Kindergarten Graduation

Kindergarten Graduation

Crossing the finish line at the NJ Marathon

Life with Jake...

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Blog It OR Lose It...

It's almost 1 am and I know I should be headed off to bed, and yet here I sit about to start a new post. I can just hear my mom now saying WHY don't you go to bed?!?!? Well, over the last 3 years, I've either totally lost my short term memory or lost enough of it that I can't seem to remember how to navigate to where the rest is that I haven't yet lost...LOL And my definition of "short term" seems to grow as Jake continues to grow...actually, if you were to graph the two (his age and what I refer to as "short term"), I believe the lines would mirror each other...EXACTLY. What does this have to do with blogging at 1 am in the morning? Well, I've come to realize that it really comes down to "Blog it or LOSE it"...and who the heck wants to lose any of these precious memories?!?!?! So, mom, that's why I can't go to bed and yes, yes, you can still say "you told me so" tomorrow when I say I'm tired.


It's been close to a month since we flew down to Florida for our visit with Jake's Uncle Sal, Uncle Michael, Uncle Greg, Aunt Karen, Cousins Carson, Ryan and Andrew. It was Uncle Michael's 60th birthday and Jake and I took Nanny and La La (his Aunt Louise) down for a surprise party. We had a great time and Uncle Michael was very surprised. Jake had a chance to swim a little one day, though none of us were brave enough to get in the pool with him, so he basically played on the steps and made his way all the way around the pool by holding onto the edge (with me following closely behind crawling on the cement). I thought for sure I was going to end up having to jump in with my clothes on...but we somehow managed to avoid that. He also had a chance to play with his cousins Andrew, Ryan and Carson...and in true Jakey style, he had his good moments and not so good.



One of the highlights of the trip was our visits with Jake's donor sibling (half brother) Cole and his wonderful mommy, Tammi!! They were so warm and friendly, you would have thought we had known them for years. The boys had a good time visiting and playing together and Tammi had a number of good things lined up for us to do, including: a coconut hunt (Jake had never seen a real one before), feeding the ducks at the park, playing at a great playground, and visiting at her house where we got to meet so many wonderful people who absolutely adore Cole (and help her to watch him when she has to be out of town, she's a flight attendant). Here are some pictures of the two boys. Not as much resemblance as with some of his other donor sibs, because Cole looks a lot like his mommy. But, as you can see, he's a total DOLL, with beautiful blond hair and that Florida surfer boy look.




Tammi has promised to come up and visit us to play in the snow sometime and we're really looking forward to seeing them both again real soon!!!

One other note from the trip, Jake went the entire 4 days with only one accident. So, we're hopeful that we're in the home stretch on the potty training...WOO-HOO!!!! (While simultaneously knocking on wood...LOL)

In an effort to "catch up"...here are some Christmas pictures as well. Including one of Jake and his girl, Jo-Jo (aka, Smidge) with Santa...holding hands!!! (And yes, that is a look of fear on her face, but, that's a whole other story....LOL)This was the first year that Jake really, really enjoyed the whole presents scene and was excited for Santa to come. One of his most loved gifts was his BIG BOY BED...a gift that Santa managed to move right into his room and get set up while also putting the crib up in the attic...he's a very resourceful guy, no? (I let Jake sleep in my bed for this special night) Santa put a big red bow on Jake's door and when we saw it in the morning (he slept until 8, which doesn't sound early, except when you consider that nanny and I only went to bed at 3), we just knew that Santa had left a present in there. He was soooo excited to see it and of course, was jumping on it in 30 secs flat!
If I'm being totally honest, it was a little hard for me to disassemble the crib and put it up in the attic. And even harder to see him sleeping in that big boy bed for the first time. Made me totally wonder "what the heck happened to my baby???" I can still remember the moment I had finally gotten his room all set up...the rest of the new house was in complete disarray...boxes everywhere, half painted, the kitchen torn out...and his room was PERFECT. The perfect color baby blue, the perfect little ducky border, the perfect little duckies on the walls, clouds on the ceiling and stars and planets hanging everywhere, and a beautiful crib and rocker. I spent hours in there with him, rocking him, breastfeeding him, watching him sleep, sometimes falling asleep in the rocker holding him. And every night before bed, I would ask him the very same question I still ask him now..."Who loves you more than your mommy, who could possibly love you more? To which I would reply (for him)...NOBODY!!!" (These days, he says EVERYBODY, and giggles because he knows he's about to get tickled for that response.) In those moments, with that warm little snugly body held so closely against me, listening to every breath, every sigh, hoping time would stand still, I don't think I've ever felt closer to any other human being or ever will again.


