Just found out today and picked out the first outfit ... Baby Boy Baril will be here in Feb ...

did I mention?

I LOVE LOVE LOVE that Jack uses his manners now (mostly when he wants food) but is it possible that I love the actual words more than the actual manners?

"Mice" means please (don't ask me what happened to the "pl-ah" sound or the "ee" sound)

"Dee Dee" means thank you (sometimes pronounce "day day")

i've heard little girls his age pronouce these words perfectly, but it's so much cuter when he uses his own interpretation of the word...

A Morning at the Baril House

I love my mornings now that I don't work day hours at the restaurant.

I have FINALLY started getting up early to be able to get a chapter or two in of reading before anyone else is awake... (it's hard to start school again with good habits when my previous studying habits were crappy!)

After a little bit of reading, I usually get a head start on breakfast before Jackson wakes up. Usually it's just Jack and I in the morning, eating Special K (his favorite cereal, don't ask...) or waffles or yogurt and fruits, but Tues and Fri we have our peanut (Lauren) to prepare for as well. She's a first grader now so she needs to a good breakfast to stay focused (she has picked up on the family's ADD problem!)...

Today, I only got in 1/2 of a chapter before I heard Jack stirring. We had 3 different alarms going off, one for Miche, one for Weston, one for Lauren, so it is no surprise that he woke up early. I barely had finished my cup of decaf (I miss caffeine) before he starting getting edgy... I decided to make some deliciously sweet vanilla toffee waffles with peach yogurt as an extra sweet sidedish. Lauren ate quickly and then she and Weston headed off to school/work. Jack finished his in record time (must've had a crappy dinner the night before!) and sat peacefully at the "breakfast nook" as I call it until I finished my breakfast.

After we stuff our faces, I like to check my email and look at my lesson plan for the day/week/month. Today, I was following up on an email when I noticed Jackson sitting peaceful in the corner even though there was nothing to do. I took some pictures in the hopes that I will capture his innocence before it is gone forever... he's growing up too fast!

He doesn't use a highchair much anymore; he'd rather sit on his knees on a chair and eat at the island in the kitchen. I made a special place for him on the counter next to his high chair (mainly b/c there is nothing "cool" to play with, throw on the floor, get food on, etc.) - it's his own special place to sit as a big boy. Although I had to get the giant Webster dictionary out for him to sit on, it works out pretty well for him.

(Why are my photos so grainy when I post them on the blog?!?!)

I hate that I'm ranting and raving about how old he's getting... He's still so young and this is by far my favorite age for him to be, but I can't help but think how "old" he is going to be when the new baby comes. Will I still have time to notice the games he plays when no one is watching or the new words he suddenly starts to say? (Yesterday we drove by Granite City and he pointed and said, "Papa!" ... what a smart boy!)

I guess that's the life of a mom... worrying about her child growing too old too fast. Hopefully tomorrow I will just sit back and enjoy the morning without all the worrying!

Until later...