Monthly recap part two

Things Jay plays with...good and bad.

- Favorite puzzles: He has three puzzles that he just can't get enough of. One, a fish puzzle (Aunt Charlene, you gave him this one) that has a magnetic fishing pole to pull them in and out of the board. He loves to "catch the fish" and then tries to get them back in order. His next two are ones Aunt Amy gave him. One is the alphabet, this easily takes up 15 minutes of his day as he carefully places each letter in. And he is really starting to recognize more letters this way. He can't figure out the whole "j" and "jay" thing though. He always mixes up "A" for "V" and "Z" for "S". He calls "u" umbrella and pretends to eat "O" while saying "good orange."
The other favorite is the numbers puzzle. And his is learning each of them quickly because of it. He knows "8" and "4" the best but always mixes up "6" and "9"....understandable. Then we count them.

- Favorite morning shows: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Little Einstines, and Special Agent Oso. These are guaranteed to give me time to finish my coffee and, most days, get a shower in peace.

- Playing doctor and patient. You will see in the pictures with Kurt how serious he takes this. Ever since he went with us to have the ultrasound done on the baby he loves to lay down and have us look in his tummy. He lays perfectly still for as long as we tell him to. Kurt went to the extreme with this and Jay laid as still as a statue for almost an hour because Kurt told him he had to be still until he was better. Kurt left all of the "medical instruments" laying on Jay so he thought that, until Kurt came and took them off, he had to be very still.

- Coins. This is a new obsession of his. If I dress him in an outfit with pockets his immediate question is, "coins? where's my coins?" For a few days I let him fill his pockets full (until his pants were falling off of him). But I grew tired, very quickly, of picking up coins all day long, finding them all over the place...in the dryer, in his bed, in my car, in the toaster, in Jakes food bowl, in the bathtub, etc. My new rule of only 4 at a time keeps the daily coin clean-up ritual manageable.

Oh, and one more thing about the coins. He knows that grownups have them so when we are in a crowd he, without shame, walks up to each and every person, stranger or not, and asks, "you have coins? can i have some?"

- Riding in the front seat of my car. This we do when we drive to Katie's house, a few houses down from ours. It has been soooo hot out and my pregnant self has lost all tolerance for it, so we now take our daily visits to see baby Luke via car. Jay thinks this is soooo fun. When we go anywhere else he asks, "sit in mama's lap?" so I have to tell him that we can't because we are driving on the big road. He didn't go along with this until I told him that if he wasn't in his carseat on the big road the policeman would "get him"....worked like a charm. :)  One negative, when he sees policemen now he runs up to me and says, "mama, police man  gonna get Jay" so now I am trying to convince him that they are very nice and are our friends.

Now for the baby news:

It's another BOY!!!!  We were so excited when we found out the other day and Jay has been going on and on about his "baby brother." He went to the ultrasound with me, Wes, and mom. He loved it. He had seen the baby before so this time he was all about the heartbeat. The nurse was only going to play it once for us to hear but Jay kept asking, "hear baby's heart???" so she played it several times for him and he was mesmerized. Now when I show him my belly he says, "my baby brother!" And he loves to give him kisses...so cute!  Tonight he saw Wes talking to my belly and thought it was so funny. So he came over and started talking to my tummy like he does a microphone ("ahh...ahh...ahh"). I told him to talk to baby brother and he yelled, "i love you baby brother!" 

People have asked us if we were expecting a girl and, while a year ago I would have said yes, ever since we started trying I kept picturing us with two boys. Wes felt the same way so when people would predict a girl we just looked at each other and shook our heads. Over the last year Jay has become so loving and protective of me, especially with this year being so hard. He has seen my cry way too much this year and now can tell when I am even on the verge of tears. He quickly says, "what's the matter mama? don't cry? mama ok?" and pats my head. He always makes sure I am "ok" and gives me the tightest, longest hugs when we are together that I just love the idea of having more boys to love. And from Jay's perspective...as rough and wild as he is....he needs a brother!  Kurt kept saying that the other day (before we found out)....that Jay REALLY needs a brother. And, of course, Wes was elated at the idea of having two sons to follow him around...and do things I would never take part in. Jay completely idolizes him, more every day, and it melts both of our hearts to know that there will soon be two pairs of feet following after him. And, as I told Wes, with 3 boys in the house, I see no reason to ever have to do yard work....or change a tire....or fix a leaky faucet....or kill a roach..... yep, I am definitely liking this idea of me being the only woman of the house. :)

