Jacob

Meet our newest addition, Jacob. Jacob was Gavin's reward -- a month or two ago -- for going a whole week in big boy unders overnight. The last milestone during our journey through potty training. He was very excited to go to the pet store and pick out a "fish tank" and his very own "blue fish." When we got home and "blue fish" was nice and settled in his new bowl, I asked Gavin what his name was and he said, "Jacob, and he's my friend."

A few days later he called Jacob his brother. Sometimes we call Jacob John-Jacob because we like the song "John-Jacob-Jingle-Heimer-Schmidt." We sing that song on the way home from school most days. Gavin gets the giggles every time and always says, "Again, Mommy! Sing it again."

Gavin's most recent creature is this sprouting moonflower. We were gardening with one of our neighbors not too long ago and she gave Gavin his very own seed to plant. He asked if he could take it home so she put it in a cup for him. This moonflower sits next to Jacob. Yesterday evening while playing after school, imagine our surprise when we checked on our seed and saw that it had finally sprouted. Eventually we'll find an outside home for our moonflower.