Playmates

Our next door neighbors grandkids visit 2 days a week and they invite the boys to play with them.  The girl is 5 and the boy is 3 months older than Jake, so a perfect age.  The first time the kids visited, Jake heard them playing and went right over and starting playing next to them. No shyness or hesitancy from my big guy!

Look at the size difference! Jake is 3 months younger and he is twice the size!

I love that Jake had some one to play with during the summer.  He never had another child his age as a playmate.  All is cousins are older and we don't see them enough because they live in a different state (we FaceTime and he recognizes them but it's not the same as playing with them).  He does great playing with his friends.  They don't fight or squabble over toys, and everyone gets along.  I'm so proud of him playing nicely with other kids. I was nervous about him grabbing toys or hitting, but he surprised me.  Every time we go outside, he runs next door and looks for them.  I wish we had more kids his age who live around us, but now that I know he can handle playing with new kids, I should look for play groups or take him to kid friendly places.

Bigger beds

Over the weekend we moved the boys to bigger beds.  Jake is now sleeping in a toddler bed and Caleb is in Jake's old crib.  We put the beds up in the morning so the boys would have a chance to get used to sleeping in them before bedtime.  We put up the video monitor to check on them and make sure they were okay.  Jake cried and got out of the bed and banged on the door until we had to yell at him to lay down.  He eventually fell asleep and was very anxcious to get out of the room when he woke up.  Because he didn't take a second nap in the afternoon, at bedtime he was exhausted and fell asleep right away.  It's going to be a hard transition for him.  He usually handles new things very well, but something about this bed is throwing him off.  We will have to stay vigilant and help him learn to stay in bed when we put him down to sleep.

This is an hour into nap, still awake and walking around. Finally fell asleep at the 2 hour mark.

Caleb handled his transition much better.  He sleeps like a champ in the crib.  He is such a good baby! He is in the crib, asleep by 8:30 pm and wakes up around 6:00 am.  I think he would sleep longer if his brother wouldn't wake him up, but there's nothing I can do about that.  Our job with him is to get him to fall asleep in the crib not in his bouncy seat.  It's hard because Jake is in bed at 7 pm and Cal doesn't go to bed until 8 pm.  Either we will push Jake back or Caleb earlier.  Hopefully both boys are sleeping perfectly by the end of the month.

Busy weekend

Jake and I had a very busy but fun weekend!  Thursday Jenny came over in the afternoon so we could hang out.  We went to Noodles and Company for dinner then walked around some shops to get steps.

Friday after work we met Allison at the lake!! We went for a walk first and when we finally became hot enough we jumped in the water.  Jake is much better at swimming now and we no longer have to worry so much about him dunking.

Saturday we went to the local park to go canoeing with my siblings.  Jenny and her boyfriend rented a canoe and Ben and Allison rented a paddle boat so Jake and I could come and not feel excluded from family outings.  We didn't boat for long because it's so much work, but we did go swimming afterwards. That night Ben and Allison took us out to eat at Famous Daves, a BBQ joint.  After a delicious meal we went to a playground for Jake.  It was pretty relaxing to sit and watch while they chased Jake. :-). We had ice cream for dessert, then came home and went right to bed!

Sunday we moved the boys room around so we could fit a bed for Jake and a crib for Caleb.  I felt it was time for both boys to sleep in bigger beds.  More on this later...... Then we took a walk on the bike path.  I loved getting out of the house this weekend and finally doing something.  I also love spending time with my family and them playing with the boys.  It means so much to me that they include us even though our kids have to tag along and create problems sometimes.  Maybe Allison and I could make swimming a weekly outing!

Time for a change

I need/want to lose weight.  I was overweight before I became pregnant, and I added more pounds while being pregnant so now it's time to get into shape.  Allison suggested losing weight together and keep each other motivated when we talked last week.  We decided to eat healthier and exercise at least once a day.  She even gave me a Fitbit! A Fitbit is a wireless-enabled device that measures data such as the number of steps walked, quality of sleep, steps climbed, and other personal metrics.

Each light is equal to 20% of your step goal.  It lights up and vibrates once you hit a certain percentage  of your goal.  My goal is 10,000 steps each day.  There is also an app that shows the number of steps you have, exercise plans, dieting help.

My entire family has Fitbits and we can keep track of each other's steps.  We have a challenge set this week to see who can get the most steps by Friday.

By using this, my hope is to stay motivated enough to beat my family members.  I also hope it keeps me from eating sweets and choosing healthier foods.  Let the games begin!

Swimming fun with Aunt Allison and Uncle Ben

We had a great day of swimming with Aunt Allison and Uncle Ben!

Allison had the great idea to take Jake swimming since he loves the water.  We went to the local park which has a perfect beach.  Jake was very hesitant and scared for the first 45 minutes.  He whined and cried and made us hold him. 

Once he warmed up to the water, he started having fun.  Of course it helped when Uncle Ben showed up!

We had a great time and it was amazing to play in the water.  Thanks for such a great idea Aunt Allison!  We can't wait to go again!!

Growing

I was looking at all the pictures of Jake from infancy to his current age-19 months today. It's astounding to see how much he as grown and changed.  He is growing so fast and I am excited for what's to come, but it also makes me nostalgic and sad that he's not my little baby anymore.

5 days old

1 month

2 months

4 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

10 months

1 year

A year and a half-current age

I love this little boy with all my heart.  He makes me so happy and I am beyond blessed with such a goofy, sweet, curious and smart son!