I was so proud of myself for keeping up with this for a while, plus I had all our meals planned for about a month and was doing great with that - then pre-holiday season started and it just went downhill. Since I don't have my camera with me I'll just do a quick run down of the important stuff that happened in the past couple weeks.
Halloween - Last year when we went Trick or Treating Jacob was asleep by the third house and comfy as could be in his stroller. This year we went with his friend Claire again and they both had their own wagon. He was a little chef and freaking adorable. I have to admit I was a little unsure when I decided he'd be a chef, but I liked that it was unique and the costume came out just perfect. He even wore his hat the whole night. We'd pull the wagons up close to each house's front walk way then let the kids out and they had fun walking up to each door then standing there waiting for the candy. A few people would let them grab the candy and once you showed Jacob he could take it he went for piece after piece. I'm glad he found it so exciting considering he still isn't even sure what candy is.
Mosquito - This one you won't believe unless you see the picture. We've already learned that mosquitos are extremely attracted to Jacob and that he welts up pretty good, but because we recently got some rain a whole new type of mosquito showed up in our area. These mosquitos are bigger and much more agressive, I don't know what their real name is, but the news called them flood mosquitos (ironic we had them considering the drought we're in). We decided to take a family walk and let Scoot run out some of his pent up energy. I was pushing the stroller and we had made it maybe 100 feet from the house when Michael shooed a mosquito from Jacob's forehead. We made it to the street right next to our street and Michael was again shooing a mosquito from Jacob. I decided to call it a night and let Michael and Scoot finish their walk while I took Jacob back in. He got two bites, one on his left forehead and one on the right side of the bridge of his nose, near his eye. They both left pretty good welts, but we thought that was the worst of it. In the morning they looked about the same and Jacob went to school while Michael and I both went to work. About 9 AM Jacob's school called asking about the spots and I explained what happened and it wasn't anything to really worry about since I know they get dramatic some times. Then about 10 AM they called again to say that it was getting worse and he could barely open his eye. I did my best to keep my class going and started on their lab while calling Michael to make a plan of who would take off, or if we thought we could wait til 11:15 when I was supposed to get off and making a doctor appointment. This time they weren't worrying too much, I was shocked to see how swollen his little eye was, he looked disfigured. We went straight to the doctor's office and was then put on Benadryl, Motrin, and antibiotics. After a few days it went down and he was cute as a button. We definitely learned we're never leaving the house without our little bug wipes again.
Elevator - Jacob got stuck in his first elevator. It's not a milestone most people run to jot down in the baby book or anything, but I think it's pretty significant. After leaving the doctor's appointment from the above story we decided to take the elevator down even though it was only the second floor (he's not that light anymore). It was a new building since we couldn't get in to our normal doctor's office, and was very nice, so I didn't even think of my normal elevator fears. The screen showed we were on the second floor and as I watched to see it change to first an image popped up saying out of service. It took me about a minute to proccess that this sign wasn't to warn others not to come on because it wasn't going to work anymore, but that it really had just stopped. Note to all that this may happen to in the future - do not merely tap the help button, hold it down for as long as you want. If you tap it, all it does is make a little beep, if you hold it down it makes an impossible to ignore siren. Not even sure if it really alerts anyone, but at least you're making noise. Next was the call button, where they put you on hold. Once they decided to answer they tried some things from their side and had me push a few buttons, but nothing happened. The maitenance staff was called. It was nice hearing someone outside the door, but it was nerve wracking having them ask me if I knew what floor I was on. Then the technician was called in, and once he couldn't get it going he pulled us up from inbetween first and second to the second floor where we decided to take the stairs down.
Luckily it was just the two of us. We sang songs, played every game we knew, made faces, he never cried, and only pushed a button once. In fact they should have paid us because he cleaned the entire floor with baby wipes in the hour and a half we were in that little box.
Song and Dance - The Wheels on the Bus is the best song in the world according to Jacob. He knows how to follow along to two verses 1) the wheels go round and round and 2) the parents go shh, shh, shh. His round and round isn't very precise yet, but he gets a kick out of it.
His other favorite is when you sing, "shake your booty," he stops what he's doing and shakes.
I know there is a lot more, but that catches up on the main things that have happened. Hopefully I can get back into the routine of udating and getting our life back on schedule.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Bipolar Sweetheart
Yesterday Jacob took a 20 minute nap and we definitely felt the affects of that this evening. He cried and yelled and pretty much just threw fits for everything possible from the time he got home through after dinner. It was unbearable. Then Michael brought the bubbles out and not only did Jacob like poking them, but he thought watching Scoot snap at them was the greatest. Followed by playing tug a war and chasing Scoot. Lastly Jacob found a new game to play.
Seriously, I jokingly asked Scoot and Jacob if they wanted a pet fish (there's no possible way that I want a pet fish to take care of) and Jacob climbed into his plastic toy box. I have some great shots that I may post tomorrow, but this video is so cute. I can't figure out how to turn it, so just tilt your head - it's not that long you won't get a sore neck or anything.
*Note* You can't really tell, but when it looks like he's blowing me a kiss through his new aquarium, it's actually a raspberry.
Seriously, I jokingly asked Scoot and Jacob if they wanted a pet fish (there's no possible way that I want a pet fish to take care of) and Jacob climbed into his plastic toy box. I have some great shots that I may post tomorrow, but this video is so cute. I can't figure out how to turn it, so just tilt your head - it's not that long you won't get a sore neck or anything.
*Note* You can't really tell, but when it looks like he's blowing me a kiss through his new aquarium, it's actually a raspberry.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
We're Ready for Halloween
This weekend we went to a pumpkin patch, but Jacob was more interested in the activities than the pumpkins.
Then today we went to a local orchard to pick veggies and flowers, but when we got there we found out they're closing soon and didn't have a good crop so we decided on half price flower picking and pumpkins. Jacob wasn't sure about the flowers, but loved how I lifted him to jump over the rows when we'd hit a spot with bees. He did love the pumpkins, and the only way to make pumpkins better is to add wagons.
Then today we went to a local orchard to pick veggies and flowers, but when we got there we found out they're closing soon and didn't have a good crop so we decided on half price flower picking and pumpkins. Jacob wasn't sure about the flowers, but loved how I lifted him to jump over the rows when we'd hit a spot with bees. He did love the pumpkins, and the only way to make pumpkins better is to add wagons.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Weekly Menu
This week we cooked more for ourselves than for Jacob. Or at least we made some of our favorites and simply modified or made other meals for Jacob, so if you're looking for toddler meals, this may not be the right post.
Monday - Steak Sandwiches
I made this a couple years ago and Michael loved it, so I bring it out every now and then to suck up. All you do is cut up strips of steak, onions, mushrooms and bell peppers, put in the crock pot with some red wine, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder (and if you're not planning on serving any of it to a little one, red pepper flakes). Toast a roll, mix some mustard, little bit of mayo and horseradish sauce - then serve. We tried this about a month ago and I sliced my finger cutting the rolls so I never had any, but we made it through fine this time with some homemade sweet potato chips and pasta salad for sides.
Tuesday - Spaghetti with Pork Meatballs
Nothing really to it. Jacob wasn't as big of a fan as the normal meat sauce we make, but we served cheesy garlic bread too so the meal wasn't a complete fail to him.
Wednesday - Pot Roast and Whipped Potatoes
I placed dry onion soup mix and two cans of cream of mushroom soup in the slow cooker with some beef broth and it made the best gravy for the entire meal. We both loved it, and Jacob loved my whipped potatoes.
Thursday - Pumpkin Ravioli (Chicken Ravioli)
Back to pasta. I've been wanting to make the pumpkin ravioli for a while. You use won ton wrappers for the "pasta" and the filling is navy beans, garlic powder, pureed pumpkin, ricotta, and I added a little cinnamon. It was tasty and unique, but not worth all the effort for a week night of cutting out circles, stuffing, and sealing raviolis. Michael was glad I had the store bought chicken ravioli for back up because he knew he wouldn't like it from the start. Jacob didn't even give it a try.
Saturday - Chicken Fajita Salad
Crazy easy for me since the only thing that needed to be cooked was the chicken and Michael did that on the grill. I bought the pre marinated chicken and it was actually really good. We've gotten the frozen grilled chicken before and I'm not a fan at all, but I liked this. Then made a salad of everything we wanted on it - black beans, pico, salsa, ranch, cheese...
Jacob had a pre-made chicken and rice casserole, but as I heated it up I quickly saw it wasn't what the picture looked like and Jacob agreed deciding to eat only his grapes and milk really.
Monday - Steak Sandwiches
I made this a couple years ago and Michael loved it, so I bring it out every now and then to suck up. All you do is cut up strips of steak, onions, mushrooms and bell peppers, put in the crock pot with some red wine, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder (and if you're not planning on serving any of it to a little one, red pepper flakes). Toast a roll, mix some mustard, little bit of mayo and horseradish sauce - then serve. We tried this about a month ago and I sliced my finger cutting the rolls so I never had any, but we made it through fine this time with some homemade sweet potato chips and pasta salad for sides.
Tuesday - Spaghetti with Pork Meatballs
Nothing really to it. Jacob wasn't as big of a fan as the normal meat sauce we make, but we served cheesy garlic bread too so the meal wasn't a complete fail to him.
Wednesday - Pot Roast and Whipped Potatoes
I placed dry onion soup mix and two cans of cream of mushroom soup in the slow cooker with some beef broth and it made the best gravy for the entire meal. We both loved it, and Jacob loved my whipped potatoes.
Thursday - Pumpkin Ravioli (Chicken Ravioli)
Back to pasta. I've been wanting to make the pumpkin ravioli for a while. You use won ton wrappers for the "pasta" and the filling is navy beans, garlic powder, pureed pumpkin, ricotta, and I added a little cinnamon. It was tasty and unique, but not worth all the effort for a week night of cutting out circles, stuffing, and sealing raviolis. Michael was glad I had the store bought chicken ravioli for back up because he knew he wouldn't like it from the start. Jacob didn't even give it a try.
Saturday - Chicken Fajita Salad
Crazy easy for me since the only thing that needed to be cooked was the chicken and Michael did that on the grill. I bought the pre marinated chicken and it was actually really good. We've gotten the frozen grilled chicken before and I'm not a fan at all, but I liked this. Then made a salad of everything we wanted on it - black beans, pico, salsa, ranch, cheese...
Jacob had a pre-made chicken and rice casserole, but as I heated it up I quickly saw it wasn't what the picture looked like and Jacob agreed deciding to eat only his grapes and milk really.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Brotherly Love
Scoot and Jacob had their first fight today. They've been skirting around it for a few months now, but it escalated today. All over a piece of furniture.
Scoot has two spots in the living room - the left side of the couch and the recliner. Jacob has all the furniture, and has especially liked the recliner lately. He lays in the seat of it and rolls around laughing. It entertains him for about 15 minutes, which is quite the feat.
