." He didn't say anything else, just paused for a moment and turned to go to bed. It makes me feel so loved that my tough and manly husband stepped outside of himself for a moment to let someone know just how much he cares for me.

I'm so glad that I found such a great man to spend the rest of my life and all eternity with. I was only nineteen when we got married, and Brian's apartment manager told us that we would be divorced before five years were up, because I was so young. I told him that when I fell in love and got married that it was forever, and that I was in it for the long haul. So far so good. I couldn't have chosen anyone better to spend eternity with. Someday, after this life, when Brian and I are making worlds together, we'll still be loving each other. And with Brian, I'm sure there will never be a dull moment.

This Explains Everything

So maybe this is why there's a lack of intimacy around here...

Improve Your Intimacy In Five Easy Steps!

Step 1. Stop being pregnant.

I received an email from Mommy Without Pounds (an exercise program that I signed up for that I never did any of the exercises from) that said, "Carrie, improve your intimacy in five easy steps," and I didn't even have to open the email because I know exactly what needs to be done.

I need to just stop being pregnant.

Brian tried cuddling up to me last night when I was reading in bed and he was studying, but when I'm pregnant I just can't be touched! I feel sickest in the evenings, so all I want to do is lay still and be left alone. And then there's the pregnancy claustrophobia. I think it's because my body is undergoing a complete overhaul to make this baby and so many things are out of my control, that when someone touches me it makes me feel even more out of control and my whole body goes, "Whoa! I need some space!"

I remember before Ethan was born the first thing on my list of things to do once he was out was to kiss Brian. I can't give Brian more than a peck without feeling completely overwhelmed. (In a bad way, though, not like when we were dating.) When I watch a chick flick I think, "That's so cute, they're kissing...I want to be able to kiss my husband!" I can hug him, but if he hugs me back I can only take it for a couple of seconds before I have to push him away. Nicely, of course.

It's a problem with the kids, too. Actually, Ethan's body is too small to intimidate me, but if Alyssa climbs up on my lap for a hug, I give her a quick one and tell her to hop down quick before I feel too sick.

I know this is only a small inconvenience, but why do our bodies have to get completely whacked out when we're pregnant? I want to be able to love my family!

Well, there may not be any intimacy in my life right now, but come November there will be plenty of hugs and kisses going around in the Jacks household. We'll even have one more person to take part in all that loving.

A Moment to Rant

Yesterday I was sick. I threw up all morning long, and then felt like throwing up all afternoon long. Brian was extremely helpful by going grocery shopping for dinner, and then when I wasn't feeling up to making dinner, going to McDonalds to pick up some food. So even though yesterday stunk, it wasn't that bad. It just explains why I've got to spend today catching up on everything that needs to be done.

First thing on the agenda: Mow the lawn. With me being out of town and Brian being super busy, the lawn hasn't been mowed for a couple of weeks. We have foot-tall flowers growing in both our back yard and front yard. The front looks awful for people to drive past, so it must be done, and the back is really hard for the kids to play in, so it must be done. (We spent the day inside yesterday because I wasn't feeling well. Believe me, I've got to get those kids outside.) I mowed about twenty feet of our grass, and the lawn mower died. No problem, I filled up the gas...but it still didn't work. So I tried calling my mom for help in what to do. "We're sorry, all circuits are busy," the phone said. I've never heard that before. You'd think if you're paying for phone service, you'd get phone service.

So I got online to ask Brian what to do. He had me check the oil, and apparently that's the problem. (I hope that's the problem!) The whole time I was typing to Brian, Ethan was cranky and Alyssa was making water messes in the kitchen (she fills up glasses all the way with water and drinks it with a spoon!) and then Ethan came to me with poop running up his back. So I changed his diaper and even though I washed my hands afterward, I can still smell poop. I now smell like gasoline and baby poop.

* * *

Scratch that! Brian came home from class with a bottle of oil, and found out that we didn't need it. He started the mower and it started just fine for him. So he mowed the lawn for me! When he came inside I asked him why class got out so early, and he said it didn't. He just didn't want me mowing the lawn in 102 degree weather, which he says it's supposed to be this afternoon. He is so much my hero today!

So our phones are working again and I was able to call my mom. The lawns are freshly mowed and I've got the slip n' slide out and ready to go for after lunch. I guess my day is going to turn out fine.

If Only It Were True

Alyssa spent about ten minutes kneeling on the kitchen floor, singing the "Sing Sweet Nightingale" song from Cinderella, then she came to me and announced, "I just cleaned the whole kitchen!"

Been a Long Time

It's been a while since I last blogged. I keep thinking of little things to post, but it almost feels like I should update things before I continue with my regular posting.

