The Grand Kids

I know my Mum and Dad especially like to know what they are up to, so I tried to think of things that would interest them about their Great Grand Kids!

Discipline has become a daily chore now that Jake is two years old. He is learning what his boundaries are. One example of this was me telling Jake not to touch the Babies Pacifier as he reached for it one day. Then after leaving the room, probably an hour later to change Mari’s diaper I came back and noticed that the pacifier was gone. He had moved it to the window box and it had “sailing boat stickers” stuck all over it. I wish now I had taken a photo of it, it was so funny but I didn’t laugh. It amazed me that he would wait that long to put his plan into action as soon as I had left the room. At Isla’s house if he goes into the kitchen and things get quiet, especially if you are holding the baby in the living room, it’s a good idea to go and check on him, you might find him trying to climb onto the table as I did the other day. Being a little boy, he loves to hit and we have our share of pillow fights but it’s not easy getting him to understand when it’s ok to hit and when it is not, or that it is ok to throw a ball but not a toy. He has amazing concentration at times. He likes to play with his train set, though he is not as keen on the battery operated trains yet, he has some wooden ones that are joined by magnets and he will carefully join 6 or so of them together and then gently push them from the back all the way around the track, slowly and carefully. He loves letters and numbers. He loves music, especially bluegrass. He is a very cuddly child. Around nap time especially when my arms are free all I have to say is “Does Jake want cuddles?” and he will hop into my lap. Here lately when he has had this cold bug, he has tried to get in my lap while I am holding Mari and tries to nudge her out with his body, at times I just rock both of them. Potty training isn’t going very well. At times he will gladly go and try and other times he cries when you try and get him to try. Somehow through all the potty training language he has picked up on when he has gas and now always tells you when he has gas, sometimes laughing afterwards. The other day when I was getting ready to eat lunch and had Jake sitting on my lap (eating my lunch) my tummy rumbled and he said “Nana Gas!” So beware if you are around him, he has good ears. He loves his bath time and now lays down in the water and splashes a bit. Again, don’t turn your back on him as he will throw a cup of water onto the floor when you are not looking. He doesn’t like his teeth brushed unless you can make a game out of it. I have a toothbrush here for him that blinks for as long as you are supposed to brush your teeth. Some times he will clamp down his lips to prevent you from getting to the spots that need it most. If you let him do it himself he just sucks all the toothpaste of the brush. He is very particular about some things and will tell you when he doesn’t want you to read a certain book or sing a certain song or play with a certain toy, for example the other day I was allowed to help him build the train track but not to push the train around it and his once favorite books are not read much at all anymore and are replaced by new favorites. He loves shelves and table tops for placing cars and trucks, more so than playing on the floor with them. He recognizes sounds around him and can say Plane, Ambulance, Dog Barking, Truck etc. (As well as the gas) Last week for the first time when leaving our house he said Bye Bye Nana and Bye Bye Papoo (Mike), instead of just the usual Bye Bye. For some reason he cries when I leave his house. He loves to be outdoors, splashing in puddles and throwing dirt clods more than anything. He loves to throw dirt clods at the dog who dodges Jake’s every move and tries to jump up on Jake as soon as he goes outside. It’s hard to say what his favorite foods are as one day he will love something and the next not want anything to do with it. He does eat a lot of chicken nuggets and ketchup, vegetable soup, fish (cheese cracker kind), fruit, puddings and anything with cheese on it, pizza and bread. He is starting to talk in sentences now instead of just words. Yesterday while playing with his animal alphabet game he actually repeated what I had said about the animal he had that had a turtle on it’s back by referring to it as the “turtle it’s back” Well I’m sure I’ll think of more later. Mari is such a good baby and is beginning to coo and talk to you now and of course smile which melts your heart. She sleeps a lot but is beginning to have times where she is awake and very aware of what is going on around her. Jake still refers to her as the Baboo.