Two little monkeys

We have some monkeys in our house but they are not your typical monkeys. One likes to climb and the other one likes to talk on phones. They're both so darn cute though that we can't get upset with them for just being monkeys.



This is Monty the construction monkey wearing his fashionable tighty whiteys, construction hat and sporting his very popular cell phone.

Tough Love

Well tonight is the night that I try a little tough love on Jacob. For the last 3 weeks or so he has been getting up in the night and we have been giving him a bottle to go back to sleep. Well enough is enough and tonight we try to change this behaviour cause his mummy and daddy want their sleep back. So I have taken the day off work tomorrow and gave my mum instructions to load him up on food today and hopefully he will eat enough dinner and he will just sleep through. If not I fear that it may be a long night for the both of us cause he won't be getting a bottle. I'm not even sure if the reason he wakes up is cause he's hungry or if now it's because he knows that he can have a bottle to help him fall back asleep so he doesn't try on his own. Hopefully it's not cause he's hungry cause then I'll feel bad. But i figure when he starts throwing his food on the floor at meal times it's because he's had enough or he's just really picky:( and he should be able to go 12 hours without needing to eat again.
So wish me luck and hope that this habit doesn't take too long to break or one of us is going to be tired all the time!

Mud Fun

I love mud puddles! Today we went up to the property again and I got to play in the DIRT! I had so much fun, I went for a wheelbarrow ride, sloshed in some big puddles and sat on my rock pile.

A Boy's heaven

You dirty rat you!

On Monday we went to my cousin Tessa's 11th birthday party and I got to finally meet all of their pets. This is Bella and she tickles! I can now say that I have met a rat. Some day when we get some sunshine, my cousin Kristen is going to introduce me to her horse (I already know how to talk to them though).

I have had a very busy week what with getting two more teeth (mummy thinks they are my molars but I won't open my mouth long or wide enough for to peek). Today I learned how to say "Hot", "cat" and I got to practice my finger wagging and my "No,No,No" on mummy when she tried to give me back the food i had thrown on the floor. I also learned how to lie on my back in the tub and kick my feet and make big splashes. Mummy said that maybe we can go swimming this weekend so I can practice in the big tub.

I have also figured out to climb onto the kitchen chairs, onto mummy and daddy's window seat and how to slide down banisters (with some help). All in all I would say that it has been a very educational week and now I can email my uncle and brag about my teeth (see Uncle Roy - you can to get your molars at this age!!!!)

Hamming it up

Mummy said that I have been a ham lately but I'm not sure if she meant as meat or as being precocious! I have discovered a new drawer with fun pans in it. Mummy asked what we should have for dinner and I suggested - Baby back ribs!

Yesterday i turned 14 months old and I couldn't resist the opportunity to ham it up for the camera.

Later that day, daddy took me to Hope to have lunch with my sisters and brother cause they haven't been to see me or daddy in a really long time (daddy says it's cause they are "teenagers"). We had a great lunch and later when mummy got home from shopping she gave me a brand new peekaboo kiss book. Tonight we get to eat some of my cousin Tessa's birthday cake (yummy). Maybe I can try out my sthick on the rest of the family!

All in a day's work!

Every Monday, I help mummy with the housework. I like to take charge of the vacuuming and sometimes when mummy decides that it is her turn to run the hose around i like to let her know whose really in charge by unplugging the vacuum on her when she's in another room.

I also like to help with the polishing (cause when mummy does it she makes the floors way too slippery). Mummy gives me a cloth or I take one and then I wipe off all the drool spots that daddy leaves on the floors. Once we have finished that, I then like to go to the windows and point out all the spots (by personally touching them)that need to be cleaned so that I can see outside. Once all the housework is done, it's time for the laundry. I'm very helpful there too! Mummy has a hard time sorting the clothes into the correct machines so I have to constantly unload them and then shut the machine doors real fast so that she doesn't accidentally put the whites in with the darks. I know that mummy really appreciates my help because she always give me a treat and tells me to please run along and play!

For Sale!!!!!

