Bear Hugs

These aren't just any bears. Oh no. They were made by Mommy and Daddy uniquely for our two boys. When I was nine months pregnant with Jacob, we were walking in the mall and passed by a Build A Bear store. All of a sudden, we got this great idea to build a bear together for our newborn baby. We taped our voices so Mommy and Daddy each had a turn saying, "I love you Jacob!" We both kissed a heart and placed it inside the bear before he was stuffed. Here was the outcome.

We waited toward the end of my second pregnancy to make one for Gavin as well. Mostly because we didn't know for sure what his name would be until just days before he was born. It was even more special this time because Jacob was there to help us. He kissed the little heart and taped his voice alongside us. Gavin's bear sounds like this... "Love you Gavin (Daddy), Love you Gavin (Mommy), Wuv u Gaabin (Jacob). They love to walk around the house squeezing their bear and his paw. (The funny thing is, Jacob prefers Gavin's bear because it has his voice on it. ;)

They really ARE listening!

I am constanting changing the radio station in my car. There are five or six pre-programmed stations that I listen to, but most of my time is spent searching for whichever one is playing a song that I like. I usually start with 105.3, but immediately push a different button once advertisements take over. Little did I know, Jacob and Gavin were in the back seat listening intently...

We were walking in the door one day when Jacob starting singing, "No way, no way, I don't like your giiirlfriend. Hey you, hey you, I don't like your giiirlfriend." I stopped and thought... wait a second. Is he singing what I think he's singing?

The real shocker came when Gavin played a role as well. This is what happened when the song "Umbrella" came on the radio. You can be my Cinderella, ella, ella, (and Gavin chimed in with) EH, EH, EH! Under my umbrella, ella, ella, (EH, EH, EH)! It was pretty funny, but maybe I should stick with Christian radio... I hear satellite doesn't have ads. :)

O-P-P-O-S-I-T-E-S

Jacob and Gavin are opposites... in almost every way. It amazing how God created such different little guys, yet I love them so equally and so unbelievably much. Adam and I are pretty opposite, so it makes sense that our sons could be so different. Seriously though, all of our opposite traits are in either one child or the other.

Here are some examples.

~Looks. Jacob is and has always been in the 100th percentile for height and 50th percentile for weight. So he is super tall and skinny for his age. Gavin is in the 100th percentile for both. He has the cutest little chunky everything ;)

~Pain Tolerance. Jacob can be pretty sensitive and cries upon the littlest stub of a toe. He immediately needs a hug from mommy and a band-aid to make him feel better. Gavin can be running, crash full-force into a wall, and land flat on his back. He might pause for a minute, but is right back up and running momentarily.

~Touchy-feeliness. Jacob LOVES giving hugs and kisses, especially to Gavin. He will cuddle with me in his bed or on the couch forever. Gavin, on the other hand, will not let anyone hold him for more than a few seconds without feeling smothered. He shrieks when Jacob comes running to him for a hug and does his best to either duck or run in the opposite direction.

~Dirt. Jacob doesn't like getting dirty at all. The second he gets food, dirt, or play dough on his clothes, he takes them off and carries them to the "wash-it machine". Gavin is totally down with dirt and grime.

~Nature. Gavin would be outside every second of the day if we would let him. He is constantly trying to open doors in order to escape. Jacob would rather play inside, even on a sunny day (unless he has a friend over to play outside with him)

~Seeking approval. Jacob is devastated when we are disappointed in him. Just talking with him about why he didn't make a good choice is enough to teach him a lesson. He tries very hard to obey and loves any kind of praise we give him. Gavin, being 15 months, is in that "wanting to be as independent as possible" stage. He is definitely more interested in getting his way than in obeying mommy and daddy right now.

It will be so much fun to watch Jacob and Gavin grow and see each of their unique personalities develop. So far, Jacob is a little more like me and Gavin is a little more like Adam. It keeps life interesting! ;)

Gotta love those black and whites :)

All by Myself

Jacob has been really focused on doing things all by himself lately. He'll be working on a puzzle and if I put one piece in for him, he'll say, "No mommy, I want to do it all by myself." Although he always wants the door shut or my eyes closed when he's going potty, he usually needs my help to put his pants back on. These pictures were taken when he wanted to do it all by himself. Hmmm... didn't get it quite right. :) He didn't seem to notice or care though!


Gavin is making his own independent strides. Not only can he respond by shaking his head no, now he can say "yeah" in response to questions we ask him. "Would you like a banana?" "Do you want some milk?" "Are you helping Daddy?" "Ready for your bath?" He answers all of these questions by saying "yeah" in a very matter-of-fact way. It actually sounds more like "eah". ;) Little steps to independence.

The toddler quiz

I always think it's fun to read how my friends answer these random questions about themselves... so I thought I would create a quiz for Jacob and Gavin. Hope you learn something fun!

1. What are your favorite things to eat?
Jacob - peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, pancakes, teriyaki, cantaloupe
Gavin - fruit... especially grapes, strawberries, and cantaloupe

2. What are your favorite movies?
Jacob - Madagascar and Curious George
Gavin - I don't have the attention span for that yet :)

3. What do you spend most of your time doing?
Jacob - puzzles, knocking Gavin down with hugs and kisses
Gavin - toddling. everywhere. and using the swiffer.

