Verbosity

Sigh. My little baby is growing up. We are out of daycare this week and I am so loving spending all the time with him. The last day I picked him up from school, he saw me and ran to the picture on the wall and said, "Da?" with his hands held open and in question. He loves to run down the hall to go pick up Ethan from his room too.



We even have some teeth now...finally. Still only the two on bottom and the two half in on top (with a really cute gap) but his molars have broken through. How do I know this? So glad you asked. The teeth marks in my pointer finger for starters. Also, we had our 18 month pediatrician appt where he saw they were just beneath the gum lines. Of course the doc isn't sure what happened to his other front teeth but was very thrilled with all of his physical milestones. He can run and kick a ball, even tried to jump and plays a mean hide and seek. We were still 95% for weight and head size and our height was holding at 75%. Wearing 2T for the last few months. It amazes me how much he just looks like a toddler now.

Jason now has this totally expansive vocabulary...well not quite but we are getting there. We are saying some really cute things and our expressions are priceless but we are still limited to a few major groups. He shrugs his shoulders and lifts his hands palms up when he wants to know why or doesn't know something. He also waves bye and blows kisses, and raises his hands when you ask who loves Da Da or who is stinky. Always important.

Attitudes:
No
Stop (complete with hand gesture)
Mine (totally required given who his older brother is)
Up

Items of interest:
Car (his non food addiction)
Ball (noticed on every Pamper)
Duck
Bath (see above item)

Food imperatives:
Cracker (universal symbol for anything to eat)
More (in both sign and spoken languages due to the sheer importance of this one)

Pleasantries
Da Da (said DA DA really loudly)
Hello (pronounced Hull-o)
Bye Bye
Uh oh
Please (only when prompted and bribed by withholding item he wants)

And of course no post is complete without some pictures of him playing in the living room and with Daddy (who spun him around and made him dizzy). Love the jammies!

Holiday get together

We had some folks over from work today who have small children all in the age range from 1 - 4 years old. We had some munchies, played outside on the playground and visited the horses, did crafts, and had a small gift exchange. It was the kind of party where even the hosts could relax with some wine and some good company. To be honest, I didn't hear from my kids for most of the day. They had a wonderful time and loved playing with their friends and showing everyone around. The part that amazed me was that nobody cried, got hurt, fought over anything, made a mess etc. Talk about some diligent, amazing friends and parents. We all really enjoyed the day and will even do it again.

Here are some pics from the event:

Doing crafts...we made bracelets that jingle and decorated trees and ornaments (thanks to Shannon!!).



Stephanie and Adelaide with our tree in the background.



Getting the kids to all sit for present exchange....ha!



Getting closer!



Jason, always the patient one.




Ramin and Nicholas finishing up their craft:



Playing outside with our friends:



Getting some snacks with Nicole and Tracey (who looks beautiful pregnant!)



Daimar and Sophia with Trina:

The Santa Train

Near our home there is a great little railroad and museum that does a lot of great things for the local community and kids. It runs the first weekend of the month and we can hear the whistle from our house. The kids love it and Ethan calls it Choo Choo Willy thanks to Uncle Mikey.

One of those activities is a decorated train at Christmas where Santa comes through the cars and hands out candy canes and takes pics while we travel along an old track through the woods. Jeff has taken Ethan every year and this was the first year Jason and I could go too. Last year Jason was too little.

Now, most of the train is an open air train and it was 40 degrees today so it was cold but we had a blast...no pun intended. Of course, Jason refuses to wear hats or gloves but we bundled them up the best we could and set out looking like the Michelin men. What was extra nice was that Jason actually liked Santa this time. He cried and didn't want to go near the mall Santa last week but this one handed out food, so all was right in Claus land for him.

After the train, we took the boys out to lunch and then we were off to go shopping and prepare for our party tomorrow. All in all, a really great day with my boys.

Visit with Hayes

Jason had a great time tonight playing with someone else his size and age. My friend Barbara and her son were visiting the area and stopped by for dinner (although Hayes threw more than he ate since he is at that stage). I have never seen Jason throw food but then again, he wouldn't waste the precious commodity. Have you seen the size of him? There is nothing edible that gets past him.

The kids all played very well together and although chasing three of them tired all of us adults outs, it was so nice to get the boys together. It was also nice to see that someone else has their hands full. Sorry, Barbara. :-)

Jason plays really well with kids at school or on play dates but has a nice little temper with his bro lately. He hits...and not just once but like 6 - 10 in rapid fire mode. I am just grateful Ethan doesn't strike back and Jason understands "do nice" and will adjust his actions accordingly. Given his size, it could be a lot worse. Sumo wrestling is not out of the picture.

Pumpkin patch

Today we took the boys to pick out our Halloween pumpkins. We sorta make a deal out of the holiday and even put up some pumpkin lights and floating ghosts. With Christmas so magical for the boys and Ethan so incredibly fascinated by all the lights and decorations, I wanted to get Jason in the swing. There is this great little lot on the way to work that sells strawberries in the spring and pumpkins in the fall....all on the honor system. Tonight when we went, the owner was there and gave the boys a cool white pumkin they can draw on with markers. Killer idea. Involves no knives although Ethan assures us that he can carve his pumpkin all by himself with his own knife. Ya right. Next thing you know, they'll be driving.

