Over Mom’s spring break Jay spent the night at her house twice. It was nice to be able to check a few things off of my to-do list while he was gone and it was especially nice to have some good, uninterrupted, one-on-one time with Charlie. I met Mom over at Lucas Nursery to make the switch and before we parted ways- she with Jay and me with Charlie- we toured the nursery, picked up a few plants for the front of the house and made a trip through the butterfly garden they have. Although it took him a while to look up without prompting he finally got the hang of it and started to spot the butterflies on his own. Jay loved looking at the ‘buhflies’ and held tight to his species diagram the whole time we were there.
Month: May 2012
2 years old
I am embarrassed to say that I have had this post written for quite some time, especially since Jay is fast approaching 2.5 years old! I kept waiting for Jay’s two year old photos to be finished (something that took forever since it kept getting trumped by other things) so I could post some along with the update. Well, needless to say time has passed and MANY things on this list have changed; however, I didn’t want to forget any of it so here it is a few months (eek) late but better late than never…
Jay turned two a little over a week ago- two, two whole years old and since I haven’t written a proper update on him since this one I figured that I was due. Especially since there are so many things that he says/ does that I don’t want to forget…
Stats- here are his stats from when we were at the doctor last week. They measured him on a big boy scale and got his height by asking him to stand up against the wall- such a big boy he is.
Height- 33 inches
Weight- 26lbs
Both of these put him in the 25-50% making him a little smaller than the average two year old.
Things of note-
-He can count to five reliably; however he occasionally will go until 7 or 8.
-He knows his colors with the exception of red and orange which he mixes up from time to time. He also knows silver and that it is the color of both Mommy and Daddy’s cars.
-He can name almost all of his body parts including (but not limited to) head, eyes, ears, mouth, teeth, arms, hands, fingers, legs, feet, toes, belly button and elbows.
-He knows his right from his left and when you ask will hold either his right leg or foot up as high as it will go.
-He still can’t jump but man o’ man does he sure give it his best effort. I love to watch him bounce around the house and will probably be pretty sad when he can actually jump.
-When you ask him how old he is he will enthusiastically tell you “2!” and then he holds up both hands showing at least 6 fingers but most often holding up all ten.
-He blesses people when they sneeze. He even tells himself “Bless you Jay Bird” when he sneezes.
-He thinks that his name is Jay Bird. When anyone asks him his name that is his response, one that I usually have to repeat and explain to people who don’t know him. It will be an interesting day when we have to explain that his name is actually James and that we call him Jay and that Jay Bird is in fact just a nickname.
-We are working on learning the alphabet; however, he is having a hard time getting past the fact that his name is Jay but it is spelled – J-A-Y. I think it would confuse him far less if his name wasn’t also an initial. He can sing part of his ABC’s but it usually comes out sounding like just a jumble of letters smooshed together in no particular order.
-He can name every single car that he owns… some of them have names from the movie Cars, for some he will tell you their given name- coupe, Porsche, jeepster, and then the rest have an assortment of random names that he has given them . One of which is “new car”… it’s not new at all but that is what he started calling it form the get go and that is what it has stayed.
-He hooks EVERYTHING. He has four cars that have tow hooks (three Maters and one “big guck”) and not an hour goes by that some car is not being hooked or towed by one of them.
-He frequently says- “Jay Bird needs” when he is looking for something or wants something.
-He likes to look at the DVD’s and Blu-rays that we have. Frequently he will sit there for a few minutes (this equals forever in the toddler world) looking at the covers and taking in all of the details on each one.
-He is thrilled when Jamie gets home from work. As soon as he hears Jamie’s truck in the driveway or the garage door opening he starts squealing “Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!” while doing this circular skipping dance. It is really one of the sweetest things and really brightens my day, which frequently feel long by that point.
-He has been sleeping in his big boy bed for over a month now. He can get in and out on his own and has not had any problems with it thus far. There were a few weeks at first when he realized he could climb out on his own that he would get up and play with his cars quietly in his room after we put him to bed. He would play for hours without making a peep until we went in and told him he needed to sleep. He always turned his bug light on so he could see to play. Thinking that we were smart we put a timer on his light hoping it would stop him from getting up. It surely did not, he just found another light in his room to turn on and when we unplugged that one he turned his closet light on to use. Clever little boy he is!
-We are currently working on potty training and not because we pushed but because, you could say, Jay wanted to. We started by putting him on a little potty every night before his bath (since he always peed as soon as he got into the bath) and it didn’t take long for him to catch on. Well last week he started taking off his diaper on his own and after having a few accidents on the floor I started putting him on the potty during the day and asking him frequently if he has to go. Every time he has been put on the potty since then he has gone and gotten a treat (one skittle… his favorite part) for going. This is as far as our training has gotten but it is major progress in the right direction and we understand that it isn’t going to happen overnight, especially at his age.
-He loves, loves, loves his little brother. He is frequently asking where baby Charlie is or telling me that he is crying. He usually offers to share his snack, cars or whatever he has at the moment with him. When we get in the car he always points to Charlie’s carseat and tells me that that is where Baby Charlie goes. He can barely stand for him to take naps and I have to watch him like a hawk because otherwise he will sneak into his room and ‘accidentally’ wake him up when he pulls up on the side of the crib and yells -“good morning baby Charlie!”
-He knows when he isn’t supposed to be doing something or if he has something that he is not supposed to. If he grabs something that he isn’t supposed to have he always puts it behind his back and walks away from us (so that we can see whatever he is hiding). And when you ask him what he has he will without fail announce whatever it is that he has with no reservation.
Favorites-
-Foods- he is picky from time to time when eating (most simply put: he is two) but without fail you will always scarf down a bowl of yogurt or a handful of blueberries or a waffle with butter and syrup. When we ask you how many blueberries you would like your response is always “5!”
-He loves to color and use stickers. Almost every day he will ask to color and frequently he asks multiple times a day.