This afternoon Jacob was playing in the recliner when Scoot decided he wanted to sit in it too. Jacob stood his ground while yelling trying to push Scoot out, but Scoot countered with kisses. It was quite the battle until Michael yelled, "outside" and Scoot jumped up running for the door. We're going to call it a draw, but Jacob won the chair...which he then decided he didn't want.
Scoot has two spots in the living room - the left side of the couch and the recliner. Jacob has all the furniture, and has especially liked the recliner lately. He lays in the seat of it and rolls around laughing. It entertains him for about 15 minutes, which is quite the feat.
This afternoon Jacob was playing in the recliner when Scoot decided he wanted to sit in it too. Jacob stood his ground while yelling trying to push Scoot out, but Scoot countered with kisses. It was quite the battle until Michael yelled, "outside" and Scoot jumped up running for the door. We're going to call it a draw, but Jacob won the chair...which he then decided he didn't want.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Jacob the Builder
We play with blocks every day now. Seriously every day.
It's fun to to dump them out, throw them around, stack, knock down and even chew on them. Honestly, what can't you do with a block (don't answer that).
And now because this would be a silly all text post, for your viewing pleasure...Jacob building. At the very end he shows off why it's impossible to get videos of him if he notices you're holding the camera.
It's fun to to dump them out, throw them around, stack, knock down and even chew on them. Honestly, what can't you do with a block (don't answer that).
And now because this would be a silly all text post, for your viewing pleasure...Jacob building. At the very end he shows off why it's impossible to get videos of him if he notices you're holding the camera.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Weekly Menu
Last week we had a lot of winners for dinner, and only one was a repeat recipe.
Monday - Pork Lo Mein
I never thought about making lo mein before. We do stir fry every now and then, but never thought of this simple dish.
We used whole wheat spaghetti noodles, and made a sauce of pureed sweet potatoes, chicken broth, brown sugar, soy sauce and corn starch. I ended up doubling up the sauce since I added frozen stir fry veggies to our meal and it came out a little corn starchy, but they may have been my own error while doubling without measuring.
Turkey Sliders
This is a go to recipe here. I mix ground turkey with finely chopped carrots, green onions, celery, mushrooms, an egg and Worcestershire sauce. Serve on sweet Hawaiian rolls, and serve with pasta salad and roasted sweet potatoes. A favorite with everyone.
With the leftover patties I dice one up and put in my salad for the next day's lunch. It's a nice change to my normal grilled chicken in there.
Honey Chicken
Another slow cooker meal (we have one a week at least now). There is really nothing at all to this recipe and Michael loved it, asking to add this to the menu again soon. In the morning I placed chicken, 2 cups honey, some soy sauce and olive oil - cooked all day and served with the stir fry veggies (to finish up the bag of them) and brown rice.
Southwestern Lasagna
I got this one from Rachel Ray. The only change I made to the recipe is that I didn't add the jalapenos since we add all spice after cooking now with Jacob. I can't say it enough, this thing is freaking amazing.
All you do is layer corn tortillas, salsa, refried beans, cheese, pork taco meat and peas, then top with sour cream and cilantro when serving.
Michael saw me pulling it out of the oven and quickly asked me why there were peas on our dinner, but they add a refreshing taste to it and you don't even realize they're there.
On Saturday for snack time I pulled out a little plate of it while Jacob ate his fruit snack and after he finished his fruit he ate half of mine, and then another small plate that I heated up just for him. Definitely a winning recipe and one we will constantly repeat.
Friday was date night. Jacob stayed at Grandma and Grandpas while Mommy and Daddy went to Perry's Steak House for their amazing happy hour special of $6 martinis and mixed drinks, and half off appetizers (that are the size of meals). Our 4 drinks and 2 appetizers there ended up being less than the wine bar with one flight each.
Monday - Pork Lo Mein
I never thought about making lo mein before. We do stir fry every now and then, but never thought of this simple dish.
We used whole wheat spaghetti noodles, and made a sauce of pureed sweet potatoes, chicken broth, brown sugar, soy sauce and corn starch. I ended up doubling up the sauce since I added frozen stir fry veggies to our meal and it came out a little corn starchy, but they may have been my own error while doubling without measuring.
Turkey Sliders
This is a go to recipe here. I mix ground turkey with finely chopped carrots, green onions, celery, mushrooms, an egg and Worcestershire sauce. Serve on sweet Hawaiian rolls, and serve with pasta salad and roasted sweet potatoes. A favorite with everyone.
With the leftover patties I dice one up and put in my salad for the next day's lunch. It's a nice change to my normal grilled chicken in there.
Honey Chicken
Another slow cooker meal (we have one a week at least now). There is really nothing at all to this recipe and Michael loved it, asking to add this to the menu again soon. In the morning I placed chicken, 2 cups honey, some soy sauce and olive oil - cooked all day and served with the stir fry veggies (to finish up the bag of them) and brown rice.
Southwestern Lasagna
I got this one from Rachel Ray. The only change I made to the recipe is that I didn't add the jalapenos since we add all spice after cooking now with Jacob. I can't say it enough, this thing is freaking amazing.
All you do is layer corn tortillas, salsa, refried beans, cheese, pork taco meat and peas, then top with sour cream and cilantro when serving.
Michael saw me pulling it out of the oven and quickly asked me why there were peas on our dinner, but they add a refreshing taste to it and you don't even realize they're there.
On Saturday for snack time I pulled out a little plate of it while Jacob ate his fruit snack and after he finished his fruit he ate half of mine, and then another small plate that I heated up just for him. Definitely a winning recipe and one we will constantly repeat.
Friday was date night. Jacob stayed at Grandma and Grandpas while Mommy and Daddy went to Perry's Steak House for their amazing happy hour special of $6 martinis and mixed drinks, and half off appetizers (that are the size of meals). Our 4 drinks and 2 appetizers there ended up being less than the wine bar with one flight each.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Wordless Thursday
As the title states this should be a wordless post. Simply a picture that shows Jacob. The personality, non-baby, big-boy he's becoming, and just how much he and the rest of family means to our lives.
And after all that of saying how this is supposed to be a picture that shows it all - I can say is isn't this little boy growing up too quickly?
And after all that of saying how this is supposed to be a picture that shows it all - I can say is isn't this little boy growing up too quickly?
Goldfish - Chocolate Chip
I was going to have a picture of my new favorite snack, but am now a little disappointed that I can't find a picture online anywhere, even on the the Pepperidge Farm web site. This makes me scared that they're going to disappear.
Earlier this week Jacob and I had an extremely long, but fun trip to the grocery store where we stocked up on all sorts of snacks. I got Cheez-Its for me and picked up some extreme cheddar and chocolate chip goldfish for Jacob. I knew the chocolate chip sounded good and couldn't wait very long after our trip to try them out together. They taste just like chocolate chip cookies, without the ooey gooey chocolate chips, more like the 100 calorie snack pack version of the cookie, but less flat.
Anyway, I've confiscated these as mine and take them in my lunch to school. However, now that I can't find them online I'm thinking I need to go to the store and buy them out.
Earlier this week Jacob and I had an extremely long, but fun trip to the grocery store where we stocked up on all sorts of snacks. I got Cheez-Its for me and picked up some extreme cheddar and chocolate chip goldfish for Jacob. I knew the chocolate chip sounded good and couldn't wait very long after our trip to try them out together. They taste just like chocolate chip cookies, without the ooey gooey chocolate chips, more like the 100 calorie snack pack version of the cookie, but less flat.
Anyway, I've confiscated these as mine and take them in my lunch to school. However, now that I can't find them online I'm thinking I need to go to the store and buy them out.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Nothing Will Stop Him Now
Jacob and I went back to our summer routine by going to Toddler Time today at the library.
I was surprised how packed it was, it was like everyone was off for summer again. The other surprise was that Jacob, who had started really warming up to the songs with everyone, reverted back to his stone face and shy as can be. I wasn't even allowed to wiggle his feet as we read "Mouse Paint" without a quick stiffening and a stare down. When we got up to do the Hokey Pokey he thought it was the perfect time to make an escape and tried leading me to the door. I felt like all the work from the summer was gone.
We walked through the picture books and I picked out two while Jacob picked out one. We tried reading them at the library, but Jacob had more fun going up and down in the chair than he did reading, so we checked them out instead. That's right - 18 months old and checking out books from the library.
Since the weather is getting so nice I thought about packing a picnic to take to the park near the library, but instead we just ate our snack on the way there. Little did we know that this is what half of the toddler time group does. The playground was packed, but because we had stuck around the library for a bit some were leaving making it a manageable crowd. He ran to the slide to start climbing up, but wasn't allowed to because of all the kids there wanting to go down it. He walked to the back to one of those half rainbow shaped ladders (I don't know how else to describe it) and he preceded to climb up it. No help except for me reminding him to use his feet instead of his knees and he made his way up. I couldn't take a picture because I was shocked and nervous his first trip up, but I did get one as he made his way up the ladder.
He also went down the rainbow ladder with no help until the very end.
Michael put it best when I told him of these accomplishments by saying, "nothing will stop him now."
I was surprised how packed it was, it was like everyone was off for summer again. The other surprise was that Jacob, who had started really warming up to the songs with everyone, reverted back to his stone face and shy as can be. I wasn't even allowed to wiggle his feet as we read "Mouse Paint" without a quick stiffening and a stare down. When we got up to do the Hokey Pokey he thought it was the perfect time to make an escape and tried leading me to the door. I felt like all the work from the summer was gone.
We walked through the picture books and I picked out two while Jacob picked out one. We tried reading them at the library, but Jacob had more fun going up and down in the chair than he did reading, so we checked them out instead. That's right - 18 months old and checking out books from the library.
Since the weather is getting so nice I thought about packing a picnic to take to the park near the library, but instead we just ate our snack on the way there. Little did we know that this is what half of the toddler time group does. The playground was packed, but because we had stuck around the library for a bit some were leaving making it a manageable crowd. He ran to the slide to start climbing up, but wasn't allowed to because of all the kids there wanting to go down it. He walked to the back to one of those half rainbow shaped ladders (I don't know how else to describe it) and he preceded to climb up it. No help except for me reminding him to use his feet instead of his knees and he made his way up. I couldn't take a picture because I was shocked and nervous his first trip up, but I did get one as he made his way up the ladder.
He also went down the rainbow ladder with no help until the very end.
Michael put it best when I told him of these accomplishments by saying, "nothing will stop him now."
"Thank You"
For the past few weeks Jacob has been working on the word, "thank you." When you hand him something or help him climb on to the chair he replies with a quick thank you. It gets such a smile and happy response from everyone that he has proven he isn't quite sure what it means and says it all the time to make people laugh.
While at the grocery store the other day he decided to start saying thank you instead of hi.
We'll work on the meaning, but I still think he's quite polite.
While at the grocery store the other day he decided to start saying thank you instead of hi.