Ironically, tonight after I tucked him into his new bed, he called out to me and said "momma, can you rock me please???" We usually rock and read books every night, except for nights like tonight when we're up really late, but I rarely rock him to sleep anymore. As I sat in that rocker with him snuggled up against me, feeling him trying to squeeze that little boy body into the shape of a baby all curled up with arms around my neck (and of course, squeezing my waddle) and legs tucked in tight, I thought, this must be what they mean when they say he'll always be my baby. Because for that hour while I rocked him slowly back and forth, feeling his body untense and slowly drift into sleep, it was just as it was way back when and once again, I wished that time would stand still.
Hope you all had a wonderful holiday and have a Happy New Year!!!

>
p.s. Jakey lines of the week... After playing around in his big boy bed for a while, Jake told me that he'd really like to get the BIG big boy bed (the loft bed that I made the mistake of showing the kid who NEVER forgets a thing) next time. So, I said we could ask Santa for it next year. To which he replied..."Can we call him right now?" So, trying to explain how this whole thing works, I proceeded to tell him that we had to write a letter. And he asked "Which one, momma?" ; I had to laugh out loud at that one. Trying again, I said, "no, honey, not that kind of letter, we need to send him a note to let him know what you want for Christmas". And he asked "what does the note sound like, momma?" LOL

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Jake Meets Mickey & Pals and Falls In Love...





We just returned from a 7 day adventure at Disney World (Jake's first...of many, I'm sure) with my good friend Dude (Aunt Dude to Jake), Uncle Jeffry and their sons, Braden (5) and Jackson (3) and a subsequent trip back to Florida a mere 5 days later (yes, back again, don't ask) for my uncle's surprise 60th bday party and a chance for a first meeting with Jake's donor sibling, Cole. (More on that in another post)
If there's one thing I learned on this Disney adventure, it's that the "happiest place on Earth" brings out both the very best AND very worst in all of us...LOL It was truly one week where we laughed a lot, cried a lot (yes, both of us), sang a lot, screamed a lot (yes, both of us), danced a lot, and crashed a lot (only him this time...LOL). I'm convinced that there's really something about that Disney Magic that over time, drains every last bit of energy out of kids, rendering them incapable of "self regulation" (a term I'm sure was created to avoid having to say something less pleasant like...keeping themselves from turning into little monsters).

If you can manage to detach yourself from the happenings and take a small step or two back, it's amazing to see the huge roller coaster that small kids (and their parents) go on each day...




They wake up jumping and bouncing off the walls, bursting full of energy and excitement over what's to come...as parents, we try desperately to shove some amount of nutrition in but it's mostly like throwing a bunch of oatmeal or cereal on the wall, hoping a spoonful or two of it will stick. Then, just when you've finally gotten breakfast cleaned up, try potty, everyone dressed, lunch made and packed, the backpack packed with a change of clothes, wipes, a sweatshirt, jacket, snacks, water, wipes, pull-ups, wipes (yes, more), get them all dressed AGAIN (they undoubtedly find a reason to undress while you're doing all the other stuff), try potty again, find the car keys (this is not so easy with 3 little guys around), figure out which park you're headed to, find the park maps, guide book (which is never used), try potty one last time, gather them all up and head to the car...without fail, one is hungry, one is tired, and the other has to go potty!!!LOL Which is why we woke up relatively early every day and were lucky to make it to the park by lunch time...


But, whatever hassle you may have to endure becomes totally worth it when you get to witness your child's first experience with Disney!!!! I must admit, I had forgotten what it was like to view the parks through the eyes of a child...the animals are ALL real (including the dinosaurs...note to self, not a good first ride), all the pirates are real, all the children from every country around the world in "It's a Small World" are real (Jake wanted to know when they get to stop singing and eat dinner?), Tigger, Poo, Peter Pan...all of it REAL. This is an amazing thing to observe as your child's reactions are so pure and real that sometimes it even comes as a huge surprise when you realize what scares them, what makes them smile and dance and sing...all as you experience the REAL MAGIC that is Disney seen through a child's eyes. (Who knew it wasn't about riding Space Mountain or Tower of Terror as many times as possible?)


First parade... Totally in awe!!!


Notice Mickey is holding a crumpled up little flower that Jake had hidden in his pocket while we waited in line for almost an hour. It earned him a big Mickey hug...I thought he might pass out with excitement!!!


For the most part, once we did manage to arrive at the parks, the kids were all energized and ready to go. Jake was much, much more daring then I thought he would be. The only thing that really scared him into a meltdown was meeting Donald Duck...I know, go figure? Other than that, he enjoyed riding the kids roller coaster in Toon Town, and then even rode the Big Thunder Railroad roller coaster TWICE in a row...with arms in the air the entire time!!!! The man working the ride had to measure him twice, and then asked how old he was, and said he was sure that there weren't many 3 year olds that had ridden that one. (Lucky for him, he's tall for his age) We did manage to scare the heck out of all 3 kids by taking them on the Dinosaur ride...to say they were traumatized, would be the understatement of the year...LOL After that, any time we went on a ride, all 3 would ask...are there dinosaurs?!?!?! LOL, well, not really for them


The roller coaster kid!!


