Updates on Everyone

So I like to keep updated on my boys as they grow, especially with Blake since things change so quickly. But I know that's boring for everyone else, so this is really more for me to remember what's going on with everyone I guess. Even now, I love looking back on the posts that I've made about Jacob and comparing them to Blake. So I know this may not be all that exciting to anyone else, but either way, this is our lives right now:

Blake- 4 months old

*Blake's 4 month stats: 14 lbs 1.5 oz (35% weight), 24 3/4 in (46% height)

*Blake is doing really well, he is becoming a lot easier and a happier, content, easy-going baby. He smiles all the time and at everyone- he has such a great smile! Even when I took him to the doctor he smiled the whole time at the doctor and didn't even cry when he got his two shots, I was pretty impressed. He has gotten much easier when we've been out running errands too. While he used to cry and want to be held all the time when I was shopping, now he never makes a peep! It's made my life much easier!*Blake's newest trick is that he has started rolling over from tummy to back! The first time I noticed was actually the last time I blogged on October 6. I remember because I set him down for tummy time so I could work on the computer and the next time I looked at him he was lying there on his back in a completely different spot on the floor. It's funny how babies can kick and wiggle themselves around so much. Since last week Blake has been rolling around a lot more and he's been very close to rolling the other way too (from back to belly), but he often hangs out in-between on his side. He enjoys laying on the floor rolling around, and playing in his exersaucer but has started to resent being in his swing- usually reaches back up for me and cries as soon as I put him down. He likes to be able to see us and be a part of the action.
*Blake has also found his voice and has starting cooing a lot more and a lot louder, very cute.

*Blake has also started eating some rice cereal. He hasn't eaten very much and is getting used to the idea of being fed with a spoon, but we'll keep trying!

*Blake will not take a bottle anymore. It was very short lived, and he was never great at it and I wasn't very consistent, so it seems we've missed our window. I would still hope that he would take a bottle in an emergency but I really can't be too sure, so that does worry me that I'll hardly be able to leave him for long. And he won't take a pacifier either, not sure how I let that happen, but I'm not very happy about this- especially since he needs to start learning how to soothe himself to sleep.

*Blake has done much better at sleeping through the night though, some nights even from 9pm-7am- which were awesome! He's been a little sick lately so that seems to keep him up just a bit more now since he can hardly breathe through his nose, but he usually gives me good long stretches- so I'm glad that's going better now! I still just need to be better at putting him back in his crib even though I'm exhausted, and we've started letting him "cry it out" sometimes too.
*Blake has been drooling like crazy. He goes through like 3 burpcloths a day just from wiping drool and spit-up, but his bibs and clothes are constantly soaked. I'm wondering if he's going to start early teething at 4 months like Jacob. He's always sucking on a couple fingers or his whole fist too- seems his right hand is the tasty one. Along with the drooling, Blake still spits up a lot after he eats too. Somehow I'm still always surprised with the amounts that he spits up and how he always manages to spit on me right after I've showered, or all over me during church- repeatedly.

*My favorite thing about this stage with Blake is that he is still relatively calm and happy and is always smiling, especially at Jacob. I love how much they seem to adore each other, and Blake is just patient and smiles at Jacob even when he's being loud and going nuts. I often have Blake get in Jacob's bed when we're tucking him in for nap, and he loves to lay there and listen to the books I read Jacob too. And even if Blake is flapping his arms in Jacob's face and kicking his sheets, Jacob just laughs and says "I love you too Blake"- haha ohh I love that so much! I love that they're already little buddies and can't wait until they can start playing together more!
My cute little guys watching TV from the top of the couch together

Jacob- 2 1/2 years old

Jacob has grown up a bit in the past couple months as well. Since the last time I've updated on Jacob, most things are pretty much the same, just doing everything a little bit more and better. He is still my sweet boy and I'm glad he's calmed down a bit lately too-overall.

After Blake was born, Jacob was being a little rebellious about bedtime and would never stay down, but that's finally stopped and he usually never gets up anymore and knows it's time for bed. Although, for the past couple months he's been waking up in the middle of the night, just screaming and crying, we're never really sure why, but he always goes right back to sleep after we put him down. Poor guy has also been sick for almost a month too with a cold, but hopefully it will go away soon.

