JJ & Jayla Update

Just wanted to post a lil update on the kiddos (more pictures & a video below). JJ is now officially 2 ½ and Jayla just turned 8 months! The most exciting thing right now with JJ is that he is FINALLY really talking …..I mean, phrases – choppy sentences – opinions – everything! It is so much fun to be experiencing what it is like to hold a conversation with a 2 year old! Everyone kept saying….it will come, it will come, and I believed them and patiently waited & waited……and all of a sudden one week his vocab just exploded. Jake and I laugh and tell each other stories about funny things that JJ says. We can really see his personality now that he can express opinions and use different tones & reflections with his words. My favorite is when I do something that he thinks is either silly or annoying and he will say “Ohhhh, mom” like in a way that sounds like “Seriously, I can’t believe you did that." He has also started counting and can get up to 8 without much help. I also just started to try and teach him how to play Old Maid. This was my favorite card game when I was little. My grandpa and I used to play it over and over and over. JJ really likes the cards, but it is hard to reason with him to stick with the rules of the game. But, we have fun playing the JJ version. He also discovered Wii bowling at Uncle Todd’s house one night, and now every time we go there he asks over and over to go ‘bowlin’. JJ plays extremely well with other kids his age….it is so fun to watch him run around with his little friends. His face literally lights up and he gets a huge smile if he sees one of his friends walk in the gym. They typically find things to do that do not center around toys….for example, on Super Bowl night he and his friend Nyla jumped off the rotating chair onto pillows at least 50 times. Then they chased eachother around the kitchen island with a tape measurer. This month we have also really started to see JJ’s red-hot temper! WHEW! Watch out if he gets mad! He can throw a fit that puts his earlier toddler tantrums to shame. Let’s just say that JJ is learning all about trying to keep ‘self-control’ in all situations. JJ also continues to show us that if he could surgically attach himself to his Dad, he would do it in a heart beat. It is going to be interesting when Jake leaves next Wednesday for 7 DAYS in Africa....in fact, you can start praying for me now! I wonder how many times an hour JJ will be asking me when Daddy will be 'done ballin'?

As for Jayla, her new thing is that she can now imitate clapping! I'll have to try and get it on video, because it is so cute. One night Jake was sitting across the living room and started clapping, and then she looked at him and clapped back! She now will clap on demand and also claps when she hears music. Just this week Jayla added a new sound to her vocab….’da da da’! She also says ‘na na na’, ‘blah blah blah’, and what sounds exactly like ‘hi’. No ‘ma ma’ yet. Everytime she says ‘da da’ I will urge her to say ‘ma ma’ and she usually spits and laughs at me. Today JJ kept trying to get her to say his name....I told him that if she says JJ before she says ma ma then we are going to have major issues. :) Jayla also started on finger foods this month. I am going about it in a completely different way than I did with JJ….meaning, she is going to get to try a lot of variety! I was so picky with what JJ ate at this age that I think I turned him into a picky eater. Jayla is doing great with the finger foods, and she has not yet found anything that she doesn’t like. So far she has had banana, apple, pears, peaches, grapes, black beans, peas, carrots, cheese, hashbrowns, macaroni, cheerios, yogurt, oatmeal….things like that….and she hasn’t turned down any of it. It’s also been really fun to see Jayla interact with her dolls….she has a few of them that she plays with. Actually, she gets a kick out of anything that has a face, like a stuffed animal or baby. The first thing she does is usually squeeze it and poke it in the eyes and then hold a conversation with it…..smiling the entire time. Jayla, of course, just adores JJ and sometimes is content just to sit and watch him play. She enjoys his random squeezes, hugs, and kisses, and if she sees him coming over to her she will squeal with delight. She also thinks it is funny when he runs and jumps. No crawling, scooting, or pulling up yet for Jayla. In fact, her crib is still at its highest setting! When I realized that today I couldn’t believe it and I told Jake that we better get that lowered! She really is just content to sit and play with her toys...I don't think she has even given one thought to crawling. When JJ was her age he was so frustrated at being ‘trapped’ in his body and unable to move. You could tell that he really wanted to just get across the room…..but Jayla doesn’t seem to be at that point yet. She does love to stand up at the couch though….I think that is her favorite place to be!
Well, that’s our update! Enjoy the pictures and videos!

Stirring up the fruit cups.

Hop on pop!

Buds for life.

Wrestle mania.

Picnic at the gym.

Sullivan girls rule!

A kiss from JJ.

Video: Jayla says 'da da' towards the end of it.