Jacob Becomes A Good Cook

Jacob is turning into quite the helper around the house. He picks up trash and puts it in the garbage can and can now even help cook.

Although he may not be one of the cleanest/tidiest cooks, he can put most two year olds to shame... ;)! He can whip up a mean croissant roll plain or with ham and cheese and can also toss in the best cut potatoes for stew!!!

Dadda Poopy, Momma Poopy

At not quite 23 months old, Jacob is now telling us when he goes poopy. In the past several days it has become more apparent that he really knows and understands what he is saying. I think there was only one time that Amy checked when Jacob said poopy and there wasn't one. Today, there was one time that he didn't tell me and there was, but I think he had just done it.

It certainly looks like the time has probably come to at least pull out the potty chair to get Jacob used to seeing it. He certainly has been taking more of an interest in the bathroom and what happens there including when his parents go. What seemed to have been somewhat flukish has now become a reality... Let's hope the trend will continue...

And Tonight Makes Three

We are developing a trend for Wednesdays... Rush home from work, get changed and packed and head out the door. Why not?!?! The zoo is basically around the corner, Jacob loves live music and the zoo has concerts in the picnic area. What could be better than this? If Jacob gets bored, there are frogs and otters across the sidewalk, not to mention the rest of the zoo.

Tonight was a rock band that played kids music. The lead singer teaches 3rd and 4th grade. We weren't as impressed as the first couple of weeks, but they were still good. Just for reason didn't grab us and pull us in like the others.

Jacob had some fun playing around and showing us some different faces. We were fortunately able to get a picture of a couple of them...

Jacob did decide to wander a little bit as they were starting their second set. He want to head over and see the frogs. There were also water frogs with no one around, so he got to play on them for a little bit. Then Jacob wanted to be sure that his dadda could see how he got on the frogs. So, he made the trek back to the concert and grabbed his dadda to show him the frogs he had found. Unfortunately, by the time we got back, many other kids found the frogs too so Jacob had to wait for his turn.

After the frogs, it was definitely time for night, night. So, we headed for home along with all of the other kids.

The Team Mascot

Syd’s soccer team had their mascot back in action this season with renewed a renewed energy. Jacob was adorned in his team garb provided by his Aunt Abby and was ready to cheer on the swarm to victory.

Jacob must have realized that something was missing for a while as he was really intrigued by the game and was willing to sit and watch the whole thing. This was a far cry from wanting to run around on the dirt piles and just wanting to be away from the game. It probably helped that Mommy, Daddy and Jacob sat between Grandpa and Grandma for the game.

After the game, Jacob rushed out onto the field with Grandpa’s help as he was swarmed by the swarm. Evidently, the team was missing him because they were all giving him hugs and high fives around. Jacob was in his glory!! And yes, his rooting helped them onto a victory. His efforts unfortunately didn’t persist the next morning as they lost late in the game. Maybe it was Jacob’s mommy and daddy that were the help. We were off to the races, literally and weren’t able to attend… ;)!

Sorry, maybe next time we will get pictures of Jacob in his mascot shirt.

Music At The Zoo

Now that the summer is over half over, we have been finally taking advantage of Wild Summer Nights at the zoo. It is a summer concert series held on Wednesdays. Our first one last week was with children’s music (Candy Band) and was PACKED! With our lesson learned, we grabbed a drive thru dinner and got there earlier this week. It was nice having a picnic before the music started. This week was the Gia Warner Band. They played their own versions of covers and some and a couple of their own. They were really good and we wouldn’t mind seeing them play again. Jacob loved listening to the music as he was bobbing his head, tapping his feet and bee bopping a bit. Maybe next week he will be singing along as it will be a children’s band. Wish we would have started this earlier as there are only two lefts of the series…

These pictures are actually from the week before, but would you have known if I didn't tell you... ;)!

