Watseka Weekend

We spent this past weekend at my parents', something I think we have now done three times since Jacob has been born.  Saturday was my Grandma's 88th birthday. Eighty-eight sounds really old.  She does well to still have a driver's license and live in her own home, but this last year especially has been a difficult one, health-wise.  It's hard to watch my fiercely independent grandma- my last remaining grandparent- slowly become more and more dependent on my parents for daily things. 

I wanted to do something different for her birthday this year, so I told her that we would have dinner at my parents', she could choose the main course, and I would be the chef.  (I, of course, know full well that I could serve anything, and she would say it was delicious.. .she IS still my grandma, after all!)  She chose roast beef, which was easy enough.  So we had roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, and rolls.  Mom made a cheesecake for dessert, which is one of her favorites.  Overall, it was a nice, quiet evening. 

On Sunday, my nephew Caleb was being dedicated.  Baby dedication is not like infant baptism, and isn't associated with the salvation of the child.  Some churches have dedications as more of a commitment for the parents, who are pledging to raise the child in the Christian faith.  Anyway, Caleb was a good little dude and didn't cry once while he was on stage!  It was also nice to see some of old friends at my parents' church. 

Family pic before church

After church we went back to Brian and Sarah's for lunch with Sarah's parents and sister.  As a side note, Frank and I talk all the time about foods that are "local" to a particular area, and we couldn't believe Sarah's parents who are from Northern Iowa, had never heard of Italian Beef!   Is that something that only Illinoisians eat?!  Who knew! 

Caleb is such a smiley guy, and he already hams it up for the camera.

Now this is the part of the day where I started to realize what having two little boys nine months apart is like... Jacob was a total clown and Caleb, for the first time, was really paying attention to him.

Notice BOTH of them have a remote in this picture!

They may look sweet and innocent now, but these two are going to be trouble in a few years!! 

Stuff I Have Accomplished This Week

(Other than cooking, cleaning, childcare and work)

1.  Saved $140.  How, you ask?  I was planning to take all of the downstairs drapes to the cleaners, and they charge $10 per panel (I asked).  They really weren't dirty, but I had it in my head that they were dusty, and that was driving me nuts.  Instead of doing taking them to the cleaners, I put each panel in the dryer with the steam option on and a washcloth sprayed with Febreeze.  I was a little nervous that they were going to wrinkle, but they turned out great!  I rehung them, and they look so much fuller and poof-ier.  It took almost a whole day to do all of the drapes, but it was so worth it!

(I'm afraid my list can only go downhill from here.  Saving money and getting poofy drapes is pretty awesome.)

2.  Taught 17 students the difference between HMOs, PPOs, POSs, and EPOs.  We also discussed the difference PHOs and IPAs and why, as a consumer, you would never know the difference.  That's right, it's managed care week in HSM 320!  Managed care is a fun topic to teach, and usually elicits some interesting opinions. 

3.  Pulled Little Dude around in The Box.  The Box is a diaper box with a belt, a sled of sorts.  It was much cooler last summer when he was little and didn't walk much, but now I'm over it.  It's like I'm his personal chauffeur.  The Box has been (*ahem*) lost in his closet for a while, but unfortunately, he discovered it a few days ago.  So I've been pulling him from room to room in The Box.

I've missed this box!  I hope it doesn't get lost again!

4.  Found out that the Rapture will occur on my husband's birthday.  I had googled the date to see if it was a Friday or Saturday and instead found a bunch of articles stating that mathematically, it is the beginning of the end of the world.  Awesome.  Don't get me wrong, I believe that the Rapture will happen, but giving a date for it?  I guess I shouldn't make any non-refundable birthday plans... ! :)

5.  Learned that a 15 month old has a memory of at least 3 months.  Yesterday when we went for his well-check, Jacob knew exactly where he was... and screamed the entire time!  He didn't even want the dr to do the quick little check of eyes/ears, etc.  When the dr said goodbye to him, Jacob immediately stopped yelling, signed "all done", and pointed to the door.  The dr thought it was too funny that he was being ushered out of his own office! 

6.  Came very close to opening our front door and letting the cat go free.  Spring = hairballs.  And if that wasn't enough, she has decided she wants to sleep on our bed.  A few days ago, I found her curled up on one of Frank's shirts that I had just washed and folded.  Nothing like doing laundry twice.

7.  Got my hair cut!  Well, I'll get it cut later today, but I'm excited about it. 

Have a great weekend!

Muscles!

Forget about naming eyes, ears, and nose... this boy is all about showing you his MUSCLES!!  When you ask him to show you his muscles, he stiffens up, grits his teeth, and shakes his little fists.  The face he makes is pure determination and never fails to make me laugh:

It's a great party trick.

We're working on naming eyes, nose, mouth, ears, head, fingers, toes, and tummy.  If he's in the mood to work (and that's usually a big "if,") he gets them all correct, but when he's just in the mood to play, he shows me his muscles.  He's already figured out how to use his cuteness to get out of doing things he doesn't want to do!

