4 Years Old



August 2013

Our baby boy is 4 years old as of a few weeks ago...and he's still as sweet as he can be!  But he is also very good at the fine art of temper tantrums when he doesn't get his way...especially when he's tired.  He gives the best hugs and kisses and he gives them all the time.  He is definitely still a snuggler and there is little (actually no) doubt in my mind that his primary love language is physical touch.  He asks me to snuggle him every night when he is going to bed and many times throughout the day. He is usually quite easy going and will go along with what his sister or parents suggest, BUT if he makes up his mind, there is no changing it!





January 2013



 

I think that he will be an engineer when he is grown.  He is constantly touching things, seeing how it works, taking it apart and exploring everything with his hands.  I hear from his Daddy that Daddy was like that as a child as well.  It makes Jacob happy to hear he is like Daddy.  He is trying harder and harder to be like him and he wants to spend more and more time with him. He even threw a fit the morning that Daddy had to go back to work after being home for Christmas because he just wanted to be with his Daddy.

February 2013

He is also a climber.  That one can probably be blamed on me since I climbed everything as a child.  I caught him climbing the shelves in the linen closet one day.  He got the pillows off the very top shelf.  The same shelf that I have to use a ladder to get to.  And he has gotten things off the top shelf of the pantry.  The child has no fear of doing anything physically.  It scares me quite frequently, but I try to stand back and be calm while still setting limits for him.



Falling asleep on his chair after insisting he was not ready for a nap. August 2013 

His 4 year well check isn't scheduled until February, but thanks to the flu, we went to the doctor the week after his birthday and got his official height and weight.  He is 44 inches tall and weighs 46.6 pounds.  He wears size 5T pants and shirts, although he can wear size 6 shirts sometimes and his 5T pants are getting a little snug around the waist.  He wears size 12.5W shoes.  He is definitely a big boy now!



Sleeping in the car after church. June 2013

In the past year, Jacob went on two trips to San Angelo without a parent, but with his sister.  The first time was during spring break and the second was the end of June/ beginning of July.  My parents were here for the first weekend of spring break and when they were getting ready to go back to San Angelo, Kathy asked if Jacob and Samantha wanted to go to her house and have her bring them back to me the following weekend.  Samantha immediately said yes, but Jacob had a hard time deciding.  He wanted to go but he didn't want to be away from me at night.  He finally decided that he would go.  So I waved goodbye to my babies when I waved goodbye to my parents and they were so excited to be going on a trip.  This was the first time I had been away from the kids at night since Samantha was born and it was definitely a little strange for me.  I was worried that Jacob would have a very hard time, especially at bedtime, but there were very few tears and that was only for the first day or two.  He stayed at Aunt Kathy's house and Grandma and Benjamin took care of the kids when Aunt Kathy was at work.  They had a wonderful time!  In fact, they had so much fun, that they day before it was time to come home, Jacob said he didn't want to come home!  But once they got back home, he hugged and hugged me and didn't want to let go.

Making sun bread as part of our sun unit. September 2013

He keeps up with his sister in almost everything, and they are the best of friends.  He is so sweet, loving and tenderhearted nearly all the time.  He is concerned when his sister (or anyone else, for that matter) is upset.  If she has been hurt, he comes to give her kisses and hugs and will often bring Mr. Puppy for her to snuggle to help her feel better.  One time when we were leaving the grocery store and Samantha was throwing a fit on the floor rather than walking out the door with me, he went back to her, put his arm around her and helped her to stand up and then supported her to walk out the door.

First day of kindergarten for Samantha. August 2013

His favorite foods are spaghetti and "all the pizzas."  He will try almost anything and likes most foods.  His favorite color is blue...at least today, in a few days, it might be green, purple or pink, which are his other answers when you ask what his favorite color is.  He likes to play games including Chutes and Ladders, Guess Who, Candy Land, Blokus, and Chinese Checkers.  He loves to run and dig outside, play on the teeter totter airplane, "read" books, especially the "Things to Spot" books and mazes, build with blocks, duplos and regular legos...although he still needs quite a bit of help with the legos since his fine motor skills aren't quite good enough for those tiny blocks, and he is good at working puzzles.  He tells me, without any hesitation, that his best friend is Luke G. and his other best friend is Luke B.

