Lets go look for monsters

A couple of weeks ago Jacob told me one night he wanted to go look for monsters before bed.  So we walked around the upstairs, into all of the the bedrooms looking for monsters.  As we were holding hands and walking around I asked Jacob what we should do when we see a monster and he just stopped and looked at me.  I could see his little wheels turning :-)  Then he said; "When you see a monster you have to honk at them.  Honk honk honk!"  I realized during this conversation that his perception of monsters was much different than mine.  He didn't appear to be scared of them but must have recently learned something about monsters and was trying to figure out more about them.  So, every night before bed we now go looking for monsters and if Jacob's "sees" any we honk at them.  I love his growing imagination! 

"Sitting on the beach" chalk drawing

Jacob also started a new school 3 weeks ago.  When we moved to Tampa we put him on the waiting list for the preschool on campus which we really liked.  In the meantime he started at another school which ended up not being a good fit (to say it nicely).  We have been struggling for the last 6 months to figure out what to do about his school situation knowing there was a good chance he's get into the USF school when he turned 3.  Fortunately, he got in beginning July 1st and it's been such a wonderful change!!!!!   I anticipated the transition to the new school to be a struggle but knew long term it could only be better (or at least couldn't be worse) than the school situation we were in.  Much to my surprise, Jacob loved his new school immediately!  It is so wonderful, and such a relief for Mark and I.  The first day he gave me a hug and a kiss when I dropped him off, then just started playing.  I walked out of his classroom almost in tears because he wasn't crying and clinging to me for the first time since January.  The second day he woke up in the morning and asked me if he could get dressed and go to school (again I was shocked).  The 3rd day when I went into this room in the morning he was fussy and asked if he had to go to to his old school.  When I told him no, he was going to his new school his whole demeanor changed and he was happy to get dressed and go.  Day 4 of that week he told his teachers at school that his old school made him sad but his new school makes him happy. . . and, when I picked him up and ask him about his day I asked, "Do you like your new school?"  He replied, "Yes, it's makes me so so happy.  My old school made me so sad."  So, week 1 went great.  I then started thinking maybe the honeymoon phase was going to come to an end and prepared myself for week 2.  Week 2, he again was happy to go to school,  didn't cry one morning at drop off.  On two mornings he told me "Mommy, leave, I have work to do."   We're now in week 3 and things are great.  He loves his school, doesn't whine about going every second he's not there, doesn't cry when I leave him, talks about his teachers and friends AND we get to commute together the whole way to and from "work" since he's on campus with me now.  :-)

1st day of his new school

Busy "working" one morning as soon as we got to school. He was making soup.

Our cute little railroad conductor on a family outing Friday night.

Bubbles and Tires

The show "Kids Say the Darndest Things" got it 100% right.  We never know what's going to come out of Jacob's mouth.  Sometimes it is so sweet, sometimes it's hilarious, sometimes he shocks us with what he knows, sometimes he rants and sometimes he makes absolutely no sense.  Here are a few of his most recent quotes and a few more pictures from our weekend.

"You guys are so cool Mommy and daddy, and Bubba too."

Me: Jacob, what are you doing?

J: I'm just working in the bathroom

Me: What are you doing in the bathroom?

J: I'm just looking for bubbles or tires, I'll let you know if I find them.

"Daddy, go snuggle with Mommy, make her feel better." (When I had a headache)

"Mommy, you look so pretty"

Ft. DeSoto . . . Beautiful!

Beach naps are the best!

Clear water and blue skies

Happy 4th

Happy 4th of July!  We're happy to have a 3 day weekend together and have already had some fun family time!  We made star sugar cookies with red and blue sprinkles and funfetti cupcakes when Mark got home Wednesday. 

Mark surprised me with a new grill when I got home from work yesterday (for our 9th anniversary which was Wednesday).  It started pouring as soon as we were ready to use it but fortunately it fits well on our covered downstairs porch and we were able to start the holiday weekend off grilling steaks and corn while Jacob had a blast playing in the rain.

This morning we played around the house and then went to Jacob's favorite breakfast/lunch place.  He ate 2 giant pancakes!  Hopefully he takes a long nap and we can make it to the fireworks tonight.

Enjoy your Independence Day festivities!

Jacobisms

I try to keep a list of some of the best Jacobisms and recently I feel like I'm adding to that list multiple times a day.  Here are just a few recent ones:

"Mommy, be quiet, don't wake the blackberries"

This quote has to be prefaced with a little explanation.  Even so, when he said it he caught us off gaurd until we figured out what he was saying.  Mark and Jacob were home one day and watched part of Nemo.  In that movie Nemo swims out into the ocean towards a boat and his Dad says to him "Don't touch the boat Nemo."    So, Mark and Jacob were playing and Jacob told Mark "Don't touch the butt Daddy."

Nolan recently taught Jacob how to say Monkey in Spanish.  One morning when Jacob wanted to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse we asked him which one (because if he sees an episode once he NEVER forgets, therefore he picks the episode he wants).   He said "I want to watch Mickey's Coconutty Monkey, Nono is my favorite, Nolan is silly!"  He thinks its even more funny to call a monkey a "nono" instead of a "mono" so that's Jacob's spanish word for monkey.

