Thanksgiving in Denver

We had a GREAT time in Denver! It was so good to see Juli & Thomas and to spend so much time with them. By the end of the trip Jacob was calling both of them Thomas.

The flight there: about an hour into the flight Jacob decided to scream for 45min. It was horrible. I teared up a few times. He finally fell asleep and slept for about an hour.

What we did: Wednesday was just a recoop day. It was nice. J&T worked so Jacob and I unpacked, played at the gym a bit and cooked dinner. Thursday we went sledding. There wasn't much snow on the ground, but the drive there is beautiful and we had a blast. We had a picnic lunch and then headed home for naps. Juli and I cooked Thanksgiving dinner and it was yummy! Friday Juli and I went shopping for just about all day. It was great to have my shopping buddy again! We then went over to the family's house that they babysit for and had dinner. Saturday we did some more shopping, painted pottery and went out to dinner. Sunday was a slow day...packed, played at the gym some more and then they left us at the airport.

The flight home: Jacob did much better. He didn't sleep at all, but he had no breakdowns. It was heaven! He was super hyper, but we had our own row (we had that on the flight out there too) and he sat in his seat and played and watch movies. The worst part was when he pooped. I had to change a dirty diaper on an airplane! That is a mile-high club that I NEVER want to visit again!

We had a great time and miss J&T. Hopefully next time we go we can take Adam with us (plus I'm never flying with a child again by myself so Adam kind of has no choice!).





Here is the link to the album where you can download the pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/AdamAndAngela/DenverThanksgiving2009#

Denver

Today is the day I get to see my sister and brother-in-law!

Jacob and I have a 4pm flight (Adam has to stay home and work) and we will be back on Sunday. I cannot wait. I'm nervous about flying with Jacob alone, but I have his favorite stuffed animals, dvd's, food, blanket...so hopefully it will go well.

I'll have TONS of pictures to post when I get back.

Did I mention I'm excited?!?!?!?

Conversations with an almost 2 year old

My conversation with Jacob at the breakfast table this morning went something like this:

Jacob: I want Talin. I want Talin. I want Bek-ta (Rebekah). I want Daddy. I want Charlie.

Me: Charlie?

Jacob: I want Charlie.

Me: Evie? (Charlie's sister)

Jacob: Evie

Me: Luke? (Charlie's brother)

Jacob: Wook (Luke). Nice. Hailey Nice.
(And as he said that he swatted his arm across his chest as if to show me that he hit her)

Me: Jacob, where you nice to Hailey?

Jacob: I nice. Hailey nice.
(And he hugged himself.)

Fall Festival 2009

Yesterday we had our Fall Festival at church. It was a blast! We had a great turn out. We had kids' games, face painting, moonwalks, dunk tank, cotton candy, snow cones and a funny "show" after dinner. It was a really good time. I helped with a lot so I'm exhausted, but can I do it any other way?

Jacob had fun. My mom was with him most of the time as I was running around and Adam was manning the dunk tank (no, he didn't get in it!). It was 90 degrees outside so Jacob just wore his costume long enough to get pictures in it. He was the cute dinosaur that God ever created!

More Dino Pics (Click here to download: http://picasaweb.google.com/AdamAndAngela/TheCutestDinoEver#)

Fall Festival Pics

We are still here...

We are still here. Jacob keeps me busy. He wakes up going 60mph. He is so much fun. I keep his toys in a basket in the family room. I have been on the computer in the living room and just watched him dump his toys, load the basket up with different toys, push it across the house to the living room and empty it again. Now to teach him how to clean up his mess....

Jacob is doing good. He is still a GREAT sleeper. If we have him up past his bedtime (7pm) he constantly asks to go "night-night".

We took him to his first football game last night. It was Apopka High School's homecoming. We lasted to half-way through the second quarter before we had to leave. I was hoping to make it till half-time, but oh well. Cheap night out!

We are busy, busy busy. I'm sure I have some pictures I need to put up. I keep posting videos on my facebook, but they never seem to make it on here so here they are (I put the link in case the video has trouble playing):

Jacob on the phone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izCD0Ji7aVU




Jacob loves shoes
This is why we can't leave our shoes out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv7-uonm0Xw



Jacob being silly
Silly car time. The videographer was not driving during filming but was attacked by toes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLvDA76NdmM



First skinned knee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iitXx_JBczA



Sword fighting
I don't know where he learned this but he is obessed with it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDKo94_GGwA



Drinking out of the hose
Jacob was playing in the water while Adam was washing the Jeep and he got thirsty.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLWsfcLfREI



Drinking out of the hose, part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onPg-DS78zo

Work and Blog

I have been busy, busy, busy with work lately. Now that my HUGE project is done, I find myself at a loss of what to do. I have lots to do that I had to put off, but it is odd to have so much time.

