Showing posts with label video. Show all posts
Showing posts with label video. Show all posts

Friday, July 15, 2011

Whatchu talkin' bout, Jacob?

Jacob's language skills continue to amaze me everyday. His words and ability to form sentences (that make sense) have completely taken off lately. In the past few months, he has gone from speaking in one or two word phrases to sentences that can be five to six words long. Strangers are often surprised to hear that he is only a little over two years old when they hear him speaking so well. I don't really have anything to compare it to, so I just think he is "normal" for his age. When we went for his two-year well visit last month, the pediatrician asked me how many words he was saying. When I paused to think, she said "At least 50?". I laughed and said, "Yeah, really more like hundreds". And when she heard him say a four word sentence "I get the ball", she smiled and said that she was definitely not worried about his speech!

Here are some examples of phrases and sentences that have come out of Jacob's little mouth recently:

"Have both of these" (when holding two items)

"Can Daddy do it?" (regarding getting something that Mommy was going to get)

"These are apart" (talking about two trains that were connected, but came apart)

"This is the beginning" (in regards to the opening on a DVD he was watching)

"Mommy play cars with Jacob" (when he wants me to play with him)

"Jacob wants...." and "He wants..." (when he wants me to give him something, such as a certain type of food)

"There's another...." (when he sees two of the same thing)

"It's all over" (referring to the end of a video or book)

"That's Mommy's [or Daddy's, Aunt Katie's, Jacob's, Papa's, etc]...." (referring to something belonging to someone. For example, cup, water, shirt, body parts, book, pretty much everything!!)

"What's he/she/Mommy/Daddy [or anyone, similar to above] doing?" (when he wants to know what someone is doing. It can be something interesting that he sees or just something simple like eating or driving a car or washing hands. He is very inquisitive!!)

"What book are we going to read?" (he asked this when he was picking out a book to read before bedtime)

"I don't like...." (he has started to show his dislike for things, even those things that he previously liked. He will most often use this phrase regarding food, but he will use it for other things too when he is trying to tell us that he doesn't want to do something)

"I don't want to watch X no more" (obviously when he is no longer interested in watching whatever DVD he was previously watching)

"I have to go get...." (he announces when he is going into another room to get something such as a toy, book or shoes)

"I'm looking for..." (when he is searching for something, whether a toy or an object in a book)

"Few more minutes" and "One more time" (he uses these phrases when he is trying to negotiate with us after we have told him it is time to stop playing or doing whatever thing he doesn't want to stop doing)

"What do you want to watch?" (he says this when he wants to watch a DVD - Barney is by far his favorite right now, with Bob the Builder and Thomas the Tank Engine running second and third.)

"Oh, you're right" (he said this to me yesterday and I laughed out loud! I can't remember what he was referring to, but it had something to do with me telling him to do something and then when he did it, he made this exclamation).

"You're such a big boy" (he also said this to me yesterday when he was hanging on the monkey bars at the playground. It was funny to hear him say this - obviously he was repeating what we have said to him many times before!)

"Where's the book, honey?" (he was looking for a specific book and couldn't find it so he asked me this question. Again, I laughed out loud because he was obviously repeating what he has heard!)

Songs - he loves to sing songs lately. He sings along to the CDs that we listen to in the car or in the house, he will sing along to songs that are on DVDs that he is watching, and he will sometimes sing along with me when I am singing to him before his nap or bedtime. Some of his favorites right now are the Bob the Builder theme song, "Baa Baa Black Sheep", "Hush little Baby", "Itsy Bitsy Spider" (with some hand motions), "Farmer in the Dell", "I've Got Peace Like a River", "Are You Sleeping?", and "The Grand Old Duke of York". He will often ask to repeat the same song on a CD in the car over and over and over again!!

