Looks who's 4!!!

Happy 4th Birthday Jakeyman! We love you SO much!

Jacob's last night as a 3 year old.

Walking through the birthday streamers.

Opening presents

Breakfast of choice

Spending the day how Jacob wanted to....of course some Mario Cart

Then some Chuck E. Cheese

Then visiting with with some people that love him

Jacob started the Twins trend and we all followed

More Wii, this time his new Carnival Games Mini Golf game

More visits from people who love him

And to top the day off, a birthday kiss from Miss Kelsey.

How old are you Jacob?

I asked him some of his favorites:

Color: As we all know now, pink

Number: one

Sport: football and baseball

Game: Sequence for Kids

Book: Dinosaur book

Show: Team UmiZoomi

Song: Breakeven by the Script, Party USA by Mylie Cyrus, So What by Pink

Wii game: his new Carnival Games Miniature golf (only had for a day)

Food: Mac n Cheese

Drink: Chocolate milk

Hobby: Coloring, cutting, making stuff, and his Lightening McQueen coloring sheets

Animal: cheetah (like his big brother Connor)

Candy: chocolate

Friends: Owen, Garrett, Madison, Keanen

How he writes his name:

Something Connor likes about Jacob: I like playing trains and Wii with him. He's really good at Mario Cart and a really good sharer.

Something that Nolan likes about Jacob: I like playing Mario Cart with him.

We love you more than ever Jacob and are so proud of how far you have come. You seem to have grown up right before our own eyes this past year. You have the most infectious laugh and make us smile. You are also a very stubborn boy with a one track mind at times. You are an awesome sharer with your brothers and are always looking out for people. You are very lovey, snuggly, and sensitive. You're also very brave, however your shy side is starting to come out. You are our funny guy. You are so in love with your new brother Lucas. You will be an incredible big brother. We can't wait to see what is in store for you.

It's pretty

Jacob and Nolan went to Mary's this morning so they could celebrate Jacob's birthday (which is tomorrow), so it worked out perfectly for Lucas and I go to Connor's school and help out with their Luau. We had a blast!

Last night...
Me: "Jacob, what color do you want me to make the four on your brownies for your party at Mary's tomorrow?"
Jacob: "Ummm.... pink."
Me: "Pink? Really? Not red, blue, orange, yellow, green...?"
Jacob: "Nope, pink".
Me: "OK, sounds good."
Jacob: "Pink is a really pretty color, mom, so is purple!".
Me: "You're right, they are."

This coming from my boy of all boys, rowdy, rough, and loud! ;)

Watching a show before bedtime.

A day in the Ginskey house

Watches don't have legs, so it's mom's fault

Grandma helped out and gave Connor a ride to school (Matt's in San Diego). Thanks Grandma.

I talked to her on the phone a little bit a go and sounds like she and Connor had some good conversation. About a week ago Connor and Matt could not find his watch. Connor swore he left it on the counter. Well, I found it in the dryer the other day when I was folding clothes. Matt got a new battery and changed it, but that still didn't fix it. Connor was pretty bummed, he loved that watch that Grandma and Grandpa gave him (we're going to get him another one).

In the car with Grandma today he started by telling Grandma he didn't know if he should tell her because he didn't want to make her feel bad since they bought it for him. Then he apparently told her sarcastically that a watch doesn't have legs, so he has no idea how it got to the laundry room. He PUT it on the counter and that he thinks I, yes, I, picked it up with something and put it in the wash.

He also asked Grandma for some ideas on what to get Jacob for his birthday on Saturday (he is turning 4 - I cannot believe it) that cost $50 or less. Wow! Big spender. Everything is $50 right now because he has a $50 bill in his bank. ;)

The boys love this new show called Team Umizoomi. It's pretty cute, clever, catchy, and works on so many skills. They LOVE it and sing to every song. I am going to try to video tape them singing and dancing sometime soon here. Connor said to me, "I know it's kind of a babyish show mom, but I really like it. The music is good and it's silly".

Changes...

Lucas has been changing a lot....


He's awake more during the day.

Starting to make noises - ooohing, aaahing, and ohhhhing.

He is actually starting to see faces and react to them, sometimes with a smile.

He's huge! All I know is that when I stepped on the scale by myself and then stepped on it holding him, there was a 13 pound difference give or take. Seriously? Can't be. I know it's not exact (we have a doctor's appointment next week), but man...this boy obviously has no problem eating and gaining weight. Love these chubby legs!

He has a very strong neck and legs. He is such a good baby. The only time he cries is when he's hungry, has a very wet diaper, or maybe a tummy ache. He does this little squawking thing that I love. Just to make sure you know he's there. He has more of Connor's baby temperment. Jacob and Nolan had acid reflux and made for some very unhappy babies at times. It's so fun how different they all are, yet grow up in the same house with what I would hope to be the same morals, rules, etc....

It's not orange...

Matt went and got HyVee Chinese food tonight (we really like their Chinese and can't beat the price) for supper. The boys really like the orange chicken. Matt asked Nolan how his orange chicken was and he said, "It's not orange daddy, it's brown! Silly you!".

Matt was in Milwaukee yesterday and this morning, so the boys and I went out to eat with Grandpa and Grandma last night and then the boys and I rented "Where the Wild Things Are". The boys camped out on the floor in their sleeping bags. I thought it was an OK movie. Jacob lost interest, Nolan got so tired that he actually wanted to go sleep in his bed, and Connor said it wasn't bad. He of course got a little teary eyed when Max had to leave the monsters to go back home. :)

My mom, Kristin, Diane and I went to a baby shower this morning for my cousin Amber (thanks Natey and Grandpa for watching the boys until Matt came home). It's always fun to get together with the relatives. There has been three babies born within the last month so it was fun watching all the ladies pass them around. Lucas was born Jan. 20th, Natalie was born Feb. 3, and J.W was born on Feb. 11. Look at the difference in size. Whoa! The women could have probably stood here and watched these cuties all day. It was funny.