I heard my mummy say something to daddy about putting me up for sale! Now i know mummy likes sales cause she says that she can get things at good prices. Daddy likes to buy tools on sale too. But I don't quite understand why mummy and daddy want to buy me cause they already have me and all the fun things that I do. Like the last two days I have been a little grouchy. I'm not sure why but it seems that I have been wanting to sleep lots but when I'm awake everything makes me upset. I get upset when mummy puts me down, when she doesn't give me the bowl that I want, the drink quick enough, when she puts my coat on, when she takes things away from me and well you know how the rest goes. Grandma thinks that maybe I'm cutting another tooth and that this ones not as easy as the others were.
Now so you all don't think that I have been a grouch the whole time I have managed a few happier times this weekend. On Saturday, mummy and my auntie Kim and uncle Frank went to see Mike Holmes in Vancouver. He was very entertaining and I clapped and shouted for him. Then auntie Kim let me run over pushy peoples feet when they tried to block mummy from walking with us. On Sunday, we went up to the property and laughed as daddy tried to start a fire with wet wood. Then mummy let me drive in the drivers seat with her and when she asked me if I enjoyed driving I replied a resounding "NO". That night we went to help uncle Frank eat birthday cake and I got to have fun with my cousins. But on the drive home I was cranky again and making my parents wonder if some monster had taken over my body.

Skating Fun

Today mummy and I went skating with Keira and her mummy and Ellenor and her mummy. I had lots of fun cause mummy pushed me around in the stroller really fast and then she put some funny little two bladed skates on my boots and stood me up on the ice. At first it wasn't fun cause I was very tired and I didn't really want to stand up but then she let me play in this cool car and she carried me around and skated really fast.

Then she showed the other mummy's how to spin around and make themselves dizzy. Mummy said that she wants me to really like skating so that we can share these fun times together. I think I could learn to really like it.

Here's my friends and their mummys pushing them

Fully Protected

On Monday, mummy took me to the store to buy me a pair of bobskates and some protective gear. Since I couldn't wear the skates in the house she thought I should practice with my new helmet and pads. I thought I should at least practice with my car too to see if they can withstand running into walls at full speed.

I thought I might also need some protection elsewear but mummy said this wasn't the right peice of equipment for that.

Weekend Fun

I have had a very fun weekend. On Saturday morning I got to hang out with the boys and we went to the park and played on the slides, swings and climbers. I had fun eluding mummy everytime she tried to take my picture and she finally had to ask one of the other mummies to hold me to get a picture of me near the tube. I even got to go down the slide by myself and this time I didn't bonk my head.

Mummy and I tried out the swings together and then I got to sit on the big swings on my own (so mummy could take my picture).

I was running around and even managed to fall into the dirt and get it all over my face. Being a boy is great cause mummy didn't even try to wash it off right away.

That night after all that playing rough, mummy thought I should have a treat so I got to have a bubble bath. She filled the tub up super full and ran lots and lots of bubbles into the tub. Then she showed me how to blow them all over the place. I thought they looked tasty and tried to eat them but then found out they don't taste as good as they look.

Today, mummy, daddy and i went grocery shopping for some fun food for me. Mummy put all sorts of fun things into the cart and daddy ranted and raved about not being able to find things (it's a good thing mummy didn't go to Stuperstore). When we got home i got to have lots of great foods like cheese sticks, pudding and rice cakes.Later that day we went to visit my Aunty Lisa and goofy Uncle Mark. I got to play the guitar, chase the dogs and cats and talk on the phone. I was even practicing my sharing by giving my aunt a piece of my rice cake (she didn't seem too fond of it though).

Tonight I got to have another bath and well I have been having a few accidents in the tub lately that have caused a few short tub times. I'm not sure what all the fuss is about, most of it floats and at least i didn't make a diaper dirty.

Happy Valentine's Mommy!

Since I lurned to type yesturday (sorta), I werked realy hard on my spelling so I cood rite a pome for my faverit purson:

A Valentine for my Mommy

Mommies are not rare, thoe good ones are quite preshus.
They love to love thare famlees and cope with Daddy's messes.
They let him act romantik (or get him drunk) so maybe
they can get him ware they want him... in bed to make a baby!

Then when they got us in them, they put up with the puking
and hope that Daddy clues in and helps out with the cooking.
They let us kick thare innards and make thare bladdurs pop;
and even seem quite happy when at last our waters drop!

They grunt and grone and howl and moan and sweat a pail or two,
They push down low and huff and blow (sometimes they even poo!)
As many watch, we leave thare crotch, beneath deflated tummies;
to be wiped down (I was quite brown) and given to our mummies.