Body parts - he is very good at pointing out various body parts (on himself or someone else). I am pretty sure this is age appropriate, but I wanted to document it for future reference. He can point to and name eyes, nose, mouth, tongue, teeth, ears, head, hair, eyebrows, mustache, beard, neck, shoulder, chin, arm, hand, fingers, fingernails, chest, stomach, belly button, penis (that is a fun one!), bottom, leg, knee, ankle, foot, toes, and toenails. Lately he has also been asking me what my breasts are (if I undress in front of him). I have told him and he will say "Those are Mommy's breasts", but he continues to ask every time. I guess they are just interesting to him. He will also say "Mommy's penis" so I am trying to explain to him the difference between girls and boys (in a way that a two-year old will understand!). I have not gotten into telling him the name for my private area yet, and am hoping to hold off on that for awhile! He already talks about his penis a lot, I don't need him to start talking about my parts too!

Letters - he can recognize a few letters (O,I,Q,L,G,B) most of the time, but he sometimes still gets them wrong. He loves to point out letters and tell me what he thinks they are (even though most of the time he is not correct). I love his apparent enthusiasm for wanting to learn! He also knows a lot of letter sounds (from his Leap Frog "Letter Factory" video). Sometimes, he will walk around randomly saying "The B says Bah, the B says Bah, every letter makes a sound, the B says Bah". I took this video of him doing it a few weeks ago (I aso added in some footage of him singing yesterday):


Basically, Jacob is at the stage now where he will repeat pretty much anything he hears! He has a mind like a steel trap and almost anything that goes in, stays in and often comes back out in one way or another. It is fun watching him process things and develop his own little language and ways to express himself. I am glad that he is able to communicate with us so much because it makes the tantrums and outburts happen a lot less. He is good at repeating himself too until we understand what he is saying. Sometimes it takes me a few tries to figure out what he is trying to say. He has trouble with the letter V and it comes out sounding like a B. Other than that, his words are often pretty recognizable, even by people who aren't around him that often.

I just love my little chatterbox! I think he is going to be a non-stop talker (sometimes he already is!) just like his Mama can be!

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Summertime Fun

We have certainly been enjoying the beautiful weather that Virginia has given us so far this summer. We are so blessed to live in a community that has a pool and several beaches to choose from whenever we want to go play! This summer has been so much fun so far - Jacob is at such a great age and he asks almost daily if we can "go play in sand and water" (aka go to the beach) or "go jump in the pool". He loves the water and I am sure that he is going to be a little fish once he gets a little bigger and learns to swim. This makes me very happy since I also love the water and even taught swimming lessons and lifeguarded in my younger years.

In early May, we had some beautiful weather so we went to the beach a few times. One day, Jacon and I were going for a walk (he was riding in the wagon and I was pulling him!) and I decided to walk to the nearest beach (it is about 1.2 miles from our house). Of course, we didn't have our swimsuits on or have any sand toys with us, but we did have fun wading in the water, looking at boats and walking in the sand.

A few days later, on a somewhat overcast day, we got our suits on, packed up our sand toys and headed for the beach. Because it was a little cool, I didn't let Jacob go in very far, just up to his ankles, but he was asking to go in further.



Due to our 10 days away from home (visiting family in NY and PA) in late May/early June, we had a few weeks where we missed spending any time near water. Thankfully once we got back into the swing of things, we more than made up for it. In fact, a few weeks ago, Jacob and I had our swimsuits on five days in a row - three trips to our neighborhood pool, one trip to the beach and one day at a friend's pool all in the same week! If you ask me, it was great (and I think Jacob enjoyed it too!). I am truly blessed to be able to do things like that!

