Before we tell Jesse good night, we always say a short prayer with him. Recently he started asking us to "pray again" (maybe in an attempt to prolong the bedtime routine??), so we sometimes oblige and instead of us saying another prayer, we let him repeat a short one after us. Last night we were praying for Jesse's newest cousin Will who was born just yesterday and we managed to get a bit on video. He was really sweet the first time, but once we tried to get a reenactment he got kind of sassy with it. Anyway, we look forward to meeting our newest nephew next weekend!
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Holiday Fun
We have been having a lot of fun celebrating the Christmas season this year. Today when Jesse woke up from his nap, we enjoyed making some sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies. Jesse really seemed to enjoy every second of it. He was a great helper, too. He loved pressing the cookie cutters into the dough and making sure we kept (lots) of flour on our board and rolling pin (and on us as well, as you can probably tell!). Afterwards, we delivered the cookies to friends in our building. Jesse absolutely loved riding the elevator all over the building, and I think it helped him work off his sugar high. He did melt down a little, though, once he realized he couldn't stay and play with any of his friends.
Eating it is, of course, the best part! He got a few bites before dinner, but we made him wait until after dinner to eat a whole cookie. Once he realized that he wasn't going to get a cookie without eating dinner, he started quickly stuffing his baked potato, carrots and green beans in his mouth.
Eating it is, of course, the best part! He got a few bites before dinner, but we made him wait until after dinner to eat a whole cookie. Once he realized that he wasn't going to get a cookie without eating dinner, he started quickly stuffing his baked potato, carrots and green beans in his mouth.
Just some proof that these cookies made him hyper!
We've also been working on a big paper chain for our Christmas tree. We add to it every day. Jesse likes to color, paint and put stickers on the pieces of paper.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Buddies
I just couldn't resist posting these sweet pictures of Jesse and one of his best buddies Alyse. For the past year, my friend Maggie and I have swapped babysitting each week. She takes Jesse for a couple hours once a week, and I take Alyse for a couple hours on another day. It's so great to have a chunk of alone time on a regular basis, and it has been so fun to watch Jesse and Alyse's friendship develop. A year ago, they barely noticed each other (except for the occasional kisses they would swap, as you can see here), but now Jesse talks about Alyse all the time and looks forward to their play dates. His newest thing is trying to hold her hand in an attempt to drag her wherever he wants her to go. The other day I was taking them down to the Tot Lot and Jesse had run ahead of us on our way to the elevators. All of a sudden he turned around, ran back to Alyse and said "Jesse hold yeeses hand" as he reached for her hand. Anyway, they are a sweet pair and these are some cute pictures of them eating cookies together last week.
I left the room for just a few seconds to grab something, and when I came back Jesse had left his chair and climbed up in Alyse's chair.
I left the room for just a few seconds to grab something, and when I came back Jesse had left his chair and climbed up in Alyse's chair.
Friday, December 7, 2012
Our Jesse Tree
If you aren't familiar with the Jesse Tree, it's based on the following scripture found in Isaiah 11:1-2, which refers to Christ (a shoot) coming from the line of Jesse in the Old Testament:
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him--the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord.
The devotional book features different people and events leading up to Christ's coming. So far we have hung the stump of Jesse, a moon and sun symbolizing creation, an apple and serpent for Adam and Eve, a rainbow for Noah, and a tent for Abraham and Sarah. I love how this Advent activity really ties together the Old and New Testaments and shows how all of the Old Testament events and people point to the coming of Jesus.
Zoo Lights
This past Saturday we visited the Lincoln Park Zoo for their annual Zoo Lights. The lights reminded me a lot of the Fayetteville Square at Christmas, but on a much larger scale. It was definitely worth the crowds, and it was the perfect time to go, because we had an unseasonably warm day and didn't even need our heavy coats. The best part by far was the awesome light show. You can take a peek on the video.
Right before Zoo Lights, we visited the Nature Museum. Since I had picked up a free pass to the museum from the library earlier in the week, and since the Nature Museum is just a block from the zoo, we figured we might as well kill two birds with one stone. Jesse especially had fun playing with the water and boats at the museum, in a hands-on exhibit called RiverWorks that explores things like dams and levees and floodplains. He also loved exploring an area with caves and boats and a tree-house slide, all made especially for kids his age. I didn't get any pictures of that, because we were busy making sure Jesse didn't get run over by some of the bigger kids.
