Happy Half Birthday!

Jacob is two and a half today! Where did the time go?! Jacob, you are such a joy to be with every day, and I love being your mom.

(This is totally a mommy-brag post, but I don't write these things down anywhere and wanted to keep a record. To be honest, I'm not quite sure where his baby book is even at right at this moment. So, this is a long post of me bragging on my kid - I'm sure Grandma and Grandpa will enjoy, though!

You love...
- Cheese
- Bread, breadsticks, garlic bread, rolls, etc.
- Picking out your own snack
- Holding onto my ponytail
- Playing outside
- Playing with friends
- Doing things all by yourself now
- Brushing your teeth. You go in the bathroom and get on the step stool at least four times a day.
- To read! I am so glad you love books so much. You have at least eight or nine books memorized, but what I enjoy most is when you want to read a book by yourself that you have never heard before. You look at the pictures and actually make up a story that makes sense. Adorable.
- Thomas the Train
- Cars
- Shopping

You know...
- All of your colors. You have known the main colors (like the Crayola 8 pack) since around 15 months. Now you are starting to say dark and light with colors, know gold, silver, grey, etc.
- When things match. You have been in a huge matching stage lately - you match things by types and by colors. You will say two cars match, or that two things that are red match, etc.
- Your ABC song - this was about in September that you started singing it all the way through without help.
- All of your letters by sight
- Numbers 1 through 9 by sight
- The sounds about 3/4 of the letters make
- How to count to 12
- How to count backwards from 5 (thank you, Team Umizoomi)
- The shapes: triangle, square, heart, circle, star...and sometimes others, but these are the ones that are always right for you
- How to put together simple jigsaw puzzles
- How to sing the following songs all by yourself: Jingle Bells, On Top of Spaghetti, Hickory Dickory Dock, Thomas and Friends theme song, Sesame Street theme song, Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer (this one is shocking, and an older lady clapped for you in Meijer when we were walking around and you sang it)
- How to spell your name
- How old you and all of your friends are
- The concept of making words plural. Tonight at dinner you pushed two pieces of rice on the ground and said, "dropped those rices." You talk about having two trains or one train, and understand when to use the plural word (even if it is the made-up plural like rices or mices)

Your speech amazes almost everyone we meet, and most people think you are nearing the age of four when they hear you talk. Your sentences amaze me, and you love to talk. My mom and I were shocked at a sentence in the car with you, and counted that the sentence you said had 11 words - shocking! You speak in complex sentences most of the time, combining two steps into one sentence, and being able to make a list of things in the order you want them to happen. Meal times are my favorite. I love hearing you do something silly and then say, "I'm tricking you, Mommy." When we ask you not to do something, you sometimes tell us, "But, I'm just..." and gives us an explanation of why it is okay. Unfortunately for us, normally your reasoning makes sense, haha. Like when we ask you not to touch an ornament because it might break, you told us, "But, I'm just putting my hands on it." Well, can't argue with that.

You are starting to really put major concepts together, and link lots of things together that normally shock me. You have an amazing memory - you must get that from your daddy. It's nice to see that you are understanding things though, and not just memorizing the. You understand what numbers stand for (when we ask you how many things are in front of you, you understand how to count and give us the answer). You LOVE to read boos, and we read for probably a total of two hours a day lately. Your attention span is incredible for things that you enjoy. We have been doing some holiday crafts, and it's nice to see how you like to interpret your paintings and drawings.

You have such an amazing imagination. I love hearing you make your toys talk to each other, make up games, and play for a while by yourself.

Really, there's not much you don't like, which makes our days really super easy. As long as we explain things to you, we are good to go. The only time you truly get angry and have a fit is if you are caught off guard with something.

Still not potty trained, but I haven't actually tried yet. I wanted to get our travelling out of the way, so maybe we'll do that soon, depending on when your little brother arrives. I'm not worried about it though - it's not like you are going to kindergarten in diapers or anything, and you are only two and a half for goodness sake!

I love you, little man! Thanks for filling my days with laughter and smiles.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving was such a wonderful day - so relaxing and delicious food, of course! We spent Thanksgiving at my parents' house, and Jacob had a great day. It was so nice to hear him say "Happy Thanksgiving" over and over again all day. He even associated the food with Thanksgiving, because the next day when we pulled out leftovers he started saying it again between every bite of food! Jacob dancing to the parade.
Mom made Jacob a treasure hunt to go around the house and find surprises. Here he is getting "The Cat in the Hat" movie (the old cartoon one).

