Baking Baking Baking

Anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE to bake. I find great pleasure in baking and always enjoy the fruits of my labor!!! BUT I have done more baking from the 1st of December til now than any human being should ever have to do. There have been parties and concerts and get togethers and they seem to all require a delicious dessert. After baking almost 6 dozen cookies today, I thought that I would immediately upchuck at the sight of another holiday goody! That didn't last long:) I found myself enjoying the fruits once again this evening! But it might take a month or two before I can truly take joy in the work again.

Jacob was a precious cutie bug today, as usual. He was scared of Santa at Lee's Work Christmas Party tonight, and screamed in horror. Of course, that made everyone laugh.

Today we were drawing circles. He's pretty good at it. When I told him to draw a circle, he would, so I assume that means he knows what a circle is now. He amazes me. Guess we'll start on organic chemistry tomorrow.

I hate to post without adding at least one picture...so here are two that are a couple of weeks old. Jacob really loved talking through the gift wrap and Lee really loved sword fighting Jacob with the gift wrap. "Riccccooolllaaaaaaaa"

Labor of Love

I think my mother and brother are the only ones who can truly appreciate today's post. My sister-in-law, Katie, stopped by this weekend and on Saturday we all went to Milan to make Christmas goodies with my mom. This was also the unveiling ceremony of the upstairs of my parents' house. This room was my brother's bedroom when he was younger. I guess some time around middle or high school, when my Dad added on the living room and master bedroom, the upstairs became attic space. Unfortunately I do not have any pictures of this room to show how it looked the last time I was up there. There were boxes stacked floor to ceiling and you couldn't see the carpet. There were holes in the ceiling where the friendly squirrels had been trying to drop in for a visit. The toy box was still full of old toys, covered in dust and long since forgotten....by some. There were thick red drapes blocking the sunlight and an old broken air conditioner hanging in the window. It was a little depressing. But look at it now! There is a picture of some of my first children. There were eight of them.....I'll have to find the family photo and post it soon. All the books and toys in the bookshelves belonged to my brother and me. I believe my Dad made the table and chairs before I was born...for my brother. They added a Futon as well. Jacob even got to put ornaments on the Christmas tree. He was originally going to help us make treats, but he was very much distracted by this wonderland of toys. But we eventually got him to help with some cookies. So......THANK YOU GRANDADDY!!!!!

Cutie

O.K. A few things to write. First of all.....my voice. I've been hacking away for about 4 days now, and have lost my voice. Second...crayons. Jacob took his first stab at wall art yesterday, and as I opened my mouth to shriek in horror, nothing came out! Thankfully they are washable and came right off with Mr. Clean's magic eraser. There were 3 areas colored on the wall, but I've only included a picture of one. He also managed to get the washer and dryer! Jacob is totally into his toboggan (sp?). He's been wearing it all around the house like a stinkin' cutie pie. He can put it on by himself and I think he is very proud of that. Jacob was pulling his donkey toy around this morning. It was so cute, but of course when I got the camera out to video, he stopped. The upside is that you still get to see him in his incredibly tight Lightning McQueen p.j.'s and a pair of athletic shoes. Later in the day, after lunch, he was trying to buckle Pooh Bear into his booster seat. I wasn't quick enough to get that one either. He is now calling Pooh by name. Actually by three names. One is simply Poo. The second is, Pooh Bee. The third is Pooh Boo. Also this morning, while watching Sesame Street, he jumped in and counted along. As they began counting on the screen he looked up with interest. After they said, "one", he said "two". And he counted along all the way to 17. But each and every number after "one" was "two". He really loves the number two!

Notice when Jacob stops by the table and sort of half-smiles. He thinks I am taking another picture! Poor kid.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving, though busy, was a very fun day for Jacob. We woke up, ate breakfast and got dressed, and then hopped in the van and headed for Milan. An hour and a half later we were at GGDaddy's (Great Grandaddy--Lee's Grandad). It was here that Jacob had his first experience putting a Christmas tree up! He was quite helpful (see video below). Around 4ish, and still without a nap, we headed for Great Grandmother and Grandaddy Fisher's house. It took him a little while to warm up, but once he did he had a ball! He loved coloring with his 5 year old 2nd cousin, Finn. His hands looked like a rainbow (pictures below)! He also had fun playing with Papa and Bella (the dog). The ride home was memorable. Jacob was so tired that all he could do was cry. Cry, Cry, Cry. The next day, possible high from the holiday spirit, or just wanting to escape the cranky, sleep-deprived toddler, I decided to go out and do some Christmas shopping. NEVER AGAIN! Toys R Us was especially horrible. I can't believe that people can trample through stores like packs of wolves. We are truly animals. When I returned home later in the evening we began putting our own Christmas tree up. I failed to get any pictures or video of this special event because I was so wiped out from my Black Friday experience:( Oh well. Maybe next year.

