Happy Birthday Jack Jack

How is it that Jack is 5 years old today?!?! Where has the time gone and how did he go from my sweet first baby to such a strong independent boy? And, let's be serious. How is it that he starts kindergarten in 2 weeks??? Ugh, bring out the tissues now because Momma's a mess!

Jack keeps us on our toes in both good and bad ways. He is smart (sometimes too smart for his own good), funny, caring, compassionate, high strung, outgoing, and an absolutely amazing big brother. He is still super duper tall (98th percentile) and super duper skinny (60th percentile). He is energetic and is constantly on the go which is why he takes swimming lessons and plays soccer and spends as much time as possible running and jumping! He is also content to read a book, play on the iPad or his laptop, watch a show about dinosaurs, or collect "treasures". He fights us at meal times even though he is hungry but could snack ALL DAY LONG! He is very strong willed and is figuring out how to exert his independence while still obeying us and the rules. In fact, he is quick to remind us of God's rules, ie the Ten Commandments, and likes to point out when WE are breaking one!

Jack is a challenge but such an incredible joy. He makes us want to pull our hair out one minute and laugh hysterically the next and we go to bed every night thanking God for bringing us such an incredible gift in Jack.

City Play Date

When we were in Chicago we got together with all our old friends. There seem to be so many more of us now that there are 5 kids to run around! This playdate was awesome for many reasons 2 of which were that the hosts were the only ones without kids and it was held on their amazing roof deck! Ahh city life!

Daddy and the boys just hanging out!

Henry playing with his new buddy Kendal!

Dopplegangers

We have said for a while that Will looks exactly like Mommy's brother Dave. However, when Will rocked the curly mullet this weekend, Mommy had flashbacks to Uncle Dave's senior picture from 1990. Um, could they look any more alike?

Bike Ridin Babes

We love to ride bikes on the boardwalk, especially since the twins fall asleep EVERY TIME!

Up Close and Personal

The Lincoln Park Zoo was one of my favorite places when we lived in Chicago. It was walking distance from our house and is FREE!!! Man, its things like the zoo that really make me miss the city!!!

The gorillas at the zoo are AMAZEBALLS! Seriously, they interact with the kids and seem so friendly. How could you not be amazed???

This baby hippo took a liking to Jack and swam up to the glass to check him out!

This was always Jack's favorite part of the zoo. How cool is it that you can see the polar bears swimming right up to you??

Go Cubs Go!

Oh Cubbies, our love for you continues even 1000 miles away in Virginia. There is nothing like a summer time game at Wrigley Field and Mommy and Daddy spent many a days in the seats looking out at the ivy when we lived in Chicago. Let's just say, however, that going with 3 kids in tow didn't quite resemble the days of old!

Jack was super excited about going to game!

This is the only picture we got with Casey, our nanny who accompanied us to the Windy City. (A little side note---Casey was such a great addition to this trip! She loves our kids and they love her! She was so helpful and having "man to man coverage" for the kids was essential. She actually made the trip enjoyable for Mommy and Daddy and we are eternally grateful. She even got to see Guy Fieri, Oprah and the Dali Lhama while she was in Chicago. Not bad for her first time in the big city!)

Henry had a blast!

Will, on the other hand, was a whole different story. Poor Will was super sick on the drive to Chicago (spiking a 104.5 fever!). His fever broke the first day in Chicago but he was super fussy and clingy to Daddy the whole time so the game was less than enjoyable for him. He did have fun playing with Jack's hat though.

Hey Chicago, whatya say? The Cubs are gonna win today!

Crown Family Play Lab

It was so strange returning to places in Chicago that Jack used to play, especially with 2 more boys in our family! Jack and I used to go to the Field Museum on a weekly basis and loved to hang out in the Crown Family Play Lab. Just as much as Jack loved it when he was 18 months old, so did Will and Henry.

The ancient music room was their favorite. Seriously, these 2 could plays drums and gongs all day long :)



Here is Jack playing with the corn when he was 14 months old...

And Henry at 18 months...

Peek a boo Henry!

Dream Come True

Jack's love for dinosaurs is as strong as ever. Let me just say, the kid loves him some dinos. We knew we could not go to Chicago without taking him to the Field Museum to visit Sue, the very famous TRex. The anticipation built for weeks before the trip and by the time the day arrived, Jack was so excited he literally almost peed his pants! The look on his face as he entered the grand hall is one that dreams are made of and is one of the many often untold joys of parenting.

Jack did not waste any time pointing out the pteresaur flying overhead!

Standing in front of Sue's massive skull.

A very cool triceretops skull. Jack was in dinsoaur heaven and is still talking about it a month later!

Hotel Shenannigans

What could be more fun for 3 boys than staying in a hotel? Deconstructing the hotel room, of course!
Henry tried to call Nana several times on the room phone so we eventually had to unplug all of them!

Will and Henry are seriously like spider monkeys---they can climb! They managed to climb onto the luggage in the closet so that they could repeatedly open and close the safe. Fun times!

Go away! No one's here!

Jack wasn't about to miss out on the action. Why not put on every piece of clothes he packed? Sounds fun, right?
I'm pretty sure Chicago will never be the same!