Who Knew

Whenever Jacob is crabby, I give him my camera to play with  (because, you know, my phone is SO 1995).  I had no idea that my camera could make cheesy frames around my photos, but when I got my camera back from him yesterday, this is what he had done:

I think this was his was his way of saying, "Hey, thanks for letting me play in the spice cabinet and drop chili powder on the floor."   Because that's what was happening in this shot.  It wasn't post-worthy until my 15 month old decided to play with the special effects.  So, here you go. 

Weekend Wrap Up

Our weekend kicked into high gear on Friday evening with a going-away party for some friends who are moving to Connecticut.  It was held at a steakhouse here in town, and we arrived promptly at 6.  The others arrived shortly after, but the guest of honor (her husband had actually already moved a few weeks ago) was caught up in another happy hour and was super-late.  We all just decided to order without her as she was walking in the door.  Fortunately, I had already fed Jacob at home, and just planned on feeding him a bit from my plate just to keep him occupied.  I was proud of how well he did during the meal... the service was slow...we ordered dessert... we totally tested his good graces because sitting still for that long is not his idea of a good time, but he did okay.  I think it helped that there were a lot of people there to watch, and there were also two other babies there.  (Have to interject that one of the other little guys is almost 10 months old, and he sat quietly the entire time, smiling and sucking on his pacifier.  I can't imagine what it would be like to have such an easy child.)  Overall, it was a good time and nice to see some of our other friends. 

I should back up to Friday morning... This is Jacob watching his babysitter Brittney:

He loooooves her!  He blew kisses to her as she was leaving that evening.  Both Jacob and I will probably have a nervous breakdown when she graduates! 

On Saturday, we kind of bummed around.  Frank went to play racquetball in the morning, and I did some housecleaning.  Jacob assisted by organizing the spice cabinet.

Then we read some books.

(sorry, for some reason I cannot make this picture rotate.) 

On Sunday, we went to church and then took a nice long nap.  Well, Jacob did, anyway,  Sunday also meant the beginning of Frank's Chicago trip.  We could have gone, but I wasn't sure what Jacob and I would have done tomorrow during the day.  If the weather would have been warmer, it would have been fine, but pushing a stroller down Michigan Ave in 30 degree weather just doesn't sound like a smart idea to me.  Plus, it is nice for Frank to get away.  My mom texted this afternoon and said, "Isn't God wonderful to give you a husband to miss?"  True.

This is the third night we will have been apart in 3 years of marriage.  I remember the last night I spent by myself in my condo on Natalie Drive in Champaign just before our wedding.  I couldn't believe I was going to get to share my space with Frank from then until forever.  I kinda like him, though, and sharing our space is natural.  :)  It is strange now to be without him.  Really, it is amazing how God can take two really strong, independent people and make them into family.

I was going to say that it was not an exciting weekend, but after writing that last sentence... I guess it was just perfect.

He's a Cheap Date

I have always heard that you don't need to buy expensive toys for kids, that they often prefer playing with empty boxes, pots and pans, and other random household items.  Can I just say how TRUE this is at our house?  We joke that for Christmas, we're going to get him some extension cords, a hairbrush, and some Tupperware. 

He does play with toys, but in his mind, I don't think he thinks he's a toddler... I think he thinks he's one of us, so he wants whatever we have.  Case in point:  he's been very into flossing lately. 

I guess it's important now that he has a new bottom molar.  Plus, it gives him minty-fresh breath.

Another fun new activity has been to put uncooked pasta in an empty milk jug and make lots of noise. 



When he first saw the milk jug, he thought it was for drinking (You know how the boy loves his milk!), but then he figured out he could make noise with it instead. 

He walked around the house swinging the milk jug, and that entertained him for almost 20 minutes, which is a looong time for him! 

This age is fun because everything can be used for entertainment purposes.  A stick, a piece of aluminum foil, a paper towel roll-- everything is a toy! 

Easter Preppy-ness

One of my favorite things to do is dress Jacob in cute outfits.  Boy clothes-- like men's clothes-- make so much more sense than girls' or women's clothes!  Give him a shirt and jeans, and he's good to go.  Dressing up?  Give him a button-down shirt and khaki's.  So easy. 

Right now, I'm looking at Easter outfits.  We didn't buy him any Christmas clothes, per se, but the spring-y little plaids and pastels of Easter clothes make me die.  I would like to find something that he can wear to his cousin Caleb's dedication in a few weeks, but Easter is so late this year that I'm not sure I can find one outfit that accomplishes both purposes.  Of course, it's going to be hard to top last year's ensemble...

Awww!!  Look at my little man!!  Remember how big his clothes were?  He looked like he was playing dress-up!  Let's see another...

Okay, I digress.  Here are some of the contenders for this year's outfit:

(Gymboree)

(Children's Place)

The only bad thing about these outfits is that I'm afraid all the little kids might have them.  I don't want him to look like everyone else.  (Too much time on my hands, perhaps???)  They are adorable, preppy little outfits, though, and I can see J in either one of them.  Thoughts?  Votes?  Anyone have any other suggestions for cute kids' clothes?