Does this outfit make me look big?

As I've mentioned, the boys are very into superheroes. It's definitely the thing to play at our house. Dressing up like them adds another level of fun to what is clearly already the most exciting thing to play.

We have a cabinet stuffed full of costumes, including Spiderman (obviously), Superman, Power Rangers, The Flash, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Incredible Hulk, to name a few. The latter hasn't fit anyone in this house in over a year.

Or so I thought.

I bought the Incredible Hulk costume for Alex in 2008. For Halloween that year, Jacob was Spiderman and Alex was The Hulk.

Let's do some math here...Alex was born in August 2007, making him 14 months old on Halloween that year. (Right? I'm horrible at math.)
Now let's add another number to our little wardrobe equation. Jacob is currently 4-1/2 years old. However, he's at least the size of a 5 year old.

According to my calculations, when you take the sum of all of these, you'll find that Jacob should not fit into this Hulk costume.

But in spite of the number crunching, Jacob was determined to wear it.

First, I explained that it would be too small.
"No, it won't."

I explained that Alex wore it when he was a baby, and that Jacob is much, much bigger than a baby. There's no way it will fit.
"Yes, it will."

Finally, I told him, "OK, I'll get the costume, but you are responsible for putting it on. You can do it all by yourself."

Okey-dokey! He was thrilled.

This is Alex- excuse me, the Hulk- in 2008. This is how the costume is supposed to look when worn.


And one more just because he looks so cute.


So when we came across the Hulk costume, Jeff looked at me and said, "No WAY is Jacob even going to be able to get a leg in there!"
Me: "I know! I tried to tell him! Well, it will be funny to watch him try."

And we proceeded to watch in astonishment as he managed to pull it up his thighs, and succeed in the wrestling match to fit his arms in the sleeves. He was quite proud of his accomplishment.
Naturally, our child proved us wrong. Because we're just the stupid parents and we don't know anything. (And once again this proves that I'm horrible at math.)

So here you have it...THIS is what a 4-1/2 year old looks like wearing a size 12-18 month costume.


No matter that the material was creeping up in the front and back.



No matter that you could hear the material in the hat screaming as it held on for dear life to the large head it was not designed to fit.

Nothing mattered except that Jacob had transformed into the Hulk.


And while Jacob ran and fought bad guys while wearing a 12-18 month sized costume, Alex, of course, was determined to wear Jacob's size 6 Ninja Turtle costume.


Something's wrong with this picture...

Thanks for the new vocabulary word, big brother

It's amazing what a little boy can learn from his big brother.

Attempting to keep up with a 4-1/2 year old keeps a 2-1/2 year old on his toes. Not to mention, playing with older cousins as well. I think being surrounded by older playmates is part of the reason Alex speaks so well (and so much) and is more understanding of taking turns, reasoning, and sharing than the average kid his age (not that we don't have our moments, of course).

Having a 4-1/2 year old who works part-time as Alex's teacher sure has its perks. For instance, just at this moment, a hand washing lesson is taking place in the bathroom. I heard Jacob explain to Alex, "If you leave the water on too long, you're wasting water, bud."

Another example is potty training, a daunting task that with Jacob, I began dreading immediately following his birth. Same thing with Alex. But Alex has been asking to pee on the potty. Know why? Because he wants to "pee on the potty like Bo." It's a work in progress, but the fact that we're even making any progress at this age impresses me.

Thanks to his big brother, he also has a rich knowledge and appreciation for the Marvel superheroes. In particular, Spiderman, Wolverine, Iron Man, Silver Surfer, The Thing, and Incredible Hulk. I think superhero knowledge is a prerequisite to being a little boy. And naturally, I had to buy him Marvel underwear. He's already peed all over Wolverine and Iron Man, but he sure was excited about them while they were dry.

