New Trick

This is Jacob's new trick, I must say I absolutely love it and can not get enough of it.  He usually raises his hand when he says this, sometimes if I am lucky, both hands, he's annoyed with me here because I was trying to capture it on video so no arm raising but I promise he does raise his hand when he answers my question! 

Jacob has been talking a ton more!  He even said Tuesday morning "Ahpane on my bah!" He's obsessed with airplanes and his bahs (pacifiers) so he was elated to realize there are a couple with airplanes on them.

It Was Only A Matter of Time...

Unit "No" became his favorite word.

Earning His Keep

Jacob's walking picked up a bit Friday night and Saturday.  He even got himself into a standing position without pulling up on anything Friday night, Marc and I were like "what!?!" because again, day care tells us he does it there and he walks all day but at home he crawls.  Friday he was walking the length of the house, turning corners to go the play room, the works.  The nurse at the Dr office Friday asked me if I really wanted him walking because it would get a lot harder.  I told her at 14 months I figured it was time and I had really gotten lucky going this long without him walking, I was giving in and hoping he would start walking so he could keep up with the "big" boys in his class.  Saturday he was on the move some more on his 2 feet so I gave him his vacuum which he thought was hilarious.  Then he realized he could dump the vacuum and make his way over to the DVDs, trouble maker!

Almost a Full Time Walker

I finally got a good video of Mr Man strutting his stuff.  When I picked him up from day care Friday his teachers told me that he doesn't crawl there anymore, he only walks and he doesn't need to hold a finger anymore.  At home he crawls and when he sees me at day care he crawls to me so I didn't fully believe them but then the teachers in Riley's room stopped me and told me they have seen him walking the past few days and they all love how he walks.  He definitely toddles around, it's pretty cute and he is walking more and more though his preferred mode of transportation is still crawling.  I can't blame the little guy, he is much faster crawling still. 

He only went down here because Riley's friend Bella plowed him down!  He was going for the gold here! 

Jacob had another asthma attack so I took him in just to get his lungs listened to and his oxygen levels measured, it was a mild one but we're on pulmicort two times a day and albuterol every 4 hours, have I mentioned how over the nebulizer I am?  Anyway he had a ton of fluid behind both ears so we got a referral to the ENT, I remember Riley went from zero walking to 100% walking when we got her ears resolved so hopefully this will make him more stable and confident.  The Dr was also nice enough to write me a paper prescription (what's that???  I haven't had a paper script in years! :) ) in case he spikes a fever so that I don't have to bring him back in.  She just said assume the fever is an ear infection and fill it.  SOOOO NICE!  The receptionist at their office said I shouldn't have to stand in line anymore since I'm there so much, she said that they should just see me and automatically check me in.  That's how often I am there!  I told her I'd rather have a VIP parking spot because that lot can get kind of crowded.  So that's our current saga, hopefully the ENT can get us in soon and we can get the ears resolved pronto, poor guy has had a rough winter!

Without further adieu, the Big Man's stroll!

Here Comes Trouble



I picked Jacob up from day care yesterday and they said that he took 3 steps yesterday and was so proud of himself.  Of course he did it while I was at work!  I was hoping for a repeat performance and he sure didn't disappoint.  He was pretty tired so he didn't want to humor me much but I did capture him on video, albeit a bad video but I was solo with a 4 year old and 13 month old so this is as good as it gets!  By the time Marc got home he was in no mood to humor us.  Crawling is still his preferred mode of transportation but I have a feeling he will be on his feet in no time!  I hope I'm ready for this!  I did forget how cute toddlers are as they "toddle" around!

 

Short, Fat, and A Ginormous Head

That pretty much sums up Jacob's Official 1 Year Well Check which we had Tuesday, but he sure is cute!  He weighed in at 22lbs so he gained back some of the weight that he lost while he had the stomach thing going on (which he still has to some extent, though he is MUCH better), which put him at the 55th percentile (the fat part).  He was 30in even which brings him to the 45th percentile on height (short) and he was the 82nd!!!! percentile on his head, which would explain why his 12-18 month adorable owl winter hat is too snug on him already.  But other than his stomach issues he got a clean bill of health and the Dr wasn't even that concerned about his stomach at this point since he started to gain some of the weight back.  He's doing everything he should be (other than walking) which she was ok with, especially since Riley didn't walk until 15 months.  Poor little dude got 2 shots (he was due for 5 but she thought that was just mean) and was up at 2AM on Wednesday morning with a fever so I spent Wednesday with him.  Marc stayed with him on Thursday and we've both decided that he is just a sweet boy, he loves his cuddles, loves to kiss and give high fives.  Sure he can be a punk but he is overall a very sweet boy!

First Word!

It's official, Jacob has his first word and it's "MOMMA!"  Yep, he actually said it meaningfully.  He's been saying it for a while, mostly in his babbles, sometimes when he's waiting to eat but today I walked into his room after he woke up and Marc was holding him and Jacob started bouncing up and down when he saw me, leaned toward me and said "Momma!"  I was so excited and showered him with tons of kisses, of course it earned me his poopy diaper for the morning but I was so worth it!