I am clinging to the hope that this one will be my calm, cooperative, laid back child. Interestingly, every time we have taken the baby's heartbeat it has been 15 to 20 points lower than Jay's was at the same point in the pregnancy. So....while this may be grasping for straws, I am saying that means he is my calm one.

Here are more pictures (I meant to scan some of the ultrasound in but forgot, i will do that soon):

This is the night we all agreed that Jay NEEDED a baby brother....poor Mimi had to play the role of playmate

So this is how it worked: jay and mimi took turns "falling" off the mattress, Jay's turn!

Mimi's Turn! Jay was howling with laughter the entire time

There he goes!

it didn't matter how hard he hit the floor, he couldn't stop laughing

Now for Mimi's reward....sweet kisses

Kurt performing critical surgery on Jay...what a serious face

I have never seen him this still...ever

or cooperative....

Kurt left him on the floor with all of the instruments on him and he literally did not move until kurt came back.

At Stone Mtn with me and Mimi....watching the train pull up!

Jay had to help wes with the lawn....in about two years Wes will have two little "helpers"...

Jay was sweating bullets but stayed with him the whole time

After mowing the boys edged the yard and blew off the driveway...and Jay was apart of every second.

Again....poor Mimi playing the role of "baby brother"...

Watching the ball

Holding baby Luke....getting ready!

Now he asks to "hold baby?" every time he sees Luke.

I have waited 2 1/2 years but here it is!  A picture where he actually looks like ME!  (I think so anyway....or either I'm just getting desperate).

The boys watching the fireworks in the back of the truck...

Another one with Mimi: Such a boy!

Monthly Recap Part One

I am going to try to catch us up on everything that has been going on in the last few weeks. I had to make a list of things I have been meaning to put on the blog for a while and by the time I get to the posting part, I have forgotten most of. So here is a recap of Jay's world as of today.

- Last month we had VBS and Jay is still talking about it. Funny to me, because he cried every morning that I dropped him off. But now is all he talks about....go figure. My friend Katie took some pics of the kids in their chefs hats (cooking was the theme this year) and I will load the ones she took of Jay, they are so sweet!  It was the week before Father's Day so Jay brought home an apron with his handprints and "I love my daddy" painted on the front. Wes thought it was great.

- For the fourth of July we met several families from our SS class and let the kids play while we waited for the fireworks. It rained for a while before the show so we ended up throwing all of the kids in the back of Wes' truck to watch the fireworks and they thought it was so much fun. It was mostly boys so the girls opted to stay out of the truck for the most part...and I didn't blame them....being stuck in a cage with a bunch of wild boys isn't my idea of a good time either.
This was the funny part about the fireworks though. We were talking about going to see them all day and Jay was so excited once we told him they were about to start. About 5 min into the show he started begging, and I mean seriously begging, for his gun. At first we just ignored it but it was clear that this was a live or die kind of thing so we looked in the truck, and luckily, his toy gun was there. He then started shooting the fireworks. For the rest of time he kept the gun pointed at the sky and yelled, "I got 'em!  I shot the fireworks!" Wes and I couldn't figure out why that was so important to him until it hit me that we had been saying, "we are going to go watch them shoot fireworks" all day. At the end he started clapping and said, "I shot them all! I shot all the fireworks!"  Haha!  We are still laughing about it.