Dino valley with Samantha and Luke G - December 2013

Mr. Puppy is still his favorite, his comfort object.  There was a 2 week period in September when Mr. Puppy was lost.  Samantha thought he was left outside and blew away in the wind. I knew that he wouldn't have blown away, and didn't think he had been taken outside, but I was concerned that if he had been left outside, an animal had dragged him off because he was NOT there any longer. And the longer he was missing, the more I was worried that was what happened. Jacob was getting more and more concerned as time went on, even getting up to look for him several hours after being put to bed, so I started looking to see if we could find a new one.    It was not easy to find since we got Mr. Puppy when Samantha was a baby. If I had known then that several years later Jacob would choose it as his favorite, I would have bought two to begin with!

  I found a new one on Amazon for a ridiculously high price. I found a used one on eBay for half that, but still ridiculously priced. They agreed to come down to a little less than half of their list price and shipping was free. Thanks to a fabulous auntie and uncle who suggested that they pitch in to help pay for it, we went ahead and ordered a new Mr. Puppy.  Jacob came in and saw the picture on the computer and commented that it was Mr. Puppy when he was new. I asked him if he would like Mr. Puppy to be new again and he said "YES!" So I told him that auntie and uncle were helping to pay for Mr. Puppy to be new again and he would be coming in the mail. He was excited and kept asking when he was coming and if the mailman had Mr. Puppy yet. So then, one afternoon, the kids came running out of Samantha's room yelling "We found Mr. Puppy!" and smiling like you wouldn't believe. An hour later the new Mr. Puppy came in the mail.  We had one happy little boy!  And he asked me to take lots of pictures of both Mr. Puppies.  For a while he called them Mr. Puppy and Mr. Puppy Too.  Then he called them Old Mr. Puppy and New Mr. Puppy, but he has recently changed the new one's name to Mrs. Puppy and the old one is Mr. Puppy again.

 

Jacob had a monster birthday party for his 4th birthday.  I talked him into it because I wanted to make fleece monster pillows for a craft and had a really cute cake I wanted to make.  However, when I was showing him the cake I was going to try to make, he saw a different one and insisted that the other one was the cake he wanted.  He would not change his mind, so I changed my plans and ended up constructing a VERY tall cake.  This was the first birthday party that Jacob invited friends to rather than just having family.  Luke G and Luke B were his choices, along with his sister and Luke B's sisters.  The kids had a great time eating monster eyeballs (grapes), making monster masks, magnets and fleece monster pillows.  We were worried about whether the party would actually happen because a crazy ice storm came in the day before and many people were stuck in their homes, but fortunately, his friends were still able to come.
 

At City Park - May 2013

  Samantha started kindergarten this year and we are homeschooling.  Jacob wants to have school most of the time when Samantha does, so he is often at the table doing his "work" while Samantha does hers.  Sometimes it's the same stuff she's doing, sometimes it's a preschool workbook while she does something else, and sometimes it's alphabet bingo.  Thanks to his sister's schoolwork, Jacob now knows almost all of his upper and lowercase alphabet and knows about half of the alphabet sounds.  He also counts beyond 20 and understands what 20 of something is.  He loves to listen to me read and brings books for me to read to him all the time.  He is a wiggly little boy, though, so he is frequently turning himself upside down on the couch while he listens to his story.  He isn't really showing signs of being ready to start learning to read yet and he isn't asking to learn, so we haven't started that yet.  He has plenty of time in the future to start reading.



pictures at his sister's preschool in April

Running in the rain September 2013

He has also been part of all the read-alouds and Bible study that we have done with Samantha.  Every six days we have a phrase of words to remember.  One unit was "I don't quit, I persevere."  A couple weeks after that unit, around Thanksgiving, I had put Jacob to bed and he called to me a little while later "Mommy!  Mommy!"  I said "Yes, Jacob?"  Mommy!  I'm purse-of-the-yearing!"  I smiled as I walked to his room and asked him, "What are you persevering about, Jacob?"  He replied, "Waiting for you to snuggle me."  My Mommy heart smiles at things like that, not only because he is so precious and loving, but because I am so grateful for the lessons that his heart is absorbing.

