Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We are still in New York with Rob's parents while Rob is on a business trip. We had a wonderful holiday and spent time with many friends and relatives. Jay really enjoyed his first Thanksgiving meal. He ate more sweet potatoes than anyone! He was eyeing the turkey, but we felt he should wait until he has more than two teeth.

Jay is now nine months old. It is such a cliche to say time flies, but it really does! I feel it more with Jay than I did with Cole, maybe because the days are busier with two little boys. Before Jay it was busy, but it was all focused on Cole. Now the time has to be divided. I treasure the quiet times with Jay before his naps and the minutes he is awake when Cole is sleeping (although not the ones in the middle of the night). I am trying very hard not to let Jay fall into the second-baby syndrome with fewer pictures and a smaller baby book and fewer memories, but it is difficult because Cole demands attention. In light of these thoughts, here are some observations about Jay at nine months.

He always crawls on hands and knees now (before he only crawled on his belly), and he is getting a lot of exercise going up and down a long hallway in the Mirman house. Sometimes Cole follows him and plays "meow-meow" (a game I started one day when I forget that if you do something once with a toddler you have to be prepared to do it everyday until such toddler graduates from high school and moves away). It consists of crawling on the floor pretending to be kitty cats looking for food. I am really looking forward to the day Jay can fully participate in meow-meow and let me off the hook.

Jay is also pulling up on everything. Before we left he could pull up on low things, like the bottom step and a stool. Now he pulls up on the hearth, the ottoman, end tables--absolutely anything. Often, he lifts up a leg while standing like he is trying to climb. He is in constant motion. As soon as I turn my back, he heads for the cat food, the electrical outlets and cords, or starts climbing the stairs (he got up two steps a couple days before Thanksgiving).

He is starting to communicate more and more. He says "mamamama" when he needs to be comforted and "dadadada" when Rob is with him. He also has a "nya nya" sound that we think means "no," and a "Haaa" sound that may mean "hi." And he rocks back in forth in his highchair when he is done eating, sometimes banging the back of his head on the seat (fortunately, it is well padded).

Cole and Jay are playing together alot this trip. It is nice to watch and imagine all the fun they will have together in the future. At this point, the play usually ends with Cole tackling, shoving, or pulling on Jay and one or both boys in tears. However, we are starting to see them becoming friends. That is definitely something to be thankful for!

*Yesterday, we went to the new outlet mall to get Jay a few long-sleeve shirts for the upcoming trips north. Cole was a riot. He kept touching clothes saying, "Oh, this is cute!" (sounding exactly like me). After lunch he wanted to throw our trash away so I lifted him up to the top of the container. Then he wanted to throw more things away, so I quickly finished my drink and gave him the cup. Before I could reach him, he ran over to the trash can and threw the cup up and into the barrel. Two points for Cole!

*"Can I pick you up?" This is the way Cole asked someone to carry him. He is starting to say it correctly now. I'm going to really miss his toddler phrases and sayings.

*I personally don't think I have that bad of a singing voice, but apparently my backseat music critic does. Whenever I sing along to music Cole says, "No Mommy. Stop." One day we were listening to the radio and a song I like came on. I wanted to sing along so I told Cole, "This is Mommy's song so I can sing." Now whenever I start to sing he says, "No Mommy. This is my song."

NO MORE BABY FOOD!

After close to nine months of watching everyone else eat yummy food while he suffered with the mushy gunk, Jay decided he has had enough. Teeth or no teeth, he is going to have the real stuff. Lunch on this day was a real ordeal. He ducked, bobbed, and weaved around the spoon, resulting in a big mess. We finally compromised. He got little pieces of bread that he picked up off his tray, while I shoved sweet potatoes into his mouth whenever he opened it. Usually he only opened his mouth to put a piece of bread in, so every bite was a race to see who could get there first. I love the pouty face in this picture.

Peek-a-Boo!

