sleeping habits

The past few days I've found Sam snuggling his lovey in a way very reminiscent of Jake, both when he was younger and now. For some reason, they both like to have the lovey across their neck and face. I think they like to hide:)

Sam

Jake

rachel visits

Mark's cousin Rachel was able to come spend the day with us Thursday as she was traveling through the area on her way back to college. We had a great time visiting and playing. Jake even wanted Rachel to snuggle with him when he took his nap! Thanks for coming. We hope you'll come again soon!

Reading with Rachel. She has a full lap!

Coloring. Rachel broke a crayon while coloring, and Jake wouldn't let her forget it! He kept repeating "Rachel broke a crayon." over and over, even remembering two hours later. Too funny!

More reading- this time heavier material:)

Snuggling with Sam as he goes to town on those fingers!

16 weeks

His hair looks redder when it's wet.

Can you see the drool? It's a constant these days. The fingers are always in his mouth!

Silly boy.

All smiles on the changing table.

"Mmmm. These fingers taste yummy!"

Checking himself out in the mirror.

brotherly fun

In addition to getting to play on Sam's toys, I think Jake's favorite part of having a little brother is taking baths together. Whenever Jake needs a bath, he always wants Sam to join him!

Jake always takes his stack of cups into the tub. It's the first thing he gets when we say it's bath time:)

Jake enjoyed pouring water from the big tub into Sam's tub.

just like sam

Jake loves Sam. In fact, he wants to do whatever Sam is doing and play with all of Sam's toys. He even likes to try out Sam's fun equipment like the exersaucer and bouncy seat. Who says these toys are only for babies?!

Apparently the baby tub is a great place to read a book:)

Jake loves to play with the mobile while I'm feeding Sam.

Jake pretending to go "night night" like Sam does in his crib.

Crazy boy in his diaper showing Sam how to use his feet to hit the toys.

Sheepish grin as I caught him trying out the bumbo.

He decided the bumbo is a great place to sit and read a book, too.

Trying out the bouncy seat.

I think Jake has come to the conclusion that all of Sam's toys are great places to read books:)

some habits never die

We made a post a long time ago about Jake's sleeping habits in the crib (remember "blanket privileges revoked"?).  Well, we've been collecting photos of how Jake sleeps in his big boy bed.  Just because he "sleeps" in it doesn't mean he sleeps like a grownup...

Exhausted.

One of the first nights in the bed.

On top of the comforter...

Upside down.

Completely perpendicular. If he gets much taller, he won't fit this way any more!

On top of the safety rail. Pretty sure he would roll out the bed without it...

Too cute to pass up.

Not sure how he got under his pillow...

He loves getting up against the wall. You can hear limbs knocking against it in the living room and amazingly he stays asleep.

Head down and under the blanket.

One of the few "normal" nights!

another tooth

Last night while flossing Jake's teeth, I saw another two year old molar! His right upper molar is now in. He now has 19 of his 20 primary teeth. Whoohoo!

15 weeks

Sam is getting better at grabbing things with his hands. He really enjoys gumming on things, whether it's his fingers or a toy. Tummy time is lasting longer, and he is able to raise his head higher. Probably because he loves to spend lots of time in the Bumbo or exersaucer. He likes to be upright checking things out!

So sweet.

Jake wants to do whatever Sam does, including chewing on stuffed animals!

Showing off his grabbing skills.

Lifting that head up!

 Something must have been funny! His laugh is contagious.

Such a beautiful smile. I love how his eyes crinkle when he smiles!

 Serious look.

I just love those cheeks. I could kiss them all day long!

Sitting pretty in the bumbo.

Chewing on his elephant.

more teeth

Tonight when I was brushing and flossing Jake's teeth, I noticed that two of his two-year old molars have finally broken through the skin. They have been close for a little while (palpable under the gums), but now his left upper and lower molars are in! Still nothing on the other side, but I'm sure they'll be here soon.

21 months

This past month Jake's vocabulary and word usage has continued to grow by leaps and bounds. There is no telling how many words he can now say purposefully (not just his parrot-like repeating) and in different settings. He is also quickly using more words together - putting three or even four words together! He also knows his basic colors and many shapes well (he finds ovals everywhere) and is starting to recognize numbers and letters. He enjoys sitting at his new table doing puzzles to learn his letters and numbers. We are amazed by how much he loves to learn and soak in the world around him.

Jake has started eating vegetables again. Although he still enjoys his veggie shakes, he also likes to eat spinach salad with carrots. He has even asked for seconds! We think it's the raspberry vinaigrette dressing:) He will even green beans and loves vegetable soup. We just watch in amazement as he eats all of these vegetables without a second thought- much different than the past six to eight months! He is also enjoying the addition of Nutella to his waffle or bagel in the morning.

When we returned from Christmas vacation, we put him back in cloth diapers, since he has been telling us more and more when he needs a clean diaper. Hopefully this will help him recognize even better so he can begin moving towards the potty. With this we got him his own potty yesterday and put it in the bathroom. He recognizes what it is for and asks to sit on it, but hasn't really "used" it yet.

Although he has shown a bit more of his wild side lately (especially running around just in his diaper), Jake continues to be a sweet boy. He absolutely loves Sam and is excited that he is awake more and up playing in his exersaucer or floor gym. Tonight after he finished eating we were just sitting around the table and he asked to pray. I wasn't sure whether he said "pray" or "play" (because it was about time to get down) so I asked "Do you mean play with toys or pray to Jesus?" Jake replied "Pray to Jesus," so we did. We continue to pray with him daily that he will love the Lord.

Enjoying a salad! Look how much his hair has filled in - we love that it's still red.

New favorite breakfast - whole wheat waffle, Nutella, blueberries, and a banana!

Cheesing at his table.

Wild man in a diaper!

winners!

Every year our apartment community has a decorating contest during the Christmas season. The balcony winner gets $75 off their electric bill for the month of December, and the door/front entrance winner receives free cable for a month. Last year we were picked as the winners for our door/front entrance. Well, this year we stepped it up (not really- we decorated the same as we did last year) and tied for the best balcony. We were pretty excited for the $75 discount, especially since we would have decorated regardless of the contest!

Our front door wreath.