mmm..corn on the cob

seems to be a favorite with both of the kids from an early age.


Sophia at just over a year indulging on a fresh, local cob.

Now Jacob (just a little older) at just about 2 years old, munching away.



Sorry about the red eye...


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May cottage visit

Way back, in the midst of having the house on the market and showing it like crazy, David and I headed out to Manitoba. David was doing music at a church function for a weekend so I headed out to Winnipeg to spend time with the grandparents. From Winnipeg the kids, grandparents, and I loaded up the van and headed to the cottage. David joined us later.

We had a great time, and the weather mostly cooperative. The water was less than warm...to us adults it was darned cold. But that didn't stop Sophia from going in.

Clean teeth

We understand that good dental hygiene is important for everyone, especially those little baby teeth. But have you ever tried to brush the teeth of an uncooperative one year old? It is a little like trying to coral a angry octopus.









Do not let the smile in the upper picture fool you. Jacob was less than cooperative. Practice isn't making it easier.

Words!

Jacob has been understanding words for some time now - we can tell him to go and get something, or eat his dinner, or stop pestering the dog, and he will generally comply. except of course when he doesn't want to. He also is getting to know his body parts, and is able to point to his nose, eyes, ears, mouth, head, teeth, arms, fingers, toes, etc and do so on other people as well. None of this has been accompanied by any vocalization on his part until now. It seems that here, at the cottage, he is starting to be able to form words.

The first of these words is "BOAT", or, as he says it, " bo' ". Jacob loves boats and points to them whenever he sees them. More and more, when he points at a boat, he says boat. Then he makes boat noises like "Brrrrrumm".

He's also consistently picked up "buh-bye" and "hello" although he is so soft spoken and little that these words can also be mistaken for baby babble if you're not listening closely. but it is consistent and always accompanied by a hand wave. He says "uh-oh" when there's a problem, and that can be especially helpful when he is eating and drops something on the floor. He says "uh-oh" and we know to look before Haley snuffles in and eats whatever Jacob dropped. He says "tah dah" when he is proud of something he has done, like eat all his food or stack some blocks, and he can say yep and uh-uh.

More recently, he can say "CAR", sounding like "ca' ", whenever he sees one. Strangely, boats and cars make the same noise, that "Brrrrrumm" of which he is so fond.

He like birds ("buh"), bugs (also "buh") turtles ("tutuh") and fish ("shhh"). Some of these are context specific - you wouldn't know "shh" was fish unless you were there with him looking at the same fish he was looking at. Also, "shh" means "be quiet" if he is holding his finger to his lips.

When he sees words, he will sometimes say "blah blah blah"

He knows that ducks go "quack quack" (or more like "kag kag")

and choo choo trains go choo choo

and airplaines and spaceships go "neeerow!"

Even with all of this (and more I can't remember), most of the time he communicates with gestures and grunts. Specifically, he nods and shakes his head, and uses his hands to say "follow me" or "come on" when he's wandering around the house or outdoors. It's too cute. There he is, smallest kid in the world, wandering away and he looks back at you and gestures like "come on, let's go!" You just have to see it.

Just chill'n with grandma

Jacob tends to be a watcher, observing all that is going on around him. Often he likes to do this with one of his favorite people. We caught him doing such a watch...


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Frogging

Every child needs a chance to chase frogs, right? And why not offer them such an opportunity, without the stinky, muddy swamp? Well it seems that the cottage is teeming with itty bitty frogs. We have spent some time at the cottage chasing these frogs, catching them, poking them (nicely and gentley, of course) and generally learning about them. I think that ihave had the most fun catching them and holding them for my wide eyed children to look at up close.












Unfortunately, Jacob was not able to partake in the frog holding. His little hands were far too ready to squish the little amphibians. On the other hand, Haley has become quite fond of hunting the frogs. Although none of us are quite sure what she will do with one once she catches it. Thankfully, that has not become an issue yet...she's not so great with the tracking that chasing a frog requires. But she is having fun.



