Quick Trip To The Zoo

After going to Playaway in the morning and running an errand, Jacob and I decided not to be stuck at home while momma was at work. So, we grabbed a sippy cup and some snacks and we were off to the zoo.

The zoo definitely looked like it was busy earlier in the day as there were cars parked along the service drive and all over the place in the parking structure. Never fear, we were looking for a spot higher up anyway so that we could take the cross walk/ramp over anyway. We didn't need to worry about momma getting car sick from going around and around either... ;)!

Jacob was chilled and ready for the animals. The first stop was to see the turtles and the fake alligator/crocodile... Yes, this is also where the snakes are too, but I didn't think we would approach those today. Jacob wanted right out of the wagon to go see the turtles and was right up against the glass. He studied the turtles for a while and then they started moving more and right at/in front of him, so he was ready to get out of there. Around the corner there were more turtles that were further away and down (sort of like from a bridge) and he was then talking up a storm and feeling pretty good. The second set of turtles was all it took for Jacob to want to get his picture taken on one. He wasn't happy that he needed to get right back off because there were other passerbys that also want to get their picture taken with the turtle.

Dinsosauria is at the zoo right now. It just recently opened so we stopped by to start checking it out. The dinosaur you see here had some moving parts. Jacob didn't really seem to notice as he really noticed the dinosaur sounds coming from a speaker behind me. Needless to say, we left shortly thereafter.Along our venture around the zoo we saw a number of peacocks, but this one was probably the closest to us. Jacob was intrigued by the beauty of this bird. He was also annoyed with the kids that were getting in his way and really stared them down.Jacob was a very good boy at the zoo, so I decided to let him out where there were a bunch of birds and ducks in the water. I also figured he would start getting a little antsy, so we walked together with the wagon in tow.It wasn't far up the trail where there were some bubbles coming out of a building. So, we had to stop and get some. Of course, by the time I decided to get the camera out, the novelty wore off. Oh well, we'll just have to make sure we stop by there the next time.

Since Jacob was such a good boy and was fine with leaving the animals behind, I decided that he earned the chance to play at the playground for a while. This was a quick trip to the zoo that took a lot out of both of us...

Cool Morning!

The weather was a little cool this morning. Some of the windows were open all night so that the house could cool down and we could sleep. Needless to say, it was also cool in the house. It was definitely a good time to break out the slippers for the day to keep our feet warm. Jacob really likes his slippers!!

After pics of the slippers, it was time for momma to head off to work. However, before it was time for work, Jacob wanted to get some kisses and snuggles in!!

Mr. Jacowrench

Mr. Jacob's store managing skills have been used once again. This time, it was more of a hands on approach. His mother's car needed to be fixed as the power outlet became disfunctional as the outside came out because the guts behind it fell out. Fortunately, Mr. Jacob has an eye for talent and hired his dadda for this task. Little did he know that his dad worked on the instrument panel in his mother's car and knew a little bit about the parts. He knew that all of the screws were the same length and that the outlet was part of the instrument panel and not the console, etc.

I guess Mr. Jacob will be a micromanager as he was there to watch every move of his employee. I was hoping that he would stay outside and play in his sandbox, etc. since it was such a nice day, but no dice. Mr. Jacob was very accommodating as whenever he was in the way, he would move out of the way with a smile. If I needed to be on the driver's side, he would be in the passenger side and when I needed to switch to the passenger side, he was perfectly fine sitting in the driver's seat playing with the turn signal, changing the station on the radio, etc. He was smiling from ear to ear pretty during the whole project because he was able to be in the front seat for a change (he was kinda fussy when we left and he was put in his car seat in the back...) and was able to play with all of the controls.

Mr. Jacob supervised well as there was no extra parts left when the project was done and the outlet did work the car inflator. A job well done! He had to call, shown here, his mother to let her know that her car was done.

Here's a picture of Jacob noting that the project is done and it is time for a drink...

Store Manager Notes Garage Sale A Success

Mr. Jacob was hired as the store manager for the garage this weekend. He took hold of his job like a real genius. He played in the front yard waving at cars going by trying to entice them to come in. He went so far as to play with some of the merchandise in the front yard and driveway to show how much fun kids can have with it.

The garage sale opened on Friday afternoon and was open for about four hours. These four hours proved to be better than the whole day Saturday and Sunday combined. The store manager decided to call it quits around 11 am or so on Sunday as he was getting pretty bored. This was also interrupted by multiple police cars, a fire truck and an ambulance a little over a block away. There was a car vs bicycle crash. Mr Jacob decided that this was much more fascinating to watch than any silly ol' garage sale.