Riley's first word was "dadda." So we are tied now! :)

Cruising

I've caught Jacob taking a few steps along the coffee table a few times over the past couple of days.  Even though it's exciting, I'm SO not ready for this.  The thought of having two completely mobile kids frightens the bejeebies out of me.  Ironically, the child we needed to walk (for our sanity to solidify that her feet were a-okay) waited until 15 months to fully walk and about 12 months to really start cruising, the child we want to stay immobile starts pulling up at 8 1/2 months and starts  taking steps here and there just before 9 months.  Such is my life!  I can only hope that he does not get the hang of it super quickly and he stays a crawler for a LONG time like Riley did, or at least until after we get back from Florida in November.  What are the odds?  This isn't a great video, but the best I could get, the kid is camera shy what can I say.  The first time I caught him he probably took like 5 steps along the coffee table. 

 

 

 

Breaking News!!!!

Big Man is CRAWLING!  I am in so much trouble now!  It started Thursday when I picked him up, I always sign the kids out, peak into Jacob's room and then get Riley before picking Jacob up.  Well I peaked in Thursday and he was crawling!  I looked at the teacher and she made a face like "oh my God, he's doing it!"  So she started to get excited, he looked up, saw me, and that was the end of that and I actually had to go in and get him before getting Ri, which was a big old meltdown from her.  Then tonight I got him home and they were both hot messes, well a few minutes after finishing dinner he decided to snap out of it, climbed off of my lap and started to crawl!  He's still pretty clumsy but each time he tried it, he got better and better.  First thing he went after?  Riley's stuff of course, which went over oh so well!  But all in all she was very excited about her brother's new skill and was cheering her on and getting up in his business the whole time!

Time to...

drop the mattress!  I walked into Jacob's room to check on him because he was supposed to be napping but was chatting instead, only to find him like this, proud as can be!

In other news, he can now go from his belly to a sitting position and he is rocking back and forth while on his knees.  His teachers predicted that he would start crawling this weekend but no real crawling yet, he still has tomorrow!  My big man is getting so big!  :(

Two Steps Back

Jacob has successfully started crawling backwards, which means forwards probably isn't too far off which means, re-baby proofing is just around the corner!!!!  Ahhhh!!! 

Trying So Very Hard

Jacob is trying so very hard to crawl and he gets an "A" for effort in my book!

This is his new look, not quite sure what it means but he's been snarling at everyone

Not trying to crawl but I love how happy he looks!

And here we go!  Getting into position!

Big sister by his side to lend a helping hand!

Getting a little encouragement from Riley!

Happy about his new perspective on life!

In position!

Now what do I do?

So Not Ready

For Jacob to be STANDING!  But he is obsessed!  He is trying to pull up on things to stand but doesn't quite have it together but if you put him in a standing position, he's about has happy as a clam!

Yeah, so NOT ready for this!

My baby is getting so big!  Both of them!

Fortunately his legs are still wobbly so he ends up back down after a few minutes

Yep, that there is Jacob's first tooth, he got it a few weeks ago but it's finally in enough to get a picture of it!  We weren't expecting it since Riley didn't cut a tooth until around 18 months!

My Handsome Boy

Do they get any more handsome than this boy?

 I think not! 

So I've really been trying to savor and enjoy each and every moment of Jacob's infancy.  With Riley we were so excited to see her hit her next milestone that we, or I, sort of pushed her through these fun and exciting times.  I think part of me probably wanted to see Riley hit her milestones because of her clubfeet and I wanted proof that she was ok and that her feet wouldn't hold her back, but she was also our first so everything was SO exciting.  Jacob's our last and I want to keep him a baby as long as possible, and I really want to enjoy each moment.  Ironically, it seems to be going way faster than it did with Riley and also ironically, he's huge where as Riley was tiny and I probably could have stretched her infancy into her 2nd year, especially since I was doing her laundry last week and realized that she's been wearing a pair of 18-24 month jeans at almost 3 1/2, and while they looked a big snug on her, she could totally get away with wearing them.  Out of principle I put them in the give away pile!

Anyway, I was driving home from a birthday party with Jacob on Saturday thinking about how I can't believe he's already 6 months old next week and before long I'll be planning his first birthday party and Riley is going to be moving to Pre-K, yes Pre-K, how is it possible that my 4lbs of Fury is ready for Pre-K, in the fall.  This song by Trace Adkins came on my IPod, I love this song, he sang it on Celebrity Apprentice a few seasons ago and I just fell in love with it. It goes through the life events of a girl starting when she's a teenager and into her having kids and she's rushing to each next phase of her life.  I love the chorus though because it's really the truth.  I'm really trying to live this these days:

"You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These Are Some Good Times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this"

Because before long after school is going to mean Riley going up to her room, closing the door, and turning on her music or texting her friends, instead of asking me to play "going to Disneyland" (or India which is where we traveled by "bus" to last week) and Jacob is going to be one of the boys going to whatever sports practice he has and I'm really going to miss these days.  As hard and as sleepless as the past 6 month have been with 2 kids, I'm going to miss this age where I am the center of their worlds.  I love watching Jacob's face light up when he sees me, I love seeing the joy in Riley's face when I take her to the park or when I just sit down and play pretend with her.  I love watching Jacob sit and reach for toys, I love watching him find his feet and try to figure out how to put it in his mouth.  I love watching Riley love on her brother, tell me I'm her best friend and ask me if she's my friend.  Because I know how I was as a teenager and before long she's going to be telling me that she hates me and I've ruined her life, I want her to want to be my friend forever.  Life is going way to fast, I just want to freeze time and enjoy each moment but life moves so fast.