We'll work on the meaning, but I still think he's quite polite.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Weekly Menu
I'm always searching through cookbooks, food magazines and web sites to find meals that are:
1) Healthy
2) Jacob friendly - pasta and fruit are always good, but everything else is a mystery
3) Michael friendly - your typical meat and potatoes guy who likes to stick with his favorite veggies
4) Doesn't require ingredients that I can't find - doesn't mean I won't try something new, but I'm not going to waste time hunting it down
5) Somewhat easy to make - whatever prep time it says on the recipe I know I almost always have to double it to deal with cooking ability and the million other things going on while I'm making dinner, so I don't want anything too complex
Anyway, I've been pretty proud of our menus lately and thought I'd start sharing them in case there is anyone like me out there looking for weekly menus for the whole family.
This week I got my Food Network Magazine in the mail (love, love, love this magazine) and picked up a Rachael Ray magazine so many of the recipes come from the October 2011 issue of there. Plus I got back into my Deceptively Delicious cookbooks by Jessica Seinfeld to make sure there were some veggies consumed.
* This is a short week since I won't be home to cook Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Sunday
Mini Kicked Up Meatloaf - made in muffin pans with chopped sweet potato, chipolte pepper, cilantro and adobo sauce in them (I put Jacob's in the pan before adding spicy ingredients). For the topping I mixed ketchup and adobo sauce for the adult version and ketchup and agave nectar for the kid version. Spicier than I expected, but really good with mashed potatoes as a side.
Cauliflower Whipped Potatoes - similar to your usual potatoes, but I mixed in some cauliflower puree. Jacob has been on a no potato kick lately, but gobbled these up, and Michael didn't know there was cauliflower in them.
Tangerine Glazed Carrots - sauteed carrots in a little bit of vinegar and tangerine juice. I thought they were delicious and would fool Jacob since he loves oranges. Jacob thought they still looked like carrots and wouldn't touch them.
Yogurt and Fruit Popsicles - plain yogurt mixed with pureed strawberries and blueberries. Plus a splash of agave nectar. Big crowd pleaser.
Monday
Chicken Parmesan - nothing hidden or anything here. Since Jacob doesn't like meat lately I shredded the chicken and he liked what he thought was spaghetti
Side Salad - salad mix kit.
Tuesday
Chicken and Mushrooms - made in the crock pot with chicken broth, mushrooms, green onions, red wine (was supposed to be white, but since I drink red we made do with what was available). Very simple and tasted amazing. There is also a gravy you make to top it with the juice from when it was cooking, corn starch and evaporated milk.
Brown rice - to place the chicken on and tempt Jacob
Fruit salad - This is a regular side for us and I just use whatever fruit we have on hand mixed with a little powdered pudding mix
Wednesday
Sloppy Joes - the recipe called for bison, but I had turkey in the freezer. It was really good, all three of us liked it, but I think it would be better with red meat.
Macaroni and Cheese - This was a Deceptively Delicious recipe with the marking that it is one of Jerry's favorites, and after trying it I do believe he has no taste. You mix up any type of white beans (we used chick peas) with milk and add to the noodles with cheese. Jacob loved it and ate the huge portion I put on his plate, but neither Michael nor I ate much of it. At least Jacob liked it and got some beans in him.
Cherry Jubilee Brownies - Another Deceptively Delicious recipe with better results. Hidden in the brownies is pureed spinach. You can taste that brownies aren't as oohy gooey chocolaty and decadent as most, but I think that's because there really isn't much sugar in it. Nobody knew there was spinach in it, and Jacob loved the cherries in it
1) Healthy
2) Jacob friendly - pasta and fruit are always good, but everything else is a mystery
3) Michael friendly - your typical meat and potatoes guy who likes to stick with his favorite veggies
4) Doesn't require ingredients that I can't find - doesn't mean I won't try something new, but I'm not going to waste time hunting it down
5) Somewhat easy to make - whatever prep time it says on the recipe I know I almost always have to double it to deal with cooking ability and the million other things going on while I'm making dinner, so I don't want anything too complex
Anyway, I've been pretty proud of our menus lately and thought I'd start sharing them in case there is anyone like me out there looking for weekly menus for the whole family.
This week I got my Food Network Magazine in the mail (love, love, love this magazine) and picked up a Rachael Ray magazine so many of the recipes come from the October 2011 issue of there. Plus I got back into my Deceptively Delicious cookbooks by Jessica Seinfeld to make sure there were some veggies consumed.
* This is a short week since I won't be home to cook Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Sunday
Mini Kicked Up Meatloaf - made in muffin pans with chopped sweet potato, chipolte pepper, cilantro and adobo sauce in them (I put Jacob's in the pan before adding spicy ingredients). For the topping I mixed ketchup and adobo sauce for the adult version and ketchup and agave nectar for the kid version. Spicier than I expected, but really good with mashed potatoes as a side.
Cauliflower Whipped Potatoes - similar to your usual potatoes, but I mixed in some cauliflower puree. Jacob has been on a no potato kick lately, but gobbled these up, and Michael didn't know there was cauliflower in them.
Tangerine Glazed Carrots - sauteed carrots in a little bit of vinegar and tangerine juice. I thought they were delicious and would fool Jacob since he loves oranges. Jacob thought they still looked like carrots and wouldn't touch them.
Yogurt and Fruit Popsicles - plain yogurt mixed with pureed strawberries and blueberries. Plus a splash of agave nectar. Big crowd pleaser.
Monday
Chicken Parmesan - nothing hidden or anything here. Since Jacob doesn't like meat lately I shredded the chicken and he liked what he thought was spaghetti
Side Salad - salad mix kit.
Tuesday
Chicken and Mushrooms - made in the crock pot with chicken broth, mushrooms, green onions, red wine (was supposed to be white, but since I drink red we made do with what was available). Very simple and tasted amazing. There is also a gravy you make to top it with the juice from when it was cooking, corn starch and evaporated milk.
Brown rice - to place the chicken on and tempt Jacob
Fruit salad - This is a regular side for us and I just use whatever fruit we have on hand mixed with a little powdered pudding mix
Wednesday
Sloppy Joes - the recipe called for bison, but I had turkey in the freezer. It was really good, all three of us liked it, but I think it would be better with red meat.
Macaroni and Cheese - This was a Deceptively Delicious recipe with the marking that it is one of Jerry's favorites, and after trying it I do believe he has no taste. You mix up any type of white beans (we used chick peas) with milk and add to the noodles with cheese. Jacob loved it and ate the huge portion I put on his plate, but neither Michael nor I ate much of it. At least Jacob liked it and got some beans in him.
Cherry Jubilee Brownies - Another Deceptively Delicious recipe with better results. Hidden in the brownies is pureed spinach. You can taste that brownies aren't as oohy gooey chocolaty and decadent as most, but I think that's because there really isn't much sugar in it. Nobody knew there was spinach in it, and Jacob loved the cherries in it
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Crac-ker
It's crazy the vocab Jacob is coming up with. I feel like every day there is something new, and since I've been working so much lately, having him home today brought tons of surprises.
1) When I get him up in the morning it's about the time that Scoot decides he urgently needs to go outside and there is no point waiting in Jacob's room for him to decide to stand up and stop playing with the stuffed animals in the crib. This morning Scoot was staring at me as I leaned over the crib and as Jacob stood up he saw Scoot and quickly called out and pointed...."Scoooooo."
2) There is a little blue puppy in Jacob's crib that he's been favoring lately. Every now and then I'll take it out of the crib and let him carry it around. This morning I brought it out to him as we fought about him not using the pacifier and as soon as he saw it he said, "dog." Glad he realizes every dog is not a Scoooo
3) Scoot taught Jacob how to beg. He's so bad with it and loves when I'm making fruit salad to go with dinner. He does laps around the house and every 10 seconds shows ups at my knees pointing to the counter (and now grabbing if it's too close to the edge) grunting that he wants what I have. Tonight I passed him a grape and I swore he said, "thank you." It made me laugh and 10 seconds later he was back for some more and another, thank you. It's amazing! He even said it when I brought him his dinner. Better manners than most adults.
...and lastly the cutest of the night.
4) Jacob was getting ready for bed and we were having some relaxing time on the couch as I flipped through a magazine. He likes looking at anything with pictures and we go over the names of it all as he points. This page had what every house should have packed in case of an emergency: flash light, sleeping bag, passport, crackers, batteries... We went over everything and then I pointed out the small packet of crackers and he repeated it. We were so amazed that I kept pointing at it and he kept repeating it, but then he started pointing at everything and saying cracker, so although he can say it, it doesn't really have complete meaning yet. The best was when he pointed to the cat in the ad on the next page and called it, "cracker." However, that really may be the cats name, so I can't say he's wrong.
1) When I get him up in the morning it's about the time that Scoot decides he urgently needs to go outside and there is no point waiting in Jacob's room for him to decide to stand up and stop playing with the stuffed animals in the crib. This morning Scoot was staring at me as I leaned over the crib and as Jacob stood up he saw Scoot and quickly called out and pointed...."Scoooooo."
2) There is a little blue puppy in Jacob's crib that he's been favoring lately. Every now and then I'll take it out of the crib and let him carry it around. This morning I brought it out to him as we fought about him not using the pacifier and as soon as he saw it he said, "dog." Glad he realizes every dog is not a Scoooo
3) Scoot taught Jacob how to beg. He's so bad with it and loves when I'm making fruit salad to go with dinner. He does laps around the house and every 10 seconds shows ups at my knees pointing to the counter (and now grabbing if it's too close to the edge) grunting that he wants what I have. Tonight I passed him a grape and I swore he said, "thank you." It made me laugh and 10 seconds later he was back for some more and another, thank you. It's amazing! He even said it when I brought him his dinner. Better manners than most adults.
...and lastly the cutest of the night.
4) Jacob was getting ready for bed and we were having some relaxing time on the couch as I flipped through a magazine. He likes looking at anything with pictures and we go over the names of it all as he points. This page had what every house should have packed in case of an emergency: flash light, sleeping bag, passport, crackers, batteries... We went over everything and then I pointed out the small packet of crackers and he repeated it. We were so amazed that I kept pointing at it and he kept repeating it, but then he started pointing at everything and saying cracker, so although he can say it, it doesn't really have complete meaning yet. The best was when he pointed to the cat in the ad on the next page and called it, "cracker." However, that really may be the cats name, so I can't say he's wrong.
Chores
When Charlie, my step-dad, came to stay with us for a month after Jacob came it was the best possible present anyone could ask for. I was up every couple hours with Jacob and at 7AM when I heard Charlie walking down the hall past our room I'd quickly gather our tiny baby and pass him off so I could get a little rest. We knew it was a gift during it, but now when we look back it we realize it was a HUGE gift.
The other part of this amazing help included home cooked dinners. Every day I'd be asked what I wanted and that night we had it for dinner. We went through all of my favorites from when I was growing up, including Chinese Chicken (which is now one of Michael's favorites too).
At night we'd go plop into bed and joke about how we've never done so many dishes. We were doing a load of dishes every night. This was a giant change to our normal routine of running the dishwasher once, maybe twice a week.
Now that Jacob eats the same thing we eat for dinner I really cook now. No more opening a can of something and heating it up. I use several skillets, pots, pans, food processor (to puree veggies to hide in food), a million utensils, pretty much anything we have in the kitchen I'm suddenly using for one meal. Our meals our healthier, but that dishwasher is running on a daily basis.