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Crabapples...yum

So, the crazy moving stage of our lives has come to an end, almost. We are finally in the new house and we are very, very happy. One of the perks of the new house is the big, usable backyard which has two grand crabapple trees. These are big crabapples. If you have eve eaten a crabapple out of hand you would know that they are less than sweet. They are gosh darn tart. Well, these ones seem okay...













Jacob is a big fan. They are crisp, tender and, seemingly good to eat. Turns out that the past owners of the house had a deal with some neighbors, where they pull up in their pickup on the other Side of the fence and pick apples for canning. We were more than happy to continue this agreement, especially if we get to enjoy the final product! It was a nice way to meet some of our new neighbors.

Little Girl, Big Drama

If you spend any time with Sophia you quickly come to understand how very fitting the title of the entry fits her personality. It fits to perfectly that when I saw it on a t-shirt, I had to buy it. The day that I took these she was wearing said shirt. Check out these photos....

















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Tiny bubbles

One favorite summer pastime in our house is bubble blowing. The only challenge is that bubbles means liquid in tippy containers, which inevitably means bubble fluid, well, everywhere. Especially Jacob who gets it into his head to pour the fluid all over the deck, just to see it drip through the slats on the deck. Anyway, Sophia has a great time blowing the bubbles and chasing them around the yard.













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Scooby Dooby Doo

Sophia's good friend, William, turned four and to celebrate, he had a Scooby Doo themed party. Everyone came dressed up as a character. Originally, Sophia really wanted to be Daphne, of course. But once she found out that Velma got to wear glasses and was really smart she changed her mind.








The kids at the party helped to solve a mystery. A ghost showed up and swiped the birthday gifts. The kids got clues which they followed to each new activity and eventually they found the ghost and discovered his true identity. They had a ball. Sophia was totally engaged in the mystery and in being Velma. At one point she turned to the adults and said: "I'm the smart one!", all the while tapping her temple. Little goof. She had a blast and still talks of being smart Velma.




Reading a clue




The birthday boy as Fred




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Random Jacob pictures

He just keeps growing... He keeps getting attitude... And he is gosh darn cute. Jacob may be little, very little for his age, but sure as heck he ca get into things. He doesn't walk, he runs everywhere. Every day is an adventure with this little guy, he has a great sense of humor and is a real goof. We think we might just have our hands full with him. Add Sophia to the mix and we are in trouble. Big trouble.

Can ya tell....

Sophia got a new hair cut and a new dress. Nothing like shiny new things to bring out the inner diva in our little four year old. My girl doesn't have a flair for the dramatic. Nope, not this girl.









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Asthma update

Jacob and I ended up staying two nights in the hospital. Yahoo for us. The nurses were great and took good care of J. The only challenge was trying to convince a very active two year old that really he had to stay in the little tiny room while his sister was free to leave when she wanted. Sigh. Thankfully the ward has a child life worker who checks in with the families offering breaks to weary parents and bringing toys and books to kids in isolation. That made a difference, once Jacob had something to do. But he still figured out how to open the door and try to sneak down the hall. Of course, he had to give me a sly smile while doing it. Little stinker.

Anyway, the outcome of the stay was that we are now the proud owners of an aerochamber and a brand spanking new prescription for a maintenance inhaler and a rescue inhaler. Jake has to take two puffs twice a day to maintain a healthy airway. Thankfully he takes the puffs with the chamber quite well, way better than having a nebulizer. He hated that thing. During the time in the hospital, Jacob's oxygen levels never dropped down below 95% but he did get additional nebulizer time to help even out the rattles in his chest. The doctor (who was fabulous) also got us to give him three more days of baby prednisone once we got home.

Although the hospital stay wasn't a particular highlight of our month, I am very glad that we went. Who knows how bad the asthma would have gotten. Now he is happy, snot free and breathing easy. One other bonus was that I found out that he indeed could sleep through the night (including the requisite middle of the night vital checks). Now if he could only do that at home...



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