And now, put your hands together for....JACK!

Wow. I haven't given you an update on Jack since November. Well, he has grown leaps and bounds since then. He is becoming quite a big boy over here!

One cute thing he started doing, but is already dying down is a really cute head dance. He shakes his head, with a very small movment, but very quickly. It's very purposeful. He used to do it anytime he heard anything with a rhythm- dishwasher, dryer, someone brushing their teeth, and even when Matt was gargling.

He loves songs and usually says, "song!" when he hears one start up. At church the songs always get his attention. One time when the song was over he protested, "Song! Song!" but then announced, "All done."

He has discovered the joy of lotion. Unfortunately he would get the bath soap thinking it was lotion. One day I heard him shrieking and he had tried to put the "lotion" on his face and the soap was all over his eyes! We had a very slippery and screamy shower after that.

Jack fell in love with toilet paper. He would spend long moments of time tearing off a piece of toilet paper, wiping his nose, and throwing it into the trash can. Over and over and over again.

One of his favorite activities is labeling everything he sees. That's why we've come to call him "The Master Labeler". One night he was sick with an ear infection so we let him come out and hang out with us for a little bit. It was in the middle of the night, and he was cranky, but he couldn't keep himself from labeling, "book, cup, nose, show" etc.

Ninety-five percent of his words are spoken with a question intonation. Love it!

His word for kiwi is an adorable "wiwi". He went through a phase of loving crackers and would walk around the house sounding like a bird call all the time, "caw caw, caw caw". And for cereal he says "olio". In the beginning it was always any length he wanted to make it, "oliolioliolio," with the last "o" drawn out into a high question sound.

One day he had gotten his toothbrush and toothpaste. The toothpaste was open but he wasn't able to get any onto his brush. He was getting frustrated and then he handed it to me and said, "Broken."

Anytime he sees steam he says, "hot" (with the intonation "hot?" of course). So when he would see our breath outside on cold days he would say, "hot?"

Even though he says the words differently, he still points to his nose anytime he says the words "toast" or "snow".

He enjoys looking out the car window and finding buses and trucks.

One day I was going to set him down with just a diaper on. He said, "Pants". I put on his pants. Then he said, "Shirt." I pulled out a red shirt and he said, "Red!"

He also likes to give directions for his breakfast. "Olio". "Bowl". "Milk". "Spoon."

He's even been impressing us by learning a few colors and shapes. It's funny that I spent so much time teaching Jane every specific thing but somehow Jack is able to surprise me by pointing to my buttons and saying, "circle." Good thing those second children are adaptable.

One of his new favorite words is Jane, or should I say, "Nane." (again, picture the intonation). When we drop her off at preschool he points to her seat and cries, "Nane? Nane?" He does the same at nap time, pointing to her bed when she isn't in there. He still calls himself baby though.

I would like to be able to tell you that he is an all-around agreeable and happy little fellow. But, unfortunately he still struggles with quite the baby rage. He will give you a nasty stare-down and either throw something, hit you, or threaten to do either if he doesn't get his way. Sometimes I'll see him get mad and instantly he'll start looking around for something to throw. He'll get even madder if he can't find anything. Time-outs are helping to curb the hitting and throwing. But the biggest help has been finally getting him over his ear infections. He had an ear infection for about a month while we tried 2 rounds of antibiotics and finally the rocephin shot which worked in the end. His mood has improved, but he's still our little baby rager.

But I can say that despite the rage he is learning to be a polite little boy. He often says "please" when he wants something and usually has a cute little "day doo" after he receives it.

He sure does brighten up our household. Matt, especially, comments daily on what an awesome little boy he is. I always agree.