Fair

The Topsfield Fair has come and gone.  Jack got to go twice this year, once with us and once with Nana while Derrick and I escaped to celebrate our anniversary for the weekend.  We all went together on the first Saturday to see monster trucks, but got to do a few other things as well.

We viewed some interesting poultry.

Jack was very patient waiting for the monster truck show to start.

It helped that dad got popcorn and cider to share.

Monster trucks.  

Jack got the panda this year.

Pew, pew!

Favorite pumpkin

Nice pose in front of the giant pumpkin.

We did not attend the parade at Great Nana's like usual this year because Jack had soccer in the morning and we also wanted to attend the monster truck extravaganza which wasn't until late in the afternoon.  But we did not miss out of fried dough because Nana saved us some to eat after we retuned from the Fair.  

Here is Jack at Great Nana's enjoying his dough and watching Nana fry up some more.

- S. 

Checkup

Jack had his year five checkup last week.  He weighed in at just under 51 pounds and is now 3' 10.25" tall.  He had to get his polio shot which he was not happy about, but when the time came he did great and he got a cute band aid with dogs on it which he bravely ripped off himself that night.  The doctor's assessment was, "Keep doing what you're doing, he's doing great!"

Here is Jack at his year one checkup when he weighed half what he does now.

- S.

Apples

We went apple picking recently at Brooksby Farm.  We went on a hay ride, picked lots of apples, got a cider donut, and Jack fixed up the pumpkin patch putting any wayward pumpkins back in their rows.

 - S.

Airport Touch a Truck (and Planes)

A week and a half ago Beverly Airport had a "Family Fun Day" which included a touch a truck area and some airplanes too.  Because you've not seen nearly enough photos of Jack in various vehicles, here are some more...

Checking out an army helicopter.

Buckled in the jump seats.

Wheel loader

Slightly excited.

 Ready for off road.

There was even a giant slide.

Current favorite, the skid steer.

Pilot Jack

 Ice cream treat after.  

Jack has been expanding his ice cream repertoire and this time he got mint chocolate chip.

Coming up soon: Jack tries soccer, and we go apple picking.

- S.

 

Kindergarten

Jack's first day of kindergarten with his new panda lunch bag.

In class with his buddy Ethan (photo by his teacher).

Mug shot (also taken by his teacher).

 Apparently Jack rocked his first day of kindergarten.

Jack has had five days of kindergarten at this point.  He seems to be enjoying it so far, though he did say something to Derrick yesterday along the lines of he is tired of having to learn every day.  It seems he has had a lot of art and music over these five days, as well as math and writing.  He has also started learning some Spanish and will be participating in an outdoor nature program starting next month.  Sounds pretty fun to me, but we will continue to monitor how Jack feels about it.

- S.

Five

Jack turned five on Labor Day weekend.  We gave him a few gifts in the morning and then some family came over in the afternoon to celebrate with cake and ice cream.  This year Jack requested an alien theme for his birthday, though he doesn't seem super interested in aliens overall, so it was a bit confusing.  But he maintained over a couple of months that this is what he wanted, so aliens it was.

Lego

Skid steer

Ready to party.

Blowing out candles.

Remote control monster truck.

 A new fangled piñata, filled with Lego and a little bit of candy this year.

Jack seems to be enjoying being five so far and being in kindergarten (next post).

- S.

Cape Cod

About two weeks ago we met up with Grandma and Pop Pop for the weekend on the Cape.  

We stopped at the Cape Cod potato chip factory on the way down and saw a bunch of potato chips on conveyor belts and got a free tiny bag of chips.

Look out, Jack!

Jack got to swim in the ocean,

and go fishing (while enjoying some slush).

A reflective moment before going crazy playing mini golf.

Stopping for a second to pose with the skull.

Pre-ice cream elephant ride.

 Walking through the marsh at the Cape Cod Natural History Museum.