Ripley's Aquarium (Myrtle Beach, SC)

Wow its been 3 months

Most, if not all of you, may have thought that I have decided to no longer blog about our family but that is not the case. With all of the holidays, moving and our busy schedule I have neglected to keep up with blogging, so I will try to get you all up to speed with what has been going on since Halloween...yikes!
This year was the first time we got him dressed for Halloween (he was a dinosaur) and he loved going from house to house and instead of saying "trick or treat" he would say "i need more"...he didn't want us to hold his hand or his treat bag he wanted to do it all himself. Just a few short weeks later was Thanksgiving which we celebrated as a family I made the whole deal from appetizers to dessert and Don and myself enjoyed the yummy food while Jacob wanted to only eat cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. As for Christmas we opted out a tree because of the move and being so busy but we still all enjoyed ourselves. Jacob had such great fun opening the gifts this year since he was a little older and we look forward to this next year to create more Xmas memories. Currently, we are settling in the new house...which is so great...we have so much more space for ourselves and visitors (hint to all of you reading). Isabella is also enjoying the bigger living area. For the first time I had Jacob help me make brownies in our new kitchen and he had so much fun I can't wait for us to cook together again.
Jacob is talking in sentences now so it is much easier to communicate with him he is also in big boy underwear!!!! Woohoo :) He is using a diaper/pull up only at nap and nighttime. He also is in a big boy bed..no more crib! He has fallen out only once but luckily it is only a few inches off of the floor so he remained asleep when this happened. I feel like in the last few weeks he really has grown up and he adjusts to change so well and we are so thankful for that. I almost forgot to mention...NO MORE PACIFIER for him as well. Christmas night we decided to take it away. I kept saying by the end of 2011 we need to let the pacifier go and we stuck to that agreement so I cut the tip of the pacifier with scissors and handed to Jacob he put it in his mouth and quickly took it out, looked at it, and we told him "it's broken". I thought it would be traumatic but he cried a little bit but didn't want the broken one and we were determined to stick to the agreement and not give it and IT WORKED. Since it was now broken I told him it needed to go in the trash and asked if he would like to throw it away and he said yes so he threw it in there and the rest is history! If you ask him now what happened to his pacifier he will tell you " it's in the trash". We are so proud of him and we are having so much fun with him at this age. At times it can be a little challenging but very rewarding seeing how he is thriving. We love him and are so thankful for our healthy boy.

More pumpkin patch photos

He's 2!!

Well can't believe I am writing this but Jacob is now 2! It's crazy how quickly the past 2 year have gone by. We have enjoyed every moment of being parents and feel so thankful and lucky to have such a happy and healthy family. This past Friday I took Jacob for his 2 year old well check and he is officially 30 lbs and 36 inches. He is now putting 2-3 words together and doing so well using the potty. He has transitioned to the young 2's classroom at school and has adjusted well but can be a little rough with his peer's at times (the only downside of daycare, I think, is seeing the way other children act and then reciprocating the same actions) but they use timeouts as do we so hopefully this behavior is short lived. He really is for the most part a sweet boy who loves reading, outside play, puzzles, drawing and playing with Lego's.
This past weekend we went to the pumpkin patch and picked out a pumpkin to carve and Jacob also enjoyed the hay ride, feeding the goats and the jump house. We are looking forward to going Trick or Treating next week for the first time with him.
Don just got back from a 2 week long training course at a welding institute in Ohio in which he was being prepared to become a Certified Welding Instructor and he passed his certification with flying colors. This is such an accomplishment since he has been only in this field for a little over 3 years and they normally do not encourage individuals to attempt this until they have worked in this line of work for at least a minimum of 5 years.
For myself I am just getting over having Strep throat and I am feeling much better than the previous 2 days and I also am taking a cake decorating class with a friend from work. We are having so much fun and I am looking forward to taking the next 2 courses sometime early next year.

The latest

It has really been forever since I have taken the time to update the blog. All is well with the 3 of us :) We have been extremely busy, more so than usual but enjoying as much of the remainder of summer as possible. We are more than ready for fall since it is truly the best time of the year here for weather.
Jacob is doing really great and is really starting to speak many of his words much clearer. I have lost count on the number of words he is speaking (too many!) but he finally says his name when you ask him, for so long he kept telling us his name was Nana. He also knows all the kids name's in his class at daycare. School has been back here for the last few weeks and he really enjoys seeing all the buses when I take him to daycare. He really is loving when we read to him, doing puzzles, stacking blocks and Lego's, throwing and kicking a ball and coloring (as you can see he can create quite the masterpiece!). He loves to be outside so we can't wait for the cooler weather headed our way soon to be out there more often. Temp's are still in the 90's but it wont be long :)!!
I cannot believe it but Jacob will be 2 next month, crazy how time flies, I say it all the time but it seems to go faster once you have a child. Hopefully soon we will try harder with potty training he has used the potty about a dozen times but nothing consistant, he is still young but I think he will pick up on it sooner than later or at least I hope.