Here are some pictures from that week:

Jacob enjoying his lunch at the Lake Monticello pool
(June 21)

Of course drinking Mommy's water bottle is so much more fun!
Reid and Jacob

Playing with trucks in the Lake
(June 22)


Eating lunch at Emily's pool (It was rainy and cool on this particular day. We did swim for a short bit, but mostly we hung out eating under the umbrellas)
(June 23)

Back at the LM pool - having fun in the baby pool
(June 24)

Keith went with us to the pool on Saturday. It is always fun to have Daddy there to do fun things like throw you up in the air!!
(June 25)

At our first trip to the pool (on June 21), Jacob started jumping in the pool if I was holding his hands. He wanted to do it over and over again and wasn't even upset if water got in his face or he went under a bit. On this particular day, he started jumping in all by himself (without me holding on to his hands). I think it had something to do with him getting the noodle that we had been playing with. Either way, I was so proud of him! Thankfully, Keith was able to get it on video:


We had a bit of a lull the week after our 5-day water fun because the weather was a little crappy (rainy) and also we had some other things to do! This past week, we had a playdate with my mom's group at one of the local spray parks. I had never been to a spray park before so I had no idea what the expect. It definitely exceeded my expectations and the best part is that it was completely FREE!

One thing I did learn was that I should have worn my bathing suit - it was 90+ degrees and very humid and I was wishing that I could jump in the water with everyone else. Next time I will wear it for sure!! Here are some pictures I captured of Jacob (he was a little tentative at first, but after a litle while he started really having fun!):







I am looking forward to many more fun times at the beach and pool this summer. We leave for our fun family vacation to Corolla on Sunday, July 24th (just three weeks from today!) and I am really looking forward to it! I hope the rest of the summer is as fun as the first part as been!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Jacob's 2nd birthday

It is unbelievable to me that my "baby" turned two years old last week. It seems like just yesterday, we were announcing his arrival! Now, he is talking and walking and has really grown into a little person. He is independent, loving, sweet, full of energy, cheerful, fiesty, determined and has a great sense of humor. I just love him more than words can ever express!!

His birthday this year was certainly a long celebration!! He got to eat lots of cake and he blew the candles out five different times. He got really used to receiving presents (and actually still asks to "open more presents" everyday). He was one spoiled little boy this year. I hope he doesn't remember all of this next year because I am pretty sure this won't ever be repeated!

Jacob's first celebration came on May 29th at my grandmother's 80th birthday party in Rochester, NY. "Nana" surprised us by having a cake for Jacob at her party. He enjoyed everyone singing to him and watching him blow out the candles. He also enjoyed eating the yummy cake!







The second celebration came on June 1st at my grandma's house near Rochester. We were still up there visiting my extended family and everyone came to her house for dinner. We had an inpromtu birthday party for Jacob with cake and presents courtesy of my grandma and my aunts. My aunt Julie brought a yummy ice cream cake for us all to enjoy. (Note: We did not write on this cake! This "beautiful"job was done by the woman who was working in the bakery at the grocery store. We all agreed she should NOT be decorating cakes! haha)


(Another note: my grandma did not have any birthday candles so we had to resort to using these multi-colored taper candles. Yes, they are quite large...but Jacob didn't mind a bit!)



The third celebration was on June 4th at Keith's aunt's house in PA. We left NY and traveled to PA to visit with his family for a few days. More of the same....cake and LOTS of presents!!

The fourth celebration was on Jacob's actual birthday - June 7th. We traveled back from PA that day so we were in the car for most of the day. By the time we got home, it was late evening and we hadn't really planned anything. Keith ran to the grocery store and came back with some cupcakes. We lit two candles and sang Happy Birthday to Jacob. Then, he opened up two presents from us.

The fifth celebration was this past Saturday, June 11th. We had a family birthday party with my immediate family at my parents' house in Richmond. I made a cake - nothing fancy, just confetti cake with chocolate frosting, but it was a hit! And, Jacob got spoiled more with lots of more great presents.

We were able to get the third, fourth and fifth celebratory "Happy Birthday" songs on video and I put them all together into this one:


Happy Birthday sweet boy! Mommy and Daddy love you very much!!

"The View from Here": April 11-17

This is over two months behind, but I had already uploaded the pictures so I am going to go ahead and publish it.