I have been hard at work at the redo of our publishing website. Check it out: http://www.NewBookPublishing.com

I am also writing a blog for work. We are hosting it on blogger and then feeding it into a page on our NBP site. Check it out: http://growupward.blogspot.com/

dear daddy

dear daddy,

i had the best day with my mommy today. i started the day with lots of coughing in my bed, but once I got up I had no more coughs.

I was so excited to spend the day with mommy. she wanted to get some work done, but i wanted to be with her. she would take a break from work and we would play with my cars. she would then sneak away and work some more. eventually i convinced her to stop working and play with me.

we played with blocks and then she read me 4 books. she made me fish sticks for lunch that were really yummy and then put me down for a nap. i thought that if i slept good that maybe she would play with me more when i got up.

when i got up, i worked really hard to be nice so she wouldn't put me in time out. i haven't been in since i got up, which is good because i spent a lot of time in there this morning, but i think i was just extra tired and cranky.

after my nap, she took me on a walk. it was really hot so we only walked for 30min. i did good. i ate goldfish and drank my water.

when we got home she left me in my stroller and started messing with something. i didn't know what she was doing so i just kept eating my fish.

she pulled out this funny looking thing and attached the hose to it! she took off my shorts and put me in it. it sprayed water on me. i didn't know what to think at first, but then i got brave and started playing in it. i liked it a lot.

i kept getting mommy wet. i got totally soaked, but i didn't mind. then she got out my pool and put water in that. i liked that a lot. then she put the funny looking thing in there and it sprayed me with more water and i liked that more.

i was very brave today. you know how i am with water. i had so much fun. we played outside for a long time.

then mommy took me in and let me shower with her. i didn't know what to think. i was a little upset cause she made me walk through the house with my soaked diaper on and that bothered me. i kept saying "diaper" until she took it off (don't worry, i got her back and went pee on her in the shower).

i got brave in the shower and mommy sat on the floor and played with me. i kept walking into the water and wasn't scared at all!

thank you so much for working so hard so that i can have fun days like this with my mommy. i love you!

-jacob

The things I say...

This is Jacob. My mommy has been posting a lot, but she forgot a few stories.

Last night my Gramma put me to bed (mommy and daddy were playing at Aunt Sheila's house with the young marrieds). Gramma asked me if I wanted her to rub my back when she put me in my crib. I said "want to go night-night". I love night-night!

I told my mommy and mommy (lately all I call daddy is mommy) at a restaurant that "I want to co-co" which means "I want to color". It was my first complete sentence!

When I cry or have something in my eyes, I say "eyes, eyes" so that my mommy wipes them. When my nose runs, I say "nose" and my mommy wipes that. I like to be clean.

When my mommy puts me in time out (which I'm spending a lot of time in lately) she lets me sit there a few minutes and then comes and talks to me about what I did to get put there. She always tells me to say "sorry" and I say "please" instead. She tells me to say "please" all of the time so I think it is perfectly applicable in this situation. She can't get everything she wants (just don't tell her I said that)!

I'm not completely sure yet, but I might be teething. That would make mommy so happy because that would give somewhat of a reason for all of my bad attitudes. I'll keep you posted on what happens in my mouth. For now I have to go because my nose is running...

Even more videos of Jacob

You can tell I'm really playing catch up...


I love how he says "hello".


Jacob has started pretending. It is so much fun to watch him. His favorite thing to pretend is that he is eating or drinking. During one of his more fussy days (and what I mean by fussy days is that he basically pitched a fit all day), I gave him a spoon and bowl to "cook" while I was cooking and couldn't hold him. He was too cute with it!


This kid loves to dance!

Random Jacob Pictures

He likes to get into the pantry and get the raisins out. He sits down, takes the lid off and eats them. I guess he is concerned about being regular (and trust me, he has nothing to be concerned about!).

This is his praying face. It is too funny. I think he makes it because I half-away close my eyes so that I can watch him when we pray (because he is a funny kid) and I think he is just mimicking what he sees.

That is one way to play with a dump truck...sit on it!

He loves dinosaurs!

