Christmas

I didn't take any pictures this Christmas...but my brother-in-law Philip did.  Here are some of his shots.  Most of them included unflattering pictures of me in a red tunic that makes me look like I am 300 pounds. I am getting VERY big, but not that big!  These were acceptable...

This picture is actually from Thanksgiving day...My mother-in-law bought the shirts and wanted a picture for her Christmas card. However, all the boys wore the shirts on Christmas day, too!

Beppe gave the boys stools--Uncle Mike found a different use for them...an instrument in tickle torture!

John sitting on Beppe's lap.  

John on his light up turtle from Uncle Phil and Auntie Rosaline

(Jacob has taken this over for now...)

Also a picture of my big red bowl full of jelly belly!

"All I want for Christmas"

Being the mother of only boys, I often wonder how much longer they'll want to  hug and kiss me, snuggle on the couch, or hold my hand.  I also know that someday soon I will start to embarrass them in some way or another...it's inevitable.  For example, at Christmastime, I love to put on Christmas music and dance around the house, singing at the top of my lungs.   However, this year the boys decided to embrace my craziness and dance along.  Here's proof that little boys don't mind being as crazy as their mom:

My little pumpkins...Comparison

When I dressed John today, I realized that two years and one day ago, I put Jacob in the same outfit.  So, I decided to take a picture of John with a pumpkin in honor of Halloween.  John is technically six weeks older than Jacob in terms of age, so that's why he looks older!  They probably weigh the same, though. 

Random Vidoes (to help me remember this time in my life)

This happened a couple of days ago. I told Jacob his feet were dirty, and then I caught him doing this about two minutes later! I wouldn't normally encourage this, but it was just so cute, and he was so

proud of himself! 

 

 

 

 

 

Not very exciting, I know...But I posted it so I could have proof that I've taught John how old his is. This movie was probably recorded over a month ago.

15 Months!

Some days I cannot believe that my little Johnny is already 15 months old...however, in the same breath, I can't believe he is ONLY fifteen months old!  I feel like he has aged WAY more than three months since he turned one.  He is a completely different person!  He has become more independent, he's starting to communicate, he walks everywhere, he figures out how to do new things every day, and he is starting to understand simple commands!  So, for those of you who get bored easily, this post is really just for me to remember.  I'll post some pictures once I find the camera cord! 

Here's a few of his likes and dislikes:

Food:  likes toast with butter, hotdogs, cheese, deli meat, any fruit we give him, crackers
           dislikes most cooked meat

Activities:  he loves to do anything outside; anything Jacob likes to do, he wants to do; he loves to play in the car, but he hates to get in his carseat; I think he loves nursery, but he screams for the first couple of minutes after I leave;  he is obsessed with balls.

Some of his accomplishments:

Words I can understand:  Momma, Daddy, ball (ba or baba), bottle (baba), juice (ju), bye (ba with a cute wave), Jacob (dayda), uh-oh, cheese (cheee)

Skills: walking everywhere, he does a funny lopsided run, too!; climbs into his own seat at the table; folds his hands when we pray or when I ask him to say Amen; points to items he wants; gives hugs and kisses; points to his nose when asked; sometimes points to eyes when asked; can answer what a dog says; sometimes will say what a cow says, but it sounds like "mmm", can point to his "ding-dong" (belly button); will pull up my shirt when I ask, "Where's the baby?" 

Sleeping:
His sleep patterns are constantly changing, but for the last three days (while my mother-in-law had Jacob I really worked on this new schedule) he has been only taking one nap (for about an hour and a half or a little longer) and sleeping at night from 8:00 until 7:30.  I LOVE it!  Of course, that could change pretty easily.  Before switching to one nap, he was sleeping at night from 9 until 5:45. 

Other random things I want to remember:  He has twelve teeth, but his bottom eye teeth are on their way (red spots where they should be coming in). 

Stats:
shoe size: size 5
Height: they measured 33.5 inches, but I think that's a bit too long...
Weight: about 27 pounds
clothes size: shirts are mostly 24 months or 2T, some 18 months.  Most of his pants are 18 months

Breakfast with my boys!

 

Not that exciting, but I think it's cute anyways!

Three!

