Just a few silly shots of our jacob monster from this week This one occured at 6:30 one morning. Despite his expression, I in no way woke him up rather vice versa. But the hair cracked me up enough to snap a shot. I had walked into the kitchen to put away the rest of lunch and when I returned Jacob informed me "I cut the 'cado mama'. Yes, yes you do Jacob. (plastic knife for fake vegetables...or real and ripe avocados.) And this is what happens when Jacob isn't ready for bed and beelines for our bed when we turn our backs to get his pj's, put away the towel, etc. He proceeded to jump on the bed and collapse into giggles when asked why he was jumping on our bed naked. This was a game Jacob created while with Daddy:
It's been one long kind of week...well, more like 10 days. Some of our fun moments: going to the Zoo (for the 19873473rd time), seeing the legendary SUNSHINE, and a monstrous Super Bowl party here with 25+ of friends thanks to Daniel and Eric. (the closest we've gotten to the Lion at the zoo!)
With the fun came the moments of tremendous sadness as my grandmother's health rapidly deteriorated. After hanging tough at the hospital through the snowstorm in Raleigh, my grandma was transported from the hospital to a gorgeous hospice facility where she died several hours later with my mom lovingly by her side. My grandmother played many roles for my family, as happens when you live just a few miles from 4 of your grand kids! As our personal school lunch-maker, supplier of dress-up clothes, chauffeur to orthodontist appointments, sick-day companion, provider of nicknames, and other such unique and valued skills, we will certainly keep her in our hearts and memories forever. We are so grateful to have been loved by such a devoted and doting grandmother- and thrilled that Jacob got to hang-out with his great grandma (and vice versa)! The 3 of us head to Raleigh in a little over a week for her Memorial service.
We don't really have much in terms of photos and we'll work to remedy that soon! What we do have are Jacob as an unsatisfied artist (no idea what that face was about, but we were laughing!) And Jacob in his Big boy Bed!! He's been sleeping like this for nights and naps since Sunday: the first night he did great until 5 am, last night he only woke once and then slept until 7:15 am (this is considered late. ugh.) Naps haven't been fun yet, but after the 45 minute task of getting him to stay IN the bed, he has slept for 2+ hrs each time (again, quite incredible). He absolutely loves taking us to his bed and talking about his big boy bed, his pillow, and how Curious George (his current BFF) was sleeping with him. We've got such a big boy!
Jacob loves Winnie the Pooh and expects that his stuffed animals get the same treatment that he gets. Often at meals he will make sure that ‘Tigger’, ‘Raddit’, ‘Eeyore’, ‘Pooh Bear’, and ‘Piggie’ get enough to eat. There was a concern the other day that Pooh Bear- Jacob’s favorite- wasn’t wearing socks, so Jacob saw to it that Pooh not only got to wear socks, but also that he got the best socks- Jacob’s Cardinals socks.
As I read that last sentence out loud, Jacob yelled from the other room, “Go Cardinals!”
His stuffed animals are the first ones out of the crib in the morning and all must be accounted for before Jacob goes to sleep at night. During the day, Jacob’s friends enjoy frequent diaper changes, snacks, water, trips to the potty, and playing with play-doh. I have a six minute video chronicling these things that I am still trying to find a way to post on the blog. These will have to do for now.
I know there are many of you out there who could use a blog post right about now. Here's a "Where's Jacob" picture for you amidst his favorites.
Jacob has lots of words and phrases.
His favorite phrases include:
Of course he still says, “Hey, all mine,” and “How do you do dat?”
When you offer him a snack, he says, “I like that.” When it comes to food, he also says, “More tookies, please” and “I want some ka-ka korn” (popcorn…)
When you suggest to him that it might be time to take a nap, he says, “I don’t like that.”
If you put on your jacket or shoes he says, “Where are you going Dada/Mama?”
When he gets bored, he runs, turns on the TV and says, “I want to see sharks, yay!”
He loves to sing and dance. He knows all the words to “You are my sunshine,”“Wheels on the Bus,” “Ring around the Rosie,” and sings along with dozens of others. Jacob is quickly picking up the alphabet song.
He loves to watch Simpsons, see anything with Sharks, anything with dinosaurs, anything made by Disney/Pixar, and Winnie the Pooh. As you can tell, we have to put limits on the amount of TV he watches. But it has been raining. And we live in a 550sqf box.
Here he is playing one of his favorite games, "Chop-chop timber"
Here he is showing off his basketball skills. Jacob can now identify a football, basketball, baseball, tennis ball, and soccer ball. But somehow they all end up in the basketball hoop as Jacob says, "Shoot the goal!"
