Saturday, August 28, 2010

Jack stats at 18 months

Okay, I am behind because he is 21 months.....

18 month check up:
Weight: 23-6 pounds (7%)
Height: 34 1/2 inches (90%)

Yep, tall and skinny just like his dad! He has gained almost 2 pounds so I am happy about that.

Jack's little personality is developing and it is so much fun. While we were in Indonesia his grandma told us that they were playing at his water table in our backyard and Jack said "more water." So Sheila went in the house to get him more water and she came back and sat in her seat in which she discovered there was a puddle of water. She did a little scream of shock and surprise (which she honestly was) and Jack laughed hysterically. Sheila thought maybe he did this by accident and did not think too much of it. Jack again said "more water" and Sheila went to the bathroom to get more and sure enough Jack had put more water unto Sheila's seat and was anxiously waiting for her to sit down. He thought he was so funny! That kind of sums up Jack's little personality. He is a little naughty but seems to get away with it because he is too dang cute. He is quick to say sorry and give you a big hug if he knows he did something naughty but he still can't help himself from doing. He is still very proud of himself if he gets sent to timeout. He loves to say "excuse me" if you are in his way or if he or someone else makes any type of bodily noise while giggling. He loves nursery.

Jack loves to make people laugh and is extremely social. Anywhere we go and especially at the airport (which we have been in a lot lately) he says "hi" and "bye" to everyone. He walks up and down the aisle on the airplane saying "hi" to everyone. Some people love it and others I am sure are annoyed.

Jack is still a momma's boy and loves to imitate everything I do. He calls me "momma" and the rest of the world "Marti." It is weird because if you ask him "who is daddy, who is Rachel, etc" he will point to the right person but he still calls everyone "Marti." He still loves creating food in the kitchen and having me "eat" it and then asking me if I want "more" while pretending to get me some more. He loves pretend play. He is just getting into the whole playing with cars but he is obsessed with trucks and balls. We are impressed with his throwing and catching skills. He winds up and throws pretty far and hard and then holds out his hands to catch (he usually catches it too). He loves moving his little body wether it is running, dancing or jumping. However, he thinks he is jumping but he still can't quite get both feet off the ground at the same time. He is starting to have an opinion about what he wears, which makes life interesting and he mostly just wants to be naked (can't blame him).

Jack is in this awful phase of taking off his diaper and clothes. I will often go get him from nap to find a completely naked kid. Any suggestions on this would be great! Today he took off his shorts and diaper 4 times and then peed 3 times on my floor. I think he wants to be potty trained but I am not ready. He loves going pee in the potty and flushing his pooh down the toilet.

Jack is the highlight of our lives and is constantly making us laugh. He is quite the little character!

Oh, Jack's best friend is Zachary our neighbor. They play at least twice a day and both cry when they have to part ways. Zachary is 10 months older than Jack but they seriously love each other. We are so happy to have him as a neighbor!

Fourth of July. It rained (go figure....) but Jack had a blast playing with everyone and getting all wet.

My good friend Emi, who just moved back to Japan, sent this little outfit for Jack. I am not sure if I put it on correctly but it is so cute and cool for the summer!

Jack just being Jack



For Story time at the library they had a fire truck come. Jack loved it. Before we went Jack found a sticker and put it on himself. I had no idea what it said until we got to the library too funny!


Here is Jack again at the airport with his "special airplane bag" greeting everyone. We had a late night flight so he was in his pj's

Zach and Jack are obsessed with the garbage truck. On Tuesday we followed them around the entire neighborhood. I now know all about the garbage men lives. They were very nice to let us follow them.

BALI

Beautiful, Peaceful, Relaxing Bali (long post mostly for journal purposes, just read what you like and enjoy pics)
I feel in love with Bali. We took a plane (Shawn likes to say a flying bus because it was quite ghetto but cheap) to the island of Bali. Our purpose of going to Bali was simple to relax. Literally lay by the ocean all week long, read, and drink margaritas (non-alcoholic of course:)). That is exactly what we did and it was wonderful! I did a couple of excursions but Shawn pretty much stayed at our resort. The moment you land on the island of Bali you feel a different type of energy. I had heard this from people but did not believe it. Well it is true. It is so beautiful and the people are so friendly. It was totally different from the Island of Java. The Hindu people are so nice and caring but I think it is more than just the people. There is something about this Island.... I can't quite explain it, you will just have to go. Our resort was in a small village called Candidasa and we stayed at the Rama Candidasa. Candidasa is very small, quaint, and peaceful. It is very different from the lots of the other cities or villages in Bali. It is very low key but that is exactly what we wanted. To say the least we loved our week long vacation in Bali. Our resort consisted of mostly Australians. Actually, most visitors in Candidasa were from Australia. We met lots of people. Our resort hosted high tea everyday and provide drinks and local food so the resort guests could mingle. Shawn and I went everyday and it was fun to meet people. The resort also hosted lots of activities and entertainment which was really nice.

****Disclaimer: As I have posted pictures I realized that most pictures are of me. This is quite embarrassing because I really don't like pictures of myself and Shawn is much better looking. I am not sure how this happened. Shawn must have had the camera a lot and I was the one that did most of the excursions. So I apologize and I am really not narcissist.

