Friday, September 30, 2011

Jameston at 2

So, I have been putting off this post not only due to a serious time crunch in life as of late, but also because I just may be in a little bit of denial that our little fella is TWO. Wow. So hard to believe it has been two full years since we welcomed him into our lives. We have loved every minute of it!
Jameston's birth day-September 20, 2009
One year old!
Labor Day, 2011 (almost 2!)

It really is amazing how quickly they grow in what seems like a short amount of time. I am in constant gratitude for the blessing he's been to us. So, now onto what he's doing at a whopping 2-years-old!

His stats:

Weight: 30 lbs. (75%)

He's has been hanging around at this weight for awhile now

Height: 36 and 3/4 inches (97%)!!

Head: 90%

On the verge of a size 8 shoe, wears size 5 diapers,

and 24 months to 2T clothes

Doc said: He's doing great! Healthy, happy, and talkative little boy :-) She noticed that he's way exceeding the 50 words expected at 2 years-old. As we left he said, "Bye, Dr. Poole!" He won over all the nurses, as well, by doing excellent with his flu vaccine. His left eye did show a stigmatism again, so we have an appointment with a pediatric opthamologist soon. If he's anything like his Daddy, we think he'll need glasses eventually...

These days, our boy continues to be all over the place, very active and very inquisitive. The ONLY times he really sits still are when he's really tired or watching Mickey Mouse or his Leap Frog DVD :-)

His current interests:

This isn't new by any means, but he still LOVES his tools! And I'm surprised, because this hobby has gone on for 4 months or so now. He is also obsessed lately with putting lids on things! Dancing! Oh, the boy has some moves!! Don't know where he got them, but he sure can boogy!

To "Wrestle"

(mainly his Daddy, although his cousins are often opponents as well )

Anything with music

His playroom!
I love it, too, because I can get stuff DONE while he's in there :-)
Boom-Boom...

He loves Boomer Bear and has started to talk to him like a person. So cute!
Reading!!
The boy can't get enough of his books. His current favorites are his Jungle book, a Danish book from Granny and Papa, Goofy Baby, and the Berenstain Bears collection he received for his birthday
Lego's and Puzzles

Like the tools, these has been constants in our household for some time now. Guess I need to also believe it about boys' obsession with lincoln logs :-)
The water

(baths, inflatable pool, swimming pool, puddles: whatever form there is).

Too bad the hot weather is coming to an end-not really!

    MILESTONES
  • Counts from 1-10 and sometimes to 14
  • Knows 5 colors pretty well (depends on the day and sometimes he tries to trick us as if he doesn't know. Silly boy): Green, blue, yellow, red and white
  • Sings some of his ABC's. He knows the ending, that's for sure! He also knows the letters K and I from recognition and says what they are
  • All four second molars are in (thank goodness!) Caused some interrupted nights between 21-23 months or so)
  • Speaking of sleep, he gets about 10 hours at night (never much more) and still takes a good 2 1/2-3 hour nap after lunch. PHEW!
  • Talking in complete sentences. Has also started using (correctly that is) pronouns, adjective placement, and possessive pronouns (like, "mine" unfortunately). As a speech-language major, I LOVE this! I'll try to keep up with his latest and greatest statements with our "Jameston's Jargon" posts! Sentences I could listen to on repeat are, "Sit by me, Mommy," "Tome (come) on Daddy/Mommy," "Hold you, Daddy/Mommy," and "Watch this/What's this, Mommy?" Other favorite phrases are his "pair-a-jama's", "moon 'n back" (when we tuck him in at night). Some not-so popular phrases are "Mommy, I don't want water" (when I'm making his juice) and his backseat driving "Slow down, Mommy/Daddy." Kinda endearing, but kinda not.
  • Still continues to eat like a pro! Loves all fruits, except melon, and he's on an applesauce kick as of late. Veggies, well, that's another story. We get 2 in a day, usually. Oh, and the boy LOVES him some tomato soup.
He loves Mexican and Italian, like his parents. Here he is at Chipotle (eating some of Mommy's dish :-)
  • Potty-training is at a standstill. He went #2 in the potty several weeks back, and it scared the poop out of him, literally and figuratively. So, right now he asks for a diaper when he has to go (if he is in the buff or we are in the middle of changing him). Will probably get serious about it at the beginning of the year.
  • His hair is FINALLY growing out (and he looks less like Trump), and he's even getting little curls in the back :-)
Things I want to remember about Jameston at this age:
  • He's becoming more independent, although we went through a clingy phase in late summer. He will help me get him dressed or undressed, and we often hear him say, "Jameston do it."
  • His love of Jesus. We read from his Bible often, and he is so cute when he's praying! Some of his favorite songs these days are "Jesus loves me" and "This Little Light of Mine"
  • He is a perfectionist. Think I've mentioned this before, but he has to do everything exactly right, which comes in handy when he's picking up his toys :-)
  • Jameston's memory! He surprises us with the factoids and peoples' names he retains, even days later.
  • And his imagination. So fun seeing it at work when he's playing and through the conversations we have.
Jameston Wade, you are our pride and joy. The sunshine in our lives. All of those cliches parents use to describe their children. You fit the bill. We love you more than words can adequately express, and we look forward to watching you grow. We are forever grateful God has entrusted us with you, and we hope to raise you up as He has intended for all of us. Thank for being such a delight (yes, even during your terrible-two fits :-) We love you, JW!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Jameston's 2nd Birthday Party :-)