In fact, Jacob has taught him many things: how to play action figures, the art of making silly faces, how to wrestle, make a mess with Play-Doh, an appreciation for music, singing, and performing, how to create a bubble bath beard, and the many ways to use the word "fancy" in a sentence ("I don't want to play with this...it's too fancy."). He's a terrific big brother.
Jacob is Alex's best friend and favorite person to play with. He soaks up his every word.

Which is why sometimes, a 4-1/2 year old teacher does not come in handy.

I'm all about expanding Alex's vocabulary, but there are some words I'm OK with him not knowing right now. Really OK with it.

Let me preface this by saying that I've taught Jacob the appropriate words for private parts. We don't refer to his penis as a "wee wee", a "pee pee" (that's what you do IN the potty), a "wiener", or anything other than what it is: a penis.
About a month or so ago, Jacob saw a picture of a female celebrity (Lady Gaga) in a skimpy bikini bottom (He wasn't looking at anything inappropriate...the picture was just in People magazine). I heard him giggling.

Me: "What's so funny?"

Jacob: (whispers) "I can see her penis." (Which, if you believe the rumors about Lady Gaga that were circulating a while back, just might be true.)

Me: "No, you don't."

Jacob: "Yes, right there!"

Me: "Girls don't have penises, honey. Only boys and daddies."

Jacob: "Oh. What do girls have?"

Me: "Girls have a vagina."

Jacob: (giggles at the mere mention of the word. I guess it is innate.) "A 'gina??"

Me: "Vagina."

Jacob: "Agina."

Me: (close enough) "Right."


So, let's fast forward to last week.

As Alex was peeing on the potty, Jacob and I sat on the bathroom floor and watched him. He likes the audience most of the time (although he has been known to say, "I need privacy", which is adorable, and sounds more like, "I need pie-see." But, I digress.)

After we cheered for Alex, I told him, "Mommy has to pee pee now."

So it was my turn to pee in front of an audience (I'm used to it- I don't even close the bathroom door anymore). Then I heard the giggles.

Jacob: "You're peeing out of your AGINA??!" He couldn't even wipe the grin off his face. And since I was having difficulty stifling a smile and immature giggle of my own, I can understand why.

Alex had no comments at this time. However, about 10 minutes later, completely out of context and the bathroom moment already a distant memory in my mind, he pipes up (loudly) with, "Agina! Agina!"

My head whirled around to look at him. My sweet 2-1/2 year old with the big, proud grin shouting about vaginas.

And of course, Jacob was laughing so hard he couldn't breathe.

Realizing he had an interested and attentive audience, Alex jumped off the couch, and began running in circles around the room, repeating, "Agina! Agina! Agina!" over and over.

Jacob was in hysterics.

He even used his new vocabulary word in a sentence. Another lesson taught to him by his big brother.

Jacob: "Alex, you're a 'gina!"

Alex: "I not a 'gina! I Alex!"

He runs in another circle, comes back to Jacob, and tells him, "Bo a 'gina! Daddy a 'gina!"

Leaving Jacob behind to continue his non-stop laughter, Alex runs over to me and says, "Mommy a 'gina!"

It was hard to be insulted. And it was even harder not to laugh.

Finally, after explaining that 'vagina' is a private word, and that we needed to stop saying it now, things settled down.

Fast forward again to an hour later. Jeff had just gotten home from work, and was standing at the counter looking through the mail. The boys were at the table eating dinner. The only sounds in the room were the scraping of forks across plates, chewing, Jeff rifling through papers, and me pouring drinks.

The only sounds, that is, until...

Alex: "Agina!"

Jeff: "What did he say??"

Me: "Exactly what you think he said. You can thank Jacob for that one."

Jacob grinned, and proudly took another bite of his dinner.

And luckily, Jeff's back was to the table because he was unsuccessful at holding back a laugh.

Thank goodness these boys have two mature parents.

