20 Months!!

You are 20 Months old. You are bring so much joy to our lives. You are loud and active, kind and compassionate, loving and honest (so far, unless you are joking). You have a cute little sense of humor and you love your family! Not just Mama and Dada but your uncles, Nana, Papa, Grandma and Grandpa too! You love when we are all together.  

You love swimming and playing outside. I can never ask you if you want to go in, the answer will always be "nooo." 

Which of course you learned to say. It is one of the cutest things you say, no, you purse your lips and drag out the 'o', it's really cute. You don't say it to me very often, only when answering questions. 

You have this game that you and Daddy play. He will ask you, "are you mama?" and you say "nooo", "Are you dada?", "nooo", "Who are you?", and you say "I Jakob!". It's very cute to hear you say your own name. You rarely call your self Jake, usually it's Jakob. 

Your favorite food is Mac-and-cheese. You ask for other foods occasionally but that is your all time favorite right now. You also enjoy, all fruit, corn, chicken, pizza, rice and beans and anything on my plate. 

Your favorite color is Orange followed closely by yellow. You know your colors but you want everything to be yellow and orange. 

You are starting to learn some numbers and letter. You know what 2 of something looks like, so that's helpful...pick out two books to read or grab two cars and you know what I mean...although 4 of something is more your style. 

You stuff your hands full of hot wheel cars, then you look at me with questioning eyes and nod...asking if you can take all of those cars with you where ever we are going. You love playing with cars, they are you favorite toys. 

You have also recently enjoyed playing in your kitchen. You make food and bring it to me to eat. 

You watch very little TV, when you do it's Sprout and Caillou is our favorite! 

You enjoy coloring and playing with play-dough. We have started playing with puzzles together and you seem to really like them. You match the shapes just fine, but you have little patience for putting the shapes in the right way...it's a work in progress. 

Your vocabulary is growing each day and you repeat almost everything we say. You even mimic our tone and inflection. You are our little parrot.

You love cuddling with your Daddy. You cuddle with me occasionally but you will sit with your Daddy every chance you get. You soak up your time with him!

You enjoy church and the nursery and it's never hard to leave you in there. You run off and play right away. 

You love reading books. We read 4 stories at nap time and at least one story at bed time. You really enjoy the Berenstain Bears stories. You have a shelf of books in your room and in the family room that you can get to any time. You walk over and pull books off the shelf and read to your self or bring them to us, to read to you. I am so glad that you love reading!

You love animals, all kinds, you even enjoyed watching Shark week with Daddy, just not the shark attack shows!! 

You love the Moon and stars, and all of nature, especially dirt!

Here are some other things you like...

Stickers. You are totally obsessed with stickers. You get a sticker at the grocery store when you have been good and I'm pretty sure you think fruit is only good for the stickers. You put the all over you, as seen in this picture below. Nana brought you these stickers and you insisted that they be all over your arms. We went to dinner this way. 

 You Hair being done. Whenever I'm getting ready you watch me do my hair and you always ask for me to do your hair. I never did you hair before you asked, I think it's funny that you wanted it done. You look so proud when your hair is styled, I think you feel like a big boy!

 Chocolate, you don't have it very often. This was the first time you have some. It's Dove dark chocolate, so at least there are some health benefits. You loved it, to say the least. You took one bite and went, "Mmmmmm". It was the funniest thing. Then you turned back to me and opened your mouth for more. You eat chocolate like your Mama, take a bite and suck on it till it devolves, then take another bite. It's a great way to not eat a lot but really enjoy it!!

 Cameras, you say cheese whenever you see one. I haven't been so good about busting out my big camera lately. I have been feeling tired, and it's hard to be inspired when you are exhausted. When you are in the mood you love having your picture taken. You love Photobooth on my computer because you get to look at yourself. It have been so funny to watch you become self aware and now totally into yourself. 

You can see in this picture that spot on the side of your head. You went strolling through the kitchen while something was being cooked with hot oil. It's splattered and you got burned. You might have a tiny, barley visible, scar. But you are safe and have learned to not play in the kitchen while people are cooking. 

You are quite the little ball of energy, running and jumping all around. You being so much joy to our lives Jake and we couldn't ask for a better boy. We love you so much. It is an honor to help you grow up. 

