First ISU Basketball Game

We took Jacob to his first Illinois State basketball game this afternoon. We debated all the way to needing to leave for the game whether we should take him or not. He is not one to sit still very long. I decided that it was worth a try and that it is good to expose him to more than just the occasional trip shopping or to a restaurant. Pretty soon here our opportunities for going out as a family are going to get more challenging. I won't say that the two-hour game was easy for him, but overall he did better than I expected! I walked him around the arena a couple of times to offer him some time to stretch his legs, which he loved. I was surprised at how far he was able to walk at one time! He did a pretty good job sitting on Dan's lap during the rest of the game (with a little incentive of cheerios and juice). He definitely wore himself out though because he was passed out within a minute on the drive home. I love that he is getting older and able to do more things like this :)

Goodbye to the Mullet

Well, I finally gave in. For some time now poor Jacob has been getting teased by his Aunt Sharla that he has a mullet. I've been reluctant to cut it because I didn't want to cut my baby's hair, plus I love the curls in the back after he gets a bath. The past few days his hair has gotten a little unruly, particularly after a nap. There wasn't enough hair to constitute paying somebody to cut it, so we did it ourselves. Dan cut while I took pictures. It actually looks pretty good! He looks more like a little boy now. Here are some pics....

Before with curls

Before with his mullet

Haircut

After (back)

After (side)

Playing

I know that I keep saying that Jacob is getting more fun, but we are really enjoying the stage he is at now. He is constantly cracking us up with his actions and attempts at talking. He talks all the time now and some of it is actually recognizable. I mentioned this in a previous post but we are really having more successful communication with him. We are learning his signals for when he is hungry, thirsty, and tired. He also responds when we ask him such things as "are you sleepy?", "want some milk?", "ready for a bath?". Now if we can just get him to understand that when we say "no" we mean NO!! We are constantly redirecting him, but have started our version of time-out. There is no way he would stay put somewhere in time-out, but what we do is when he is doing something wrong repeatedly or getting into something that is a danger to him, we pick him up and make him sit calmly on our lap for 2-3 minutes. So far this has worked. Not only does it make him forget what he was doing to begin with, but it is teaching him how to sit still. He is a kid on the go and doesn't like to be restrained, so this is a lesson in behavior that he needs!! I'm hoping that our girl has a calmer demeanor, but if her kicks are any indication, she'll be even more active than Jacob! YIKES!!!

Jacob's favorite game right now is Peek-a-Boo. He simply says "Booooo". This has been a great activity when he starts to get fussy because it livens him right back up. Sometimes he initiates the game too. He doesn't play the hide-the-face version, but likes to hide around a corner and sneak up on you and vice-versa. Jacob's great-grandparents got him a book of Looney Toon characters that have flaps on the pages of the characters playing peek-a-boo with you. This is definitely his favorite book right now. He brings it to us to read to him ALL the time and says "Boooo" when he hands it to us. The other day, I was in the kitchen and I heard him saying "booo" over and over. He was reading the book himself on the couch. Too cute!!! I do have a video of him playing peek-a-boo with us, but it refuses to upload for some reason. Oh well. Here is another one though....

I finally shot a video of him dancing to his fridge toys. Since I shot this video, he has since added some dance moves to his routine. He has started rapidly stomping his left and right feet down in repetition like happy feet. So cute!!

Christmas

We had a great Christmas this year. My family visited on Christmas Eve, but couldn't stay as long as planned due to the weather. I was just glad they could come at all despite the rain and ice we had that day. My sister was able to spend part of the weekend before in Bloomington and helped me make the cut-out cookies and then was nice enough to babysit Jacob Saturday night while we went out on our 2nd date to dinner and an ISU basketball game. She was also able to stay over until Christmas morning and have breakfast with us before going back home and into work that day. Joys of working in the medical field. Jacob has really taken to Sharla and loved having a playmate with lots of energy. She definitely brings out the best in him! Dan, Jacob, and I spent Christmas day by ourselves and were able to relax and just enjoy the day. We spent Saturday after Christmas with Dan's family and had a great time. Jacob did really well with the other grandkids. Watching five children under five rip open gifts at one time was absolute craziness. Wait until next year when there are eight!! We were blessed that the younger children all napped at one time so we got to have some adult time and play games for a couple of hours uninterrupted.

