27 Months Old

Today, Jacob is 27 months old. Holy cow! I wanted to jot down a few things I want to remember about him at this age (since I'm too lazy to pull out the baby book).

- Can sing his ABC's! This is crazy! I can't believe he is singing the entire song. Yes, sometimes he decides to skip some letters, but he has sung the entire song through quite a few times and even says "sing with me," at the end. It's adorable!
- Identifies about half of the letters by sight, which is a bigger deal to me than singing the ABC song. He is best at the letters A, B, D, H, J, L, M, O, P, Q, R, S, T, Y.
- Can tell you the sound the letters B, D, H, I, J, L, M, P, Q, R, S, T, U, W make. I owe the sounds all to the movie "Letter Factory." He doesn't watch it that often...maybe once a week...but he likes the story line and he picked up on the sounds pretty quickly within the past two weeks.
- Speaks incredibly well - I am super impressed with his vocabulary and his desire to call things the correct name.
- Plays well and has a great imagination. Creates scenarios for his people, trains, cars, etc. Has his toys talk to each other and creates new ideas for his toys.
- Goes on the potty every once in a while...mostly before his bath.
- Loves his big boy bed. Still not the best napper in the whole world - takes about an hour nap most days but occasionally will stretch it out for me :)
- Eats well. Doesn't like cake too much, but enjoys cookies! He isn't thrilled with breakfast, but loves "pancakes and dip," as he calls it. Scrambled eggs are also a favorite, and it's nice to be able to cook a hot breakfast for him since we don't have to rush out the door in the morning.
- Loves to play outside, especially now that it's cooling off a little more. He has never really enjoyed the pool all that much, but loves his water table and plays with his little people in there and has them clean cars and go down the slide.
- We are getting ready to move to the next level in Gymboree classes, which for us will be the last level. After this next level it gets into drop off classes, and I would rather pay for a preschool than have him do drop off classes there. But, it's just in time to start some classes with our next baby, so it works out just fine!

Gymbo's Birthday Party

Gymboree does a great job hosting themed parties for the kids. We hadn't attended one in a while, and signed Jacob up for Gymbo's birthday party. Gymbo is a clown, and Gymboree's "mascot." They had one of the workers dress up as Gymbo, and Jacob was pretty pleased. This wasn't my favorite party, but Jacob had a good time and it was nice for Bob to get to come with since it was in the evening.

First, the kids decorated hats. Jacob doesn't normally wear hats - he always throws them off. But, he seemed to want to keep this one on for quite a while!

Dance party with Gymbo. Telling Gymbo his life story.

Cupcakes!

Thursday

I had some cute pictures from this past Thursday - just a normal day with Jacob. Lots of errands to run, though, but we ended up putting quite a few things off and playing most of the day anyway.

Telling the neighbor who was pulling out of the garage to close the garage door.

Sidewalk chalk.
Playing in the dirt.

Getting his hair cut. The before and then the after.

Lunch at McDonald's.

20 Weeks

I have lots of pictures from our day yesterday, but wanted to blog while I remembered today. I am 20 weeks pregnant...half way point! I can't believe we are half way through this pregnancy. I am starting to really look pregnant, which is nice. Starting to put on some weight, which is nice as well I guess, haha. Jacob is starting to understand "baby in mommy's belly," and everything is going well. We would be having our ultrasound today, but with Bob having just started school, we pushed it back. And, next week my doctor is on vacation...so we will actually find out what we are having Sept. 8 at 22 weeks. Which is fine, since I was just at the doctor and heard the heart beat, and from my growing belly and active baby, everything is just fine!

Not feeling well today - didn't sleep much because Jacob woke up with a terrible cough and I ended up sleeping in his bed for a few hours in the middle of the night to help him get some rest. Which means a well rested toddler and a very tired mommy today! I have a very sore throat, so hopefully this passes soon! Jacob must sense how exhausted I am, because he only took a 40 minute nap. Sweet boy - just so much to do...who needs sleep?!

Crickets

Each year we have been in this house, we are amazed at how many crickets we find in our yard. It's shocking how quickly these little things breed. I'm not pleased.

The noise produced from lots of crickets - that's a sound I can tolerate.

But just one cricket is enough to drive you crazy.

