We Love Our SMART Kids!

Jack is just amazing us lately. He will be 1 1/2 in February, but it's just incredible the things he knows. The boys were sick last week and we discovered that if you hand Jack a Kleenex, he will hold it up to his nose and blow and then wipe, AND he will go and put it in the trash when he's done! Granted, he doesn't always get everything with the wipe, but that is just cool.

He is also starting to get more words going. He'll sometimes say "hi" (also, if you wave at him, he'll wave back), and he definitely knows "ball" because he will go and get it (loves playing with bouncing balls). Yesterday I swear he said "cracker". He also knows "dog" and "baby" if you show him a picture and ask where they are (he will point to them). He loves picture books and books with textures and flaps that he can open. Also, you can ask him a question and he will shake his head no if he doesn't want whatever you just asked (i.e. "Are you ready for a nap, Jack?" - vigorous NO. he he).

ETA: He can also say "onoff" which means he wants you to hold him up so he can turn the light switch on or off. I remember when Ben used to want to do that all the time. Okay, I thought of some more. He can say "juice" and will carry his cup over to the kitchen if he needs a refill, and he will also hold out his hands palms up and say "all gone" when his food is all gone. Well, actually it sounds more like "all gah" but close enough and so cute!

We can ask him to do simple things now and he can, like "Jack, put the book back on the shelf". So fun when they do what you ask and they think it's a great accomplishment. Now if I could just get Ben to do that again...

Ben has been singing up a storm lately and not only loves "Jingle Bells" still, but will sing along to TV show jingles. His vocabulary and ability to form complete sentances still amazes me. Yesterday I heard a noise outside and knowing Ben was looking out of the window I asked him what it was. He said very clearly: "That was the recycling falling off Daddy's car" (which doesn't sound like it makes sense, but Rob had the recycling bins on top of his car to drive them back up the driveway). He's also starting to show more of an interest in reading again. He loves "Go, Dog. Go!" (he likes to tell me all about what's happening with the dogs on each page) and "Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb". He often asks what things say and I tell him, and then tell him that when he learns to read he will know what everything says (and that he can teach Jack to read).

He's getting a lot better about playing nicely with Jack - it's Jack that is doing lots of pushing and trying to take things away from Ben now.

Re-potty training worked great for about a week until the boys got sick and then for the first 2 days Ben would still tell me when he needed to go, then all of a sudden we had puddles on the floor every time again. I haven't had the energy to start again with the taking him every 15 minutes thing. Someday!!

I've started using the new TV in the boy's room as a tool to get an extra 30 minutes of "us" time at night. I just ask Ben to pick out a cartoon DVD to watch, get him ready for bed and then tuck him in and set the sleep timer on the TV to 30 minutes. So now he is quiet from about 7:00 or 7:30 at night and I think he gets more rest (Jack wakes him up at 6:00am) - and never complains about bed time! Not sure what I'm going to do when I move Jack in there - which needs to be soon!

Rob took a 29 week picture of me (last week) so only about 8 weeks to go +-. Like I said, need to get Jack moved into Ben's room and get Miss Emma's room ready. I've got to paint and sort through all of her new clothes to see what I've got and what we might need still. Also would be good to start stocking up on diapers! I have a Doctor's appointment tomorrow - routine. She has been kicking up a storm.

I'm sure there are a million things I meant to include in this post, but as usual, when I sit down to write I forget most of them! Gotta go... the boys would like more crackers!


Me and Miss Emma at 29 weeks:



The boys the week before they came down with a little virus:

Fantastic Christmas

What a wonderful Christmas this year! We had a visit from Gigi and Grandpa the weekend before Christmas with a "Shertzer Christmas" on Monday complete with prime rib and opening gifts. They left Wednesday before the weather got bad and made it home safe.

We had a great Christmas Eve and day with the boys at home this year. Jack woke up at 5:00am Christmas morning, but Ben slept until 7:00am (surprisingly he didn't get into the wrapped gifts at all). All the toy picks were big hits and the boys have been very well behaved the past week.

Ben delighted us with his spontaneous version of "Oh Christmas Tree" on Christmas Eve (while he was admiring the tree). Lyrics: Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree, Oh I love you, Christmas Tree. =-) The boys also enjoyed playing with Dad's train (pics below).

Aaaand... we had snow!

The Huber clan and families came over Christmas Day in the afternoon and we had cookies and Secret Santa gift exchange which was fun. Then we all dropped into bed exhausted but happy, ready to get up the next morning and drive to Little Rock to see the Maloney/Peresta families (with a short visit in there to see the Shertzers).

Ben and Jack had a great time playing with their new toys, and then we got to enjoy a baby shower for Emma and Rob's cousin Grant and wife Jessica's baby-to-be Owen. Emma is now taking over a small part of Jack's room with her new blankets, clothes and toys!

Not sure when the big move to put both boys in Ben's room will be. Jack has been waking up in the middle of the night and "playing" for about an hour or so. It will be interesting to see how it works having them both in one room. I am thinking I'll wait until February and see how they are doing then.

Ben has been singing up a storm and is really impressing us. He will sometimes even sing along to things on TV. I'm sure he knows more than he shows. The other day I asked him to pick a magnetic letter up off the floor and as he handed it to me and said "Here's the letter H. Here's the orange H." I can't get him to write letters yet though. He's more mechanically inclined and wants to be busy with his hands and activities.

Jack is getting smarter every day. The past two weeks he has started shaking his head no if he doesn't want something or in response to questions. He is also now playing "boo" spontaneously with us and Ben, and can say "ball", "hi", and "hot" (and "boo").