I bet you didn't expect such a deep post from the title of this!

Sitting Like the Best of Them

Pantsomist is now sitting for very short periods of time unassisted.  Last night I moved his playmat into the sitting position (have I ever mentioned this particular mat is the best $40 I ever spent?) and he loved sitting at the piano and pushing the buttons. 

Liking his new perspective on life

Look Ma, one hand!

Some hugs from big sister

Solids

Friday night I started Jacob on solids.  Our peditrician didn't want us to start until between 5 and 6 months but Jacob has been lunging at food and smacking his lips so I thought he was ready, day care also thought he was ready so I figured starting a day before he turns 5 months was close enough.  He also has not really been sleeping through the night and even though the Dr says there is no proof that solids help them sleep through the night, I figured it couldn't hurt, especially after I was practically falling asleep during a team meeting on Thursday!  I need to get some sleep.  (On a side note he did sleep through the night, like 7:45PM to 6:15AM Thursday night, when I woke up at 3AM to pump and realized that I had gotten 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep I felt like I could take on the world!)  So Friday night we tried the cereal.  The jury is still out on whether he likes it our not, he just took a few bites and then grabbed the spoon and gnawed on that for a while, most of the cereal drooled out of his mouth and onto his clothes but he did get a few good bites in!

Dinner time for the Zimmermans

Here we go, first bite!

Not so sure!

Taking matters into his own hands!

Not so sure about the rice cereal but the spoon sure is fun to gnaw on!

Almost There...

Jacob has been going from belly to back for almost a month now but he has yet to master the back to belly roll.  He is SOOOOOO close though!  I caught this video on our sick day home together.  Makes me miss the little guy!  Excuse his belly hanging out! :)





As of today...

A break from our vacation summary to report that as of today we have a roller.  Yep, 8 days before he turns 4 months Jacob starting rolling.  I thought maybe it was a fluke but I flipped him right back over to his tummy a few times and he rolled right back over, he rolled a total of 4 times!  I guess that's what happens when you actually sleep at night, yup, this mommy got 6 hours straight of sleep as Jacob slept from 7:30PM - 4:00AM last night.  Here's hoping it wasn't a fluke and we've hit a turning point with this guy!

I Can't Believe

for the first time in the history of Riley that I forgot to take her monthly chair picture on her actual month birthday!  I think I just got wrapped up in leaving my job and finishing up projects and it totally slipped my mind.  So I took these 3 days later, on the 15th,hopefully she didn't change much except for the fact that the past few days she's been in a massive terrible 2 mode!  Not listening, doing her own thing, being defiant, yep, it's pretty awesome! (I even got a dirty look on BART today because she was having a meltdown on the train and I refused to give into her plea for a pacifier).  But that aside, Riley is a TON of fun as usual, she's talking up a storm and knows everything.  Since I've been off, we've been taking Marc to his train in the morning before bringing her to day care so that I can have a car during the day (bye bye Impala!) and she LOVES going to the train station.  She tells everyone that Daddy goes to work on the choo choo train and that the train is too loud.  On Friday we walked down to Peet's for breakfast and the poor guy sitting next to us had to listen to her tell him about the choo choo train and Daddy at work, and the train being too loud.  He was a certainly a sport about it!  Airplane (yes Part Deux) is still a huge hit and Riley loves feeding him and watching him eat.  Riley absolutely HATES her night night shoes and makes up stories about how they hurt and tries everything in her power to get out of wearing them.  We go on Friday for a check-up and my gut tells me that her wish is going to come true and that we're going to be released from the brace.  I have mixed feelings about it, that's a blog for another day.  Back to her 27 month update, I took her to the Dr when she had an ear infection and she's actually up to 24lbs!  We might actually hit 2T clothes while she's still 2, my little squirt with the HUGE personality!  Getting a picture this month was a little more challenging!

First we had YaYa's blankets in the photo



Then YaYa needed to take her picture, my guess is, YaYa won't look that much different next month! :)



Then she wanted to put Dora Stickers on her back

This one was semi-decent

Then we started with this and it was all downhill from here

So we landed on the semi-decent picture and so here is her growth trend

A New Phase

I think we've hit a new phase - the booster seat!  Sunday Fuddruckers was out of high chairs so we let Riley sit in a booster at lunch and it was one of the best lunches we've had with Riley in a long time.

So happy to be sitting like a big girl!

We've also entered the apple juice phase of life where she asks for it incessantly