When I was 10 years old, my mom sat me down in the living room, closed the door, and pulled out a hardcover book with a title along the lines of "Teaching Your Child About Sex". I soaked in the details of what she explained, sometimes interested, sometimes horrified. I walked out of the room a little while later, and immediately went upstairs to pass along the details of The Sex Talk with my 6-year old sister.

I can only imagine what else will be in Jacob's lesson plans over the years.

He's not listening to the Oil of Olay commercials

After school today, Jacob asked me, "Mommy? Why are some people brown?"

Fair question.

Me: "You mean why do some people have brown skin?"

Jacob: "Yes."

Me: (thinking smugly to myself, "Easy. I've got this one.")
"Because God made everyone different. Some people have skin like ours, some people have dark brown skin, and some people have light brown skin. And some people have black hair or brown hair, and some have brown eyes or green eyes. Everybody's different because God made us that way. And it's more interesting when we're all different, right? Isn't that nice?"

Jacob: He soaks this information in for a moment, then states matter-of-factly, "I want to be brown."

Me: "Why do you want to be brown?"

Jacob: "Because Nan* is."

Me: (laughing) "Nan has brown hair. Her skin isn't brown...it's like ours. Do you mean you want brown hair?"

Jacob: "Yes. And brown skin."

Me: "Why do you want brown skin?"

Jacob: "Because it's my favorite."

Me: "Brown skin is nice. But our skin is neat too."

Jacob: He looks up, and gives me a cocked eyebrow, "You-don't-know-what-you're-talking-about" look that caused me to flash forward to his years as a teenager. Then he replies, "No, it isn't."

After a good chuckle, my next thought was the voice-over on the Oil of Olay commercials, who breathily advises us, "Love the Skin You're In."

Sorry, kid, but you're stuck with the skin you're in.

And unfortunately, I think Jacob has inherited his mommy's fair skin, so he can't even sport too dark of a tan, which would be his best shot at becoming brown.

We all bear our burdens.


*Nan is my mom, who tans better than I do, but still doesn't have brown skin.

Guys and dolls

Just because there are no little girls living in this house doesn't mean we don't own a few dolls. And it doesn't mean that those dolls don't get played with. Both boys like to occasionally cradle a baby doll, pretend they're daddies, bottle feed them, and put them down for naps. It can be very sweet and endearing watching them kiss and cuddle their babies. So a few months ago, I picked up a little $5 baby doll at Target for each of them.
There are many moments in play and day-to-day life the boys show off their nurturing, caring, affectionate, and sweet traits. But every now and then, the "I'm a boy! I need to make noise! I need crashes and action and explosions and fighting!" part of their brain kicks in and takes over. And that can be fun to watch too.

Take this afternoon, for example. An active session with bouncy balls (which is fun to play inside and cringe during all of the close encounters with breakables or spillables) led to some interesting quality time with their dolls. How, you ask? Well, let me explain how their activity segued from bouncing balls to baby dolls (and then evolved into something new altogether).


After stepping into the family room for a moment with his two bouncy balls, Jacob walked back over to me and said proudly, "Look at me. I'm a real mommy with boobies."

So I glanced down at his shirt, and sure enough, he was sporting some little A cup boobies.



He began to fidget with them, moving them around, and finally asked, "Is this where your boobies are?"

I assured him that his boobs were, in fact, anatomically correct, but kept to myself my observation that his bouncy ball boobies were only slightly smaller than my real ones.

And then Alex walks up to us, announcing, "See my boobie too!"

And sure enough, Alex has (not surprisingly) copied his big brother. However, he only had one bouncy ball, so his was more of a uniboob, sticking straight out of the center of his chest. He was quite proud of it.


As the new mom cradled his baby in his arm, Jacob informed me, "When mommies have a baby, they have milk in their boobies. So I have milk in mine." And like an old pro, he began nursing his baby standing up. Through his shirt. Amazing!



Alex's baby was also able to breastfeed. Good thing that one boob was in working order.


