Jack & Spencer's World

Spencer's 2nd birthday was June 1st. We celebrated in NYC and in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts party was first - over Memorial Day weekend. Spence had so much fun playing with Jack and his cousins. He knew that it was a birthday party, but he was completely surprised when we all started singing Happy Birthday to him! He had this surprised grin, but overall loved it. Jack loved it too - right up until he figured out that he wasn't getting any presents. Is everyone really singing for me?!?! Icing tires...yum! Back in New York, we had smaller celebration with fun a few gifts and cupcakes. (Don't worry, we're having a bigger gathering later in the summer to celebrate both boys' birthdays!). Breakfast pancakes... ...followed by a birthday cupcake! In addition to celebrating Spence's birthday, we caught up with good friends Matt and Beth Knoettner and their two boys, Connor and Brady. We met at a park in Acton where a local runn...

Jack's PreK-3 class had their end of year celebration last Thursday, June 13th. It is called the Stepping Up ceremony. Parents came to the classroom and watch the kids go through their morning routine. Then they performed a few special songs. It was adorable. Jack was so proud to show all that he learned. From the time that we arrived at class, Jack wanted to give Ms. Emily, his teacher, a hug. Finally, as we were about to leave we had our chance. He was nervous, but then ran to her for a great big hug. He liked her so much! We are so proud of Jack. He really blossomed at pre-school. Looking forward to what next year brings! All sorts of great things from the day: Morning prayer Calendar - counting days of the week Weather - it was raining Excited about his gift and certificate Finally, the big hug Jack loves Ms. Emily!

Today was the spring concert at Jack's school. Like the winter concert, it was held in the church at Blessed Sacrament. It's a pretty intimidating space that was built between 1917 and 1919. It's a true Catholic church - beautiful stained glass windows and giant crucifix. Read more here  and here . The two PreK-3 classes performed together. This time around, Jack happily sat with his class and went right up on stage. This alone was a massive win over our experience in December. Jack sang his heart out and performed all the movements with energy. They did great. At the end of the concert, the music teacher, Mr. T, recognized two students from each class as outstanding students. Our Jack was the boy from his class! It was great to see him get his award. He was beaming. For Justin and I, it was wonderful - our little boy, that had such a tough first few months at the school, was now shining and being recognized. For me, it's great to see music mean so much to Jack alre...

About a month ago, we had a photo session at a local photo studio. There were some great pictures of the kids, good pictures of the four of us, and a couple of duds. I'm finally getting around to sharing these. Enjoy!

I have far more to share about Mother's Day last week. I wanted to start with this picture. Barbara Trencher (Jake's mom), my friend Rusty from work, and I ran a 4 mi race on Sunday. It was a lot of fun  and I was very happy to have two friends with me. After our race, there was a kids' race. Jake and Jack ran. Everyone had so much fun!!

This morning, I had the luxury of attending a musical with Jack's preschool class. The show was well done, very cute, and perfect for the age. But that's not the story. The story is this wonderful woman we encountered on the train ride home. With all the newness of the day, Jack was well worn out by the time we took the train home. The first train to arrive was the 1, so we boarded. A few seconds later, a 3 came in on the express track. Jack said that he wanted to take the 3; however, the doors were closing on the train that we had boarded. Jack started to meltdown. I felt his infamous wail and tears coming and tried my best to stop them. Just as I felt my efforts were truly going to fail, this lovely woman sitting next to us asked Jack "Are you three?". Her tone was calm and serene - the exact opposite of how the moment felt for Jack and me. This question stopped the meltdown. He wasn't sure what to make of it, but he wasn't afraid. Once the lady had ...

Yesterday, Jack, Spencer, and I heard bagpipes being played on Columbus. I called attention to the music and asked if Jack heard it. He said yes and asked what was the noise. I told him bagpipes. He thought for a minute. Then asked, is it made out of pipes from the toilet? I suppose to some the answer is yes.