Looking at the map.

Carrying the cheese and crackers.

Just some play time as a family.

The hand turkey he colored for Grandma and Grandpa.

I'm not sure where my eyes went. This is the best picture we could get before dinner. I think the pregnancy weight is pushing my cheeks into my eyes, haha.

Jacob with Grandma and Grandpa.

Bob's second job is at a major retail store, so he had to work that night and into the morning for the Black Friday crowds. He said it was extreme chaos. He got home at 1:30 in the morning, and we stayed up and talked until my alarm went off at 2:15 a.m. for me to "wake-up" for Black Friday shopping with my mom. We hit Kohl's, Target and Toys R Us. I was already done shopping for Jacob, so it was nice to have some fun shopping and looking for extras instead of trying to get some major deals or anything. We ate at McDonalds and then headed home. Mom was a trooper and stayed up and watched Jacob for us so Bob and I could go out and look around and shop. We ended up getting a really nice printer for super cheap and just enjoyed some time out together. Thankfully, Jacob took a 2 hour nap that day so we could all try to catch up on some sleep! And now, I am COMPLETELY done Christmas shopping, including having every gift wrapped and put away, for everyone on our list! So glad that it's all done so we can now just focus on having fun this month with Jacob and getting ready for Josh to make his arrival.

Black Friday Shopping

Day 2 of Aly's blog challenge! Today: shopping tips and tricks for Black Friday.

Tip 1: Send hubby. Last year I really wanted to get Jacob a play kitchen for Christmas, but didn't want to spend the $100 on one (since he's a boy, and I wasn't positive he would love it). Big Lots had a huge sale on a talking kitchen Thanksgiving morning, so I sent Bob out to get it. He was the first in line, and home within 10 minutes of the store opening. Normally, I'm not a fan of doing shopping on such a major holiday, but we are on a limited budget and it really didn't disrupt our holiday or anything - Jacob wasn't even awake yet!

Jacob with his kitchen Christmas morning...he woke up at 4:45 a.m. We are hoping for later this year!

Tip 2: Don't have your heart set on one specific thing that would make or break your Christmas. Last year, Mom and I went to Kohl's at 4 a.m. and headed straight for the toys. We didn't have anything specific in mind, just there to shop in general. I was able to buy some toys for super cheap and put some away for as Jacob got older and was developmentally ready for certain older toys. It took the pressure off to not have to get that one item that is so necessary to be under the tree. I view BF shopping as extra, and fun to see what deal you can get.

Tip 3: Chill out. Just because it is BF doesn't mean you can pretend you didn't pass kindergarten and push other people.

Tip 4: Go out to breakfast with your shopping partner.

Tip 5: Think of your sanity. Sometimes spending an extra $2 than the lowest price you have seen in the ads is a better decision than driving to four different stores, standing in huge lines over and over again, and wanting to rip your eyes out by the end of it.

Christmas Traditions

I'm taking part in Aly's 12 Days of Christmas blog challenge. What a great way to reflect on our holiday season and get excited for the festivities!

With this being Jacob's third Christmas, I'm excited that we have a few traditions for our own little family.

First of all...all gifts on Christmas morning come from Santa. I never realized that some families do this differently. I've heard some parents only giving one present from Santa, or some only doing stockings from Santa. But, in the Lewis household, Santa gets all the credit. I think it keeps the magic for him as he gets a little older.

Every Christmas Eve is spent with my parents. We bake cookies, decorate them (and now take some home with us to leave out for Santa), and eat sandwiches for dinner. Not sure how the sandwiches started. Pretty sure it was from my brother and me being too impatient to open presents that my parents gave up on a large dinner and settled for quick and easy. I love it.

We give Jacob three presents on Christmas Eve from us. One is a new ornament. He also gets a new pair of pajamas. The third present is really just from me, and I give it to him alone. Each year I give him a book, and write a note in the front about why I picked the story for him. They aren't age appropriate really. The books are meant to form his own special library for as he grows up. His first Christmas I gave him "The Tale of Despereaux." I wanted Jacob to know that he can do anything he puts his mind to, and nothing is impossible.

