oh, the fun!

I've been keeping track of some of Elyse's funnies, because I just can't forget about these. Here they are:

* I was singing to the girls before bed last night, and Elyse interrupted me and asked me first of all for a "silent song." Hmm. I was a little stumped, and when she saw my hesitation, she said, "Well, how about you sing me a classical song?"


* At breakfast the other morning, Elyse said, "I think we need to wear sweaters, Mommy, because this juice is COLD!" 


* I asked Elyse what we should get Jordan for father's day. Her short list is: a sweater, some pink flowers, brown shoes, or a tablecloth. It was a bit ironic that she remembered the tablecloth and the pink flowers that were my mother's day gifts in 2011 :) 


* She was sitting close to me as I was feeding Jakob, and she was gushing a little about how cute his feet were. She seemed to be squeezing them a little bit too hard, so I reminded her to be gentle. She responded with, "are they going to snap off?" :) Well, dear, when you put it like that, why don't you just go right on ahead... 


* Elyse LOVES to eat dry cereal. Yes, DRY. She begs me not to put milk in her cereal, and I can somehow convince her to eat the first bowl with milk. Don't ask me how. 


* She calls cantaloupe "oaf-a-loupe" and still calls burgers "burnagers." :) LOVE IT! 


* We taught the girls how to dip their cookies in milk. Elyse figured it out quite quickly... "Can I have more cookies? There's more milk in here..." 


* Elyse got a few mosquito bites the other week. She didn't like her "bite bugs" very much. 


* She loves to give reasons for why Jakob might be crying... "he needs a bandaid" or "he needs to go potty" are common. Her favorite, however, is that he just needs to eat. She loves to help out :) 


* A month or so ago, she had a friend over to play.  I found Elyse sitting at the picnic table out back with a small pile of rocks. She looked up at me dramatically and said, "Oh, I wish I could play with my friend!" I reminded her (a bit sarcastically) that her friend was right.behind.her. She dramatically responded, "But I just have to play with my rocks..." 


* Elyse has heard the story of Christ dying on the cross often enough that it's definitely sparked some curiosity. She asked if the "cow" (beef) she was eating died on a cross. Hmm... On a serious note, it's been difficult to explain the concepts of life and death to a three year old.  I'm realizing how much I don't comprehend just as I explain things to her!


* Elyse has her first imaginary friend! Percy. Yes, Percy from Thomas the Train. Percy is a girl, however, and she's pink. She is still a train. She is never actually with us, per se, but she is always going to join us or meet us somewhere. Elyse and Em will look forward to Percy's visit all day, which is adorable. It was funny, though, when I reassured Em one night that Daddy would be home soon... Em responded, "Percy's coming! Oh boy!" Forget Daddy, right? :) Oh, the power of a big sister!!!


* Overall, she is developing quite a sense of humor.  She loves to use her imagination and just get us to laugh.  She'll tell us we're going to ride on a banana up to Minnesota for vacation next month, tell us that Emily Mae is a goofy oompa-loompa, etc... it's pretty funny to watch her laugh at her own jokes!  Her new favorite is to make a "rhyme" (or so she thinks...) and watch her follow it up with "DOWN BY THE BAY!" and crack up.  Love this crazy girl!  

2 months

No, Jakob, I did not post a one month update.  I promise it's because I was busy loving you!  I am amazed that we have had this little guy with us for two whole months.  The weeks have been precious, and I have loved every second.  YES, even the screaming-his-head-off seconds.  And they they have been numerous :)  I am so in love with this little guy.  He is getting sweeter by the day.  As with my girls, the first six weeks were a whirlwind.  You know, that inexplicable fussiness that usually rears its head when I want to eat, sleep, or shower... and if you DON'T know what I'm talking about because your sweet child was never fussy, please don't comment on that in the comment section.  Heehee... just kidding.  At about 6.5 weeks, this little guy started chillin' in every way.  He started staying happy for a while after eating, stopped fighting sleep as much, started giving me lots of smiles.. the smiles that come after eye contact and cute little "come on, little guy!" comments.. smiles that melt my heart.  He is grinning like crazy these days, and I'm loving every grin.  Just this week, we have fallen into a nice routine.  It's not exactly clockwork, but he is napping much more peacefully, and we've been working on an established bedtime (finally!).  It's not seamless, but it's progress, and for that I'm thankful.  Our household runs much smoother when we're rested :)

He is giving me a nice stretch at night- about 5-6 hours at this point, and I'm thankful.  I always hope for more, but I know that will come soon enough!  I need to take advantage of these midnight cuddles with this sweet boy.  Okay, I'll be honest- I'm hoping I'll get a nice 8-10 hour stretch soon :)

His wake time between naps is still only about 45 minutes, but when he's awake, he loves to look at toys.  I even catch him flirting with those toys :)  Since naps are going better, I'm back to life in general.  I'm cooking lots, trying to clean and keep up on laundry, and I'm realizing that this mommy gig is WAY more full-time than it was a few months ago!  I really think that the transition to three kids has been much easier than the transition to two, but it still is triple the work.. Oh, I mean triple the fun!!!

Daddy is still enjoying paternity leave.  Yes, I know- it's crazy.  He'll go back to work in two weeks, and I'm going to miss him terribly around here!  I am excited to get into a better routine, but I know that these three have really enjoyed the extra daddy time.  I know I have.

Jakob is all boy.  Though I can see so much of Em and Elyse in him, he definitely has his own look, and it's SO BOY :)  He seems to be growing like a weed, but I won't know until next week when I can see the proof on that scale.  He is taking a bottle well, so I'm hoping that will come in handy for our ninth anniversary date soon... Jake moved into his bed at night time when he turned six weeks, and he seems to like it.  You know, he doesn't complain too much?  I sort of miss looking over the side of our bed and seeing him snuggled in his basket, but I know we're both sleeping better in separate rooms :)

Jakob has quite a few nicknames: Jake, Jakey-Jake, little bud, dude, "Jabok" (courtesy of Em), ... and some others that just don't stick :)  He seems to like all of his nicknames at this point.  Here are some of my fun's and not-so-fun's for this age:

fun's:

* LOVE seeing those goofy grins when his belly is full!
* This is pretty sick of me to say, but it is kind of funny to watch him wince as soon as his sisters get close :) Heehee... He's such a good sport!  They are so gentle, but they just love to get UP CLOSE and TALK LOUDLY!
* I love picking him up when he's asleep- he is the best snuggler!
* He still sleeps on me.  When I let him :)  Which is often enough...
* He's starting to turn his head just to make eye contact.
* I LOVE the smell of babies.
* He's getting chubby!!!
* I love how he puts his thumb between his index and second finger (see above picture :)
* I just love seeing him grow and change.  I love to imagine what he'll look like as a toddler.

not-so-fun's:

* Though he's a pretty "regular" guy, he still finds away to BLOW OUT his diapers.  His car seat his is favorite pick for decoration. *sigh* BOYS.
* I go through about 15 wipes.  Seriously.
* I wish he still fit in his cute little moses basket...
* Though I'm thankful his naps are better, I really miss really miss really miss holding him all the time!  I still take advantage of that when I can.  I have realized why third children are typically easier... they have to be!
* Sweet boy, I'm trying to make time slow down, but it's not working.  Be my little guy forever :)

I love him.  What was life like again without him?  Can't remember.  Don't want to.  He's sweet and he's going to be a joy to raise.  Seriously.  Happy two months, Jakob!  We love you.  To pieces.