Then it was time to move to the couch for diaper changes. I asked Jacob, "Is it a girl or a boy?"
Jacob: "A girl."
Me: "How do you know?"
Jacob: "Because the doctor told me."

As he undressed his baby girl, Jacob told us, "Uh-oh, the baby had diarrhea."


Weird timing because Alex's baby had also just pooped. After the discovery, Alex held his nose and said, "Peewww."


After the babies were freshly diapered and redressed, Jacob began experiencing the curse we all experience as we age: saggy boobs.
Only his could be easily altered without any kind of plastic surgery. Yet another reason to be envious of the bouncy ball boobs.


Then it was time for the babies to sleep. And during his baby's nap, Alex got bored and resumed playing with cars.
And when Jacob's baby awoke, the doll play suddenly began to take a slight detour.

Apparently feeling feisty after a good breastfeeding session and restful nap, the baby began performing flips in the air, showing off impressive body twists, and jumping on her head (always a good trick for a newborn).




Then Jacob realized that instead of using bouncy balls as boobs, it would be more fun if they were something a little more destructive. And before I knew it, the ball boobies had transformed into bombs that began falling dangerously close to, and then on the baby.

At my dramatic gasp, he looked over at me and said reassuringly, "Don't worry, Mommy. The baby won't get hurt. Nothing hurts him."

Bombs were falling from the sky, crashing all around. Thanks to some impressive and athletic maneuvers, the baby was only struck a few times.
This action sequence not only came with realistic bomb and explosion sound effects, but also with a theme song. Here are a few of the lyrics I overheard:

"Spiderman baby!
He can do anything a Spider-baby can do!
Plays catch with bombs before they explode!
He lost his arm, but got it back!
Spiderman! Baby!"

No wonder the baby can't get hurt. Nobody hurts Spider-baby.

Within minutes, playing with and caring for a baby doll had evolved into his own superhero TV show, complete with voice-overs announcing, "And now, Spider-baby on Disney XD." And on this particular episode, Spider-baby morphed into a baby with the ability to transform into an airplane and helicopter.
Enough already with the diaper changes, breastfeeding, and naptime. It was fun for a little while, but as Jacob likes to say from time to time, "That's too girly."

And that, my friends, is the way guys play with dolls.

Oh, what a night

Right around the time Jacob turned 2, we converted his crib into a toddler bed. It seems I didn't take photos to document the occasion, but it stands out vividly in my mind because of the circumstances that led to the change. I was pregnant with Alex, sleeping in bed around 7 a.m. while Jeff was in the shower getting ready for work. Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to find Jacob sitting in my bed behind me, with a very, very proud, happy grin on his face. My brain was still fuzzy from sleep, so it took me a moment to process what had just happened.

Jacob was in his crib ---> I was asleep ---> Jeff is in the shower ---> Therefore, neither of us got him out of his crib ---> Jacob climbed out of his crib by himself!

Not a milestone I was excited about.

And even though he did it safely and quietly (I heard nothing over the monitor- what a ninja), we decided it was best to get him in the toddler bed in case his next escape wasn't quite as safe.
Eventually, we came across a killer deal on bunk beds at Pier 1 Kids (right before they went out of business), so we bought them with the plan of having Jacob sleep in one of the twin beds, and using the bunk when he was older. In June '09, right before Jacob's 4th birthday, Jeff & I redecorated his bedroom, complete with a red accent wall (red is Jacob's favorite color), a Transformers poster, a Spiderman & villains poster, and lots of Spiderman stickers. And a few months later, we added the bunk without the ladder. Just for show and just so Daddy could stop looking at the box in the garage.

Fast forward to January 2010.

On Saturday, Jeff & Uncle Scott took the top bunk off so we'd have two twin beds in Jacob's room. We'd prepared him for the change, and the reason behind it: so Alex could sleep in there with him.