After the sale was over, it was time to load stuff up for donation. Once again, Jacob was entertained by police cars, two flat bed tow trucks (went by faster than the police) and again the fire truck and ambulance. We don't know what happened, but about 0.5 mile down the other direction, there must have been a bad accident.

So, we were pleased with the success that we had for the garage sale and look forward to making a sizeable donation to a charity or two...

Is It Time For An Attempt To Potty Train?

Amy and I know it is normally waaaayyyy too early to be even thinking about potty training (at a little over 19 months), but we are wondering... Jacob has been holding himself in the front when he is either going to go to the bathroom or is going. It's not all of the time, but something we have noticed and didn't really consider as something real. Over the weekend while we were out, he went into his mother's purse/diaper bag and pulled out a diaper. With this he said, "shit". Shortly thereafter (less than a few minutes), he stepped away and did his number. This too could have been a coincidence. After doing his deed, he was using his hand to cover his behind and a look on his face as if he knew what he did, etc. Today, he tore off a square of toilet paper and proceeded to wipe his hiney (fully clothed) and dispose of the paper...

This may all be wishful thinking, but something that we are definitely taking note of. The potty chair will probably be coming out soon so that he can get used to seeing it. Who knows, maybe he will take an interest and start wanting to use it. He seems to be starting to understand what his body is doing and we don't want to stop his maturing into a diaper free world (at least for his bottom). Stay tuned...

Happy Cinco de Mayo

Amy decided that we needed to celebrate Cinco de Mayo even if it didn't include tequila and maracas... We celebrated Cinco de Mayo with burritos, refried beans, guacaomole, chips and salsa. A feast fit for a Mayan King. Jacob had the quite the snack right before dinner, so it wasn't expected that he would eat much.

Jacob ate a couple chicken dino nuggets and was then ready to head for our plates. He dove right into the chips as he put them on his plate and then his dads. Next stop, mommy's plate. This is where he decided to dip his chips into the guacamole and proceeded to lick it off the chip. No, this isn't a fluke. He really does enjoy guacamole as this is the second night that he has kept going back and dipping his chips into this green stuff. Not only was he enjoying the guacamole, but he was mounding chips with salse verde (medium no less) and slurping it off of the chips. No hesitation in going back for more of either of the green foods. Looks like the next time we head out to a Mexican restaurant, we will definitely be in need of a third plate...

A Nice Day to be Outside

Today was a little on the cool side, but it didn't stop Jacob and the family from being outside. Mommy wanted to get stuff done around the house, so daddy and Jacob ventured out to get much needed diapers and hang out away from home.

After getting the diapers, we stopped off at some nature trails and walked around. After walking for 20 minutes or so, Jacob decided that he would like to catch some zzz's. So, it was turn around and pack up so that we could keep him awake. Surprisingly, he didn't fall asleep in the car on the way to the park. He definitely wasn't wide awake, but he still had fun on the swing and one of the bigger covered slides that he likes. Mommy "freaks" out when he goes on this one, but what she doesn't know won't hurt her... Heehee!! He was going down head first and then I would pick him up and put him back on the platform. By the time I turned around and got back to the tube, Jacob was on his way down all full of smiles.

Back to home for lunch! I just couldn't wait to be outside and Jacob is becoming more and more of an outdoorsy kid. He just loves being out there. So, his mommy made him a plate and I took him outside to get some use of his picnic table. I think this is the first time that he has eaten at it. He was very happy. Although since he was outside, he didn't initially eat much and just wanted to play around on the deck. With some dedication and perserverance, Jacob did eat well with daddy chasing him around with food.

After Jacob's nap and some lawnwork, it was finally time to set-up Jacob's sand box that has been in the shed for a while now. It didn't take long for sand to start flowing out of it as Jacob started playing. It was unfortunate that the sand wasn't more dry as it was damp and cold. Jacob didn't like the cold wet sand on his feet and quickly got out of his new toy. He was content with playing in the sand from outside of the sand box.

More photos in our photos...

Jacob Say "Yummy" to Homemade Fries

Jacob has been one of the not so normal kids when it comes to eating french fries. Although, we have seen him beginning to like them more and more. It had been quite some time since I have made some homemade fries and they were sounding really good to me. So, we decided to have a somewhat laid back dinner of sloppy joes and homeade fries.

As you know french fries are very hot out of the fryer and Jacob was getting pretty hungry. So, I quickly started cutting up the fries as they came out. I was hoping that the fries would cool off much quicker than normal so that I wouldn't get lightheading blowing on them to cool them off... I put a dollop of sloppy joe along with his fries, when I hear "that's a lot of sloppy joe!"

