This morning Jacob and I went to a local retirement village with the moms' group to do a little costume parade for the seniors. We had a great turnout! It was so fun to see all the little kids in their costumes.
My little lion. Jacob amazed me by keeping his hood on the entire time. Usually he HATES having anything on his head.
Jacob and Maddie. I love how they look like they are checking each other out. Probably just wondering what the other is wearing! 'Why do you have petals on your head?' "Why do you have scraggly yarn poking from YOUR head?'
Yesterday afternoon was so nice with the overcast sky, strong breeze and even a few sprinkles. I was loving that! Jacob and I headed out to play in the front yard for a while and I snapped a few pictures. He was in a giggly mood so I got some good ones. You can even see that top tooth poking out in one of the pics.
This video doesn't quite capture how silly Jacob was today after lunch. I was busy washing dishes when I hear him just cracking up! I turn around and he is standing at a box just dancing away. I grabbed the video camera, but of course then he doesn't laugh like he had been. :P I think he was amused with himself that he could let go of the box and stand there for a second.
Jealousy reared its ugly head yesterday. I popped in the nursery for a few minutes to fill in for some friends while they watched a friend of theirs join the church. I was holding a little baby who was crying and trying to go to sleep. Jacob did NOT like that! He stood by my legs, pulling on my pants, crying and trying to climb up onto my lap. Oh my. Does he have a surprise in a few months!
As you know, we've been working on sleep lately. Trying to gear up for the time change next week and getting him used to one nap a day has been interesting, but I think we've finally got it. Well, hopefully. I always say that and then it all goes awry. :P Saturday night Jacob stayed at my parents' while we went to a party and he didn't drink his bedtime milk for them so we gave it to him when we got home at 11:00. Sunday morning he slept until 8:00 am! I can't remember the last time he did that. Maybe never. I certainly don't want to get into waking him up to feed him before we go to bed, so last night we decided to give him a nice big snack before bed. So, he got pita with peanut butter, apple and a cup of milk. He slept until 7:30! YAY. So once the time change happens, it looks like bedtime will be 8:00 with wake time around 6:30 or 7:00. I can totally do that. I would like him to go to bed more like 7:00, but I guess Jacob just doesn't need a ton of nighttime sleep. The once a day napping has been going well too. At first he was just sleeping an hour or so, but has been able to stretch that out to more like an hour and a half to two hours. Perfect.
Jacob is so close to walking! He has taken one to two steps on many occasions. I think he just needs a little more confidence and he'll take off!
Last night, on a whim, Alan and I took Jacob to Market Night. Alan suggested it at dinner, so I left the dirty dishes (gasp. I never do that!) and we headed downtown to check out all the interesting booths. Jacob had a blast, of course, since he loves to watch people. He even 'sang' with one of the street performers. The Humane Society is always there with animals they are hoping to adopt out, so we went over to pet the doggies and kitties. Jacob is so funny with animals! He stood by a big dog and petted it, only letting out one little yelp. He does this funny little yelp when he gets freaked out by an animal. But when we looked at the kittens, the tiny little kitties, he acted all silly. He would touch the kitten and then turn away really quickly. Pet it and turn away. Even when I was holding the cat he would do it. We were laughing so hard! Later we went to see the horse that gives the carriage rides. A big ole horse and Jacob was perfectly fine with it. He touched its nose and played with the blinders. Guess the bigger the animal, the less scary it is for Jacob. :P We ended our adventure by getting a pumpkin spice cupcake to eat while we watched 'Survivor'. Yummy!
Jacob is finally getting in one of his top teeth. It broke through on Wednesday and he was pretty sad. He cried for about an hour straight in the afternoon. So sad! I gave him Tylenol and some teething gel, but he was still hurting. I tried giving him his little frozen dragonfly toy and he threw it on the ground. I froze a washcloth for him to chew on and he threw it on the ground. I tried holding him and he got mad and tried to squirm away. I tried giving him his favorite toys and he threw them down. But then, as fast as it came on, he was a happy little guy again and yesterday and today, so far, he has been fine.
A couple pictures from this week
Jacob loves playing with the calculator. Hopefully he'll be good at math like his Daddy!
He loves trying to squeeze in tight places. He'll squish himself past the step stool and go all the way to the back wall. Then he'll get stuck and we have to rescue him.
One week until the big ultrasound! We are hoping to find out the gender, if the baby cooperates. This time I don't have a *feeling* about what it is. With Jacob I just knew, practically from the beginning. Anyone care to hazard a guess?