HALLOWEEN (yes, I know this is almost a month late)

Cole loved Halloween this year! Jay had less fun, mostly because he sweated like crazy in his lion costume (made by Grandma Carlene who is used to bitter cold Halloween nights in the Midwest). At first we planned on only going to 5 or 6 close neighbors, but when Cole realized we were going home, he said, "No. More houses." His little voice was so sweet that even his demand sounded nice. So he and I kept going while Rob and Jay passed out treats at home. I was surprised--he was so shy at the first houses that I wasn't sure he was enjoying himself. We went to a few more houses, then a few more, then a few more. I think he would have kept going all night. He was adorable picking his treats. He studied the basket intently, like this was a critical decision, then very carefully selected a piece of candy. At the last house, he started swaying and his eyes glazed over. This time when I suggested going home, he didn't argue.

Once home, he instantly revived and wanted to try all his candy. Lucky for us, he spit most of it out (I really don't understand how a kid of mine could not like sweets). Jay was also excited by the candy, although more for the colors and the sounds the wrappers made.

After the excitement and sugar high wore off a bit, we got ready for bed. Cole would not take off his costume. I finally convinced him to take off the overalls so I could change his diaper, but the jacket stayed on all night. He really didn't want Halloween to end.

Guess who's crawling...

It's hard to capture crawling in a photo, so I guess you'll have to take our word for it. He's not up on all fours yet.; instead he scoots along on his belly (just like Cole did). Now he doesn't want to be held, nor will he just sit. All he wants to do is crawl and explore. Of course the first things he heads to are the outlets, small choking hazards, and magazine to chew into pulp. I think we are going to have to do much more baby-proofing with this guy!

Fireman Cole

It was no problem picking out Cole's Halloween costume this year. Ever since we toured the fire station he has been obsessed with fire trucks and firemen. He wears the costume often and puts out fires in our living room. This time, the weeble-wobble tree house was on fire and Cole and Jay were on the job.

Jay and I having a quiet snuggle.

Cole climbed into one of his toy boxes and we

thought it would be cute to have Jay in one too.

Both boys found it hilarious and stayed put longer

than I imagined possible. Hmm...perhaps

I've found a new type of playpen!

Bathing Beauty!

Jay at Seven Months. You can see his two bottom teeth in the top picture. In the bottom picture you can see the big puddle of drool created by all this teething.

Jay has recently become a fantastic sitter. We don't even put pillows behind him anymore. Usually the only time he falls over is when Cole tackles him.

He's also getting close to crawling. He's rolling and spinning around on his belly constantly. He definitely will be crawling months earlier than Cole did. Perhaps it's part of the second-child syndrome: I often set him on the floor while I get Cole milk, lunch, or something, so he has had more time to practice moving.

I think Cole is ready for his brother to get bigger. He does this funny thing where he puts his head on Jay's and pushes like a little bull. I don't think he means to hurt him, but just doesn't understand how much stronger he is.

As a big growing baby, Jay is hungry all the time. This day he quickly polished off the first jar. When I took too long to get the next jar from the pantry, he resorted to eating the food off the highchair tray. Too cute!

Jay in Maine
I just realized that the photos of Jay in Maine didn't make it onto the blog. Blogger said it was doing work on the site at 4 pm. I assumed it was eastern time, so at 7:00 I thought it was safe to post. It was really 4 pacific time. Oops. So Jay's posting is lost out there in cyberland. Here's some cute photos of him enjoying vacation.

It's been a month since a posting. Oops! Apologies to all the Cole and Jay fans out there (especially Aunt Robyn--if you weren't constantly begging for updates, I'd probably never get around to this). In the past month, we've visited Grandma and Pop Pop Mirman in Maine; Jay got his two bottom teeth; we took down Cole's crib so he has completely transitioned to the big boy bed; Jay outgrew his infant carseat and is now in the same one as Cole (he still has to face backwards so it takes up an incredible amount of space in the car. If you visit us before he is one (when he can face forwards), expect to be smooshed in the passenger seat); Cole has discovered Thomas the Train videos and is starting a new obsession; and both boys have continued to amaze us daily.

