Post-game Wrap-up

This is a phrase borrowed from DH's sports shows. We had another busy week with tooth #2 emerging in sweet Eric's little mouth. He did a little better with this one, but he's definitely got a more intense personality than Jake does ... evidenced most recently with these teething episodes. He's also become a proficient back-to-tummy roller, but he gets stuck there and then cries until he's "rescued" from tummy time. :) He also tried "real" food this week. Here's a recap with the reviews: squash (two enthusiastic thumbs up), peas (one-and-a-half thumbs up), pears (two enthusiastic hands up). He was totally ready and is doing great with it. Our most recent tribulation is with nighttime sleeping. He's been waking for no discernible reason, so we've been trying to let him "cry it out." Yikes! He's got some staying power. The power struggle with a six-month old (turned 6 mos today!) is vicious. We've won the last few nights, but barely.

Jacob has had a good week. He had a great "report card" from preschool. So we took him out for an ice cream treat to celebrate! He's been a social butterfly lately ... always wondering what our calendar holds each day as far as playdates go. And believe me, the devastation is great if we have nothing set up. He's been going to great lengths to coerce me into lining up playdates too ... lately, he's been saving part of his snacks and treats to "share" with a little friend of his. He'll then ask if we can go "deliver" the snack and play. Anyone that knows Jacob knows that this is a total labor of love as he kid loves to eat!

Matt and I got together with some friends lately, and we were discussing some of the funny things kids say. It reminded me of a few funny things Jacob has said that I wanted to make sure I posted (for documentation's sake).

First, I commonly drop the "g" from a few words ending in "-ing". Like "somethin'" instead of "something." (I grew up in the South and have virtually no trace of an accent except little nuances like this.) Anyway, Jacob has adopted this into his own dialect but has expanded it a bit to include just about any word ending in "-ing", such as "anythin" (pronounced "en-ee-thin") or "everythin" (pronounced "ev-ree-thin). :)

Another thing ... it's funny when kids realize you have a name other than "mom." Jacob has come to this realization a few times. He'll hear my name, laugh about it, and then forget it. So, I got a little necklace a few months ago with my nickname ("jewel") on it, and he was very attentive during the conversation about nicknames and my "real" name. He must have known my name was "julie" before because he and his friends have giggled about that as they've called me that. But I guess it just "sunk in" that that was really my name when we talked about it this last time.

The last funny anecdote is related to his buddy, Grant. Grant is a little over a year younger than Jake but is a big kid like Jacob and so the age difference doesn't really seem like much. But for awhile, Grant couldn't say, "Jacob" really clearly, and he called him something that sounds like, "Day-bug". Well, I think Jacob thought this was a term of endearment or something because now he calls Grant, "Day-bug", when they're chasing or when he wants Grant to go outside with him. And then, just the other day, I heard Jacob giving himself a little self-affirming pep-talk. I think he was making his bed, but I can't remember exactly what he was doing. Anyway, I hear him quietly (but with feeling saying), "Good job, Day-bug! Good job!" :)

He's been into the story of "David and Goliath" lately, also. He's asked so many questions about this story ... about details that we don't know anything about. For instance, "What did they do with Goliath's sword after he was killed?" Anyone know? Or, "Were the brothers scared of Goliath?" That was an easy one. (Every now and then, he gives us an easy one.)

Even though there are a few challenging times with Jacob, I am really enjoying this stage of life with him. He is really loving and is learning so quickly.