The noise doesn't normally bother Bob, so I just end up sleeping on the couch a few nights when it's really bad and the noise keeps me awake. But, last night, this one cricket, that I'm guessing was probably the size of a horse, was chirping away like crazy. Finally, Bob cared.

So at 12:30 in the morning, Bob gets up, heads outside and sprays our entire yard with bug killer.

Good-bye cricket.

Hello, sleep!

Relaxing Weekend

We had such a wonderful, quiet weekend. Nothing major on the calendar, but a sweet surprise when my parents offered to watch Jacob for us while we got away for dinner and a movie. Bob and I jumped at the chance, and were off to see "Inception," followed by dinner at Buca di Beppo. Wonderful movie and food, and so great to sit in the movie theater and not worry about our little man since my parents know everything about Jacob. It is so nice to walk out the door and not even have to give "instructions," since they know his schedule and his routine so well already. I must say though, Bob and I felt so old when we paid for the movie. We were shocked - $7.50 for a daytime movie?! What in the world!? Jacob...you need a new date idea when you are older because we are not handing you $40 to take your girlfriend to the movies on a Friday night, haha.

It was so nice to sit and have dinner and talk. Of course we talked about Jacob some, and baby some, but also caught up on Bob's first few weeks back at school and upcoming events we are looking forward to. Thanks, mom and dad, for giving us a much needed break and some time to reconnect after a very busy past few weeks.

Sunday was pleasant with Jacob deciding to sleep in until 8:30. He must have been exhausted from Grandma and Grandpa! We headed to Bob Evans for some breakfast and had such a great time as a family. We stopped at the grocery on the way home and then played for a while when we got home. Nothing major...just a nice, quiet Sunday that I look forward to so much! Bob had to work tonight, so Jacob and I headed up to my parents' house. Jacob ended up with a surprise play date with Jackson. What a sweet boy - they shared their food, played cars, and called each other on the play phone. What great friends they are becoming!

Finger Paint, Puppets and More

Here are a few random pictures from the end of the summer.

Jacob and I made a masking tape road and parking lot.

Playing drums with Daddy. The past few days have been a lot of fun. Jacob did some digging with Grandpa.We finger painted for the first time...followed by a dip in the pool. He was not fond of putting his hand in the paint at first and kept asking for a paint brush. But, by the time he moved onto the second piece of paper he was making handprints and had a great time.

Yesterday, I took Jacob to the zoo. Great weather, and not busy at all! We had a lot of fun together, actually ate lunch there and then headed home.

This morning we went to the library. I was planning on going for just a little bit and then running a few errands, but Jacob was having such a good time and playing so nicely with the other kids that we ended up staying for almost two hours. We read some books, had a puppet show, threw a pretend birthday party and did a little bit of computer games.

Why?

Grandpa: "Jacob, let's add some Italian dressing and mix."
Jacob: "Why?"
Grandpa: Look of shock

Yes, the "why" stage has hit us. It's not constant, but he is starting to ask "why" for lots of things. And, when he plays with his cars or trains he has one say "why?" and another respond, "Because," and then a reason. Very funny to hear while he's playing or in the backseat of the car.

Jacob is also having a hard time sleeping in the morning when he hears Bob leave for work. He's been up at 6:45 every morning now...just a few minutes after Bob closes the door. I think it's just from having such a silent house for the summer months that now he's not use to the morning noise. But, we have been able to take advantage of the nicer weather the past two mornings and get outside before most of the neighborhood is up, haha. Jacob does run out of his room in the morning saying, "Hi, Daddy!" He's disappointed Bob is not his morning buddy anymore!

This morning was Gymboree, and Jacob was pretty calm for the first half and then got the sillies and couldn't stop running and laughing. Today was a new theme: fire fighters. Jacob wasn't too into that, though. He's not really into pretending to be people yet. He does, however, go to one tunnel at Gymboree that he thinks he serves lunch for. Today he served some breadsticks and dip. I asked for pizza, but he said no, just breadsticks.

Nap time is underway, and I'm headed outside to fill up his pool so we can have some warm water by the time he wakes up and heads outside. Thank goodness for normal summer weather today!

No names

We had a fabulous play date this morning. The only downfall is I realized, yet again, that we have ZERO names picked out for baby, and I am almost 19 weeks pregnant.

