More Grapes Please

I still have not had time to scan the sonogram pictures to get them posted. It has been crazy at work the last couple of weeks. I have a few other pictures and some videos to post, and I hope to get all of that up this evening.

Jacob has been especially cute and full of new tricks lately. I hope his little brother is as easy going as he is, but really what are the odds of that?!? Last Friday night we went to see Santa with Steve, Gloria, and Matthew. Matthew has always been afraid of Santa, but this year he was not at all! For his Santa pictures in the past, Matthew was always standing next to Santa. This year he hopped right up into his lap. Jacob, on the other hand, screamed! We thought it would be really cute to get a picture of the boys together with Santa. No such luck! Of course, we did not actually get back to see Santa until almost 9:00 at night, and Jacob usually goes to bed at 8:00. He was really good until we tried to put him in Santa's lap. We had a great time with Steve and Gloria!

The following day was my company's Christmas party. Steve and I organize the party, and from what we're hearing it was a huge success! Jacob was pretty good throughout the party. I was sure there would be a constant background noise of "Mama....Mama....Mama," but Brian and Gloria kept him occupied. After the party, he and Matthew ran around the room together. It was too cute! Jacob ran away from me to look out a window. Then Matthew told me, "I'll get Jacob." So Matthew went to Jacob, grabbed his hand, and they walked back to me. You could just see it on Jacob's face how excited he was that his big cousin was holding his hand. I have some pictures of them playing together. I cannot wait until this weekend because we'll be at my parents' house and they can run around more than they could at the restaurant.

Jacob's new favorite thing to do is vaccuum! I LOVE THIS!! Last week, we gave him a dust buster. This week, he can push and pull the bigger vacccuum (the dust buster is an extension of the big vaccuum. It's great for hardwood floors and it is super light!). For the last two nights he has asked to vaccuum right after dinner. While he vaccuums, he says his word for vaccuum. And yes, there is proof of all of this! Watch out for my video which should be posted soon!

Last night at dinner, I had some grapes on the table. Jacob usually just says "More," but last night he actually said, "More grapes please." I could not believe it! He has reached a point where he will sign for please about 50% of the time and say the word for the other 50%. Then this morning Brian woke him up. They came into the bedroom, and Jacob gave me a big hug (he had this weird mischievious smile on his face, but he didn't do anything bad). Then he did his stinky sign, so I asked him if he was stinky. He said yes. Then he said, "diaper." And I said, "Would you like a new diaper?" "Yeah," he responded followed with "mi" (milk). He likes to drink his milk while I change his diaper. This has been our routine for a while, but it was neat to see him say everything before I could ask if he wanted this and that.

Here is his holiday picture from school. I cannot believe he is actually smiling!

Freckle

This morning was great! Jacob's bed was clean which is a huge plus.

I have a freckle on my arm that Jacob likes to touch when I'm changing him. This morning he was trying to say "freckle." He said it over and over and over again. It was really cute! Then he helped me take some things out of the dryer. Then he entertained me while I straightened my hair. He likes to play with my makeup bag (he can't open it yet) and brush his hair. It's pretty funny. When we were saying goodbye, he was about to get into the shower with Brian. I asked him for a kiss, and he gave me one of those HUGE kisses with his mouth open (he never does that). I thought it was funny and started laughing, so I got about 3 more.

Last night we were playing with stuffed animals. He was trying to say tigger, brown bear, and polar bear. It's the first time he's tried to put two words together.

EWWW!

We've had a problem in the past with Jacob putting his hands in his diaper. It's not too bad if he's wet, but I'm sure you can imagine what it's like with a dirty diaper. We've had 2 really bad incidents that finally gave me the idea to put him in a onesie and pants to try to keep him from doing that. Well, the little toot has gotten smart on us. :/

This morning, Brian went in to wake him up. Not to my surprise, in a few minutes Brian was in our bathroom to tell me that Jacob wanted me. So I follow Brian, and Jacob immediately starts doing his sign for stinky (he usually does this when I put him on the changing table in the morning). So I asked if he had gone poopoo, and he did not respond. Then I notice that he is pointing to his bed and doing his stinky sign. Then Brian and I notice dark spots on his bed (we only had a small lamp on at this time. The big light went on immediately after that). Sure enough, there was poop all over his bed although it's not the worst I've ever seen it.