The kids and I went to Tri-Cities, Washington last week while Brian spent all of his "free" time in a KMK Course to help him study for boards. We stayed with my sister, Christina. She has five kids, with another baby girl coming in a few weeks. Alyssa and Ethan loved living with their cousins, and instead of calling Christina everyday like I normally do, I was able to see her all of the time!

We went to swimming lessons every morning. Alyssa only lasted two days. She didn't like to bob, and she found that splashing around in the wading pool with her cousin Marian was a lot more fun than hanging on to the side of the big pool and sitting through lessons. We stayed at the park for about an hour after swimming lessons, and Ethan and Derek would always fall asleep in the swings. (They're not asleep in this picture, though.)


The Fourth of July was great! Alyssa was incredibly tired that morning and put up a big fuss getting ready for swim lessons. This was when we decided to stick her in the wading pool. Brian's dad had the day off, and Alyssa had invited him to come to her lessons, so he came by the pool and took some pictures of her, then he and Brian's mom took off for Farmer's Market to buy cherries and Ron's Original Kettlecorn. (Now available with Splenda!) I figured with Alyssa's mood, she needed a change of pace and some time away from everyone, so we headed to my parent's house, where they were knocking out the wall between the kitchen and the living room. That was fun to watch and to help with. Ethan especially liked all the power tools that his Papa was using.

We had yummy steak for dinner, with strawberry shortcake (with blueberries to fit the Fourth!) for dessert, then we headed back to Christina's to walk to the Trac to watch the fireworks. We ended up going right into the stadium and sitting on the grass on the side. What great seats! Alyssa and Ethan both loved the fireworks, but they also both fell asleep.
















On Friday we went to the park for a McDonalds picnic with Grandma and Grandpa Jacks. We threw a rubber duck in the water for their dog, Kimber, to splash in to get. Alyssa followed Kimber into the river and got soaked up to the waist. Then we put swimsuits on the kids and let them play in the wading pool. The kids and I took off straight from the park to go roast s'mores at my parent's house, but when we got there my dad asked if Brian had gotten ahold of me. I called his cell phone, because he said earlier that afternoon that he was going to Costco and some other places. He said he wasn't out anymore and that I could call "the house." When I tried calling our phone number, he didn't pick up, which I thought was strange, so I left a message saying I would call back in a minute. Then the phone rang again and caller ID said it was Brian's parents. When I picked up the phone and found Brian on the other end, I was so shocked! He had come to get us! Originally he said he couldn't come pick us up until Tuesday, but class was canceled Friday morning and he was able to get everything done to that needed to be done over the weekend. What a great surprise! We were missing him so much!

We spent the rest of the weekend hanging out with Brian's parents, then we drove home on Sunday. We had a great time, but it's good to be back in our own house and back on schedule. Christina and I had the best intentions of getting the kids to bed on time each night, but it never worked out. Ethan would wake up at six or six-thirty every morning, and we would play hard through the day. It was exhausting, but we had a blast!

When Brian and I were first married I had two different people, at two different times, in two different states compare the way Brian runs to a gazelle. With his long legs he can bound across a soccer field or around a baseball diamond in no time flat. Apparently, Ethan either hasn't inherited this trait or he hasn't acquired it yet. When Ethan runs, he sounds like a herd of elephants. Yes, one boy sounds like a whole herd of elephants. He picks up his feet when he runs, and almost slams them into the ground, which amplifies ten-fold on a hard wood floor....and he runs fast.

The kids and I are staying at my sister's house for a while so Brian can study for boards. As I lay in bed this morning, I could tell everywhere that Ethan went as he thundered around downstairs, following his cousins. Maybe when he's older he'll run like a more graceful animal, but for now he's quite content sounding like a whole herd of elephants.

Just a Few of the Reasons

I just have to say that I love my family so much! So many wonderful things happened today.

Alyssa and Ethan helped clean the toy room and their bedroom, and they played outside together so I could work on the laundry and cleaning the rest of the house. Brian came home from class early and I was feeling pretty sick, so he watched Alyssa while Ethan and I took a nap. (I know, a nap two days in a row!)


Brian went grocery shopping for me (yea!) and was very adamant that I be the one to unpack the grocery sacks. I found a Motherhood Maternity gift card on top of the eggs! While I was happily putting the groceries away (and dancing around the kitchen, rejoicing over the gift card), Brian took the kids out on the deck to throw those popper/snapper/firework things on the ground. Every time one popped, Ethan would giggle uncontrollably. It was adorable.