Last night Alan and I drove out to Orange County for a dinner party that our friend Brenda was having. It was fun seeing old friends and meeting new people. One girl was actually from a town 10 minutes from where I grew up in Michigan. Now, there is small world and there is SMALL world. We are talking 2 bitty towns of around 1000 people. And her husband went to the high school that I attended my ninth grade year. Crazy! Brenda made a delicious meal of chicken and white bean chili, scalloped potatoes and corn bread and I brought a pear crisp for dessert. Sinful! We were all stuffed and plopped on her cushy couches after dinner. :P It was a very nice evening. Fun to get away by ourselves for a few hours while Jacob stayed with Grandpa and Grandma.
Jacob turned 14 months yesterday and I am now 20 weeks pregnant. Half way there! I seem to have popped out in the last week. At least it feels like it! Today I had to get out the Bella Bands because my pants wouldn't button. :P
Here are a couple videos I took this week.
Jacob is still working hard on his signs. He gets things mixed up a little, but at least I know he wants something. He does 'milk' for a lot of things. :)
Before I pulled out the camera he was singing very loudly for me. Of course, once the camera is on him, he focuses more on that (or his blocks). He was very busy with his blocks today!
We've been having a Weelicious week (see previous post), trying out new recipes. Jacob is gobbling everything up with gusto! He's had Polenta Balls, Shepherd's Pie (I made this without meat and substituted veggie broth), Lara Bars and mini wheat bagels. Yummy!
Jacob refused his afternoon nap again the past two days, so I am starting the transition to one nap a day. We have also been pushing his bedtime back to gear up for the time change. Last night he went to bed at 7:30 and got up at 6:30. We're getting there! Hopefully doing both at the same time won't create disaster, but what can ya do?
I had an OB appointment on Monday and all is well. I am measuring right where I should be and we heard the heart beat loud and clear. The doctor found it right away and it was very loud. Even he looked surprised. We also heard lots of swish-swishing and he said, 'You've got one active kid there!' :) Since everything is going well and I haven't had any spotting for over a week, I don't have to go back for another month.
This month instead of a normal Moms' Night Out for the Mom2Mom group, I decided to plan a service project instead. Our church is focusing on support for a local pregnancy resource center during the month of October, so I thought it would be fun to make fleece tie blankets for the moms and their new babies. I had never done this before, but found some instructions on the web and it looked pretty simple. I figured I better try it beforehand so the other day I made one.
It certainly won't win any awards, but it will keep a baby warm. :P
Today our moms' group went to West Coast Whoopies to decorate cupcakes. It was fun and so cute to watch the kids inhaling their cupcakes. All the kids were Me-SSY! Whoo Hoo!
First we took a little tour of the bakery and saw the huge oven and refrigerator. They can bake 100 whoopie pies in 15 minutes! Then we got to pick our flavors of cupcake and frosting. YUM! The bakers came around with a frosting bag and the kids got to help squeeze the frosting on their cupcake. Jacob even helped hold the bag. He was pretty excited about the whole thing. He just instinctively knew that this was food! :P We sprinkled on some colored sugar and then dug in. And I mean DUG IN! Chocolate frosting everywhere!
Before digging in
Jacob covered in frosting
I couldn't resist those whoopie pies staring me in the face, so I bought a chocolate peanut butter one and a snickerdoodle one. They are pretty huge so I think I'll split them and give some to my parents. My mom is coming to watch Jacob today while I have an OB appointment. That can be her 'payment'. :D
My friend Megan sent me a link to a cool website for baby/kids recipes. Weelicious.com focuses on making food that is fresh, seasonal, organic, fast and easy. Right up my alley! She posts a new recipe each weekday, a snack of the week and a quick tip video each Friday. I have been browsing this site off and on all day and have seen lots of things I want to try for Jacob. Check it out!
Just for fun, I dug up pictures of Alan and I when we were one year old.
Jacob definitely inherited my lack of teeth at one. Look at Alan's mouthful!
I am loving this cool weather! Yesterday Jacob was all cozy in his bear sweatsuit. I thought he looked so cute!
The organic produce co-op is doing a photo contest, so after I picked up my goodies yesterday we took some pics of Jacob with some of the produce. I think we may try to perfect it, maybe put him in a basket so more of the produce shows, but I thought this was a cute picture anyway.
That's what time Jacob woke up this morning. :P He did sleep for short spurts from 5 until 5:45, but Alan and I didn't get much sleep after 4. And Jacob refused his afternoon nap the past two days. Not sure what is going on with his sleeping, but I think after he falls asleep for his morning nap today I am going to try to get a little rest. I may not get the opportunity this afternoon and I'm sleepy!