Finally, A Slower Weekend

The weekend started out with Amy getting a mission to clean the house and kicked Jacob and I out. Whatever would we do... ?!?! I know, let's go to the zoo. So, Jacob and I headed to the zoo and were right there when they opened at 9. We felt like we had the zoo to ourselves for the first hour. I don't think we saw anyone other than security and workers for literally close to an hour. Jacob's favorite for the day was going to the barn and seeing the pigs, cows, donkeys, etc. He has come to master the eeh aaaww and is excited to let you know. His mother was quite impressed once we got home.

The day continued with Jacob's grandma, Uncle Rob and Aunt Lynnie coming over for a bbq. Jacob loved showing off his 4-wheeler riding ability. He also had a blast playing baseball with his Aunt and Uncle. It was great to see them again as we haven't been able to see them much lately.

Aaahhh!! A Sunday with nothing to do. As we sat on the couch Amy and I just looked at each other and pondered... It wasn't long before we were out of the house and started to run some errands. We ran a few and then grabbed a bite to eat.

Time for a mission... Amy wanted to go to a store that she had been to before, but couldn't quite remember where the store was. She explained how she got there and I wasn't sure she did what she said she did, but we started driving. I pointed out where I thought it was and said something about wouldn't it be something if I actually was right...

So, we started out with "Matilda" so that we could find where Amy thought she might be. She swore up and down she was north of I-696. After driving around for about a half hour, she decided to head home and start from there. When we were almost home, she remembered having a receipt for the place. Now we had the address!!!! We entered the address into "Matilda" and were there in no time... Oh! and guess what?!?! I was within a block or so of where Amy wanted to go, but an hour earlier... Too funny!!!!

After running some errands we were finally back at home and able to put a summer toy together on the deck. Jacob couldn't wait to dive into having fun with his new toy. It wasn't long before he had everything figured out. Of course, the sand had to be mixed with the water to make some mud... It was all in good fun!!

2 Months And Counting

There is only two months left until Jacob turns two. He is definitely still a growing boy as it seems like in the last week he hit another growth spurt. It is so strange to go in and get him out of bed one day and then the next day it seems like he grew a foot and gained 50 pounds. This obviously isn't the case, but sometimes I think it just hits you that he is getting bigger.

On his 22-month birthday, he almost headed to the doctor for a quick visit. Jacob has been having issues with his eczema lately and has really flared up at times. On Sunday, we actually considered calling the doctor on Monday for them to look at him. Fortunately, the issue resolved itself with some cooling off and relaxing. Today, Amy received a phone call from school because Jacob's arms and back really broke out in a rash, so Amy headed off to pick him up and take him to the doctor. By the time she got there to pick him up, the rash had gone away. The rash never bothered Jacob which was good and it was gone by the time Amy got there, so we aren't going to worry about it and just keep an eye on him. Amy did give him an oatmeal bath to help with the "itchies". Amy already talked to a pharmacist yesterday to see if there was anything they would suggest and we are pretty much doing everything we can (I also talked to a pharmacist on Sunday, but not as in depth as Amy did as the issues weren't as bad at that point).

As Jacob grows closer to his 2nd birthday, we are starting to see tantrums. Okay, so it was only one last night, but it did last a little while and we found that he definitely has a good pair of lungs. After he settled down, we did get our way as we stayed in the dining area to eat and he did eat his dinner.

Jacob is steadily getting a bigger appetite which means eating more. The bowls of cereal that we have been feeding him in the morning are now in need of either overflowing or getting bigger. The last few mornings have resulted in Jacob asking me to feed him more. Guess we will need to go with a bigger bowl...

Family & Friends Picnic For A Cure

A family picnic with a twist... Amy's mom and step dad decided to have a family picnic this year at their house once again. This time there was an added twist. In honor of family members that have had/have breast cancer, she thought it would be nice to help raise money for research of this disease. The event was well attended and had some out-of-staters as well. Amy had a fair amount of family in from Texas to partake in this event.