He went to bed with wet hair one night, and greeted me like this in the morning.

More videos of Jacob

I love his laugh!


This kid loves to dance. He was dancing to the music in his head.


This is his "I'm too cool for school" dance. It is the typical Jacob dance (minus the bugger).


You have to listen hard for this one. He is snoring! It was just too cute that I couldn't help myself. We were on the way home from youth and he was so tired.

We've been attacked!

Man your battle stations. We have been attacked!

It is a sneak attack from the front that only experience could have predicted.

The terrible twos have hit early and they have hit hard!

It started around 18 months and Jacob was teething. Teething is tough and I had grace for him, but then the teething was over the attitude stayed.



Oh my, where did this come from? Why did no one warn me? Where was this covered in the manual...oh wait, there is no manual.



What happened to my happy child? Where did my Jacob go? Who is this fussy, fit-throwing expert that has come to live at my house?



In the Shaw house, we are learning valuable lessons. I'm trying (and failing more than succeeding) at finding the balance between truth and grace. When he is tired do I let him have his way? How hard should I be on him? If I put him in time out every time he pitched a fit he would be there all day!



We are surviving, but barely. Some days are better than others. The other day was bad. He was in time out twice and he had only been up 30min! I'm learning to be consistent. Figuring out what is acceptable behavior, what he understands (which is so much) and how to communicate with him is much harder than I thought. It makes me glad for the days that I go to work, just to have a break, but then makes me glad that I have so much time with him so that we can work on his attitude.



We'll get there. In the meantime, Jacob is learning tons! He has learned that pitching a fit and running is hazardous to one's health. He has learned that I want him to say "please" after he demands something. He has learned that hitting mommy is not a good idea. He has also learned (after only 1 week) how to sit in time out without getting up (I don't even have to gate him in).



Hopefully he will survive this new learning season for his Mommy and Daddy!

Videos of Jacob (hopefully with the right videos this time!)

Here are some cute videos of Jacob (I LOVE my new iPhone!!!)


This is Jacob running at the beach!


Playing with Daddy


He LOVES Micki Mous Clubhouse on Disney. He LOVES saying "oh toddles" and it is just too cute. Now when he watches the shows, he shouts "oh toodles" at all of the right times!

Sea World

We went to Sea World with Juli and Thomas when they were here last month. It was Jacob's first time and he did GREAT! We got to meet Shamu and Juli & Thomas had a friend that arranged a meeting with Elmo. Jacob loved that as long as we didn't get too close.

The park is so much fun. We have season passes now and I can't wait to go back. He like the shows and did pretty good in the exhibits. We didn't get to play in the kids' place. He is really going to like that next time.

We fed the dolphins and he LOVED that (and so did I). They have changed everything and you are only allowed in if you are going to feed the dolphins. It was much nicer. Next time, Adam will have to join us as it was hard to hold Jacob, feed and pet the dolphin all at the same time (all the while Jacob was desperately wanting to just jump in with the dolphins).

We saw the dolphin show, the sea lion and otter show (my favorite) and the elmo show. I think Jacob's favorite part was dancing to all of the music (videos below).

The funniest part of the day had to be when we were walking into the Sea Lion and Otter show and the mime scared me half to death. I saw him, thought "I shouldn't be startled by this", jumped and screamed. Of course everyone was watching and got a good laugh out of it!

We rod Manta (by we I mean myself, Adam and Juli; Thomas and Jacob stayed behind to take pictures). It was the best! It is my new favorite ride!

It was a great day. It was hot, but TONS of fun. We stayed until 3pm (Jacob normally naps at 1pm)! I can't wait to go back!



Here are 2 videos of Jacob dancing. He loves to dance!

The Things Jacob Says...

My kid is the funniest kid in the world, not that I'm bias or anything!

The things that come out of his mouth are some of the funniest.

The other night, Adam and I went to peek in on him before we went to bed. Adam covered him with a blanket and he stirred. He rubbed his leg where the blanket was, smiled and said "thanks". In his sleep he has good manners...how to get that to translate to when he is awake is beyond me.

He is calling everyone Mommy. This started while we were at the beach (pictures and stories to come soon). It started as just a word used in desperation and then quickly it became what he called Adam and my mom. He has yet to call Adam "daddy" since we have been home. My favorite was when we were in the car and I was explaining to him (after he said "mommy" none stop for several minutes) that we had discussed before vacation that he was supposed to be a daddy's boy this week. Jacob quickly said "oh no no no no no, Mommy". That settled that. He was and still is a mommy's boy.

