Connor continues to surprise us.

I used one of my “positive reinforcement” talks last Friday night about going #2 on the potty.  He has been doing a great job on #1 for a couple of months now, but has never even tried to do #2 on the potty (too “scared”).  So I told him how proud I would be of him and that I wanted him to go on the potty.  He said he would and on last Saturday he accomplished that task all by himself.  We made such a big deal of it…calling the grandparents and Uncle Danny.  He was so proud of himself!

He repeated the accomplishment again on Sunday.  Monday and Tuesday he had a couple of accidents, so Tuesday night I had the “talk” at  bedtime with him and low and behold on Wednesday he surprised Mommy by using the potty again (twice in one day).  Thursday he did it again.  Friday was an accident, and we are waiting on today.

He continues to amaze us…and we are VERY PROUD of him!

Keep up the good work, Connor!

It is great that we were able to move Connor from his crib and into his room and his “big boy” bed months ago!  He had plenty of time to adjust and develop a routine with us.

Now with Jacob around, here is how our routine goes…

1. Connor brushes his teeth, washes his face and hands, and goes potty before bed.
2. We put his pajamas on (if not already on).
3. He goes an grabs a book from his bookshelf.
4. Daddy comes in with Jacob in tow.
5. I sit on the floor holding Jacob, Connor gets one of his burp cloth (his “security blanket” if you will), and then climbs into bed.
6. Mommy sits down on the bed as well.
7. We read the book together and when finished, Connor returns the book back to his bookshelf.
8. He then gives Mommy a kiss, hug, and “eskimo kiss”.
9. He then lays down on his pillow and says, “Jacob can lay down.”
10. So, I lay Jacob on the pillow beside him.
11. Connor kisses Jacob on the head and rubs his head.  Then he says, “Ok, Jacob can go in his crib.”
12. I pick up Jacob, hand him to Mommy, and Mommy leaves to take Jacob downstairs or to put him to bed.
13. Connor and Daddy go through our routine, of kiss, big hug, “eskimo kiss” and then my “positive reinforcement” of how good he is and how grown up he is.  (He loves when I have this talk with him every night.)
14. Lights go out, gate goes up and then he asks one final time (as I am standing in the hallway), “Daddy give me a kiss.”
15. I climb over the gate, give him a kiss, hug, and “eskimo kiss”.  We both say “Good night, I will see you in the morning.”
16. And that’s it…

I love the way he shares his routine with Jacob and how he is so happy with I have my “positive reinforcement” talk with him.

I love you Connor!

Daddy

Jacob had his one month checkup…

19″ long

7lbs 8ozs

He is now eating 4 ounces during a couple of feedings which is a step up from the 3 ounces we were doing last week.  He usually feeds every 3-4 hours and sometimes it is 2-2.5 hours.

Victoria and I have a pretty good routine down…

Usually I get the last feeding before bed (9-10pm) and then I also get the late night feeding at 1am/2am depending on when he is hungry.  Victoria then usually gets the 4am/5am feeding.

Connor is being an excellent brother.  If Jacob cries (which is still very seldom), Connor runs over to the pack-n-play looks in, give him a little pat and shake and says, “It’s ok Jacob.”  Then he comes and tells us that Jacob is crying.

This morning was the first time we have put Jacob in his swing and he seems to like it.  Connor is very helpful and knows how to control the swing with its on/off and music buttons.

Victoria’s grandmother (Papa’s mother) which would be Great Grandma to Connor/Jacob shared a tidbit with me today via email.

A couple of posts back, I talked about how protective Connor is of Jacob and how he didn’t like it when the doctor was examining Jacob (and Jacob was crying). I’ve also talked about how there does not seem to be any jealously from Connor either.

Well, evidently Connor gets this protective attitude from his Papa. Here is what Great Grandma had to say…

“In reading the blog you talk about Connor being so protective over Jacob well that is the way Ross (Papa) was when [Aunt] Celeste was born. No one could go near her unless he was there. Not a bit of jealousy. Funny how things like that come back in later years.”

