Jacob Andrew and William Colin

Friday, November 1, 2013

October 2013

Jake has had a great fall so far and it will only get better!

Jake started gymnastics this month with his friend, Violet. He's not very into following the directions or routine in the class, but he loves bouncing on the tumble track, chasing bubbles, and singing the bye bye song. Every once in a while, he takes a turn in the circuit learning new skills on the mat, walking the beam, and swinging on the bars. It's a great way for him to expend some of his bountiful energy.

Oma and Opa took Jake to see Thomas the Tank Engine in October. He loves the choo choo trains and had a fun day with Oma and Opa including lunch and ice cream. Now Jake likes to tell us that Oma and Opa love trains. Wasn't it nice of Jake to take them to see the trains they love so much?

Jake is enjoying his fall days at playgroup, school, and at the park with friends. His new favorite thing is to eat lunch at school. He eats things there that he never eats at home and tells his teachers that it's "delicious!" He has learned so much at school and continues to thrive there! Today when I picked him up his teacher told me that he said, "Baby brother is coming soon." When I was sitting with him during lunch, I said, "You are right! Baby Will will be here soon." To which he replied, "Why?" His teachers had to stifle their laughter. Jake has enjoyed doing art at school and even sits through story time now. Ms. Maria said she was so proud when he sat through a whole story and activity that she took a picture. That's definitely Mommy's boy - holding still is hard! Ms. Maria also told me that he gets super excited when the lunch cart comes to the room - that would be Daddy's boy!

Our little man enjoyed a trip to the pumpkin patch and has been very excited about Halloween! He wished everyone a "Happy Halloween" and insisted on purchasing a pumpkin each time we visited the commissary (each time it was only 54 cents to buy me a stress free shopping trip.) He loved picking out pumpkins at the patch and insisted on carrying them out himself. Jake's original costume was supposed to be a dinosaur, but after several attempts at a dry run in the costume, Jake finally said, "No way, Mommy. No like dinosaur." Keep in mind, he's pretty obsessed with dinosaurs, but apparently does not want to be one. So we settled on Woody jammies and his beloved cowboy hat which proved to be a success. Our little Woody enjoyed trick or treating saying, "Trick or treat! Thank you very much. See you soon!" at each house. He was just shy enough to hold my hand and not run away. That was a nice change of pace for a very pregnant mommy. Daddy even made it home in time for the second half of our candy seeking journey!

Jake's physical skills are always impressive (he loves to play football, basketball, and soccer) and his verbal skills are continuing to grow. Here are some favorite quotes and phrases lately:

"Bella, I love you. Let's play football game. Ok! I tackle you."

"Jake, you are all sweaty."
"I know, Mommy, it's called run so fast."

"Hey Mommy, watch this! 54321 PENIS!"

(Jake shoots his basketball and makes a basket) - "L'Chaim!"

"Jake, do you want a pear with breakfast?"
"Ummm, I don't know. Ask GM."

"Thank you! My apple juice is tasty!"

"Daddy, you want car insurance? Uh huh. Everybody knows that. Owls are wise." - quoting the Geico commercial

"Come check it out!"

"Tigers eat hot dogs. Polar bears eat soap...in the bath."

"Jake, are you going to be a good big brother?"
"Ummm, actually, no."

"GP eats oranges and frogs."

"Hey, Mom, guess what? Jake is a cute boy."

"Jake, what is that noise?"
"It's Jake throwing hanger."

"Mommy, great day at school! Now, let's get cheeseburger."

"Roger that."

"Are you ready to meet your baby brother soon?"
"Hmmm, ok, how about gymnastics?"

"Finish your breakfast so we can go to playgroup."
"Mommy, be patient."

We can't wait to introduce you to Baby Will in our next post! Until then, here are some pictures from the last month.

Trying out the bars at gymnastics

Balance Beam

Riding Thomas the Train with Oma and Opa

The many faces of our Batman

Jake loves trains!

Sliding and holding hands with Violet

Another pumpkin for the collection

After nap hair, before a haircut!

Halloween art

Waiting not so patiently at the pumpkin patch

"This one!"

He loves the tractors at Lowe's

Touchdown!

Pumpkin carving with Daddy

Woody!

Thursday, September 5, 2013

September 2013 and Baby Brother's Name

Jake's personality is certainly shining these days! His rapidly growing verbal skills are giving us joy and laughter (and a bit of a shock at times.) He continues to be very active and athletic, jumping off anything in sight and mostly landing on his feet with the announcement of "I fine" or "need helping hand." Jake now sleeps in a big boy bed (twin bed) and has done so well with this transition. Each nap time and night time he clearly articulates a list of which items need to be in bed with him. Included in this list is always a dinosaur which he asks for by name (triceratops, stegosaurus, etc.) Jake goes to school two mornings a week and loves his teachers Ms. Maria and Ms. Topi (he calls them Ria and Topi). Upon leaving school, he always says, "Bye Ria! Bye Topi! Bye friends, see you next time!" My sweet little man loves to give hugs, kisses and snuggles. When he gets in trouble, he's quick to say, "Sorry Mommy!" Jake knows many songs and sings them one after another, loud and proud. He's such a little negotiator. If you say, "Jake, would you like an apple?" He will say, "Um, no thank you. How about fruit snacks?" This scenario is his strategy for all negotiations.

Jake can count up to 30 (although 13-17 are a bit muddy), knows his ABC's, and recognizes most shapes. He can also count backwards from 10. As a teacher, it amazes me how he recognizes all of these in his world. Yesterday he told me his bendy straw was, "like a 7." Sometimes he bites off part of his pretzel and tells me what letter it looks like. My little helper even pointed out the speed limit was 15 as I approached the Fort Sill gate the other day.

This boy is obsessed with cars and "ro ro bikes" (motorcycles). He can tell you what kind of cars Mommy and Daddy drive. He loves trains and building blocks too. Reading and looking at books is another one of Jake's favorite hobbies. Often, he picks up a book he knows well and "reads" the story as he remembers it. This is such a joy to see as a teacher! His current favorite is If You Give A Mouse A Cookie. Jake always takes a few books to bed and reads them before he goes to sleep and after he wakes up. Of course, playing outside and running is his true love.

With the beginning of football season upon us, Jake has really taken an interest in Daddy and Mommy's favorite game. It's so fun to hear him yell at the TV while watching his Steelers or Sooners. He actually watched most of Army's winning season opener and cheered them on all the way! Jake enjoys throwing and catching the football and kicking the soccer ball. Although he gets disappointed Tank and Bella won't catch the football, they remain his favorite playmates.

With fall approaching, we are all getting excited about Jake's new baby brother's arrival. When trying to decide on a name, we would often ask Jake and he'd come up with some funny ones, most memorable being "Putters" after his beloved golf club. Although Daddy and GP think that name should stick, we have come up with a different one.

Jake's brother will be named William Colin Bandi and we will call him Will. Both of Will's grandfathers are William and his maternal great grandfather was William. William means "determined protector" and Colin means "young creature." Colin honors both of our Irish heritages and is fitting for a little brother.

We can't wait to welcome Will to the family and we know Jake will be an excellent big brother.