Remember...

Jacob turned 3 yesterday and I can hardly believe it!  He will always be my baby boy though :)
I wanted to write down some cute things he does so I don't forget:

*At night, when he's in his room and not quite ready to go to sleep, he sings at the top of his lungs!  Last night it was "Happy Birthday Jacob..."

*He has endless imagination!  I love it!

*He is VERY active, he loves sports, especially baseball and lately soccer.

*He likes to 'read' me books before he goes to sleep sometimes...I'm amazed at how much he absorbs...some books he can 'read' word per word!

*He loves music, especially Vertical Horizon right now...he has a few songs on repeat on his i-pod (It's actually Randy's but Jacob uses it more).

*He says "pot" at the end of sentences where he doesn't know the word eg. "That's a nice... pot"

*Sometimes when he has done something he shouldn't have he'll say "It's ok mom"....eg. "It's ok mom, it's only water!"

*He has really been trying to be nice to his sister lately, he calls her baby by the way.  If anybody asks him what her name is he says "It's baby Anna!"

*If we're out and about and Anna starts to cry he tries to calm her down by saying "It's ok, I'm right here see?"

*He wants to be Randy!  Everything Randy does he wants to do.

*He's a little parrot!  He talks non-stop, and even when he doesn't know the words we're saying, he'll repeat it and ask what it means.  He likes to join into adult conversations too...he doesn't want to be left out.

*He colors w/ both hands, eats with his right, and hits the baseball left handed...I'm still not sure if he's really ambidextrous or left handed.

*Just when I think I'm going crazy he'll come up to me ask me "Mom, what's wrong?" 

*He's very loving and he loves to cuddle with me :)

*He is very soft hearted, and will get emotional when watching certain movies (eg. "Meet the
Robinsons" when the baby is left crying in front of the door)

*He loves to learn!  Anything from new words to how to use things, he never stops learning!

*He refuses to read 'princess books'  (He saw a couple of those in his room one night and said "those are for baby Anna)  Maybe b/c of the princess party we had for her?

*He will randomly say "Mom/or Dad I love you!" and give us a big hug...sometimes he'll say "I love you guys"

*He also randomly says "I'm so proud of you!"  and "good job! you did it!"

*If you ever watch YoGabbaGabba then you know about the 'cool tricks'  Out of the blue, Jacob will say "Hi my name is Jacob, and my cool trick is..."  It changes all the time.

*He loves this show and he quotes their songs.... ♪ "Keep trying, keep trying, don't give up, never give up..."♪

This list is getting long, it's mostly for me to remember though.  I love my little Jacob, and I'm so grateful to be his mommy :)  He's definitely a defiant toddler sometimes, but he's learning and growing, and we couldn't be prouder of him :)

We took both kids to see Toy Story 3 on Wed, as part of Jacob's birthday celebration.  They loved it!  It was both their first time at the movies, and we were glad they were happily entertained for 2 hours!  We also took them swimming earlier in the day, and they had fun.

A tiny step in the right direction?!

When we got home from our trip to Canada, I had a plan.  By the end of June I was going to have Jacob potty-trained, and Anna weaned off!  It sucks when reality kicks you in the butt!  Especially my butt because it's so BIG! LOL

The day after we got home, I was putting Anna down for her nap, and came out to find Jacob in the bathroom washing his hands!  I opened the door (he had closed it), and asked what he was doing.  He told me he was washing his hands because he went potty in the little potty!  He was using it as a stool, and was standing there, without a diaper!  I thought I was seeing things!  He was telling the truth though, he had gone #1, then closed the little potty and used it as a stool to wash his hands, with soap even! 
Ever since then, I have been trying to get him to go again...and he hasn't been motivated at all :( 
Today however, out of the blue he told me he wanted to go to the big potty like dad!  So we went, and he stood there, and we waited, and waited, and waited, and nothing. :(  I praised him for trying and told him to tell me when he had to go again so we could go to the big potty.  We've been reading the book "Zacks Potty" (which I got at Deseret Book for $1), and I think it is slowly helping J realize he can do it too! 
So today was a tiny step in the right direction...we'll see how things go the rest of the month.  I see all these kids J's age that are already trained and it makes me feel like I'm not doing my job as a mom sometimes.  But then I remember..."he'll go when he's ready!"

