Super Jack!

Another wonderful week, come and gone. Although this one was loaded with extra fun, memories, laughs, and tears. It has been an emotional one for me, but good in so many ways. We took loads of pictures, but I will try to be brief so your reading of this week's blog won't carry right into next week's.

Of course, our big events of the week started on Tuesday with Jack's first day at school. He has been anticipating this for so long, he could hardly believe it was actually happening.

Me and my BIG boy on his first day. He is all about silly pictures lately, so here we are! (Our camera was having some sporadic "fuzz" problems so some of the pics aren't the best).

Jack and Janie on the way out the door. I say it all the time, but they are SO cute together!

And a silly one of course...

Growing up, it seemed like we took a lot of pictures on our front steps on significant days. So, this is as much "front porch" as we have right now. This is in our outside lobby area, with the front office behind them. We spend a lot of time in this area coming, going, and visiting with the incredible staff.

The bus picks him up and drops him off right at the lobby (super convenient!), so we now spend even more time down here. Janie and I went with him on the bus the first day, which I loved. Jack, on the other hand, felt like we were crampin' his style, making it so he couldn't sit by the other children. I thought, "here we go...". It was fun to see him jump right in on his first day. He ran off the bus so fast, threw his backpack down in the classroom and went straight for the playground. Thanks to his "trial day" in February, he knew exactly what to do.

This is Janie as we were waiting for Jack to return home the first day. We waited for 40 min. (I arrived early, and was trying to not be a over-bearing mother, so yes, I waited all that time!), before I got a call from the school administrator. She was extremely apologetic and assured me this has never happened before, but somehow, Jack unknowingly sneaked into the afternoon class. So, his first day, instead of being SO anxious to come home, what does he do? He stays an extra 2 hours! This would only happen to Jack.... The bus brought him home around 2:45 instead of 12:45, and he thought it was great that he got to eat lunch and have extra classes! Everyone was extremely apologetic the next day. I was just glad he had such a positive day, but I am really glad he won't be gone for that long every day! So, to wrap this picture up, we played downstairs all that time and the girls at the desk even provided treats and a drink for her. She was in heaven.

Some of these pictures are a little mixed because I took some the first day, and some the 2nd, which was his birthday. This was taken on his birthday as he got on the bus for the first time all by himself! As you can see, the bus isn't really a bus, it's a big van. It takes him about 15 minutes to get to/school. I ask him what he does on the bus and he tells me, "I am just the boy that looks out the window". He loves being so independent.

This is Jack's birthday morning, on the way out the door. He's all about Superman lately, can you tell?

Jeff, Janie, and I brought cupcakes to Jack's class for snack time. It was fun to see him "in action" and get to know his new friends a bit. LOTS of different personalities in this class. His school has about 60 children and more than 20 different nationalities. I think there is 1-2 other full Americans in this class. (Notice Janie eating in the background, cute!)

Jack chose to swim after school, which was a treat because Daddy was home! He LOVES his water wings and goggles lately. He's a little more cautious in the water than he used to be, but is definitely warming up. Janie, on the other hand, has jumped in twice, once fully clothed, and doesn't want to get out. She has no fear. She will jump in, rise to the top by herself and start kicking to the side (with help) to do it all again. She and I are looking into a swim class. If she's going to be that fearless, we figure she'd better start learning how to swim!


Jack chose a Superman cake for his birthday and I told him he could choose anything he wanted for dinner, as long as we could have it delivered. I know, I know. I'm an awesome mom. Here, you can get anything delivered, so McDonald's it was! FYI, cake mixes here cost around $4-5/box, so I now make cakes from scratch. Kind of a pain, but it was yummy and I am way too cheap to pay that much! Jeff did most of the decorating this time, isn't he awesome?

We spent Jack's birthday evening at home, swimming, eating, visiting, and going on his gift-finding scavenger hunt. He LOVED figuring out each clue and finding his small gifts in the microwave, toy box, shoe cabinet, etc. It was hilarious to watch him have more fun with the clues than with the actual presents. Don't worry, I'm taking notes for next year.

One of his favorite things about school this week was his Taekwondo class. I knew he would love this, and wish I could be there doing it with him! He came home with his cool suit and said, "I got to KICK a BAG!". Of course, for any little boy, this would be the best part of the day. You think his suit looks a little large?

So, if you are wondering, YES, our whole week focused on JACK. It was a crazy week, and I was a whole day off all week long (because he started school on Tuesday, not Monday). I completely missed my play date for Thursday (thinking it was Wednesday) and didn't even realize it until I saw my friend's husband on the train at 11am! I thought my life would be simplified by having Jack in school, but I think it is just proportioned differently. We have entered an entirely new part of parenthood, and I have a feeling we are just getting started. Remembering what day to take his art bag, library books, swimsuit, taekwondo suit, show and tell... wow! So much MORE to think about, but I am excited.

The weekend was mostly spent in recovery, and amidst all of this, we also celebrated my birthday. I am the wonderful age of 27, and loving it. I have no problem with getting older (although 27 does sound old), I just plan on being wiser, stronger, and a better wife and mother with each year.

We actually spent my birthday morning with Anutra and her family celebrating her niece's birthday (an event she invited us to 2 months ago, how could we say no?). It was fun to be with Anutra and her family, who are all very nice, but it ended up being a very LONG morning. So, when we got home, instead of heading out to get a massage, like Jeff had planned for me, I opted to take a nap with Jack instead. (I'm hoping that massage will happen sometime next week, we'll see.)

This is Om with Jane. She is a sweet girl, just turning 18. She has come over to play with Jack and Janie before and adores them. It was fun to see her again, and she even got Jack a play bowling set, which he loves. (People spoil our children here more than we do! Of course, they're not complaining!).


We spent the evening doing what we do for 2007 birthdays in this family... bowling! Yes, we have turned into a bowling family. It is something we can do all together, it's convenient, air-conditioned, and Jack and Janie love it! Plus, since it was my birthday, I decided to let myself beat Jeff. I more than doubled my score from when we went for Jeff's birthday, and instead of beating Jack by 17 (like I did the first time), I beat Jeff by 18! Don't worry, I'm not rubbing it in or anything. We concluded with dinner at Sizzler, which has the only good salad bar in all of Bangkok. It was awesome.

Besides a small breakdown the night of Jack's birthday, I have been an enthusiastic, solid mother through this big week of change. I love doing new things, being in new places, changing up the routine, meeting new people, all that good stuff. But, when it comes to my baby growing up and moving onto big things, I realize I am not as flexible as I probably should be. In a way, I feel like I'm growing up right along side my own children. Luckily, we can work on it, everyday, together.