Jacob was easy. Before we were pregnant we knew it would be Jacob. But now, nothing!

If Jacob was a girl, he was going to be Madison. But, then Bob's brother bought a dog and named it Maddie. So, Madison is now out.

When Jacob was a twin, they were Jacob and Joshua. But now I'm not 100 percent sure on Joshua, just for the fact that I know I'll probably never say Joshua and always say Josh.

Girl names are nearly impossible. Emily was on top for a while, but not completely sold on that either. Abigail was on our list for Jacob as well, but not too sure there either.

Bob and I have our work cut out this time, especially since we will find out soon what we are having!

This morning we headed to Ann's house where we met Jenny. The kids: Miles, Chaz, Oscar, Ginny, and little Gavin we met for the first time. He's only three months old, so he slept the majority of the time. The kids played well together, had some lunch, and then meltdowns began and the kids were exhausted. Jacob fell asleep in the car for like three minutes, and then decided he was up until 2:45. So this will be an interesting evening!

Funny little man

The other night I took Jacob shopping. Bob asked me to look for a certain pair of shorts in Wal-Mart. I know nothing about the layout of men's clothes in Wal-Mart, or about these $12 shorts he wanted (to wear while he works...didn't want his nice shorts getting dirty). So, I'm talking to Jacob in the buggy (or shopping cart, whatever you call it) and found myself saying, "I don't know what Daddy was talking about. I can't find the shorts he wants." Well...little parrot Jacob went through the rest of the store saying, "What Daddy talkin' about?" I thought he would forget about it, but of course, this phrase has stuck. I haven't told Bob about it, and he didn't get to see Jacob before bedtime tonight, so we'll see if he says it again tomorrow.

Since the heat is just unbearable, I've been telling Jacob that it's too hot outside to play. We still go outside every once in a while and deal, but he gets such a bad heat rash that it's just not worth it. Now, when he would rather be doing something else he tells me, "too hot mommy, too hot."

Tonight Jacob dipped his tortilla chips in ketchup. Loads of ketchup. And ate lots of them.

The way Jacob has started saying, "Hello, everybody," just about melts my heart. He says it now when he walks into a room of people, or when he's playing with his toys. I also melt when he calls things "friends." He gives his cars friends, his little people friends, his trains friends, and now talks about his own friends.

My mom and I took Jacob to McAllister's for lunch on Friday. I ordered broccoli and cheese soup, which Jacob loves. He ate a lot of it. But, he wanted his own bowl. So my mom told him we would get him one. He turned to her and said, "ask the lady." We always tell Jacob we are going to "pay the lady," "ask the lady," etc. when we are shopping or ordering food. He just said it so matter-of-fact like he knew that all we had to do was ask the lady and she would bring him his own soup.

Thank you, Jacob

Jacob came with me to my OB appointment, which was my very first time going without Bob there to help with Jacob. I was a little nervous since the last time Jacob wouldn't even go in the office and just wanted to play. But, this time instead of bringing cars for him to play with I brought him paper and a pen (a pen keeps his interest much longer than crayons), and it really worked. In the waiting room he would draw a picture and then take it up to the receptionist and say, "Look what I did!" Thankfully she was excited for him and he was so proud. He did a GREAT job through the entire appointment and listened to me even when I couldn't get up in case he didn't listen. The nurse gave him her tape measure when she was done with it and he kept measuring things and saying, "I a good doctor." I told him he would be a great doctor...and to remember he loves his mommy and get me a good retirement home, haha.

