This week...

Things I've learned this week:

1. Two dogs drink twice as much water as one. This may seem obvious to most of you, but it took me a while to catch on. Especially, when one of those dogs (mine) is a high maintenance dog with a condition that makes her drink lots of water. I have not let them run bone dry (yet) but sheesh...

2. This house is super quiet when the dogs and boy go to sleep. I'm used to hearing Randy milling around upstairs and playing on the computer. I'm actually finding it hard to go to sleep when it's so quiet!

3. Single parenting is hard. Real hard. If you ever think that your spouse doesn't do much around the house (I would NEVER say that, by the way), send them away for a few days. By about wine-thirty...errr...I mean 7:30pm, I'm exhausted! This is usually the time I pawn little one off on Randy and go do fun stuff like use the bathroom alone. Since I don't have the privilege of doing that alone, Jacob joins me. But still...I'm exhausted! And I'm not usually much of a wine drinker, but I have had a few these last few days. It helps me fall asleep...see #2.

4. When Randy isn't around, I usually call my mom. Hmmm...haven't been able to do that this week since she is out of the country. So, I get bored.

5. When I get bored, I shop. I hope Randy is winning a lot of money in Las Vegas, because so far, I have bought myself the next 2 books in the Hunger Games series. And Jacob has acquired a new life jacket, his Easter outfit, more clothes, his boots and western wear for the rodeo, a new toy that is a play bar-b-que pit with cabinets to open/close, new sippy cups and new bath toys including bath crayons and color changing water tabs. Wow...Randy may need to catch a flight back to Texas ASAP.

Seriously though, we have had a lot of fun these past few days. We had a play date with some friends at a new park in Katy. Here he is on the relaxing swings that I wished I could have fit in.



And on the bridge that shakes when you walk across it. He doesn't look like he's enjoying it much in this picture, but he loved when I rocked it.



We played with our new crayons and color changing tablets in the bath.






I didn't get a picture of him playing with the new bar-b-que thing, but just imagine him sitting in front of it opening and closing the cabinets and the lid. He does this A LOT.



We tried on part of his western wear...



He fought some fires with Snoopy and that yellow bird outside of Babies R Us.



And last, two pictures that make me laugh. One is Mr. Whiskers doing what he does best...jumping. He really wanted me to pick him up, and I wanted to get a picture of him mid-air. And the last picture is Jacob doing an impression of Randy. (Love ya babe!)






~ Nancy

What we've been up to

Our weekend has been pretty exciting. I'll start back at last Thursday. See, my parents, poor, poor parents had to take a little trip. They headed to Puerto Rico (with my cousins) to spend one night in San Juan and then get on a cruise. They will cruise out far on Sunday and then stop at 5 amazing islands on the way back to Puerto Rico. So, for this next week, when you think of them, feel very sorry for them. They have a very rough life! So, last Thursday, I headed to Livingston for the day to see all of the work they have done on the house, to see how the water has risen and to pick up Mr. Whiskers. He'll be staying with us until they get back and Shelby could not be happier! He's a pretty lazy dog, so he's easy to take care of. :o)
First up in Livingston, check out the water. When my parents bought their house and moved in back in November, there was no water under the boat house. So, you can see how much it has risen! Pay no attention to the hold Grandpa has on the little one...sometimes a firm grip is required!



And, of course, cutie on the pier. This was just before Grandma held his hands and dipped his feet (and half of his pants) in the water.

Don't worry, that's a fake owl to scare off the ducks. Jacob was in no harm in this picture.



Then, it was lunch time. In Livingston, your choices are limited. But my parents have scoped out (and tested...many times) a Mexican food restaurant with good Margaritas. Jacob enjoyed wearing his menu as a hat.



And, with Grandma (before she was tipsy from her Margarita).



When we got back to the house, we went for a ride on the mule. Jacob loved it but could not figure out how to block the wind when we went fast. It was really funny to watch him trying. You would have thought he was being attacked by bees.



