Note to Self...Be Careful What You Wish For...

I have a feeling the old "be careful what you wish for" thing is going to be a recurring theme as Jake grows up. I can't count the number of times I wished (unfortunately, out loud) that Jake would be able to say the words "mommy", "momma" or "mom" way back when. Now, I can't count the number of times he says it every minute of every waking hour of every day;-) And, of course, I have lots and lots of people who are kind enough to remind me about that wish...yea, you know who you are!

So, anyone who has read any of my recent blogs knows that I've been wishing really hard for Jake to take an interest in potty training...well, these past couple of days, that wish has come true. Each night, when I put him to bed in his pull-ups, it takes about 10 minutes before the wave of potty requests start rolling in...

So, here's how our new little routine plays out...Picture me, having just put him to bed, after bath, teeth brushing, what seems like a dozen stories followed by back rubbing, and neck pinching (don't ask). I finally sit down at my computer to get a little work done and the first request rolls in..."momma, I have to go potty". Now, admittedly, the first time this happened, I was OVERJOYED!!! I thought, YES, YES, YES, we're really getting the hang of this potty thing, he's even calling me from bed to tell me he has to go...Woo-hoo!!! The second time, I was a little less excited, and by the fifth time, I was totally over it. So, why don't I just tell him "no"...because he somehow manages to go a little EACH and EVERY time. So, what's a mom to say..."no, just go in your pull-up"... somehow, that doesn't seem like a good idea...especially when I've spend a good part of the day asking "so, why did you go in your pull-up and not in the potty?!?!?" Can you say..."mixed messages"??? Sooooo, off I go back and forth between his room and the potty...and back and forth....and back and forth...I assume you get the picture now?

After last night, which was Pilgrimage to the Potty- Day 2, I found myself wishing he would just go in his diaper/pull-up. After the thought entered my mind, I snapped upright in my chair, and thought OMG, what did I just say/think?!?!?! And once again, I found myself thinking...be careful what you wish for!

Jake's still doing really, really well at his new school!!! He loves going (which is just wonderful to see) and he's like the teacher's little helper in the classroom. The teacher puts every one's name cards out on a table in the morning, and Jake is the only one who can identify his name. He takes it and puts it under the fish tank and says good morning to the fish. Then, he proceeds to alphabetize the names and bring the other kid's name cards to them, say each letter in their name for them, and one by one walk with them to the fish tank to deposit their name and say good morning to the fish. Of course, if they should happen to put their cards in upside down, he's quick to fix it...wonder where he gets that from?

Of course, as we all feared, he now loves his new teacher and has absolutely NO desire to move up to the next level (which he is more than ready for...just needs to be potty trained). And she loves him too because she says he amazes her each and every day. Last week, he was telling her what letter every one's name started with and when he got to hers, he said your name starts with "F'... and she said "yes, Jake, that's right, it does!" Then he proceeded to call her Mrs. Kedora instead of Fedora and even overemphasized the K...she said it was the funniest thing. I'm totally expecting that he's going to remain in this class for quite a while and probably will eventually begin giving the other kids formal lessons...LOL

Jake, Nanny and I are still enjoying our nightly rides on the tandem with the tagalong behind it. We've gotten pretty good at riding down to the little elementary school that's almost 2 miles away. We've started a new ritual of singing "20 bottles of milk on the wall..." and he's really got the hang of singing all the words and knowing what number comes next. Of course, we get some wild looks as the 3 of go riding by singing our own little version of this song;-) Riding on the tagalong seems to have helped him with his confidence on his own new big boy bike as he can regularly be seen speeding around my kitchen on it these days...YES, he rides it in the house! We're thinking he's probably going to be ready to take the training wheels off in the not too distant future considering how much riding we all do and how confident he is now. Of course, we'll need to outfit nanny in full body armor when we make our first attempt at removing the training wheels in case he clips her coming around the island...LOL

Last night was a real milestone for us...we took the outside rail off of Jake's crib and he slept in what he's calling his "big boy" bed without it for the very first time. We're planning on buying him a loft bed with a little desk area underneath (or something like that), but thought we'd try this out in the meanwhile...so far, so good. Of course, when he strolled into my room at about 5 a.m. both Quincey and I nearly had a heart attack because we're not used to anyone being able to walk in during the night...this, will undoubtedly, take some getting used to!!

Jakey and I were able to attend an incredible NY Liberty playoff game last Friday night (thanks to tickets from Aunt Amy) and we had a blast!!! What a great game too, as the Liberty pulled out a come from behind win at the end of the game. Ever since, Jake has been walking around spelling L-I-B-E-R-T-Y (though sometimes he forgets the R) and saying NY LIVERY (which is how he pronounces it)...VERY, VERY cute!! He was sort of good at the game, though he didn't watch very much, just likes the music and the cheering and clapping...especially that one song where they say "everybody clap your hands..." At one point, while walking back and forth between our two sets of seats, he decided he needed to "get something" and walked right out the gate to the concourse...not sure who jumped first or ran faster, but Aunt CC and I made a mad dash to catch up to him. When we got there, he told me "momma, I'll be right back, I have to get something". And as you might have guessed, this was at one of the most exciting parts of the game with under 3 minutes left to play and the cheers could be heard coming from back in the stadium. So, against my better judgement, I used my "last resort" and promised him he could have his "paci" (yes, he still calls it a paci because of his girl Jordan) if he walked back to our seats with me. I know, I know, BAD mommy...what can I say, even mommies cave sometimes!!!

Ohhh, and I almost forgot...we got the exciting news this week that one of Jake and Jordan's recent pictures would be up on display at Picture People at Bridgewater Commons!!! So, of course, my mom and I just HAD to go up there to see it...and we walked in both thinking that it was going to be the humongous wall sized picture that they have at the entrance to the store...well, not exactly, but it was on display and of course, it was cute!! So, I take out my camera to take a picture of the picture on display and the high school kid twirling her gum around her finger behind the counter proceeds to tell me that there is a policy against taking pictures in the store. So, I ask, though I know it will fall on deaf (or dumb) ears...isn't that policy to keep people from taking pictures back in the studio part when your photographers are taking pics of the kids?? And she says, as you might have guessed..."uhhh, I'm not sure, but I the policy says no cameras and no pictures, so I can't let you take a picture of that picture"... somehow I doubt the person who created that policy (assuming they had half a brain) would mind if someone took a picture of a picture on display...eh? This, however, was not a battle worth fighting...

So, here's the picture that was on display (just not a picture of the picture...LOL)...

Last, but not least, we received an email from another of Jake's donor siblings, well his mommy, of course. She said they live just outside of Washington, DC and that they would be willing to come up to meet up with Hallie and Jake sometime soon. This time it's one of his half-brothers, and his name is Ben and he's 2 1/2 years old. His mommy said he looks a LOT like Jake, so it would sure be very cool to meet him and have them all spend some time together!!!! We'll keep you posted on that one...(We invited them to join the Halloween fun on Oct 25th, just not sure if they're available on that date or not yet)

Line of the week: Jake saying to Mommy while saying good-bye as mom leaves to go to the Jets football game with Pops... "Have good fun, momma!! And tell Pops J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets"

All for now...