Thank You & Please!

For as long as I can remember, I have been working with Jake for him to say "I Love You", "Please", and "Thank You". If you've been keeping up with the blog, then you know that he said "Luuuuuvvvv Youuuuu" a couple weeks ago (and how says it regularly to all sorts of people, including his best friend at school, Addison!).

Jake has been making so much progress with his talking and will repeat any number of words that you say to him (including having him say "ice, ice, baby!"); he is even repeating the alphabet and numbers. But for some reason, love you, thank you, and please were really tough for him. He would make the general sounds, but couldn't get the consonant/vowel sound combos together. Usually it sounded something like, "mmmmm, hmmm ooooo".

Last night I was giving Jake a bath and handed him something that he asked for and clear as a bell, he said "thank you". I paused for a second, mainly in disbelief, and asked him, "did you just say thank you?". "Say thank you!". "Tank uuuu". What's even better than the fact that he says "thank you" is that he says it on his own as the appropriate time as if he is just so proud and happy that he can say the words. This morning when I handed him the waffle that he wanted for breakfast, "taaannnk uuuuu" and he must have said it 8 times in a row. I am so gosh darn proud that my kid is now displaying manners!

To top it all off, he is now saying "peas" for please! I figured that since we were on a roll with love you and thank you, that I would see if he was ready for please. Sure enough, after months of having him watch my lips while I said "peas", he finally said it!

These are the sweet victories that make life all worth living.

Newish Pictures

A random selection of pictures of the boys from the last 6 weeks or so. Have some cute new ones on the camera to upload some time soon!

No Go on the Peaches!

Short update on introducing Josh to peaches.... I thought he'd love them because they were always one of Jake's favorite foods.... WRONG! We spent last weekend and the first half of last week worrying about Josh having an allergy to them. I was pretty convinced of the allergy all along, just from common sense, and knowing that something was a little off. The day after he had peaches for the first time, he started with some digestive issues and vomiting which is really weird for him. He also got bags under his eyes (puffy), rosy red cheeks, and kind of a blotchy face. I took him to Family Practice just to get some reassurance and guidance since I was worried and ended up with the WORST doctor that I have ever come across in my life. One of his comments to me... "well are you sure someone wasn't pinching his little cheeks to make them red?". Really, are you serious? I was infuriated. I was *this* close to asking to speak to someone else but I made him send all his notes and my comments about Josh's symptoms to his primary care pediatrician so I could follow up with her. The crazy doctor ordered a CBC and Chem 7 to rule out any other issues (all the bloodwork came back perfectly fine). He also told me that if I insisted that it was a food allergy that I should try the peaches again in a couple days and see what happens...

The next day I followed up with Josh's pediatrician and she agreed with me that it sounded like a food allergy based on the symptoms, how suddenly it came on, and how much better he got after we stopped giving him peaches. She said not to give them to him again for THREE months. (Good thing I talked to her about it.) She told me that it isn't uncommon for kids to have an allergy to something when they're little but that they will grow out of it. So while peaches does sound like an odd thing to be allergic to, chances are that he won't be allergic to them when he's older. (Don't run into too many adults who are allergic to peaches I don't think.) So I am a little more cautious to introduce new foods to him but we're just taking it slowly. He had applesauce again today for the first time in a week and seems to be doing just fine on it.

So far, allergic to penicillin (definitely) and peaches (hopefully not forever). Let's keep our fingers crossed that we don't run into much more!

Happy Halloween!

Okay, I am a little late with this post, but life is busy! Here are pictures of the boys from Halloween this year. Jake was T-Rex and Josh was a turtle. This was the first year that we took Jake trick-or-treating (for real). He was excited to go up to every house and knock on the door. We had to explain to him numerous times that you only go to houses that have the lights on. He did seem somewhat confused about what he was supposed to do when someone put a big bowl of candy in front of him. He got the hang of the fact that he was supposed to take candy, but don't think he understood that you only take a couple pieces and move on :-) Josh came along for the ride with us as well, and had a great time saying "hi" to everyone.

The boys also had a Halloween party at school the day before. They wore their costumes and had a parade throughout the school and got to visit the "haunted classroom". Jake has been so excited about the Halloween costumes ever since that he keeps taking Josh's out of his closet and asking me to put it on him. He also carries the "hands" from his T-Rex costume around and puts them on and will run up to you and yell "roooooaaarrr". Very funny!

Josh is 6 Months!

Today we went to Jake's 6 month check up. The verdict? He is going to be just like his big brother -- long and lean:
Weight: 16 lbs. 7 oz (28%)
Length: 27.25 in. (76%)
Head: 35%
(Okay so he does have a slightly larger head than Jake!)

That being said, he is moving into 9 month clothes now, especially for pants and PJ's because he is long.

The poor little guy had FIVE shots -- 4 in the thighs and one in the arm. Three of them were the usual vaccines and then he also got his seasonal flu shot and the H1N1 vaccine. Of course he screamed bloody murder for a couple seconds but as soon as I picked him up, he was fine. He just made me tear up a little is all :-(

I can't believe how quickly 6 months has gone by. He is going to be crawling and then walking and talking in no time. While I am incredibly excited to see what he is like and what he looks like when he is two and five and twelve, etc..., I very much want him to stay a happy baby forever. Very different feelings from when Jake was little and I couldn't wait for him to walk and talk and be a little person. Perhaps there will be a baby #3 after all!

Wuv U!

I have been waiting for 27 months for it and I finally got it last week! Jake decided that it was time to say "wuuuuuvvvv eewwwwww" back to me, after I have been prodding him to say it for about 12 months now. (smile)

We now have a fun routine of hug, kiss, wuv u when I leave for work in the morning and when I see him in the afternoon after work. He seems very appreciative of his newfound way to express himself and I am ecstatic about his new phrase. I will admit that the first time he said it, I teared up a bit, and I now ask him to say it multiple times a day just to make sure he doesn't forget (haha, really, it's just to hear him say it!).

And as for our little fatty, he is eating applesauce now on top of his two servings of cereal a day. He's still a little unsure of the applesauce but he seems to be getting used to it. He makes a funny little face by puckering up his lips and giving you a look like, "what the heck is this? this isn't cereal!". Next we'll try the peaches.... Jake looooved peaches; maybe his little bro will too!

Josh and Daddy

Josh's vocal skills in the video below! The little man will talk to anyone who will listen! He was also quite fascinated with Paul's face...

The Wheels on the Bus!

Lately Jake has really taken to singing finger play songs (they do a lot of them at school). His favorites are The Wheels on the Bus, The Itsby Bitsy Spider, and If You're Happy and You Know It. He knows all the finger movements to go along with the words and we captured one demonstration on video below!