So, we are now in possession of their favorite child (yes, they like Mr. Whiskers more than me and Brandl). My Dad is constantly worried that he doesn't eat enough, so I had to take a picture of him with his empty bowl the first night he was here.



And now, for the next week, I have Mr. Nosey...I mean...Mr. Whiskers sitting THIS close to me.



So, on top of my parents being on vacation, Randy left this morning for Las Vegas for a vet conference. So, as you're feeling sorry for my parents, feel sorry for Randy (and our bank account) too. Last night, we made a quick trip to Target. Randy and I shop very differently. I tend to pick something up, look at the price, wonder if we really need it, wonder if I can find it cheaper on Amazon, put it back once, then decide I need it, then buy it. Randy, on the other hand, sees something he (or Jacob) likes and buys it. We bought way too much stuff. But our funniest purchase was an Olivia (a pig cartoon on Nick Jr.) book. Jacob REALLY liked it in the store, so Randy was buying it no matter what. It wasn't until we got home that we realized that we had just bought Jacob his first princess book!! Oh well, he has played with it all day.



We also did one of our first craft projects with him (thanks to Pinterest). He has finally shown some interest in crayons and an app on my phone where you write with your finger. So, he loves this zip loc bag filled with paint and taped to our back door. That's my writing...he's not THAT good yet. But I assume that's what he would want to tell us...



So, with Randy leaving this morning, I had plans to be productive. However, I have this friend named Amanda that always suggests books that I should read. I was totally against the Twilight series until she convinced me to read them (THANKS,by the way...team Jacob!!). Recently, she has been telling me how much I would love The Hunger Games. I was trying to hold out, but I caved and started reading it last night. I would be finished by now, but I've only had 2 Jacob naps today where I can read. It is sooooooo good.



She says she can't wait until I finish all 3 so we can discuss. However, she's an English person and discusses way over my head. So, I'll just be happy to finish all 3 and see the movie...without discussing. :o)

Oh yeah, we did make a trip to HEB today, and Jacob got his first ride in the car shopping cart. Yes, they are huge and hard to maneuver, but he LOVED it. All I could think of was how dirty that thing probably was. Maybe the rain yesterday cleaned it?????



~ Nancy

Wiltshire family pictures

For M's birthday this year, Laura set up a photo session for us all to meet in Round Rock and take family pictures. This doesn't seem like a huge task, but when you consider that we live in Katy, Austin and Lorena and all have crazy schedules, it is. We all figured out that it had been since 2006 (right before Randy and I got engaged) since we had taken family pictures.

Laura picked a photographer, and we all found a weekend that we could do it. It was a lot of fun and turned out much better than most of us thought! The family now consists of 15 people...8 adults and 7 children. And, of course, Jacob was the most difficult and always had to be posed/placed last. He did much better than we thought he would!

Here are a few of the full group shots that we got (I didn't necessarily pick the best ones, but tried to pick ones that haven't already been shown on Facebook).









And, like all "normal" families, we had to take a silly picture. Not everyone participated in the silly, but Randy definitely did...(I think you are supposed to "pretend" to pick someone's nose. He wasn't pretending.)



We did lots of different groupings and some individuals of the kiddos.

Here is Carrie and her family...



And Laura with her family...



And us...



Here's M and Pa...



Randy with his sisters...



M and Pa with the grandkids...



The Wiltshire family...



We also lined the grandkids up, by age. This is where Jacob became difficult...but I love how he and Molly are both clapping!



And from the side. All of the adults are behind the photographer singing Happy Birthday...



And last, some of just me and Randy and some of Jacob by himself...


























This one cracks me up because I swear Jacob is thinking "Why is this woman following me with a camera?"



M also took Jacob on a little walk on the bridge. Brynna tried to convince me that Jacob tried to jump in the water. M assured me that wasn't true!



And, probably, my favorite picture of the 130 she sent us. This is M and Molly...