So Brian leaves the room to get a glass of milk for Jacob, and I lay him on the changing table. There was a little bit of poop on his shirt, but it really wasn't that bad. And I said something like, "How is it not all over your hands?" So Jacob showed me his hands. OMG...it totally grossed me out! His right hand had poop all over it that I had not noticed yet. So I get him off of the changing table and carry him around the house to get a stool from the utility room and then to the bathroom to wash his hands. Anyway, it was even a bigger mess when I took off his pants (I'll spare you more details...I know this is disgusting!)

The kicker of the whole deal is that I had been poking around all morning. We all have a cold, and I've slept maybe 30 minutes since about 3:15 this morning because my nose is congested. So I was planning to get ready while Jacob played in the bathroom waiting to take a shower with Brian. With the most recent poop-fest, all of those plans went right out the window. I seriously look like I just rolled out of bed, threw my hair back, put on some clothes (that part is dolled up a bit with my new awesome boots) and walked out the door. I was on time to work today, so that's a plus!

It's a.........

Wow! It's been a while since I posted a blog. I'll hit the high points of our Thanksgiving weekend, and then I'll tell you what you really want to know....the sex of the baby. :)


Thanksgiving was great! We hosted it again this year. I love to do that! On Thursday we had a total of 7 adults and Jacob (and Sirius, Jacob's cousin). Like last year, I made a ton of food. Everyone seemed to have a good time. On Saturday we had 7 more adults over and Jacob for dinner. By the time everyone left on Saturday we had no more leftovers!


I spent some of the weekend visiting my mom at the hospital. She had surgery, and everything went really well. She went home on Monday which was 2 days earlier than they originally expected.


I also started Christmas shopping. I took Jacob with me because he was being quite a mess for his dad. We had a good time! He is so good for me when I take him out.


And finally, on Monday, we went to the doctor to learn the sex of the baby. We're having another boy!! This means we are going to get bunk beds for Jacob and the boys will eventually share a room. We have not named the little guy yet; it has been much more difficult with this one for some reason. I'll definitely let you know when we get there.


In Jacob news, he has learned what a dolphin says and what Santa says. Last night we were sharing milk with Santa. It was so much fun!


I was going to post some pictures of the baby, but they are scanning in very tiny. Since I'm at work (and this is all I have worked on today), I should probably get to work for a little while. Maybe after lunch I can post some pics. ttfn!

Jacob Finally Says "Mama"

Brian has been working with Jacob on saying "Mama." It only took a few days of working on it on the way to school and on the way home from school before he got it. I don't think he has quite made the association that I am Mama, but it's only a matter of time. This morning I asked him to say it, and he just looked at me with this funny smile. Cute! He also surprised me and said "shoes" as he reached for his shoes this morning. He'll be a total chatterbox in no time!

