Jacob- 18 months

December 16, Jacob turned 18 months old- 1 1/2 years old!  Can you believe it?  It's so hard to grasp that we have an 18 month old.  A walking, running, talking (in his own words) toddler.  Since he turned 1 I haven't done monthly updates but 18 month seemed like a good time to add a post.  

Jacob has changed so much since he turned 1 year old.  He went from wobbling around the house to running.  This kid loves to climb anything and everything he possibly can.  He climbs ladders, chairs, onto the couch, anything we will let him climb, he climbs.   Marvetta says that Micah deserves this since apparently Jacob is just like Daddy.  

Jacob loves playing with cars.   Early on he knew to say "vroom" while pushing a car.  Now he loves race tracks, pushing cars along the coffee table or floor, and basically anything to do with cars.  He also enjoys slam-dunking his basketball, playing with his kitchen, opening and closing doors, and sometimes playing with more detailed toys.  

This kid LOVES to be outside.  Every time the door opens, he wants to go outside.  He loves to explore, play on his slide, and just in general he loves to run.  It's so fun to see how happy he is being outside.  He also loves to dance and sing.  He sings his own songs while he plays and dances when he is happy.  Jacob likes to dance in his high chair when he is particularly happy about his food. Sometimes he will "shake his shoulders" on command.  Too cute!

Speaking of food, Jacob has become a lot pickier than he used to be.  I think he finally realized that he could have an opinion.  He also goes through spurts of what he wants to eat which I think is normal for this age.  He will always eat mac and cheese, and bread.  I'm finding that he will eat almost anything I put in a tortilla.  Typically, he will eat chicken quesadillas, grilled cheese, peanut butter and jelly, or anything that I put in a quesadilla.  Jacob will always eat fruit and sometimes his veggies.  I will say one day that he won't eat broccoli and that day he will eat a whole plate of broccoli.  

Jacob definitely has his own language.  He talks all the time and is trying to tell us stuff but we aren't really sure what it is.  However, he does say: hi, bye, Mommy, Dada, thank you, and go.  He uses sign language for "all done".   He will point to his nose and belly and we are working on eyes, ears and mouth.  I know he is a smart boy but he is also stubborn and only does something if he wants to. 

I have loved all the changes the last few months and can't wait to see what the next 6 months brings us!

His stats at 18 months are:

Height:            32.25"

Weight:           23 lbs 2.5 oz

Hair Color:      Blonde

Clothing:         18 month

Jacob Meets Santa

I always love the pictures of kids with Santa and I feel like we were able to get some classic shots this year.  Mom and I planned an all day shopping trip so I decided to put Jake in his Santa outfit just in case the timing worked out.  Well, the timing worked out perfectly.   We shopped and played all morning, ate lunch, and then Jake took a long nap in his stroller while Mom and I shopped some more.  He woke up right around the time we were passing Santa.  So we let him out of the stroller, brushed his hair, and popped on the tie.  Luckily, there was no one in line so I was able to let Jacob walk slowly up to Santa.  Santa reached out his hand and eventually Jake grabbed it.  

While they were getting aquainted, some other kids showed up in line so I decided we needed to speed up the process a little.  This of course was when we got the crying pictures.

 Mom and I were doing some goofy things behind the camera to try to get Jake to stop crying if only for a few seconds. We never really saw a smile but we were able to get this handsome picture.

Santa was really sweet and great with Jacob.  He just kept talking to him, asking him what he wanted for Christmas, etc.  Finally Jake noticed the beard and started to find Santa more interesting and less scary. These pictures are just adorable. 

 Mom and I decided to take full advantage of the backdrop and Jake's handsome outfit and tried to get more pictures.  He wasn't very cooperative but we did get a couple. 

Bedlam

We arrived in Houston on Tuesday, December 3 and on Friday my Dad and I flew to Oklahoma for the OSU/OU bedlam game.  I was really excited to have my first "mommy vacation" since Jacob was born. A couple days before our trip a huge winter storm blew threw north Texas and Oklahoma putting a little doubt in our trip.  However, we were still able to go and the roads ended up not being too bad but there was lots of snow!  It was quite a shock to the system since I was just in the desert of a warm 80 degrees a few days earlier.

When our plane landed, Dad and I drove straight to OSU for a basketball game vs. South Carolina.  We arrived a little late and once we made it into the arena it was already 20-5 Cowboys.  It was a fun game to watch but not overly exciting.  I had lots of memories watching the students do all their cheers and traditions. Micah and I (and our friends) spent many hours at Gallagher Iba Arena in college and had lots of good times.