Trumpet Twosome

I know I have a lot to post. I've gotten a little behind. I only have a minute and can't give Thanksgiving weekend justice, but I wanted to post this video I just took. It's priceless. Jacob wants to be just like Daddy! I promise to do a Thanksgiving post soon.

Jacob's Picks

#1 Zicam Gel Swabs-These are a miracle in a tube. For all you moms who can't afford to be sick, and everyone else in the world who just hates the common cold, here is your remedy. I had the tell tale signs of an upcoming cold 48 hours ago. My throat was already sore and I was dreading the coming days. Then I remembered my Dad telling me that Zicam had worked for him. I also had heard Rush Limbaugh endorse the product. Lee says that if Rush says it works, it works! :) So I had Lee go and get it for me. (I couldn't go myself...I was already feeling sick;) ) Now I am fit as a fiddle and have all of my energy back. I HIGHLY recommend this product, as does Jacob. Because if Mommy is sick it's no fun.

#2 Orchestra Wives-Looking for a new movie? Try an old favorite! Jacob has chosen to watch this movie over Sesame Street on several occasions. He was particularly adamant about watching it this morning. It is an old black and white that stars Glenn Miller's Band as the Gene Morrison Band. It is a story of love between a trumpet player and his biggest fan! There is music and dancing and best of all, the absence of profanity. Our favorite quote from the movie is when George Montgomery's character, Bill Abbott, says to Ann Rutherford's character, Connie Ward: "Now listen, cutie-pie. I'm a big bad trumpet player. And never in my life have I seen anything so gorgeous coming off a dance floor. I've seen thousands. I've kissed some of them. But not like I'm gonna kiss you." And after a very dramatic kiss he asks, "Do you carry a battery?" It's priceless. It is my favorite movie and looks like it might be Jacob's as well. When he is watching it he will pick up one of his trumpets and just play right along.

Potty Progress

For some reason the other day, I decided that it was time to get Jacob his own potty. Lee and I took him to the store and let him pick out his very own potty. When we got home I pulled Jacob's pants off and set him on the potty. I showed him how it was done and before I knew it out came his pee pee and poo poo! It was sooooooooooo exciting. Of course, I just happened to put him on at a good time. I believe that was Monday. Yesterday we were gone most of the day, so I only got a few chances to put him on the potty and nothing. Today I put him on the potty every once in a while throughout the day. After sitting for a little while this afternoon he got up and ran into the kitchen and put his pee pee in the kitchen floor:) Then he started cleaning it up! I wasn't sure whether to laugh or instantly sanitize his hands! I chose laughter...it was easier. Then we went back to the bathroom and washed his hands. I told him that I was glad he got his pee pee out, but that next time he should put it in the potty. Tonight I sat him on the potty before bed and he put his pee pee IN THE POTTY!!!! I'm so proud.

Saturday Night Silliness

I started to title this post Friday Night Fun...then I realized that today is Saturday. Motherhood is really taking it's toll on me. Lee has been working for the last two days, so I have tried to keep Jacob extra busy. Tonight I decided that it would be a good idea to make cookies for Lee. I knew Jacob would love "cooking" because he loves playing with pots, pans, bowls and spoons. He is always anxious to help. I think most people know that I am sort of a neat/control freak, so this was a huge step for me....letting a 21 month old play with flour, sugar, etc?!! We both had lots of fun! As you can see from the video, it took a lot of restraint on my part. I am learning to let go a little. Jacob and I are both learning patience with each other.

Jacob discovered the Peanut Butter Crunch on the counter and decided that it would be a perfect addition to the recipe. He also kept eating it out of the bowl...along with the cookie dough.

When it was time for clean up I was amazed at how little mess there was. Although I did find some dirty silverware that was put back in the drawer! I felt like CSI Catherine Willows, taking pictures of the crime scene!

Then, all hopped up on sugar, I somehow got him to take a bath and got him into his p.j.'s. But the silliness continued with the hat. He is very into shoes and hats these days. I took about 6 pictures of him in the hat and the entire time I was conducting this "photo shoot" he was saying, "CHEESE!" He is such a ham!

Here is a photo of the fruits of our labor. Also a shot of the sheet of cookies with the three that had peanut butter crunch in them. It ruined every cookie on the sheet! They didn't cook at all, and looked like they were floating in oil! I know not to put peanut butter crunch in the chocolate chip cookies anymore! In fact, I'm not sure if I'll even eat peanut butter crunch anymore:(

It's Official

I unpacked the last box yesterday during Jacob's nap! The office is coming along. You can actually see the floor and the top of the desk now. It's so exciting. The boxes you see in the pictures are not boxes to be unpacked. They are just waiting for a home:(

A word about the bookshelves. Aren't they beautiful?! I had them custom made!