-Song- Barbara Ann by the Beach Boys. This started a few moths ago when he was walking around saying “bob, bob, bob” and in response I started singing Barbara Ann. He frequently will sing it (and dance along) on his own while he is walking through the house or eating breakfast or anywhere for that matter. His other top favorites are Frosty the Snowman (which he knows the majority of the words too), the Itsy Bitsy Spider and we are working on I’m a little Tea Pot. He loves the “washes the spider out” part of Itsy Bitsy and he loves to tip himself out when we sing I’ m a little tea pot. Just today he was singing Barbara Ann and Frosty while we made our way through the grocery store.
-Toy- by far his talking matchbox Lightening McQueen although Finn McMissle is a very close second ;)
-Books- The Little Red Caboose, One Yellow Lion and Little Blue Truck are probably amongst his top right now although he loves so many that it is really hard to specify a favorite.
frannie’s graduation
A week ago last Friday I traveled up to Jacksonville to celebrate my sister-in-law; she has worked incredibly hard the last few years and earned her Doctorate in Physical Therapy!! Yay, Frannie!! I made the trip without Jamie or the boys, which was nice and kind of odd all at the same time. It was nice to have a little time to myself but also a little odd to not have my little companions with me. I missed them while I was gone but received a wonderful welcome back when I returned home- Jay greeted me with an “it’s Mommy, it’s Mommy!” song and dance that is usually reserved for Daddy returning home from work and Charlie practically jumped out of Jamie’s arms to get to me when I walked in… it was nice. It was also nice to be able to celebrate with Frannie. I am very proud of her and all that she has accomplished and am excited for them as they tackle their next adventure in Pittsburgh. Frannie was accepted into a residency program that specializes in neurological physical therapy, so they will be moving in July after she writes her board exam. I don’t know much about this field, however, I do know that they only accept one person for this program each year and Frannie was the one that got it, which can tell you just how special my sister-in-law is. Way to go, girl we will miss you but wish you all the love and luck in the world!!!
“i scream, you ice scream”
We have a new wooden sign in the kitchen that says- I Scream, You Scream and it has a big ice cream cone on it. My Little Bird likes to point at it and say “I scream, you ice scream”, makes me smile…
The other day, Jamie was working from home and Jay had been especially good during the day so we had an early supper, packed up the car and treated Jay to his first ice cream cone! If you know anything about us, you know that we (maybe mostly me, but it’s rubbing off on Jay too) have a thing for ice cream. If you take a look in our freezer at any given time you can find at least 4-5 different flavors- it’s our own personal Baskin Robins ;) So a trip to get an ice cream as a family was a very fitting treat.
At the end of it all Jay was a super sticky mess- a head-to-toe mess of melted ice cream. But I am pretty sure he loved every single bite of his super huge “banilla” cone (btw- we ordered him a small cone, I would hate to see what the medium or large looks like). And as for this Mamma, the ice cream was yummy but spending a quiet evening just the four of us was more of a treat than I could ever ask for. Lately, the days and evenings have been kind of crazy, with Jamie’s insane work hours and everything that comes along with having two boys under 2.5 years old, so these moments have been rare but oh so sweet when they happen… Can’t wait to do it again ;)
ordering- he loved watching the cones being made
late sunday swim
Most of our Sunday was spent cleaning up from the shrimp boil on Saturday (many thanks to all who stuck around Saturday to help pick up; many hands made light work). However, when the majority of the cleaning and packing up was done Jamie headed over to help his Dad build a trellis for a new bougainvillaea plant they added during his parents re-landscaping project. I stayed back while the boys napped but joined him after they woke up. Charlie got to take his first turn in the porch swing, or any swing for that matter, and both boys along with me, Jamie and Mimi took a dip in the pool- which was also Charlie’s first swim. It’s still a little bit chilly, Jay’s teeth start chattering pretty soon after getting wet, but it didn’t stop either of them from enjoying the water. Charlie splashed and giggled the whole time and Jay went non-stop regardless of the shivering. The swimming from last year is starting to come back to Jay and right now he adores jumping in and taking submarine rides on Daddy’s back. I am pretty sure by the end of the summer we will have made a full blown fish out of him… gills here we come!
sweet husband!!
A few days ago Jamie told me that last night (Wednesday) I needed to be dressed up and ready to go at 6pm; he had arranged for his parents to watch the boys and he was taking me out! Sweet thoughtful husband right? He gave no reason other than he wanted a night out with me and I was thrilled. Honestly, I looked forward to it for the few days that I knew about it and Wednesday afternoon drug on… I just wanted him to get home so we could be on our way :)
Wednesday after work he arrived home, Mimi took over the boys and we headed out. He told me we were going downtown to a burger restaurant, Pine Twenty Two, and that we were going to ride the downtown bus and make a night of it. Super- fun! Pine Twenty Two is a new (ish) restaurant that serves 100% natural, hormone free burgers with all kinds of delicious toppings- gruyere cheese, chipotles aioli sauce, fried eggs, sautéed mushrooms, and charred onions just to name a few. When we were waiting to place the order Jamie nonchalantly pulled out two tickets to the Lion King on Broadway (yes you read that correctly) and said hope we will make it in time! I was super surprised and thrilled! We grabbed our burgers to-go, the sweet guy who took our order grabbed them as soon as they came out and brought them right to us (he actually skipped out to us but that is a whole other story)- and we ended up eating outside of the Bob Carr theater by the fountains. The show was fantastic! I am by no means a writer and would do the show no justice if I tried but know that the music and the costumes are EVERYTHING they are said to be and that you should go if you ever get a chance.
All and all it was a fantastic night- dinner was delicious (really you should try it sometime if you are local), the show was AMAZING, and time out with my sweet husband was the icing on the cake. Not sure how I got so lucky but I sure snagged one of the best!
I happened to have my camera with me and grabbed a few before we headed back to the theater, supper in hand.
momma and her little bird
shrimp boil 2012
I am not sure how many years now the annual Shrimp Boil has been going on… I would venture a guess that Jamie has been hosting it with his Dad for a good 10 years and then George probably hosted it on his own prior to that for another 10. This is my fourth year of joining the festivities and I must say I look forward to it EVERY year! I mean what is not to like- good food, good drink and good people. What more could you ask for on a sunny Saturday afternoon?
Since having the kiddos I find myself not as “free” to shoot as much of these events as I would like (putting sleeping babies down, getting not sleeping big brothers up, etc can really eat up some time). However, I did manage to grab a few photos of the day… although none of the pouring and unfortunately very few of anyone other than family… Either way, documented or not, there were family, many great friends and a wonderful assortment of colleagues that joined us in bellying up to the table. Thanks to all that came, it was great seeing you, and for those of you who couldn’t make it- you were missed but there is always next year ;)
pretty flowers compliments of Publix… I really do love me a mason jar ;)