I asked Brian if he could make up a batch of Ranch dressing for dinner. Pretty soon Alyssa and Ethan decided to help him, and I turned around to see the whole family making dinner together. That was so fun!






And last, but not least, Alyssa and Ethan both helped me clean out the dishwasher. (Yes, I realize Ethan is not wearing any pants. He sat in the swimming pool today.) Ethan normally helps me clean out the dishwasher by standing on the door and handing me the cups. I thought he just enjoyed handing me things, but it turns out that he really knows that he's helping. He grabbed some silverware, headed to the drawer (which is over his head), pulled it open, and threw them in. What a helper!

Needless to say, it's been a wonderful day. I'd say that I want another one just like it tomorrow, but we don't have the money to be giving Carrie gift cards every day. I'll gladly take some help with dinner and Ethan's giggles as often as they're given to me, though.

A Most Welcome Surprise

I usually go grocery shopping on Mondays, but this weekend I made an emergency run to Safeway for milk and butter on Saturday night, and the chicken salad sandwiches that were planned for Sundays dinner were replaced with Brian taking a nap and the kids and I snacking on banana bread. So I got up this morning and decided that with dinner taken care of, we didn't need to go grocery shopping until tomorrow. But then I discovered that Brian didn't have class until one o'clock, and I ended up making the chicken salad sandwiches for lunch.

When Brian came home from his one o'clock class (shortly after two o'clock, talk about your easy day) we sat in the living room to discuss what to make for dinner. I mentally went through our cupboards and the freezer, but I couldn't come up with anything but spaghetti, which is a risky thing to make in our family. Alyssa only likes spaghetti half of the time.

To our surprise there was a knock on the door, and Debbi Burtlow stood on our porch with an uncooked casserole. She handed it to Brian, and I stood there with my mouth hanging open. None of us are sick. We're not in the hospital. Could she be delivering dinner to the wrong house? She explained that someone brought her dinner a while back and told her to pass along the pan by bringing dinner to someone else. Hallelujah! Dinner was on!

I decided that since all I had to do for dinner was to pop it in the oven, and since Brian was home to watch the kids, that I would take an afternoon nap. The nap was wonderful, and dinner was so yummy! Now we just have to figure out who to take dinner to once the pan is clean.

* * *

This next picture is just me bragging about the beautiful pie that Ethan and I made for Family Home Evening. I was going to make a pie using a jell-o salad recipe with cool whip and vanilla yogurt and raspberry jell-o, but halfway through mixing it together Ethan and I (oh, and my mom too, I was on the phone with her) decided to add chocolate pudding instead of jell-o. I was afraid that the raspberries on top would be too tart for the pudding, but it turned out delicious. I wish I would have added more raspberries!

I Am Turning Into a Blogger Nerd

I admit it. I am turning into a blogger nerd. I am so glad that Brooke showed me her wonderful blog last October, which inspired me to create my own. I love blogging!

I love looking at every one's blogs. I love keeping in touch with my friends and family, whether they're in Forest Grove or all the way across the country. Some days when I'm bored or lonely or just don't want to start the housework, I start looking at all my friends' blogs, and then I click on the links to their friends' blogs, until I'm reading about the lives of people I've never even heard of. Last night I didn't want to go to bed, so I clicked and scrolled my way down to the beginning of Tiffany Harker's blog and read the story of her blogging life. The only reasons I know of her is that she's Brooke's sister-in-law, and I've seen her in passing a couple of times at church while visiting Pasco. But even though I don't really know this lady, I really enjoyed reading what she had to say about her life and her family.

I love documenting special events from our lives, or even just writing about things that happen every day. I used to get email updates from one of my friends, and every time I read an email from her I would think about how boring my life is compared to hers. I thought that I never did anything fun and that nothing exciting ever happened to me. I was complaining to Brian about this when he said, "Carrie, we just had a party three days ago! That's not exciting enough for you?" After starting my blog I realized that everything is more exciting in print. When I blog about cleaning my house or spending time with my kids, those activities become a little more exciting for me.

I love posting pictures. For a long time I was hesitant to put pictures on my blog, because I thought it would take away the literary value of it, but I've found that pictures make blogging much more fun. I've even caught myself thinking, "Oh, I should take a picture of Alyssa getting her mouth washed out with soap so I can put it on my blog." I love showing the world how cute my kids are and how cute they look when they do the crazy tings they do.