My friend Meaghan's mom passed away this week. Prayers and thoughts go out to her and her family. Life is too short, cherish the moment - for sure. Don't get wrapped up in what is insignificant.

My good friend Shelly and her husband Ryan came over for a little visit today. It's always fun to see them. What a great day.

Jacob's Ear and bathtime

The younger boys did some snuggling while watching cartoons this morning.


Jacob woke up this morning and says to me, "Mommy, Lucas is the cutest baby in the whole wide world! I think the Dr. is going to say that too!". Not that he's a biased brother or anything!

We went to the ENT doctor for Jacob's ear today. Yeah! Hopefully we'll take care of this problem. He said that his tube is coming out and probably really irritating Jacob. Plus, there is a ton of wax build up around the tube, also irritating. PLUS, because it was so irritating there were scabs inside his ear from Jacob picking at his ear so much...so that was irritating and hurting at the same time. SO....we got an ointment to put on the soars and we're putting mineral oil in his ear at night time to loosen or soften the wax. We have an appointment in two weeks and the Dr. will clean out his ear and take out the tube if he can. Whether we put in a new one or leave it as is will be determined. I can't wait to get this figured out for Jacob though.

The boys get a kick out of taking a bath with Lucas in his bath next to them.

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Happy Birthday Grandpa! We hope you have a terrific day and we love you very much! (next year's a big one!)
*Update*
Lucas and I met Grandpa for lunch at Culvers today. We sat down at our table and a lady came over asking us if we wanted cake to celebrate the boss's birthday. They were going around giving everyone a piece of cake and ice cream (or custard, whatever they have there). I just nonchalantly said, "Oh, thanks. Cool, it's his (pointing to dad) birthday too!". That was all, and the lady went on passing out her cake. We're eating our meals and all of a sudden the "boss" (I could tell because he was wearing a tie and all) and the rest of the front staff came over to our table. The boss, come to find out his name is Richard, says, "I hear it's your birthday! Are you as old as me?"...and so on. Then, they sing to dad and even get his name without us telling because they notice it on his work shirt! You should have seen my dad. Those of you that know him, know that he hates, HATES, HATES having attention drawn to him. In fact my brothers, Matt, and mom can all tell you about a time we were out for dad's birthday awhile back and we went to go ask if they do anything for birthdays and dad got up and walked out of the restaurant. Seriously, he just got up and went to the car because he didn't want anyone singing or doing anything to him. HA! We will never let him forget that. Anyways, so the joke now whenever we go out for his birthday is that we threaten to embarrass him. We never do, but it's always brought up. I thought it was funny and perfect that I didn't even have to do any planning or asking for today. And of all places...Culvers. Sometimes not planning and surprises are the best. See dad, you survived! ;) It's OK to let people celebrate you! ;)

We went over to their house for supper and dessert. We made grasshoppers. I haven't had one of those in a long time. I remember dad having them when we were younger.

Weekend

We had a pretty low key wekend. It was nice.

Friday night I went to a play with my mom and then came home and enjoyed some wine (my dad hung out with Matt and the boys).

Saturday Connor and Matt had their last basketball practice and then Connor had a birthday party sleep over. I actually think a sleep over at this age is a little too much, but Connor was excited. He was also a little nervous because he tried once earlier this fall and got homesick. We talked about it, and how it was OK if he calls us to either just say good night, or to come and get him. He's still young. I tried to make him feel better by telling him that I was still homesick when I was in 3rd or 4th grade (anyone from those grades that read this remember having me sleepover? It was crazy!). It got to be about 8:30 and both Matt and I figured he was going to make it. However, the phone rang at about 9:15 and it was Connor, but he was only calling to say good night and I love you. We were really surprised. Then at 10:00 it rang again, and it was the mom saying that Connor had decided to come home. He tried.

Jacob also got asked to go and play at a friend's house Saturday night. They're friends of the family and have 3 boys, so Nolan was very very sad that he didn't get to go play. He was in tears and kept asking us if he could go play too. We tried to tell him he can have a turn next time and that he got to have a special night with just mommy, daddy, and Lucas and that we could do whatever he wanted. That was not not good enough and didn't compare to going to play, he was so sad. Matt went to drop Jacob off and Nolan just snuggled up to me on the couch, bawling, while I was feeding Lucas. We turned on a show and he started to settle down. We made pizza and Matt and him played Mario Cart. He was in a great mood eventually and we had fun. It was nice being able to give him some extra attention.

Sunday we went to church and then watched the Gold Medal hockey game between USA and Canada in the afternoon. Wow, what a game! I don't even follow hockey all that much until it's playoff time. I'm sad the Olympics are done, however it's a good thing I won't be watching as much TV (ever tried finding something to watch between the hours of 2am-3:30am?). There was no way I was going to be able to give up TV for Lent this year. We actually thought about it...

A couple of things....
It's so funny. Jacob and Nolan are into the difference between "Right now" and "Pretty soon".
They'll ask- After we brush our teeth do we have to go to bed right now, or pretty soon? Are we leaving right now, or pretty soon? Do we need to take a nap right now, or pretty soon? They obviously like hearing the pretty soon more, it buys them time I guess.

Poor Jacob - his ear has really been bothering him. He now goes around telling us it really hurts, and it hurts " all day, all the time". I took him in a few months ago and the doctor said his tube is a little crooked, but everything else looked good. However, I'm going to take him in again, there's something wrong if a kid is constantly complaining about his ear hurting.

Yeah - Nolan has been diaper free (pull up during nap and bedtime) since I posted about his small success. Yippee!!!! Only one in diapers.........