Day Out with Thomas

If you have never been to the NC Transportation Museum, in Spencer you need to go. On this particular occasion, Thomas and Bob the Builder were there as well which of course appealed to our crew. Many thanks to Dad and Joyce for arranging this for us and for such an incredible day!

We arrived around 10:30 thanks to some unscheduled stops (hey, we have kids!). We walked through some of the exhibits and then met bob the Builder, Fifi and watched a magic show. We then had a nice lunch, rode Thomas and met Sir Topham Hat. Yes, they honestly had a steam engine that looked exactly like Thomas that took us out on the tracks owned by the museum. They were a one way set that pass a working railroad yard, has the largest roundhouse and turntable in the country and actually hooks to the currently used freight lines. We were not allowed on the main lines of course so there was a diesel engine on the back that brought us back as we reveresed. The kids loved it. Ethan got a tattoo of Thomas on his face and they both got Tootsie pops from the vendors for being so good and patient. We bought them some t-shirts and a puzzle to commemorate the day and they slept the entire ride home (two hours of silence).

Grandpa's birthday

Today was my Dad's birthday so we all went over to play at their place and then went out to dinner. Ethan got to play with his truck and gas tank from his birthday and Jason had his wagon and golf clubs. It is so hard to get them indoors lately. Jason screams and throws himself down. You can hear him 12 blocks away. They start normally at 6:30 in the morning wanting to go out. I can tell you I am not normally ready to start chasing them that early. It doesn't matter. I do love being here in the country since they can run around while you watch from the porch and there is no danger of traffic. With Tanner, the fence and gate, you at least have a good chance of catching them before anyone enters. At Mom and Dad's they have the entire big driveway to ride on and the backyard with grass is a nice draw. I'm working on that at the farm still.

So there is still not much talking going on with Jason. Mama and more, duck and Daddy and sometimes the occasional socks. Don't ask why these seem to be the words of choice. He still signs more, all done, up and down most times. As for teeth, we only have the two bottom teeth and the top two that are over halfway in. He can use them well though...he bit Jeff on the shoulder when he took him out of the car the other day. I think Jason was as shocked as Daddy that it hurt. He hasn't done it since.

Some other observations you have to endure before you get to the pictures.

He loves to take baths. This is a good thing until the bath tub is empty and every time you enter the bathroom, he tries to do a header. Or until you take him out and he screams like you are torturing him. He loves to brush his teeth. However, he won't give it back and he screams when you take it away. Did I mention how utterly piercing this scream is? I have started using other things he loves to avoid this. "Jason, do you want to go say good night to Tanner? We need to get out of the bath to go see him." I better be ready to catch him as he launches his way towards me. Tricky Mom.

"Jason, do you want to open Mommy's bathroom drawer and put your toothbrush away?" I say as he is running out of the room because I had the audactity to reach for it. Ooh...the forbidden drawer.,..must open it and throw toothbrush in....get a peek at the items I can't play with. He comes running back to do it. Score 1 to Mom.

He loves fruit...all kinds. And it is the only thing I can keep on his tray. When he is bored with other food, it gets launched. He could care less about cake and cookies but did have his first lollipop recently. Required an immediate bath.

Bed time. I can't say how easy this is without jinxing us. At 7:45, we get him some milk, read him a story and put him in his crib. Yep, awake. He hugs his puppy and puts his pacifier in and burroughs down and listens to his music and goes right off. YES! He doesn't sleep really sound but moves around a lot and always puts himself back to sleep. We hear from him around 7:15 or so if Ethan doesn't wake him. Now, we are talking about weaning from the paci...will let you know if that changes the sleep habits.

Jason blows kisses, waves bye bye to everything and everyone and gives the best hugs. He is fascinated with the horses and loves throwing the ball for Tanner. He can play Simon Says and knows his body parts and animals if you ask him which is which in his books. He hasn't learned as many words or objects as E had at this age but he is fabulous at following multi step commands and doing puzzles. They each have their strengths. Lungs are equal on both. Drat.

Jason can run now and is all over the farm. Comes with me to the barn, walks down the driveway and is very independent. He waves bye to me like I am going to let him go off by himself. Ya right. Not until he is 21. :-)

Pee-Pa's birthday

My grandfather (and the boys great grandfather) is 92 years old today. Brought back lots of memories of Grandma and all the great family get togethers around their anniversary. With losing Joyce's Mom recently and having Grandpa now under hospice care, it is the end of an era so it is bittersweet. Ethan helped him blow out his candle and open his cards and Jason sat in a big boy chair for cake to be near him.




Jason can use a fork....and has no intention of sharing cake with Uncle Teo:





My Dad bought Ethan some funny glasses for Halloween:

Naked babes

Just a few fun shots of our nightly bath ritual. Note we still don't have much hair but we sure have a great smile and lots of personality....and we can eat our toes so he must be either slimming down or his legs are getting longer.

Playtime at the homestead

Been crazy busy summer with the three boys but I wanted to post a few pics. He is growing so fast. I love how happy and affectionate he is. Except for mornings. When he first gets up, all he wants is his Daddy. I don't start looking good until breakfast when I am carrying the food.

Anyway, here is JT at 15 months.