- As Jay gets closer to 2 1/2 (not to mention the whole new baby thing), I am getting ready to start this potty training task. A year ago I thought I'd be so eager to get him trained but in the last few months I have been dreading it more and more. I just keep thinking about all of the potty breaks we will be taking and how nice it is that he can just go pee anywhere right now. I have a feeling we will be fertilizing the woods between here and south Ga for years to come. But I know I've got to get serious about this thing since I dread even more the idea of 2 in diapers come Dec. My plan is to try a strategy that some friends used, stay at home (no errands, no play dates, nothing) for several days in a row and focus every waking moment on going to the potty. Doesn't sound like much fun but I'd rather do it and be done with it, assuming he feels the same way of course. We will see...hopefully before September.

- As we get closer to Jay being the big brother I have been trying foster some independence and order in the house. He loves to be carried, something I will not be able to do when I am as big as a house. He also is under the impression that whatever he says goes, no matter how much Wes and I object. So I have started some new rules. This means we have been visiting the time out corner more often lately but I've got to get him in order before the "new boss" arrives. So here they are: and Jay knows them all. Whether he obeys or not is still up to chance but we are making progress.
1) He can choose to eat and drink either on the floor or at the table (no couch/chair/or while standing)
2) He only gets 4 coins at a time to play with (imagine me going around the house finding coins scattered everywhere for days...)
3) We have to clean up one game before moving on the next (and we sing the clean up song, of course)
4) If he cries when he doesn't get his way he has to go to the "cry corner" (Wes says this one is just mean but I am tired of him following me around the house crying because I told him no)
5) time out is for 2 minutes, nose in the corner, no looking around, no talking to us
6) We have to hold hands and watch for cars when crossing the street (he actually has fun with this one ever since I told him the cars would "get us" if we didn't)
7) No touching any wires, boxes, trash, fire extinguishers in public. Again, we say that fireman will "get him" if he does...a very effective method.
8) He has to put his paper (oh, and another rule would be that he can only draw on paper) on a board in his playroom so he doesn't end up drawing on the carpet, same goes for the playdough, has to keep it on the board. He will ask, "board, where's board?" when he wants to play with either one.
9) No shoes on the couch....one he knows very well and will remind Wes without fail
10) No throwing (anything other than a ball). The other day I threw a magazine across the couch and he came up to me and said, "no throwing mama! it's not a football!"
11) Toys must be approved by me before taking into the car
12) No snacks in the car except for long trips (those, again, will be approved by me)
13) Absolutely NO crayons in the car (you can imagine how this rule was created) crayons sitting in a hot car in the summer...no a pretty site for my leather interior
14) only approved juice cups are allowed in the car (i.e. the ones that are virtually 100% leak proof)
(The car rules were created after I spent 2 hours spot cleaning the entire car thanks to his reckless behavior)

That's all I can think of for now but I assure you, there is more. As I told Wes the night he came home to these newly enforced rules, "I have got to get some order back into this house, this is not a zoo!"

- Now for things Jay is saying these days....basically anything he hears...dangerous....but here are my favorites.
1) "Daddy took it to work?" This started after he had been looking for a fireman lady that came with his truck for days. I was so tired of looking and when he finally came to the conclusion that Daddy must have taken "his lady" to work I went with it. Now when we loose anything he says, "Daddy took it to work." and is completely satisfied with that.
2) "You like it?" This he started saying during my mom's visit last week. Any time he would have a toy, shirt, shoe, etc in his hand he would come over to us and ask "you like it, mama?  You like it mimi?"  And you know with that sweet question we would always rave about just how much we liked it.
3) "I enjoyed it!" I tell him to say this after supper and after we have visited someone. He loves saying it and it is so precious coming from his little 2 year old mouth
4) "Mama ok? Want me to kiss it? Need bandaid? All better?"  This string of comments come after I have hurt myself and he goes straight to caregiver role. It is so sweet. And he loves it when I actually do need a bandaid, he runs and gets one and puts it on my "boo boo"...after a sweet kiss, of course.
5) "Need screwdriver?" When we say that something is broken he immediately asks this question. And if we do, he runs to get his toy screwdriver with serious ambition.
6) "Need batteries" When his toys stop working he comes to this conclusion. then will get into his car and say, "I go to store to get batteries! bye!"
7) "This is not a game!" I say this to him when he wants to goof off and I am trying to get him dressed/change his diaper. He repeats me and then calms down. I said it out of exhaustion the first time and when I saw how he straightened up, I keep using it.
8) "Be nice!" "Don't hit me!" "Don't spit!" "Don't pinch"  You can imagine when he says these...I promise we don't pinch him but I guess he thinks we do. Spanking has become a lost cause since he just thinks we are hitting him and tells us no. If i fuss at him he tells me to "be nice."   Can you say bossy!!!
9) When I'm driving he tells me to "be careful mama! don't crash!" Either Wes has told him I am not a good driver or I am really THAT bad!
10) "I'm tired." I guess I have said that a lot since i've been pregnant and now he uses this as his excuse to not do something. "Jay, are you ready to eat?" "no, i'm tired." "jay let's go to the store." "no, (sigh) I'm tired."  This coming from a boy that is NEVER tired.
11) "My mommy"  At first, I thought this was very sweet...until I realized that it doesn't mean what I thought....he isn't saying, "my mommy as in I love my mommy" but really means, "my mommy, my slave."


