Play-doh has been at the top of Jacob's to-do list every night this week. I showed him how to make a pinch pot, where you put your thumb inside a ball of play-doh and pinch around the edges to make a bowl shape. Jacob likes making fringe around the edges of his pinch pots. Tonight we made a glove out of play-doh! We also had a "make your own ice cream sundae" party tonight!...Jacob loves maraschino cherries!

Jacob made a dinosaur puppet today at school. He wanted to hold it on the way home, and as I was driving, I suddenly heard Jacob say from the back seat, "Don't do that dinosaur...stop licking me!" When we got home, Jacob got out of the car, walked over and held the dinosaur up to the house and said, "Here's Jacob's house dinosaur!"

The big excitement tonight was Jacob getting a race car bed! He got to help wash the new race car sheets, and when we started putting them on the bed, Jacob covered his mouth with his hands and giggled, and said, "I so excited!" We also had a Play-doh party tonight. Jacob liked "making hair" and then cutting it with the plastic scissors!

Jacob started a new saying recently. If I ask him if he wants to eat or if he'll help me with something, and he's too busy playing, he'll say "I do it tomorrow!" So I tried a different approach, asking, "Do you know what it's time to do?" Several times this week his response has been, "Go to es-saun-sin?" (Wisconsin) So we decided to take a road trip to Wisconsin today! We got ice cream in Osceola, and ate it at the river. The trees are starting to change color, so it was really pretty there, and the weather was great!

We also stopped at an apple orchard on the way. Jacob got to see the fork lift bringing the big box of apples over to be washed, and then the apples rode in front him on the conveyor belt. We walked through the orchard and saw the apples growing on trees too!

Jacob playing his guitar and singing tonight!

Jacob has a great imagination! He likes taking his tractor, and pretending to dump a load of dirt on the track for his little cars, and then my job is to push the car down the track, so it drives through the dirt. When it gets to the end of the track, Jacob and I laugh and yell, "Wow, it got REALLY dirty!!" and then his tractor dumps another load of imaginary dirt on the track for the next car to drive through!

Tonight we decided to build "Little Fellow" a dog house out of blocks (The green arch in the back is the window!) First, Jacob decided the dog needed a bone...then Jacob's tractor delivered a toy (another block) for the stuffed animal. "Oooooh, Little Fellow likes more toys!" I took a picture when he was done delivering toys to the dog house!

Jacob went to a funeral today. He never met Clarence, but I think it was a good experience for him. The past few days, Jacob and I have been talking about funerals, and what happens when you die. We talked about what Heaven is like, and that Clarence went to live there with Jesus. Clarence gets to have hugs and smooches from Jesus everyday there, and he smiles a lot because he is so happy there with Jesus. He doesn't need his body anymore, so they put his body in a big box called a casket, and they will put the casket under the dirt and grass. Clarence will look like he is sleeping in the casket, his eyes will be closed, and if you touch his hand it will feel cold. There will be flowers there, and some people might be crying because they will miss seeing and hugging Clarence until it's their turn to live in Heaven too, but Clarence is happy in Heaven with Jesus! Jacob seemed to understand, and could answer all of my questions about it correctly. He did not ask many questions at the funeral.

Jacob has been noticing the leaves on the ground lately, so tonight I gave him a bucket, and we went outside to collect leaves. Jacob was very busy and did not want to go in. Pretty soon Jacob had picked up every leaf around the bucket, so there was a yard full of leaves, except for a big circle that had no leaves on the ground, with a pail full of leaves in the middle. We did finally go inside and glued some of the leaves on paper, but Jacob liked brushing them onto the floor better!

Jacob's new favorite comment is "REALLY???" He says it like he's super excited, and just can't believe it, and he says it at the funniest times. I'll tell him it's time to get ready for bed or eat, and he'll say, "REALLY???"

Shooting rockets off at the park this afternoon.