He repeats everything and is talking so well. We still have conversation where I have no clue what he is talking about, but I can see more and more he is trying to communicate with me something specific.

Yesterday morning he woke up and said "book". I told him that I had to change his diaper first. Then he said "oatmeal". I told him I had to change his diaper first. Then he said "cars". That boy knew what he wanted to do.

I have TONS to catch up on blogging. I'm going to try and knock that out today. So be prepared to be bombarded with blog posts!

My Baby is Sick

My baby boy is sick. He asked to go to bed last night about 6:30 (which isn't too weird for him) and he didn't get up until 8am (which is really weird for him). He felt warm on his cheeks, but not his forehead so I thought it was just from him sleeping.

I gave him breakfast, but he was so cranky and fussy and would only eat about half. I got him down and tried to play with him, but he was still fussy and felt warmer than before.

I checked his temperature twice (he didn't like that and told me "nice, nice" which is what we say to him when he is being ugly) and it was 100 degrees. I wanted to stay home from the gym, but I wish it was for a better reason.

I gave him some medicine and his fever went down. He only takes one nap at 1pm these days, but today he went down for a nap at 1015 and is still sleeping. I just went in and check on him and he is on his belly with his arms tucked under and his knees tucked under and his feet crossed and he is whimpering. Poor thing.

We'll see how he does today and I might take him to the doctor tomorrow. Now off to motivate myself to workout at home while he sleeps...good luck to me!

Youth Retreat Pictures

Here are the pictures from the whitewater rafting that we did while on the youth retreat.

Dancing Maching

Jacob tried out for this. They said he had GREAT dancing skills, but he couldn't roller skate. They are going to do another one just like this one, but without the skates and they told us just to skip the first and second rounds of additions and come straight to the finals. We have our fingers crossed!

Jacob Cuteness

Cuteness #1

I took this picture yesterday (with my new iPhone!) after he got up from his nap. He was cranky and had crazy hair. Adam and I got a good laugh at the way he looked and the way he was acting.

Cuteness #2

Adam and I peaked in on him before we went to bed Saturday night and he was laying in his crib and had both feet stuck out between the rails. It was so adorable. I had to use great self control not to go get my camera to record his cuteness.

Cuteness #3

I got him ready for bed last night and set him down on the floor and told him to go tell daddy night-night (he really likes telling us night-night). I figured he would run out in the living room and find Adam, but nope...he walked over to his bed and "tried" to climb in it (whining because he couldn't get in). He loves his bed time!

Jacob Talks...

...and talks and talks. He is also very opinionated.

I'll give you a moment to let that sink in as I know it is a shocker!

This morning I was getting ready and he was playing in my room. I was singing and curling my hair and he walked up to me and said "no singing". I wasn't sure I heard him right so I kept singing and he said "noooo, nooooo". I asked him if he wanted me to sing and he said "no" and walked away.

So, I waited a little while and then started singing again and he walked over to me and said "no singing, no singing". I asked him to sing and he said "no" and then started singing so I started singing the alphabet and that was ok with him, but when I started singing a different song he told me "no" again.

I need to teach that boy how to say "yes"!

We are home...

...from the youth retreat. We had a great time in NC. I'm exhausted. Adam had to go back to work today and I work tomorrow. I'll post pictures and stories later.

Jacob did great staying behind with Adam's mom and my mom. He is cranky today. He must have more teeth coming in. He just holds his mouth and cries. He was up in the night. I got him up twice and Adam woke me up twice because he was crying, but I fell back asleep before I could figure out if I was going to get up and get him or not.

I'm off to be productive...laundry, shower, grocery store...back to everyday life!

Jacob Graduated

Yesterday we took Jacob to an appointment with his developmental doctor. Adam was able to go with us (which Jacob was VERY excited when we pulled up to his work) and that was nice to have him join us for the afternoon.

Even though it was past his nap time, Jacob did very well. She asked us a TON of questions like does he do 2-word commands? (you mean "come here and give me a kiss"? yes) and can he kick a ball? (yes). We answered yes to probably 98% of the questions.

Next she put him in a high-chair and had him do a puzzle, put pegs in holes (he was really cute when he put all of the pegs in the holes and have one peg left and no hole...he kept looking for it). She then pulled out a book about animals and went through each one and asked him what the animal was and what sound it made.