*Jacob has been interested in potty training for awhile now but I've been taking tiny baby steps with him. A couple months ago we bought him some underwear- the first pack had a mix of Cars, Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Incredibles, and Wall-E. Those are all his favorites, and so when I gave it to him he shouted, "I love it!" So since then he's been wearing his underwear over his diapers just so that he can practice. He still asks to sit on the potty before or after I change him, but he's usually already just gone in his diaper, so it's still mostly just for practice. But many times he takes off all his clothes and diaper on his own and runs around naked until I tell him to hurry and sit on the potty. Luckily there have been no accidents, but then again there haven't been any successful runs either.

But one night last week while I was out Luke says he thinks Jacob might have gone in his potty because it was wet and had some toilet paper wet in the bowl, but not soaked like when he plays with the water and Jacob got all excited saying "pee pee". But we can't confirm that he did, and besides he hasn't done it since. But he's getting closer to being ready, so I keep telling myself that since Jacob seems interested and ready that soon we'll go cold turkey and take the potty training seriously- I think I'm just a little scared to try, so I keep stalling!

*Jacob's talking has improved lately too. His sentences keep getting longer and more 'correct' and we always are laughing at the funny things he tells us. We also love that he is very good at saying he's sorry when he's done something wrong and he always tells his mommy, daddy, and Blake that he loves them. He can also quote several parts of movies and books really well too. And while his talking has gotten better, his listening hasn't, so this is something we're working on.

*Jacob's imagination has seemed to grow more too and I love watching him play and entertain himself. Recently I bought a toy kitchen for him at a kids sale (only $8!) and Jacob loves to pretend to cook. Actually he prefers playing with real food- his newest thing he loves to do is steal my eggs out of the fridge and run around the house with one in each hand! Thank goodness they haven't cracked on my carpet!

*Aside from watching movies, Jacob is probably most addicted to playing Angry Birds on his dad's phone. When he stayed with his cousins a few months ago, they were always playing that game and had Angry Bird toys, so they kind of got him started on it, and he's been hooked ever since. He's actually gotten pretty good- I don't even hardly understand how to play the game. But every day when Luke comes home, Jacob always instantly asks for a piece of candy, and to play Angry Birds. It's nuts.

*Jacob enjoys counting things and can count perfectly to 12. And he's getting better with his colors but still working on them. It's weird though because sometimes I thought he's learned something and then he forgets it all the next day, so it's a slow progression with everything but I'm glad he asks questions about things and is trying to learn. I guess I just need to be better about sitting down and spending time to help teach him the basics.

*At home he is always talking about his cousins, friends, Grandma and Grandpa, Shannon (his favorite babysitter) and every day he always asks "Where did Daddy go?" even though he knows the answer is always "work". Jacob sometimes acts really shy around older people in close settings but usually loves to interact with any kids he meets. He always looks forward to getting out and being social with other people and he'll play with his friends, or new kids he meets at the park, library, etc, but he's also just as content playing by himself. He's gotten a tad better about sharing, but he often thinks that every toy he likes is his it seems, and is still very protective of the toys that are his, especially his cars.

*I got Jacob one of those old school cars that he can sit in and push himself around in with his feet through the bottom- you know the red ones with a yellow top. We had one growing up and I saw one at this kids sale I went to. Jacob loves to ride in it and every time we get in and out of our car he has to jump in his little toy car and take it for a spin too. He usually says something about how he has to go to work. He looks so cute riding around in it and the first few times he would just laugh like a maniac as he drove down the sidewalk- he loves it!

At the grocery store they also have carts that have these cars attached to the fronts and Jacob loves to ride in those too. And when he's good at the grocery store I let him hop out and ride the mechanical horses for a penny. He loves to do that and check out the toys in the claw machine because they have a picture of Angry Birds on the front.

*Recently we were finally able to make it back to the zoo since Blake had been born and I was happy that Jacob finally seemed more interested in the animals this time around. His favorites were the fish- he even found Nemo and Dory which was very exciting for him!*And Jacob has always loved to sing songs but he's gotten even better at knowing all the words to songs and we love singing to Blake together since it always makes Blake smile.