Little Anna is now officially 13 months old.  I really thought she was ready to stop nursing right before we left on our trip, because she was eating more food, and nursing less.  We (Randy and I) decided it would be in everyone's best interest if I nursed her on our trip.  I'm glad I did!  She was so out of her comfort zone, it really helped to soother her.  I'm a great believer in letting your kids tell you when they're ready to stop nursing.  I consider it a blessing, and recognize that not everyone is able to nurse as long as I do, and not everyone is able to/ or may not want to nurse their children.  That being said, I am surprised by the number of people who are shocked that I'm "still nursing" Every child is different, and just as Jacob will go when he's ready, Anna will stop nursing when she's ready. :) 
Yesterday was a crazy busy day so I ended up nursing Anna for her lunch instead of her regular 'food lunch' , so today she's been wanting to nurse more.  I know I'm going to miss it when I'm no longer nursing, so I'm trying to stay positive about it, and not rush her, if she's not ready.  We shall see where we are with this at the end of the month.

On another note, I have a lot of friends and family who are super talented, and super creative...hopefully some of that will rub off on me.
Sometimes I feel like I'm years behind everyone!  :( 
I wish I had taken the time to learn when I was younger, so I could be a great cook, baker, know how to sew, decorate etc...
It's hard to find the time to learn those things on my own now...but I want to.  I don't want my kids and or kids' friends to be like: Jacob/Anna- "Mom made cookies!"  Their friends- "Let's go to so and so's house instead!"  LOL   I'm still trying to find the perfect recipe for home-made choc chip cookies...wish me luck!

At the end of the day, it's all about my children, and us parents being happy...but wouldn't it be nice if I made the best cookies!? :)

Catching up...

It has been close to a month since my last post!

We got back from Canada on May 28th, we went up there for 9 days for one of my sisters' wedding.  I loved all the attention the kids got!  They were showered with hugs and kisses (and gifts) all day every day we were there!  My immediate family were the only ones who had met our children, actually one of my brothers and one of my sisters hadn't met Anna yet (Missions).  I loved seeing everyone again, it had been 3 years since I had been up there.
My sister's wedding was wonderful, it's always so nice to see a couple so in love!  I love weddings!

I have to admit it got a little chaotic at times (because I was in the wedding party)...I realized how easy we have it here with a temple just minutes away.  We drove 3 hours to Cardston the night before and stayed in a hotel that night.  The next day we went to the ceremony at the temple, took pictures, had a mini picnic w/ the kids (lunch), then drove back another 3 hours to Calgary.  We put Anna down for a nap for less than an hour, then off we went to the reception.  She had a rough day!  Both our kids are super scheduled, they have a time they wake up, eat, sleep, etc, etc...it's perfect for every day living...not so good for travelling : (
They both slept through the night all the nights we were there though, so I can't complain, they were just super unhappy at the end of the day (aka when our friends and family had us over or took us out to dinner).  Most of what everyone saw was two unhappy little kids, but I promise they're not usually like that!  They had their moments too where they were perfectly happy...it's just hard being a 1 and 2 year old and being in a new and unfamiliar environment.  What did we learn?  Our children are amazing!  They really tried their very best to adapt and to be somewhat happy.  It gave me hope for when they're older too...
I have posted pics of our trip on facebook...it's so much easier to post videos and pics on there...

I'm not gonna lie...it was hard to say good bye! I miss my familia already! :(

The day we got home, the kids took almost a 3 hour nap, then went to bed for the night around 8 and slept until 9:30 and 10 the next morning!  They were TIRED! 

I have to mention that they were both teething during our trip too...which doesn't make it any easier on them...why must teething take forever?  I wish all their teeth would come in at once, then they would be miserable for a few days but it would be over with...wishful thinking right?

After the wedding we got to go sight-seeing a little bit and we got together with some friends and family.  My sisters and mom took the kids for one afternoon and we got to go on a date! It was so weird at first...we didn't know wether to take a nap or go out!  We ended up going shopping, and it was so fun just the two of us! 

We have been home for almost a week now and both kids seem to be back to their old happy selves :)  We went out to dinner and movie last night to celebrate Randy's birthday.  I asked Randy if he felt so free because we have gone on two dates in less than a week...and he said "no, because after this date, we get to go home!" LOL  He's such a great helper.  I would go crazy without him!  I love my children, but once in a while, it's nice when it's just us two. :)

Happy Birthday Mijo!  I hope  you know how much you are loved, and how blessed we are to have you in our lives...

-At the Calgary Tower-