I took 221 pictures over Christmas and have selected my favorites to share. Enjoy the photo album!!

Christmas 2008

Learning to Communicate

This past month, Jacob has really developed communication skills with us. He points to everything and makes some verbal noise like he is trying to say what things are. I really think that he is understanding more and more of what we say to him, which is really fun. I ask him to bring me a book and he says "buh" and than goes over and grabs a book and then sits in my lap without me asking him to, which is so great! He also understands when we tell him it's time to eat or if he is ready for something to drink. When it is bath time, we tell him "it's time to take a bath" or "let's go upstairs" and he goes straight to the stairs and waits for us to let him through the gate. One night he even was ready before we were and walked over to the gate, shook it, walked back to us, and pointed back to the stairs like "c'mon mom and dad it's time for bath and bed!" His teacher at daycare told me today that when he is ready for his nap, he goes over to where his cubby is that holds his blanket and pacifier and points to it letting her know it's time to go down for a nap.

I know that he has a ways to go, but it is so exciting that we can now start explaining things to him in hopes that he understands what we're saying!

Christmas Preparations

The past couple of weeks have been filled with preparing for Christmas. Amazingly, we are in great shape, despite Christmas still being two weeks away. Christmas decorations are up, lights hung outside, shopping near done, wrapping near done, Christmas cards addressed and mailed. Although so much is done, I still feel stressed. I am so lucky that Dan is a great, efficient shopper and he saves me so much time in this area. He has an eye for deals and can shop very quickly. I am slow as a turtle when I shop because I over-analyze everything and can't make up my mind. I have a few things to shop for tomorrow, but thanks to Dan, we're almost finished up.

What is left to do is baking, cooking, and cleaning. I LOVE to bake at Christmas time and this is the only time you will find me making anything from scratch. I usually make TONS of chex mix and cookies and end up with lots left over after sending plates to family and work. I didn't bake last year because I was trying to lose the baby fat, but it is ON this year!! I think that I am going to stay off of the scale from this point forward because it won't be pretty :)

We are hosting my side of the family on Christmas Eve so I need to get the house cleaned and a menu set for that day. Thank goodness my sister will be there to help me get the food ready because she is a whiz in the kitchen. As of now, our Christmas Day will just be the three of us, but I'm looking forward to spending a quiet day with Dan and Jacob. We'll probably celebrate with Dan's family that weekend.

Post-Christmas, I have that whole week off and plan on tackling projects around the house and visiting with some friends I don't get to see much during the year. I am hoping for a day or two of quiet time and maybe even read a book (I started one in August and haven't had time to touch it since). Jacob is going to daycare because we're paying for it anyways and if he was home it would defeat the purpose of getting anything done OR relaxing :)

Anyways, I meant for this post to be about how crazy Christmas time is and how our society has placed so much emphasis on everything except about what Christmas is truly about. I admit, I am completely caught up in all this ridiculous insanity, but I think it is important to take a step back and remember the reason for the season. As Jacob gets older, I hope that we can instill in him that Christmas is not about receiving, but giving back and celebrating the greatest GIFT we have ever received.

22 weeks down, 17 to go

I hit the 22-week mark today and have 17 left (at most) before meeting our little girl! I finally remembered to have Dan take my picture today so you can see how big I am getting! I am starting to feel the pregnancy more-and-more. My belly is starting to get in the way of things. Bending down has become harder and I think that she is already pushing into my lungs. Two nights ago I felt her kick on the outside of my belly for the first time. She's been kicking for weeks but now they are getting strong enough to feel with my hand and are becoming more frequent. She is already 11 inches long and over a pound!