Love, Mama/ so proud of the boy you are becoming!

The Waiting Game

Hey baby,
I'm not sure what else to call you...little one comes out a lot but, it's hard for me to admit that your brother is not my little one any more. These past few weeks have been interesting. This time in pregnancy is not my favorite. I don't really look pregnant...you are showing up a little earlier than Jake did but I still look like I ate too much not full on pregnant belly. I feel off, not miserable, but off. My jaw has been killing me...this happened with your brother too...we thought is was a root canal issue but no, just my jaw. My whole left side of my neck gets really tight, my ear aches and my jaw throbs. So weird. It's just one of those things that happens. I took some Tylenol and applied heat and now it's mostly gone. But this time in pregnancy is most hard because there is a possibility of loosing you. It's in my mind most of the time, I try to shove out the worry and let the Lord hold you as He knits you together but my mind is still consumed. Not being able to feel you and only feeling slight symptoms of you even being there is scary to me. I love knowing that you are healthy and growing. So on the 9th of August I went to the Dr. and I got to hear your heart beat!! It took a while for her to find it, you were hiding...little stinker. When she found you and the rhythmic whooshing started my heart felt so full and warm.  You were alive and your heart was beating. You turned and the whooshing turned to galloping. I felt a huge sense of peace. Then the Dr. turned on the ultrasound machine and I got to take a peek. There you were...all 12 weeks of you. Perfect and being created right before my eyes. Carrying a child is truly a magical experience. I feel such an honor to be chosen to be your mama, to carry you for 9 months, to love you your whole life through, to teach you about the one who created you. I am truly honored. Well, I get to see you again tomorrow. I am so excited to see you, but this ultra sound makes me nervous. They are checking to make sure you are growing and developing properly. I don't get this ultra sound so we can end your life...that will never happen. I get this ultrasound mainly because I am obsessed with seeing you and secondly I really want to be prepared, for whatever the Lord has for us. We love you already baby, your daddy can't wait to find out if you are a boy or girl and we have our own predictions...but we must wait. It seems like an eternity! Wow, your mom is dramatic! We have to wait and that is that.

See you soon.

Love, Mama/ so in love with you already!

The first time

Hey Baby,

This past Thursday I had my first doctors appointment. I peed in a cup, got lots of gifts and magazines and best of all I got to meet you!! I was so excited when my sweet mid-wife, Maria, slathered that jelly on my tummy and I got to see your little heart beating wildly...at this stage you don't resemble that cute thing you will be later but miraculously you have all you need. You are already forming your brain and brain stem...lungs, eyes, heart, fingernails and cute little nose. You already know if you are a boy or girl, you just get to hold out on us for a few more months...let your mama dream and everyone come up with predictions!! This Dr. visit made everything so real to me. Yes, I had been feeling the symptoms of you but it is always such a joy to meet you. We will get to know each other quite well over the next nine months. These are some of my favorite times...feeling you kick and spin. I am already starting to show...I have the tiniest baby bump. I have switched out of regular pants and into nice stretchy pregnant pants (as to not squish you!). I'm not sure why people are against pregnant clothes. Mine are cute and oh, so, super comfy!! So, I have heard that you show earlier the second time but woah...here you are!! Just promise me one thing, you will come out face down...your big brother had trouble with that...so if you could...face down please!! Either way we will all be crazy about you and love you like crazy. You have a great big brother who is currently confused as to how there can be a baby in mommy's tummy. He will be so excited to feel you kick and maybe we can bring him with us to an appointment to see you!! He is going to take a big brother class at the hospital where you will be born so he can be all prepared for you! We are very excited about you and the addition you will bring to our family...I think we might be complete! 

Love, Mama/you're such a cute gummy bear!! (that's what 8 week olds fetus look like)

OH....PS...I am about 9 weeks along and you are due the 25th of February 2012!!

4th of July and a Video!!

We had a great 4th of July. We all hung out at Nana and Papa's house. All of your Uncles and Grandparents were there. Even your Great Grandma and Grandpa! And of course Mama and Dada. You were so anxious to go swimming when we got there. We ate a quick lunch and hopped in the pool! You weren't a big fan of sitting in your floaty thing but I think as you get more comfortable with the water you will like it more. You hung out with me for a little while, while you got used to the water. This was the first time you have been in a big pool since you were 6 months old. So, it took you some time to check things out and feel comfortable. Once you did though you had a great time. 

