jack and his aunt sam

Jack has a special love for his Aunt Sam.  Since he was very little they have spent about one day a week together.  At this point he has already had two sleep-overs at her house that went so well,  I was a little envious.  Although it makes me very sad that he is not able to spend more time with my mom and his Aunt Annie, I am so grateful for Aunt Sam.

One of Jack's favorite things to do right now is hide himself behind you and then peek out on one side or the other with a huge smile on his face when you say, "Where is Jack?"

Jack has began to exhibit quite a bit of jealously when it comes to his leading ladies (notice the look on his face and his hand pushing on Dustin as Dustin moves in to join the fun) . . . 

we are working on this . . .

hanging with the Cover clan

It was our pleasure to have the chance to spend a couple of days with a bunch of Covers recently.  My Uncle Norman's daughter, Becky, and her husband, Ron, were on this side of the country visiting her sons and her brother Andy and his family.  So, we spent an afternoon at the zoo followed by a delightful dinner together on Monday and then spent the following afternoon together at Huntington Beach dog park (so another family member -- Tyler-- could take part in the fun).  

All total there was myself, Jack and Rigo; Sam and Tyler; Becky and Ron; Becky's son, Nick, and his girlfriend, Andrea; Andy and Karen; their son Aaron; and his wife, Amanda, and son, Dustin .  . . who is about a month younger than Jack.

This brief time together meant a lot to me.  It is difficult to articulate exactly how or why but I found myself really touched by seeing Jack with all of these Covers -- the most amazing of which--in my biased opinion -- he will never meet.  I have never been very close to the Cover side of the family.  They were always so far away from us growing up.  But we had a blast spending time with them and hope to spend more time in the future.

Here is Jack playing with Becky and his Aunt Sam . . .

And here he is with two of his favorite beings in the world . . . Tyler and his Aunt Sam . . . and Dustin (his third cousin???  . . . or something like that) . . .

Nick was really good with Jack . . . I think he had something gentle and calm about him that Jack really responded to . . . 

tumbles . . . jack's first day at the playground as a walker

The surface here is actually quite soft and springy . . . thank goodness.  

Along with the fall you see here, Jack also went face first into the ground while running and fell one other time.  

He is so happy and even more social than ever now that he can walk on his own.  On this day he spent most of our time there trying to keep up with and "talk to" a slightly older boy who was playing there.

an oldie but goodie

So, these pictures are actually from about two months ago, when Jack was in the throes of teething four teeth, a nasty teething-related fever and an overall funk.  I had to drop him off at a mommy friend's house (God bless mommy friends) so that I could make it to a last minute audition.  Jack's little friend, Harper, was also teething and in an overall funk.  So, said mommy friend was alone for several hours with two very uncomfortable and disgruntled little guys.

I especially like these where little Harper is looking like (as his mom said), 

"This guy is cool in playgroup, but what's he doing here?"

what to wear this fall

Here we have Jack in a very fashion forward ensemble . . . . the foundation of which is the somewhat risky choice of donning a christmas sleeper in the middle of October, topped off with a sporty zipped hoodie and a navy pair of Crocs  . . . Jack likes to put looks like this together for his early morning walks with papa and we have to say, "Well done, Jack.  Your risk-taking has paid off once again!" 

 . . . For information about where you can purchase Jack's look, contact his mom.

news flash

Jack walked today.  That's right folks, hands-free walking.  He walked all over his Grandmama Hilda's apartment when he was there this morning with his papa.  And then I witnessed the phenomenon later in the day at his cousin Alejandra's birthday party.  He walked all over that party -- sometimes taking my hand for the first few steps or for help up or down stairs, but then he would just let go and walk!

He has been walking with help for months and in recent weeks there had been sightings and confirmed reports of his ability to walk unaided but nothing seemed to stick . . . until now.

In case it is not coming over the computer, I am beaming right now.  

What a beautiful day.

jack in hot pursuit of a horse