Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Jake

eta...I do know how to space paragraphs but for some reason blogger won't let me.

It's been a while since I wrote about the boys individually so today is a post about Jake. Jake's personality has been surprising us over the past few months. He spent his first two years of life laid back, rolling with punches (and taking them from his brother), and being pretty darn compliant. Since turning two, things have changed a bit. For the most part he is still pretty laid back, but when he's on a roll....look out.
He doesn't really tantrum when he's angry, instead he has this stubborn, silent, opposition about him. He quietly tosses toys over the railing down to the basement, pulls apart any toy within his reach, and will walk up to you and pretend he's going to hit you real hard but then really only tap you. We have a hard time reigning him in. It seems like the more you draw attention to his behaviour the more defiant he becomes. We usually try to just pick him up and smother him in love and kisses to snap him out of it.
Jake loves playing with Anderson. It's important to him that they are always playing with the same toy. If he has a car, then he insists Anderson have one too. If Anderson doesn't cooperate then Jake usually shrieks this high pitch scream to show his disdain. Jake is really good at pretending. He reinacts movie scenes using his toys and will mumble a conversation between two toys often. Last week with no prompting, Jake told Kevin that he was his hero :).
Jake loves cars. He is rarely seen without a car in his hand. He carries at least two cars around as he plays inside, outside, while traveling in our car, anywhere we allow it. Jake loves being outside and asks often if he can play outside. I suspect it might be because he is absolutely smitten by airplanes. Anytime an airplane flies overhead he gets so excited and must find it up in the sky. We can't wait to take him to the airport for his first plane ride.
He is still a dream when it comes to food. He is willing to try everything and anything you put in front of him. He likes strong flavors and loves sweets when he gets a sampling. He is starting to realize that there are other drinks in the world besides milk and water. At this point, the boys are only served milk or water. To my knowledge he has only tried juice a few times, and that was just a couple of sips. Lately though he is really interested in what Kevin and I are drinking and when we aren't looking he goes in for the kill.
While he might be a great eater, he is not a great sleeper. Well at least not compared to the standards that Anderson has set in this household. The boys still sleep in their cribs and will remain there for an undetermined amount of time. This past week Jake has been climbing out of his crib creating some nighttime mayhem. He isn't at any risk from climbing out of his crib because we have butted up a double bed against it. His fall is only about a foot onto a soft mattress. When he climbs out he opens his door and innocently says "Where is everyone?". We have to bite our tongue from laughing and put our stern faces on and carry him back to bed.
Jake has such a sweet demeanor about him. He loves animals, nature, and other kids. Last week on our walk there was a four year old girl playing outside and she yelled to the boys "I'm going to draw a smiley face for you guys in the dirt". Jake called out in the softest voice "I love yooouuuu!!!".

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