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!
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