My Dad made them. He's the best carpenter in the world and he made them for free! It doesn't get any better than that.

Painting

I thought Jacob might like to do some water coloring, since he loves water and loves to color. It didn't go exactly as I had envisioned. He would dip his brush in the water, and then spread that water over the paper. I tried to show him how to stick his brush in the paint several times, but he was just not interested. Maybe he is still a little too young, but we had fun anyway!

The Joys of Living on Base

"We're under threat charlie. I'm gonna need you to pull under that tent over there."

This was our greeting at the gate this evening as we returned home from church. In the tent we had to turn off the van, pop the hood and trunk and exit the vehicle. Jacob got to stay in his seat, though. Then there were two soldiers that searched the vehicle while we were watched over by a very serious guy holding a shot gun. I wonder if Jacob will have nightmares about this? Lee told me that they are doing a simulation, so it wasn't real. I couldn't help but giggle when the guy told us to pull over to be searched.....since I knew it wasn't real. I guess they pulled us over because we were in a van. The other cars went right through. Or maybe Jacob looked suspicious. We were practicing winking today and it did look kind of scary.

In other news, Jacob added a new word today...."NO". He keeps repeating it over and over and over and over..as if he is afraid he is going to forget it!!!

Toddler Trickery

I often feel like I am hovering over little Jacob. But then I think to myself, "He's not even two, you can't exactly leave him all alone." I often wondered how other children got into such mischief when there mother's were home with them..(Yes, Carrie, your boys come to mind:) ) I leave Jacob alone much more often these days, allowing him to play by himself and not thinking twice about him running into another room while Lee and I are trying to have an adult conversation. Imagine my surprise when he came into the bedroom with the last piece of left over pizza last Friday! Granted, this isn't a bad thing per se, but I had no idea he was capable of reaching where this pizza was. I don't even think he was hungry...it was bedtime. We were so tickled at his little trick that we let him stay up until he finished his pizza. I wonder if this is the beginning of his mischievious days!?

The shoes are his favorite. Every time he sees them he tries desperately to put them on. Maybe he associates them with going to church and being in nursery with his friends.

P.S. Grandparents: he is not in "time out". He just chose to eat his pizza in the chair!

Toddler Talk

Jacob is really coming along with his words. He can now be heard running through the house yelling Mommy or Momma and a very clear DaDa as well. Sometimes it's Du. In fact, this morning he had woken up and finished playing in the bed by himself, so he sat on the side of the bed and yelled, "Momma, Momma, Momma" emphasizing the second syllable, until I came in to get him. "How did you know what he was doing?" you might ask. I have a video monitor. Today when we were playing at the playground I would chase him and say, "I'm gonna get you!" Then he started saying, "Git you!" It was hilarious. He is also trying to count, but seems to favor two...which is pronounced "t you wa" (very long and drawn out, like we do when we are counting for children). Sometimes he says one, "un". He is also getting better with his sign language. "More, please and thank you" are the signs he knows and can use in the correct context. He is a blessing and a joy!

Balanced Breakfast

Jacob enjoyed a blueberry bagel with cream cheese
this morning. There's nothing unusual about that. Only this morning he decided that the
bagel would serve very well as a hat. He was trying his hardest to balance it on top of his head. I was unable to get the camera in time for a picture of this fashion statement, but I was able to get shots of the aftermath. He had absolutely no qualms about putting the bagel on his head...cream cheese side down! Fascinating.

Halloween Happiness

Our second night of Halloween was a little better. Jacob was in good spirits because we were at Grandaddy and Grandmother Rein's house. We took the puppy around town to a couple of different houses and then enjoyed some Wendy's for dinner. And a cupcake for dessert. So who ate all the Halloween Candy? :)

Halloween Horrors Part I

Jacob was slightly unhappy to be in his Halloween costume tonight. We tried it on earlier in the day and he loved it...once he saw himself in the mirror. We went to put it on for Lee's work party and he completely lost it!!! Real tears streamed down his face as we pleaded with him. He threw himself down on his bed and kicked his feet as hard as he could. It was really quite sad:( I even tried to bribe him with a milkshake or a new toy. But in the end it just took brute force to get him into it. It was a four person job, but we got it done with two.

The first picture is directly after we got the suit on him. The second is after Lee showed him how cute he was in the mirror. And the third is a picture of his last tear. The rest of the night he was fine. I dare say he was the cutest kid at the party!:)

New Template

I thought it was about time to change my template. I would like to wallpaper a kitchen like this someday.....if I ever OWN a kitchen! It looks like something you would find in an old Grandma's house. Kind of gives off that mothball appeal, huh?