4. What are your most common questions?
Jacob - What tomorrow we do mommy? What we do after my nap?
Gavin - experimenting with all kinds of sounds through "babble"

5. Who is your favorite person to play with?
Jacob - My cousin Maddie.
Gavin - My mommy. :)

6. What is your favorite hobby?
Jacob - riding my motorcycle with Daddy
Gavin - riding my go-cart with Mommy

7. What makes you cry the most?
Jacob - anytime I get hurt/ when mommy and daddy discipline me
Gavin - when Jacob knocks me over/ when mommy pulls me away from something I want to do

8. What makes you smile the most?
Jacob - wrestling and jumping on mommy and daddy's bed
Gavin - when mommy or daddy talk and sing specifically to me

9. What are you scared of?
Jacob - THE CAR WASH!!
Gavin - The vacuum cleaner

10. What are your favorite books?
Jacob - Green Eggs and Ham, There's a Wocket in My Pocket, Baby Beluga
Gavin - Peek-a-Boo books, books with pictures of family, Goodnight Moon

Learning new things everyday...

It's so much fun to watch Jacob grow through each cute stage of his life. Just when you think it doesn't get any better, it does. Then, when you're given the gift of a second child, you feel so blessed to be a part of those fun stages all over again. Sometimes, we think... I remember when Jacob did that! Sometimes we're amazed at how differently Gavin does things! I love looking back at Jacob's calendar and comparing what Jacob was doing and saying when he was Gavin's age.

Jacob is in the process of figuring out our crazy language still. He says things like, "Mommy, what tomorrow we do?" and "Daddy, I give my hippo to him." (Meaning mommy, but not understanding the difference between him and her yet.) I've recently noticed that Jacob almost always refers to himself in the first person instead of third person now. And he LOVES talking for Gavin. "Gavin says he wants this toy mommy." (Which, of course, is whatever toy he doesn't want.) "Gavin says he wants to go outside." (Even if he is nowhere near the door.) He is super sweet with his baby brother though and gives him lots of kisses and hugs... especially when he is crying, but really anytime. (He usually knocks him down in the process, so if Gavin is already crying, it's not the most comforting.) He offered Gavin some of his hamburger today at dinner, even though his highchair tray was already full. When Gavin was crying in his crib after I put him to bed, Jacob said, "Gavin needs his elephant to feel better" and carefully placed the stuffed elephant in his crib.

Another funny thing is that when we give Jacob a treat or snack, we ask him how many he wants. Not that we'll give him that many, but he usually only says two or three. He's caught on quickly though, because now he says ten or twenty. Smart guy ;) To which I say, "How about two or three?"

Jacob has suddenly decided he needs privacy when going potty. He'll say, "Please just leave me alone." or "Moommy, shut the dooor." A few days ago at the store, he ran out of the bathroom with Daddy saying, "Mommy! Mommy! I went potty on the 'air'inal! I get a donut!" Mommy just does not understand this whole boy potty training thing (especially the urinal) so she lets Daddy teach most of the technical aspects. Watch and learn is the key I guess... which he definitely needs Daddy for. :)

Insomnia

I am one of those people who fall asleep as soon as their head hits the pillow. Sometimes even before that. As much as I try to stay up and watch a movie with Adam in our family fun room, I usually ending up falling asleep in his lap. Of course, there are a few exceptions to this rule... the night before the first day of school, the night before an evaluation, and when I'm super uncomfortably pregnant. Other than that, I am usually exhausted and asleep in seconds.

Jacob, however, is a completely different story. Some days he'll fall asleep not long after we tuck him in. Other days, it's hours (really not kidding, hours) before he falls asleep. We were really strict the first night he moved from his crib to a toddler bed so he doesn't ever get out of bed... he just lays there forever. I hear him softly singing to himself, having a conversation with himself, or sometimes nothing at all. I'll walk up there totally expecting him to be asleep and he's just laying there wide awake. I feel terrible and always go up to check on him, but I don't know how to help. He's not really taking naps anymore, so I know that's not a factor. Adam is a crazy night owl and can easily stay up all night if he wants too. So he just thinks Jacob is night owl too. Before Jacob goes to sleep, he always tells him, "Jakey, remember how to go to sleep? You have to close your eyes and wait." Unfortunately, that advice hasn't produced any sleeping miracles yet. :)

Here's an example of our talks when he up at night.

Jacob - Hi mommy! Did you just take a shower?
Me - I tell him yes and lay down to cuddle with him.
Jacob - Did you get the sweaty off? (Daddy told him that's why he takes showers :)
Me - I just laugh.
Jacob - Mommy, will you sing a song with me?

We sing Jesus Loves Me and Jesus Loves the Little Children together. (Speaking of this song... I asked him the other day if Jesus loves him and he said, "No mommy, he just loves the little children.")

Me - OK Jakey, go to sleep for mommy...
Jacob - No, I just want mommy to cuddle with me.
Me - Mommy has to go to bed now too. I love you.
Jacob - I love choo too.

Squishy, sweet brother love is the best!

Good luck hugs for Daddy's first trip
Painting at the Children's Museum
C'mon mom, I'm trying to eat!
This plastic bin was a pretty good hiding spot!
Thanks for the headstart before the bigger kids get them all!Finding eggs at my auntie's house