Mommy's Little Big Boy

Jake has become such a big boy recently. I can remember seeing Bailey go from being a toddler to a preschooler in what seemed like a few days. And, I see it with Jake, too. He still loves to be the baby, which makes it nice for us since we like having him as our little baby, but he's truly becoming that full-blown preschooler. Beyond the physical traits, he's finally developing his language skills. We understand most of what he wants and needs through verbal communication, even though he still has trouble speaking a lot of words clearly. He definitely knows Batman, Spiderman, Joker, Venom, Mary Jane, and princess. Those words are his favorites. :) He also loves to say, "Why so serious?" If any of you have seen Dark Knight, you'll understand why it's so adorable. Most recently, his favorite phrase, unrelated to his superhero friends, is "Yanowhat? (You know what?)" It is usually followed by I love you or I'm hungry.

He is also a big pretender. We pretend to be super heroes most of the day. What strikes me as the most adorable aspect of this, is how we play with particular toys together. For instance, if we are playing with his Spiderman toy, we will also play with Venom, Sandman, and the Green Goblin, all at his insistence. Since we do not have a Mary Jane doll, Jake finds one of Bailey's red-headed Barbies to play the role of Mary Jane. Similarly, we do the same with Batman, Joker, Penguin, etc. And, we can't play with just any Barbie doll... we play with Snow White. You see, she has black hair, like Batman's woman on Dark Knight. The only Barbie doll with black hair. Details, people... they are important. :)

Physically, Jake is growing taller and taller and thinner and thinner. He weighs about 30 pounds, but I can't figure out where it is. He's a skinny little guy... guess he's going to take after his Daddy. He loves to play fight, which presents problems sometimes since he likes to fight with us when we are seriously trying to discipline him. We're making it through though. I am really eager for the weather to be nice enough to go outside with Jake. He loves to play ball and dig in the dirt... and it will make my life much easier (less Spiderman games for mommy!). :) We attempt playing ball in the house, but it does present some problems. He does really well with his toy basketball set... I was showboating the other day and shooting the ball backwards (you know, with my back facing the goal), and Jake turned around and did it, too. Amazingly, he made it... he actually shoots the ball quite well. Daddy is pleased.

A close up of the baby, er... big boy:



And, playing at Christmas with his favorites - Batman (not in this photo), Joker, and Snow White (which was Bailey's, but Jake enjoys her much more than she does). :)