Last night as we finished the dishes and got ready to play for a bit before bedtime we reminisced on the amazing house guest we had. It's funny how such a boring chore can make you think of happy things.
The other part of this amazing help included home cooked dinners. Every day I'd be asked what I wanted and that night we had it for dinner. We went through all of my favorites from when I was growing up, including Chinese Chicken (which is now one of Michael's favorites too).
At night we'd go plop into bed and joke about how we've never done so many dishes. We were doing a load of dishes every night. This was a giant change to our normal routine of running the dishwasher once, maybe twice a week.
Now that Jacob eats the same thing we eat for dinner I really cook now. No more opening a can of something and heating it up. I use several skillets, pots, pans, food processor (to puree veggies to hide in food), a million utensils, pretty much anything we have in the kitchen I'm suddenly using for one meal. Our meals our healthier, but that dishwasher is running on a daily basis.
Last night as we finished the dishes and got ready to play for a bit before bedtime we reminisced on the amazing house guest we had. It's funny how such a boring chore can make you think of happy things.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Playgrounds
This past weekend was full of playgrounds. We invaded a neighborhood splash pad (which I felt kind of bad about with the complete lack of moisture in the area, but they still had it running), and later that day we went to our normal park mid-afternoon because of my mistake with the gym child care program's times and the equipment was way too hot to play on. On Sunday we kept the trend going and while Michael was tailgating Jacob and I met a couple grandparents at a county park before the sun got too hot. Later in the afternoon we went to watch the game at a friend's house with a few other kids and went to the neighborhood park after the game.
I can't wait for the weather to cool down a bit because he loves climbing around the equipment and knows how to go down the slide all by himself. He's getting so big. I love watching him explore at the park.
Getting used to the playground - hairstyle thanks to sunscreen
My little monkey climbing up the slide...with a helping hand
Water break
Shady spot to cool down and hide
The most handsome little man
Playing with his bowl after snack time in the pavillion
My gosh it's crazy to see how big he's gotten and all the personality that has come from that sleepy little baby we met just over a year ago.
I can't wait for the weather to cool down a bit because he loves climbing around the equipment and knows how to go down the slide all by himself. He's getting so big. I love watching him explore at the park.
Getting used to the playground - hairstyle thanks to sunscreen
My little monkey climbing up the slide...with a helping hand
Water break
Shady spot to cool down and hide
The most handsome little man
Playing with his bowl after snack time in the pavillion
My gosh it's crazy to see how big he's gotten and all the personality that has come from that sleepy little baby we met just over a year ago.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Classic Rock
His personality comes out every day, bu one thing is for sure...our little man loves to rock.
He does ok with the Top 40 stuff, but put on some classic rock and he can't sit still. His head starts to sway and then bounce with the beat. Then he drops whatever he's doing to get up, twirl, and do squats - his favorite dance moves.
My little boy loves to rock.
He does ok with the Top 40 stuff, but put on some classic rock and he can't sit still. His head starts to sway and then bounce with the beat. Then he drops whatever he's doing to get up, twirl, and do squats - his favorite dance moves.
My little boy loves to rock.
Wild Boy
This morning we made a last minute decision to go to the zoo. It's actually below 100 today and there was a great breeze and a cloudy sky, so we knew we had to do something outdoors with our crazy child.
He has a need to run and climb and cause trouble, which is just too much to deal with in the house.
As Jacob finished breakfast I packed our lunches, and soon we were ready to see the animals. He still doesn't really care for the animals, except for the Meerkats since they tackle each other and play, but he does enjoy riding in his wagon and watching the humans.
We skipped the birds, hoofed animals, and monkeys in hopes that the cooler weather had gotten the bears and cats to decide to play. No luck with the tigers and lions (which have been laying in the same spot every time we've gone this summer, so I'd like some proof they're alive), but the Andean Bear was rolling around and itching, and the smaller cats jumped around.
It felt like we circled around a million times, but we finally made it to the part Jacob knows means fun - the African Exhibit. It's the newest exhibit at the zoo and doesn't really host too much, but it's on the way to the children's section, and has a soft walk area with 3 Pygmy Huts for the kids to play in. That's seriously all it is and Jacob could spend hours there. When he first gets there he picks out a hut and stands in it watching everything while he gets comfortable with the situation, then he runs from hut to hut with a crazy scream while racing between them. In the large hut there were three older kids who I guess were pretending to be some sort of attack animal and they growled at Jacob, but he really couldn't care less.
He cried when we took him away.
Our next stop was his first ride in he carousel. As we stood in line I decide the Baboon would be the best one for us to ride. There were cuter animals, but he was on the outer edge and Michael wanted to video us as we came around. Waiting for everyone to get on was ok, and Jacob like sitting on the back of his monkey, but then we started to move and he wasn't sure what to think. On the back side of the carousel it was nice, but once you it the front half the wind was blowing like crazy and a new ride, plus the wind blowing through his hair was too much. By the end of our 4 times around the kid in front of us was off his ride and crying, Jacob was off the monkey and in my arms, and the kid behind us wailing.
Finally we made it to the playground for, in Jacob's opinion, the whole reason you go to the zoo. It was crowded, but he didn't care and still did his laps through all the equipment, up and down the stairs and several trips down the slide. Luckily we were able to woo him away from the playground with the promise of lunch. We found an isolated bench near the mini lake and had our sandwiches, then he was ready to go again, but getting cranky.
As we left the zoo we decided to let him get a little more energy out by running around the park, and feeding the ducks. By the time we got in the car he was out.
I let Michael drive home since he drives faster and we'd have more of nap time at home instead of in the car. Good idea in theory.
For two hours Jacob sat in his crib and talked while all mommy and daddy wanted to do was nap. Guess 30 minutes of nap is all that a wild boy needs.
He has a need to run and climb and cause trouble, which is just too much to deal with in the house.
As Jacob finished breakfast I packed our lunches, and soon we were ready to see the animals. He still doesn't really care for the animals, except for the Meerkats since they tackle each other and play, but he does enjoy riding in his wagon and watching the humans.
We skipped the birds, hoofed animals, and monkeys in hopes that the cooler weather had gotten the bears and cats to decide to play. No luck with the tigers and lions (which have been laying in the same spot every time we've gone this summer, so I'd like some proof they're alive), but the Andean Bear was rolling around and itching, and the smaller cats jumped around.
It felt like we circled around a million times, but we finally made it to the part Jacob knows means fun - the African Exhibit. It's the newest exhibit at the zoo and doesn't really host too much, but it's on the way to the children's section, and has a soft walk area with 3 Pygmy Huts for the kids to play in. That's seriously all it is and Jacob could spend hours there. When he first gets there he picks out a hut and stands in it watching everything while he gets comfortable with the situation, then he runs from hut to hut with a crazy scream while racing between them. In the large hut there were three older kids who I guess were pretending to be some sort of attack animal and they growled at Jacob, but he really couldn't care less.
He cried when we took him away.
Our next stop was his first ride in he carousel. As we stood in line I decide the Baboon would be the best one for us to ride. There were cuter animals, but he was on the outer edge and Michael wanted to video us as we came around. Waiting for everyone to get on was ok, and Jacob like sitting on the back of his monkey, but then we started to move and he wasn't sure what to think. On the back side of the carousel it was nice, but once you it the front half the wind was blowing like crazy and a new ride, plus the wind blowing through his hair was too much. By the end of our 4 times around the kid in front of us was off his ride and crying, Jacob was off the monkey and in my arms, and the kid behind us wailing.
Finally we made it to the playground for, in Jacob's opinion, the whole reason you go to the zoo. It was crowded, but he didn't care and still did his laps through all the equipment, up and down the stairs and several trips down the slide. Luckily we were able to woo him away from the playground with the promise of lunch. We found an isolated bench near the mini lake and had our sandwiches, then he was ready to go again, but getting cranky.
As we left the zoo we decided to let him get a little more energy out by running around the park, and feeding the ducks. By the time we got in the car he was out.
I let Michael drive home since he drives faster and we'd have more of nap time at home instead of in the car. Good idea in theory.
For two hours Jacob sat in his crib and talked while all mommy and daddy wanted to do was nap. Guess 30 minutes of nap is all that a wild boy needs.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
My Buddy and Me
Poor Scoot doesn't quite get the attention he used to. Instead of running laps around the house all the time with him he now has to leap over and dodge Jacob's toys and listen to us yell gentle as Jacob tries to run with him. He can't lay on the couch and rest anymore since Jacob can easily climb up there to lay on him and grab at his paws. This game always emits giggles and growls.
Poor Scoot simply can't catch a break and we like to think he walks around muttering, "stupid kid, stupid kid, stupid kid" throughout the day.
The one way Scoot does benefit however is in no way small. Scoot now has a constant supply to human food. The pup who never begged, is now one of the worst beggars I have ever seen. He's smart about begging at dinner and lays under the high chair with just a bit of his butt sticking out since not only does Jacob toss down food, but he also throws down his sippy cup with force.
We do our best to assure Scoot that Jacob is simply in his puppy phase and will soon be his best friend. I'm not sure he believe is and still spends most the morning staring Jacob down and muttering.
Poor Scoot simply can't catch a break and we like to think he walks around muttering, "stupid kid, stupid kid, stupid kid" throughout the day.
The one way Scoot does benefit however is in no way small. Scoot now has a constant supply to human food. The pup who never begged, is now one of the worst beggars I have ever seen. He's smart about begging at dinner and lays under the high chair with just a bit of his butt sticking out since not only does Jacob toss down food, but he also throws down his sippy cup with force.
We do our best to assure Scoot that Jacob is simply in his puppy phase and will soon be his best friend. I'm not sure he believe is and still spends most the morning staring Jacob down and muttering.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Oh ....
Yesterday morning I was changing Jacob and we were both happily getting ready for breakfast. He sang me songs and giggled while I got his clothes out and when we were all done I put him down to walk to the kitchen. He stumbled a bit, tossed the toy in his hand and as normal said, "uh oh" followed by a new one to my ears, it sounded a lot like, "oh shit." I didn't respond. It took me a couple minutes to decide if I heard him wrong or not, and I let it pass.
Then as I got him set up in his high chair he said it again, for no reason at all. This time I gave it no reply again since now I was trying to figure out where he got it from. I've cleaned up my mouth, but still have a slip up here and there so I thought back to anything I may have said recently. Then I decided that even though I slip, this wasn't my fault since that is not one of the words I say.
Now that I knew it wasn't my fault, and that I was hearing him correctly, I was ready for the many times he repeated it throughout the morning. I tried following every time he said it with, "ok" in hopes that would start saying that instead. He didn't get the point, but he did stop saying it; luckily before I took him to the YMCA where I would be an embarrassed parent.
Tonight he started it again. We're saying, "awesome" after each time and it seems to be working, sometimes it still sounds wrong and we snicker, but other times he just sounds like a kid of the 90's, maybe we'll teach him, "Sup Dawg" next.