Her love for me was instint, like a pakaged cup o’ noodles;
and seemingly unending (her and Dad adore me oodles).
They brott me home and showed me to thare fuzzy kitties three,
and littel did I know it, we became a family.

Thru many munths (some sleepless) mummy spared me from her wrath;
Despite some bitten nipples and me crapping in my bath.
I figger I have soiled ‘bout a thousand pounds of Pampers;
I’ve lurned to empty drawers and to upset londry hampers.

But most of all I lurned to trust my mummy to the bone.
She says that I am preshus too and made hur house a home.
And even when she calls me “brat” I know that I’ll be fine,
‘Cause she’s the world’s best mummy and she’s my Valentine!

Lots of luv and drool,
Jacob

Jacob's account of things

Mummy has been doing a really good job of writing in my blog and writing down what I tell her to, but I thought it was time that I type down what my thoughts are since i have been reading lots and I figure I can tell everyone what I have been doing. So here goes

Well first I did this
ffshfgasahnggfasauuuuuuuuuuuuuuuyhfchhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh[8 aggda and then I said this dafdgasgbakl akall,m m and finally I did faakwiatauiqo444i4AA4443444$$jaakafg mmbmms,smmmmmmmmmm m taaraag 11054/ and boy was it fun.

Needles

Well we survived the dreaded day of taking Jacob into to have his one year shots. Steve and I were dreading these sets of shots because Jacob is now old enough to realize what is coming. Amazingly he did great. The first shot was in the muscle of his arm and he didn't cry until it came out and then when his daddy hugged him closer he guessed what was next. Two more shots one in each arm. By the time the third shot was over, the poor guy was in tears and didn't want to be cuddled cause he was afraid there was more. Luckily that was it and when the health nurse blew some bubbles and he tried to catch them he was over his crying. then if that wasn't enough, I took him with me to the doctors and had his lungs checked out to make sure his cold hadn't progressed to something else. Well he was not happy that he had to sit confined against me while the doctor listened to his chest and checked out his throat and ears, he probably thought he was going to get poked again. Needless to say, I'm sure that he didn't think today was a very fun day. Hopefully tomorrow will be better and he can play with his friends and have some fun at the park.

Busy, busy, busy

This weekend has been a very busy one for me. Friday i had the babies come over to play and we got into all sorts of things. I showed them my cupboard of dishtowels and we had fun scattering them all over the floor. I also played a fun game with mummy where i would bash my toys on the glass coffee table and she would say something in a high voice and then toss me around. I think she had fun too!

Then on Saturday I went for a nice long walk in the carrier on daddy's back while mummy walked beside us making faces at me. When we got home, I didn't really want to sleep so mummy and daddy had to help me with it (No we didn't knock him out!). After I got up from my nap, mummy took me shopping. I helped her pick out a new boobie sling. Of course I just liked to pull the tags off the clothes when she strolled too close to them. After ahwile I got sick of sitting in my stroller so she let me walk from one end of the mall to the other. You should see how much glass there is to smush your face up against. On the way home we stopped at the park near my grandparents house and I got to play at all the fun play areas. Mummy let me go down the slide by myself twice but I ended up bonking my head so I wasn't too happy. I had lots of fun and then we stopped to see Grandma and Grandpa before heading home.

On Sunday we went for another walk (in my stroller this time cause it was spitting out). We walked over to Grandma Hatzl's and I got to help my daddy fix a chair and ride the vacuum. On the way home I fell asleep in my nice soft sheepskin. Once again though I made mummy and daddy help me fall asleep when we got home. I blame it on this cold that I have, it feels better when mummy and daddy hold me. After my nap we went for a car ride to visit some friends and found out they have another new baby. they have lots of nice kids to play with and they even let me play with their toys.

Now just in case you think that all I did was play this weekend. I also learned to say "more" (but sometimes I still like to scream for more), "Bib" though sometimes it sounds like "bub" and I have learned to use some sign language to tell my parents what I want. I still get frustrated and have learned that some things just annoy me cause my hands can't do everything.

My memorable part of the weekend was this afternoon when I decided that I needed to join daddy in the shower cause he looked like he was having too much fun. So when mummy opened the shower door to hand daddy something, I took that as my invitation to step in. Of course I still had on my shirt, onsie and diaper but they were minor problems. My goal was reached, I was standing under the spray with water falling on my head. Okay mummy did eventually rescue me from from wet clothes so that I could enjoy the experience au natural.

