Christmas vacation!

our future football star!



Hanging with Kyra T. at Jackie's birthday dinner a few weeks ago!

I have been such a bad blogger lately. But Christmastime is the busiest time of the year, right? And Joe took this week off of work so we have been goofing off on our Christmas vacation! Here is what we have been up to...



 Our Christmas festivities started early...last Monday the Moms Club had a Christmas party for the kiddos complete with a visit from Santa! This photo shows Jake (kind of) hugging Santa :)

On Friday we went to Joe's work for a Christmas luncheon. Jake loved running up and down the hallways and climbing in and out of Joe's office chairs. He had a great time and acted like he owned the place (as per usual!) Friday night we took Jake to look at Christmas lights along with Gran, Pa Pa, and our friends Janice, Erik and Jake's buddies Kyra and Dylan. Jakey had so much fun looking at the lights, and surprised us by walking the entire time! Guess the view is better on foot than in the stroller?!

bundled up to check out the Christmas lights!

checking out lights with Pa Pa and Gran

my favorite house! :)

On Christmas Eve we took Jake to church in the afternoon, and we got there too late to get seats.  The problem is you have to get there half an hour early on holidays to get seats, and we can't expect Jake to sit there for that long, and then sit through the entire Mass as well. We had to stand off to the side and Jake lasted about 20 minutes before  we had to go. He was being pretty loud and while they were singing about Jesus, Jake was saying "Jedung!" which apparently is his word for Jesus! While they were singing another song, Jake piped up singing his ABCs. When shushing didn't work, and he got louder and starting trying to escape our clutches, we decided it was time to go :) After we got back from church, Uncle Mike came over and Jake had a good time playing with him and with his new Cookie Monster that eats cookies! Jake had already opened a few presents earlier in the day from neighbors (we have awesome neighbors!) so he was ready to get "more presents!" When I say he "opened" presents, this isn't exactly accurate. He doesn't like to actually open them or even help open them. He prefers to watch while we open them and then grab the gift once it has been opened! We all headed over to my parents house for Christmas Eve dinner and Jake got to open another present from my parents. After dinner, we went on a walk to look at Christmas lights. We saw a few nativity scenes and told Jake to look at Baby Jesus and again there were shouts of "Jedung!" Once we got home and put Jake to bed, Joe had a few hours of work ahead of him :) Too bad Santa doesn't put together the presents he brings! Joe did a great job though, and Jake's train table looked great for Christmas morning!

On Jedung's Birthday, Jake came downstairs and was a little overwhelmed! At first he said "I don't like it" which is his new phrase for "I don't want to do it"...but once we brought him over to the train table, he got over that and decided that Christmas morning was so much fun! He loved opening up his stocking and pulling out the presents (which he liked because they were unwrapped) and kept asking for "another one." He had such a great time playing with his new toys and then later on my parents and Nana came over and we had Christmas all over again! Jake got another stocking and many more presents from my parents, and of course, loved every second of it! In the days since Christmas he has asked many times for "more presents!" and we tell him he has to wait until his birthday in September :) Jake thoroughly enjoyed the Spumoni ice cream we gave him for dessert after Christmas dinner, and he also tried his first piece of homemade fudge - which he loved!

fun with Uncle Mike!

check me out!

family photo (we had to bribe Jake to sit still for this photo!)

goofing off with Pa Pa...

and Gran!

Joe's masterpiece

after Santa's arrival!




look at this!


Jake's new ATV from Uncle Tony!

man on the move!

Big Boy Bed!

Jake has become quite the big boy this week! On Monday, we switched him to his "big boy bed" which for now, is just a twin mattress on the floor. We were expecting the worst with this change, but he loved it! He loves his Cars sheets and pillows, and doesn't even try to climb out or open his bedroom door. He has been in a sleep sack since he was tiny, and we are keeping him in one (he is in the largest size right now!) to make the transition to a bed easier. He can still move around and walk in the sleep sack, but I think it helps him stay put on the bed. Once we get rid of the sleep sack, we will introduce Jake to sheets and blankets. One step at a time! :) We also had an appointment this week with the Fire Department to get Jake's carseat turned around. Now he is facing forward and loving it! I'm so glad we waited until he was 2 and almost to the weight limit for rear facing, but now it is so much fun for him to face forward and see the world! Big boy bed, and big boy carseat in one week! We can't believe our little baby boy has grown up so quickly...and is starting preschool next week! We visited the preschool last week and Jake had such a great time - his favorite parts were playing with a shapes puzzle, snack time (he loved drinking from the little dixie cups they provide) and recess! We can't wait to find out how he does when I am not there with him. I have a feeling he will be fine. It may be much harder on me than it is on him!

This week we have had a lot of fun while Daddy has been on vacation. We took Jake to the movies to see Chipwrecked, we had lunch at the airport and watched the planes take off and land, we played with his new ATV (a Christmas present from Uncle Tony!), we went to the park, etc.

Can't wait to report on how Jakey does next week at his first week of preschool. He will be going on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 to 12, and will be eating lunch there :) Stay tuned!