We have lift off....

Wee Willie Wallace commomly know as Baker

One day he is laying there, the next day he is crawling around, the day after he is standing and a few days later he is pushing a baby chair around the house. Bad Boy Baby Baker is becoming a little man.

Best of all, at least from his perspective, he is driving his brother crazy. He grabs Jack's hair, won't let go and just giggles. Papa, under his breath so Mimi won't hear, "Pay back is hell!"

In early November Papa's sister Jan visited with her daughter Stella, Grandma Wallace and Stella's 13 month old son Rustin. We had one crawling, one running around into everything and two, a 3 year old and 85 year old, who wouldn't stop talking. Time for some Papa water!

When Mom went to Cape Canaveral to report the space shuttle launch for her Citadel Magazine, Mimi and Papa HAD to babysit. Both boys had been healthy until that point waiting on the opportunity to scare the old folks. Which they did..whatever happen to paregoric?

This kid can eat.

Funny Boy

Jack is growing up in a hurry. He's loads of fun to be around and keeps a smile on our face. When he wants us to do something--which is almost all the time--he calls his groupies "You Guys." He gets his way as follows: 1. with Mimi 100% of the time, 2. with Papa 90% of the time, 3. with Mom 60% of the time and 4. with Baby Baker 0% of the time.

One day Papa picked up a DVD at the library with cartoon Polar Bears and was excited about watching it with Jack. Jack asked if it had trains, trucks or cars in it? Since it didn't he reckoned he just watch Thomas the Train. The kids love all things mechanical.

Papa's sister's boy Cousin Travis, who is in Navy School at Charleston Navy Base, stayed with us Thanksgiving. He and Jack had a great visit. Everyone stayed up late watching "Ice Age" and we had a wonderful turkey dinner at Mimi's house. Travis had a look of relief by the time I dropped him back off in N. Charleston to be with his buddies.

The picture was taken at New Beginnings church school were Jack and his classmates did a Christmas program. Jennifer and Dolly gave it great reviews; Papa hung out at the house with BB. Papa and Baker did get several previews of Jingle Bells before the big night.

Poop Party has been a roller coaster ride. Everyone says it's a three year old thing. Papa is buying stock in a diaper company.

We've all had the Kiddy Cold which doesn't seem to go away this time of year but no major medical problems this fall. Keep your fingers crossed.

Shades of the future..

Playmates

Halloween 2009

Big Boy Bodacious Beautiful Baby Baker is a Wee Willie Wallace who has a winning smile. He smiles more than any kid I've ever seen but he also can be a bad baby. He loves the left hip. Baker has been crawling for about 10 days and doing 3 point setting for over a week-- which is fanny in a setting position using one hand as support. On Halloween he sat straight up for the first time. Then today he pulled up and was standing all by himself when I picked he up

from school.

In the mean time Jack has entered the world of three year olds. He is a great little guy except when he is tired which is when he does his best Aunt Caroline imitation. Every day we have one of those 'out of the mouth of children stories'. The other day we went down the street to see our friend Clark who loves to shop. Jack said, "Clark's car is gone, Clark not home." When I said he was a work Jack corrected me by saying, "Clark not at work, he at Costco!" He was probably right.

Jack can spell Jack, car, go, Wallace, boy, baby and a few more I can't remember.

Halloween was a big day. We went to a well attended neighborhood party over on Stocker Drive. All the kids wore their costumes along with a few of the adults--Papa thought the guy with the yellow hair was a little weird. There were games for the kids along with pedicab rides by Papa Pedicabman. Later Jennifer manned the door while Papa and Dolly took Jack around the immediate neighborhood to Trick or Treat at some of our friends houses. Jack was a big hit in his monkey suit. Later Jennifer and Kim took Jack over to Chadwick for an impromptu book club meeting where the girls got a little thirsty. When the Jello Shots came out Jack had to come home where he begged too much candy off of Papa. Later when Baby Baker woke up for his 9:30 PM topping off Jennifer had to come home and the partying was all over. Life in the fast lane.

Now he's a three year old..

He'll be driving a car before you know it. Speaking of CARS we've passed excessive and gone into the realm of bizarre..in addition to the 30 of so he already owns he got about 15 more plus, a car DVD, car sheets, car pj's, car books, car cards and Mack the Car Carrier which hauls around the star of the whole show...Lightning McQueen.

At times this car thing becomes a nightmare particularly with all the inventory control problems. Sarge--the jeep--has been AWOL for about a week and the source of lots of speculation, questions and searches. Will it never end?

Jennifer took a 1/2 day off Friday, she and Dolly took Jack to the beach. After which the boy took a nice nap a woke just in time for the party which was attended by Clark, Dolly Jennifer, Baby Baker, Papa and Birthday Boy. We had pizza and birthday cake. Baker enjoyed helping Jack open presents and eating the cake that Papa fed him. Papa says Jack is growing up and guesses he'll only have yearly birthdays from now on, which is kind of sad particularly since the 2 and a half year old was so much fun.

On Saturday, Jack and Jennifer had a play date with Kelly and her children. Later on Jack and Papa watched the Car DVD and Birthday Boy got to stay up passed bedtime. On Sunday night everybody went to bed early to rest up for next year.