Development

I wanted to make a post about what the kids are up to...you know....what they're like right now.

I'll start with Big J. Let me give you one word to describe him...INDEPENDENT! Don't you dare even try to help him with something that he can or thinks he can do. He got so mad at me the other day for trying to help him open a Starburst candy. He tried to "hide" the candy and his head in the trash can to get away from me! And in the end, I had to help him open it.

He's our social butterfly. He talks to everyone. He yells hi to the furthest stranger across a store. He will continue to yell hi until they respond. Then, once they say hi, he will tell them hi some more.

I found out on Sunday that he has a "girlfriend." His teacher Ms. Keri told me that he follows a little girl named Madison around and that he even told her "I like you." Her daddy is a Dallas police officer. Funny huh!

Jacob is VERY BUSY. People often comment on his "business." He is constantly moving. He will sit still to read books or watch Dora but it takes a LOT of effort to keep him occupied. His favorite books at the moment are The Quilt Story which he calls "Ab-o-gail", Curious George (the original, not CG goes to hospital or CG does this or that...), and I Love Mommy which he calls "Mom Says I Can."

He is a climber. Today, he almost hurled himself up onto the counter top. He sometimes drags a chair over to help him up, like the other day when he was standing on the counter to reach the candy that I had put on top of the refrigerator.

I can't leave anything out. I use to leave his lotion etc on top of his dresser but he's figured out how to use things in his room to reach the top and has made some fun messes.

He speaks like a kindergartner. He can now convert things I say like "Jacob, you're such a good helper!" to "I'm a good helper!". He's got the whole I/we/me/you thing figured out. Today he told me "Mama, I make you so happy!" (I often tell him, "Jacob, you make me so happy!")

He likes bringing his sister toys and share his food with her which he knows he is NOT allowed to do. He also likes to help feed her and if I stop feeding her for some reason like to answer the phone, he will no doubt fill in for me while I'm gone.

He is hard to discipline. He doesn't care much if I spank him or put him in time out. I've tried to take away tv time and that didn't matter much to him either. I'm sure we will eventually figure something out. He is usually really good but on the days he's bad, he's bad ALL DAY LONG.

Baby J (Jenna) is a crawling monster. I thought it might take her a few weeks to really become proficient but I was wrong! She is a great crawler and is now pulling herself up on everything. She is trying so hard to stand. She'll spread her feet way apart, then let go of whatever she is holding on to.

Sometimes she'll just be sitting in the middle of the floor and try to stand up. I don't think it will be very long. Today she was holding onto my finger and I let go and she stood for about 3 seconds.

She is still a very happy, easy going baby. She cries when she is tired or if she needs some attention. She follows her brother around everywhere. She likes to watch tv with him too.

She loves any toy that makes noise. Her favorite toys to chew on are wooden toys. She still likes her exersaucer and jumpy horse but the swing is rarely used.

Bubba is her first word. She says it over and over. Sometimes it sounds more like baba than bubba. I don't think she is actually saying anything but we do refer to Jacob as her bubba so who knows.

Jenna is a charmer too. The church nursery workers love her because she never cries and just smiles and plays while she's in there. She'll let anyone hold her and love on her. I can hardly believe she is already 2/3 of a year!

And her hair continues to capture the attention of all who meet her.

I feel so blessed to have such beautiful, loving children. There are some days that are really hard and I know that I have failed as a mother, but I continue to learn and ask God for his guidance raising my flock.