Mummy has said that tommorow is not going to be a very fun day so she's glad that I had such a good weekend. I wonder what she means by that????

Checking out the new backyard

Today was a very busy day. This morning we went up to visit my new backyard. Mummy got me all bundled into my mucky clothes so I could walk around and check things out. I found out that my new yard is very, very muddy and mummy said that hopefully by the time we move up there we will have some grass planted so that I don't end up covered in mud everytime i step outside.
I also found out that I have my very own tire to swing on. Of course I had to taste it to make sure that it was safe to use and it was so mummy let me go for a swing.

I think I might like this new place once it's all done. There's all sorts of things that I can get into up there.

Then this afternoon we went shopping and I got to help mummy and daddy look at doors and windows. I was being very good so mummy let me out of my stroller to walk around and i met all sorts of friendly people when i was pushing my stroller into them. It was a very full day so I had a very late nap and now I'm raring to go all night long.

My friend Brooklynn came to play

On Monday, my mummy babysat our friend Brooklynn who is almost 2. We got to play together all day and even played in the park on the slides. I taught her how to come down the stairs backwards and she taught me how to lick the coffee table (and the garbage can at the playground but it looked too cold to try this time around). Of course she wasn't sure that she wanted to share her toys or mine with me but then we discovered the boot tray and so we decided to have a sit down and chill for awhile. After lunch, mummy gave us a special treat - Cheesies! they sure are tasty and they make your fingers a pretty orange colour. We had a very good day and I can't wait for her to visit again

A few of my favourite things

Well mummy has gone back to work for real now and so I get to spend three days with my Grandmas and it has been lots of fun. They come over to my house and then we get to play together or sometimes I will go and meet my one Grandma at my cousins house. That's fun too cause I get to walk to school with them. Anyway, while mummy has been gone I have been learning a few things such as the sounds animals make. I especially like the "MOO" animal and luckily they are everywhere in my house. Sometimes I even moo at the cats to see if they can make the same noise, so far they only meow. I am also working on "woof, woof", "quack","neigh", "he-ha" and "cluck, cluck". I figure I should have all the animals covered so that if I ever meet some live ones I can talk to them.
I have also come up with a very entertaining form of play. I will find a container or bucket and put it over my mouth and face and wander around the house very quickly and try not to walk into things. My parents find this vastly amusing so I will continue to entertain them.
My other fun thing to do involves mealtime. To keep mummy on her toes and to see if she is paying attention I like to put food into my mouth and then spit it out all over my chin and then take the rest of the food off my tray and drop it one by one onto the floor. She is usually giving me a funny look and saying something that sounds like "Brat" (but i say it like Bwat so I'm not really sure if that is what she is saying). I can do this every meal and it never gets tiring. I really like to do it to foods that I have been known to like cause then mummy and daddy never know what I will eat. I have even tried this out on my Grandmas!
I have also discovered that in town there are some really big bathtubs that tons of people can swim in. Mummy and Daddy and I went to one last Sunday and I even got to keep my clothes on in this bath. Mummy also brought along a really fun seat to sit in so I could float and kick my legs without getting my head wet. They also have lots of different tubs in this place and one of them takes you on a ride. I liked that one and so did mummy and daddy cause they were having a squirt toy fight with water over my head (sometimes they missed each other and squirted me)
Mummy told me that today I get to try out another fun thing called Skating and she really hopes I like it cause she plans to take me every week.

Feeling better, now on with my playing!

Both me and mummy are starting to get over our respective sicknesses and mummy even took another sick day to make sure that she is really better so it's time to get on with playing with my new toys. I got some really cool BOY toys for my birthday and I can finally play with them. I had a big party on Saturday and all my family came to sing me songs and watch me demolish some cake. Mummy and daddy were extra brave cause they didn't put any protective coverings on me and I got to smear pizza and chocolate cake everywhere and then I got to touch everyone else with my messy fingers. This was way fun! Grandma made me a cars cake and that seemed to be the theme for all my cool presents too. Mummy and daddy gave me my very own peanut car and once my legs are big enough to touch the ground I'm sure that I will be zooming around so everyone watch out.
I got all sorts of cool things like a wagon full of blocks (my cousins even thought it was fun cause they pulled me around in it), a big soft stuffed puppy that is as big as me, a cool soft touch piano and a musical book, some spiffy new duds, some winnie the pooh letters and numbers to spell my name and age out with and a cool dump truck and loader. Mummy has promised that when we move that she will let me play in all the dirt and that I can help daddy cause now I have the right equipment.
It was a very nice party and mummy said that we get to have another party with my baby friends too. I think I like turning one.