Second Christmas was "Dangerous Book for Boys." I wanted him to have a guide for what boys should know. How to tie a knot. How to pick up girls. How to start a campfire. Important poems. A list of presidents. The history of baseball.

This year, I am giving him a more age-appropriate book, "The Christmas Sweater." I think it sends the right message to kids about the true meaning of Christmas being the memories and not the presents.

Because I will be full-term with this pregnancy by Christmas, we are not travelling to see extended family for the first time. I am SO excited to keep Jacob home on Christmas and let him play with his new toys all day. Also excited that my parents are coming down after he opens presents and spending the day with us. Bob and I are having fondue as our Christmas dinner. Appetizers, main course, and chocolate dessert fondue.

Cat in the Hat

This morning started out a lazy Wednesday. Jacob woke up at 6:45, so I thought our morning might drag on a little bit, but no way! We reorganized how we store Jacob's trains the other day (we bought a bookcase and now have everything out for him to see in his room). Since then, Jacob has wanted to play with his trains more often again. Which is good, since Santa is bringing him LOTS of trains and track.

I took these pictures of the track to prove that I can in fact set up a track. I included almost everything he has, and was quite pleased with myself! Normally my tracks are pretty lame compared to Bob's, and I think even Jacob was surprised that I made a large track. The only downfall...the fact it consumes the majority of our living room! We had a good time, though!
I wanted to find something for us to do this morning, and I know our library has story time on Wednesdays. I checked the library website just to make sure since the schedule is changing because of the budget cuts that hit our library system. Instead of library time at our local branch, I saw that the "real" Cat in the Hat would be at the library located inside the Children's Museum. I hurried and got us ready and took off. Jacob LOVES the new show on PBS.

This is his little face when he walked in and saw the Cat.

He loves characters!

Not wanting to look at me for a picture!

The best I could get!

Since we were already there, we enjoyed going to a few things in the museum. We checked out the new penguin/polar bear exhibit.

I love when we randomly have an exciting morning!

Jingle Bells

This morning we headed up for a play date with our good friends, the Wileys. I cannot begin to describe how much I realized Jacob is turning into a little boy. Miles and Jacob played so well together and really are becoming much more independent. I love hearing them laugh together - such a wonderful noise.

Jacob got his hair cut this afternoon - I couldn't wait anymore. I was trying to wait as close to Thanksgiving as possible. We will be seeing lots of family this weekend, so we had to get it done - he always looks so old afterwards! In the middle of his hair cut he looked up at me and said, "I love my hair!" The stylist was cracking up. No self-esteem issues there.

Jacob learned to sing Jingle Bells this morning. On the way to the Wiley's house, we were singing songs in the car. I sang Jingle Bells for him literally four or five times, and he now sings it by himself. He is too funny now, because when you try to sing with him to a song he has memorized he says, "Don't sing that song, Mommy."

Monday Night

I tried two new recipes tonight...which is unheard of from me. This was my carrot souffle - recipe found here. It turned out really yummy (the little white dots you see are just leftover powdered sugar that didn't cook down all the way), but SUPER sweet. Like a dessert. Bob loved it. Jacob had a few bites and didn't really care either way. I enjoyed it, but really...it should be a dessert! I had leftover boneless country style pork ribs left over from a dinner last week (I bought the family pack and used half the last time) and wanted to try to make some pulled pork sandwiches for Bob since he loves them, and I have never made them! I threw the pork in the crock pot with a can of beef broth for about 4 or 5 hours, then took the beef out and shredded it with a fork. I put it in a pan, mixed it with a bottle of Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce, and baked at 350 for half an hour. It was SO tender, and really good!

Then we decided to have Jacob write a letter to Santa Claus with pictures of all the toys he wants. We went through the Toys R Us catalog and Target's to find pictures of toys he wants.

Here he is, hard at work with the blue stick. What he is asking for here is the Playmobil Zoo on the other side.

Not wanting to look up, but sick of us asking him to.

The front of his letter. He picked the yellow construction paper. The line at the top is where we asked him to write "Dear Santa." The bottom is where we asked him to write, "Love, Jacob."

The back of his letter.