Since the bedlam game was on tv it was set for 11am.  Considering how darn cold it was I was happy it was during the day.  The game started out cold but at least sunny and I actually thought I might be able to take off a layer of clothes, WRONG.  Well, at least during the warm, winning, part of the game I was able to snap some good pictures.   First I have the fact that the stadium was still covered in snow and that we were literally standing in the snow.  That makes the feet very cold.   I was also able to catch the first OSU touchdown.  Of course this is kinda a bitter-sweet due to the outcome of the game.

A part of the way through the second quarter, clouds rolled over and it progressively got colder and colder so I didn't want to take my gloves off to take more pictures.  Even though the ending to the game was very bitter I'm happy I was able to be in Stillwater.  After the game we had dinner at Bad Brad's with Micah's parents and my friends Kendra and Adam.  We were all a little bummed so we didn't take pictures.

Sunday morning I decided I had finally warmed up from the game and I needed to go play in the snow at least a little bit.  I went out in the yard to take some pictures of the pasture and the snow, started burning the trash, and made some snow angels.  Sadly, the snow wasn't good for building snowmen which is what I really wanted to do.

Sunday afternoon, Dad and I headed back to OKC for our flight back to Houston.  I was so excited to get home to my boy! When we arrived we discovered that our flight was delayed, and then delayed some more, and then finally canceled.  So we were "blessed" with another night in OKC.  Overall it was a fun weekend and a great break for me but I was so excited to get home to my sweet boy. 

Christmas in Qatar

Ever since Micah and I moved to the Middle East, the Christmas season has started earlier in the year than it used to.  Now before you get on your high horse of "Thanksgiving has to be over first" let me explain.  If I wait until after Thanksgiving to put up my Christmas stuff, it is literally up 1 week before Jacob and I head back to the USA.  So essentially I either don't do it at all or it happens before Thanksgiving.  Not at all is NOT an option.  Also, there is only a short time that Micah and I have to celebrate or have our own traditions before we are back in the USA with family.   

A tradition we have is to set up and decorate our tree together early in November.  This year it was fun to have Jake watch and wonder what was happening.  He didn't really understand why he would get in trouble for touching but Mom and Dad were touching the tree a lot!  Jacob has done so great with the tree.  He never really tries to touch it and we taught him to walk up to it and say "ooo".   

We also decided to give Jake his Christmas present from us before we left so that it would be before all the other presents and holiday stuff.  We put it together one night while he was asleep and then I covered it with my Christmas blanket.  The next morning we let him "open" it but he wouldn't really do it so Micah had to help. He LOVES it and plays with it all the time.  Right now he mostly loves opening and closing all the doors.  I'm so happy to have a permanent toy in the kitchen for him to play with while I cook.

 We can't wait to be in the USA with family and celebrate Christmas!

Thanksgiving in Qatar

Micah and I have spent the last 3 and now 4 Thanksgivings out of the United States.  Our last 3 were spent in Saudi with our friends sharing the cooking duties and spending the evening together laughing, watching the Macy's parade and some football.  I really came to enjoy our Thanksgivings with our friends.  This year with Thanksgiving approaching I had no idea what we would do to celebrate the holiday.  A couple weeks before I received an email about a Thanksgiving dinner for the US troops deployed here in Doha.  We were asked to cook lots of food and get together to serve our troops who serve us year round.  I was excited to have such a wonderful opportunity and to have some form of a plan.

Actual Thanksgiving day, Micah had to work and I spent all day cooking mashed potatoes and green bean casseroles for our Friday lunch.  That night we had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner of KFC.  Oops! I had no desire to try to cook a Thanksgiving meal just for me and Micah.

Friday came and we loaded up all the food and beverages and headed to another, larger compound, to have our dinner.  I was amazed at the amount of people there and the amount of wonderful home cooked food.  Before we got started eating there were a couple of speeches made by the head military guy (sorry, I didn't hear what his station exactly was) thanking us, and from an Expat thanking them!

The amount of food was truly incredible and extremely good!  I heard some guys in line saying "Wow, this is real home cooked food!!"  There were two buffet type areas set up like the one below plus a large dessert table.

We sat at a table with a few military people and were fascinated to learn things about Doha from their point of view.  One of the guys even told me he would rather be back in Iraq because the job here is so boring!  I can't imagine wanting that type of excitement but I guess thats why they are military and I am not.  I asked another one of the guys how he was liking Doha to which he exclaimed "After this meal, its amazing!"  Haha.  It was such a great experience and a wonderful way to spend Thanksgiving.