adventures of the miebs family: date with my little man

i'm not sure if it's always conveyed in my pictures, but jb is a very, very funny little guy. and by funny, i don't always mean ha ha. he likes to be the only ram in your crosshairs, if you know what i mean. (ok, maybe i've got sheep hunting on my brain... that's for a later post.) how 'bout this: he likes to be the center of my attention. or your attention. shoot, for 2.5 years, he was my only focus of attention; you can't exactly blame the kid!

approaching the four year mark, (yes, i just said FOUR!) jb has become quite the big helper. there are a number of tasks he's shown serious tenacity with, like for example:

he loves loading his plates and forks into the dishwasher... while drippy milk cups still get tossed into the sink. that's ok. it's all about progress.
he now helps (me) make lunches for school. he has a voice in what crackers (or chips!) get put into baggies, and he really, really loves opening the baggies and holding them while i pour goldfish, popchips or pretzels into the snack-size lovelies.
he attempted to fold a bed sheet today but ended up using it for hide and seek. (we all struggle with folding those damn fitted sheets anyway, right?!)
i fold his clothes, but he's started to put them away, including putting hangers into his shirts.
we all (including dyl) brush our teeth when we wake up and before we go to bed. jack has perfected his spitting and that makes me happy. i get the shivers whenever he would swallow the tooth paste. blech.

he has a number of funny jack-isms and without embarrassing him too much, i'll share just a few.

the other day, he said mama 27 times in 2 minutes. i counted. and timed. after i didn't respond (simply because i wanted to see how many times he would actually say it and keep at it) he stopped, wandered over to my side and said ANNIE! that got my attention.
you know how we've called him bubba since, like, ever? well, i'm wondering if he thinks that's a universal name/term because he's started calling others bubba. as in: oh bubba, yook at dis! he's done it to ben and i and his gramma. again, he's a continual crack-up.
one phrase i find myself repeating on a daily basis is jack, i don't wanna hear dylan cry, ok?! as in, be nice, don't take (rip) toys outta her hands, don't push her down, don't body check her (new one this week), just BE NICE. well, his response to that was his typical ok, mama, i will. {but whispering to dylan} duey, be real quiet, k?
he's started smelling everything. food and drinks, flowers, mushrooms, crackers and gummies. t-shirts. his response to them all? mmm, smells like cherries.
and this just now. yook, mama! i'm the strongest! i'm strong like dada!

i digress. that's just a little bit of jack.

so.

after playgrounds and play dates and visits with grandparents and being shuttled to this store and that restaurant, i needed to carve out a little time for just me and the kid. it's amazing how when you get them alone, they become pleasant creatures, right? (but together, the sibs can get a little squirrelly!)

early friday morning, we dashed out of gramma's house to have breakfast at one of my favorite minnesota staples: bruegger's bagels. mmm. the crispy outside and chewy inside make me smile and salivate just thinking about it! jack and i enjoyed plain bagels with egg and cheddar cheese, orange juice (for him) and an iced latte (for me). caribou coffee was right next door - another fabulous mn must. at 9 am, it was nice enough to eat outside. and naturally, i had my camera in hand.

garbage truck across the street

this is the same move he does on his scooter.

quite a pose.

after our bellies were full, we made our way to the mall of america to play at nickelodeon universe. ride some rides. spend some money. first face painting, perhaps? yes, pwease! jack was 1 inch short of being able to ride the big roller coaster, (and well, all the big rides) but he could ride most of the kiddie ones on his own.