New Tricks

Jacob has started to do a few new tricks! It's so hard to keep up with them all when he's learning so fast!!
- Saturday night he started to say "Bye bye." We were out to eat, and he practiced about halfway home.
- He will point to my belly and say "baby." Then he usually gives the baby a kiss. The other night, he began to look for my belly button when I asked him if he could say hi to the baby. Of course, my belly button is huge right now. He was playfully hitting my belly button, and I said "boing," so then he started to say "boing."
- Elephant - When we ask him what an elephant says, he raises his arm above his head and squeals.
- Dinosaur - When we ask him what a dinosaur says, he roars (exactly like he does his lion).
- Cat - When we ask him what the cat says, he meows really weird. He starts off very low and slowly raises his voice to a squeal. We've been trying to get it on video.
- Frog - For this, he will bend down and pop back up and make a growling noise (for ribbit).
- Shark - This is my favorite! I think I mentioned in a previous blog that we sing the Jaws theme for a shark. So now Jacob will put his shark puppet on his hand and say "na na.....na na.....na na." It's funny because he's not singing it like we do; he just says it and walks towards you with the shark puppet on his hand before he attacks. We've attempted to video this twice, but have failed....miserably.
- Jacob likes for me to tell him he is stinky anytime I change his diaper. He gets upset if I am unable to wave my hand in front of my nose and say "stinky" throughout the entire diaper change. I think he learned this at daycare.
- And I think Jacob is starting the terrible twos. He has been in such a crummy mood the last few nights. He whines a lot and does not follow directions as well. I'm sure the worst is to come; I'm glad I'm already expecting another child.
- New Baby Note: We are supposed to find out the sex of the baby on December 1!!!!! I'm thinking more and more that it might be a boy. I've felt better about myself the last couple of days which makes me feel better entirely. I'll post those pictures as soon as I get them scanned!!

Recent Pictures

Here are some pictures we've taken recently. I was unable to post some of these because of the surprise party.


Big John, Mary Sue, Jacob, Carrie, Russell


Jacob, Carrie, Russell


Mary Sue, Jacob, Carrie, Big Papa


Playing keep away with Uncle Derek


at Art & Sandy's place


Passed out after our Kaufman visit

Jacob and Daddy with fake smiles

With our Shark

Jacob the Shark

Jacob and Grandma Rose

Gaga's great-grandchildren

Madison and Jacob (She adores him!)

I found these on our video camera. Jacob is 2 months old here!

Great Night

Tonight was one of the best nights we've had in a while. I got home first and discovered an ant graveyard by our front door. Yes...an ant graveyard. We got 4 inches of rain last night, and I guess a lot of ants died. About a year ago we started noticing a few dead ants in another part of the house. Brian did a ton of research about ants, and he learned that ants will make little graveyards of the dead ants. Apparently our home is just perfect for this! And yes, we will be finding where the "chosen" ants are living and create our own little graveyard soon.

So I finally started cooking dinner, and Brian and Jacob got home. Brian messed with the ants, and Jacob hung out with me while I finished with dinner. Then we all sat down together. Brian and I talked about my work, and Jacob tried to take off his shirt. It was so funny to watch him. He could get one arm out, but he couldn't figure out how to get the shirt over his head.

Then we all took a walk together to get the mail. It is a perfect night tonight. The moon is full and the temperature is great! So we decided to walk around the neighborhood. Jacob wanted to hold my hand the entire time...at least until Brian decided he needed to venture out a little on his own. Then it became a chase Daddy game.

Then we played inside. Jacob has a shark puppet and a dragon puppet. He will chase us with the shark puppet when we sing the Jaws theme. Brian started to chase Jacob with the dragon puppet, so Jacob lost interest in his chasing game. Then Jacob impressed us both by practicing his hook 'em sign. That's right...he's a Texas fan! He's almost got it perfectly with his right hand. Jacob did not want to read books or listen to Brian sing a song tonight before bedtime, and he went down peacefully. So everyone was in a great mood and there were no time-outs or whining tonight. It was perfect!

Jacob Says "No"

Jacob has finally learned how to say the word "no." It all started Sunday night around bedtime. As if saying it weren't bad enough, he also shakes his head and runs away. For instance, last night Brian was going to take him to Target. We had to change his diaper and clothes before he could go, and the diaper change was kind of a big deal (he had a horrible rash and needed some comforting when we were finished). So he and I played for about 10 minutes. Then I asked him if he wanted to put on his shirt and pants while I held them up. He was walking towards me, and then I guess it registered in his little brain what I was saying. He turned right around and started shaking his head and said "no, no, no." I have to admit that it is kind of cute right now, but I'm sure the best is yet to come.