This morning, Jacob and I were playing with the little people and play house in his room. Since we've been potty training...one of the little people went over to Jacob and said they had to go potty, and can he help. Different parts of the play house make noises, and the toilet makes a flushing sound when you close the lid. So Jacob "helps" this little person go potty. It makes the flushing noise, he brings her over to the sink to wash, and all of a sudden Jacob makes this fairly loud "Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh" sound. I asked him what that noise was, and he said, "The water going through the pipes!" (I love hearing his thought process!!!) I remembered that there is an access to the bathtub plumbing at the bottom of our linen closet, so Jacob got his flashlight, and we turned on the cold water in the bathtub, and I showed him which pipes the water goes in and out of, and he got to touch the pipes and feel the water running through them. Very fun teachable moment, and Jacob was totally engaged.

I went to the dentist a few weeks ago for a check up. Jacob and I talked about the dentist and what they do there, and Jacob likes to "play dentist" now. I count his teeth out loud as I brush them, and look for new teeth, and at the end I'll say, "You have very nice teeth Jacob!" The other night, Jacob came up to me out of the blue and said, "And I have nice teeth Mommy!" He is very excited about his turn to go to the dentist.

Tonight, Jacob took Fellow's leash out of the drawer, held it out so the end was barely touching the ground, and told me, "I going fiiiiiiiiiishing Mommy!"

Jacob helping me cook dinner tonight.

Today was Jacob's first day of Sunday School. He was really excited because there was a balloon launch afterwards, and Jacob got to let a helium balloon go outside. Later, Jacob and I went to a carnival. It was drizzling, but he played a few games, and went on a few rides...including the tilt-o-whirl with Mommy! When the ride was over, Jacob said, "I make circles round and round and round REALLY fast with Mommy!!" We also learned how to frost grahm crackers today. He really liked that too!

At bedtime we pray, "Dear Jesus, thank you for..." and I let Jacob pick what was important to him that day to pray about. His little bobcat has been missing for several days and we found it today. Tonight for prayers, he said:
"Dear Jesus,
Thank you Jesus,
Thank you bobcat,
Thank you tow truck,
Thank you dump truck,
Thank you scoop truck,
Thank you tractor,
Thank you cement truck,
Amen"

We started potty training on Monday...No more diapers!!! When he goes, he's been getting to pick out a matchbox car, but he's been getting 5-10 cars a day. So tonight we got car stickers, and put a special piece of construction paper on the frig to put his stickers on. Potty training is going really good so far!

Today in the car, Jacob was singing:
"Are you sleeping, Are you sleeping
Brother John, Brother John
Morning bells are ringing, Morning bells are ringing
Ding ding dong, Ding, ding, dong"

After he sang it about 3 or 4 times, I heard Jacob sing:
"Are you sleeping...NO!"

Today, we played outside most of the day. I picked up some flowers yesterday, and Jacob liked helping to put them into vases. I put a small vase in my bedroom, and Jacob wanted one in his room too. He was very excited to have his own little vase of flowers in his room that he got to arrange. He's been really good about touching them or smelling them without tipping them over, but he's just so excited to have them in his room. "Flowers in Jacob's room Mommy!... I smell flowers gentle Mommy!"

Tonight for dinner, we had potato bar (baked potato with choice of toppings). Apparently, Jacob thought I meant cereal bar. While I was getting food ready, Jacob pulled his stool into the pantry, somehow reached the cereal bars, and put a cereal bar at each place at the table, then called me in to show me. It was cute, until I came back into the kitchen, and noticed that Jacob had even put a cereal bar in Fellow's house...then it was REALLY cute!

Grandpa was putting something away in the garage today. Jacob came over and asked what he was doing, so Grandpa said, "Just putting something away in the garage". Jacob replied, "Oh, thank you Papa!".

Later, Jacob and I were playing in his room. Jacob picked up a little dinosaur, pointed to his tail, and asked, "What this Mommy". I told him it was the dinosaur's tail, and Jacob asked his new favorite question..."Why?" I didn't know what to say, so I said, "Because that's the way God made him, just like he made Jacob with eyes to see, and teeth in your mouth to eat." Jacob got up contently, and walked away as he said, "Dinosaur's tail...Oh, thank you God!"

Jacob got his shirt wet when he was washing his hands, so we put it on the bathtub ledge to dry. When we checked it later, it was dry, and Jacob said, "Oh, shirt dry...Thank you bathroom!"