I can't believe Jacob is already three years old!  Well, we've been celebrating his birthday for over a month now, so I guess I should say that I couldn't believe he was still two years old yesterday!  He's been acting three for a long time now.  He's SO helpful and does a lot of things by himself now...getting his toothbrush ready, picking out his own clothes, buckling his own seatbelt, getting himself juice (and something juice for his little brother).  He can help set the table, too!  It's nice to have some help around the house now that he's getting older.  He can even vacuum! 

I'm going to need all that help in four 1/2 months when the baby comes, so I'm REALLY happy that he's going to be almost three and a half and will be able to help me with his 18 month old brother!

Anyway, here's a big about Jacob (in his own words--some of these answers I'm not so sure about)

Favorite drink: soda
Favorite food: fries
Favorite TV show: Scooby Doo
Favorite color: purple  (normally it's blue--he could mean red)
Best friend: Simon de Jong (although I really think it's his cousin Matijs)
Favorite thing to do outside: playing outside with Johnny
Favorite animal: cow
Favorite place to go:  my house

That's about all I can get out of him right now.  Here's a few pictures of our day so far.  Later we plan on making his birthday cake (while Johnny is sleeping), and later we are going to the pet store so he can pick out a new fish!

We went to Winchell's Donuts for breakfast--first time here in Salinas and Jacob and John's first time ever! 

Then we went to the park! 

(Jacob got himself dressed today including the hat!)

 

Big Shoes to Fill!

John has some pretty big shoes to fill...as a BIG BROTHER!  Yes, we are expecting a third kid early January (depending on when they'll schedule my C-section).  

I am currently 16 weeks pregnant (almost 4 months for those of you not used to calculating in weeks), and things appear to be going well.  I do enjoy being pregnant and don't really get sick, but I'm glad that the tiredness and fatigue of the first trimester are over!

When the baby comes, John will be almost 18 months and Jacob will be 3 and 4 1/2 months!  I'm going to be pretty busy, but Jacob is SUCH a big help already, and John is usually pretty happy (except when he's teething!).  

Party!

Last Saturday we had a party for both boys' birthdays. (Jacob's birthday is August 22, but I didn't feel like having a separate party.)  It was just for the Zylstra family.  (We'll do one with my family when my sister Deb and her kids are here from Idaho.)

Anyway, here are the pictures!

John enjoying the wrapping paper...and the blanket Beppe made for him! 

the older boys helped John open his present! 

cutest swim shorts ever! 

John's new bike from Pake and Beppe

Jacob was excited to get a couple of presents, too! 

T-ball set from Uncle Phil and Auntie Rosaline

singing to John--Tijs got to blow out his candle! 

Jacob blew out his own in one blow! 

messy boy--Jacob picked out chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and sprinkles.  He also helped me make the cake!  

silly face

John was pretty happy with the cake! 

 

One Year Old!

John turned one on July 7.  Yes, I realize that today is July 17.  We've been pretty busy lately.  More about that to come.  Anyway, he went to the doctor last Wednesday, so I have his new stats:

Height: 31 inches
Weight: 24 lbs, 7 oz.

New  Skills: Standing by himself for seconds at a time, walking along furniture, waving goodbye, saying "FFF" for fish, pointing, saying "uh" for uh-oh, using a sippy cup.  I think it will be another week or two before he's brave enough to walk by himself.  He will take three to five steps, though, when he really wants to get between two places.

Teeth: 7 to 10.  I say that because the front four are all the way in, and three of the other front ones are very visible.  I also felt three molars poking through, but they haven't completely broken through yet.  He's been pretty crabby lately, which is like a personality change for him.  He's usually so happy and smiley.

Well, here's the good part--some pictures and videos.

John (Gulliver) in the land of the Lilliputians

He's learned to be a very fast crawler in order to keep up with his big brother! 

He's already started climbing things...Uh, oh!  I'm going to be in big trouble in a few months! 

11 1/2 months already!

Johnny loves to help me put clothes in the dryer...well, he probably just likes playing with the dryer door.  I can't believe how big he is getting.  A couple more weeks, and he'll be ONE!

