Singing songs and more new words

So Jason's favorite activity might not be reading anymore. Right now he really loves to sing songs. On his current favorites playlist we have the classic "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes." This is only rivaled in popularity by the much beloved standard "If You're Happy and You Know It..." or "Happy" as Jason calls it for short. Other tunes we sing often are:

• The Alphabet Song "A B C D..."



• Three Blind Mice



• Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star



• Theme songs from SpongeBob, Backyardigans, Diego, Blue's Clues



• Rubber Duckie



• Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone



• How Much is that Doggie In the Window



• The Itsy Bitsy Spider



• The Potty Song (you can ask Aunt Sarah about this one)
  

He likes the songs with hand motions the best, so sometimes Mommy just makes them up (you know how silly Mommy can be). In fact sometimes Mommy just makes up songs altogether. It is a lot of fun when we are over at Mimi and Papaw's house and get the whole family singing "Happy." Mommy loves that Jason enjoys singing all these songs. Are there any song's you can think of that we've left off our repertoire that Jason should learn? What were some of your favorite songs from childhood?

On another note, a new phrase has entered Jason's vocabulary, and although we have no definitive proof, Mom is pretty sure that Jason picked it up from her. It is almost worse than his go-to word "No", because we know he is mimicking. And while imitation is often the highest form of flattery, we do not believe this to be the case in this instance. Jason now says "Stop it!". Now in Mom's defense, the phrase was most often used to communicate to Jason, for example, that maybe he was being a little silly and that a big boy should not cry when it is time to turn off the TV. You know like "Oh, stop it. You're fine Jason. Let's go take a bath!" Anyway, Mom feels responsible. We are really going to have to start watching what we say. He picks up everything!

Jacob is here!

Jacob Harper arrived Saturday September 6, 2008 at 12:26pm. He weighed 7lbs. 1.2 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches in length. Justin, Jill and Jason all went to see Jacob and his parents at the hospital on the Sunday after he was born. The new Mommy and Daddy were doing great and so was baby Jacob. We got to visit with Mimi and Big Daddy too, Rebecca's parents, who drove in from Arkansas.

So far Rebecca believes that Jacob has his Daddy's chin, and lips, and nose (we agree). We were also told that Vince had no trouble with his first diaper changing, but he was still trying to master the art of swaddling.

Jason was so cute and excited and kept saying "Hi Baby!" We've tried to get him to say Jacob, but so far all we can manage sounds something like "Dub Dub." (Does this have anything to do with his always referring to Sponge Bob as "Bob Bob"?)

Congratulations Rebecca and Vince, you did a great job; Jacob is such a handsome boy!

New Words

Another new word has crept into Jason's vocabulary, "hep" or help. This is actually a very "helpful" word, and is usually accompanied by pulling Mom or Dad over to whatever he needs help with. Sometimes we need to help get a toy out of his toy chest, or it is mandatory that we get his Diego coloring book down from the counter ledge, or it is imperative that we get a snack from the pantry. Unfortunately, it is all too often followed by the handing over of the TV remote accompanied by an adorable smile and the phrase "teeee", which of course means TV. How can we deny such a cute face!

We've also begun to master counting to ten, singing the alphabet song (thanks to the alphabet magnets on the fridge and foam letters in the bathtub), and some colors. Jason's favorite color is "yehyo" or yellow, and our favorite letters are "W, X, Y & Z". We know we are biased, but we think he's so smart! Here he is enjoying one of his favorite pastimes, reading (just like his Mom!).

'Side!

Jason has started saying 'side lately, which means outside. He loves to go outside and play in his sandbox that Nana gave him, or just to run around in the yard. The other night we went 'side to have dinner. This was kind of a compromise, because we could not get him out of the sandbox. Jason alternated between playing in the sand and eating dinner, and we are pretty sure he was eating sand too. He is such a boy!

Update: I had to add pictures of Jason in his sandbox and out in the swing at Mimi and Papaw's. We love to play outside!