22 months old

jake is 22 months old today. i am thoroughly enjoying staying home with him during christmas break. he is really becoming more independent. i remember back in the summer when i couldn't leave the room without him crying. he just had to have someone in the room with him at all times. now he plays independently with all this toys while i get house work done. he really is growing up!

jake loves to help cook in the kitchen. sometimes it's really hard to cook with all the pots and pans in the floor, but i have to remember that he won't want to "hep" for long! he loves to help sweep, dust, clean the toilets, and put things in the trash. and the funny thing is that he actually cleans very well.

jake has quite the imagination. i mentioned above that he loves to help me cook. well, just imagine all the sounds that go with this picture. he's pouring his mixture into the cupcake pan and then he turned up the "bowl" and "drank" some. he said "mmmm" so it must have been good! he lines all his trucks up and says "weady, set, go!!!" and he pushes them all across the floor. jake got his first wiggles dvd from brian and he loves it. we pretend that we are all the animals. jake runs to the bedroom and gets one of my sweaters and puts it on so he can flap his wings like a bird! i told you....quite the imagination!

let's not forget movie night! we started off watching a movie together every friday night. toy story, finding nemo, etc. and since jake loves "choo-choos" i thought he might like the polar express. it was a HUGE hit! no lie......i'm pretty sure we've watched it 30, maybe more times since the beginning of december. and that's just with me and josh. barbara says he watched it numerous times during the day while josh and i are at work. so really, that number might be a little higher! good thing that the polar express is a movie that you just cannot get tired of. i'm glad he loves to watch it! (we're watching it now!)

i leave you with 22 things that i love about jake

1. his smile

2. his contagious laugh

3. his willingness to help

4. his tender-heart

5. his love for food (just like mommy)

6. his vivid imagination

7. his hugs

8. the fact that he wants "ma-ma" and no one else

9. how he follows directions (which i think he does very well to be so young)

10. his love for books

11. watching him color

12. his shyness

13. his big blue eyes

14. his wet kisses

15. his compassion (he kisses our "boo-boos")

16. listening to him "ting" (sing)

17. listening to him try to count

18. watching him splish and splash in the bath tub

19. listening to him say "cookie" (he says it like the cookie monster)

20. his independence

21. his love of "shakes" (milkshakes)

22. how he says "pees" (please) - hard to resist

expanding vocabulary (part 2)

here are some more of jake's latest words and sentences ::

"phone winging gamma" - phone's ringing grandma

cough

"go way" - go away

town

"tuck" - stuck

"ticker" - sticker

"bunk" - blanket

"i hep ma-ma" - i help ma-ma

"mo pees" - more please

"aw done" - all done

"muck" - milk

cup

"god-fish" - goldfish

ready

oh goodness

oh gosh

"wook at da wights" - look at the lights

"nack" - snack

"fye" - fly

"pider" - spider

"my chuck" - my truck

wash hands

go potty ma-ma

watch choo-choo ma-ma, pees? (meaning he wants to watch the polar express)

watch-out ma-ma

"wun fas ma-ma, watch" - run fast ma-ma (meaning he wants you to watch him run fast)

"col-rin book" - coloring book

"cay-on" - crayon

hey baby

aww...cute ma-ma

shirt

pants

socks

knees

"brrr ma-ma, cold" - brrr ma-ma, it's cold

"wets go!" - let's go

"dwive" - drive

"ma-ma, sit dere" - ma-ma, sit there

come on da-da!