Monday, April 11
Playing outside with chalk and tricycle


Tuesday, April 12
Playing basketball

Wednesday, April 13
Jacob had his yearly appointment at UVA Urology. This was follow-up to the Hydronephrosis that was detected when he was in utero. Thankfully, Jacob did really well. He had a great ultrasound technician who was fast and very friendly and Jacob didn't squirm that much. He also did great when the nurse took his temperature and his blood pressure.


Unfortunately, as it always seems to happen at the UVA Urology office, we had to wait a LONG time to see the doctor. The ultrasound took about 5 mins and then we waited over an hour to see the doctor!! Jacob got a little stirc-crazy sitting in the small exam room for that long, but overall he did really well. Here we are goofing around while waiting:


The good news was that his kidneys look fine and the doctor thinks that the issue is resolving itself with time. He still wants us to come back in a year, but hopefully that will be our last appointment!!

Thursday, April 14
Nothing like opening a box of Cheese-Its in the grocery store to keep a little boy quiet! Jacob LOVES "cheese crackers" and he would sit and eat half of the box if I let him!


I have started allowing Jacob to wash his hands in the bathroom sink. He uses the step stool/potty and is able to reach the faucet to turn on the water.

Friday, April 15
First of two birds' nests that appeared in my hanging plants. I guess our front porch is a good place to "raise a family". haha

Saturday, April 16
We went to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate my niece's 3rd birthday. Jacob had a blast riding the rides and playing the games. The grownups enjoyed it too!

Keith and Jacob playing skeeball
Riding the horsie
Up, Up, Up he goes!
Daddy and Jacob driving a car
The three oldest kiddos (Sierra, Jacob, and Pierce) got to pick out prizes using the tickets that everyone won.
The Stank grandkids
Pierce (4), Sierra (3), Jacob (22 months), Reid (18 months), Chyler (13 months)

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Bubbles & Contagious Laughter

Tonight, while Keith was getting Jacob out of the bathtub, I heard Jacob start hysterically laughing. I wasn't sure what was going on. All I knew was Jacob was laughing and laughing. I grabbed the video camera and this is what I saw:



Please forgive the shaking that occurs in parts of the video - that is me trying to stifle my laughter. Apparently, this is a game that Jacob and Daddy play with the tub bubbles while Jake is in the tub. Tonight, Jacob asked him to do it after he got out and it was obviously a hit! Jacob thought it was especially funny when Daddy would have to wipe his face off on Jacob's towel!

Isn't his laughter contagious?! I love my boy!

Sunday, March 27, 2011

"The View from Here": March 14-20

Obviously I am still way behind on posting this, but at least I can say that I got two other blog posts done this week. These days, for me, that is quite an accomplishment! :)

Here is our "View From Here" Week #5:

Monday, March 14:
For some time now, we have listened to kids music every time we are in the car. We borrowed a few CDs from Katie back in the Fall and then Jacob got the Cedarmont Kids 100 Sing along Songs CDs for Christmas. Sometimes Jacob will ask for a certain song to be played (and yes, I have memorized the track numbers of his favorites). Other times, he is content to listen to whatever songs happen to play. Every now and then (not very often), I can get him to listen to my music (country). That usually only lasts a few minutes, but it is a welcome change from non-stop Nursery Rhymes!

Recently Jacob has asked to hold the CD holder while we are going somewhere. He doesn't really do anything with it, he just wants to hold it.


Tuesday, March 15:
One of Jacob's "favorite foods" right now is shredded cheese. As I mentioned in this post, he calls it "Daddy's cheese" and he probably asks for it at least once a day! For some reason, about a month or so ago, he started refusing to eat any cheese except for this kind. I don't necessarily mind since it's easy to just give him a handful when he asks for it. The problem is that it makes a HUGE mess!