Then as I got him set up in his high chair he said it again, for no reason at all. This time I gave it no reply again since now I was trying to figure out where he got it from. I've cleaned up my mouth, but still have a slip up here and there so I thought back to anything I may have said recently. Then I decided that even though I slip, this wasn't my fault since that is not one of the words I say.
Now that I knew it wasn't my fault, and that I was hearing him correctly, I was ready for the many times he repeated it throughout the morning. I tried following every time he said it with, "ok" in hopes that would start saying that instead. He didn't get the point, but he did stop saying it; luckily before I took him to the YMCA where I would be an embarrassed parent.
Tonight he started it again. We're saying, "awesome" after each time and it seems to be working, sometimes it still sounds wrong and we snicker, but other times he just sounds like a kid of the 90's, maybe we'll teach him, "Sup Dawg" next.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Lots of Love
Jacob is discovering how great stuffed animals are. In his crib he has a turtle mini pillow pet, small blue dog and larger exact replica of my childhood puppy. It's crazy to think he has all that in his crib now when both Michael and I were not so long ago petrified to have anything even near his crib and would move Jacob at various times in the middle of the night because we didn't like him so close to the bumper - even though it was breathable.
When I get him in the morning to start the day or after nap time he moves all his animals around to their correct spots, and after that he's ready to get out.
He's also started to give all kisses. It's not part of his morning routine, but if I'm laying on one of his large dogs while we're playing he'll go to it's nose and give it a kiss, with a little peck sound and all. I can ask for a million kisses, but he just laughs and gives all his stuffed animals kisses instead. Even at the gift shop at the aquarium yesterday he kissed all the homeless stuffed animals there.
At least there's no sign saying, "You kiss, you buy."
When I get him in the morning to start the day or after nap time he moves all his animals around to their correct spots, and after that he's ready to get out.
He's also started to give all kisses. It's not part of his morning routine, but if I'm laying on one of his large dogs while we're playing he'll go to it's nose and give it a kiss, with a little peck sound and all. I can ask for a million kisses, but he just laughs and gives all his stuffed animals kisses instead. Even at the gift shop at the aquarium yesterday he kissed all the homeless stuffed animals there.
At least there's no sign saying, "You kiss, you buy."
Thursday, July 28, 2011
What Can Your Kid Say?
You'd think he would learn how to say meaningful things, especially "want" since he points and grunts a million times a day.
However, these are the interesting tidbits Jacob cares to share:
- Nighty Night (but never when he's going to bed)
- Go Away (a fun one to explain to people after he yells it)
- E I E I O (yep, he's ready to go to the farm)
- Touch Down (sadly this makes sense since his daddy repeats it endlessly until he repeats)
- Yeah, yeah (makes it fun to have a conversation with him, at least it cracks me up)
However, these are the interesting tidbits Jacob cares to share:
- Nighty Night (but never when he's going to bed)
- Go Away (a fun one to explain to people after he yells it)
- E I E I O (yep, he's ready to go to the farm)
- Touch Down (sadly this makes sense since his daddy repeats it endlessly until he repeats)
- Yeah, yeah (makes it fun to have a conversation with him, at least it cracks me up)
Friday, July 15, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
15 Months
Yesterday Jacob turned 15 months. He is three months away from being 1 1/2 years old. Crazy!
We do 3 month well baby check ups until 18 months and as Jacob gained more mobility the appointments got more and more difficult. Today was no different, he drops down to nothing but a diaper during his check in and as we wait for the doctor I normally hold him, but that was not on his agenda today. Instead he walked around the little room, explored every cabinet and drawer, tried to move the exam table by pulling levers, moved the trash can around, and yanked at the paper covering for the exam table. Who knew there was so much to explore in such a tiny room.
All is good and he's developing well except for seasonal allergies and eczema which he now has a prescription for. His weight is in the 25th percentile (which is what he's been trending at), height right above the 50th, and the head has taken a giant leap and is now in the 97th percentile. She's not worried about that because it is easy to get different readings on that when there are different nurses taking measurements. Still a shock on the paper.
At the beginning of the appointment she said how big he's gotten and started to say he looked different, but stopped short. Then at the end, after I said last question about 10 times, she realized his hair is lighter. We discussed for a bit and she said she hasn't had any patients that have changed their hair color at this point, but she did know friends that have gone from dark to blonde. Guess we'll just have to wait and see if it ever darkens up instead of continuing to get lighter and lighter.
Lastly, we're going to be getting rid of the paci. I brought it up for tips to start getting rid of it and she was ready for me to throw them all out now. I know for sure I want to wait til after we go on our trip this summer, but we're ready to start getting rid of it. There was a pediatrician on The Doctors about a month ago who said he was a strong advocate about getting rid of the pacifier until he had a kid and then realized there was some room for when to lose it.
Oh! I was worried that maybe he was behind in his words, but she said that he should only have a couple that he can say and with; uhoh, mama, dada, ball, (and the newest) hi, he is doing amazingly well. She was also impressed he knows where his nose and bellybutton are.
2 shots later we scheduled our next appointment for October.
We do 3 month well baby check ups until 18 months and as Jacob gained more mobility the appointments got more and more difficult. Today was no different, he drops down to nothing but a diaper during his check in and as we wait for the doctor I normally hold him, but that was not on his agenda today. Instead he walked around the little room, explored every cabinet and drawer, tried to move the exam table by pulling levers, moved the trash can around, and yanked at the paper covering for the exam table. Who knew there was so much to explore in such a tiny room.
All is good and he's developing well except for seasonal allergies and eczema which he now has a prescription for. His weight is in the 25th percentile (which is what he's been trending at), height right above the 50th, and the head has taken a giant leap and is now in the 97th percentile. She's not worried about that because it is easy to get different readings on that when there are different nurses taking measurements. Still a shock on the paper.
At the beginning of the appointment she said how big he's gotten and started to say he looked different, but stopped short. Then at the end, after I said last question about 10 times, she realized his hair is lighter. We discussed for a bit and she said she hasn't had any patients that have changed their hair color at this point, but she did know friends that have gone from dark to blonde. Guess we'll just have to wait and see if it ever darkens up instead of continuing to get lighter and lighter.
Lastly, we're going to be getting rid of the paci. I brought it up for tips to start getting rid of it and she was ready for me to throw them all out now. I know for sure I want to wait til after we go on our trip this summer, but we're ready to start getting rid of it. There was a pediatrician on The Doctors about a month ago who said he was a strong advocate about getting rid of the pacifier until he had a kid and then realized there was some room for when to lose it.
Oh! I was worried that maybe he was behind in his words, but she said that he should only have a couple that he can say and with; uhoh, mama, dada, ball, (and the newest) hi, he is doing amazingly well. She was also impressed he knows where his nose and bellybutton are.
2 shots later we scheduled our next appointment for October.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Time to Change the Play List
The other day I put Jacob down for a nap, started the computer, turned on my play list and started picking up around the house. When Jacob woke up I didn't even think about the music playing while I got him ready and prepared snack.
After a couple minutes I walked into the living room with his snack and saw Jacob dancing all around the room. He was going crazy and having so much fun I didn't think about what was playing.
I enjoyed the show and seeing him so happy but then realized he was dancing to Eminem and every other word was f-this or that.
Guess it's time to make an edited playlist that is a bit more family friendly.
After a couple minutes I walked into the living room with his snack and saw Jacob dancing all around the room. He was going crazy and having so much fun I didn't think about what was playing.
I enjoyed the show and seeing him so happy but then realized he was dancing to Eminem and every other word was f-this or that.
Guess it's time to make an edited playlist that is a bit more family friendly.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Health Museum
This is the summer of activities.
Jacob and I have two events planned each week so we can get out of the house and try new experiences, so far we've seen a puppet show at the library, tried out story time at a park - realized the park was no fun and it was freaking hot so went to the children's museum instead, and mini water park to name a few. Today we ventured to the health museum.
I love taking him to the museum district because of everything there is to do down there, but I'm still not comfortable driving there. Today we went at the end of morning rush hour and dealt with crazies crossing over 3 lanes to reach the exit. Plus there is a traffic circle to deal with that I always seem to end up at the wrong exit for it. By the end of summer I expect to be much more comfortable down there.
A few years ago Michael and I went to the health museum and although it was old and small I thought it would be the perfect, uncrowded and air conditioned place for Jacob to climb around. Wow have they updated. It's now an actual, up-to-date museum with a modern design to it...and not really anywhere for a toddler to climb.
He had fun seeing all the big kids and walking from room to room - or body part to body part.
We even had a friend meet us there with her daughter who is few weeks older than Jacob. While Claire looked at exhibits and gently slid her finger across displays Jacob slammed his hands into them as hard as possible then turned around and ran. Either I just have a crazy kid or that's the difference between girls and boys.
This was the first thing we saw. When you press the black part your body heat makes it change colors.
The cutest little hand prints
Jacob taking revenge on the molars he's been getting in
Jacob and I have two events planned each week so we can get out of the house and try new experiences, so far we've seen a puppet show at the library, tried out story time at a park - realized the park was no fun and it was freaking hot so went to the children's museum instead, and mini water park to name a few. Today we ventured to the health museum.
I love taking him to the museum district because of everything there is to do down there, but I'm still not comfortable driving there. Today we went at the end of morning rush hour and dealt with crazies crossing over 3 lanes to reach the exit. Plus there is a traffic circle to deal with that I always seem to end up at the wrong exit for it. By the end of summer I expect to be much more comfortable down there.
A few years ago Michael and I went to the health museum and although it was old and small I thought it would be the perfect, uncrowded and air conditioned place for Jacob to climb around. Wow have they updated. It's now an actual, up-to-date museum with a modern design to it...and not really anywhere for a toddler to climb.
He had fun seeing all the big kids and walking from room to room - or body part to body part.
We even had a friend meet us there with her daughter who is few weeks older than Jacob. While Claire looked at exhibits and gently slid her finger across displays Jacob slammed his hands into them as hard as possible then turned around and ran. Either I just have a crazy kid or that's the difference between girls and boys.
This was the first thing we saw. When you press the black part your body heat makes it change colors.
The cutest little hand prints
Jacob taking revenge on the molars he's been getting in
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Sweet Kisses
Jacob can be a tantrum filled toddler sometimes, but most people don't see that. Usually he is this sweet little flirt that charms family, friends and even strangers and saves the fits for mama and dada.
Tonight Michael laid by the dining room windows to keep him from banging his head in the window (because he does this for fun since it makes us upset...mainly because we know his hard head could easily burst through the window, but also because we've got to get over this fascination over banging the head), while I was in the living room. Jacob would play with Michael and then run over to me and give me kisses, and run back to the dining room to give kisses. This went on and on for about a half hour with us laughing hysterically about it (and keeping him away from headbutting anything). It was sweet with about 5 kisses per trip, but the first one was always painful because his brakes don't quite work yet so the first one was kind of like a headbutt.
I can't believe my little man is a toddler now. My gosh, my little baby is gone already.