So, one of the cutest things happened during our first ride on the Big Thunder Roller coaster. As always, I screamed from the very first drop to the very last...and at one point towards the end of the ride, I said to Jake "How come I'm the only one screaming?!?!?" About 30 seconds later, we slowed down to round the turn to pull into the station. The entire train got quiet...you know, that time when everyone catches their breath and thinks either why the hell did I put myself through that, or woo-hoo, let's go again...there was total silence and then, out of no where, you hear this little high pitched scream (yes, from our boy) and the entire train laughed!!! The lady in front of us was laughing so much she said she had to take a picture of him...hands still in the air as we pulled back into the station. VERY funny. Needless to say, I expect we have a LOT of roller coaster rides in our future. Something my father finds amusing and somewhat apropos, as I used to drag him on all kinds of roller coasters with me as a kid and he HATED them, but did it...Ahhh, how history repeats itself, No?


Jake's favorite ride, BY FAR, was the racing cars...he drove them at least 15 times and each and every time, he laughed and giggled as we bounced from rail to rail...as he likes to say...he's a crazy driver like his nanny!!! LOL





The other funny moment came during the show "Honey, I shrunk the audience", which I had never seen before. This is one of those 3D shows, where a bunch of things come flying out at you. Jake was very intrigued by this and of course, as was every other kid in the place, he was reaching out trying to grab things that appeared to be floating right in front of his face. Very funny to watch. Then, at one point in the show, there's a pet snake that appears gigantic (because we had supposedly been "shrunk") and it comes flying out at the audience with it's mouth open wide. Well, when I tell you that Jake FLEW backwards out of his seat...I mean LITERALLY flew back... I only caught him by the bottom of one shoe. This, of course, had a very funny ripple effect in the audience as other kids were scared by this flying boy and dove left, right and backwards as well. Needless to say, we caused quite a stir...prompting an usher to ask us if we needed to leave (to which I said "no" and Jake said "YES!!!")



I know some of you have had the "pleasure" of seeing our boy at both his very best and his very worst...well, I can assure you, you have NOT actually seen the worst...or at least, I may have pushed him to an all time low. In parent speak...it's one of those rare occasions where you regretfully push your 3 yr old past the point of no return...past where bribes (ice cream, candy, money), threats (of timeout, spanking, abandonment...just kidding), pleading and begging have ANY impact at all. We did reach this point only once (thank goodness) and it culminated with me throwing him over my shoulder and carrying his weary little body back to the hotel room. Amazingly, between the car and the room, he went from kicking, screaming, crying, attempting to bite, pinching, to DEAD ASLEEP...yes, while hanging over my shoulder. It actually scared the crap out of me because for a moment, I thought maybe I banged his head on something and knocked him out or hurt him somehow...so I stopped, and shook him a little and to my relief (and dismay) he started up right where he left off. So, back over the shoulder he went and he was once again sound asleep in 30 secs flat! (Note to self...Dad is right, you NEVER wake a sleeping child!!!)
One REALLY good update...I think we're just about 99% potty trained at this point!!!! WOO-HOO!!!! I'm sure that I'll be able to buy a new car with all the money I'm going to save on pull-ups and diapers!! Even better news is that they have decided to MOVE HIM UP in school to the next level class and see if he can maintain the potty training!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can NOT even begin to tell you how THRILLED I am with this!!! Fingers cross that they don't send him back...LOL He'll make the transition in January!! BIG TIME WOO HOO!!!!!

Here are a few more pictures from our trip...More on the other Florida trip later!

Breakfast with Tigger and Poo!!!

At Kennedy Space Center...our future astronaut?




Back again soon...

p.s. Jakey lines of the week... In response to being asked..."Jake how old are you, are you 10?"... "No, not yet" Then, later that same day when told he could NOT do something because he was too little...he said "Hey, I'm almost 1o"... On the ride home from LaGuardia... "LaLa, Nanny said Is it good to be 70?" To which he, LaLa and Nanny laughed over and over and over and over!!!...Earlier tonight, to LaLa.... "LaLa you have gray hair so that means you're getting old"...oh, the things they come out with!!!!


















Christmas 2010

Christmas 2010

Nanny & Pops

Nanny & Pops

First Day of School!

First Day of School!

Going to 1st Grade!!!

Going to 1st Grade!!!

Jake & His Girl Jordan

Jake & His Girl Jordan

Jake Turns 4!!

Jake Turns 4!!
Jake Turns 4!!

Christmas 2007

Christmas 2007

Meet the Posse

Meet the Posse