Toddler Bed Trials

Jacob has expressed an interest in sleeping in his toddler bed. He's taken 3 or so naps in the bed and loved it. We had a rocky night with the toddler bed last Saturday, but he was ready to try again last night. When we went to bed we peeked in and noticed that he was hanging half off the bed. Shortly after we lay down we heard a scream and some whining. We peeked again and it looked as if he had fallen off and climbed back on. We thought all was well and went to bed. This is how we found him this morning.




So it is with great pain that I swallow my pride and say, "Mom, you were right."

What a Big Boy!

Lee was off today, so it was back to the zoo! That's what happens when you buy a year pass. It just so happened that our friends, the Deatons, were going to the zoo too, so we decided to meet up. I didn't take the camera, because I have plenty of pictures from the zoo. I was a little sorry that I didn't bring it, because I failed to capture the love that Joy has for Jacob. She would hold his hand and stroke his face and of course, give him kisses! But he always came back to Mommy:)

Later this evening Jacob received his very first house call. We were in the bedroom playing and the doorbell rang. We were surprised since we weren't expecting company. We went to the door to find the 6 year old boy from down the street, Sean. He wanted to know if Jacob could come out and play. (This is the voice from the video of Jacob with the water hose saying....hey guys, I picked up a dead worm) Lee tried to explain that Jacob was still just a baby, but Jacob wasn't having it. You see, Jacob watches the big boys play football across the street every night and he wants so desperately to play with them. So he took off out the door in nothing but his diaper and followed Sean into the back yard where the teeter totter was discovered. Lee brought out clothes for Jacob and we played for a bit. He was so sad when Sean left:(

But before our house call, while I was making dinner, I was able to catch this little jewel on camera. This was his first time to enter the cabinet.....we think he was pretending to be a bear like he saw at the zoo. Unfortunately you also get an up close and personal glimpse of my cluttered kitchen table:( My real friends will just look past that, right? Upon watching the video I also heard Lee playing.....I don't really notice it anymore.

Men

After spending a day out with the girls Jacob decided that he needed to be extra manly today!!!! Watch out ladies!

Out with the Girls

Jacob and I went to the zoo with our friends yesterday. He is really beginning to warm up to Joy and Daisy. At one point he chose to hold Joy's hand instead of mine!!!! Isn't he a little young for this? I did manage to get a shot of him holding hands with Daisy....the older woman.

Joy was very interested in what he had to say about the animals. In this particular shot I believe she was trying to give him a kiss! He was much more interested in the ducks. Of all the wonderful animals to see at the zoo, Jacob loved the ducks. And each time I asked him what a duck says he would reply, in a raspy voice, "Cack, Cack". He was also able to meow at the kitty cats and was absolutely prepared to jump in with the hippos! He had a close encounter with the monkeys, through the clear wall, but he didn't seem that interested. He probably thought it was just a dirty kid.

I do believe that Joy managed to give Jacob a kiss goodbye when he was strapped in his carseat. I don't think she would have gotten it otherwise!

Our Weekend in Milan

This is Jacob waving goodbye. Looks a little stunned. This is because he just completed the John Deere ride with Granda. I think he's surprised that he survived!

We went home to celebrate Granda's Birthday, and to play with the cats, of course. Here is a clip of the scary ride.

The following day we were excited to go meet Allie and Abby. Allie and Abby are the daughters of my friend, Melinda, who I grew up with. Allie will be 3 in January and Abby is just about to be 4 months. I was so pleased that there was no major meltdowns over the sharing of toys. Either he's getting better or I just caught a break. Either way it was a great day.

Not the Brightest Bulb

I was looking at the blog just now (I actually just wanted to listen to my playlist, but hate to do it from their site.....too many half-naked girls), and thinking no one ever comments...I wonder if anyone looks at this thing? I'm wasting my time. Then I looked a little closer.....closer.....WOW! I have all kinds of comments! Perhaps I will reply to them?! To all of you who are much more computer savvy than I......my apologies.

When I arrived home from the gym last night my family was gone! I soon received a phone call from Lee. He told me to bring the camera to the playground! This is what I found. I guess Lee had been telling Jacob that I was going to "come and see" him slide, because when he saw me he said, "come see"!

Maintenance

AFTER Jacob's bath the other night, he somehow convinced Daddy to let him come out and help me water the flower bed. I'm putting my money on doe eyes. He watered the grass, sidewalk and a leaf, but never hit the flower bed. He, of course, watered himself as well! Also pay attention to the kid in the background....."I picked up a dead worm!"

The Result

After working hard with Mommy all day long, Jacob has made it clear that he wants to be just like Mommy when he grows up!

Takin' Care of Business

Today, we were putting mulch in the flowerbed and teaching Jacob the value of a hard day's work. He really enjoyed getting dirty! Do you notice who is behind the camera......and not getting dirty? O.K., Daddy did pitch in later, but I was too busy to document with pictures.