Right before Zoo Lights, we visited the Nature Museum. Since I had picked up a free pass to the museum from the library earlier in the week, and since the Nature Museum is just a block from the zoo, we figured we might as well kill two birds with one stone. Jesse especially had fun playing with the water and boats at the museum, in a hands-on exhibit called RiverWorks that explores things like dams and levees and floodplains. He also loved exploring an area with caves and boats and a tree-house slide, all made especially for kids his age. I didn't get any pictures of that, because we were busy making sure Jesse didn't get run over by some of the bigger kids.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Jesse's Big Boy Bed
The Friday after Thanksgiving proved to be a very eventful day in our household. The biggest event was Jesse's switch to a big boy bed, but I should say that this was preceeded by Jesse destroying our Christmas tree, which indirectly led to the switch to the big boy bed. The two events may seem totally unrelated to you, but let me explain.
We spent Friday morning getting out our Christmas tree, stringing the lights on it and decorating it. Just when we got it situated in the corner of our living room, nicely out of Jesse's reach behind the couches and end table, Jesse pushed the lamp off of the end table and into the Christmas tree, which caused the already-wobbly-$18-Wal-Mart-tree that we got the first year we were married to go tumbling to the ground.
Not knowing whether or not we had broken glass all over the floor, I decided to put Jesse in his crib so that we could deal with the mess without him getting hurt. This was a bad idea. Jesse knew we were really upset about what had happened and that he was in trouble, which is what I believe caused him to try to scale the walls of his crib. It wasn't but a few minutes later that we heard a loud thud and crying coming from his room. I can't even describe how horrible we felt. Thankfully he was just fine and didn't even cry that long, even though it appeared that he landed right on his forehead. We had no idea he could or would try to escape (well, we knew he was definitely tall enough, but he has never seemed interested in trying).
Anyway, we didn't want to experience this again (even though we're pretty sure he only did it because of the circumstances), knowing it could have turned out much worse, so we just decided to go ahead and try converting his crib to a toddler bed. So far he seems to have no concept of the fact that he can get out of the bed. He climbs in and out of it all day long, but as soon as it's naptime or bedtime, he won't get out. Case in point: Shortly after we put him down for a nap the other day, we heard him screaming for George, his monkey; he had thrown him out of bed and wouldn't go get him, even though he really wanted him.
I know that soon enough he will likely learn about his new-found freedom and will test his limits, but for now we are grateful for an initially-smooth transition and glad we don't have to worry about another fall.
Oh, and here are some pictures of him in his "new" bed. We just got the railing today, which will allow all of us to sleep better, since Jesse had been falling out, sometimes several times a night.
We spent Friday morning getting out our Christmas tree, stringing the lights on it and decorating it. Just when we got it situated in the corner of our living room, nicely out of Jesse's reach behind the couches and end table, Jesse pushed the lamp off of the end table and into the Christmas tree, which caused the already-wobbly-$18-Wal-Mart-tree that we got the first year we were married to go tumbling to the ground.
Not knowing whether or not we had broken glass all over the floor, I decided to put Jesse in his crib so that we could deal with the mess without him getting hurt. This was a bad idea. Jesse knew we were really upset about what had happened and that he was in trouble, which is what I believe caused him to try to scale the walls of his crib. It wasn't but a few minutes later that we heard a loud thud and crying coming from his room. I can't even describe how horrible we felt. Thankfully he was just fine and didn't even cry that long, even though it appeared that he landed right on his forehead. We had no idea he could or would try to escape (well, we knew he was definitely tall enough, but he has never seemed interested in trying).
Anyway, we didn't want to experience this again (even though we're pretty sure he only did it because of the circumstances), knowing it could have turned out much worse, so we just decided to go ahead and try converting his crib to a toddler bed. So far he seems to have no concept of the fact that he can get out of the bed. He climbs in and out of it all day long, but as soon as it's naptime or bedtime, he won't get out. Case in point: Shortly after we put him down for a nap the other day, we heard him screaming for George, his monkey; he had thrown him out of bed and wouldn't go get him, even though he really wanted him.
I know that soon enough he will likely learn about his new-found freedom and will test his limits, but for now we are grateful for an initially-smooth transition and glad we don't have to worry about another fall.
Oh, and here are some pictures of him in his "new" bed. We just got the railing today, which will allow all of us to sleep better, since Jesse had been falling out, sometimes several times a night.
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