*Jacob is very sweet with Blake and watches out for him. He always lets me know when he spits up. And every time Blake starts crying, Jacob tells me, "Blake's crying. Go feed him now, ok?" And whenever other kids try to take a peek at the baby Jacob tells them, "That's my Blake" and he gets all protective as if they're going to take him away. Jacob is patient with him though even if Blake is screaming in the car, and Jacob is really great at getting Blake to laugh. It's not too hard since Blake could watch him all day and seems to find Jacob fascinating. Jacob is good at trying to share his toys with Blake even if he can't play with them yet and he laughs at all the cute little things that Blake does. He still thinks it's hilarious every time Blake burps too and he always comments "Good burp Blake!" I think it's great that they already are little buddies!
Kara

So I realize that I hardly ever post about me- the updates on me are essentially on what's going on with my boys. But for awhile I've been real bummed about the fact that my family is so far away, especially with Blake being born and I had no idea when my family would even get to meet him. And my family is getting bigger and more spread apart so it's hard to get together and see everyone, plus it's so expensive to fly all the way home to Maryland.

So for the longest time I've been trying to figure out a way to see my family and find a way home and I finally have a plan! I wanted to be able to fly home with the kids, and figured it'd be cheaper to just come in January after the holidays. And luckily Southwest had a lovely sale going on for a few days that made the weeks after the holidays cheaper so I decided I needed to take advantage of it. And then I realized I'd save even more money if I didn't need to buy Jacob a ticket! So I decided I'd leave Jacob home with Luke over the long Martin Luther King weekend in January since Luke already had the day off, and I could get a break! And of course my family would finally be able to meet Blake. Anyway, I'm so excited now that I finally have something to look forward to!

And although Luke and I have no Christmas plans, hopefully it will be nice to have a break here at home while Luke has a few days off. And hopefully my brother James, his wife Tammy, and my sister Julia will be able to drive here from Rexburg during their Thanksgiving break- definitely looking forward to that too, but trying to not get my hopes up in case it doesn't work out. I realize I must be pretty pathetic and this is probably why I never really talk much about me, because my life is kind of boring and all I have is just to look forward to the fun times with family!

Other than that, I've been on a huge reading kick lately, ever since I've been pregnant really. But I love when I get to sit down and feed Blake, because then I have an excuse to just read! I've read lots of really good books lately- my favorites being The Hunger Games series(even though I read those last year), The Help, One Summer, I've blown through tons of Nicholas Sparks books, and I just finished Handle With Care. All so good! And of course I'm really excited to go see Breaking Dawn-Part 1 when it comes to theaters in November!

Besides that, the only other thing that really keeps me busy are my church callings. I've been in Activity Days for well over a year now, so I'm the leader of the 10-11 year old girls and it's been a lot of fun! I feel like I'm at the end of an era though because all the girls I started with are now moved on, the last two turned 12 last week. So my little group always seems to be changing but I know the new girls that have moved up into my group are excited to be there because they know I try to make things fun! I also teach the 10-11 year old girls in Primary every Sunday, so I really do enjoy my calling, but it all does keep me busy!

Luke

Luke never likes much of a spotlight on himself, but one thing I think he does like for me to blog about is the good food he's always smoking. This summer he has smoked tons of pork shoulders, ribs, wings, chicken, and has made tons of french fries in his new turkey fryer too.
Around here he is basically known for smoking barbeque. And although I'm not the biggest barbeque fan, he has a lot of fun doing it and everyone seems to like what he makes.

Now that it's getting a little cooler he's been making more breads and pies too. We made lots of zucchini bread, regular and chocolate zucchini bread, and they were so good it was basically cake. And we've had pumpkin and strawberry rhubarb pies- the rhubarb being from our own "garden". (We don't really have a garden, all we have is rhubarb!)
And I am hoping to make pumpkin bread and pie from real pumpkin this year too. Luke's also been real good about having us try some new dinner recipes too, probably because the dinners I've been making for the last while have been nothing special, so it's been nice to have him help try some new recipes out and they've all turned out good!

Anyway, so things are just the same old around here, but it's good for me to notice and remember the little things that we're all doing and going through at this point.