Village and Food:
Almost every night Shawn and I would wonder into the village. We found our favorite restaurant and eat there multiple times. Every night we ordered a dessert to taste. In one picture you can see the chief cooking on the sand in the fire. I am getting hungry just thinking about the restaurant. The food in Bali was delicious! We enjoyed watching the locals fish and eat dinner on the beach and of course watch the beautiful sunset. So peaceful.
The walk into town:

Relaxing at the hotel:
The hotel was very peaceful. There was flowing water and unique flower everywhere you turned. We mostly relaxed by the pool. There was hardly anyone at the pool in the mornings. Then around 2pm people started returning from their excursions and would come to the pool. There were mostly only adults. So it was very quiet. Oh, I wish I were back. I could get use to this life!
This reminded me of IT


Shawn and I both relaxed at this little spa owned by some local women. Later I discovered a little spa that I loved. I wish I would have taken a picture of it. It was peaceful and surrounded by water and I had the best message I had ever had. I visited this other spa a couple of times. It was pure heaven!

Elephant Ride:
This was one of the highlights and something I have always wanted to do. We saw monkeys on our ride. Our guide was really nice. Every time he would take our picture he would say, "one, two, three, sexy." We thought it was really funny. At the end he had the elephant do all of these tricks with one of us on the elephant. Both of us took turns. He told us he just does this to his "favorite people" and that it is not part of the tour. I am positive that is what he says to everyone to get larger tips. Well it worked we did give him a large tip but it was a pretty cool experience. There were also lots of other animals.







Snorkeling:
While walking in the village we met this Australian couple. The wife asked me if I had been snorkeling yet. I told her that I had not been but really wanted to go. I continued to say that we probably would not go because Shawn just wanted to relax. She was very excited about this because she had been everyday by herself because her husband did not want to go as well. So we decided to go together. She arranged everything and then next morning we set off for our adventure. I wish Shawn would have done because the boat ride was beautiful and we saw so many amazing and colorful fish. I have been snorkeling lots of times but this was probably one of the best. Shawn was happy that I had a partner and he was content reading and listening to podcast at the resort; however he ended up staying at the our friends villa talking to the husband the entire time. The lady that I went with told me that her and her husband come to Bali for a month each year. They rent the same little villa on the beach and even keep lots of stuff there so they don't have to bring it back and forth. They had a beautiful view. Oh the life! I had lots of fun with her.
The boat we went on


6 hour adventure to see the area:
I really wanted to see some more rice fields and visit a couple of Hindu Temples. Shawn had agreed to do one excursion and that was the elephant ride. He really wanted to relax. It was his graduation trip so I agreed to one excursion. So at high tea we a met a lady that was by herself and wanted to explore the area. We decided to share a taxi and visit some places. We went to a traditional village, drove through the rice fields, went to the bat cave (a temple that have a bat cave with hundreds of bats but it was closed because of the ceremonies), visited one of the oldest temples (can't remember the name) and lastly went to the Mother Temple (has another name but that is what they call it).

The lady I went with was an interesting duck. I got in the car and she said "you are happy, what are you some type of born again Christian." I thought oh no is this really happening.... I told her that I am a Christian but I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She then said, "oh, I just read a book about you guys." I then thought oh no here we go..... In my head I was cursing Shawn for not going with me. All I wanted was a lovely day and now I had a lady who was just going off about how bad and awful all religions are. After hearing about how bad religions are she told me she was an atheist. She had lots of valid points and I told her that religion organizations have done lots of horrible things but unfortunately churches are run by imperfect people and she is right that have done horrible things. After a long time of her talking and me wanting to end this conversation I told her that we were never going to agree on this subject. Wanting to enjoy my surroundings and her company I told her that my religion has brought me peace, hope and happiness during very difficult times in my life and that I believe I would have not received those feelings and insights as to why I was going through this trial without my religion. I continued to say despite the bad things about religion, people continue to believe in a God that gives them hope and comfort during times of great despair and also in every day life. However, I told her that she has made lots of valid points and that I respect her decision to be an atheist and I can see that she has found peace with her decision. I wish that she would respect my decision as well. We agreed to disagree and she said we will never know who is right until we died and I agreed. We ended the conversation very pleasantly with no contention and then we were able to engage in very insightful good conversations. Luckily, I had read her favorite book Three Cups of Tea. So we had lots to talk about. She has had a hard life with lots of tragedies and my heart broke for some of the things she has had to endure. By the end of our day excursions I has happy to call her my friend. Shawn and I had dinner with her a couple of times.

Drive through the rice fields:
Too beautiful for words. If I were to go again I would have ridden a bike through them. While we were there it was a festival to bury their dead. I think (don't quote me) they wait for the right day and weather (I was told there are several factors) to bury their dead and then they have a big festival that last a week or so. It was fun to see everyone dressed up in their best. There were lots of ceremonies for the dead as well. The culture was fascinating to me. I love learning about how others live.



Visit to Traditional Village (my camera was all fogged up so the pictures did not turn out:()

One of the Oldest Temple




Mother Temple
Absolutely Fascinating, enchanting and beautiful. We had to wear wraps (different word in Bali) because of the sacredness of the temple. I had to buy one before I went in. There were little offerings everywhere. They do this every day.