Happy Valentine's Day!

More pictures to come, but here is one of our Valentines. Mariella is not mad. She was just really serious at that moment.

Real Race

Put it in the baby book: Jacob finally saw his first "real race." Some race that was not the Daytona 500 was on Saturday, and we put it on just to see what his reaction would be. He was enthralled. At first he just sat on the couch, excited. Then he moved to the floor and bounced around. Finally, he was almost nose-to-screen on the TV. I think he wanted to be IN the race himself. We didn't save it, and he was upset later when he wanted to watch the"real race." (As opposed to the racing in the movie Cars) So to make it up to him, we recorded part of Daytona on Sunday. He took his nap during a good chunk of the race, and we made sure he saw the end of it later on. It went on for so long, Tom and I actually wanted to see the end too.

Jacob was pointing out all the numbers and colors of the cars. He even recognized some logos (uh oh, the advertisers have him already!). He knew Oreos and M&Ms.

He also pointed out cars that look like the Cars movie characters, cheered for crashes, and watched for the different color flags. He learned how to watch racing pretty quickly!

Recent things

As of 2/9/10, Mariella can stand up anywhere and start walking. Her balance has greatly improved and she stays on her feet much longer. She can even change directions or stop to look behind her. Now it's on to running...

Last weekend we visited Grandpa and Grandma S. They have a Wii, and Jacob got to play his first video game. We played a few rounds of bowling, and he had a lot of fun. He needed some assistance with the controller, but he was swinging his arm like a pro. Other parts of the game that were fun: the number of pins knocked down was displayed after each person's turn, and Jacob announced that number Every. Single. Time. If he had to go to another room to tell Grandpa, that's what he did. Four players times ten frames, well, you get the idea. He also picked up on taunting, somehow. He would say, "Ha ha, you missed!" and then laugh hysterically. We're not sure where he learned this, but it probably has something to do with sports being watching in our house.

First Day of Preschool

Jacob finally had his first day of preschool today! He was so excited to go. His first order of business this morning was to pick out his clothes. He made a point to pick out his racecar shirt. We went out a couple days ago to get a backpack ("pack pack") and he chose one with trains on it. Surprise, surprise. I made sure to get a picture of him before we left. This was actually well before we left, because I didn't want to be in a rush. And he was in a good mood, so I had to take the opportunity while it was there. No picture of the backpack, since he had to wear it. But he's smiling!


He had so much fun. When I returned to pick him up, the teacher had all the kids bundled up ready to go, and they were all sitting in a circle waiting for their parents. It was quite a sight. From what Jacob has reported so far, they played a lot and had a snack. They also read a story (but he hasn't said what it was) and sang songs. Oh, and there was gym time and he drove the big cars. We already can't wait for next Friday!

New "words"

Mariella has been trying to say some more words recently. The other day we were playing with her teddy bear, and she was repeating "buh, buh" for "bear." She tries to say "all gone" too. I always say it to her in a sing-song voice when she's done eating, and she will either say "all ga" or something like "uuuuuuuug." She has also repeated "all done" after diaper changes.

So far, the words she says clearly are "mama," "dada," "hi," and "sha sha" (Jacob). And this isn't so much a word, but she has a very loud grunt/screech that she makes at mealtimes when she wants more. She knows the sign, but she's learned that being loud is the best way to get things accomplished.

11 Months Old

I cannot believe that in one month, Mariella will be celebrating her first birthday. Mommy and Daddy are trying to work our way up to celebrating, and hopefully by then we will be on board. Time is going too quickly, and we are NOT ready for her to be walking and getting ready to turn a year old!

Her walking skills have really improved in just under a week. She's still working on balance, but there are times when she can steady herself before she falls. She can take anywhere from 3-15 steps before falling. She could probably take more if she didn't insist on trying to take large and/or heavy objects with her. Walking empty-handed just doesn't make sense to her, I guess.
Her appetite continues to be huge. Some new foods lately have been broccoli, pineapple, yogurt, and vegetable ravioli. Her favorite foods right now are pasta (anything she can pick up by herself) and any meats that are small enough to pick up. Diced ham, ground beef, turkey meatballs, you name it. She loves it all, and definitely needs the fuel!

Other stuff:

• She likes to smash things into our faces, as though encouraging us to chew on them like she does. Early sharing skills?


• Enjoys being read to, and will really study the pictures


• Has already mastered climbing up the steps to the slide and sitting down at the top. She needs help to slide down, but sometimes she will roll over onto her tummy and slide down backwards. Smart girl!


• The molars are on the move. It will probably be awhile before they come in, but she has been really fussy at times and chewing on her fingers. There are some big bulges in her gums on the bottom.
  

Cute little profile

Silly grin

Such a silly girl!