Our conversation on the way to school this morning:
J: Mommy, when I play outside I get hot and sweaty.
Me: Yes, that is true, we live in Florida and it is hot. 
J: Mommy, the desert is hot.
Me: You are right.

Summertime

Oh to go back to the days of summer break.  Today is the first day of summer which honestly seems a bit odd living in Florida where it has been 90 for 2 months now.   Here are a few pictures of us enjoying "summertime" the past few weeks.

Last weekend was Father's Day and we had a low key celebration. Mark had a cold (which Jacob now has) so we went on to dinner Saturday at a restaurant we've been wanting to try and then took Mark our for breakfast Sunday.  Jacob is a big fan of pancakes currently( either plain or cinnamon) and so he enjoys breakfast at a local place called FirstWatch.  He will actually eat 2 entire pancakes( as big as the plate)!  Otherwise it was a low key weekend around the house.   Here's a picture of Jacob with the many wonderful fathers in our lives.  We are so fortunate for all of them: Daddy, Grandad, Pops and Grandad Jack!

Here are just a few Jacobisms to finish today's post.  I've decided it would be much better to post these in videos but they (unfortunately) are not usually caught on tape. 

- We were in the check out line at Publix last weekend and I looked outside and said "Jacob, it's starting to rain". His response, head tilted to the side, "Are you kidding me?"

-After dinner last Saturday Jacob wanted ice cream(kind of off the wall but we've since realized he likes the cones).  We needed to go to the grocery store so we told him we'd go if we could find a place after the store.  We were in a completely different part of town than where we live and didn't know where an ice cream shop was; we were also hoping he would forget about it.  We should have known better because as soon as we got in the car after the store he again told us he wanted ice cream.  When we told him we'd try to find one but we weren't sure where an ice cream shop was he replied, " The ice cream shop is on Bruce B. Downs".  And, he was right.  We were shocked but somehow he knew the name of the road that Twistee Treat is on (we've been there 2 times in 6 months) and that was the ice cream shop he wanted to go to.  It was completely out of the way on our drive home but we went and he enjoyed his vanilla ice cream cone minus the ice cream :-).

-We were Facetiming with Genevieve a few weeks ago and she had to go potty.  Amy asked Jacob if he went pee on the potty and he replied "No, I'm not potty trained yet."

-"Be safe" is also one of his common phrases.  He will come over to us and tell us what he's going to play with and then say, "Ok Mommy, be safe" and walk away.

Jacobisms

Some of these are funny, and some just surprised us with his vocabulary.  

"Look, it's an American flag"

"Momma, I'm enjoying my snack"

"Look, I'm making a combination"

J: I'm not Santa

Me:  Ok, who are you?

J: I'm Jacob <big grin>. But I'm delivering presents

"I don't like green beans when my knee hurts"

And a sign we live in the big city now:

Me: "Jacob, are you drawing?"

J: "No, I'm looking at my map."

Me: "Oh, what's on your map."

J: "I'm looking at the interstate, I need to check the traffic"

Mr. Muscles 

April & May

It seems this it turning into monthly catch up.   Time just seems to be flying by and life is super busy.  My graduation weekend was a month ago today and we had a great time celebrating with family and friends in Gainesville and Tampa.  It was a special weekend and very surreal!  We spent graduation day in Gainesville at a nice reception for my department, graduation, and then dinner at a local favorite, New Deal.  Then we spent the weekend in Tampa with family and had fun showing everyone our new stomping grounds.  My parents stayed for a week afterwards and played with Jacob while Mark and I worked.  At the end of the week they gave us a night away.  It was our first  since Jacob was born and was chilly (for Florida) and rainy but a nice quiet evening without "Mommy, come get me" at 6:30am.   In addition to having the full attention of family for over a week Jacob also got to go to the zoo 3 times that week.  He was in heaven!

Otherwise life is busy.  Mark works in Gainesville Monday-Thursday while looking for jobs here.  Jacob, Bailey and I work and school and play and look forward to Thursday evening when Daddy comes home.  I'm enjoying my new job and looking forward to a busy summer with a new group of students in the lab and some fun research projects starting.

The better way to catch up is probably in pictures so prepare for the picture overload below.

Graduation day by the fountain

The best mentor!

Graduation reception

AuD/PhD Best Buddies

I'm officially a Bull Gator now.  Go Bulls!

It's official :-)

Hooding

Mr. Entertainer at Sweet Dreams Ice Cream after dinner

He had 11 adults singing and laughing while we enjoyed ice cream at the end of graduation day.

Family picture

Fun with Aunt Claire at the beach

An aunty pow wow

Leave it to Pops to bring the graduation fun

My amazing new "rock" from Mark.  He painted it on a brick from downtown Gainesville.

Bubbles at the park

Jacob's new water table.  Thanks Aunt Claire & Uncle Michael!

Dinner on the beach.  Awesome view!

Now much of a sunset but a quiet evening on the beach.

Date night :-)

Our Clearwater evening

And the next morning . . . major storms but nice colors.

Great breakfast place!

Clearwater Aquarium