Dressed as a "skeleton rocker" for Halloween

He is such a sweet blessing in our lives. He makes me smile and he makes me want to scream in frustration, sometimes within almost the same heartbeat.  He frightens me and he melts my heart.  I am so grateful for the awesome privilege of being his mom and look forward to seeing how he grows and changes in the next year.

Digging in the backyard, one of his favorite pastimes - August 2013

Catching up with Jacob

So Jacob is 3 now.  Yes, seriously.  This cute little baby face

 has magically become this big boy face

 

OVERNIGHT! 

Well, OK, it wasn't REALLY overnight, but it sure does seem like it. 

Jacob started speech services with ECI right around his second birthday.  At that time he had 5 spoken words and about 15 signs.  He didn't talk very much at all.  Then Grace and Diane came into our lives and helped us encourage Jacob to speak more.  And to work at speaking better.  And he blossomed!  By May he had over 100 spoken words and I stopped counting in June.  By then he rarely used short phrases (1 or 2 words) any longer,  but instead spoke sentences of 6 or more words most of the time.  I was amazed at his progress.  His ECI team was as well.  They said that they don't recall having a client make so much progress in such a short amount of time.  I am grateful for their advice and help, which helped us to encourage Jacob to be more verbal.  He had his last ECI visit the week prior to his 3rd birthday (they can only work with a client and family up to the day before the 3rd birthday) but they did make a referral to the school district for speech evaluation.  He again qualified for services, so we go to the elementary school for speech every Monday morning now. 
He had swimming lessons for the first time in June 2012.  I already decided that he needed them, but when I had to jump in a friend's pool, fully clothed, in April, swim lessons became a done deal.  And he did very well.  He can't swim on his own, but he can kick, put his face in the water and blow bubbles all at the same time.  I hope to have him in lessons again in the next month or 2 so that he will have a head start on the summer.
 

At three years old, Jacob weighs 40 pounds and is 41" tall.  He wears size 11.5W shoes.  Mr. Puppy is still his favorite, but he CAN sleep without Mr. Puppy if he is missing or has to take a bath.  He is VERY happy when Mr. Puppy is back in his arms, though.  He likes to play Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Uno Moo and Uno Choo Choo.  He plays pretend games with his big sister all the time.  He loves playdoh, crayons and paint.  He hasn't eaten any crayons in at least 6 months...yes that is a big accomplishment! He knows how to use scissors.  He can count to five and understands what five of something is.  He knows other numbers but doesn't get them in order.  He recognizes some written numbers, but doesn't really care about telling me which ones he knows, so I don't know how many he actually knows.  Same with letters.  He knows a few, but getting him to point them out is a real challenge. 

He is concerned when other people are sad and notices when other people are not being safe...such as not wearing a helmet when bike riding.  He loves to ride his bike and tricycle, but doesn't get the whole pedalling idea.  He asks to be pushed or he will push with his feet on the ground, instead. He tells me about his friends all the time, especially Ellis.  He asks where Mrs, Carla is every time we drive by her house (and since that's across the street, that's all the time!) He thinks that he is just as big as his sister and her friends and DOES NOT like to be told that he isn't big enough to do something.  Unless it has to do with going potty.  Then he tells me, "Me NOT big boy.  Me little boy." He knows that big boys use the potty and he just doesn't want to do that. Sigh.  Been there done that, but in the end, he will be potty trained, just like his big sister was.

He refuses to refer to himself as "I."  When I corrected him about it a couple of months ago, the conversation went something like this:

J: Me want that book.

Me:  You mean, I want that book.

J: That what me said.

Me:  No, baby.  When you are talking about yourself, you say I.  So Jacob should say I want that book.