You would think- or at least I would think- that of my 2 boys, Alex would have been the one climbing out of his crib. And while I know he was certainly capable of it, he just didn't try to get out. He slept through the night in it, and when he woke up in the morning, would talk to himself or play music for a few minutes before calling, "Mommy!" or "Daddy!" He's always been my good little sleeper, but I was still nervous about the transition to a big boy bed. So why were we moving him? Why fix it if it ain't broke, you might wonder? Well, with Will making his debut in April, we didn't want Alex to associate being "kicked out" of his room with the arrival of the baby. And we wanted to have plenty of time before Will arrives to make sure our two big boys are sleeping through the night.

I'm getting to the current story, I promise.

Over the weekend, we took a family trip to Target. On our list: a waterproof mattress pad for Alex's new bed and a new set of twin sheets. I mentioned that Alex has begun playing action figures with Jacob. One of his favorite characters is Wolverine. So when I noticed a set of Wolverine twin sheets on the shelf, I excitedly picked them up, held them out to Alex, and he yelled, "Wolverine!!!"

We had to buy them.

We were ready. And Monday night was our first shot at having the boys in the same room.

Alex was thrilled not only about his new bed and new Wolverine (!!!) sheets, but also about sleeping in Bo's room.


Jacob was also excited to have a roommate.


Jacob actually asked if he and Alex could share the same bed. Two squirmy, wiggly boys sharing a twin bed...hmm. I think I convinced him that their beds were close enough together.


Before it was time to sleep, big brother had to share some bedtime wisdom.

Jacob: "Alex, you need to sleep in your bed all night. Don't get in Mommy and Daddy's bed. You can't go in there until it's mornin' time, OK?" (If only Jacob would heed that advice every night.)

Alex: "Otay."


A goodnight kiss.


And about 20 minutes later, both were asleep.

However.

Oh, what a night that first night was. Jacob slept horribly, making multiple trips to our room and telling us, "I can't sleep."
Alex even woke up, crying, a couple of times, and didn't want Mommy to leave.
So I spent a good portion of the night sleeping in Jacob's bed. Do I even need to explain how comfy it is sharing a twin bed when you're big and pregnant?

At bedtime the next night, I told Jeff, "It just has to be better than last night."

And it was better, although not the home run we were hoping for. More like a base hit.

Alex slept through the night, with just a couple of brief fussy moments, but soothed himself right back to sleep.

And Jacob ended up in our bed sometime around 2 a.m.

Sigh. So close.

Even though Jacob gets $1 every time he sleeps all night in his bed, and in spite of the fact that he's saving up to buy a new Spiderman costume that doesn't give him wedgies or have high water pants, he still got in our bed. How much bribery does one 4-year old need??

So Jeff and I each had a little talk with Jacob, reminding him of the bribe- I mean, reward. We reminded him of the Spiderman costume he talks about getting every day. We explained that we love to snuggle with him, but that we need to do that in the morning after he sleeps in his bed all night. And we reminded him that he's a big boy.

Night #3. Last night.

We have success! Alex slept straight through the night again and this time, so did Jacob! Let's hope they both keep it up.

And so far, Alex is staying put in his bed, even after he wakes up for the day. It's almost like he doesn't realize he can go ahead and climb out, which is more than fine with me. He sits up and calls for me. Is it mean for me to hope he takes a long, long time to figure that one out?
After he called for me this morning, I walked in, picked him up, and he said, "I sleep in my Wolverine bed all night!" Except, Alex likes to drag out the syllables in the last word of his sentences, so it was more like, "I sleep in my Wolverine bed all niiiiiiight!"


He was so proud. And so am I.

After they fall asleep, I keep going into their room to look at them both. Especially on that first night.

Me: "They're so cute. I can't stop looking at them."
Jeff: "Why is it any different from when Alex was in his crib?" After all, they're always cute.

Because it just is.

Because it means they're growing up. And I'm so glad to be home every day to watch it happen. Especially since it's happening so fast.