Playing with Uncle Steve!

You loved being on your tummy. I can't wait to teach you how to swim!!

Your floaty thing...it's ok...

Sitting on the steps with Mom

Chillin' with Uncle Matt

This is your jet, you love this thing...I'm sure this will get a lot of use as you get older!!

Some more floating

While you napped I napped with Ted!!

Smiling on your jet!

Blowing Bubbles!!! (Mama sings this funny song...I had a tiny turtle, his name was tiny tim, I put him in my bath tub to see if he could swim (splish, splash), he drank up all the water (glub, glub), he ate up all the soap (chom,chomp) and now my tiny turtle, has bubbles in his throat...then you blow bubbles in the water. Oh the things you learn when teaching kids how to swim!!)

This was after your nap and you begged to get in the pool again...shimming...shimming as you call it!

You like it, you really like it!!

A shot from under water...you were so happy being on your tummy in the pool. I am so excited for you to be in the pool more often. Your daddy and I grew up being part fish. We both love the water and know how to swim well. We are excited to teach you how to swim so you too can love the water with us!! 

This is a video of you "jumping" in the pool to your Daddy!

Announcement Time!!

Hey Baby, 

Your daddy got the great opportunity of speaking at our churches first Sunday service (our contemporary night service). Because he was speaking all of our family was there to hear him. It was July 3rd and we were planning on telling everyone on the 4th. But, we thought people might be expecting something and we just couldn't hold the news about you any longer. After Daddy spoke we went out to eat at BJ's. Which just happens to be the restaurant we announced our first pregnancy in. Not the same place just the same restaurant. Apparently BJ's is our announcement place. So, we were seated and I got up with Jake to change his diaper in the bathroom. While in there, he changed into his big brother shirt we had bought him and few days earlier. We came out of the bathroom and I said "Jake has an announcement!!". Everyone looked up at Jake and then slowly realized what was going on...Everyone was so excited!!! Hugs, clapping and some tears took place. Some had their suspicions that I was pregnant....but now it's official...people know about you are we can begin to share our joy with the world!! People normally don't announce anything this early. With our family we will always tell them first and then we tell the world a few weeks later. This is still a scary time...every mother worries about loosing a baby. Every twinge and cramp make me nervous. I hope that you have taken up a mostly permanent residence in there. You have been causing me some trouble...your brother was not like this early on. You have been making pretzels my favorite food and my joints feel like I'm 90 years old...thats not fair, I'm sure some 90 year old people have great joints. The thing is every time I have to get up or down to the floor to play with your toddler big brother my knees feel as if they might explode. And the nausea...is not so fun. But I'm sure people have had worse. Really I have nothing to complain about. I am carrying you and with that there are some symptoms to ignore! I love being pregnant and we are so excited that the Lord has blessed us with the joy of another child. I am so excited to meet you all ready. I can't wait to feel you and see you in ultra sounds. This whole process is a miracle and I am blessed to be witness to it!! You are all ready a joy!! Maybe we should work that into your name somehow...we are starting to roll some names around. So, if you decide to let us see if you are a boy or girl...we will be prepared! love you already baby!

Love, Mama/so glad our family knows about you, I might have gone crazy!

The Best News

Well Jake, a lot is going to be changing around here....Mama took 5 pregnancy tests and they all came back positive!! It was Thursday June, 16 and I had a feeling something was different. I had been super ditzy the past week and my joints were starting to feel old! So I tested, your daddy was at work and getting ready to leave for Mexico for a week, needless to say, I was a wreck all day keeping the new to myself. 

When Daddy got home that night I stuck three pregnancy tests in a box...grossest gift ever, I know...wrote him a simple card about what a great daddy he has been to you so....SURPRISE!!! At first Dad thought the tests were negative. In a barley lit room and the tests were super light...but, no, I told him to look again. He did and he looked at me, said "really?", like I was playing some not funny joke..."yes, really!". We hugged and talked about what a great big brother you were going to be and how to keep our news a secret long enough to tell everyone at one time. 

this is the box daddy received...

with three tests inside!