Before I tell you what he did, I have to back up a little. When he was just playing in the room he found a dinosaur. As soon as he picked it up he started growling (at one point he did notice the dinosaur's long neck and made an "s" sound, like he was trying to say "snake"). So, when she pulled out the animal book, he growled at every animal. He growled so much that he choked.

(I'm taking him to the farm tomorrow and I can't wait to see what he does when the animals make noise. I'm guessing he will growl. Where did he learn this behavior?!?)

Jacob is 18-months old and 15.5-months old (the age he should have been if he could have "baked" longer). So he needed to test between that age range. He talking tested at 18.5 months and his motor skills tested at 17.5 months! She said that he still had a little tightness in his right leg/ankle, but it is nothing to be concerned about.

When we were all done, she said that he had graduated and didn't have to come back! I'm so excited and so proud of my little boy. We have one last appointment because he was born early (a check up at the eye doctor when he is 2) and then we should be done.

He is such a miracle baby. I love him so much. I am having so much fun with him lately, but I'll blog more about that later...

Funny Video

Our Beloved and HUGE Garnet

Today is a new day in the Shaw house and an odd one at that. I keep looking for my dog. I looked for him when I got home from work yesterday, I looked for him when I went to go out the door, I looked for him before I went to bed and I looked for him when I walked out of my room this morning, but I never found him.

Adam took Garnet to a wonderful family in Sanford yesterday. We made the hard decision to give him a better life and started the hunt for a new home about 2 weeks ago. We just don't have the time and attention that he needs. He is a wonderful dog, but he needs more from us and we can't give it. He doesn't play in the backyard like he did at our old house (there aren't any squirrels or rats or cats to chase or tangerines to eat). He just wonders around the house all day bored and depressed. He deserves a better home.

We found a family in Sanford who live on 6 acres and have a pond. They are a great Christian family. They have 3 kids left at home and their youngest is 10 years old. He and Garnet are going to be best friends. Their house is the hang out house for all of the kids. When they came to meet him on Tuesday, they were here for about 45min and even brought tennis balls to play with him. Garnet is going to be so happy there! They are going camping this weekend and taking him with them. In fact, when Adam called them to tell them that he got off work early and so was bring Garnet early, the mom screamed in his ear because she was so excited!

How I'm feeling: I'm giddy and sad at the same time. My kitchen looks weird with all of the space since his crate is gone. I was mostly giddy when Adam first told me he was thinking about getting rid of him and that giddiness has stayed as I would look at my kitchen floor covered in dog hair and realize that soon the only hair on the floor would be mine! Surprisingly I emotional about it now. The tears started Wednesday night. Every time I thought about it Thursday I teared up. I teared up several times last night and I'm even tearing up now.

He was a part of our family for 3 1/2 years! Although I didn't like having a horse living in my house and I couldn't really play with him (because every time I touched him too much, my skin started to crawl and I had to take a shower 'cause of allergies), I think I loved that dog more than I understood.

Garnet will be much happier. I'll be much happier and less annoyed. I'll miss my protector dog that made people think he could eat them (when all he wanted to do is rub on their leg like a cat!) when they came to the door. Jacob is too young to miss him (another reason why we wanted to get rid of him now). Adam says he is doing ok. We know that Garnet will be so loved and so happy and have so much attention that he will not have a second to miss us. One day we might get another dog--a smaller breed and maybe one that doesn't shed. When we're done having kids. And this time...I'm picking out the runt of the litter instead of Adam picking out the stud!

One day I'll update this with pictures and starting blogging again, but until then I leave you with this story...

We went to Babies R Us today (because Jacob was wearing the last diaper that we owned!) and then Target.

While in Target, Adam was looking for a water filter for our fridge and I was getting Jacob baby food. I was only supposed to get baby food, but I also got him pj's (because he runs out before it is time to do laundry), swimming diapers (because it is summer and I only have 2 left!) and more cups (because the I only have 4 of the kind that he likes and in about a week his bottles are getting packed away!)-all for GREAT reasons, but I looked at Jacob and said "we better find your daddy because the longer mommy stays here the more money she spends".

Jacob listened and then YELLed out "Aaaaaadum, Aaaaaadum, Aaaaaaaaadum"!

He called his father by his first name. I laughed and then tried to get him to yell "dada" instead and he wouldn't.

Funny Things

Jacob is doing some great, random, funny things lately:

He says "I get it"

He saw a blue van today and said "Hi Stacy" (Stacy drives a blue van).