banana pudding bites, check out a recipe here

Pepere and Charlie- prepping the water ;)

I was trying to get a photo of me and Jay but he was way too distracted with all of the people in the backyard to smile… not even tickling really worked

Charlie hanging on the blanket

enjoying some delicious corn- purchasing it fresh was definitely the way to go!

Josh- by the way Jay adores him and rightfully so… he is wonderful to him, they are ‘briends’

couldn’t resist posting this one of little miss Avery- check out those baby blues!!

banana pudding bites
My mission- a delicious dessert, that wasn’t cookies, that was easy to make/eat and didn’t require utensils… the result Banana Pudding Bites!
I landed on banana pudding when I was searching through recipes to make for the shrimp boil we hosted on Saturday (more photos of the shin dig coming soon); it was simple enough and would compliment the spicy shrimp perfectly, besides you can’t go wrong with a classic. The only problem was I didn’t want to serve something that needed bowls and utensils and I needed something that would withstand being in the heat for the better part of the afternoon. So what do you do with this kind of dilemma you make it cute, you make it bite sized. Honestly, I must say that I am rather impressed on how fantastic these little guys turned out, I was fully prepared for my experiment to be a disaster. However, this is defienetly a ‘recipe’ that I will store in my make again soon (real soon) file and if you like banana pudding you should too!
Here’s the gist…
I used this delicious banana pudding recipe from Paula Deen (and no there isn’t tons of butter in the pudding- but it is the best banana pudding recipe I have EVER come across and I have tried a few) and instead of arranging the chessmen cookies and sliced bananas in a 9×13 like recipe calls for I piped the pudding on to individual cookies using a disposable pipping bag and my jumbo closed star tip and topped each of them with a thick slice of banana. Call it deconstructed banana pudding if you will ;)
Oh, and in case you want to try it… let me give you two suggestions- 1. buy 3 bags of chessmen cookies, the banana pudding in the piping bag goes a long way and 2. if you mix your pudding early and leave it in the fridge make sure to leave the pipping bag out for a few minutes before pipping your cookies. The pudding is really thick and was difficult to pipe while cold.
outtakes
So photographing a 5 1/2 month old along side his 27 month old brother on my own is NO easy feat, let me tell you! I was happy to get the few that I did but I just couldn’t resist sharing a few of the outtakes- happy Monday to you!
Oh and in case you are worried- although it doesn’t always appear this way Charlie was loving all of the snuggles and attention from his big brother :)



































