So Jake you are going to be a big brother, and a great one at that. It still hasn't set in yet, this is a game changer all over again. First having you changed our world and now this will change our little family all over again! It's so exciting, slightly nerve wracking and I am so thankful!! 

So...now we have to change the name of this cute little blog...it's no longer just you Jake. Sharing your world with another child might be hard at first but, it's such a joy. Siblings are like live in friends...at least they should be. The occasional fight but lots of love! Being a big brother is going to teach you so much about sharing and giving and loving. I am so excited to be on this journey with you and to teach you how to be a great older sibling...daddy and I both have lots of experience!! 

Love, Mama/loving both her babies!

18 Months Old!!

Happy 18 Months my boy!

You have changed so very much in this very quick year and a half. I am sometimes still in amazement that you are mine...You are truly a joy. Your daddy and I are truly blessed to that you have been bestowed upon us. You are a gift and we do our best each day to teach you and train you in the way of the Lord. 

Here are you current stats:

30 lbs. 3oz. (80th percentile)

31" tall (95th percentile)

and I don't remember your head measurement but it's in the 90th percentile!

You are tall that is for sure, everyone is always surprise to learn that you are only 18 months old. Usually after they have been talking to you for a few minutes and you have only replied with smiles and simple words. I think people expect you to start spewing complete sentences...soon...no rush!

You do know so many words. There are too many to list. My favorite things you say are, O-range, mah-mah (for monster truck), mo-mo (for motorcycle), airplane, choo-choo. As you can tell you love things that move and make noise!! You have started calling us Mommy and Daddy, only occasionally, when you are referring to us not actually calling us...funny.

You love to run and are getting the hang of jumping. You absolutely love to be tossed in the air and spun around. 

You have started sitting on the couch with the adults. You can climb up on your own and squeeze into whatever room is left on the couch. You watch minimal TV, Little Einstein's, the Good Night show on Sprout, Penguins of Madagascar, some Clone Wars with Daddy. All of these are occasional, you will watch as you please and then run off and play, come back and watch for a little while and then you are off again! 

You LOVE playing cars. You have a gigantic hot wheels collection, like 300 something cars that have been collected since before you were born. You love playing with them, by yourself or with people. You know the names of some of them too...Raptor, Land Rover, Jeep (of course) and if you don't know the specific name it's 'Car' or 'Truck' and you know the difference. Oh, and if it's a police car, ambulance and fire truck you make a siren sound for it...

You have begun learning to express yourself. Sometimes you get so frustrated, your face turns red and you yell. You are quick to calm down and apologize. Time out's work very well for you, as does talking it out. You are very smart and we treat you as such. We always explain what you did wrong and how you should respond the next time. You are a quick learner, I'm hoping you are getting your toddler stuff out early. You have always developed early no reason this should be an exception. It's tiring but I know that this is just a phase and if I deal with it well now you will grow up knowing how to behave. Which make life more pleasant for everyone. You are by no means horrible now, not even one time out a day. Somedays are worse than others. Your daddy just got back from a week long trip to Mexico and you were not happy that he was gone for so long. You made it quite clear a few times that you wanted him home...now!! But we made it through and now your daddy is back, reading you stories and playing cars...the world is right again!

You are not a picky eater. You eat what we eat usually. You aren't a huge fan of salmon but you like tuna. You like some sushi and love edamame, of course pizza, chicken (nuggets or grilled), mac and cheese is one of your favorites. You like peas, carrots and corn. You will eat anything if it has BBQ sauce on it...especially Grandma's sauce. You drink whole milk and water with the occasional chocolate milk or apple juice. You love oatmeal, yogurt, fruit snack and nutri-grain bars (fut-ba as you call them).

You like coloring and playing with play-doh. After you eat breakfast I keep you in your high chair and we color or squish play-doh. We sing songs and do some flash cards. 

You are learning your colors. You know the names of all the colors but not what they are. You know pink and purple really well. O-range and lellow (in Jakey speak) are some of your favorite colors. We are also working on counting and the alphabet.  You know one and two and can hold fingers up to count and you know if you have two of something. You also know what sounds certain letters make...M,P,S,L, D and B! See I told you, you were smart!