My first hospital stay

I've had my first hospital stay and all before I turned one. My grandma Popham was babysitting me on Monday when she phoned to tell my daddy that I wasn't feeling very good and I sounded like a bad car starting up. Daddy rushed home and he phoned mummy so that she could leave work and then daddy drove me to the hospital (mummy was there when we got there- she was very fast). The nice nurse lady took us right in and then the cute doctor (mummy thought he was nice looking) came and looked me over and put the cold breathing listening thing on my tummy and back. He said that I sounded raspy and my poor tummy was having to work hard to breathe. Then the hospital visit turned bad because the cute man and nice nurse made me put a big scary sounding mask over my mouth and nose and told my daddy to keep it there and make me breathe in the smoky stuff. I didn't like this cause I couldn't make my happy noises into the mask and I couldn't get it off my face. Finally that ended and then the doctor told my parents that they needed to see my tummy on TV, so they stripped me down and put me in some weird box and stuck my hands over my head and then mummy and daddy left while the TV took my picture. That wasn't too bad but I don't like to be in boxes without a way out. After being in the hospital for a few hours I was starting to get bored so my parents tried to entertain me by giving me piggyback rides. That was fun but I liked to watch all the people in the hospital too. Finally another lady doctor came to see me with a really cool light spinny thing and she told my parents that I was very sick (bronchial virus) and that I would have to stay in another hospital (this made mummy very sad). So I got all bundled up and mummy and daddy drove me to Abbotsford. When I got there I had to wake up and see some more doctors and have them listen to my tummy and then they made me wear the mean mask too. But they were even meaner cause then they decided to stick a big tube up my nose and it really hurt and made me cry really hard. Then if that wasn't enough they decided to tape a smaller plug on my face and put plugs up my nose and blow air up it . I did not like this and I kept trying to pull it out of my nose and pull the tape off my cheeks. Finally they let me go into a room and tried to get me to sleep in some very scary prison crib. I didn't like that either and so mummy had to hold me all night while I tried to sleep through all the face mask interruptions. Daddy couldn't stay with me the first night cause they didn't have a bed for him, (he could have used my crib cause he couldn't fall out of it) but he came back in the morning. I wasn't allowed to leave my room so mummy and daddy tried to keep me happy by putting on some funny movies and giving me a bath and playing toys with me. Grandma Hatzl came by to play with me later that day too. The good thing that day was that mummy convinced the nice nurse to take the tape thing off my face (that was not fun cause it made my cheeks bleed). They kept putting the face mask over me every three hours and putting a glowy thing on my thumb but I was starting to accept the face mask if mummy or daddy held me and we watched a video. That night daddy stayed with me and mummy went to a friends house to sleep (apparentaly she didn't sleep for 37 hours and was very tired). Of course I slept much better that night cause daddy also brought me my own playpen to sleep in and the nose thing was off my face. By Wednesday I was feeling a bit better so the doctor said I could go home later that night. They also let me out to play in the big room and I had fun playing with all the cool toys. I didn't like the food they served me though and my parents said it looked like something the cats barf up. That night at 7pm they sprung me loose with instructions to take some mask medicine when I go home. I was a very good boy and when I got home I slept in my crib for 3 hours before I woke up coughing and throwing up. I was trying to get rid of the guckys in my tummy and I made my bed all messy. Mummy thought I was all done so she gave me a bottle of milk (yup, BIG mistake)I threw that up all over her leg, the carpet and into my daddy's hands. Finally mummy took me into a nice steamy shower and at 1am I finally fell back to sleep in my crib. I am very happy to be home, but I still have to take the mask medicine and I don't really like it unless my parents let me do it myself so that I can take the mask off and pretend to be Darth Vader.

My first year in retrospect - Part Two

I have had many fun events to celebrate this last year including Mother's day, Father's day, many family birthday parties, my Baptism in late April, my sister Taylor's grad (I went to my first formal dinner and dance), our trip to Disneyland (got to meet Tigger), my first swimming experience in both a pool and in the lake (wasn't too fond of that one), my first hospital stay (jury's still out on that one) and now I get to have my very own BIRTHDAY PARTY. TURNING ONE IS FUN!!!!!