Watch Jack Dance!

We're not sure yet who's responsible for Jack's stellar dancing skills, but make sure you cast your votes. Here, Jack is jamming to his very own soundtrack. Uncle Nick made a movie of Jack (see November post for Nick's visit to Des Moines) and he was enamoured of himself on the small screen. We watched that thing several times a day (and are still watching it daily at his request at home). Not only was it exciting for him to see himself on TV, but he really enjoyed the theme music at the end of the video, which is what you're watching him dance to. Isn't there a new season of "Dancing with the Stars" about to air? I'll say it again -- get this kid an agent!

The Boesen's Hit Breckenridge

Without explaining each individual picture, you get the general idea that there were a lot of Boesens in one place at the same time. Fourteen of us to be exact. We stayed in a pretty sweet house outside of Breckenridge, Colo., and it snowed every day nonstop. Jack enjoyed flying in the airplane and watching the Grinch courtesy of Aunt Jenny's iPod. Another big highlight was the Eagle Bahn Gondola to the top of Vail mountain -- it acutally replaced "hockey" in his lexicon for a few days. But perhaps the greatest part of the whole trip was riding the Vail city bus with a very excited Jack. If things ever get boring in Des Moines, I'm jumping on the MTA bus around the city.

We had phenomenal skiing and had a great time connecting with the Boesen clan. We skiied, snowboarded ("shred the gnar gnar!"), ate, hot-tubbed, ate, had a Wii tennis tournament and ate some more (man, those crepes were great!). We're looking forward to the next Boesen family vacation sometime soon!

Happy New Year!

Jack (and the rest of us) had a great 2007. We're all sad to see it go, but here's hoping you have a great 2008 as well. Cheer up, Jack, I think it's going to be a good year for you...despite your mother putting that lame hat on your head. (In Betsy's defense, he ASKED to put the "happy birthday hat" on, but didn't enjoy the chin strap.)

Christmas No. 3, or Why we're all in coordinating theme jammies.

Only Santa Sally would think to dress her family alike on Christmas morning. "Santa" delivered special Christmas jammies to each member of the family -- including grandparents -- so as to continue her control over the family photos. Actually, they were pretty cozy, and lets face it, the matching jammies draw attention away from the bed head.

Jack Sings the ABCs

Is that a 21-month-old you hear singing his ABCs? Why yes, it is! Turn up the volume and pretend that I was able to find the "play" button in time to hear Jack start with "A." As it stands, I think I found the right button by the time he hit "F." We'll work on getting a louder, more clear video, but this way his fans can track his progress. Way to go, Jack!

Jack Shoots and Scores!

Thanks to an earlier visit to a Buccaneers Hockey game, Jack developed a new love of hockey just in time for Santa to deliver a foam hockey set. Here, Jack demonstrates his skill and his sportsmanship. We're fairly sure that if it were anyone else hitting the ball with such prowess, he'd be just as gracious. As it stands, he is a huge fan of himself. He also received hockey ice skates from Grandma Patty and Grandpa Tom. He LOVES to wear them on the hardwood floors and is anxious for the subzero temperatures to let up so we can go visit Uncle Ed's ice rink in the front yard.

Christmas No. 1 of 67

Jack enjoyed Christmas at Grandma Mary's and he liked seeing his new cousin Sofia Natale as well. He got a new computer ("push the buttons, push the buttons!") and some new books. This was the healthiest Jack felt the rest of the holidays, which is why there are very few photos of any of the other 66 Christmas celebrations we attended. But mark my words, he was well dressed at all of them!!