Today we went to Riverwalk in San Antonio. They have boat tours you can take, and Jacob loved waving at everyone, even long after the boat had passed. He is so happy and friendly, and it's so fun to see everyone's smiles when they see him! We were walking, and Jacob suddenly just walked over to these steps, and layed down to rest. We also went to the Alamo, and got to see cactus. 
Today we went to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to see how money is made, and then went to the Fort Worth Zoo. Jacob especially liked feeding the birds all by himself.
This afternoon we took the boys bowling. In the evening, we grilled steaks for dinner, and went for a walk. Zachary has this battery powered truck that he drives on the sidewalk when Lisa takes their dog for a walk. He's just a year older than Jacob, but a really good driver. Jacob liked riding in the truck, and talking on the CB. Then we let Jacob try driving...(see video). I was laughing so hard I could hardly stop the truck, and had to physically remove Jacob's foot from the gas pedal because he just didn't have the coordination with the steering wheel!
This morning we left for Texas! If you ask Jacob where he's going, he says, "I'm going to Texas in an airplane to visit my friend, Zachary!" The crew was really great! Jacob got to stand in the cockpit and talk to the pilots, and he kept asking what Mary (the head stewardess) was doing. Jacob took a nap, and we looked out the window and played with play dough during most of the flight. As we arrived in TX, Dallas had 45mph crosswinds. The flight wasn't jerky, but there were a lot of sudden "turns and hills", as they tried to land. Jacob didn't cry, and didn't feel sick, but said he was "a little bit scared" and wanted to hold hands. We had to land in Oklahoma City and drive the rest of the way because it was too windy to land in Dallas. Our suitcase however, somehow made it to Dallas on the flight before ours (one of the last flights to land before the DFW airport shut down). We were really glad to finally get to Zachary's house tonight!!
Waiting for our flight at the MSP airport.
Getting on the plane!
Meeting the pilots
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Jacob's imagination, and excuses are pretty entertaining. Tonight I asked Jacob to pick up his tinker toys, and he said, "My feet don't work". After I told him again, his excuse was, "My energy is all gone". Then he tried to convince me he had no energy to walk by taking 2 steps, and then falling to his knees, whining, "See...I caunt" (He always pronounces "can't" as if he were from England) He ended up having a time out, and when he was done, Jacob walked over to the tinker toys and said, "That was tough!"
Before bedtime, Jacob and I were talking about our trip to TX, and swimming. I told Jacob that he would have to close his mouth while he's swimming so water doesn't come in. Jacob pointed to his mouth and said, "But see that crack right there?...That's where it opens".
Tonight we packed for our trip. I let Jacob pack his carry on, just to see what he'd pack. Here's the things that were inside when he brought it out:
*PJ's
*comb
*his bead necklaces from Fat Tuesday
*a sponge paint brush from his play tool box
*a little fire truck
*his stuffed animal ("Mommy Fellow")
Jacob noticed this dinosaur's leg tonight, and said, "Is the leg broken? Is that the bones? See the bones! Here's the baby dinosaur, the baby dinosaur is sad because mommy dinosaur has a broken leg, and can't walk. He says wah, wah, wah"
Last night we had a little Mardi Gras party! We called it "Fat Tuesday", and got to wear purple, green, and gold necklaces at dinner. We tried Jambalya, and talked about parades, and people wearing silly hats and glasses, and dancing to music today. King's Cake is another Mardi Gras tradition, where a little doll is baked into a cake, and whoever gets the piece with the doll in it gets a prize. I told Jacob about King's Cake, and I made pudding with an animal cracker hiding in one of the cups (instead of a doll in a cake) for dessert. Grandma was a little confussed today when Jacob said we had "dirty rice" for dinner last night!
Jacob had an unexpected Valentine's Day date with his first trip to urgent care last night. It was the second day of a fever that seemed to come and go, but by last night, he was visibly as miserable as I'd ever seen him. As worn out as he felt, he still waved and said hi to another toddler that came in while we were waiting for test results. Jacob has respiratory influenza, which is a little scary after watching the news lately, but today he's doing really good again.
Tonight we did some more painting on the rocketship! I gave Jacob a wall to "paint", and pieces of the "special painting tape" to put on the wall. Then I gave him 2 sponge brushes, and the different colored paint samples in a little bucket so he could pick out what color he wanted to paint with. He likes painting! 
This morning, I flexed some time at work and took Jacob to the bakery to have donuts together for breakfast. He got to pick what kind of donut he wanted, and we had a fun "Mommy and Jacob breakfast". Nate picked him up after work today (not knowing that I had taken Jacob out for breakfast), and as they drove by the bakery, Jacob said, "That's the bakery where Mommy and I eat donuts!"
We have a rule that you can have milk or water at dinner, but I seriously need to go grocery shopping. Tonight for dinner, it was kind of an "a la cart" night and "special juice night" (since we didn't have any milk). "Special "anything is fun to Jacob, and he asked if we could have "special water night" tomorrow. When he saw all of the misc. food on the table he said, "It's like Thanksgiving!!"
Tonight we went to the store to get flags and glow in the dark stars for Jacob's rocketship. All of the snow had been plowed into a big pile in the corner of the parking lot. Jacob asked about it, and then he said, "Maybe it will only snow on the pile and not on the roads anymore!"
I was helping Jacob put his shoes on. I stretched out my arms and said, "I love you THIIIIIS much!" Jacob smiled, and made a little circle with his hands and said, "I love you this much...I love you a little bit because my heart is small because I'm a toddler!"
A lot of times at dinner, Jacob will ask about where our food comes from, so we have had many conversations about which meat comes from which animal. Tonight we had taco salad. Jacob examined a piece of hamburger, and asked why it was bumpy. I told him that the hamburger was ground up, and Jacob asked if we were eating groundhog tonight!
Today Jacob painted the knobs for "driving the rocketship". He also colored some pictures of rockets to hang in his rocketship. I'll put a picture on the blog when it's done!
Last weekend, I got this crazy idea to build a loft in Jacob's room to give him some extra space to play. He loves rocketships, and when I asked him about my idea, Jacob said he wanted a rocket to play in. So last night we went to Home Depot for materials and accessories! Jacob picked out the carpet, and the handles and drawer knobs he wanted for buttons inside the rocket. Today construction began, and Jacob was really excited! He is a good helper, but does best copying the process near by with his toy tools and scrap wood. He was so fun to watch, and so into what he is doing. (See video). 
Yesterday, I explained to Jacob what Groundhog's Day was. He asked a lot of questions about the groundhog and his shadow, and also about what a groundhog looks like. We googled pictures and video of real groundhogs, and printed off some color sheets. We even made this groundhog puppet, and used a flashlight to make his shadow on the wall. Today, when I picked him up after work, he had even named his stuffed animal "Groundhog"
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