J:  But me want that book.  Not you, not Danta (Samantha), ME want that book.

So he is absolutely convinced that "I" refers to anyone except himself.  Once again...he'll get it eventually.

 

He has definitely developed opinions and has learned the fine art of the temper tantrum.  What can I say?  He's 3. 

 

He still loves to snuggle and I love to have him climb into my lap for cuddles and kisses.  He sings along with me and with Samantha, but his signing is usually repeating the first 5 or so words over and over and over while Samantha and I finish the rest of the song.

He is my sweet baby boy...no matter how often he tells me that he is NOT a baby boy, he is a big boy. I wouldn't trade him for anything.  I am so grateful that God chose him for me.

First Haircut

Someone got a first haircut today. Any guesses who that might be?

Yes, this curly head needed a trim pretty desperately so that he wouldn't start being mistaken for a little girl.

I must admit...I think it is COMPLETELY unfair that my boy is the one with the thick hair and curls...that must be cut off...and my girl has thin, very fine hair without curls...and she still hasn't had her hair grow enough...at 3.5...to have a haircut yet.

Since we were in San Angelo to pick Benjamin up, we took Jacob to Sports Clips. Kathy had occassionally taken Benjamin there and they do many 1st haircuts, so we decided to try it with Jacob. It turned out to be a good choice. The lady cutting his hair worked so well with him!

He had to sit on Grandma's lap because he started screaming as soon as I tried to put him in the chair. Even in her lap, he was still a little unsure about the whole thing, but he did stop fussing.

The first cut...and she even had an envelope ready for me to place that first lock of hair into.

The end of his "mohawk"...I wonder if Samantha will miss seeing it during bathtime.

She even managed to get Jacob to let her use the trimmer. She started by letting him feel it on his hand, then when he was used to the sound and the vibration, she moved to his hair...and it worked great!

Almost done now.

What a handsome little boy! There will be NO mistaking him for a girl now!

16 months

Jacob is 16 months and truly a toddler (as you saw from Saturday's video) Each day he walks a little more and crawls a little less. And he's just so cute as he is concentrating on walking!

He got two more teeth this month, for a total of 15 so far, and the last canine is not far from coming out. He wears size 4 diapers, 18 month pants, 24 month or 2T shirts, and 3T pajamas. Yes, he wears the same size PJs as his 3 year old sister...and his head is big enough that sometimes those 3T PJ shirts are really hard to get on him!

If I just look cute enough, maybe I'll get away with crawling away to go play!

He still loves to eat, but his appetite is beginning to slow down a little. All that means is that he doesn't eat everything in sight all day long, though. He still eats at least 2-3 times the amount of food that Samantha eats. He has started having definite opinions about what he should be eating and will often refuse to eat what is right in front of him because he sees something else that he wants more on the table. Once he can't see any more of the food that he wants more, he will agree to eat what is in front of him again.

He still nurses once in the early morning, and he sleeps from 7:30 or 8pm until about 7:30am (well, there is the 20 minutes or so that he is mostly awake for nursing sometime between 5 and 6 am, but I still count that as sleeping) He takes one nap for about 2.5 hours and most days we are able to put this nap off until 1 or 1:30. If he wakes up too early, though, it ends up being around 11am. Those days he ends up being quite a bit grouchy come bedtime.

He really wants to go play with the big kids!

Jacob has also learned the fine art of the tantrum. And he is getting very good at it. When he is told no, or has something taken away from him, he will lay himself out flat on the floor and scream, with great big crocodile tears coming out of his eyes. I walk away and ignore it. And REALLY hope this is something that he outgrows...and soon! I figure the odds are not in my favor, though, since Samantha still hasn't outgrown them.

Still not too big for finishing a nap while sleeping on Daddy.

He will occasionally tell you that a cow moos but so far has refused to try any other animal sounds. He hasn't started saying any new words, but he does copy Samantha with signs sometimes, and his newest sign is "baby" His most frequent signs are "all done", "book" and "milk." It's kind of funny that I will try to teach him new signs and he doesn't do anything, but as soon as he sees Samantha doing the same sign, he almost immediately copies her. Hopefully she continues to enjoy her little brother, since he seems to be so adoring of her.