Jacob and I sat down as he quickly dove into the french fries and sloppy joe. It wasn't long before Jacob was diving into my plate for the full length fries. He likes being able to bite off a piece and chew things just like momma and dada do. As he was chewing, we hear a "Yummy" and a big smile ensued. Either he was really hungry, just decided to eat well or really likes fries and sloppy joe because he gobbled and gobbled. His mother then also noted that dada's initial dollop of sloppy joe may not have been that far off... ;)!

Staying Cool!

Jacob and I had another fun time at our Monday play-away group. After hanging with our neighborhood peeps we headed out to have lunch with Doug and run a couple of errands. Jacob was of course an angel...even without a good nap! When we got home mommy had to make an important phone call. What does this mean for Jacob? He could get away with a little more then usual because mommy had to concentrate through an annoying automative system. While I was busy on the phone (28 minutes!) Jacob decided he would take advantage of this distraction and play in the fridge. Now I saw this and figured it wasn't a big deal, after all he was having fun, not hurting anything and keeping himself quiet and busy. Before I knew it, he had climbed all the way into the fridge!! Now as all Michiganders now we have been enjoying some warm weather and Jacob was thrilled to be able to wear some shorts today. I guess he was still warm and felt the need to get cool, because not only did he totally climb in the fridge but he tried to close himself in!!! Even while I was on the phone I knew I could not pass up the opportunity to capture his cuteness...so I managed to grab the camara and take a few shots with the speaker phone on! Look at my adorable hot tot trying to be a cool cucumber!!!

Yeah for Play-Away!

Jacob and I ventured to our first toddler play date on Monday! Jacob had a blast! Now that I'm back at home with Jacob I knew I needed to find a way to keep him socializing with kids his age. He had done so well at daycare and we got nothing but great reports on how well he interacted with the other children. I was a little concerned with Jacob losing some of his "people skills" while spending all of his day with just mommy. So I hit the web and started searching!! Low and behold I found something that is held at the community center only two blocks down our street! It's called Play-Away and is geared for 1 to 3 year olds. The class has a "teacher" that leads a loosely structured play time. The first 20 minutes is free play time and when we first got there Jacob didn't want to let go of his mommy. He was definitely uneasy with this new environment. I lead him to a corner full of toys that included a kitchen with play food. When I sat on the floor with him it wasn't long before he was cooking something up!! After free play time, the teacher leads the kids in circle time. Each week will have a different theme but with this being our first gathering she had us singing some familiar songs. All of the children were sitting in their moms laps with we sang a hello song, which included all the kids names and the popular song The Wheels on the Bus Go Round & Round. Next she started the well known ditty The Itsy Bitsy Spider. This definitely excited Jacob, he sprang from my lap and proudly stood to do all of the movements while everyone sang! It was the cutest thing! So much for his being shy! At the end of his performance everyone clapped and Jacob loved being in the spotlight and laughed and clapped along! He was a hit! (and mommy was so proud). After circle time the group sits and does a craft. Jacob sat at the table like such a big boy and happily worked on a name plate full of stickers. It was a masterpiece! Then it's more free time to just play, Jacob's favorite, besides the kitchen area was the slide. The teacher wraps up with a parachute goodbye activity. Jacob didn't take to that so much but it was the first time he had experienced such a thing so we'll see if he warms up to it. Overall Jacob really enjoyed himself and I was pleased to see how well he got along with and enjoyed being with the other kids in this class. On a side note, it was also really nice for mommy to meet some other local mommys and make some of her own friends!! This class meets every monday so it will be a really nice routine for me and Jacob to go and meet with our friends and socialize. They also have "Drop-In" play time available at the center and Jacob and I joined that as well. I plan to take advantage of that 2 times a week. The Play-Away and Drop In are each one and 1/2 hours long. I am very pleased because I know that this will be an excellent way for Jacob to continue developing his socialization skills, burn energy and have a blast! If his first time is any indication he is REALLY gonna love it! And if Jacob is happy...mommy is happy!!!

Happy Easter!!

A Visit To Bunnyville

Jacob joined right in along with many other kids at Bunnyville. This event was held at the Detroit Zoo. Fortunately, we already had our membership so we avoided the membership line and the even longer line to get tickets for the day. The more we use the membership, the more we think it was well worth it.

After getting through the gate, the first thing we did was get ears for everyone in the family. Amy had her much nicer ones, but Jacob and I wore our ears proudly. Of course, Jacob didn't know he had his on because otherwise, they would have been taken off much sooner.
We didn't attend all of the activities, but we did manage to do a craft with the reptiles. We decided to skip the exhibit portion and avoid the heat in the building and skipped to the craft. Although, Jacob did enjoy standing there watching the turtles.