You are shy around complete strangers, you won't talk, just smile and sometimes wave. Sometimes you ignore people when you haven't seen them for a while. They say Hi and you turn your head away. I wonder if you are bitter or punishing someone for not being around more often. 

You are a great sleeper...11.5 to 12 hours every night and then a two hour nap everyday. I'll take it! 

You love to read, we always read before bed. I have to give you a cutoff number of books we will read or we would be reading books all night or through nap time. I have a shelf of cardboard books down at your level that you will pull out and read through out the day. Sometimes by yourself and sometimes you will bring the book to me to read to you! 

You love your family and Ted the dog. You love to laugh and make other people laugh. You are so full of energy and life! You have done summersaults off of low lying pillows and taken a few spills off the couch. You are tough and get right up and keep on going. You have gotten more cuddly in the past few months. It totally when you want it, which is fine, I'll take what I can get. You will walk up and plop your head in my lap or snuggle up to me on the couch...best thing ever! You are learning to blow kisses and give eskimo kisses. Your hugs consist of you falling onto someones shoulder so they can hug you and your kisses are the presentation of your cheek so someone can grace it with a smooch!

These past 18 month have flown by and continue to leave me in awe of the God we serve. He has perfectly designed you. I have had little to do with your actually development. He is orchestrating your life and I am merely the first chair violinist...with daddy as first chair trumpet. Ok this analogy is getting weird. But I am here to help instill in you what the Lord has taught me. The rest is in his hands. I am so glad that we serve a gracious and masterful God and that He is in control. It is was all on me I would feel overwhelmed with responsibility. But I do my best each day knowing that the Lord will fill the gaps. 

Thank you Jake, for making being a mommy so great. Your daddy adores you and can't get enough of you. We are so glad that you are ours!

Happy 1 1/2 years!! 

Goodnight peek-a-boo

The other night we were heading home late from Modesto. We left Modesto around 9pm your regular bed time. We were hoping you would fall asleep because you were tired. Well, our hopes were dashed. You refused to sleep the whole way home. Daddy and I  turned around to tell you that you needed to sleep, then we said, "night-night Jake". You pulled your blanket over your head and cried. You didn't want to sleep you thought you would miss something. Every time I would turn around you would pull your blanket over your head. Every time Daddy would say goodnight you would pull your blanket over your head and cry. It was so funny. We had a hard time not laughing. You stayed awake the whole way home. Once we got home we put you in bed and you fell right asleep. Little stinker. I wish you were the kind of kid that could sleep anywhere and people have told me I have to train you but I have done my best. I don't blame you, I can't sleep anywhere. Not everyone can. You are too interested in what is going on to sleep. I will give you credit though. That same weekend we put your pillow on the floor of Daddy's office and told you to lay down and sleep. You cried for a little and then fell fast asleep. So, you are a good sleeper. Just not a sleep anywhere kind of kid, and that is fine with me. Hopefully someday you will be able to hear your baby cry and get up before your wife, unlike your sleep through anything father...haha!

Love, Mama/ wishes she could sleep anywhere and through anything!

Funny Funny

You are quite the funny boy. You did some pretty cute things this week! First, we have to warn nana, this story may make you cry. We were sitting eating breakfast one morning. You enjoy naming things as we eat breakfast, you point to the pictures on the wall and name the people. So, as we were eating you began naming and you pointed to your Great Grandpa Oakley's picture. You have never met him, but, we have talked about him and how he's in heaven with Jesus. I love that you know who he is! After you pointed you said "grey papa" for Great Grandpa and then I explained to you that he was in heaven and you nodded your little head like you knew he was in heaven. Too sweet! I love that you know who he is and that you will grow up hearing stories about what a great man he was!

Later that day I was cleaning out your closet, packing up clothes that don't fit anymore and I found a scarf that Ashley, one of our high school students made for you. You got really excited about it, so I wrapped it around your neck. You scrunched up your shoulders and smiled so big. You ran around with that scarf on all morning! When I took it off at lunch so you could eat, you scrunched up your shoulders and looked at me funny. I asked you if your neck was cold and you you nodded and answered "yep!". What a funny boy you are. You love accessories, hats, scarves, necklaces and sunglasses. It's the funniest thing, you stomping around all accessorized! Here you are in your spiffy scarf.