We put the letter in an envelope and wrote "Santa" on the front, and included a stamp (the large ones that are on the front of a book of stamps). Here he is telling me, "cheese," so I could take his picture.

What a fun night!

Weekend Recap and Randoms

I was so excited for this weekend because I finally got my haircut after probably six months, or maybe longer. I literally cannot remember the last time I got it cut. Saturday morning I headed to the salon, then had breakfast with mom and we ran to Toys R Us and Kohls together to finish up some Christmas shopping. I am officially done with Jacob, including having all the presents wrapped. We are mostly done with gifts for everyone else as well...just one or two more things to pick up. And, those are wrapped and ready to go as well! Jacob was easy because we've been picking things up throughout the year when we find stuff on super clearance. He ends up with a ton of toys, but a cheap Christmas overall because of our shopping strategy! Then I met two good friends for lunch. It was so nice to sit and visit - we usually have all our kids running around us and miss half of each conversation, so it was so nice to talk. Jacob really needed some time with his daddy this weekend anyway because of Bob's crazy work schedule lately.

Sunday was spent at home for the most part, other than a run to Wal-Mart to buy diapers and a printer. We finally bought a computer a few weeks ago. We hadn't bought a computer since 2002 when we both headed to college. We've been putting it off forever...trying to justify spending money on the computer instead of something for the house or kids. But, finally did and then realized we need a printer. Bob still had his from college, but we realized it was broken, so we "splurged" on a $30 printer from Wal-Mart. I only wanted one that printed. No scanning, faxing, copying, etc. Just print, please. Jacob asked for pancakes for lunch, so we had a wonderfully random lunch of blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs and sausage. Jacob loves pancakes and asks for them constantly. Dinner was chicken on the grill - yummy!

Daddy and Jacob playing in the leaves on Sunday.Last night I pulled out this magnetic puzzle I bought for $3.99 a while ago. Jacob loves it. This is him this morning playing on the side of a file cabinet we just brought back into the house from the garage (a free printer stand, plus storage now that we have our computer set up in the kitchen).

Jacob and I played outside some this morning - rode his bike, picked up some of the leaves so Bob wouldn't have so many to bag tonight, and ran around for a while. We came in and I turned on Sesame Street while I changed his sheets on his bed. It was the letter A day, and there was the "A Team," and the monsters had A's on their shirts. Jacob wanted one, so here he is showing off his awesome masking tape A. He wouldn't let me take it off, so he wore the A to the grocery store.

Last night we made pumpkin bread (from a box), and we have realized over the past few weeks Jacob really does love the taste of pumpkin. I found a super-easy recipe for pumpkin cupcakes and pumpkin pancakes that I plan on trying in the next few weeks. Today I have some pork in the crock-pot and trying a new recipe for pulled pork sandwiches. Bob loves them...I'm indifferent. I'm sure Jacob won't eat them, but we had to use up the rest of this pork somehow! I'm also going to attempt to make carrot souffle for the first time. Hopefully it turns out! I'm not a good cook, so of course this is an easy recipe. Bob had carrot souffle at a wedding we went to like four years ago and still talks about how he wishes he could make it at home, so I'm gonna give it a try!

Paint and a Picnic

Enjoying a picnic lunch outside today. Probably the last one without Josh here!Painting on Monday while Daddy was sleeping off the flu.

Easy Day

I loved today. It was a rare day where my muscles weren't bothering me too badly, I felt great, and everything was just easy.

Jacob woke up at 7:15. I have missed my little morning man when he pulled like a month of sleeping in. I know, ironic that a mom wants her kid to wake up early, but I LOVE having a full morning and being able to do so much before lunch when he wakes up early. This morning we ate breakfast in stages. I haven't been to the grocery store in ages (we ran out of chicken nuggets, eggs, cheese, butter, ketchup...desperate for food in this house!) so it was random breakfast morning. Some pancakes in the microwave at 7:30. A Nutrigrain bar at 8:30. Granola bites at 9:00. Not the healthiest, but he was happy. Then off to Gymboree. We missed last week because of my run-in with the flu and hospital visit.

