Home Improvements

Since we're "stuck" here in this house, I have a bug up my butt about some things I'd like changed/fixed up. So here is my on-going list of home improvements I'd like to make... none of which will probably happen any time soon but a girl can dream, right?

- Repaint toy room

- Put up back-splash in kitchen

- Redo kitchen cabinets

- Put in a shower door instead of curtain in our bathroom

All Things Potty

It looks like potty training may be in our semi-near future. While I don't think Jake is quite ready to take on that adventure, he is becoming increasingly aware of and interested in all things potty. He seeks out pictures of potties in his books, he points to his diaper and runs to the bathroom to point to the toilet, and he is starting to point to his diaper any time he is wet. It's a good start, I think. But he isn't quite to the point where he knows or can tell us that he has to go, only that he has gone.

It sounds like a little kid potty will be working its way onto my shopping list soon. This is one I am considering getting... it gets good reviews, is not expensive or large, and transitions from a sit on potty to one that goes on the toilet with a step stool. And wouldn't this just look lovely in our bathroom?

In other news, Jake has now gone seven nights without a bedtime bottle. When he started fighting sleep again last weekend, I knew it was the perfect time to try again. After all, he was already unhappy at bedtime and requiring a few extra snuggles to drift off to sleep. So why not find the silver lining in something otherwise frustrating? So that's exactly what we did. I am proud to say that we are officially bottle-weaned! And the last two nights he hasn't even fussed when we left his room. Such a big boy!!!

one and a half

Today Jacob turned 18 months, one and a half. It's hard to believe that just six months ago we were celebrating his first birthday; that one year ago we were in awe at the fact that our sweet baby was already six months old; that eighteen months ago we were welcoming him into our lives and wondering just what we had in store for ourselves. Let me paint a picture of who Jacob is at 18 months....

At 18 months Jacob weighs 29.4lbs and is 31 3/4 inches tall. His head circumference is 50 cm. He has blonde hair that is curly in the back and dark blue eyes. He has 16 teeth.

Jacob doesn't really talk (that we can understand anyway) but he babbles constantly. He does say "dada", "daddy", and "yuck." He walks, runs, dances, claps his hands, and is good at following directions -- when he wants to! He is very smart and very curious. He knows his body parts (head, hair, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, arms, elbows, hands, belly, bellybutton, chest, legs, knees, feet, toes) and animal sounds (dog, cat, cow, sheep, lion, monkey). He is very strong and very strong-willed. When he doesn't want to do something he will "protest" by standing with his hands and head on the floor. He hits. He loves making messes and getting into things he knows he's not supposed to. He does not like being told no or going to time-out. He responds pretty well to 1-2-3 discipline.

He loves attention but has a very short attention span. He is easily distracted and easily amused. He is also easily frustrated if he can't do something right away. He loves pretty much all forms of transportation -- trucks, cars, trains, boats, airplanes. His favorite part of the day is watching the mail truck and the school bus go by.

He likes to brush his hair but he hates to brush his teeth. He loves taking baths or showers but he hates having water poured over his head or having his face washed. He loves to play outside and to play with water. He loves music and vacuuming, books, blocks and balls, coloring, phones, remotes, and tupperware. He likes going for walks and playing at the park, going down slides and swinging. He likes climbing, pushing things (buckets, wagons, etc), filling and emptying things, opening and closing drawers and cabinets, and throwing things. He can go backwards on his ride-on toys but not forwards.

He likes feeding himself and using a spoon. He likes bananas, grapes, and pretty much any fruit. He dislikes green beans and hamburgers. He likes Gerber cereal bars and deli meat (turkey and ham) but he does not like trying new foods, especially those with a new texture. He drinks mostly whole milk from his sippy cup. He loves drinking from straws. He drinks some water and a very small amount of juice occasionally. He is currently being weaned from his bedtime bottle (for the second time).