He growls at dogs.

He growls at thunder.

He blows on command.

He gives hugs and kisses.

He dances with his arms (I have to get a video of that).

He sat on the couch for 1.5 hours yesterday playing and watching TV perfectly happy (which meant I got to work without interruption).

He covers his face when he walks by Garnet as to not get hit by his tail.

He sat at the kitchen table, in a chair by himself and looked at the paper on Saturday while Adam did the same thing.

We have a floor fan in the living room (our carpet got wet when we left the window open during the rain) and all day he has taken his Handy Manny tools and tried to "fix" it (it was on first thing this morning and then I unplugged it).

He sat on his potty chair and grunted (where did he learn that?!?!?).

Couch Drama

We are going to return the couch for a khaki one. I know that that is a dangerous color with a kid and a dog, but our other one (with the help of Scotch Guard) has survived and this one will be used less.

I love the red and I love it against my blue wall, but it has too much purple in it and the curtains have more orange in them. The red in the pillows that came with the couch match the curtains and not the couch...odd!

Oh well. I was really excited to finally have a couch in the living room. I wonder how long it will take for the new one to come?

Red Couch: To Keep or Not to Keep, that is the daunting question!

Busy Days at the Shaw House

We have been super busy at the Shaw house. Just when I though I was finally getting a handle on this whole work part-time, mommy full-time, full-time house cleaner and youth pastor, I went and added 2 more things.

#1: I am going to school again! It isn't as crazy as it seems. At church, we are having seminary classes through the International College of Ministry. They are accredited with the state of Florida. Each class counts as 3 credit hours and is only 8 weeks long. The classes are on Monday nights (mine is from 7:40-9:10). I am going to get a masters in Christian Psychology. I'm really excited. I am so interested in this. It should only take a year, but I'm going slower. I don't know if I'll take back-to-back classes (right now I'm taking Prophetic Counseling and LOVING it!) and it isn't the cheapest thing in the world. So with each "semester" we'll evaluate the time and money and go from there. I'm really enjoying it!

#2: I'm going to the gym. We signed up for a membership at Lifestyles (ok, I have to interrupt myself...Jacob is supposed to be napping and he is spitting and I can hardly concentrate to type as I'm distracted and amused by my son!). The best part is that they have classes and child care! I'm going 3 days a week. I have done good so far (2.5 weeks). I'm trying to cut my calories and lose some major weight. It is not fun, but it is worth it. I'll keep you posted on how I'm doing.

Adding both of those has definitely complicated my schedule. It is an adjustment to get everything done, but I'm really happy to make it.

No pictures up today, sorry. Part of that adjustment thing. Just don't have time to get it all in (today not only did I go to the gym, but I'm playing piano and singing for youth worship tonight so I have to leave early for that - I have cut my at home time almost in half from what it is normally).

Jacob is doing GREAT. He is walking all of the time. I'm told he is talking more. He constantly makes noise and I tend to not really listen to what he is saying. How do I know when he can say a new word? Somebody else tells me. How awful is that? Sometimes I wonder if there is going to be permanent damage from me treating him like he is my 3rd kid instead of my 1st.

Well, I need to go and start dinner. 2 hours before I have to leave for youth and I have dinner to make, dish up, clean up, a house to pick up (it looks like a land mine went off in Jacob's toys), a child to convince that it is nap time, laundry to fold and 2 bathrooms that really need to be cleaned, but we'll see if those bathrooms get fit in. =)

Oh, and I have a dog that hasn't pottyed all day . . .

Naked Baby

Last week I went to get Jacob out of bed. He had woken up around 6am, but had played quietly in his bed and at 7am was finally yelling for me to come get him (not yelling with words, just yelling with noise).

I opened his door and was surprised to see a naked baby standing in his crib staring back at me. Jacob had managed to take off his pj's and his diaper and throw that and his blankets onto the ground. I had a "I'm not mad, that's amazing" moment. His diaper was still fastened together. It was like he just stepped right out of it.

I wanted to take a picture, but I was afraid of him peeing and it getting on the carpet. Thankfully his diaper was just wet!

It was such a funny sight. He has an up-side-down, pare-shaped body. He has no booty and his legs are skinny, but he has a belly, chest and head. He keeps me laughing!

We are Alive!

We are still alive! We didn't go anywhere. We just got really busy and I got lazy about updating the blog. I have TONS of pictures (over 400 on my camera). I'm hoping to do a big update on Wednesday.