Today's theme: dinosaurs. The beginning of the class has the teacher pull items out of a basket for the kids to figure out what the theme of the day is. First item up: a large bone. Jacob tells the teacher, "That Pluto's bone." No hiding we watch Mickey Mouse here! He had the other kids jump on his bandwagon, and there was no convincing these kids that it belonged to a dinosaur. Next item: a leaf. The teacher asked the kids what eats leaves, and Jacob told her, "A giraffe." I was proud of him for problem solving today, thinking for himself, and really connecting things he has learned. He has such a great imagination, and loved pretending to be a dinosaur today when they pretended to ride a dinosaur, look for eggs, build a next, hatch the dinosaurs, feed them, and of course, run around like crazy. I had so much fun with him today, and watching him interact with his buddies. Our entire time at Gymboree has been mostly girl-dominated until recently, and we have found ourselves in an almost all boy class with only two girls. It's funny to see him play differently now that it's mostly boys.

We headed home, had lunch, and then Jacob decided to pee and poop on the potty. Hooray! Potty training will begin soon, after we are done with traveling. I don't think it's fair to start right before we have a 3 hour car ride up to visit family! Then some play outside to enjoy the weather, nap, and a visit with my parents.

I love easy days. Days Jacob listens so well, is interested in tons of things, laughs and smiles and jokes around all day. He really is super easy. Hopefully he passes that on to his baby brother!

That's a good idea

My dearest Jacob...you are hilarious.

We spent most of the day outside enjoying this rare, beautiful November weather. Not sure on the exact temp, but you had a sweatshirt on this morning and just your t-shirt this afternoon. Beautiful.

I realized many things about you today. Just a few:

1. You are fast. I have known this about you for a long time, but you just seem to get faster every day. You aren't even two and a half yet, and you run faster than the 4-year-olds at our playdates. This 7.5 month prego mom has a hard time "letting you beat me" now, and just plain losing.
2. You can keep yourself entertained for hours outside with very few toys. We kicked the soccer ball, pretended to drive to Grandma's house, played restaurant from your "fort," and chased each other around for a good two hours before you really realized how tired you were getting.
3. I am so proud of your high self-esteem. You are so proud of yourself, and compliment yourself, and I LOVE that about you. You told me, "I get in the sandbox. That's a good idea." We played with horses in the front yard that I played with as a little girl. You got up, ran in the garage and came back with a crate and said, "This is a barn. That's a good idea." Yes, Jacob, those are great ideas, and you have such a wonderful imagination and I love watching you play.
4. You listen so well. We pulled out all sorts of toys when we were in the front yard, and then you wanted to go in the backyard. I hate leaving the front open when we are in the back, since we are at home just us during the day, so I usually try to run around like crazy and clean things up while keeping an eye on you at the same time before we head out back. Today, you helped me clean up everything. I'm sure you aren't going to do this every time, but it was such a blessing today when I asked you to pick up a few toys and carry them in the garage and you did it. No asking twice or anything.
5. You really can pedal your bike. You just don't want to. I watched you today pedal your Thomas bike for a while when you didn't think I was paying attention. Reminds me of when you started walking, crawling, rolling over, and every other milestone. We caught you doing things, and you always stop immediately when you realize you have an audience. That is, until you feel you have it mastered, and then you just take off. I'm assuming you are doing the same with your bike now.

I love days like today where we play and give each other undivided attention. These days are quickly coming to an end when Josh joins us. I cannot wait for Josh to be here, but I know that these days are so fun for you not having to split time or try to understand why I have to sit down to feed your brother when all you want to do is run like crazy. I love you, little man, and am so proud of the person you have become, and are becoming.

Raking leaves

Just a fun day raking leaves outside with Mom and Dad! Thought my parents would enjoy some pictures since this is a rare weekend we haven't seen them!

Who needs snow and sleds when you have dad and a rake?

Figuring out it actually is fun to run in the leaves.

Diving in the leaves.

I love his little smile!

Jacob decided to pick up leaves from the pile and put them on Dad while he took pictures.

Actually trying to smile for the camera for once!

Throwing leaves!

Cutie pie!

He looks so determined (and angry) here.

We practiced on his bike some more this afternoon. He actually did pedal for a little bit, but I think he just doesn't think it's fun yet. At least he can pedal now, he just doesn't want to yet! Maybe next summer he'll realize bikes are fun and you can go faster when you use the pedals!