Johnny is also crawling ALL over the place...which I prefer because otherwise he's pulling up on my legs and wanting to be picked up.  He's getting pretty fast!

Brother Love

First time we tried this, it worked!  I'm really starting to work with Johnny on walking.  I don't think he'll be walking by his first birthday, but we'll see! 

 Snack time in the family room!

Normal Day Life (In Videos)

I thought I'd upload some current videos of the kids...

Johnny is learning what "NO!" means...well, I'm trying to teach him!

Sometimes this is what I do when I need a break...both are entertained for at least ten minutes...

Johnny keeps working on learning the walk...with anything he can find that will move on the floor!

Jacob is learning to play baseball...and to wear underwear.  He's now potty trained (with the occasional accident, of course!)

No longer a toddler...all boy!

My little boy is getting so big!  And he is SUCH a boy!  He plays rough, he yells all the time, but at least he's held on to his daily two-hour naps!  

Jacob's newest obsession is guns.  His daddy bought him two already, and I don't think it's going to stop any time soon!  Here he is loading his gun and preparing for battle. 

Taking a second before getting ready for his onslaught. 

"Fight"  (these are his actual words!)  I also hope you noticed his outfit....he did the slippers and the backpack himself...

My nephew Simon wore this outfit for my wedding July of 2008.  I can't believe it fits Jacob already!  Good thing because he'll inherit three more of the same outfit over time...

Watch me go!

April 17

May 9

Johnny's preferred method of walking--he does this all the time.  

Frog

For all you animal rights activities, no frogs were injured during the filming of this video.  The frog was released a couple of minutes later...although Jacob tries to look for it every night before bed...

Comparison!

Jacob--April 2010 (8 months) 

John--April 2012 (9 months) 

Nine Months!

On April 7, Johnny turned nine months old!  I can't believe how fast time has flown!  It really does goes faster with the second child.  Yesterday, we went to the doctor.  Despite having to get another shot, it went really well.  Here are Johnny's stats:

Height: 29.5 inches (almost 90th percentile)
Weight: 22 pounds (almost 75th percentile)
Head Circumference: 47.5 cm (95th percentile--Zylstra or Van Hofwegen head?)

Teeth: 4--front bottom two have been in for three months, top front two came in last week!
New Skills: crawling the regular way, pulling up to a stand, clapping
Likes: smiling, flirting, brother Jacob, bouncing, turning off power strips (he's doing it right now), feeding himself, eating in general, any attention from anyone, splashing in his bath, being outside in his car
Dislikes: getting in his carseat--he is SO strong that I have a hard time getting him in--doors closed in his face, being alone in a room,  being held down, diaper rash, dirty diapers
Sleep Schedule:  At night he sleeps from about 8 to 6:30 getting up once for a bottle.  I've tried to make him cry it out, but he'll just wake up in another hour.  I think I get more sleep if I just get up and give him the bottle.  He takes a morning nap around 9:30 to 11:30, and he takes another from around 3 to 4.

see my front two teeth?

Johnny's car--Jacob is teaching him how to share!

Blessed: My Life in Videos

Sometimes I get so tired out from raising two very active boys...and other times I realize how blessed I am to have two healthy children! Here are a few pictures and videos of my charming kids (who get along fairly well for the most part). Jacob is quickly becoming my little helper and a good big brother, and Johnny melts my heart with his huge smiles!

 

Sometimes I wonder when I should interfere...Johnny definitely is going to be pretty tough!

And the sweetest one by far:

Free Saturday Fun at the Dairy (Impromptu Photo Shoot)

This past Saturday I wanted to take Jacob somewhere fun...so we went to Pake and Beppe's (and Uncle Mike's) dairy for an hour or so.

Jacob was pretty excited when Larry started up the tractor and gave him a little ride!

 While the boys were busy, Johnny and I had to find something to do...take pictures!

Check out the drool!

When Jacob and Larry were done riding the tractor, I tried to get a good picture of the boys together...

No such luck!  But I did capture their personalities a bit...Jacob loves to mess with his brother, and Johnny just smiles and thinks Jacob is the best brother in the whole world!

almond hulls

Jacob wouldn't let us leave without "driving" the tractor again!

Last picture (apparently this turned into a photo shoot!)