First trip to a carnival

Every year we have a jazz and blues festival in downtown Gahanna, Ohio. Last year we only strolled around to see what all they had at it, and found that, in addition to the music and food, they also have a carnival set up. This year we decided to take Jake to his first carnival - it was a mixed bag.

We only had a couple of hours to spend before Leigh Ann and I were dropping him off with friends so we could have a night out. They had 4 rides specifically for kids, but the only one Jacob wanted anything to do with was a car ride (a bunch of cars that go round and round - kind of like a merry-go-round, just with cars). He had to sit in the red car that looked like Lightning McQueen (from the Disney/Pixar movie "Cars"). He had a blast. Then he insisted that we ride the ferris wheel. Leigh Ann couldn't ride it (pregnant), so I went with Jacob. Once we were locked in, I knew it was not going to be a fun ride. He really didn't like the starting and stopping as they loaded everybody on (especially not when we were stuck at the top). He quieted down once we started moving, but not for long. He was more than ready to get off once it finally stopped!

We thought that another trip on the car ride would calm him, but he was in full break-down mode, so Leigh Ann made the executive decision to also introduce him to one of the wonders of our modern culinary world - cotton candy!

As you can imagine, Jacob did love the cotton candy. Initially he would only lick it, but we finally convinced him he needed to take big "Cookie Monster" bites so he would be done by the time we had to drop him off with our friends and their daughter Abby. Jake loved this stuff! Leigh Ann repeatedly asked him if she could try some, but he would pull it away and cry, "No, my turn!" We have had marvelous success teaching him about sharing!

Jacob continues to grow up. His vocabulary is growing daily, and more and more of it is actually intelligible. Leigh Ann is progressing with pregnancy number two. Standing for long periods of time and picking Jacob up is getting harder, but she's still insisting on doing everything she did before.

Here are pics of Jacob with his cotton candy (if you look closely at the one in the van, you can see that his mouth is blue and pink).

A New Bed and a New Baby . . . .

So last week we finally switched Jacob over to a normal twin size bed, in order to free up the mattress on his toddler bed to go back in the crib that will be soon needed. Jacob transitioned very well from crib to toddler bed - he loved having the freedom of getting in and out whenever he wanted (especially to go grab toys!), and yet we never had a lot of problems with him getting out of bed, or coming out of his room before he was supposed to.

So just as with the toddler bed, Jacob loves his new bed. It is still a bit high for him, and we have had to put a little step stool next to it so he can climb in, but he thinks it is the greatest thing. The morning after his first night on it, after finishing breakfast, he headed back upstairs to repeatedly climb in and out of the bed. We bought bedding, but he still prefers to sleep on top of the covers with his old Cars blanket! We'll also go in to check on him before we go to bed, and he has usually moved off of the pillow.

Last Saturday, Jacob and I spent a couple of hours at a local antiques mall while Leigh Ann was able to get away for a few hours with her friend (some relaxing shopping time without the kids). I enjoy looking for vintage shaving equipment, and we were also hoping we might find a cheap headboard to go on Jacob's bed. What we did find was a Woody doll (from Toy Story) and Jacob is obsessed with him. So obsessed, in fact, that I had a little trouble getting him out! After finding Woody, it then became his obsession to find Buzz Lightyear. Over and over, he kept holding up Woody saying, "Hi Woody, where Buzz? I no see Buzz. Wherezee?" Every day, he checks with Woody at least once to see if there have been any Buzz sightings. Needless to say, Toy Story and Toy Story 2 have now moved near the top of his favorite movies to watch.

In other news, we went in for Leigh Ann's 20 week appointment and ultrasound on Thursday. The doctor said that everything looks just fine, and we are still on schedule for a due date of October 25. Her doctor said that we can be fairly confident of the due date, because she is due 5 days later, and she doesn't want to be delivering our kid in between her own contractions. So we will keep you all posted on the progress.







Oh, and by the way, we are having another boy!

At long last - new pictures

As promised, here are some recent pics of our little man. Jacob has become quite the talker as of late, and more and more of it is actually understandable (at least to us!). He now knows how to say his own name, although he has modified it (he says something like Adger). He is fascinated by phones right now, and has claimed Leigh Ann's and my last phones. He pretends to make calls, and always announces himself by saying, "Hi, a me, Adger." Translation: Hi, it's me, Jacob.

Jacob just tonight transitioned into a regular bed. So that we could have the mattress in his toddler bed back for the crib that we will soon need, we went about getting a bed. He was very excited tonight when he saw the new bed. It is a bit too high for him still, but we put a little step next to it, and he easily climbed up. He didn't want to sleep with regular sheets and a blanket, so he ended up sleeping on top of the covers with his faithful Cars blanket!

He keeps us busy, as always. We keep trying to get him used to the idea of a younger sibling, but he doesn't react favorably. We have finally brought him to the realization that there will be a new baby, and currently it is in Mommy's tummy. Frequently now, whenever tummys are discussed, Jacob will let anybody within earshot know that Mommy has a baby in her tummy. When Leigh Ann first told him this, he went over and lifted her shirt a little to see if he could see the baby!

He is quite the character. He will do anything if he thinks it will give him a laugh. I ask him, when he has obviously got a dirty diaper, if his diaper is poopy, and he promptly responds, "No, no puppies." I'll say, "But Jake, you smell stinky." He then replies, "No, no tinky puppies." I am torn. On the one hand, he is not telling the truth, and I want to teach him that is wrong, but at the same time, I can't keep a straight face as he tells me he doesn't have any stinky puppies in his pants, and it might confuse him if I tried to punish him while laughing.

Anyways, enjoy these new pics!

Gone for a while

Sorry, I have slacked off a bit in posting on here. It has been almost 2 months since my last post. I will try to get the newest info up before too long, and pictures of everybody's favorite Fuller kid.

Incidentally, we go in on the 12th to find out what baby #2 will be. Stay tuned . . .