Jacob's Strong Will

Several weeks ago Jacob had a big mess in the play room.  The rule at our house is that they have to clean up all their toys before they can eat dinner.  I asked Daniel and Catherine to help him clean it up, knowing he'd never be able to do it by himself.  So when the three came to the table, I told him to say "thank you" to his brother and sister for their help.  Jacob looked at me as if I were speaking in French, so I repeated it.  Again, he stared at me.  David then said something along the lines of, "You need to say thank you, and then you can have dinner."  Again - nothing.  So.......long story short......he didn't eat dinner that night.

The next day we went to HEB.  There they have these things for kids called Buddy Bucks.  You can get Buddy Bucks when you check out, and you can use them to win prizes.  I have bribed many a child with Buddy Bucks in exchange for good behavior at the grocery store.  On this day, we checked out, the woman handed us the Buddy Bucks, and I told Jacob to say thank you (just like we've done every other time we've been to the store).  He gave me a look, and I remembered that this child was making "a thing" out of saying thank you.  So I told him that if he didn't say thank you, he would not get the Buddy Bucks.  So.........long story short.............he didn't get the Buddy Bucks that day or the next time we went to the store or the time after that.

Last week we went to the doctor's office because Katie had strep.  The nurse let them each pick out a piece of candy from the bucket as we were leaving.  Katie picked hers, and then Jacob reached into the bowl.  As he put his grubby little fingers around a Snickers, he looked up at me with that look, and I reminded him to say thank you.  He slowly lowered the Snickers back into the bucket and walked away.  The will power continues to get stronger as the prizes get bigger......

Finally there was Halloween.......we now saw how big he could make this issue.  We reminded him before trick-or-treating that he would have to say thank you in exchange for candy.  We even gave him some other ideas instead of saying the words "thank you," including saying it in a tough football voice, saying it in Spanish, or even using the ASL sign for thank you.  He opted instead to only pick up candy at the houses that had put it on the front porch in a bowl for you to take on the honor system.  So every time we approached a new house, he'd ask, "Is there a person?"  If there was a person handing out candy, he wouldn't even go up to the door, but if it was just a bowl of candy, he'd go and pick one.  (He didn't have anyone to thank at those houses!)  Daniel and Catherine got 75-100 pieces of candy, and Jacob got 6.

How much will it take for him to learn this lesson???  He has a strong will.  Let's pray he uses it for good.

Jacob's Halloween Costume

We were driving in the van last night when I asked the kids what they wanted to dress up as for Halloween.  I was trying to talk Jacob into a football player because we already have stuff he could wear for that costume, but he had other ideas. 


He told me that he wanted to dress up like Father Adam.  Just as my heart was about to melt because my two-year-old wanted to dress up like a priest, he informed me that he wanted to dress up like "Father Adam dancing in that video."  That would be the video I showed him the other day in which Father Adam is dancing with swords dressed in a mariachi outfit.  So, no, he doesn't want to be a priest, but he does want to be in a mariachi. 

J Pop's Sayings

Here are a few funny things Jacob (J Pop) has said over the last few months that I don't want to forget!

(Before going to mass)
David: Why do you look so handsome?
Jacob: Because God made me that way.
David: Why?
Jacob: Because I used to be a cat and then I was a boy.

(when David told him to be quiet in the van)
Jacob: But my mouth is going all crazy!

(when David smacked the top of his head)
Jacob: Did he vacuum my head?!

(when walking out of Daniel's school)
Jacob: Daniel, when we were going in to your school, we saw a monkey!
Me: That wasn't a monkey.  It was a ground squirrel.....

He's a funny kid.  :)

Two Word Utterances

By 18 months, a child should begin putting two words together - like "Daddy bye-bye" when Daddy leaves for work. I know this because I'm an SLP. 😊  Jacob is on track and has been putting two words together lately. Tonight's was my favorite. He came in the house after falling in a puddle in the driveway and told me, "Nose......water." 😂 Yes, Jacob, your nose did indeed hit the water.

Katie's Names

Katie has been changing her name around for quite some time.  She's often Ms. Lucinda.  Other days she's Ms. Sparkle.  She frequently changes her baby's names as well.  Robin becomes Shaniqua who becomes Bella who becomes Sarah. 

Recently she started changing Jacob's name too.  Probably the most common name she gives him is Benjamin.  She also calls him Jeremiah, John, Thomas, or James.  She gets mad when I call him Jacob, so I usually give in and call him whatever the name of the day is.  I think it may be confusing to Jacob, but surely he'll catch up. 

Jacob's 18 Month Update

Jacob is 18 months old.  He weighs 25.4 pounds (43%ile).  He is 32" tall (41%ile).  His head is 50.5 cm (97%ile).  The kid still has a melon head.

He knows a lot of words - I can't name them all, but he probably uses 50-100 words well.  He has started to put two words together.  For example, the other day he said, "Mama bite" and then he attempted to bite me.  He's bit me a couple times.  He also likes to smack me.  I spend a lot of time saying, "Be nice to Mama.  Give Mama hugs and kisses."  He then gives me big hugs and kisses.  He likes to hug a lot, especially in the middle of grocery shopping.  He also plays a game where he knocks on the window or wall and waits for me to say, "Come in!"  He then turns and says in an exaggerated voice, "Hi! Hug?  Hug?" 

He loves books.  He follows me around the house all day saying, "book book."  His most recent favorite is "Otis and the Tornado." He'll pick one book and read it over and over and over until I make him stop.  Sometimes it's only a short book, and I'll read the same 18 words about twenty times before I tell him that he needs to switch to a new book. 

He loves to be outside.  He likes bugs, but he hasn't figured out how to pick them up without squishing them. He comments on all sorts of things outside - birds, bugs, trucks, wind, trash.  He likes to play in the sand box and only occasionally eats sand now.  He also loves to play in the water.  When it rains and there is a big puddle in the driveway, he runs around in it until he's soaking wet. 

He likes to eat and has a good appetite, but he's a finicky eater at times.  Sometimes he'll eat four servings of something, and then the next night when I serve it as leftovers, he won't eat it at all.  For breakfast he likes Rice Krispies or toast.  At lunch he likes pb&j, ham and cheese, and peas.  He can put down peas like nobody else.  Dinner is unpredictable.  He also loves popcorn and cheese - not together.  He drinks milk and water well.  I tried to give him juice once when he was sick, and he wouldn't drink it. 

His best tricks are still raising his eyebrows at people and making funny faces.  He keeps a pretty serious face around strangers, but he's silly around us.  He likes to be held - all the time - all 25 pounds of him.  He cries and throws his head on the ground when he doesn't get his way - like when I can't hold him and make dinner at the same time.  He's highly attached to his blanket which he calls "B."  He won't sleep without it, and it's the cure to most bumps on the head. 

I'm still not quite sure what he's going to be like as he grows older, but he's a sweet boy that I'm thankful to call mine.  He brings me much joy - except at 5:00 AM. 

Katie's Wedding Dance

Katie got a new dress-up princess dress from Aunt Cristi and Uncle Brian.  She was wearing it the other day and decided that it was her wedding dress.  She started acting out her wedding.  She's never been to an actual wedding, so she only knows a few pieces of what happens.  She quickly got to the first dance.  When I asked her what her song was, she replied, "The Chicken Dance." 

When I laughed, she said, "Well, I won't really dance like a chicken though." 

I couldn't find the chicken dance song on the keyboard she was using for her music, so she quickly settled for "Home on the Range" and softly swayed to the music with her imaginary groom.