Jasper Beach, Maine

Cole loved Jasper Beach, which is made up entirely of rocks. He collected an entire bag of "treasures" and stuffed as many rocks as possible in his pockets.

Cole loved making "secret places" behind Grandma's quilts draped over the sofa:

Grandma and Cole reading stories:

Picnic at McClellan Park:

The Photo Shoot

Cole's teacher wanted pictures of all the kids to make a birthday board. I thought it would be a good time to take some new pictures. Cole thought it was a good time to be silly. We never did get a good picture for school, but these truly represent Cole at 2 yrs old.

This afternoon's nap started in the big bed, but Cole got up so it ended in the crib. When I heard him start talking after an hour, I went into his room to get him. I got quite a surprise. Cole was standing at the side of the crib naked from the waist down.

"I took my pants and diaper off," he said very matter of factly.

"Why did you do that?" I asked.

"It was poopy."

Sure enough, the diaper neatly placed in the corner of the crib was poopy.

I've heard horror stories of kids who play with the poop when they take off their diapers, so I feel very fortunate. Potty training is definitely in the near future.

Cole was in the backseat playing with cardboard circles that shoot out of a big plastic watch (the toy from a Wendy's kids'meal) when he asked, "Where do circles come from?"

One section of Cole's favorite book is about mixing colors. I asked Cole "white and red make what color?" I thought he said poo-poo (in retrospect he probably said purple). I asked "Did you say poo-poo?" which he, of course, found hysterical. For the rest of the book, every color was "poo-poo."

I think we are nearing the stage of endless questions (along the vein of "where do babies come from") and poop jokes.

UPDATE: Last night when Rob was putting Cole to bed, I heard Cole laughing hysterically. I just found out that Rob thought he said poo-poo for purple. So that is where the poo-poo thing started.

Beach Baby Jay

Last weekend was a cool 85 degrees, so we went to the beach. We avoided bringing Jay there all summer because it has been too hot and sunny for a baby. He slept the first part of the day then enjoyed dipping his toes in the water.

"My Big Bed!"

I wish photos could show exactly how excited Cole was to get a big boy bed. He was literally bouncing off the walls while he and daddy put it together. He said "my big bed" over and over, and, when it was close to finished, exclaimed, "It's perfect!" I have to admit my eyes welled up at the thought of him transitioning from his crib to a bed.

My tears ended, however, as naptime began. Rob put him in the big bed and explained that he needed to stay there for the entire nap. That last about 30 seconds. Before Rob was even down the stairs, Cole got up, opened the door, and yelled "Hi!" Supernanny said on one episode to not talk or make eye contact--just put the child back in bed. So we tried that...about 3 dozen times. Every time he got up and stood at the top of staircase (which is gated) and yelled "Hi!"

I then decided, based on another episode of Supernanny, to lie on floor next to his bed where he couldn't see me. Supposedly my presence would make him stay in bed and fall asleep. Instead he leaned over the bed and said "Mommy....Hey Mommy...Mom!...Get up...Mommy get up...I'll give you a time out!" At that point I burst out laughing and decided naptime was over.

About an hour later, Cole was so tired he began to fall apart. So we decided to put the crib back together so he could get some sleep. That night he wanted to sleep in the big bed so we had a big discussion about not getting out of bed and he stayed put all night! Now the score is 2 nights and 1.5 naps in the big bed and 2.5 naps in the crib.

Cole is starting to become more attached to his stuffed animals. He spent a recent morning playing with his frog. He gave the frog a ride on his little scooter and looked so cute, I had to take a picture. He also had the frog sit in a chair next to him during lunch.

Busted!