Tonight Michael laid by the dining room windows to keep him from banging his head in the window (because he does this for fun since it makes us upset...mainly because we know his hard head could easily burst through the window, but also because we've got to get over this fascination over banging the head), while I was in the living room. Jacob would play with Michael and then run over to me and give me kisses, and run back to the dining room to give kisses. This went on and on for about a half hour with us laughing hysterically about it (and keeping him away from headbutting anything). It was sweet with about 5 kisses per trip, but the first one was always painful because his brakes don't quite work yet so the first one was kind of like a headbutt.
I can't believe my little man is a toddler now. My gosh, my little baby is gone already.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
What did you say?
The oohs and ahhs are changing into the starts of words.
Jacob can say "dada" and "book," but doesn't quite get what they mean. Dada is said all the time for no apparent reason, but the best is when he says it early in the morning and I can turn to Michael and say, "he's calling for you."
It's fun to see him form new words, but I'm calling his first word to be "uh oh." It wasn't the first one he started forming, but it seems to be the first one he knows how to use. Whenever he drops something or even falls out comes an uh oh.
This morning he started moving his farm animal magnets to the front of the fridge - Michael and I swear that the front of our fridge isn't magnetic, but Jacob made it work - and practiced his word during the process.
Jacob can say "dada" and "book," but doesn't quite get what they mean. Dada is said all the time for no apparent reason, but the best is when he says it early in the morning and I can turn to Michael and say, "he's calling for you."
It's fun to see him form new words, but I'm calling his first word to be "uh oh." It wasn't the first one he started forming, but it seems to be the first one he knows how to use. Whenever he drops something or even falls out comes an uh oh.
This morning he started moving his farm animal magnets to the front of the fridge - Michael and I swear that the front of our fridge isn't magnetic, but Jacob made it work - and practiced his word during the process.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Picky Eater
We love watching Jacob eat. Ever since he started solids Jacob has had a love for food and devoured everything set in front of him.
Starting a few weeks ago he started getting molars in and became a picky little eater only wanting fruit, some veggies and fruit snacks. If it didn't fall in one of those categories it took a lot of pleading and work to get him to try what was on his plate only to watch him spit it right back out.
Finally last night we stopped buying a kid's meal because it was a waste of money to watch him sit there and stare at it. Instead I decided to let him try a little of my shrimp and rice and then once he refused that I was ready to try a Gerber meal to at least get him to eat something. I cut the shrimp into three pieces and was getting ready to cut another one to have ready just in case when I looked over and saw the first one was already gone. The whole meal I was cutting shrimp up and scooping out rice to Jacob's tray. He ate over half my meal.
Our little eater is back and I finally found a meat he loves!
Starting a few weeks ago he started getting molars in and became a picky little eater only wanting fruit, some veggies and fruit snacks. If it didn't fall in one of those categories it took a lot of pleading and work to get him to try what was on his plate only to watch him spit it right back out.
Finally last night we stopped buying a kid's meal because it was a waste of money to watch him sit there and stare at it. Instead I decided to let him try a little of my shrimp and rice and then once he refused that I was ready to try a Gerber meal to at least get him to eat something. I cut the shrimp into three pieces and was getting ready to cut another one to have ready just in case when I looked over and saw the first one was already gone. The whole meal I was cutting shrimp up and scooping out rice to Jacob's tray. He ate over half my meal.
Our little eater is back and I finally found a meat he loves!
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Jacob and Scoot are still figuring out their relationship and this is not the best example, but Jacob can hear the camera starting so we have to be careful when catching him on camera. He chases Scoot around the table with his bone until Scoot gets tired of it and starts chasing him.
I'm so happy to see my little guys starting to form their own relationship. I love them both so much
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Kisses
Not even going to apologize for the lapse in posts this time. Life is busy now that Jacob is no longer a baby and just in general. No excuses, it's just what it is and in all honesty I'm too busy enjoying every moment of it to remember to log on. That's not true. I think how great certain moments would be to share on here, but then I get caught up on them and forget.
Anyway...
Jacob's kisses are the nastiest kisses you'll ever get, but also the sweetest at the same time. He doesn't understand the pucker up and kiss concept so all you get is an open mouth attacking your face and he's getting 5 teeth in (crazy!) so all you have is a mouth full of drool coming at you.
It completely grosses me out. I cringe every time I seeing him coming at me for a kiss, but the thing is that he only comes in for a kiss when I ask him and even though I'm cringing about the cold drool about to hit my face I'm still the one asking for it to happen.
There are so many other amazing things going on in the short month since I last updated. Jacob is a walker. Not only a walker, but so independent that when I hold his hand in public places to keep him from traveling to far or knocking down full shelves of products he promptly sits down because he doesn't need the help. He's an independent walker.
He loves daycare. He has a set of friends and runs off whenever he's dropped off. When I pick him up he seems to always be begging them for more food and makes me chase him around. I feel like a bad mom because he doesn't run to go home, but instead makes me run around the room while he shows me all the great things they have to do there.
Jacob is a neat freak. No clue where he got it from. His daddy like things nice and neat, but I won't even attempt to say he got it from me. His favorite thing is to place items inside other items. We have cloth boxes for his toys and if there are too many toys out he'll start throwing them in there. We just got him a pot with little plastic foods and a spoon to stir them all around. Jacob likes putting them all in the pot, stuffing the spoon in there too and then closing the lid. There's no other playing, just cleaning up the mess mom and dad made by spreading the food out for him to see.
He eats like me. Jacob is a sometime vegetarian. Meat is ok every now and then, but veggies and carbs are amazing all the time. At one year I was excited to give him scrambled eggs, but he's not a big fan. Because he eats like me I'm tempted to put hot sauce on them and see if he goes after it (don't worry, I'm not about to).
I can't explain how I like showing off my little man. He's such an amazing person in every way and becoming less of a baby every day is a miracle to watch and brings so many smiles.
So now that I'm somewhat caught up with a sappy post I'm going to try to start keeping up with this again. As much as I love the people that look forward to post, my real reason is because I'm too disorganized for a baby book and hope that this will help fill in the gaps.
Anyway...
Jacob's kisses are the nastiest kisses you'll ever get, but also the sweetest at the same time. He doesn't understand the pucker up and kiss concept so all you get is an open mouth attacking your face and he's getting 5 teeth in (crazy!) so all you have is a mouth full of drool coming at you.
It completely grosses me out. I cringe every time I seeing him coming at me for a kiss, but the thing is that he only comes in for a kiss when I ask him and even though I'm cringing about the cold drool about to hit my face I'm still the one asking for it to happen.
There are so many other amazing things going on in the short month since I last updated. Jacob is a walker. Not only a walker, but so independent that when I hold his hand in public places to keep him from traveling to far or knocking down full shelves of products he promptly sits down because he doesn't need the help. He's an independent walker.
He loves daycare. He has a set of friends and runs off whenever he's dropped off. When I pick him up he seems to always be begging them for more food and makes me chase him around. I feel like a bad mom because he doesn't run to go home, but instead makes me run around the room while he shows me all the great things they have to do there.
Jacob is a neat freak. No clue where he got it from. His daddy like things nice and neat, but I won't even attempt to say he got it from me. His favorite thing is to place items inside other items. We have cloth boxes for his toys and if there are too many toys out he'll start throwing them in there. We just got him a pot with little plastic foods and a spoon to stir them all around. Jacob likes putting them all in the pot, stuffing the spoon in there too and then closing the lid. There's no other playing, just cleaning up the mess mom and dad made by spreading the food out for him to see.
He eats like me. Jacob is a sometime vegetarian. Meat is ok every now and then, but veggies and carbs are amazing all the time. At one year I was excited to give him scrambled eggs, but he's not a big fan. Because he eats like me I'm tempted to put hot sauce on them and see if he goes after it (don't worry, I'm not about to).
I can't explain how I like showing off my little man. He's such an amazing person in every way and becoming less of a baby every day is a miracle to watch and brings so many smiles.
So now that I'm somewhat caught up with a sappy post I'm going to try to start keeping up with this again. As much as I love the people that look forward to post, my real reason is because I'm too disorganized for a baby book and hope that this will help fill in the gaps.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Loving the Easter Bunny
Today Jacob got all dressed up to meet the Easter Bunny. We were hit and miss with his feelings for Santa Claus, so I wasn't sure how we would do with a giant Easter Bunny.
The line was a lot less than we expected with only about three kids in front of us, and the whole time in line Jacob kept reaching out for the bunny. The little girl in front of us was adorable and kept pulling at the bunny's vest buttons and eventually tried to bite his furry bunny finger. Michael instantly had visions of Jacob acting the same way.
Jacob sat down on the bunny's lap and simply stared up at him and then watched all the people walking by. The photographer took three pictures, but he looked so serious in all of them since he was busy watching people instead of posing. Most of the children only got three pictures to choose from, but she wanted to try again for a smile...of course because Jacob is just so freaking adorable.
We got two more pictures done and we're so happy with the results we told her to stop. On the first one he got a giant smile and reached out which is so typically him and the next he just gave a cheesy smile. The second was cute and normal, but even though he had one eye closed on the first picture we loved how unique it was.
Pictures coming soon!
The line was a lot less than we expected with only about three kids in front of us, and the whole time in line Jacob kept reaching out for the bunny. The little girl in front of us was adorable and kept pulling at the bunny's vest buttons and eventually tried to bite his furry bunny finger. Michael instantly had visions of Jacob acting the same way.
Jacob sat down on the bunny's lap and simply stared up at him and then watched all the people walking by. The photographer took three pictures, but he looked so serious in all of them since he was busy watching people instead of posing. Most of the children only got three pictures to choose from, but she wanted to try again for a smile...of course because Jacob is just so freaking adorable.
We got two more pictures done and we're so happy with the results we told her to stop. On the first one he got a giant smile and reached out which is so typically him and the next he just gave a cheesy smile. The second was cute and normal, but even though he had one eye closed on the first picture we loved how unique it was.
Pictures coming soon!
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Not Quite Ready
Jacob and I have a play date at Chuck E. Cheese on Wednesday, so we went as a family today to see how much fun he'd have.
First we researched it online and saw they have a toddler area, and I was excited that it would be a place he could play, not just an arcade area.
Too bad our Chuck E. Cheese decided not to put in all the extras, because it is basically the same as the Mountasia across the parking lot with only arcade games. Not only that, but their smallest package for tokens is $10 which gives you 40 tokens and each game is one token. After a ride in two different cars and a couple trips around the carousel we had 36 tokens left and were out of activities for Jacob.
I think we'll still go back on Wednesday so he can watch the mouse show there, but we'll have a supply of coins for quite some time.
Instead of calling it a day we headed to the mall playground. At first Jacob just stood and watched all the kids running around with such thought that we weren't sure if he would just take off and start chasing them. Instead he crawled around and played with all the equipment there and talked to the kids. It's great watching him interact with all the kids he meets now.
First we researched it online and saw they have a toddler area, and I was excited that it would be a place he could play, not just an arcade area.
Too bad our Chuck E. Cheese decided not to put in all the extras, because it is basically the same as the Mountasia across the parking lot with only arcade games. Not only that, but their smallest package for tokens is $10 which gives you 40 tokens and each game is one token. After a ride in two different cars and a couple trips around the carousel we had 36 tokens left and were out of activities for Jacob.