Little Moments

You know those moments in life when you feel perfectly content and happy? When all seems right with your life?

Like when your 4 1/2 year old leans over, lays his head on your shoulder, and spontaneously says, "I love you, Mommy." Or tells you completely out of the blue, "I love you, Mom. You're pretty. I'm gonna find the most perfect flower in the world for you."

Or when your budding conversationalist of a 2 1/2 year old grabs a hold of your hand and says, "Come on, Mommy. Want Mommy sit on couch with me." And when you get to the couch, all he wants to do is snuggle, and repeatedly look over at you, grin, kiss you, and say, "Hi, Mommy."

And yesterday, in spite of our extremely busy morning, Alex and I still missed Jacob (aka "Bo" to Alex) since he was back at preschool for the first time since Christmas break. And Alex said to me, "I wanna see Bo. Bo's my friend."

Or when I was sitting in between both of my boys on the couch, and each one had a hand on my belly as we talked about the impending arrival of their baby brother. Alex asked, "Baby Bo alright?" And when I told him he was, he leaned down and kissed my belly. I felt so happy and content looking down at the tops of their heads as they rested against my chest. Then, Mr. Comic Relief (aka Jacob) popped up from laying against my breast, and said, "We just love your nice, warm boobies." What other response is there to that other than laughing?

I love those moments.

The Dreaded Catch-Up Post

Although you wouldn't know it from looking at my abandoned blog, a lot has happened since the last post in early August '09. I'm going to try and sum up 5 months as succinctly as possible. And of course, true to form, I have to throw in a few pictures.

The rest of our summer was spent outside, at the neighborhood pool or in our inflatable backyard one, eating Popsicles and ice cream, hanging out with cousins Daniel & Lainey, and just enjoying days with no commitments. It was an awesome summer.





And Alex turned 2 at the end of August. Two!
Starting off his actual birthday with a nutritious breakfast. But hey, it has a candle in it.

Jacob and I even serenaded him with "Happy Birthday to You."

Naturally, Jacob needed his own birthday candle and healthy breakfast. Happy 4 years, 2 months, and 2 days, Jacob!

Birthday dessert with another candle. We never miss out on an opportunity to blow out candles.



And at his birthday party...


I wish I knew what Jacob was whispering. Instructions? A pep talk? It looks like it was of the utmost importance.

Maybe he was making sure Alex knew to blow out the candles...









I'm amazed by how much Alex has grown and matured in the months since that milestone. He understands what he's told and his vocabulary has just exploded. He can carry on conversations in an adorable little voice. He has such a cute way of annunciating his words. One word of his that I will miss so much once he grows out of it is how he refers to his big brother. He calls him, "Bo." He's still my wild little man, but he has also become more of an affectionate little snuggler like his big "bo". I'm loving it.


What next? Jacob started preschool again. He also resumed Speech Therapy, and is making great progress. It will be his last year of preschool before starting kindergarten this fall. Don't get me started thinking about that, though. I'll cry. But I'm happy he adores preschool, likes his teachers, and enjoys being around his friends. Clearly he wasn't excited at all about his first day.



We bought a minivan. It was a purchase neither Jeff nor I ever thought we'd make. We always imagined ourselves toting kids around in a nifty SUV, but reality hit home when we began comparing sizes and prices. And it turns out that a minivan's not so bad after all.


I started babysitting a 2-year old little boy who lives in our neighborhood. It's just 2 mornings a week and a way to give Alex a playmate and our family a little extra income.


I got pregnant! The positive pregnancy test at 5:45 a.m. on August 19, 2009 was quite a surprising way to start off the day. I did a horrible job of keeping the news a secret, and actually confided in my 4-year old later that day. He caught a glimpse of the pregnancy test I kept examining in awe and disbelief. When he asked what I was looking at, I completely blanked on what fib to tell him. So I told him the truth.

