He Did It

We have had the "Big Boy" bed set up in Jacob's room now for a good couple of months. I wanted to have it set up and get Jacob adjusted to having it around before making the transition official. The other day Matt looked at me and said, "so when are we going to do this?" (Meaning, make the big switch). I hesitated and said, "soon". Yeah right, he knows me and he knows that I would have waited forever and come up with a million reasons as to why we shouldn't switch him over just yet, "he's too little still", "we don't really HAVE to yet", "we don't have the guard-rails set up", "I'm too tired", etc. etc. etc. The truth is, Jacob was ready. I was the one who wasn't quite ready to have him grow up. I wasn't quite ready to have him out of his crib, sleeping in a bed, like a big boy. I wasn't quite ready to let go of that phase. Wow, it did go so quickly. Now, I feel like it's official, he's no longer my little baby, he's a big boy. Jacob did it. He slept in his big boy bed as if he's always slept there. He did still have his nookies. A little bit of baby that he's still hanging onto and I'm letting him...for now!

Just waking up from his first sleep in the bed.

Proud Mama

I never though I'd be so proud of such silly little things. I'm proud of so many things Jacob does lately. He's now telling me when he has a dirty diaper, when his sippy cup is empty, when he's tired and ready for "blue nookies" (my kid does love to sleep). He can hold a spoon and eat a bowl of cereal! Wow, that makes me proud! I'm proud of so much that Jacob does, but there is one thing and for whatever reason, it makes me Super Proud! I'm so proud of the way he can eat a banana like everyone else now! It's so amazing to watch him hold the banana by the peel at the bottom and bite off one piece at a time. I watched him the first time he did this and thought to myself, "this is how he's going to eat a banana for the rest of his life, and here I am watching it for the first time ever" Call it silly if you will, but I'm proud.

Choo-Choo

My mom keeps asking me if Jacob really plays with his train table. He really does. He loves it and lines a bunch of trains up and pushes them around and around. Here is a little video clip of him playing trains:

Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk

I'm in the kitchen cooking (something I rarely have the time/energy to do anymore) and I hear this gurggling and splashing sound from down the hallway. I peak my head over the counter to see what's going on and I find this:

Jacob has his sippy cup of milk and he's having the most wonderful time filling up his mouth with milk and then letting it run/drip out of his mouth, down his shirt and onto the floor. So what's a Mom to do? My first reaction, not to yell, or even to clean up the mess, but: Hurry, get your camera before the moment's over! Here are the photos:

Georgia Trip

Jacob and I looking at the Whale Sharks...so cool!
The Beluga Whale looked like it was dancing for Jacob
Parker and Jacob playing with the dump truck. They took turns pushing each other!

We just returned home from a week in Georgia visiting Jacob's "Grana" and "Pop". Jacob had a great time playing with his grandparents, Aunt Mandy and Jacob's only cousin, Parker. I spent the week reading a book (WOW!) and watching Grana and Pop chase after Jacob...what a treat! The highlight of the trip was taking both boys to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. Jacob was fascinated by each and every exhibit. He was so engaged and attentive that I couldn't quite believe it. Parker...not so much! Parker and Jacob did almost everything together for the week, played outside, played with trains and trucks, chased the cat around the house, watched some DVD's and of course took their bath together in Grana's big tub. The last night we were there, Parker had already left and when it was time for a bath, Jacob ran through the house calling for Parker.

They are such great buddies!

Surgery and Spinning

A couple of months ago we learned that Jacob had to have a mole on his ankle removed. There are a number of reasons why they wanted to remove this mole: size, color, symmetry, etc.
So, we scheduled Jacob's surgery for the first possible time in the morning, on Matt's Birthday! Happy Birthday Matt. We drove 1 hour north to Bangor where Maine Medical Center is located. Prior to the surgery we waited in a little room with nothing to distract Jacob with exception of some old blocks. This got old very quickly and Jacob decided that it would be more fun to run out of the room and explore (typical toddler). It wasn't long before Jacob was being chased down the long and empty hallways of the recovery room (empty at the time because it was 6:30 am)by his pregnant mother (I was trying to make sure he didn't tip over the IV poles, or touch ANYTHING for that matter)...he thought this was so much fun, and most of the staff thought so too, they got a good laugh out of us! I'm not sure if they were laughing because Jacob is so cute, or at me because I'm pregnant and running!!! The doctors did a great job of making sure Jacob was going to be comfortable with them, and I made sure that he was going to be OK by requesting to be at his side as he went under. He was a very brave little boy and only cried a little bit. Jacob's surgery went very well. He was only under anastheia for 40 minutes. We waited to be called and didn't have to wait long before I heard my baby crying down the hall. I went to him and scooped him up. He was pretty out of it and trying to rip out the IV in his arm. The nurses decided to take it out before Jacob did and once this was done, he was still weepy, but quieted down and was comforted easier. The nurses helped us get Jacob dressed and out of there! I think they wanted us to take our crying kid home :) As soon as he was strapped into the car with his Baby Einstein DVD playing, he was as good as new! After a good 3 hour nap Jacob was acting as if nothing had even happened. Kids are so resiliant!

THE VERY NEXT DAY:

Jacob has learned how to spin. Oh my, what fun. Last night we had pizza and Jacob didn't want to sit at the table. So we did what any sensible parent of a toddler would do and didn't push the issue. We let him run around the kitchen and come get bites when he wanted them. At one point he grabbed his sippy cup of milk off of the floor, tipped it up to drink and started to spin. He spun around and around and around. Matt and I just looked at each other and all we could do was laugh. Jacob stopped spinning and was so dizzy he almost fell right over (Matt caught him!). It made us all laugh so hard. I love the never-ending surprises of living with a toddler!

Merry Christmas Jacob

It was Jacob's second Christmas, but really seemed like his first. Last year he was just a little baby and hardly even played with toys. This time, he's really into toys, and loves to play, play, play. Especially with trains. So it's only fitting that Santa got him a train table fully decked out. A week prior to Christmas, Jacob found a catalouge in the house and turned to the page with the train tables on it. He pointed to the trains, signed "please" and made a sign by opening and closing his hands over and over, which I interpreted to mean, "I really, really, really want one of these". All while squeeling with delight at the thought of a train table. So, I was very excited to know that Santa would be bringing Jacob his very own train table.

Our strategy for Christmas morning was to feed Jacob prior to opening gifts, knowing that he wouldn't eat once engaged in play with his new toys. We almost accomplished this task. Jacob bolted out of the kitchen and noticed the toys under the tree, the John Deere tractor to be specific. He ran over to the tree and turned around and made his happiest of faces. This was the first of many happy faces we recieved on Christmas day. We managed to feed the boy and then continued to open gifts, saving the train table for last. Of course, Jacob loved all of his gifts and is still overwhelmed by the amount of things to do in our house! But, the train table is by far his favorite. Each time he sees it, he acts surprised to see it there. I think he is overjoyed that he gets to keep it!