I love publishing my posts. There's something about the word "publish" that makes a blog so official, and it makes me feel like an author. It's fun to think that my pictures, my thoughts, and my life are on the Internet for anyone to see (provided that they're not weirdos). I think Brian is probably tired of me constantly begging him to check out my newest post or asking him what he thinks of my new color scheme. I love scrolling through my published posts and I usually find myself thinking, "Hey, I wrote that" or "Isn't that picture so sweet?" I check my blog quite a few times each day, not only to see who's commented, but just to look at my published piece of work and marvel at the great hobby that blogging is.

"I'm Going to Look so Beautiful on the Blog!"

Today we played "Salon." We put a garbage sack around Alyssa (I couldn't find our smock) and chopped off about four inches of her hair. I had her call me Delilah and I talked to her as if she was a customer in the salon. I asked if that was her dad waiting in the other room and she told me a bit about him. It distracted her enough to keep her in the chair, but she still didn't hold still nearly as much as when we took her in to a real salon.


She loves her new haircut! She says she looks just like Abby from her Primary class, and she thinks that Abby is so pretty. She spent about five minutes primping in front of the mirror before she went to show Brian.

A Bouncing Baby

Yesterday we went in for our ultrasound. Everything looks great, and we're having a boy! Alyssa's been hoping for a girl, so she's a little disappointed, but she says she'll love a brother anyway. Ethan just had a great time sitting on Brian's shoulders and throwing himself backward.

We're excited to have another little boy! They can sing together for Ethan's missionary farewell, and then they probably won't see each other for four years until the younger one comes home from his mission, and then they'll sing for the homecoming. They can wrestle together and share a room and play sports together. It'll be so much fun!

Crunch! Crunch!

This picture is documented proof that Alyssa's hair is never done and that Ethan lives in either a Onesie or his pajamas until we go out in public. But it is also very cute proof that today we made snowcones!

Every time I'm pregnant Brian gets me a new ice crushing device. It's great because now I have an ice cream maker and an ice crusher and I used to have a super cool smoothie maker that broke after just a couple of times using it.

Well, Alyssa heard about snow cones from her babysitter and she's been asking for them ever since. Today we finally bit the bullet (or shall I say, crunched the ice?) and made them.

They were great! Here's the recipe I used for the syrup:

2 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
1 package of Kool Aid

The instructions said to bring the sugar and water to a boil, and then add the Kool Aid, but I added the Kool Aid right away before I could read that far. For a Red Robin size cup we used about 1/4 cup of syrup.

Anyway, here's to summer fun and many more days of snow cones!

Happy Father's Day!

There’s a man in our house with brown hair and blue eyes.
He’s tall and good lookin’ and just the right size
For hugging and playing and all the fun stuff,
Like rough-housing a bit, until he’s had enough.

He likes to cook, but it doesn’t happen much.
His favorites are meats, like prime rib and such.
He also makes caramels around Christmas-time
His omelets are great and his crepes, so divine.

He’s a man with a passion for computer-type games
Whether online or offline, it’s all just the same.
He plays Kingdom of Loathing ‘cause he likes the puns
He “escapes” from rooms faster than almost anyone.

He loves to fish. Whenever we go home
He’s out on the boat, but he’s not alone.
With other men he grunts and he shouts
And brings us home fish that we refuse to clean out.

He’s as smart as a whistle and works hard all day
Learning ‘bout eyes, and if you ask him he’ll say
That he loves optometry and optometry school,
But when graduation comes, he thinks that’ll be cool.

This man in our house is a wonderful man.
He spends time with us and we’re happy he can.
He loves his family, which makes us all glad
And makes us very proud to call him our dad.

Happy Fathers Day Brian!

Pregnant Buns of Steel

Today I got out my copy of Buns of Steel Pregnancy Workout and exercised for the first time since week 5! I bought it when I was pregnant with Ethan, did it for a week and loved it, then Alyssa pushed it across the fireplace and made some serious scratches in it.

Well, I'm not happy with the weight that I've gained so far with this pregnancy, and I'm especially not happy with the blob-like feeling I get when I don't exercise, so I popped the kids in the car this morning and headed to Fred Meyer to pick up a Skip Dr to fix the dvd. It worked! Alyssa exercised with me, and Ethan just kept looking at us and laughing. I'm tired, but I feel great!

Crazy Fun Weekend

On Friday we had planned to get together with our friends, the Gennings, to have dinner, play games, watch our kids play, etc. On Thursday Jenny Gennings called to confirm that we were still getting together and she reminded me that this was the weekend that Brian's old roommate, Jeremy, was coming to visit. When Brian came home from school, I informed him that Jeremy was coming to stay with us, and he informed me that his other old roommate, Paul, was in town with his girlfriend and wanted to get together. So a dinner party set for Friday evening started out with seven people and after a few brief conversations, jumped to ten people. Brian thought that if we were all getting together we might as well call Drew, another old roommate who lives in Salem. When he talked to Drew, Drew said, "Great, my cousin Dave is in town with his family. He was Jeremy's roommate too, and would love to see him." Then Paul's sister called from Seattle, said she heard we were all getting together and was wondering if she could come too and bring a birthday cake for Paul. So all in all we prepared or 16 people to come to dinner on Friday evening.