The day started out a little rough with some rain, but fortunately stopped by 10:00. It was just enough time for the grass to dry and allow us to get the remainder of the tents up and get everything in its place elsewhere.

For the event, Aunt Patsy made a breast cancer quilt and other items such as bible covers and wall art to be raffled off. Although it wasn't meant to be initially, I was asked to put a family video together of old family photos of Amy's mom's siblings. At the last minute, it was decided that it should be sold for a small donation.

The grand daddy event of the day was the silent auction. Amy put this together and did a fine job of finding at least one entry for that everyone would want to bid on. As most silent auctions go, the bidding started off slow. However, when it came time to close the auction, the tent was filled with onlookers waiting to see if they were going to be outbid... Some were disappointed that they weren't able to get the treasure they were hoping, but others were very happy!

With the raffle, silent auction and some large and small donations, Amy's family was able to raise $1,000 for breast cancer research at the University of Michigan. It was way more than any of us could have imagined for such an event.

As the picnic with a twist ended, so did Jacob's day... He needed a bath and loves taking a bath in grandma's sink. Fortunately, it is still big enough for Jacob to fit...

Jacob Has Settled

With Jacob's routine being shifted back to a day of school, it has taken him time to adjust. It took a couple of weeks, but he is back into his routine and is now thriving once again at school. There are still some not so good days, but it is usually when he is tired and not wanting to get up. However, by the time he gets to school and gets playing with his friends, he is all happy.

We are once again getting artwork sent home with Jacob. There is also the "car washes" and "camping" days. The car washes, we understand, is basically a bunch of sprinklers that the kids get to play in. The camping day, which we missed, was more for the bigger kids. It was a day when you were supposed to bring in your sleeping bag, tents, etc. and then they were making s'mores in the afternoon. This was right after our own camping trip, so Jacob didn't really miss anything. After all, his mother is best s'more maker!!!!

This round of school seems to be much easier than the first. We're not sure if it is because of the weather or the fact that Jacob is older. When Jacob first starting to go to school, we needed to be sure to have extra snacks and jar food for him to eat in case he didn't eat what they were having at school along with his boots, gloves, etc. for going outside. Now, we just make sure he has his sippy cup and then maybe a yogurt or pop tart or something small in case he doesn't eat enough during lunch and snacks. He sometimes has those days where he just eats and eats. It is great that for the most part that he eats whatever they put in front of him. He still isn't quite sure on the taco salad though. Some days he eats it and some days he doesn't. He has been known to be a picky eater at times...

A Celebration of Life

A day of celebration was put together for Amy's dad. He has reached the 5-year milestone after having a lung transplant. It was nice to see family and friend's gathering to acknowledge this excellent milestone.

Jacob loved spending time outside with his cousins and other kids that were there. Amy and I were able to relax a little more than normal because Jacob has reached an age where other kids are entertaining to him and doesn't need his mommy and daddy right there for him. Although, we still needed to check on him to be sure he wasn't into something that we wouldn't want him into... Kids just being kids...

No Excuses!

As you are probably already aware, there has not been any new posts in quite some time. I think this is probably a record since the blog's inception. With the return to work after being off for nine weeks, producing and editing a video and having a hard drive crash beyone repair, there hasn't been much extra time in the evening to be able to blog. However, I do intend to do better. There intent to post about the 4th of July and also a camping weekend. The posts will be shown before this as I will date them when they happened and not when they are written... So, yes we are still alive, but have been busy preparing for camping a couple of big parties that we are a part of the organizing, etc. More on those later...

A weekend of camping started off pretty well. I was able to get loaded and ready to go earlier in the day. Frankie and I headed out a little before noon for the trek northward. We were there lickety split and had everything set up and ready for company by 4!!