Well this has ended up being a very long post and I still have things to say. so I will just upload some photos and do the rest later in the week.

Chef Jay

he and Mimi looking for "the man" after I told him not to go in the attic or the boogy man would get him

Playing doctor, checking Mimi's heart

He said that she had a "boo boo" but he kissed it and made it "all better"

Kisses

Swinging with Kurt and Ash!

Helping Kurt find some rocks in the river

Looking at the tadpoles with Ash

Mimi bought Jay a drum set (a necessity after he scratched his stool to smithereens) and they had a concert at for Kurt

As you can tell by the wide variety of noise makers, Wes was less than thrilled when he heard we were bringing home a Mexican band.

Poor Georgia (Ashley's dog) trying to hide from all the noise

At least he can get some aggression out now.

Pictures, pictures, and more pictures!

This is how he and Kurt initiate a wrestling match

Swinging

I think Jay lost this one.

Yep, he was just body slammed on the couch...

Coming back for more

Kurt is tired....Jay is still going

Reading about trucks.....

Watching Kurt draw him an airplane

Resting after the wild night.

Jay's soldier hat

He loves the hat, our neighbor gave it to him a few weeks ago after Jay ran across the culd-e-sac yelling, "hey soldier! hey soldier!!" as he does any time he sees someone in uniform.

I love this pic of Kurt and Ashley at our family reunion

Swimming in Tifton with Marla

Laughing at Oren

He had the best time swimming and kept asking, "Mama Ross swim?"

And he got his way...

Loving on Carrie

As you can tell, he loved every minute.

Now he is at Big Mama's playing with Papa

Tickle fight!

Riding his bicycle at the Ross'....he is obsessed

digging up Mama Ross' yard. :)

We went to dinner the other night, Jay demanded to wear his cowboy boots....I was too tired to argue, and yes, we got lots of looks.

Sweet baby Luke!!!  Katie and Larry's little one born last week. This is Jay kissing him in the hospital. He is sooooo cute, I have to walk down to katie's every day just to kiss him. :)

We babysat Joshua the other day...Jay wasn't too happy about sharing but cooperated for a little while

I love this one....Jay was telling Joshua a very funny story.

We had some friends over to eat and ride the canoe the other day. Chase (4) and Jacob (3) are so adorable. And the three of them play so well together...thanks to the outriggers Wes put on the canoe the guys could take all of them out together without the canoe flipping over in the first 30 seconds.

Aren't they precious?!?!  Just ignore crazy Jay downing the last of Katie's tea.

At the riverwalk this weekend, marching away telling me, "no picture mama!"

Throwing rocks

he knows you have to pick out particular rocks to skip but has no idea what he is supposed to be looking for....but is still very serious about the search.

Jay and the raccoons....he loved this and he actually smiled at the camera for once.

This is a ton of pictures, I know. I will get better at posting more frequently again so that it isn't so hard to follow. And I plan to give an update on everything Jay is doing, learning, getting in trouble for soon. But for now, here is Jay and his exciting life. :)