In the meantime, I wanted to tell you about our visitor that we had last night. Adam brought the dog in from outside. It was late and we were heading to bed. He came in our room and told me to come and look. I thought the dog might be doing something cute. Nope. There was a frog on the top of my curtain rod! Adam tried to catch him and he jumped off into Jacob's toys, then jumped onto the piano and then jumped towards me...that is when I jump onto the bed where I stayed until Adam got him outside. It was a lot of excitement right before bed!

Neti Pot Journal

Day 1 (Monday): I did my Neti Pot before bed and just drops came out the other side

Day 2 (Tuesday): I did my Neti Pot before bed and a few more drops came out than the night before, but it hurt worst.

I love my Neti Pot.

I hate my Neti Pot.

I'm going to write a poem about my Neti Pot.

What is a Neti Pot you ask? It is the most wonderful thing! I first heard of it when I was pregnant with Jacob and had a sinus infection. I fell in love with it when we were in Denver and I was miserable with a sinus infection and I used it and the infection was gone by the time we got home. Even Oprah did a show about it!

It is a water pot looking thing that you put this salt solution and water in. Then you hold it up to one side of your nose and pour and it is supposed to come out the other side. It feels really weird, but it cleans out your sinuses. Some people use it everyday!

I'm not feeling well. Thankfully it is all in my sinuses, so I'm not contagious. I don't feel pressure at all, I just have a scratchy, sore throat and I can feel the drainage going down my throat into my stomach (ewww, gross, too many details!).

I'll keep you up-to-date on my Neti Pot Journal and I'll share my poem when I'm done with it.

He just had to do it in public!

Jacob had his first public meltdown today. I guess I should be grateful that it took this long to happen instead of embarrassed.

I was having lunch at First Watch with a friend when the event took place. He was doing ok. Rebekah said that he was cranky yesterday. I think he is teething. Everything was going ok at lunch. He was off, but seemed to be handling everything ok. I did make a fateful bad decision that I think change the course of the lunch...I forgot to bring in his paci!

Jacob reached a point when he didn't want food anymore. I gave him a toy out of his bag. When he was over that, I gave him another toy. This continued until I ran out of toys (at one point, one of the waiters picked up the 3 toys that he had thrown on the ground and that I have ignored). I put him in my lap and let him grab things out of his bag. He tried to knock me out with the hand sanitizer, but I bobbed and weaved and avoided that drama.

When he was over playing with toys and other random things in his bag, I put him down on the floor and gave him my keys. He stood close to me and did good and then he made a decision that ended the lunch. He sat down in the middle of the isle and wouldn't move. I then moved him and he decided that his best option was the scream and cry big tears. Well, that was the end of lunch. I tried to check out quickly, but with a screaming child and (what felt like) all eyes in the restaurant on you, it took some time.

I wanted to shout: "He is a good child. I am a good mother. I think he is teething and it is past his nap time. All he wants is his paci. He is normally so happy and cute." I'm sure that that event will not be talked about around dinner tables of the people who were still trying to enjoy their lunch, but for me it seemed like a really big deal.

To add insult to injury, he was a perfect angel on the way home. He cried for about 5 min and did get really mad when he couldn't get his sock off, but he quickly got over that and was smiling and laughing and talking.

I do think my child is teething and I will make sure I have 2 paci's in his bag from now on, that way if one gets taken out, I always have a back-up.

Just another fun parenting lesson to remind me that no matter how well I think I'm doing at this mommy thing and no matter how well I think I know my son, I still have a lot to learn!

He is on the charts!

Jacob had a doctor's appointment last week and he is finally on the charts...barely on them, but still he is on the charts for the first time since he was born! He weighed 20lbs, 9oz and is in the 5th percentile and the 7th percentile in length (50th is average, above that would be big for their age and below that is small for their age; no surprise where Jacob fits).

He is walking more and more. I realized yesterday that I need to pay attention and see if he even crawls anymore. He walked around the corner yesterday and startled me. I'm not used to him walking so much.

I watched a friend's 3 kids for about an hour the other night. Luke, who is 2 weeks younger than Jacob, is walking but not as much as Jacob. I figure as long at Jacob keeps up with Luke then we are good to go. Evie, Luke's 5-year-old sister, was impressed with Jacob's skills. It is fun to see your child through someone else's eyes, especially another child's eyes. She was impressed with the way he just stood up and how much he walked. I wasn't surprised. Jacob is just amazing like that!

