A Birthday Party

Well, we celebrated Jacob's birthday a couple of days early so that both sets of grandparents could be here to help us party. We had Jacob's godparents and another couple with their kidlets. All in all, we had a great time with gifts, dinner, cake and playing! We extend a great big thank you to all the great people who celebrated this important day with us.

For the most part, Jacob was pretty happy. He was a little lost on the whole cake issue, seeing that he really doesn't do the chunky solid food thing.

Here are some photos documenting the event!

Opening birthday gifts takes on a whole new aspect when you combine a not so interested in the the thing baby and a more than eager to help bunch of preschoolers. Oy. Jacob eyed the outfit and returned to happily chomping and tearing the wrapping paper.

Showing admiration for the beautiful wall hanging made by Nana. There is a growing train theme in J's room.
The baby friendly tool bag from Uncle Todd and Auntie Dea. Maybe there is a sparkie in the making. Jacob does have an unhealthy fascination with wall plugs.

The birthday cake --a tiger for my little wild one. It is a classic butter vanilla cake with buttercream icing. Turned out pretty good.
The hat, by the way, is a shaped chocolate chip cookie iced with buttercream icing. It was a sugar high just waiting to happen. The preschoolers were forbidden from even considering it.

Oh, fire. Jacob did reach for the flame. We stopped him in time. There was no blowing out of the candle though.

YOu want me to do what with this cake now?

Oh it squishes. What about this stuff on my fingers?

Seriously? In my mouth? Well, okay....

ohhhhh, that's good. Really good.

I like it! Happy Birthday to me!

A Year of Jacob

Originally, I had 54 pictures to put in this retrospective. I figured that was too many, so I pared it down to 14. Here's to a fabulous first year, little man. Happy Birthday.

Hours old

One month

Two months

Three months

Four months

Five months

Six months

Seven months

Eight months

Nine months

Ten months

Eleven months

1 Year (on his birthday)

I had to add one more...this is my all time favorite of my sweet little guy. He's just a week old in the picture.

international talk like a pirate day

Sophia's take:

Who'd have thought

In July, some of you will recall, we decided that it was about time that Sophia should not be using soothers anymore, so we progressively removed her soothers from the bedtime routine. She was down to two at the cottage, and we went to the store and she traded the soothers for a new stuffed toy. Our hope was that she would "connect" to the new toy and it would be her special toy that would replace the soothers as the thing that would help her get to sleep, i.e. her "comfort item".

Her new stuffed toy did not become her comfort item, and since we took her soothers away, we have been having difficulty getting her to go to sleep by herself. One of us must stay in the room for a few minutes and pat her back, otherwise she gets aggravated and starts to cry. So we are weaning her off of the "pat my back" thing bit by bit as well - she'll now let me leave before she is asleep, but only some times and only if she is in a good mood.

None of her existing stuffed animals seems to fit the bill of a comfort item. We have borrowed legacy stuffed animals from the Gerhard grandparents, and she likes them well enough but the don't serve the purpose. We brought a nice fuzz blanket into her room with tags to feel and chew and fiddle with, but still no firm attachment.

Well. A couple days ago, she started to latch on to a particular toy, taking it with her from place to place, cuddling it, and going to bed with it in her arms. Not a stuffed animal, not a blanket, but a rubber ducky.


Waiting at the doctor's office


Chewing on the bill, a favorite...


Peaceful and comforted.



It can't really be all that comfortable (can it?), and she has woken up more than once with a bright red bill or tail mark deep in her forehead, but it seems to work. It probably won't last, she'll probably give it up for something else soon, but for now at least she has a comfort item.

First Day of School

Sophia is a preschooler! Today is her first day of school. I dropped her off about a half hour ago and I think I was more nervous than she was. She walked right in and started to play. Having a preschool open house helped a bit, since she had a chance to meet her teachers (Janice and Mme Gee) and learn about how the classroom was set up. The room is arranged with a few different "stations" for kids to do stuff - there are a few paint easels (Sophie's favorite), a toy area with train sets and a "rice table" (like a sandbox but with rice instead of sand to cut down on dust and allergies - brilliant) a story area where they will all sit and hear stories and songs and I expect most of the actual "learning" will happen, a computer, and some tables with colouring and other activities. There's a sink and lockers and lots of other stuff.