But what the real thank you to Jacob is for is how wonderful a day we had together on Thursday. He woke up around 6:30, and we had such a fun morning playing, eating breakfast and chasing each other around the house. Around 9 a.m. I thought, well, since the heat won't let up today, let's just head to the museum. So, Children's Museum it was! I loaded us up and got us to the museum five minutes before it opened. I love that Jacob knows the museum and now talks to me in the car about what he wants to see when we get there. Every time he tells the dinosaurs that look like they broke out of the museum to fix the wall they broke. We parked, and in we went. He was so amazingly good the entire visit - never running off and really listening. Of course we have had the visits that end with him being angry when he has to stop playing with the train table, or when he just won't stop running. But, Thursday was perfect. I don't know if it is pregnancy hormones or what, but I just couldn't stop thinking how I will never forget this day with him. It was such a joy to listen to everything he had to say, and see how much he is starting to really understand. I love hearing where he wants to go in the museum and being able to stay there for as long as he wants to. We watched the trains go by for probably half an hour, and he was so happy telling me about what the trains were doing and where he thought they were going. We laughed so much together, and the funny thing is, we didn't even go to the playscape area where usually we spend most of our time since it is all for toddlers. We rode the carousel, played with boats in the Scienceworks exhibit, watched the trains, and created our own masterpiece in the area downstairs underneath the blown glass. I realized how amazing our one-on-one time is, and that I will need to make a point to get these outings with just him when the baby arrives. As well as outings just with our second one. It's just amazing to let your day revolve around one child's schedule and know that if he wants to watch trains, no one is bothered by it!

Lunch time was so fun. Normally we pack a lunch, but I figured we would just treat ourselves to that $7.99 pizza slice combo. Jacob had a hot dog, applesauce and macaroni, as well as one of my breadsticks. The boy loves bread as much as his daddy does! We sat and talked, and he was just laughing and smiling and telling me all about what he saw. I couldn't stop beaming that my little man is turning into such a great boy and that the relationship we have is growing stronger and stronger. Definitely one of my all time favorite days with Jacob, and I am so thankful he spends these days with me. And, thankful to Bob who has made me staying home a reality for our family.

The topper to our day was bedtime. I asked Jacob if he had a good day with mommy, and he smiled and nodded yes. I asked him his favorite part of the day, and he said, "playing trains and cars." I told him my favorite was lunch at the museum together. He smiled, wrapped his little arm around my neck and fell asleep. He just melts my heart!

In funny news...on the way home from running errands last night he had his feet talk to each other. It took me a minute to figure out what was going on, but he kept moving his feet towards each other, having one foot ask a question and the other foot say, "why?" He hasn't started the why questions with me yet, but looks like that phase might start soon!

Back to the OB

Well, I'm headed back to the OB today after only a week. I thought everything was fine and we would make it without me having to head back in between appointments. I think we are shocked that we have made it this far with how often we were back for Jacob. But, ever since I have had Jacob my belly button has looked weird. I've always had a completely normal innie - nothing peculiar. After Jacob, I had a little area that looked closed in - not an outie, but making my belly button look like a crescent moon or something. Anyway, never thought of it. Really, I just thought it was because I was chubby for the first time, haha. Well, this pregnancy my belly button looks really weird now that I'm starting to show, and that bump has gotten larger. And, now it hurts! So, the doc said to come on in and most likely it's an umbilical hernia. I've been reading on line, and if it is, I most likely won't need surgery until after the baby is born. Which is great news. Just hoping the appointment is really as easy as I think it will be!

Our week has been pretty quiet other than that. Yesterday was Gymboree, and Jacob decided he finally likes Grant and wants to play with him. His mom and I talk a lot, but Jacob has never really been interested. Then, yesterday he starts saying, "come on, Grant," and "let's go, Grant" and running around with him. Very cute!

Jacob and I met Bob for lunch yesterday since he doesn't have kids until today. Jacob loved seeing his dad in the middle of the day! Home for a nap, and then we played and played all afternoon. Ran a few errands, but nothing major and Jacob had a good time while we were out.

Back to the Real World

Bob is back at work today, so Jacob and I are back to our old ways of being home together! Even though summer is really only 2 months, it feels so much longer and it feels like so long ago that I didn't have an extra set of hands during the day! We beat the heat a little bit this morning and headed outside for some swinging and play in the water table. We played some trains and then headed up to meet my parents for lunch. My dad was off work today, so we have someone to bum around with this afternoon! So maybe not really back to the real world until tomorrow, haha.

Last night Jacob played with his little buddy Jack for a while. They are so cute together and really talk to each other. It's one of the few friends he plays with that they actually sit and talk together. They played cars and airplanes for a while. Bob read them a book, and it was nice to actually sit and visit with Jack's mom for a little bit. We don't usually get to do that very often! She is pregnant right now as well, and due only a few weeks after me, so our kids will both be close in age! Then the boys headed outside with my dad and Jack's grandparents to pick some tomatoes. Great Sunday evening!