After pictures, we all went to eat at Chuys and had a great time. Thank you, Laura, for setting this up! I know coordinating all of our schedules was not easy.
~ Nancy

Happy Valentine's Day

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's day! For those of you that did not get this in the mail, here are some cute VDay pics of Jacob!!



~ Nancy

Sick days = boring days

Sorry I haven't blogged lately. We really haven't done much exciting this week because Jacob got sick.

Before he got sick, I did get some cute/funny pictures of him I wanted to share. First, M and Pa bought him a shape sorter for Christmas this past year. He is really good at it, but gets very frustrated if the shape doesn't fit on the first try. So, he found a good use for it besides playing with the shapes...



Last Friday night, he had another first. I know this is something he should have already been doing, but I'm a neat freak and don't let him get messy enough. You should see his face and hand waving any time his hands get dirty! Anyway, last week I let him hold and eat a pouch of food by himself. I've seen younger kids at Little Gym doing it themselves, but Jacob really likes to squeeze things, so I was worried about the mess. He did great and ate the whole thing by himself!



Saturday morning, he discovered the sheer drapes in the house and looked like a ghost...



Saturday afternoon, we headed to Austin to take family pictures with Randy's side of the family. I'm not sure the photographer realized what she had gotten herself into. His immediate side of the family is 15 people...8 adults and 7 children! Jacob was the most difficult, no surprise there, but the photographer assured us that she got some good shots. We haven't seen anything yet, but we hope she is right! That night, we stayed in a hotel in Austin. Jacob had been sneezing and had a runny nose, and that night he could not sleep. When he woke up crying (and trying to wake up everyone around us) at 4am, we decided to head out. We had breakfast in Austin and headed home. By the time we got home, he had fever and was pretty miserable. We went to the doctor Monday morning, and he tested negative for strep. So, as usual, they say "It's just a virus and could last 5 to 7 days". Those are words I've come to HATE hearing!! I just wish there was something I could give him to make him feel better! Here is what a lot of our week looked like...



You can't see the tv here, but I can guarantee you it was playing Yo Gabba Gabba! He is feeling better now, eating better and not running any fever. However, he now has a hacking cough. But, at least he is in a good mood!
This was him admiring the cute baby in the phone when I turned the camera around on my phone...




This morning I tried to capture how cute he is when he's holding a toy and you say "Hello". At first, he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with the phone...



Then, he decided to text his buddies...



And finally, some talking on the phone...





While I was getting these photos, he also showed off him impression of Randy. This is the ignore-Mom-while-I'm-watching-tv-face...(Randy does this when football is on)...






And last, just a cute picture of the little boy...






~ Nancy

Slide

Jacob got his slide from Debra, Craig and Kelsey for his first birthday. He has spent a lot of time climbing to the top and wanting down. So, I get him down. And he climbs to the top again, and wants down. Then repeats about 432,257 times a day. While we were in Las Vegas, Grandma even taught him to slide down, backwards, on his belly. Well, last night, he figured out how to slide the correct way, all by himself. He loves it!!

18 month check up

This is not going to be an exciting post, but I like to have it here on the blog because I actually do go back and look at his stats. Jacob had his 18 month appointment today. The doctor actually wasn't as worried about his speech as I thought she would be. The "normal" is for an 18 month old to have between 5 and 15 words. I'd say he has 5 (if you count Yea as a word).

He got one shot and did great! He was more upset about the nurses' hold on him than the actual shot. She lays him on his back, on the exam table, and puts his feet between her legs. My job is to kiss him (tough job) and distract/hold his hands. He wasn't fond of the hold, cried a second for the shot (thankfully only one) and then got juice. He was happy as can be before we even left the exam room! Then he got another sticker so he was really excited.

His official stats are:
Weight: 33 pounds (98%)
Height: 35 inches (97%)
Head: 19.5 inches (89%)


~ Nancy