He loves animals, especially dogs and cats. He loves his pets (Charlie and Isabelle/Kitty) but he is not very nice to them. He also loves birds and fish. He likes playing with the dog's food and water dishes and the cat's toys. He likes putting the cat's toys in her bag of food. He likes helping to feed them but usually makes a mess in the process.

He sleeps in his crib with his pacifier, cross, mama bear, and musical elephant. He does not like bedtime. He usually sleeps 12 hours a night and he mostly sleeps on his stomach. He takes 1 nap a day, right after lunch. It varies from about 1 hour to once in awhile 4 hours, with an average of about 2 hours. He likes tickles and is most ticklish at night right before bed. He poops twice a day; once when he wakes up in the morning and once after his nap.

He can point to pictures in books and can match objects in books. He knows who people are. He waves bye-bye but hates when people leave. He does not like staying still or getting stuck. He likes trees, especially big ones. He likes pulling on the oven because it makes a squeaking noise. He sometimes crawls with his head on the floor. He screams -- in fun and not in fun. He is good at imitating others and does a little fantasy play (mostly using objects as phones). He helps to dress and undress himself. He gives hugs and kisses. He loves to laugh. He also whines a lot. He stands on his tip-toes to reach things. And sometimes just for fun. And he always kicks off his right shoe when he's in the car, grocery cart, or stroller.

And if you couldn't figure it out by everything else that was said, let me summarize by this: Jacob is a pretty amazing little boy. We love him and are so proud of who he has become and what he has learned. We're so proud to be his parents.

It's a....

We had our 20 week (err 21 week) ultrasound on Friday, May 28th. Baby has all the right parts in all the right spots and is already about 1lb. And it's a BOY!!!! We're very excited to be having another little boy!! But we were VERY surprised as we both thought it was a girl.

Right before the ultrasound party that night Jacob fell off the porch and scraped up his nose.

Here's a few pictures from the day.

on our way, so excited

ready for the ultrasound

big brother jakey - before he fell off the porch

Team Blue - those who thought it was a boy (and were right!)

Team Pink - those who thought it was a girl (and were wrong!)

Our Family. Jake is holding the picture of his baby BROTHER

no bottle

I've been wanting for awhile to wean Jake of his bedtime bottle. For two reasons. The first and most important reason is that he acted like he was ready. He would drink the entire bottle but he would also be quite content on my lap with his pacifier before I would give him the bottle so I didn't think he really needed it. Plus he finally drinks enough milk during the day. And the second, more selfish reason, is that I wanted him weaned from it for awhile before the baby comes so it is easier to put them both to bed and so it's not still fresh in his mind that maybe he wants a bottle before bed again too. (Of course baby will be getting a boob and not a bottle, but you know...)

So last night I finally remembered to not make his bottle and I just put him to bed with a little snuggle and a pacifier. He took awhile to fall asleep but never once fussed at all. AND he slept all night!!!! I am sooo proud of my big boy!!!! The transition was a LOT smoother than I imagined it to be. I thought I would be up with him all night putting him back to sleep. Or at least to get him to sleep in the first place. He did great! Hopefully he will continue to do great! Then I can pack up all the bottles until Baby needs them

I just wanted to document his new achievement

Halfway

So today marks 20 weeks in this pregnancy, or halfway. It's hard to believe. It seemed week by week had gone so slow and now here we are and it seems like the whole thing has gone so quickly. I am sure that doesn't make any sense.

My current total weight gain is 9-10 lbs. Not too bad! Considering that at this point in my pregnancy with Jake, I was 19 lbs heavier than I am right now, I am pretty happy about this :-)

A week from today we'll have our ultrasound and find out if we're growing a boy or a girl baby. Don't forget to guess in the baby game. The link is on the right hand side of this page.

If you aren't watching

If you aren't watching your 1 year old for 5 minutes and he is quiet, he is probably climbing his bookshelf to get his crayons and then coloring on his windowsill....