Our weekend was so busy! My parents hosted a party for my grandmother's 80th birthday. It was a surprise for her, and we surprisingly pulled it off! The party was great! I'm sure Jacob learned his new trick from his older cousins at the party. I was pretty worthless on Sunday, and in a horrible mood yesterday. I'm never in a bad mood for the entire day. Let's just blame the crazy pregnant hormones. :)

weekend

The highlight of our weekend was visiting my grandparents in Kaufman. My grandmother is very sick, and my grandfather is deaf and blind. It is a very sad situation and you have to prepare yourself mentally before each visit. We went with Sarah, Derek, and Steve. Jacob loved it there! He ran around the house and waved and said "Hi" to everyone. We played outside for a little bit, and he kept checking in on the puppies. We got home last night and he was so happy to play with Brian and me. I kept asking him if he needed some tickles, and he would fall on me to get them. Then he would stand up and ask for more. It was super fun! I tried to cuddle with him to go to bed last night, but he did not want any of that. He was very restless with me, and he didn't cry when I put him in bed. I guess we've trained him well. It still makes me sad. I love our cuddle time!

I'll post pictures of the Kaufman trip tonight.

Happy Halloween!

Jacob's school does an annual Parade of Costumes. It is so fun to see all of the kids dressed up. This year several parents were dressed up, too (not us). Jacob was the only shark! There were a few Care Bears, Bears, and Spidermen. Here are a few pictures from the parade.

After the parade we went to Granddaddy's house to see Granddaddy and Grandmother. Jacob was a little fussy because he loves to play outside after school. We did not have any time at all to do that yesterday. After visiting Granddaddy's, we went to Big Gaga's. Jacob helped pass out candy to a couple of kids. And, of course, he played with Oscar. Here are a few pics from those visits.

We watched the Great Pumpkin and fell asleep when we got home. He likes to look for the puppy in the movie (Snoopy).

The week was pretty uneventful. I did go to the doctor, but I was in and out in about 20 minutes. I had a sonogram to check in on the little one. We are supposed to find out the sex of the baby on December 1. I cannot wait!!!

good weekend

On Saturday Jacob and I joined Big Gaga and Aunt Sarah for a trip to Red Oak to see Grandma Rose and Papa. Jacob played very hard the entire time! He played with a ball, the puppies (Lola and Oscar came with us), and his tractor. He only took a 30 minute nap during the day (on our way from the mall to Gaga's house). I was sure he would sleep on the way to Red Oak, but he was too excited about the puppies in the car. He also didn't eat much during the day, so I was sure he would need to eat in the middle of his playing. But he just played and played the entire time (and slept 12 hours that night)!

Sunday was a great day, too! The three of us went to breakfast at Denny's and then to the grocery store. We got some Elmo (Mo) slippers for Jacob. He loves them!

They boys played outside a little in the evening, and Jacob felt like performing after dinner. Take a look.

Pumpkin Patch

We visited a pumkin patch last Saturday. Jacob loved it! He only ate a few bites of lunch because there was just too much to see to stop to eat! He ran all over the pumpkin patch. Here are some pics.

taking in the pumpkin patch

trying to pick up a very big pumpkin!

with Auntie Em

sharks, shoes, fire trucks, scarecrows

(I meant to post this last week. Then Brian started working on a program to sync our pictures between our 2 computers. I wanted to wait for the picures to finish this post.)

We have had a full few days. Brian and I did not go out Monday night. We hung out at the house with Jacob and let him practice wearing his shark costume for Halloween. He likes for us to chase him around the house with the costume, but he does not really care to wear it.

Yesterday morning he was ready to get up at 4:30 a.m. Not fun! I was already up trying to do a little work. Then he woke up and it was a whole new ball game. This morning he woke up at 5:00. We snoozed for about 45 minutes. After I changed his diaper, he was ready to put on his shoes. Jacob has this weird love of shoes. So I put his sandals on his feet, and he ran around the house in them for about an hour until it was time to get ready for school.