The cheese ends up everywhere - inside the pocket of his bib, on his pants, in his highchair and most often on the floor! One day last week, we ran out of shredded cheese and thankfully he was willing to eat block cheese again. He still asks for "Daddy's cheese" and now that I have gotten more at the grocery store, I give it to him. But, it is nice to know that he will eat the other kind too if we run out again!

As I have said numerous times before, Jacob LOVES books. He has his favorites and is starting to be able to "read" (obviously from memorization) along with us. I got his really cute video of Keith and Jacob "reading" before bed:


Wednesday, March 16:
I belong to two Mom's groups and for one of them I have an official title: Event Coordinator. What this means is just what it sounds like - I coordinate events for the group. One of the things that I decided to do this year was to have holiday parties for every "popular" holiday. Of course, for March that means St. Patrick's Day.

Since we have a room reserved in the clubhouse of my neighborhood for playtime every third Wednesday, it worked out perfectly to have the party there! Here are some cute pictures from the event.

Our decorated table with some of the "green" snacks:

Jacob really enjoyed the chocolate-covered pretzels that someone brought to share:

Apparently Jacob was in the mood to wrestle. He loves being wherever Pierce is and will sometimes even tackle him!! Pierce is always a good sport and loves to play along.


Later that night, during dinner, Jacob was exhibiting his independence and wanted to open his yogurt himself. Unlike the video I posted a few days ago, this type of yogurt (the Gerber non-refrigerated kind) is not as easy to open. Even I have a hard time with it sometimes! But, no, Jacob wanted to do it himself. As you can see from this photo, he got the tiniest little opening in the top of it and then proceeded to stick his spoon in and start eating! He was content as could be since he got it open just enough to be able to get something out of it! Silly boy!


Thursday, March 17:
In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I decided to let Jacob have some Lucky Charms as a snack after breakfast. I had brought them to the party the day before and he saw some leftovers sitting in a plastic container on the counter. The problem with him eating them (aside from them having a ton of sugar!) is that he really only likes the marshmallows. So...what does he do? He picks all of the non-marshmallow pieces out and drops them on the floor. Seems like a good plan, huh?

See them all scattered on the floor? (Yes, I did require him to help me pick them up.)


Friday, March 18:
We had beautiful weather that Friday - it was near 80 degrees outside (actually a little too hot for March in my opinion). Jake and I met Katie, Pierce and Reid (and some other Moms and friends) at the playground and we had a great time.

Jacob wanted to take a book along to read on the way:


My brave little boy on top of the slide (he used to only go down on his stomach, but now he will go down on his bottom too - or try to walk down like he is doing here!)


Jacob got really hot and he takes after me with the flushed cheeks! This is one of my favorite pictures of him - he looks almost like a little model! :)


Saturday, March 19:
One day while I was looking for videos and pictures to put up on a blog post, Jacob saw them and now whenever I have the laptop out, he thinks it is time to look at them. He will say "Picture, picture, pictures" over and over again. He gets really upset when I tell him that he can't see them (mostly if I am trying to do something else or there aren't any new pictures or videos to show him). On this particular day, nothing much was going on in the late afternoon so I opened up the laptop and let him watch some videos of himself. He prefers videos with other people in them, but since most of the videos that we have are of him, he will watch them until he gets bored.


Sunday, March 20
Jacob has some really strange habits (like all little kids, I am sure). One of them is that he likes to dip certain foods in his yogurt. Sometimes it is crackers or block cheese (yuck!) or some such fruit or vegetable. On this occasion it was apple slices:


Looks yummy. But will it taste good?

Yep, it's good!

Jacob is sometimes the most fun right after he gets up from his nap. Almost every day he wakes up super happy and full of energy. He loves to jump around in his crib and play. His newest thing is to drop (or throw) everything out of his crib. He thinks it is just the most fun thing to do! I took this cute video of him that Sunday after his nap. I just love how he is role playing with Elmo too.