Saturday morning started off with some rainy weather, which hampered our Plano Balloon Festival plans all weekend. But Jameston and Layne, who came in the night before for the birthday celebrations, didn't mind. That morning Jameston spotted one of his birthday presents that he wasn't supposed to see until Tuesday, his actual birthday (this silly Mommy cleaned it up the day before, since it was from Once Upon A Child and forgot it was still in the backyard---oops). I think JW loves his new work bench :-)
The birthday party was in the late afternoon, and tool-themed, of course, for our little Craftsman!
I used last year's birthday banner again,
with pictures from this past year on the flip side
The weather was perfect, so the kids enjoyed some play time outdoors...Riley, Charlotte, and Jameston kicking the ball (that didn't make the picture),
Jackson, Ruby and JW in our new sandbox
Cousin love, or rough-housing
Layne, Charlotte, and Emmie observing something noteworthy in the backyard
There's the ball!
My dear friend, Lindi, and her little girl, Vaughn, who was a little too small to take part in the children's play outside
But she found some things to do inside, or her parents did :-)
Obligatory cousin picture
And family picture...the best one we could get!
Now, on to the food! Since it is the beginning of the college football season (and the Texas Tech game might have been on upstairs) and since Jameston always seems to have a hankering for Italian pies) we had pizzas and salads (along with some healthier finger food options for the kiddos). And no t0ol-themed party is complete with a toolbox cake, made at Rejoice Bakery in downtown Plano
Singing "Happy Birthday"
He was in AMAZEMENT from everyone singing to him...he was speechless for a little bit!
Diggin' into the cake and ice cream
Jameston was showered with some presents from his family and sweet friends
"Thanks, Bea for my new sweater! Tech colors are a must for fall fashion."
The boy received two bulldozers from his cousins and a front-loader from Gigi and Pops...they know him and his new-found love for the sandbox his Daddy built for him!
He received several books, new Legos, puzzles, a play-dough set...and we've played with all of them since last Saturday! But the biggest hit of the party? The tissue paper. From ages 2-5, the kids could not get enough!
Their firefighter hats (could not find construction hats) filled with party favors :-)
And if that wasn't enough birthday festivities for one day, the City of Plano also put on a fireworks show for the would-be Balloon Festival...and we could see them from our driveway!
The kids were up past 9:00 (hey, it's not every night they get to see each other) and had a blast!
So did the adults who were still with us :-)
Riley clapping after what we thought was the finale
Layne skipping around
Our little Red Raiders! I think they had enough sugar and cousin excitement to last them a few weeks :-)
These two LOVE each other...the oldest and the youngest, but not for long with a baby cousin due in December.
So sweet!
What a day! The kids had so much fun, as did we, and we were sad to see everyone go on Sunday. What a blessing it is to be close enough to get together for special occasions, such a birthday parties! We had a wonderful day filled with memories, great friends, decent food, and lots of love! And we think Jameston had a pretty memorable day, too :-)