Today when we got home, there was a fire truck on a nearby street. It just so happens that Jacob learned about fire trucks and fire safety last week at school. So we started to walk by the fire truck when the firemen came out of a house. One of them waved and another waved and approached us. He ended up letting Jacob sit in the fire truck! I wish I had had a camera on me! He had this look of "whatever" on his face until he looked out of the windshield. Then he got a really excited look on his face. The fireman gave us some stickers and we went on our way. By the way, did you know that firemen will come out to your house to change the batteries in your smoke detector?!?!

Finally, I put out a few of my fall decorations tonight. I still have more, but you can see my start.

another great weekend

I've been reading some family members' blogs for a couple of weeks, and I finally decided to create one for my kids (we call them munchkins at home). I decided right now was the perfect time to start because I am completely in love with Jacob right now! I am horrible about sending new pictures of Jacob, so hopefully this will help me.

Jacob was near perfect all weekend! Friday night we went to dinner with his Grandmother (Brian's mom). He was very fussy during dinner which is extremely out of character for him. He always behaves better in public than he does at home. He became very happy and excited when I asked him if he was all done and ready to go. On our way out of the restaurant he waved goodbye to every table! It was pretty cute!

Saturday morning he was ready to go at 6:30. Needless to say, I was not. We had breakfast, and then I decided we'd visit Gaumy (my grandmother). She has not seen him for almost a month, and I didn't want to do anything at home. He talked and played and, of course, was fascinated with Oscar the dog. We are going to HAVE to get a puppy one day when we're finished having babies. Then we came home, I fed him a snack, and then I took a nap. He played with Daddy for about an hour. Then Daddy had some errands to run, so I started cooking chicken enchiladas while Jacob took his nap. As I was cooking, I decided to make a little extra to take some to my parents. (My mom hasn't felt well lately, and she has a surgery coming up.) They have not seen Jacob for a couple of months, and I thought a short visit would be perfect. So I cooked like crazy, and Jacob "helped." (He is such a helper! We get at least 1 note from daycare a week about it.) While I was cooking, he wanted to touch the stove. So he kept touching the stove, and he got a few time outs for it. We do time outs Super Nanny style. So at the end of one, I rounded the corner to get him out of time out, and he was standing in front of his door with his hands over his eyes (his room was an office before we bought it. He has 2 doors that have glass on them so he is able to see exactly what is going on when he's in there). As I got to the doors he uncovered his eyes, smiled, and said, "Boo!" It was so hard not to laugh! Then we took the enchiladas to my parents' house. He was exceptionally cute for them! He did "Ring Around the Rosies," "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," "If You're Happy and You Know It," and our favorite of the night "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes." Then he gave them so many kisses before we left. He blew kisses even after we pulled out of the driveway! It was just adorable! I could tell it totally picked up both spirits!

Today Jacob woke up at 7:30. That is pretty late for him! I love it when he sleeps in on Sunday! We had breakfast and then ran a few errands. It is Jacob's week to bring some sensory items to daycare. It was the perfect excuse for me to pick up a few home decor items at Michaels. Then we went to the grocery store, had lunch at home, and took a short nap together. I love taking naps with him! When we woke up from the nap, the Chicago/Atlanta football game was on. Jacob could hear the crowd clapping in the background, so he immediately started clapping and smiling. We were both a little cranky after our nap because we were hungry! So I put him in a highchair and gave him a snack. The Cowboy game was just about to start, so I was telling him about the Cowboys and what a good team they are this year. Then we watched Arizona return the opening kickoff for a touchdown, and I had to explain to Jacob that that was a bad example of how the Cowboys usually play. This evening we took a walk. We've been doing that more and more because the weather has been so nice! There is a boy in the neighborhood who is about 6 weeks younger than Jacob. There were also a few neighborhood dogs out for a walk, so Jacob went crazy over the puppies. Then the two boys were trying to talk to each other. It was really cute! I had a great weekend with Jacob! By the way, Brian has been working a lot! I think he's almost finished with his project. I hope so anyway! He's so much help with Jacob. Tomorrow is his birthday. Happy Birthday Brian!