"chicken and fies" - chicken and fries

"it rainin' out-tide" - it's raining outside

"it wet, no pway" - it's wet, we can't play (when it's raining)

"hans ticky ma-ma, wash" - hands are sticky ma-ma, wash

"watch dis" - watch this

pee-pee in da potty

elmo pee-pee in da potty

"i want dat" - i want that

"petzel" - pretzel

"piture" - picture

"wadur" - water

pen

"tack-tor" - tractor

"boo car" - blue car

cheese

"pana" - piano

"tar" - guitar

"mote" - remote

tv

"cash" - crash

light

"oh big cookie ma-ma"

bite

eat

"da man tuck cash" - the man truck crashed

"aw-wite" - alright

oh how i love that he is communicating so well with us. we often get his book and "bunk" confused and i love that he will use sign language to tell is which he wants. he's smart little boy, i tell you!!!

melt my heart

i know i mention this all the time, but jake is really growing up. here lately, he has been doing a lot of things that just melt my heart.

*melt my heart #1 - he will give me hugs. REAL hugs. jake usually just leans in for you to give him a hug. but if i ask him for a hug, he opens his arms, runs to me and gives me a real hug.

*melt my heart #2 - when i leave to go to work he will tell me "bye-bye ma-ma" and usually blows me a kiss. but every now and then he will add an "i uv you ma-ma".

*melt my heart #3 - he is really starting to follow directions. for instance, today i asked him to help me pick up his blocks. he said "ma-ma, no help." so i left the room and went to make the bed. i came back and all his blocks were picked up and put in the corner.

*melt my heart #4 - we all know how much jake loves elmo. a few nights ago, i told jake it was time to go "night-night" and he said "ma-ma, wait a mint" (wait a minute). he went to get elmo, cookie, and big bird. he put them on the bed and said "bank" (blanket). so we got his blanket and he put it over all the characters. he said "night-night elmo", hugged him and gave him a kiss. so sweet!

*melt my heart #5 - as of now, when we go shopping, jake LOVES to look at all the toys. we're always scared that he's going to pitch a fit when it's time to leave the store. but he never does. and he never wants to take the toys with him. (strange, i know) he's just so calm and always wants to put everything back where it goes. (i hope he stays this way too.)

*melt my heart #6 - he prefers his ma-ma over everyone. i just LOVE that! i hope he stays a ma-ma's boy forever!!!

*melt my heart #7 - listening to jake sing. (or "ting" as he calls it). his current favorites are:: the wheels on the bus, elmo's song, john jacob jingle heimer schmidt, and if you're happy and you know it.

21 months old

whoa! i'm pretty sure i was just on here yesterday posting jake's 20 month update. umm....wow....that month literally flew by! so jake is 21 months old. that's so crazy to say. tonight josh and i were talking about how crazy it is that jake's been here for almost two years.

not a lot has changed since his 20 month update. he has a ton of new words and often puts the words together in sentences. here are some of the things he says lately::

"i watch da-da go bye-bye"

"i watch the man"

"no help ma-ma" - typically happens in the bathtub when i'm washing his hair

"i need da 'poon'" - i need the spoon

"go fast"

"the book, ma-ma" - meaning he wants to read the book

"nap"

"night-night"

"pin" - spin

"bitney" - brittany (his aunt)

"ting" - sing

"chide" - slide

"hush" - i finally figured out where he learned that one....the book "goodnight moon"

"wash hands pees" - wash hands please

"good-bye"

"uncle john" (he finally puts an "uncle" in front)

"i watch elmo"

"ma-ma wook, wook! da moon!" (ma-ma, look look the moon!)

"stahs" - stars

" 'top" - stop

"fuh-ball" - football

"i push pay" - i push play (on the dvd player)

"da-da, 'it down pees" - da-da, sit down please

"i see da pane ma-ma, da pane, da pane!!!" (i see the plane ma-ma, the plane, the plane) he really loves planes if you can't tell.

he knows the following words in sign language (i know you're proud ticcoa!)::

moon

stars

please

thank you

blanket

bath

toothbrush

quiet

book

love

more

jake can identify the letters "a, o, and m" and if you say one, he says "two." if you count one, two, three, four....he'll say "five." he can repeat all the letters of the alphabet except for w. he loves to sing "john jacob jingleheimer schmidt" over and over and over! he says "john-john....da-da, ting john john" (he wants josh to sing it)he loves to watch elmo on the computer. and most of all, jake LOVES to play outside. he literally cries when he has to come in. my most favorite thing that jake does right now is that he puts "the" in front of everything he says. "the pah" (the paci), "the ma-ma", "the da-da", "the ball", "the man", etc. it's quite hilarious. happy 21 months jake. you're growing up way too fast! we love you!

thankful 2011

there is so much to be thankful for. as i look back on 2011, here are some things i am thankful for::

1) my Lord and Savior. He is always there for me and so merciful to forgive me.