I think we'll still go back on Wednesday so he can watch the mouse show there, but we'll have a supply of coins for quite some time.
Instead of calling it a day we headed to the mall playground. At first Jacob just stood and watched all the kids running around with such thought that we weren't sure if he would just take off and start chasing them. Instead he crawled around and played with all the equipment there and talked to the kids. It's great watching him interact with all the kids he meets now.
Return to the Scene
Of course my only free day to stay home with Jacob this past week was Thursday, the day that Ana comes to clean the house. Instead of waking up at 8 and both Jacob and I staying in our pj's until after lunch, we had to be up and out the door by 8:30 and stay out until noon. I just feel weird in the house with someone cleaning, and I don't want Jacob, Scoot, or I to get in her way.
We had a great morning planned. Jacob and I were headed to Denny's for breakfast, then an indoor playground area that my play group goes to. We haven't gone with the play group yet, but I thought this would be a good time to test it out and see if Jacob was big enough to enjoy.
Breakfast was great! Jacob had all the tables around us wrapped around his finger; to the point that he threw a crayon down and the man from the table behind us got up to return the crayon to Jacob. Here I was just going to leave it on the ground, but Jacob had already trained people from other tables to pick up his stuff for him.
After Jacob scarfed down his Jr. Grand Slam we headed to Jumpin' Jaks to play for a few hours, but when we pulled up they were still closed even though they were supposed to open 20 minutes ago.
The weather was cloudy and not too hot so we moved on to the park. The same park I split my knee open at a few months ago.
When we got close I texted Michael to have his phone close since we were going to try Meyer Park again, but there were no worries, it ended up being a perfect day.
Jacob made friends on the playground as he took over the tubes you climb through. Learned that he loves going down slides and it is almost just as much fun to try and climb up them too. Then of course there is nothing better than the swing.
After the swings I was taking Jacob back to the car when I realized we lost a shoe. As we went back to the swings to find it Jacob kept reaching for the now packed playground. Since he was ready to keep going we went out towards the picnic area and played in the grass instead of heading straight to the car. This was the best part of the park because Jacob decided he didn't want to sit and play. Instead while holding my hand he walked from the very back of the park all the way to the car. It was a slow trek, but he loved every second of it.
We had a great morning planned. Jacob and I were headed to Denny's for breakfast, then an indoor playground area that my play group goes to. We haven't gone with the play group yet, but I thought this would be a good time to test it out and see if Jacob was big enough to enjoy.
Breakfast was great! Jacob had all the tables around us wrapped around his finger; to the point that he threw a crayon down and the man from the table behind us got up to return the crayon to Jacob. Here I was just going to leave it on the ground, but Jacob had already trained people from other tables to pick up his stuff for him.
After Jacob scarfed down his Jr. Grand Slam we headed to Jumpin' Jaks to play for a few hours, but when we pulled up they were still closed even though they were supposed to open 20 minutes ago.
The weather was cloudy and not too hot so we moved on to the park. The same park I split my knee open at a few months ago.
When we got close I texted Michael to have his phone close since we were going to try Meyer Park again, but there were no worries, it ended up being a perfect day.
Jacob made friends on the playground as he took over the tubes you climb through. Learned that he loves going down slides and it is almost just as much fun to try and climb up them too. Then of course there is nothing better than the swing.
After the swings I was taking Jacob back to the car when I realized we lost a shoe. As we went back to the swings to find it Jacob kept reaching for the now packed playground. Since he was ready to keep going we went out towards the picnic area and played in the grass instead of heading straight to the car. This was the best part of the park because Jacob decided he didn't want to sit and play. Instead while holding my hand he walked from the very back of the park all the way to the car. It was a slow trek, but he loved every second of it.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Kissy Face
We've been working on getting Jacob to do kisses, and every now and then he'll do it in front of the mirror, but it isn't a common thing yet...at all.
We have realized though that if you make a kissy face he'll move his face toward you. Tonight was the extreme of it. For about 30 minutes if Michael or I made the face he would climb up to get his lips to our lips, even if he was across the room.
It is the absolute sweetest thing.
The funniest though is at one point I made the face and he rushed over, pushed his face towards mine - mouth open, and tilted his head as if he was going for a serious kiss.
Love the new trick!
We have realized though that if you make a kissy face he'll move his face toward you. Tonight was the extreme of it. For about 30 minutes if Michael or I made the face he would climb up to get his lips to our lips, even if he was across the room.
It is the absolute sweetest thing.
The funniest though is at one point I made the face and he rushed over, pushed his face towards mine - mouth open, and tilted his head as if he was going for a serious kiss.
Love the new trick!
First Birthday Party
Not Jacob's first birthday, but his first time going to a first birthday party.
We had a great time and stayed an hour past Jacob's bed time, which didn't seem to bother him at all. He would have stayed playing as long as possible.
They had a great tent set up with a water/sand table, inflatable pool filled with balls, and some other kid toys. The pool with balls was definitely the favorite and perfect because he was able to play and yet was contained to an area so I didn't have to chase after him continuously.
We had a great time and stayed an hour past Jacob's bed time, which didn't seem to bother him at all. He would have stayed playing as long as possible.
They had a great tent set up with a water/sand table, inflatable pool filled with balls, and some other kid toys. The pool with balls was definitely the favorite and perfect because he was able to play and yet was contained to an area so I didn't have to chase after him continuously.
Pure Joy
On Friday night we went to dinner with Mamoo, Papoo, Great Grandma Mimi and a couple friends. Jacob was devouring his quesadillas when one of our friends asked me if he had been crying. I immediately said no because he hadn't frowned or made a sad sound the entire time.
Then I took at his face and saw one lone tear falling down his cheek. The only explanation I could think of is that my child loves to eat so much that he cries for joy when he has a good meal.
Then I took at his face and saw one lone tear falling down his cheek. The only explanation I could think of is that my child loves to eat so much that he cries for joy when he has a good meal.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Sleeping In
We've been working on getting Jacob to sleep in later - mainly because sleeping past 6:30 on the weekend was starting to feel like a dream.
We started by making him sleep in as late as possible on week days when we had to take him to day care. Instead of getting him up early and letting him play while we got ready, we kept him in his crib until about 10 minutes before we left. He quickly got used to this and had no problem sleeping in a little later.
Then on weekends and days I was home we let him stay in his crib until he woke up just chatting. If he woke up to cry for a second or two we'd let him put himself back to sleep. This made a great change in both his morning attitude and need for naps.
Anyway...all of that leads to the fact that this morning I had work extremely hard to wake Mr. Man up for breakfast at 8:00 AM, and it was amazing!
We started by making him sleep in as late as possible on week days when we had to take him to day care. Instead of getting him up early and letting him play while we got ready, we kept him in his crib until about 10 minutes before we left. He quickly got used to this and had no problem sleeping in a little later.
Then on weekends and days I was home we let him stay in his crib until he woke up just chatting. If he woke up to cry for a second or two we'd let him put himself back to sleep. This made a great change in both his morning attitude and need for naps.
Anyway...all of that leads to the fact that this morning I had work extremely hard to wake Mr. Man up for breakfast at 8:00 AM, and it was amazing!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Catching Up
Jacob has been keeping us extremely busy these past few weeks; his personality is coming out more and more each day and his mobility is getting faster and faster at the same time. Now that my excuse for not updating for a while is out there, on to the new stuff!
We are now just a couple weeks away from Jacob's first birthday. I say that a lot, mainly because I still can't believe that our little baby will be a year old soon. When people ask his age we'll no longer be answering in half month increments, instead it will be just over a year for a few months.
The party is planned, invitations went out this morning and Michael and I are both getting excited about the party. Mostly because it's Jacob's party, but also because it is the first party we've thrown in over a year.
Jacob is so close to walking, but he doesn't seem to have much care about it. We try to show him how, but he forces himself to a sitting position before we get very far. All of a sudden about two days ago he started trying to take one step away from whatever he's holding on to every once in a while, but no success yet. It will come.
We also went to his first parade this past weekend for St. Patrick's Day. We had to get there early for a spot, so by the time the parade started he was exhausted and angry at the parade for causing such a ruckus. This attitude lasted until an ambulance float went by throwing out green stress balls, which is apparently the best thing on Earth. He wouldn't let go of the silly balls, even when he finally did fall asleep.
Below are some pictures from the parade and all of his new silliness.
We are now just a couple weeks away from Jacob's first birthday. I say that a lot, mainly because I still can't believe that our little baby will be a year old soon. When people ask his age we'll no longer be answering in half month increments, instead it will be just over a year for a few months.
The party is planned, invitations went out this morning and Michael and I are both getting excited about the party. Mostly because it's Jacob's party, but also because it is the first party we've thrown in over a year.
Jacob is so close to walking, but he doesn't seem to have much care about it. We try to show him how, but he forces himself to a sitting position before we get very far. All of a sudden about two days ago he started trying to take one step away from whatever he's holding on to every once in a while, but no success yet. It will come.
We also went to his first parade this past weekend for St. Patrick's Day. We had to get there early for a spot, so by the time the parade started he was exhausted and angry at the parade for causing such a ruckus. This attitude lasted until an ambulance float went by throwing out green stress balls, which is apparently the best thing on Earth. He wouldn't let go of the silly balls, even when he finally did fall asleep.
Below are some pictures from the parade and all of his new silliness.
Driving his fire truck around the living room
Bubbles in the back yard
Filling up for the parade...or just because he loves food
Not sure what the whole fuss about the parade is about
Now there's some fun to it
Peek-a-Boo
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Oh Wonderful Sleep
Mr. Man is now 10 months old, and I don't want to jinx it, but, he is an amazing sleeper!
We started at the end of last week by letting Jacob cry for a little while and then going in to comfort him and just repeating instead of taking him out and into the swing. For something we were so scared to do, it was honestly pretty easy.
A couple nights ago Jacob was playing around on Michael's lap and didn't seem tired at all even though it was 30 minutes past bed time. We decided to put him in bed and see what happened.
Complete silence.
The wide awake boy laid down in his crib and instantly went to sleep.
Then last night he repeated this process, even though he was exhausted before going to bed and not so playful. It works in the middle of the night too. He wakes up once or twice in the night and we go in lay him back down, and rub his back to calm him down.
Even when I snuck into his room this morning in search for a pair of shoes and woke him up all I had to do was lay him back down and he was back out like a light.
I can't believe we waited so long to do this.
We started at the end of last week by letting Jacob cry for a little while and then going in to comfort him and just repeating instead of taking him out and into the swing. For something we were so scared to do, it was honestly pretty easy.
A couple nights ago Jacob was playing around on Michael's lap and didn't seem tired at all even though it was 30 minutes past bed time. We decided to put him in bed and see what happened.
Complete silence.
The wide awake boy laid down in his crib and instantly went to sleep.
Then last night he repeated this process, even though he was exhausted before going to bed and not so playful. It works in the middle of the night too. He wakes up once or twice in the night and we go in lay him back down, and rub his back to calm him down.