Where’s the company? Where’s the rest of the family? Where? Where? Where? After a number of texts and phone calls Amy and Jacob arrived around 8:15 which wasn’t too bad considering they had to deal with I-75 being closed due to a rollover accident. This was only about 45 minutes later than anticipated. Unfortunately, Amy’s mom and step dad had a few more troubles because they left a little later and had another traffic jam to deal with, but everyone got there safe and sound eventually.
The weekend was pretty laid back and relaxing as we hung out around the campsite and ventured to the beach. Although, Jacob was ready to head home as he went to bed really late and then was up early without much of a nap. Great fun was had by all.

The family loaded up and headed out for an annual picnic with some childhood neighbors. One of which, came in from North Carolina with her family. It was great to see everyone once again. We don't get to see them very often, but do keep in touch via technology. Here are a few pictures that Amy, yes Amy took as she was commanding the camera on this day.

Thanks to Jeff, Jacob was able to ride the ATV in the driver's seat while all of the older kids had to take turns. Wouldn't ya' know it! Jacob didn't want to get off of the ATV and when it was time to take a break, he followed Jeff around just waiting for the next time he got on and hit the gas pedal. Jacob loved being outdoors and running around and playing with all of the kids.

Jacob Snubs Bully At The Park

Jacob and I went to the park earlier than usual in a different city close by. The park is cool because it has two different sections, one for ages 2-5 and another 5-12 or something like that. Of course, Jacob doesn't just hang out on the smaller of the two as he thinks the smaller/lower slides are more on the boring side...

Shortly after we arrived, we could hear and see kids on the corner. There ended up being 16 of them. They must have been from the daycare up the street. It did seem a little strange that there were only two adults with this big of a crowd. Not sure what the state regulations are, but on an outing like this, it seemed like there would be more supervision...

Aside from us just hanging out, we did begin to be annoyed by a girl named Haley. At first, it was cute, but it quickly became annoying, obnoxious and suffocating. You will also see in the video why I think I need to show Jacob how to take down a girl, even if she is more than twice your size and age... I don't believe in hitting girls, but... You could definitely tell that Jacob was getting annoyed as well and was tired of being followed. This is unusual for him, so you know that it had to be bad...

The video hasn't really been shortened so it might get a little long. We still had fun at the park, but it might have been a little better if we could have breathed a littler easier... ;)!

Jacob Turns 21 Months and Gets Jiggy With It

Jacob turned 21 months old and is growing like a weed. We don't know what his height and weight are officially, but he definitely does go through some growth spurts.

Jacob is really learning to get jiggy with it. He loves any kind of music and is starting to search out music on his own. Music sources, of course, come from tv and radio, but he also seeks it in his pick-up truck (playing the same tune over and over since it only has one) and the latest is his fridge mate. He is jamming to the car/boat tune in the video. He definitely takes after his momma with his love of music and dance. He can also be found climbing up on the piano bench and requesting the cover to be lifted so that he can play all by himself. If dadda is playing, there is still a good chance that Jacob will be requesting to climb up on his lap, just to pull dadda's hands off the keys so that he can hear himself only play... ;)!

Jacob is developing into quite the young little boy. His features are definitely making him not look like a baby anymore. He has 12 teeth with two more right there. They have been teasing us for quite a while now. They actually did poke through, but have retreated. We are assuming that they are regrouping and will just burst through the gum and be full grown overnight. Jacob has also been known to put three words together and making sensible phrases. Phrases such as "not in here", "outta the way", "I wub u", etc. Much like when he started saying words and still is doing, they can be whispered much of the time. Also, you hear the phrase once and not again, so then you wonder if he really said what you think he said. However, we are pretty confident that we are not just hearing things.

The curiosity of Jacob is ever growing. If some one is doing or working on something, it isn't long before you see a head poking around your arm, leg, corner or whatever obstacle might be in the way so that he can get a closer look. He seems to be a quick learner and has a good memory. Sometimes it can be pretty amazing because he will be doing/saying something that we forget he/we did. Looks like we really need to watch what we do and say now...