I hope to get more video of him to post. Our computer is in the living room and most of his toys are in the family room so it is hard to get him to "perform" for me in the living room for the web cam. I guess you'll just have to come by and see my amazing little, BIG boy!

I think I want to be like this lady when I grow up; is that bad?

I'm Walking

I "marching" in the March for Babies walk on April 25th at Lake Lilly. I'm so excited to be able to give back to an organization that is partly responsible for doing the research on the medicine that was used for myself and Jacob when he was born. Check out my page

http://www.marchforbabies.org/ForBabiesLikeMyJacob



Do you want to walk with me, Adam and Jacob? You can sign up on my page.

I Walk!

I Dance!

A Day of Running Around

Having a child makes it difficult to run errands. I am always under a time frame with Jacob. When I do have errands to run, I try and get up and get out the door early so that we are home in time for him to eat his lunch a noon and then take a good long nap (since he has to skip his morning nap). Previously, in my eagerness to get all of my errands done, I end up at the store before it opens. Thankfully today my timing was almost perfect (even though we left the house at 8:30am!). We had a full day of going to . . .

• Target: they have the best prices on baby food
• Babies R Us: for diapers, they have a frequent buyer card and your 10th value size box of Pampers diapers is free!
• Family Christian Bookstore: they had a sale on Bibles and I would like a new one; the one I liked was not on sale and is $75 so I think I'll wait a little
• Dillard's: I found an Easter dress and I think I like it, but I need Adam to help me be sure: Jacob did great and just played in the dressing room with his stroller while I tried on 20+ dresses!
• Toys R Us: their Little Tykes toys were buy one get one free and I had a $15 gift card; I got 2 toys for $6.30!!!!!
• Costco: we needed more chicken; they have the cheapest boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Wendy's: to buy a coke because I had a bad headache and didn't have any coke at home

Jacob did great. About 5min from the house he started crying and would not stop, but it was 12:45 and I had pushed him as far as I could.

He is getting so big so fast. I love watching him grow and discover things. Now he . . .

• Walks most of the time and actually picks up his legs some instead of just shuffling his feet (he does look drunk and it is sooooo funny!)
• Says so many words
• Says "down" when he wants down
• Gets so excited when Adam gets home from work he crawls like crazy in a random pattern and screams
• When you sing Itsy Bitsy Spider and get to the part "down came the rain" he says "down" with you
• Loves watching TV. I let him watch Handy Manny, Little Einsteins and Veggie Tales
• Shakes his head really funny (and it shakes the rest of his body) when he hears music (he even did it to the patterned sound of the shopping cart today)
• Says "hi dada" all of the time (even to me!)
• Says "hi" and waves to everyone
• Tries so hard to say words. He even tried to say "elephant" and it came out so cute!

I take him to the doctor Friday and hope he weighs enough (22lbs) to upgrade him to his big-boy car seat.

So today was the first day that I bought him a toy and he actually showed that he was excited about it. I got him this guitar at Toys R Us. He loves it. He didn't want to let go for them to ring it up and was really concerned when I put it on the floor board of the car to buckle him in. He played with it all of the way home.

Here are the next 2 toys I want to get him (and Handy Manny tool box and Rocket from Little Einsteins-it transforms into 3 different things!). Surprise, surprise, but we have a budget for him each month and since I loaded up on diapers and food on the first day of the month I have to wait until the end of the month to see if there is enough money left over to buy them. I do have 2 $5 off coupons (so they would be only $45 total) that are good until the 23rd. Hopefully he will be enjoying a late Easter present. He went crazy when he saw them and started dancing (there was no music). He LOVES Handy Manny and Little Einsteins.

It is raining again. UCK! I hate this humidity, but we need the rain. Off to fix dinner and do my other chores that didn't get done while I was shopping (I need to fire my maid; she isn't very good!) =)

Spring is Here

I did a “spring” photo shoot with Jacob in the backyard today. We got him his Easter outfit while we were in Atlanta (found it at the Children’s Place outlet store) and that is what he is wearing. I’m entering him in a contest that BabyTalk magazine is doing to find the cutest baby (he is going to win, no doubt about that) and I went to enter him today and read that I couldn’t use professional pictures so the JcPenny photo shoot pictures were out . . . thus the need to go outside and take some more. There are a ton. I started with 150 and narrowed them down to 48. Enjoy!

You can download them to print at: http://picasaweb.google.com/AdamAndAngela/SpringIsHere