Even when I snuck into his room this morning in search for a pair of shoes and woke him up all I had to do was lay him back down and he was back out like a light.
I can't believe we waited so long to do this.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Children's Museum
Last weekend we took Jacob to the Children's Museum with our friend Colin and his adorable 3 year old, Carina.
We went on a Sunday a couple minutes after they opened, and I think that was the smartest thing we could have done because as we were leaving the place was packed. Even the toddler room we were in was almost full to capacity and there were families lined up waiting to get in.
Jacob took only a couple minutes to get comfortable with the new place and then went straight into exploration mode.
Jacob patiently waiting for us to finish up in the big kid area and head up to the toddler room.
Getting comfortable with the new area and ready to go.
Jacob even made a new friend, even though he couldn't care less the little 10 month old boy just wanted to follow him around.
He even had his first "date" - of course there was parent supervision.
Mommy - I don't want to leave the truck yet.
What do you have in your ball pit? I think I want those!
We went on a Sunday a couple minutes after they opened, and I think that was the smartest thing we could have done because as we were leaving the place was packed. Even the toddler room we were in was almost full to capacity and there were families lined up waiting to get in.
Jacob took only a couple minutes to get comfortable with the new place and then went straight into exploration mode.
Jacob patiently waiting for us to finish up in the big kid area and head up to the toddler room.
Getting comfortable with the new area and ready to go.
Jacob even made a new friend, even though he couldn't care less the little 10 month old boy just wanted to follow him around.
He even had his first "date" - of course there was parent supervision.
Mommy - I don't want to leave the truck yet.
What do you have in your ball pit? I think I want those!
New Do
I had high hopes to post pictures from Jacob's first snow fall today, but we didn't even get one snowflake. Just a ton of ice.
Instead I'm finally going to catch up on some other firsts.
He was such a good boy during his first haircut.
They said he could either sit in my lap or we could try one of the seats that look like cars. Since we had just gone to the Children's Museum and he loved the truck there I knew he'd be excited to sit in a car with steering wheel for him to play with.
Although he was completely serious while talking to the stylist, as soon as he got in the car his whole attitude changed to pure happiness. They even had a video of Elmo playing right in front of the car which was nice except it kept skipping. He'd hear Elmo's voice and watch intently until it froze up again and then he'd get distracted playing with the car until Elmo came back on.
I knew his hair was long but had no clue how long it was until she started pulling it up to make snips.
And the final outcome....
Instead I'm finally going to catch up on some other firsts.
He was such a good boy during his first haircut.
They said he could either sit in my lap or we could try one of the seats that look like cars. Since we had just gone to the Children's Museum and he loved the truck there I knew he'd be excited to sit in a car with steering wheel for him to play with.
Although he was completely serious while talking to the stylist, as soon as he got in the car his whole attitude changed to pure happiness. They even had a video of Elmo playing right in front of the car which was nice except it kept skipping. He'd hear Elmo's voice and watch intently until it froze up again and then he'd get distracted playing with the car until Elmo came back on.
I knew his hair was long but had no clue how long it was until she started pulling it up to make snips.
And the final outcome....
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
On His Own
Last Thursday I went to a painting class thing with my mom's group (actually only one other person went, but it was still so much fun), and I joked to Michael that if Jacob decided to start walking while I was gone he should push him down and make him wait. There have been no real signs that he's about to start walking any time soon, but we both just have this feeling.
Of course half way through the class I get a text that Jacob had been standing at the table and then all of a sudden Michael looked over and he wasn't holding on anymore. Instead he stood there staring at his hands in the air until Michael startled him and he realized he wasn't holding on. I decided not to believe him that it happened and that maybe he was leaning on the table since he does that all the time.
This morning Michael was getting ready while Jacob and I played on the floor. He was standing holding on to me when all of a sudden he deliberately let go of me and struggled to stabilize for a second before grabbing me again. I couldn't believe he not only stood on his own for a bit, but also that he was really trying to do it and not just accidentally getting distracted.
We have just a few more days before his 10 month mark, maybe there's still a chance he'll be walking before 10 months.
Of course half way through the class I get a text that Jacob had been standing at the table and then all of a sudden Michael looked over and he wasn't holding on anymore. Instead he stood there staring at his hands in the air until Michael startled him and he realized he wasn't holding on. I decided not to believe him that it happened and that maybe he was leaning on the table since he does that all the time.
This morning Michael was getting ready while Jacob and I played on the floor. He was standing holding on to me when all of a sudden he deliberately let go of me and struggled to stabilize for a second before grabbing me again. I couldn't believe he not only stood on his own for a bit, but also that he was really trying to do it and not just accidentally getting distracted.
We have just a few more days before his 10 month mark, maybe there's still a chance he'll be walking before 10 months.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Step by Step
Jacob has so much fun walking with his walker now. For the past couple nights he has been doing laps back and forth and loving every minute with it. Along with getting "ma ma ma" down I really can't believe how quickly he's growing up.
- Don't mind the laundry on the table...it isn't normally like that.
It Burns!
Tonight for diner we had pot roast, green beans and carrots. I steamed all the veggies, but the green beans were too crunchy for Jacob to get down; he just left them in his mouth while he stuffed everything else in. Before I steamed the carrots I put some seasoning with a bit of spice which I thought wouldn't be too much.
He loved the pot roast, cheese and crackers, and we were getting him to eat the carrots (he'd had about 2 baby carrots) when all of a student he started yelling and sticking his tongue out. I felt so bad that the spices must have burnt his tongue.
We gave him some more cheese and it was quickly relieved, and because we fixed it so quickly I can say without much regret it was kind of cute how he stuck his tongue out like that and we instantly.
The good part of me ruining all the food (except for the meat) for Jacob was that he got cinnamon crackers with yogurt between them and he absolutely loved it!
He loved the pot roast, cheese and crackers, and we were getting him to eat the carrots (he'd had about 2 baby carrots) when all of a student he started yelling and sticking his tongue out. I felt so bad that the spices must have burnt his tongue.
We gave him some more cheese and it was quickly relieved, and because we fixed it so quickly I can say without much regret it was kind of cute how he stuck his tongue out like that and we instantly.
The good part of me ruining all the food (except for the meat) for Jacob was that he got cinnamon crackers with yogurt between them and he absolutely loved it!
Monday, January 10, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
9 Months
Jacob hit the 9 month mark this week. Wow! Where does time go?
Last night Michael was talking about how he can't wait for baseball season to start because it is perfect timing to Jacob (he'll be 1 year). We won't watch much baseball, but he'll love walking around seeing everything and playing in the play area. I can't believe we're planning outings like that when just a few months ago I was impressed to see him sit by himself for a few seconds.
Some of Jacob's newest tricks:
- Waving. He started it a while ago by opening and closing his hand at random times, but then stopped for a while and just pointed at people, and now we're back to waving. Mommy however still gets the point - like, "I found you!"
- This isn't really an accomplishment for Jacob, but something that helps him grow: Michael and I have opened the bubble a bit and aren't as worried about all the germs. We let Jacob explore almost everywhere now including playgrounds, which make Jacob so happy.
- Scoot and Jacob have a love hate relationship (the hate part is only from Scoot's side and doesn't last long). Jacob is learning to "pet" Scoot which mainly consists of patting him on the side. Scoot doesn't mind that, but he's not thrilled with the fact Jacob is learning to grab everything, which includes Scoot's hair and tail. This always happens when Scoot is just falling asleep. On the loving side though they play together too. Jacob will grab Scoot's frisbee from him and crawl off, Scoot follows and then they play tug-of-war with it. Once Scoot gets the frisbee back he acts like Jacob is chasing him. So cute!
- He's getting used to bath and is realizing it is a play time too instead of just a silly thing his parents do to him.
- Mirrors are AMAZING! Jacob went to the mall with me and loved it because I stopped in front of almost every mirror for him to smile and yell at himself. In fact earlier tonight he took a fall that scared him and started wailing right as Michael was on the phone. I couldn't bend down to get the pacifier so I raced (hobbled) him to the bathroom to look in the mirror. He calmed down and was soon laughing.
- In the past week he's started letting go of things while he's standing. It doesn't last long and is almost like he is just testing it out, but it is the start to running.
- Just recently he's started chewing on his feet. If he's wearing socks he likes to bite the toe of the sock and pull to see if he can get the sock off. (Picture to come soon)
Doctor type stuff:
- Length: 28 inches - just below 50th percentile
- Weight: 20lbs 5.5oz - 50th percentile
- Head: Michael went to the appointment and didn't tell me, but he did say it is at 50th
- We're starting to decrease his formula intake to get rid of his extra feedings. He's at about 24oz a day and we need to take 5-10 oz out.
Last night Michael was talking about how he can't wait for baseball season to start because it is perfect timing to Jacob (he'll be 1 year). We won't watch much baseball, but he'll love walking around seeing everything and playing in the play area. I can't believe we're planning outings like that when just a few months ago I was impressed to see him sit by himself for a few seconds.
Some of Jacob's newest tricks:
- Waving. He started it a while ago by opening and closing his hand at random times, but then stopped for a while and just pointed at people, and now we're back to waving. Mommy however still gets the point - like, "I found you!"
- This isn't really an accomplishment for Jacob, but something that helps him grow: Michael and I have opened the bubble a bit and aren't as worried about all the germs. We let Jacob explore almost everywhere now including playgrounds, which make Jacob so happy.
- Scoot and Jacob have a love hate relationship (the hate part is only from Scoot's side and doesn't last long). Jacob is learning to "pet" Scoot which mainly consists of patting him on the side. Scoot doesn't mind that, but he's not thrilled with the fact Jacob is learning to grab everything, which includes Scoot's hair and tail. This always happens when Scoot is just falling asleep. On the loving side though they play together too. Jacob will grab Scoot's frisbee from him and crawl off, Scoot follows and then they play tug-of-war with it. Once Scoot gets the frisbee back he acts like Jacob is chasing him. So cute!
- He's getting used to bath and is realizing it is a play time too instead of just a silly thing his parents do to him.
- Mirrors are AMAZING! Jacob went to the mall with me and loved it because I stopped in front of almost every mirror for him to smile and yell at himself. In fact earlier tonight he took a fall that scared him and started wailing right as Michael was on the phone. I couldn't bend down to get the pacifier so I raced (hobbled) him to the bathroom to look in the mirror. He calmed down and was soon laughing.
- In the past week he's started letting go of things while he's standing. It doesn't last long and is almost like he is just testing it out, but it is the start to running.
- Just recently he's started chewing on his feet. If he's wearing socks he likes to bite the toe of the sock and pull to see if he can get the sock off. (Picture to come soon)
Doctor type stuff:
- Length: 28 inches - just below 50th percentile
- Weight: 20lbs 5.5oz - 50th percentile
- Head: Michael went to the appointment and didn't tell me, but he did say it is at 50th
- We're starting to decrease his formula intake to get rid of his extra feedings. He's at about 24oz a day and we need to take 5-10 oz out.