Growing Up!

As all or most of you already know Jacob has broken his collarbone. We are hoping it is healing but I'm not confident that it is where it's supposed to be. On the positive side he is talking so much, a lot of which is babbling but he is learning new words every few days. We are having a great time teaching him and taking him on new adventures.
He is still as sweet as ever, we are always getting compliments from strangers and from his teachers at school that he is well mannered, listens and is great at sharing. We are trying to slowly work on him with potty training, he has used the potty once (may 18th) and he likes to sit on it, so we will continue to work with him. His eating has slowed down and he definitely refuses a lot of foods that he loved just a few weeks ago. Mostly veggies and meats are the struggle right now which I expected to happen so we do our best and hope that it will change soon.
As you can see from the video he has learned many animal sounds and he also is able to point out most of his body parts (nose, mouth, eyes, ears, teeth, tongue, leg, arm, foot, head, belly button). We are working on teaching him his ABC's and colors. He LOVES his new room at school, they moved him up to the toddler room now he goes outside 2 times a day to play and get exercise. They follow a daily schedule which includes art/project time, reading, "circle time", and free play. They have the children sleeping on cots for nap time :)
We plan to go to the pool this weekend and will celebrate father's day, love to you all. Can't wait to see most of you soon.

19 months!

Its been a super busy last few weeks. Jacob has had pink eye and quite the reaction to his last DTap vaccine among other things. Currently we are all healthy and doing well. Jacob is now 19 months and getting into everything. His favorite place to be is in the kitchen, pulling out all sorts of items from the cabinets and drawers. He is in the 90%tile for height: 33 inches as of a few weeks ago and 75% tile for weight: 28 (heavy) lbs.
He just had his first dental appointment when Nana was here. He has all but 4 molars that need to come in. We really enjoyed the visit from Nana, we went shopping, to the park, saw the "oldest Oak tree in the world", and strawberry picking. We were able to catch up and spend quality time together which we miss so much being so far from family.
At this point, I have lost track of how many words Jacob is speaking, so needless to say he is soaking up a lot. One of my favorite words he says is "Bellwa" for Isabella our kitty and I love his attempt at "I love you" it's really sweet.
He still is super sweet, he loves to hug and kiss, but at the same time can test limits, which at times is challenging. He still is super tough and all boy... he loves to climb and stand in places that are not the safest but doesn't quite get why he is not allowed to do those things.
As for Don and myself we are doing well, Don, is as usual working a lot and studying for his work cerifications.

17th Month Update

Things have been super busy around our house with work and keeping up with Jacob. He is doing really well, speaking better each week and picking up more words. He is super sweet and well behaved (most of the time). He makes sure to sign for please and say thank you. He can be shy but is also very friendly. He waves to everyone and is so excited to get up in the morning once you open his door to his room he is repeatedly saying "Hi". It is a really sweet age. Unfortunately though, the temper tantrums have begun...I knew it was only a matter of time, but it comes with age, so we work through them. Jacob is still eating really well, which is no surprise to us, he eats too well in my opinion. We have to stop him or he would eat until he is blue in the face. He is learning how to use a spoon when eating which helps slow him down a little, the fork is next on our list. He's having fun building with Lego's and stacking blocks and rings. We are waiting for him to get more interested in puzzles and reading.
In case you haven't heard we are making a trip to MI in August and I cannot wait! It will be Jacob's first plane ride (should be interesting) but we decided the 13 hr car ride would be a lot rougher for all of us.

Hello from Jacob

Over the past few days I have written down the words Jacob is saying and he is picking up more and more daily. Here is a list of them (so I don't forget): diaper, bubbles, nana (for you mom and for banana), Dada, thank you, ball, bye-bye, nite-nite, baby, mama, book, daddy, papa, i love you, thank you, purple, more, hi, cup and star. It's so exciting to hear him sound out words and pick up words well. Here is a little video he put together for some (not all) of you that are frequent readers here at our blog.

Cuteness!

Just thought I would show some cute videos of Jacob saying a few words. He has picked up quite a lot of words just in the past few days...diaper, cup, star, thank you the video shows some of those :)

What's been happening?