Ever since Jacob has been home, we turn on the Jazz channel of Cox Cable’s Music Choice broadcast.  It seems as though he doesn’t like much of the other music on there but will relax (and not grunt) when the Jazz channel is on…we might have a little musician on our hands.

Anyways, here is how Jacob spends is mornings after getting a bottle.  (Notice how he picks up his legs and lowers them…imagine him dropping them…that is the “bang” I talked about in the previous posting about “dolphin”.)

Over the past couple of weeks, we have noticed that Jacob has some power legs.  During the day he is usually swaddled but with his arms out.  At night, we choose to swaddle him completely (arms tucked in the swaddle) so that he will sleep more soundly.  What I have noticed over the past couple of nights is that he loves to make noises in the crib to make Daddy get up to see what is going on.

Last night, I hear him grunting like normal and letting out a brief cry every now and then.  Then I started hearing a grunt followed by a bang.  Grunt, bang…grunt, bang…grunt, bang…

So I get up to see what is going on in his crib?  I poke my head in his room and watch for a few seconds…

Jacob (grunting) lifts his swaddled legs as high as he can…and then drops them down onto the mattress making the “banging” noise I heard.  He would do this repeatedly.  I then walk into his room (and he hears me) and all of a sudden his stops.  I will try to get this on video the next time he does it…it is hilarious.

I told Victoria this afternoon what “her baby boy” was doing and she couldn’t stop laughing.  That was a funny moment we shared…

So, my little swaddled buddy is now my little “dolphin”. How fitting…Connor got the nickname “Mr. Hurricane” from Papa and Jacob can be “Flipper”…all having ties to South Florida (where Mommy was born).

(Hope this video works…found it on YouTube.)

It is no secret that Connor would rather go to Grandma’s house (or Mimi/Papa’s house) than stay at home with Mommy and Daddy.

Keep in mind that this past weekend Connor and I took Jacob over to Grandma’s house for the first time.

Grandma has plans for Connor to sleep over this coming Saturday night.  So tonight, I told/asked Connor that he was going to spend the night at Grandma’s house this coming weekend…here is how the conversation went…

Daddy — “Connor, do you want to spend the night at Grandma’s house this weekend?”

Connor — “Uhhh?”

Daddy — “Connor, do you want to spend the night at Grandma’s house this weekend?”

Connor — [with an excited voice] “YES!”

Daddy — “Ok, you can spend the night with Grandma on Saturday.”

[I noticed Connor paused for a second and was trying to put his thoughts together, something he does when he is trying to form a new sentence or question….so I waited patiently for what he had to say.]

Connor — “Baby Jacob…Daddy coming…” [Still trying to form his sentence…]

Daddy — “What?”

Connor — “Is Daddy coming?”

Daddy — “Yes.”

Connor — “Daddy have to go home?”

Daddy — “Yes, I am going home.”

[Now for the kicker and why he started with “Baby Jacob” a couple of quotes back…]

Connor — “Is Baby Jacob coming???”

Daddy — [smiling] “No, Jacob is not going.”

Connor — [somewhat disappointed] “Why?”

Daddy — “Jacob is too little to spend the night at Grandma’s house.”

Connor — “Why?”

Daddy — “Jacob can spend the night at Grandma’s house next year and you guys can play with Grandma then.  Ok?”

Connor – – “Ok.  Daddy have to go home?”

Daddy — “Yes, I will go home.”

Connor — “Ok.”

Sounds to me like Connor has plans for him and his little brother already…

Daddy, Connor, and Jacob went to Grandma’s house today to give Mommy a little break. Here are some pictures of our visit (still loading as of 3pm today).

When it is time to change Jacob’s diaper, Connor gives us a hand.  I missed the beginning of the changing, but this gives you an idea of what he does.

What you are missing is when he hands Mommy a clean diaper and a wipe.  Then he gets the diaper cream ready in case Mommy needs it.

Enjoy.