The preschool starts at 9:30, but they open the door at 9:15, after "O Canada" and school announcements. We got to the school just after 9:00, and "O Canada" was playing. A few other parents with preschoolers were also in the hallway, frozen, as the anthem played. Kind of cool to think that the ceremony is maintained, and the anthem was in french, of course, but what surprised me the most was that they were using (no lie) a country-western version of O Canada. I half hope that they use a different genre each day, but I more suspect that someone figured this is the definitive version. I suppose we are in the west, and I shouldn't really be surprised, but it didn't quite feel right to me. I am sure that by the time the kids are in grade 5, it will feel completely natural, but my initial reaction was definitely surprise.

So after "O Canada" we wandered down to the classroom and went in and, as I mentioned already, she was right in to it. She went straight to her locker and unloaded her backpack, and started to play with the other kids and with the toys and stuff. Some of the other kids were a bit overwhelmed, but most were happy to be there playing. It wasn't long till Sophia was into the painting (We'll be sure to post some of her more influential works here) and other activities. I hung around at the door to make sure she was OK, reminded her to listen to Mme Gee and the other parents, then headed out. Two and a half hours of no Sophia, it's a little strange, no doubt. I'll post her reaction to the first day when I pick her up later today.

We got her newsletter today as well, with a list of the vocabulary she will be learning this month:

• Bonjour
  
• Au revoir
  
• Dommage
  
• Comment ca va?
  
• Bien
  
• Mal
  
• S'il vous plait
  
• Merci
  
• Regarder
  
• Ecouter
  
• Aller
  
• Arreter
  
• Gomme d'efface
  
• Salle de classe
  
• Crayon
  
• Ciseaux
  
• Colle
  
• Papier
  

Getting ready to go


First day of preschool, age 3.


I have my own locker.


See, it has my name on it!!


In like a dirty shirt



Wearing a "dirty shirt", for a paint smock.



Mme Gee, can I have more paint colours?



Hawrylak School.

more piano time

Related to "The Places Jake Goes", Jacob can reach up to play the piano now. He spends a lot of his piano time on his tip-toes, and Sophia is usually quick to join in, but this marks a progression - in the past he mainly just played with the pedals.

 
 
 
 

Oh, the places Jake goes

Have I mentioned that Jacob is a very active little boy? Very active. He is crawling at lightening speed. Climbing on things like he has been doing it for years, and it even attempting the amazing feat of walking (while holding onto things, mind you --whew on my part.)

"Look at me. Look at ME! I am so very pleased with myself. Cool, eh? Mom? Did ya see me?" Yup, I saw his feat of contortion to get into the rungs under the chair. And then I watched.....
...as he realized that he was suck and couldn't figure a way out again. I got some video, but eventually Jacob just got mad and cried until I let him out.
Just this last week Jacob discovered the only accessible cupboard --the pastics and cutting board storage. Well, yippee for him, as he pulled everything out, including one of my big cutting boards. This board ended up on an angle --just right for little feet to use as a ramp to reach the veeeeeeeeeeeeery back of the cupboard....you know, to get that last little container and dump it on the floor.
Another "didja see me?" looks. Seriously pleased with his accomplishment. He didn't even bump his head.

His adventurous nature is not relegated to the house. Oh no, he becomes explorer man everywhere he goes. Mostly, he like to climb.
Jake surveys the situation before deciding on a plan of attack. At this point, he didn't realize that he could actually crawl on the rocks. Once he figured that out there was no stopping him.
"I can climb this, right?"

"What about this?"


"If my sister could climb this, I can too, right?"

There really is just no stopping this boy...okay, except for the fact that he has itty bitty legs and not so big arm muscles. But, really, other than that there's nothing stopping him...as long as it doesn't include canvas tents and goats. Sigh.

Why, why, why, why, mamma, why?

Ah yes, we have encountered this wonderful and inquisitive stage of life. Sophia has discovered the word "Why".

Typical conversation:

Me: Please pick up your toys
S: Why?
Me: Because when we are done with our toys it is good to put things away.
S: Why?
Me: So people don't step on them.
S: why?
Me: so they don't get broken and so your brother won't choke on them.
S: why?
Me: (exasperated!) Because?
S: why because?


I think I am about a hundred "why?"s away from my head exploding. We really need a smilie for that.

Sigh. It gets better right?