He is a sweet little boy, snuggly and almost always smiling. It is so much fun to watch him grow and learn and we remain grateful for the gift of Jacob.

Getting Braver

Jacob has finally decided to let go of a hand or the couch or whatever is handy to give him security...at least for a few steps. He isn't taking off yet, he still wants to crawl, but he is getting a little braver. He'll be off and running before we know it.

Wordless Wednesday {Big Kids}

15 months

Jacob is 15 months old today! I have no idea how much he weighs or how tall he is...we don't have his well baby check until the 22nd. He has 13 teeth and is working on one more...although he has been working on it for several weeks now, so who knows when it will actually come in.

He has not started saying any new words or signs, but he did say his first sentence on 3/1/11. It was "Up, Mama," when he asked me to put him up on the couch with me. Yes, that is typical and unsurprising for him. Everything is "Up!" In fact, "up" is his all purpose word. It means "up", "down", "I want that" and a host of other things depending on the circumstances.

That "up" would be his all-purpose word is perfectly in keeping with his personality, because he climbs all over the place. He climbs onto the couch and then tries to climb over the back of the couch...but I am usually quick enough to keep him from doing that. I am not, however, quick enough to keep him from climbing up onto the table. He also gets into the pantry and tries to eat uncooked pasta from the box. This boy requires CONSTANT supervision...and even when I think I am providing that, he still manages to get into things.

He is still not walking. He is capable; he just hasn't decided to do it yet. He did take 4 steps, several times on 3/6/10, while we were visiting Aunt Ginger, but he refused to give a repeat performance for Brent. He has done 4 steps several times since then, but mostly would rather just crawl. He cruises all over the place and walks around holding onto only one of my fingers, but he just isn't ready to give up the security of having something to hold onto. This actually surprises me, because he doesn't seem to mind risks with anything else!

I finally found a pair of shoes for him...his first pair. They are 6 extra wide. No wonder I couldn't find any at Walmart or Target to fit him! We are fortunate, though that I was able to find a pair at the Stride Rite Outlet, because we were afraid that he would be like Brent was as a baby and we would have to get orthopedic shoes for him. Jacob doesn't mind wearing the shoes, but he won't even cruise while they are on. I guess it's because he is not accustomed to the weight of them yet.

This boy still eats and eats...I am continually amazed at the amount of food that goes into his little body. He is down to only nursing if he wakes in the middle of the night...and not even all the time then, and first thing in the morning. He does sometimes ask to nurse before his afternoon nap and at bedtime, by reaching for the boppy and then signing milk. I just tell him "Here is your milk" as I hand him his cup, and he does drink it...and when I think ahead, I hide the boppy before we sit down. Then he doesn't even ask for anything other than his cup.

He loves reading and will bring books to me to read to him all day long. He would never leave my lap if I would keep reading to him, I think. He will sometimes just sit on the floor or in a chair and look at the books himself, but his preference is definitely for someone else to be reading to him.
Don't you just love this face?...

It makes me want to laugh.

He is still taking two naps most days, but occasionally, his morning nap is so long that he doesn't take an afternoon nap. I think he will be going to one nap soon. Then I will need to work on moving his nap to later in the morning...and hopefully eventually to early afternoon because when he wakes up at 1pm, there is just a little too much time between his waking up and bedtime and he tends to get a bit grouchy.

Jacob is very easy going. Samantha has had some times lately that she has not been very kind to him...refusing to let him play with toys, blocking him from going where he wants and even pushing or hitting on occasion. But when she cries because she has gotten in trouble for those behaviors, he comes over to her, and tries to snuggle her and give her kisses. And he always smiles at her and gives her kisses when she apologizes for being mean.
He gave himself a mohawk, by rubbing his food all into his hair. Yes, this is a somewhat common occurrence.

Jacob is such a joy to us and we are grateful for the gift of him in our lives.