2) my family. jake brings such joy to our lives and we are enjoying watching him grow up into a little boy. josh's parents often come up on friday nights or saturdays and they spoil us by taking us out to dinner and always bring jake something! my parents always invite us to sunday lunch and are excellent babysitters so that josh an i can enjoy our date nights. jake loves going to his great-grandparents' houses. great-grandma couch has a nice stash of balls in a basket and jake LOVES that. great-grandpa and grandma fiske have tons of little toy cars that jake LOVES to push down their super long hallway. great-grandpa and grandma betsy have planes, trucks, and this old-timey school table that jake LOVES. i love that our family is "tight-knit" and i'm super thankful for all of them.

3) my handsome husband, josh. he understands me better than anyone. he is such a good daddy to jake. i'm pretty sure josh is the funniest person i know. he constantly makes jake and i laugh. he is smart. he manages our finances. he bought me a brand new car and now drives my old honda. he wouldn't admit it....but he spoils me. i LOVE him!!!!!!!

4) my job. thankfully, i have a pretty good class this year. and as always, i have some pretty awesome parents! i'm extremely thankful that the Lord sends these children my way. even though i'm not allowed to talk about God (unless the kids bring it up first), i can show them His love every day through my actions, words, and love!

5) barbara and momma. what in the world would i do without those two ladies? i have not a clue....well...actually i do. my house would always be a tornado, dishes would be piled a mile high, the hampers would be overflowing, etc. but thanks to these two super-special ladies, i don't have to worry about any of that stuff happening. and the best part......jake ADORES both of them. he has learned who comes on what day and he wakes up in the morning and either says "gam-ma" or "ba-ba". he looks forward to having their undivided attention every day! (and no...they are not for hire...nor will they ever be)

2011 has been an awesome year and i can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for the slatten family. happy thanksgiving everybody!!

conversations with jake

get comfy.....this is a long conversation. but it's very cute!

20 months old

this cute little boy is 20 months old. in 4 more months, i find it hard to believe that i will have a TWO year old! jake is such a hoot. he has the best personality. i get comments on how well behaved he is all the time. he is really beginning to use his manners on his own.....telling us "pees" and "dank-you" for everything. jake is starting to use sentences now. if you ask him where mommy is, he will reply "my ma-ma work." here lately there are men putting in new water lines on our road. so he and barbara go outside and watch them. well he calls all the workers "the man". he loves to pretend that he is "the man" and that he goes "wound and wound" like the big trucks do. the other day he walked up to me and said "ma-ma, the man go wound and wound (round and round)." i just can't believe how smart he is getting and how quickly he is beginning to put sentences together. he's such a smart little boy.

jake is really into "choo-choo's" and elmo right now. he loves his toy trains and playing with all his elmo's (yes we have quite a few). he especially loves his elmo pajama's. and we can't forget "the man" and all their "chucks" (trucks). jake also likes to listen and watch for "panes" (airplanes) and motorcycles. he still loves to read and color and is even beginning to hold the crayons the correct way.

jake is about 36 inches tall and still weighs around 27 lbs. he wears a size 4 diaper and is still wearing the 18-24 month clothes. we are working on getting rid of his paci. we only give it to him for nap time and bed time. then we'll slowly take it away for nap time and the same for bed time. (i dread those nights already) pretty soon josh and i are going to buy jake a toddler bed. what can i say? my little boy is growing up!