With friends Eric and Megan (recall the infectious laughter on Jacob's "all mine" musical debut- that's Eric), we went to the Aquarium in San Francisco! Not only was a great time had by all, but Jacob got to see a real-life Nemo and Dory and pet several creatures.
When informed he was going to see a shark, Jacob wiggled and yipped with excitement the entire car ride (25 min) to San Fran. It was hysterical! Here's the first thing we saw upon entering the aquarium- where Jacob immediately identified a nemo and a Dory.
The rest sort of speak for themselves....so, enjoy!
And when a munchkin literally runs the entire Aquarium (twice), this is what the ride home becomes. There were still goldfish crackers in his little fist.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
We returned to Berkeley in time to get 1 day of sun before 3 storm systems move in (now through the end of the weekend) bringing in nearly 5 inches of rain. Obviously, there will be loads of indoor time and quick, wet, and muddy spurts of outdoor time.
Thus far, we've adapted Jacob and Ma's cup game to our Berkeley abode.
We've played basketball in the cold windy drizzle as a trio.
We've played with play-doh.
We've danced to music and watched football.
Fortunately, we've had Tavin visit (wahoo and hilarious). This means, there's been chair spinning, laughing, hitting and attempted biting, crib jumping, and crib diving with stuffed animals! And he'll be back for more visits during the week, phew!
Certainly, more silly more times to come. Stay warm and dry
Though we've returned to Berkeley, there's camera material to be posted from Raleigh...so we're gonna get a double post today!
About a week or so before we left, Jacob discovered the art of opening doors- turning knobs and barging in on anyone at anytime. Fortunately this skill hasn't transferred to our doorknobs here in Berkeley....yet. Thanks to the friendly Kroger florist, Jacob experienced the joy of balloons. The helium even lasted overnight, giving double joy as he sat with Ma the next morning reading books! And now, a short snippet of the fun that can be had with Pa, Jacob, and an old Christmas popcorn tin.
I don't usually refer to Jacob's age in terms of month unless it's a discussion with another parents or regarding milestones. Seeing as it's been awhile since milestones have been mentioned, this will be a quick catch-up on the current (and hilarious) Jacob.
(Grayson with Jacob in his beloved frog towel)
Since leaving Berkeley in mid-December, Jacob's verbal development has been astounding. When we left, he was still rarely putting 2 words together and was learning friends' and family members' names at a leisurely pace. Now, Jacob recalls names of family members who've been gone for over 2 weeks and has spoken several 4 word sentences (unprovoked)! Though, let it be said that his first real sentence was typical Jacob: "I see a basketball". Since then, it's been the typical toddler motto's including but not limited to; "I want some", "I do it", and a family favorite "No, all mine" (so proud.....ugh).
The picture below is a snapshot of the silly but imaginative games Jacob plays with his Ma (grandma) while singing 'Ring around the Rosy'. Jacob actually sings "Ashes, Ashes, all fall Down'- then knocks every last cup off his head feet, etc. Not much beats hearing your child actually singing the words (almost in time and tune) to songs in the backseat during car rides!
Additionally, Jacob now scribbles like a pro. Back in Berkeley, Jacob made stray lines here and there, then boredom would set-in and Jacob was off and running. Now, he'll draw and accurately broadcast his lines, circles, and (attempts at) stars and squares for 10+ minutes.
Car rides are fun not only for the singing from the backseat, but for the color shouting that has begun. Yesterday all we heard was "yellow" as we made our way through a parking lot with loads of yellow barriers! He's got yellow and blue down pat and we're working on green and red.
This munchkin was been a selective snuggler from the start- he just never wants to miss anything! Recently, his pets and stuffed animals have really become his "babies" and snuggle objects and he just wants to snuggle them, talk to them, and take them to use his potty. Obviously, we think it's precious. And finally, Jacob has a sweet tooth. Duh, most little kids (and adults) do; it's instinctual and protective as sweet flavors in nature tend to be safe, bitter ones poisonous. Usually Jacob tries all foods before deciding whether or not to like it, but I've recently tired of him not actually eating greens beyond avocado and peas. Last night, he ate broccoli in exchange for some grapes. No fighting, whining, or pouting: just ate the broccoli as asked, drank some water, then devoured some grapes. Thus, the cheesecake bites he got to enjoy with Ma in the following video were balanced some by the broccoli (not a very good dietitian point-of-view, I know).