Jacob-isms

Jacob has always been a talker, but he is just so funny lately!

Yesterday, Jacob and I were sitting on his bed playing with his stuffed Tigger and Pooh. Jacob started saying "Happy party day," so we had a pretend birthday party. I pretended Tigger was holding a cake, we sang happy birthday, and Jacob pretended to blow out the candles. I asked him what he wished for, and he said, "money!" Smart boy.

Last night Jacob was running around in the kitchen and Bob went in after him. Jacob turned to him and said, "I'll huff, puff and blow your house down!" Exactly like that.

He also decided he can count to eight, which is cute. He loves to tell you to, "come on" if you aren't walking fast enough. He also says, "don't do that, mom" if I'm doing something he doesn't want to do.

We had a nice weekend...lots of time outside and just nice family time. Bob goes back to work tomorrow, so back to the real world again. We did a whole lot around the house - Bob painted the few walls in the kitchen that needed it from the shrew issue we had a while back. Put together our new tv stand, hung our new valences in the living room, cleaned EVERY room in the house, and hung Jacob's valence in his room. His was just the one from the play room, and now we need a new one for the baby room. Just getting everything ready for the school year. I also did an insane amount of laundry. Our house looks great though!

Hi again, baby!

A month seems so long in terms of when you head back for your OB appointments to hear baby! However, it was 5 weeks in between instead of the regular 4 just because of how our schedules worked out. But, baby is still doing fine and it's great to hear that heartbeat again. As soon as we got to the hospital where our doctor is, Jacob started having a fit saying "No hospital! Ambulance!" No idea where that came from, but he refused to go upstairs to the office and stayed in the lobby with Bob playing in their small kid area. Which is fine, but stinks that Bob couldn't hear the baby again! Because of our schedules again with the start of the school year for Bob, we won't have our ultrasound until 22 weeks instead of 20. So, September 8 we will find out if we are having a boy or girl!

Everything has been going well. Just trying to get the house together again before Bob heads back to work. I'll be somewhat of a single-mom during the week this fall while Bob heads back to his teaching job and still works some nights part-time. It just helps us not have to cut back, and to continue saving "extra" (if there is ever such a thing as extra) money towards a down payment on our next home. We are hoping to move next year, but we'll see what happens.

Jacob is just cracking us up. He has been saying "just kidding" for a long time, but has started using it correctly lately. We've been telling him not to close doors throughout the house since he has figured out how to lock them. Yesterday he closed the door just enough to barely see through the crack, opened the door, looked at me and said, "Just kidding!"

I love, love, love hearing him read books. He has actually 4 or 5 books memorized. One book we keep in the car and he starts asking for it as soon as he gets in. He's so cute to hear him say, "Thomas and the Jet Engine," and then start reading the story. The story has some noises in it for the trains, and it's hilarious to hear him read parts and then say, "whoosh" just like we do when we read to him. I am so thrilled he loves books and reading...maybe it's the journalist in me.

We took advantage of some great weather on Sunday and went to the zoo with my parents. It was such a perfect day, and not that busy. We got there soon after the zoo opened and had a picnic for lunch.

Monday and Tuesday Bob had work with he school for curriculum stuff, so Jacob and I had a taste of our old schedule back. Complete with Jacob throwing up red kool-aid on our suede couch. I think he was so worked up from running around outside, and when we came in he drank some water and then had a few sips of my kool-aid and ended up throwing up just that on the arm of the couch. Luckily it all came out, and even luckier that Jacob wasn't actually sick. Tuesday was a little bittersweet at Gymboree. Jacob's teacher had her last day on Tuesday, and we are going to miss her so much. She's been with Jacob for so long, and she is just the sweetest person and really cares about the kids. We'll miss her!

The rest of this week should be pretty quiet. Just finishing up some laundry and trying to get things set for the school year. I have some grocery shopping to do, but I always seem to put that off until we are completely out of everything, haha. But, I need to stock up on some things for Bob's lunches for work, so it'll definitely get done this week.

Here's a slightly old picture- as in a week or two, haha. My parents' neighbors are the sweetest to Jacob and like his second set of grandparents. He adores them and loves going over to their house when we visit. Steve grows tomatoes in their yard, and they made Jacob a sign. Jacob has gone over their both summers to pick tomatoes, and he loves it.