I think I say this every time, but where is time flying to these days? We had a great January. February is off to a little bit of a rocky start, but more on that later. Just a reminder, the purpose of these e-mails are to update family – so there might be a little too much info for some of you casual reader.

We had CRAZY warm weather in January. So bizzare!! We took advantage of it though. Going to the Wild Animal Park, San Diego Zoo, Music Class in the Park and many other things. The Wild Animal Park was great! Jeremiah got to “play” with a meerkat (it was scratching at the glass right in front of Jeremiah and Isaac. So they started scratching back), have a lion walk in front of him (it was behind the glass), see the gorillas eat carrots and corn, and see a 5 foot alligator up close (like a foot away! – yes there was a handler holding it.) I got to see the Tiger, which we usually can’t find. Jeremiah thinks he saw it, but it was so far away I am not sure he really did.

The Zoo was a lot of fun too. We went with Iwasaki’s, Sarah and Charlie. Jeremiah loved seeing the giraffes and elephants up close. Those animals are further out in the enclosures at the Wild Animal Park, so it was neat seeing how big they were. He also loved watching the bear play in the water. The rest of the day the animals were a little harder to see, until the peacock came walking up to us during lunch.

We spent the first couple of weeks on and off, spending my Christmas money. So Jeremiah was in dressing rooms way too much. It was good it was nice and we could be outside the rest of the time. I think I have broken him of the habit of seeing if there are people next door – sooo embarrassing. I have not broken him of the habit of giving a very loud play by play of what is going on. Everyone now knows what outfits he likes and what ones he doesn’t. For you purple fans, I think that is his favorite color of shirt.

The loud play by play is also staple in public bathrooms. We are doing pretty well on potty training. He got over the fear of toilets flushing pretty quickly, but has to loudly announce when he has peed and what we are doing. He has been staying dry longer and longer, and actually told me a couple times this week when he needed to go to the bathroom. He is still in a diaper at night and pull-up at nap . Those are definitely wet when he gets up. But dry while awake is a great start for a 26 month old – even in the pull-ups when we are out of the house.

The strangest thing I think we did was on February 3rd. We went to the beach. Not just “let’s go take pictures real quick because it is cold”. No it was a full on walk to the beach, play in the sand and water for a couple hours. I wore shorts and I ended up rolling up Jeremiah’s pants. Jeremiah learned not to run into the waves, but to run away from them – an important beach lesson. The water was FREEZING, but Jeremiah could care less. If you ask him about it he will say “I throw sand”.

After that the time has been a little rougher. A cold set in over a week ago (no don’t do the math – you will figure out it was the day after we went to the beach), so Jeremiah has had constant dripping. Every time he gets a cold a hacky cough comes with it. He sounds worse than I think he feels. But then he gets hyper!!! Aren’t colds supposed to knock you out? Not this kid. Then last night a flu bug bit and we discovered that showers at midnight make him a very giddy boy! It didn’t bother him to throw up, in fact he seems to feel fine after it happens. So it has been a long day, but I am determined to get this out. (Oh and for all of you hating us because of the nice weather, it turned rainy right after the beach day and has not been nearly as nice. We even had frost the other night. But we need the rain so very badly!!)

Ok, on to the fun discoveries of the month. We have had library books for almost 3 weeks now. Just yesterday I figured out that Jeremiah had them almost memorized. I would say he could finish about 80% of the sentences in the 6 books we got last time. That amazes me how much info the child can hold!!! He is a sponge.

He has started picking up on everything we say and repeating it. I said “Oh my, gosh” a while back and we have had to break him of the habit, because it does not sound like gosh when he says it. My favorite replacement he made up is “Oh man, snowman”. He has an incredible sense of humor. He makes us laugh a lot. He also made Auntie Katie laugh last weekend. It is so hard to discipline when people who aren’t around him a lot are laughing. We have at least learned to stifle it until we are done disciplining. Oh well, I would have laughed if I was in her place.

Jeremiah has all of his teeth but his 2 year molars. I can’t believe how far in they have grown this month. I was flossing the other night and he decided he wanted to, too. I think he just likes the mint taste. I decided it was a great time to intro the dentist and how he will clean his teeth. Jeremiah wanted to go to the dentist right away. If only that would last!

Another “challenge” we are facing is getting the booger to keep his eyes open when we take a picture (It is like he gets that from his mother or something). When he says cheese he squints his eyes. So I have attached his solution to the problem. I was almost crying I was laughing so hard. What a goober! So the monthly picture is what it is. That is just where Jeremiah is right now.

So he has become a “big boy” this month. Besides the potty training, he has decided he can walk up to the mailbox with Daddy – no more being carried. He can take the trash out with Daddy, and he has decided he likes to call me “Mom”. I still get my shares of Mommy, but I have a feeling that is chapter is closing way sooner than I want it to. He just smiles when he says “Mom” – a smile like “can I get away with calling her that or not?”

So that is about all my eyes can handle tonight – sorry for the typos – I am sure I missed a lot.

Talk to you all soon – let us know how you are doing.

“The Big Boy” and “Mom”