We didn't participate in everything Bunnyville had to offer, but we did try a few more. We thought it would be fun to get bunny noses and whiskers, especially for Jacob. The line wasn't too long, but the wagon stood still for a little too long and it was getting later in the day and time for Jacob to eat and take a nap. Amy showed Jacob how easy it was and that it didn't hurt, but this year we just needed to pass on the face painting. Next stop, the jelly bean hunt.

The jelly bean hunt was over pretty quickly. There were tons of plastic jelly beans all over and the object was to get three in a basket and then turn them in for a prize. Jacob loved the idea of picking up these items and just couldn't stop at three. However, he was a real trooper and was ready to get his prize.
Back around the zoo some more for an attempt at meeting the Easter Bunny this year. We weren't sure what would happen, but had a pretty good idea. After all, there wasn't a very good story with Santa... As we got to the door, Jacob looked around the corner to see the Easter Bunny. Jacob was waving and the Easter Bunny waved back. Then it was our turn... It wasn't long before Jacob spun around in his mother's arms and was trying to run away while crying tears of fear. Unfortunately, we needed to wait for the camera people to figure out whatever they were needing to figure out. The Easter Bunny tried to get Jacob to warm up, which he did a little bit, but still of no avail for any hopes of Jacob sitting with the Easter Bunny by himself. Once again, maybe next year... ;)!
Now it was time for Jacob time. We ventured over to the smaller playground while we waited for the picture to be ready. Good thing this was for charity because the picture was a little disappointing. Fortunately, we had our camera and were allowed to take a picture. It turned out much better...
Bunnyville turned out to be a nice adventure which totally wiped out Jacob...

A Fun Afternoon...

Due to the Holiday weekend, we were able to get out of work a little early. This meant fun with Jacob time!! It wasn't long after getting home that the wagon was Jacob filled and rolling down the sidewalk at a steady pace. Jacob was having a blast as we walked down to the Boys and Girls Club several blocks away. After signing Jacob for a few classes, we ventured over to the park where there were some other kids that we similar to Jacob's age. It was such a nice day out that we ventured all over the neighborhood.

An Afternoon at the Zoo

The family used the annual zoo pass just like we purchased it for. A sunny afternoon with no plans, so we loaded the wagon and Jacob and ventured the two miles to the zoo. This would be Jacob's first trip of the season to the zoo. We don't think he was too sure about what this adventure was when we were in the parking deck, but he quickly warmed up to the idea. After all, he was getting pulled in his wagon... ;)!

Jacob really enjoyed seeing the animals. There were quite a few that we were able to see. Some were more active than others. The kangaroos were just sunning themselves, but the rhinos and zebras were taking strolls and galloping a bit. Jacob was probably the most interested in the zebras and the lions. The lions were roaring back and forth.

Amy and I found Jacob to be pretty wide-eyed the whole day while he was taking everything in. We ended up spending more time there than we had anticipated and still didn't see all of the zoo. I'm sure we will definitely get some good use out of the zoo this summer. We plan to go back next weekend for bunnyville and the week after for Earth Day which have kid activities including crafts and bands.

Day 5 - No Pacifier

Well, it looks like we have made it now five days without Jacob having a pacifier. Day three was pretty rough as you could definitely tell what Jacob was looking for and wanting. It probably didn't help that he only got about an hour nap when he generally takes a two hour plus nap. So, he was definitely found digging in his basket, looking in his bag and pointing to areas where there would generally be a pacifier hanging out. It was a little rough, but Jacob made it through the day without too much bother.

Day four became easier, but there was a much better nap and a little more time for adjustment. There was a significant reduction in the outreach for a pacifier. Jacob was now forgetting about the pacifier's that comforted him for several months.

Day five... Jacob doesn't really appear to be looking for a pacifier to console him at all. He was very much giggly, smiley and looking for fun to be had. He didn't appear to be looking for a pacifier any longer, but Amy did notice that he was starting to cling to a blanket with a stuffed animal on it.

In the past week or so, there has been a huge change in Jacob wanting to learn more words. Maybe now that he doesn't have a pacifier in his mouth he has found a new talent... ;)! The latest word that came from out of the blue was hot dog. Amy was feeding him and saying hot dog and all of a sudden, he said it plain as day. This is not a word that we have been working on with him, but there was no doubt at all what he said. We think we are close to the time where we really watch what we say because he is picking up on them and really starting to mimic our words and our actions.