Drew's family didn't show up, but we still had a full house, and we had a great time. Brian bought 20 large baking potatoes, that everyone cut in half, so we had about 14 left for hashbrowns the next morning. (We sent some home with the Gennings, too.) And we still have baked potatoes in our fridge. It was fun to see everyone and to meet spouses, children, etc.

On Saturday morning Alyssa had a Primary activity. They went to a retirement home and sang songs to the grandmas and grandpas. Alyssa was so excited for this activity for the whole two weeks prior to it. She was so cute singing all of the Primary songs. I was going to put a clip in her hair, but Jeremy was in the shower when we were leaving, so I didn't get to it.


Then we headed to Jenny Genning's vocal recital, then made a quick stop at McDonalds for lunch. Alysssa and I got our food to go, because we had to head into Portland to see the ballet Sleeping Beauty, Act III. This particular ballet was about Aurora's and Prince Florimund's wedding. It was a little boring. The scenery was beautiful, the dancing was beautiful, the costumes were beautful, but there was no plot whatsoever. The only plot line I could see was, "The king and queen come in and sit down, the court comes in, Aurora and Prince Florimund come in, various people dance for the king and queen, Aurora and Prince Florimund dance, ballet is over." But before Sleeping Beauty we watched the ballet Firedbird which was fun and exciting. It was about Prince Ivan making friends with the firebird, then falling in love with a princess and defeating the evil guy with the big bushy grey hair to save all the princesses. Alyssa and I both liked that one.

After the ballet we walked across the street to the bubble waterfall. Alyssa loved that! We played there for a little while, then headed to a hotel by the airport to go see Jeremy's nieces and nephews perform in an irish dance competetion, which is why Jeremy was in town. We showed up just as it was ending, then we went to IHOP for dinner and the Gennings' soccer game, which we missed. So we went to the Gennings house instead and played Nintendo games until way late.

Sunday was church, and on the way home we stopped at Brian's school to show Jeremy around, and Brian doing an almost-thorough eye exam on him. Then we went home for lunch, and Jeremy took off to go pick up his sister, her husband, and their six children to come stay the night at our house.

Just after he left, I was about to start cleaning our house from Friday night's party to be ready for Jeremy's family to come over, when I went in Ethan's bedroom and found this:


Yes, a naked boy with poop all over his crib. I cleaned everything up, stuck Ethan in the tub, washed my hands real good, then heard Alyssa call from the bathroom, "Mom, can you come wipe the poop off my bum? I didn't get it all." When I was done taking care of Alyssa, I told Brian that if any more poop happened, I was going to leave. Wouldn't you know that one of Jeremy's nephews went to the bathroom and put poopy toilet paper in the garbage can and left a chunk of poop on the floor. Guess who cleaned it up.

But overall, it was fun having Jeremy's family over. The kids had a blast running around the yard together, and Alyssa had so much fun having her first sleepover. We put the two girls in her bedroom, and she even slept on the floor with them!

Everyone left early this morning, and we are all exhausted. As soon as Ethan's down for his afternoon nap, I'm going down too.

Thou Hypocrite

Brian was going through my blog last night, and he was astounded by some of the things he found. "Do you mean that four people commented on me wearing the same socks twice?" I told him that he didn't have to worry because two of the comments were Tallia's and one of them was mine. Then he looked over at me. "Didn't you wear that shirt yesterday?" I looked down, thought for a moment, and nodded. Apparently I'm not the only one saving on laundry at our house.

Gock = Truck

I believe we have Ethan's first official word! When he was about seven or eight months old, he said "Atha" for Alyssa for about a week, but then he stopped. He says "Mamamama," and "Dadadada" all the time, but it doesn't always correspond to Brian or me. He babbles sometimes, but most of the time he points and grunts. While we're not concerned about his growth and develpoment, this is very frustrating to parents who have a little girl who was saying, "book" at nine months and correctly pointing out and saying "octogon" at about fourteen months.

Needless to say, I was absolutely thrilled when he pointed out the window this morning and said "Gock!" when the garbage truck went by. I wondered if it was real, because I couldn't get him to say it again, but then later this morning he pointed out the window and said, "Gock" again. It looks like the boy might finally start talking!