Me: "This test means Mommy has a baby in her belly."

Jacob: (his mouth opened with a huge grin, and his eyes were wide) "A baby in your belly?!"

Me: "Are you excited?"

Jacob: "Yes! Is it a girl baby?"

Me: "I don't know yet, buddy. It might be another little boy like you & Alex."

Jacob: "Will it live here?"

Me: "Yes, this will be the baby's home too."

Jacob: "Yay! Dat means I can sing it "Rockabye baby, on da tree top..."

Me: "You're a really good singer. I think the baby will like that a lot."

Jacob: "I want it to be a girl baby AND a boy baby. Can we call God and ask Him for two babies?"

He persisted with his talk of two babies until he had me so paranoid, I asked the ultrasound tech to double check and be sure there were no other babies hiding behind the one in plain sight. Luckily, we're just having one healthy baby boy we've decided to name Will. Well, William, but we'll call him Will.


In October, we went to the beach with my family. Obviously, I took at least a couple hundred more pictures than what is represented below.









We also went to an Imagination Movers concert, a show on the Disney channel that Alex in particular is crazy about. But Jacob enjoys it too. And sometimes Jeff makes fun of me due to the extent of my own enjoyment of it.




And on Halloween, the boys scored tons of candy while trick-or-treating twice. Once during Grandmom & Granddad's neighborhood parade that has become the tradition, and once in our own neighborhood. Jacob dressed as Buzz Lightyear and Alex was his good friend, Sheriff Woody (from "Toy Story", of course).





In November, we gave Alex a mohawk. Just for a couple of weeks because Jeff was convinced he has a perfectly shaped head to pull one off. And you know what? He does! It was a little bittersweet to watch Jeff shave it off. However, for certain family members it was more like "Good riddance." Ahem- you know who you are.

A guitar is a requirement if you have a mohawk.




We also welcomed a new cousin! Aunt Kerri and Uncle Matt had Camden Miller on November 21st. We're excited that Will & Camden will be so close in age, especially since they live right down the street. And the boys just love having a new baby around.




And of course, we celebrated Thanksgiving, which was extra special since Uncle Chris (and his girlfriend, Sarah) came home from Chicago for a visit.



And in December, we enjoyed Jacob's sing-a-long at preschool. He was so excited to see his family in the audience, his face lighting up with his big, gorgeous smile whenever he looked at us. He's big into singing and music, and performs concerts daily, so being up on stage with a roomful of people was heaven. In addition to me, Jeff, and Alex (who was also thrilled to watch Jacob up on stage- "I see Bo!"), Nan, Pop, and Grandmom were in attendance. At one point during the concert, Jacob waved at Alex, smiled, and winked at him.







December was also spent visiting Santa, enjoying Jacob's time at home every day while school was on a break, Jeff's time off work, decorating Christmas cookies,










and of course, celebrating Christmas! Jacob informed Santa that he would like a Buzz Lightyear and Woody that talk. And Alex asked for Wolverine. Both were excited on Christmas morning to find Santa granted their requests.





















Over the past couple of months, Jacob & Alex have become great playmates. They play cars, action figures, dress up in costumes and fight bad guys, or just resort to good old fashioned chasing. And they never argue with one another. Or hit. Or torment and bully one another.

OK, the last 3 sentences are all lies. But that's expected occasionally between siblings, right? And truly, they get along more often than they fight. It's awesome to watch. Jacob is an incredible big brother, as I always knew he would be. Alex is crazy about him. In fact, this evening at dinner, Alex announced to us, "I love Bo." And reached over to pat and squeeze Jacob's arm.

This post has all been just a summary and a sprinkling of pictures to mark the big occasions. And often it's the simple day-to-day moments that are just as special and fun.





It makes my stomach turn a bit to think of the boys' comments and conversations I might one day forget (or have already forgotten) during my 5 month blogging hiatus. But I intend to make up for it!