Are any of the other parents of early risers getting a little nervous about the time change coming up? I know it is in a few weeks, but I am dreading it. I think we are going to start pushing Jacob's bedtime back a bit. If he continues to get up at 5-ish, we are looking at a wake time of 4-ish after the time change. YIKES!! If anyone has any hints, let me know!
After my post yesterday, Jacob starting signing 'eat' and clapping. He is just picking things up so quickly now. We had tried to get him to clap a while ago, but he just wasn't getting it, so we gave up and focused on signing instead. Then yesterday, out of the blue, he just started clapping away. And then when it was nearing dinner time he was getting fussy and I asked him what he wanted. He looked right at me and did the sign for 'eat'. He did it again this morning when he was hungry for a snack. Go Jacob!
Guess it has been almost a week since my last post. Whoops! The days just seem to fly by.
Last Wednesday Jacob and I went up to Oak Glen for a picnic with the mom's group. It was much nicer up there with a wonderful breeze. It was hard to leave. I could have stayed up there all day. Jacob had a blast playing around with the other kids and exploring in the grass.
He loves leaves and was in heaven with these huge ones!
I had an OB appointment last Thursday and all is well with Baby. I can't believe I am 18 weeks already! I need to have Alan take another belly picture. Some of my regular shirts are starting to get a little short. :P
For dinner Friday night we went to Cafe Sevilla, a Spanish restaurant in Riverside. Jacob was so good and really enjoyed trying the different foods. He loved the olive bread with tomato sauce, dates stuffed with blue cheese and grilled vegetable paella. Yummy!
Saturday we just hung around home doing chores and enjoying the cool, autumn weather. It was one of those days where you just want to curl up with a book and a mug of something warm. Now it is hot again. Boo!
Alan is on Fall Break (or study days as it is technically called) - just today and yesterday. Yesterday we went out to Temecula on a Faculty Club outing to do some wine tasting. Well, they tasted. I was just the designated driver. It worked out perfectly for me to go as my mom took this week off since my grandma and aunt are visiting. Jacob stayed with them yesterday and got lots of attention!
At Cougar Winery we got a little tour. They are a very small operation and do much of the wine-making process by hand. They have these big bins full of grapes that they have to stir around periodically. We each got a turn at mixing up the fruit.
I was told I have nice technique. Guess I missed my calling. :P
Here is a random picture taken today. I went grocery shopping and Jacob 'helped' me unload. Alan stuck him in a bag and picked him up. He thought it was so fun!
Today I got the house cleaned. A rarity. I usually pick at it all week, but since Alan was home I could do it all in one shot. I still have some big things that I want to get done, but at least the basics are done. :) After I finished cleaning, Alan finished up some landscaping projects in the front yard. We now have all the beds planted. YAY! I'll have to take some pictures. The grass came in so nicely. It is so green and soft! Can't wait until it is a little cooler outdoors so Jacob and I can play in it in the afternoons.
I haven't written much lately as to what Jacob is up to these days. He is learning so many new things! He now signs 'milk' every morning when he is ready for it. Well, he usually starts crying and when we ask what he wants, he does the sign. He also signs 'more' during meal times. It is so cute!
His latest obsession is climbing. We are in SO much trouble when he learns how to get up on the couches! When he is on the love seat he climbs up on the arm, stands on it and tries to grab Alan's papers off his desk. Last night we had a folded up pack-n-play by the love seat and he used it to climb up. Fortunately I was sitting there and could supervise. Today he was on the couch watching Alan mow the grass and he tried to stand on the window sill! Again, I was sitting right there, but the silly boy makes me nervous!
Oh, and the napping is much better now. No screaming or refusing them altogether! He is getting up before dawn - between 5:00 and 5:30, but at least he falls asleep in a timely manner.
I started back at the prenatal yoga class at Blue Mud last night. It was one of those days where I really felt like I needed the relaxation. It was so good to be back! The instructor was a little surprised to see me back so soon and said I was the first repeat mom to take her class. :) I felt 100% better after the class was over. Have you ever been so relaxed that you couldn't even really feel your body? During final relaxation I felt like my arms were melting into the floor. Ahhhhhhh. Can't wait for next Tuesday!
Jacob has been fighting his sleep lately. Friday and Saturday nights he screamed for 45 minutes after we put him in bed for the night and then would wake up at 5:30 am. Sunday morning he refused his morning nap and Monday and yesterday he refused his afternoon naps. He just stands in his crib and does this horrific scream. Yesterday I had a bad headache and the screaming just aggravated it. Plus it was hot and that made me cranky. :P I know he is tired because yesterday he fell asleep in my arms, but as soon as I tried putting him in his crib, he started screaming again. I hope today is better. It really bugs me when I know he isn't getting enough sleep.