While you were running around in your scarf and I was cleaning, you grabbed your shoes. I didn't think much of it but, when I came out from the closet this is what I found....

What a funny boy you are. I'll hand it to you, you are creative, using shoes to transport cars...great idea!

You have quite the personality, full of spunk and life. You bring such joy to our lives Jake. There is never a dull moment with you. We love watching you explore and learn about the world we live in. Everything you do is an experiment, what happens when you squish fruit bar between your fingers, what happens when I ignore mama or dada? I love this stage you are in, it has brought different challenges but also different joys. We love you, our boy, with all our hearts!

Love, Mama/ more than just funny looking

So it Begins

Hey Jake,
We celebrated Memorial Day on Monday. This is a special day to remember the people who have given their lives for our freedom and those who are still fighting for it. Mama and Daddy's families got together for dinner. You had all of your uncles with you and your very loving Grandparents...you were quite spoiled that night! You had a great time running around, playing cars and being chased! While we were playing wit our new chalkboard coffee table you decided you would run around with the chalk and try to draw on everything. After two warnings, I took the chalk away, I had to pry it out of your hands. Usually you give up pretty easy, especially after being warned it was going to happen. So, prying the chalk from your hands was my first surprise. The next was you turning around shaking your fist in my face while you were red faced and screaming at me, "ba...ba...ba...ba...ba". You sure were angry. I set you on a footrest so we could talk about what was going on. As I was calmly talking to you, you threw a car past my face and tried to hit me. You have never purposely done that...I was in shock. My sweet boy was yelling and hitting and angry! I picked you up and took you in our bedroom, so we could be alone and talk and have a little timeout. I set you in the big leather chair and you yelled at me again. I firmly yet calmly told you, we never yell or hit when we are angry. You cried. I sat you in time out until you calmed down, which was just over a minute. You said sorry and hugged me, that is our normal routine after a timeout. This time I think you actually felt sorry. I saw emotions in you that I had never seen before. Since then you have yelled a few more times and have tried to it me again. Whoa buddy, I'm not sure that I am ready for this. It breaks my heart to see you so angry. I take it upon myself, am I doing something wrong? I know I need to deal with this every time it happens, I want to nip this short, as short as possible. I want to teach you how to deal with your emotions and feelings. How I do that, well trial and error...I feel like that's what parenting is, but it's scary because were dealing with your life. I have asked the Lord for grace and mercy. For myself and towards you. Grace and mercy don't mean I let you get away with things just that I will come from a place of understanding and patience and not take things too personally. Yesterday (Tuesday) was a little rough so, I was hoping for some night time cuddles. You were anxious to get in your crib and when I went to kiss you, you pushed me away. That made me cry, oh man, you made your mama cry! You growing up is hard, I'm not ready for you to not need me. Thank goodness this morning while we were playing cars you came and sat by me just to be close. That made my heart so full! This parenting stuff is no joke and I know it will only get more difficult or maybe just a different kind of difficult. I promise to do my best but, I am human. This journey of motherhood has been good for me. I have had to listen to myself and trust that the Lord will help me raise you. Other people have their opinions and criticisms but in the end it's all about what your daddy and I decide with the grace of God! See, mama is a people pleaser even to the point of being stepped on but being a mama has helped me learn to stand my ground and to not care if someone thinks I'm doing something wrong in their eyes. (I do listen to advice, it wold be foolish not to but wether or not I take it...well, that depends!) I have been praying for you, Anger is a difficult emotion to control and we need all the help we can get. Daddy and I are united in raising you and we will do everything to the best of our ability. Know that we love with all of our hearts and we love the Lord. We do everything because we love you and we desire for you be love the Lord as well. Wether this is a short phase or long. A copied behavior or just normal toddler frustration. Daddy and I love you so very very much. We are so grateful for the opportunity to raise you, we are so blessed to be your parents!

Love, Mama/ I'll love you even if my hair turns gray

P.S. I don't want to paint you in a negative light, you really are great. You are sweet, caring and very friendly. Usually you are a great listener and you follow instructions very well. These are just a few outbreaks you have had, infrequent but shocking because you are usually so sweet! Just wanted to clear up any confusion...