We had an open house at Cole's school this afternoon. It was raining, so we decided I would take the boys inside while Rob parked the car. I had been driving so I got out of the car and walked around to get Cole. Instead of getting out and walking around to driver's side, Rob slid across the front seat. When I opened Cole's door, he told me, "Daddy swear." BUSTED!! Rob had knocked over a bottle of water I had in the cup holder and said, "sh--!" I guess Cole has heard me tell Rob not to swear. He's like a little sponge soaking up everything going on around him--even when it seems like he isn't paying attention.

"Gimme that Bottle!"

Rob was feeding Jay a bottle, but got distracted and moved it out of his mouth. Jay reached up and grabbed it with both hands and stuck it back in his mouth. When our big guy is hungry, nothing stops him!

Look out Cole--Jay's gaining on you!
Our "little" 5-month old is now wearing 12-month sleepers! We thought that we were going to be able to use all Cole's hand-me-downs, but Jay is big enough now to wear the clothes Cole wore in the fall and winter. Long pants and sweaters aren't going to work in 100 degrees!

This is for Aunt Robyn and Uncle Paul--Cole loves his Mr. Potato Head!! Especially with his tongue coming out of his chin and his eyes on top of his head!

More two-isms

It's been extremely hot and humid in Charleston lately--heat index over 100. This afternoon as we walked in a parking lot Cole told me to, "turn on the air conditioner." He's not entirely southern yet!

Another time when we were outside I put my hair in a ponytail. Cole didn't like it and kept saying "no hair, no hair." I told him it was cooler with my hair up. Now when we go outside he touches his hair and says, "put my hair up."

Once in a while when we are in the car, Cole says, "Hamma at airport." I guess he thinks we left grandma there and wants to go pick her up!

Sitting Pretty

Jay is learning to sit now. With support he can sit for a long time. Without support, he last only a few minutes before falling over. As you can see from this picture, he is pretty proud of this new skill and he is happy to see the world from a new perspective.

Which one's the kid in this picture?

A Visit From "Hamma"

The lack of recent entries is due to being busy during Grandma Carlene's visit. Cole finds the "gr" sound difficult, so he calls her "hamma." He became very attached to her during her week-long visit. Whenever he didn't see her he asked, "Where's Hamma?" It certainly gave me a break, especially since Rob was away on a business trip for most of the time.

A Two-Year-Old's Sense of Humor

A few funny things happened recently:

Cole has begun calling me "daddy," then laughing hysterically. He also points at me and says "That names daddy" and practically falls over from laughing.

The other day when we looked at his shape book, he pointed to an oval and said "triangle" then laughed and laughed. He kept saying the wrong shapes and finding it hilarious. The book only had the basic shapes and thanks to Blues Clues he was saying shapes like "trapezoid" and "octogon."

He also finds it really funny when Rob and I do things wrong. During his bath I sang "Row row row your boat," but instead of boat said "banana" and "octopus." He shreiked "No! Boat!" and about went under water from laughing so much. Then he amazed me by singing along to the whole song. He has never sung before. I didn't know he knew all the words. Every day something he does amazes me!

This afternoon he wanted to put on his shoes. I asked where he was going and he said "to work." (Daddy being at work is a big topic of conversation during the day). I asked where he worked and he said "in the car" and walked to the garage. Apparently he thinks Rob works in his car! I guess it makes sense since Rob drives off in the morning and is "at work."

At the store I was going to pour more juice into his sippy cup. I had him hold it while I poured and he shook it (of course). When the water that was in the cup hit the wall and formed a puddle he said very loudly "Oh my goodness!" A woman in the aisle burst out laughing. It was such a funny expression for a 2-year-old. I'm glad we have stopped swearing around him!

Cole's First Portrait

Cole has been drawing circles for quite a while and now has started to add features. This face really impressed me. He even drew a neck and eyebrows! You might think the lines on top are hair, but he tells me they are ears. He is becoming more and more interested in drawing and coloring. He recently learned that it is cool to hold a bunch of crayons in his hand when drawing (at preschool he was in a classroom with three year olds for a couple weeks--he also learned to use scissors). He really likes painting as well, especially how gross the water looks after he rinses his brush.