I know it has been almost 2 months since I updated everyone on what our family has been doing, I kept telling myself I needed to be better at posting but I have yet to follow through...but here is the latest with our family.
We have been having so much fun with Jacob, he has developed quite the personality...just acting like a complete goof ball sometimes. Needless to say we laugh often at the things he does. Yesterday he was (almost) running back and forth in the living room covering one eye with his hand while we proceeded to say "where is Jacob", he will put almost anything on his head, including a large plastic drum and crate and will run through the room cracking up at himself. He also
likes to put socks on his hands and make sock puppet gestures.
He is also learning some of his body parts, if we ask him where his head, eyes, ears, nose and belly are located he is able to identify them. He has started as of this week signing for please and it melts my heart everytime he does it. He loves to be outside, read books and enjoys playing with blocks. He is a busy boy.
He has just starting going to a daycare facility and has transitioned well considering he was in a home daycare with only 2 other children and now is with 11 other children. So far so good....his teachers are all very nice and we look forward to him learning a great deal being in a more structured environment.
Lastly, we just enjoyed a quick little visit from Nana and Grandpa. They were able to spend some time watching Jacob and also we were able to take a visit to the aquarium in Charleston which Jacob absolutly LOVED. We really enjoy spending time with family since it isn't often that we can.

The latest...

Since the last posting Jacob starting walking! He's into everything now. He just got over a week long illness that I felt like was never going to end. He had it all and lost some weight in the process but is now back on track. He now says ball (very clearly I might add), kitty and book (we understand him but most wouldn't),Mama, Dada, Nana, and the latest bish (for fish) He has cut two top molars and handled it well because we had no idea until I was brushing his teeth and the angle I was at I was able to catch a glimpse. He is starting to sit still longer to listen to us read to him and throws almost everything. He hasn't grasped the concept that we can throw a ball but not books/toy cars/mega blocks, so we are working on that. He started using the signs for hot and eat amongst the others that he uses so well.
We had a wonderful thanksgiving (just the three of us), we missed everyone, of course, but did our best to make it feel as traditional as possible. I made everything from scratch and we enjoyed some outside time since it was really mild. This weekend we plan to get a tree and decorate for Christmas, should be interesting, since Jacob finds it entertaining and fun to play with everything but toys. Hopefully it stays upright...I'll post pictures of the tree once it's up!

One year old! :)

So as most, if not all of you, know Jacob turned one year old on the 15th, we cannot believe it, the year flew by. I made him his very own birthday cake, which we really enjoyed watching him make a huge mess with the cake. He had a ton of fun demolishing it. I took him to make a plate at a pottery shop not far from here and was able to get his 1 yr old handprints. Last saturday, we took him to get his very first hair cut. He really looks like a big boy now, it is amazing how something so little made a big difference in his appearance. He has now mastered the sign for "more" (in sign language). He has 8 teeth and is taking steps. You can tell he really wants to walk, but still is not completely 100% with mastering the task, it won't be long though. Other than that we are busy as usual, enjoy the pics I have posted.

Latest Accomplishments

I wanted to update everyone about new things Jacob has learned. He is developing more of a personality each day. The latest that he has learned is to shake his head yes and no. He is becoming aware of what he is not supposed to be touching (for safety reasons) and will start to shake his head no when he is getting close to the object(s) that are off limits for him. He is able to sign for milk and all done and we are teaching many other signs so he is able to better communicate with us. He loves to dance whenever music is on and he has a play cell phone and will put it up to his ear and start babbling like he is talking to someone. He also can throw a ball so I think we have a future athlete on our hands! He now has 6 teeth (4 on top and 2 on the bottom)and one more cutting through on the bottom. FINALLY Jacob said "Mama" (Oct 4th), I can't tell you how hearing him say this was such an amazing moment. It seems just as I stopped pushing him to say it he then said it and now he won't stop saying it! Don and I are super busy these days, he is pulling 12 hour days and working weekends if they need him, so never a dull moment for us. As most of you know, in just about a week Jacob will be turning 1 yr old, it's a little sad (a happy sad) feeling for me. I just cannot believe how quickly a year has passed. One year ago we were waiting for our little boy to meet us and here he is today, talking, signing, crawling and learning so many new things before we know it he will be starting school!
We really enjoyed Nana and Grandpa's visit last week. The weather finally started to cooperate toward the middle of the week and we enjoyed going to the Zoo in Columbia. Jacob also got a walker from Nana and Grandpa and has been making his way back and forth in the living room.