Things I want to remember

Jake is doing and learning so many things these days. I'm definitely worried about forgetting some of the sweet and wonderful things about him. Luckily, this blog will have a better memory than me. Here are some of the things I hope to remember:

*He's learning more and more words. Some of the latest words I like the best are: plessse (please), eyes, ears, toes, Skylar (I have no idea how to spell the way he says it, but he does say it), drop (a command for Skylar), tee-tee, poo-poo, potty, shoes, Blambey (the name of his lovie) and "2, 3, go!"

*His "2, 3, go!" expression is especially cute. For some reason, he never says the #1, but he says this expression a lot. He uses it when he plays with his cars before pushing them off, when he plays running games, and sometimes just to keep us on our toes.

* When someone is sitting down and he wants you to get up for whatever reason, he grabs your hand and pulls. If you don't get up immediately, he pulls and adds a grunting noise. If you still don't get up, he'll say "plessse," which is irresistable.

* He's a good helper around the house and has started doing some very basic "chores" to help out. One is feeding Skylar. Kevin or I will fill Skylar's cup with food, hand it to Jake, then Jake carries it to her bowl to dump it out. He then takes the empty cup back to its bin. This definitely can be a bit messy depending on his aim, but luckily Skylar's good at eating everything to the last drop.

*He's very good at cleaning up toys when asked. I am very grateful for this.

*He is also responsible for putting back his milk/water cup back in the fridge. He'll wait at the fridge for us to open it up (he can't open it on his own, and I'm thankful) and he'll put his cups in their designated spots.

*He can make several animal sounds including the sounds of a monkey, snake, beaver, horse, cat, lion, bear, elephant, wolf, and owl. (His horse noise is my favorite)

*When asked what sound a doggie makes, he replies, "Doggie!"

*He can make all the animal movements from the book, "From Head to Toe." I'm pretty sure he has them memorized b/c he will sometimes start the motion before you finish the complete sentence. Our favorite motions are raising his shoulders as a buffalo and bending over to arch his back as a cat.

*He's gotten much more brave about water and sprinklers. At the beginning of the summer, he would not get his face wet and would not run through them. Now, he seems to love it.

*On a slightly more serious note, we've been doing time-outs with him for the last couple months. He probably gets time-out 2-4 times per week. His "spot" is the front entry mat at the door. He does great sitting there a full minute, and we always end by saying I love you and he gives us a hug to say, I'm sorry. We do our time-outs "Super Nanny" style, and it seems to be working well so far.

* We sometimes play a running game where we run back and forth from the front to back door, with the mats as our "base." He often starts in the position a track runner would; bent over with one hand on the ground.

* He's liked shoes for a long time, and this fetish is not slowing down. He LOVES to put on either Kevin's or my shoes. He also will "ask" for us to put on his own shoes even if we're just playing around the house. At least once everyday, we can find him in our shoes. Here's the pics to prove it. I promise they were not set up...

*He loves playing with new things. Some of the new things include Daddy's tools (at least the ones he can reach). He especially loves wrenches. They are on a lower shelf in the garage and he often grabs a couple to hold or possibly dig around with. Here he is discovering a tape measure...
*He's learned and loves to play "Ring Around the Rosie" and "Motorboat," which is similar to RAtR.
*He loves to play "Jake baseball." Jake baseball means he pitches to the batter (usually Daddy). Once the ball is hit, Jake picks it up, then runs to tag the batter before he reaches home. The first ever pitcher/outfielder combo!

*He's started doing some imaginary play. This first started with him "taking" the green eggs and ham from the book and feeding Kevin. When we talk about eating things, he really likes to pretend eating and feeding.
*He has become VERY opinionated about the books we read. If he doesn't want to read a book, he will slam it closed and lean over the chair to find another. His favorite books right now are "Happy Baby Things that Go," "Green Eggs and Ham," and "Where the Wild Things Are."
*Sometimes, he does something, and I think, "What in the world are you doing?" The following picture is an example of one of those moments... *Finally, he's mostly a super silly, happy boy who's full of smiles and laughter. A day doesn't go by when I don't look at him and thank God for giving us such a wonderful blessing.
What a big smile!