He can also sort of show us what he wants. If he's hungry, he'll go to the kitchen gate and shake it. If we let him in, he'll either go to the pantry where his Cheerios are (for a snack), or he'll go to the fridge which means he wants a meal. He has also been using a fork and spoon over the past few days (correctly)!

If we say "let's go change your diaper" he will head into his room, and if we say "wanna go outside?" he will go and get his coat and shoes.

He's just learned to climb up on things too, so we have to watch him. The other day I peeked into the living room and saw him standing on top of the coffee table. Yikes!

More updates and pics to follow! Hope everyone had a great Christmas and will have a safe New Year's Eve!


Christmas snow!


Ben loved the snow...


Jack did NOT love the snow...


Playing with the robot Ben got from Gigi and Grandpa Shertzer


Playing with Daddy's train on Christmas Eve after their bath


Jack woke up early Christmas morning and beat Ben to the new play kitchen




Baby Shower for Emma and Owen (Ben was taking a nap):


Rob, Manda, Jack, Jessica and Grant (and Emma and Owen)

It's a GIRL!

Okay, so the ultrasound was a long time ago. I'm a little slow at posting.
Yep, we are having a baby girl this time. Not sure how I'm going to change the name of the blog or if I can. Gotta look into that.

Anyway, her name will be Emma Katherine Shertzer and I imagine we'll see her some time shortly after St. Patty's Day.

Jack will be moving into Ben's room with him after Grandpa Huber finishes the bunk-beds (with stairs instead of a ladder). Not sure how I'm gonna work naps and bed time yet (Jack takes a morning nap and Ben takes a long afternoon one), but we'll just have to do whatever we have to do. Still need to paint above the chair rail in the boy's room - some neutral color like taupe or a gray-blue. It's like peachy-terra cotta right now. Doesn't exactly scream "boys". Also looks like that $5.00 can of pink paint I bought when pregnant with Jack will come in handy now for Emma's new room!

Jack has 12 teeth now including all 4 first molars. No canines yet, but Ben was like that too. Jack is sleeping from 5 or 6 pm through until 6am which is heaven! Ben goes to bed between 7:30 and 8pm and sleeps until 6 or 6:30am. Both boys are eating pretty well. Jack has always done well. Ben stopped eating much at a certain age and became picky but is now starting to ask for bites of things we're eating and trying new stuff again. Hooray! No more food issues thank goodness. I have been giving them some amount of either probiotic chocolate or the Omega chocolate every day. I know that is helping.

Jack is finally starting to say a few words. He just started playing peek-a-boo yesterday - hiding his eyes and then uncovering them and saying "boooooo". =-) Rob swears he said "heater" the other day, and he will point to the dogs and say "duh". Occasionally I'll think he's said a new word, but can't get him to repeat it. His non-verbal communication is getting better too. If he's hungry, he'll go over to the high-chair and shake it. When Ben says "Good Morning Jack" or gives him a kiss and says "Good Night Jack", Jack will wave at him and smile. Also, yesterday I tried to give him a bite of something and he shook his head no and turned it away. Sometimes if you ask him a question he'll shake his head no. He hasn't done that for yes yet though.

Ben is getting better about the sibling rivalry thing and Jack is starting to play with Ben more now that he's a bit more steady on his feet. This week Rob is taking Ben to a martial arts meetup of my Mommy's group. Hopefully that will be fun for both of them. Ben has been asking to go to the playground and see "the kids". I'll probably take him to one on Monday as well. He really enjoys it. I have to remind him that he can talk to the older kids 'cause they can tell him their name and say "hi". He tends to just laugh really loud in their faces to get their attention like he does Jack (which I do NOT encourage - ha!).

Ben is still talking up a storm and doing great when we correct his grammar. Complete, detailed sentences. Very cool! He's very good at creative play too. I gave him 3 cardboard wrapping paper rolls the other night and he has "made" all sorts of things out of them. Currently he's calling them lights (I guess like florescent ones??). Yesterday I pulled the strip of carpet out of the kitchen so I could mop and he rolled it up and made a tunnel out of it. At the moment he's using it as a dance pad. =-)

No joy on the continuation of potty training. Ben was pretty much trained and was starting to even do poop in the potty and then all of a sudden decided he was NOT a "big boy" and wanted to wear diapers (I'm sure because of Jack). When I tried to start up training again I set the timer for every 15 minutes and he would sit on the potty, but if he had to go 5 minutes later he'd just pee in his pants wherever he was. I need to look into this and do some research. I would imagine it's fairly common. He's not quite 3 1/2 yet. It sure is a pain cleaning pee of of the floor several times a day though. Plus lots of laundry.

Both boys are getting tall. Ben's 2t pants are definitely too short now and getting too tight. Most 3ts are starting to fit him, but he needs 4t shirts for the length and the sleeves. Jack is in 18 month everything. The pants are still a smidge long, but mostly fit perfect.

We're gearing up for Christmas here. I tried not to go too overboard. They have more toys than they can play with now and we don't have tons of room. "Santa" (aka Gigi and Grandpa Shertzer) got the boys a play kitchen complete with microwave, oven, fridge and lights and sounds. Ben LOVES pretending to make cookies with the cookie sheets in the kitchen and loves playing in the water in the sink, so I thought this would be perfect. I bought him a cookie set so he can pretend to cut the dough, put the cookies on the sheet and bake them, then put the icing and sprinkles on top. It even came with a spatula and oven mit - all kid sized! Also got him another playdough set and "Hi-ho Cherry-o" game and a couple of Disney DVDs I think the kids will like. Got Jack the Crayola toy where they color on it and it plays music. The faster they color, the faster the music goes. I hope he likes it. Also got him a twin sized Mickey Mouse comforter for the bunk beds. Ben has his Sponge Bob one. Oh! Also got Jack a pewter baby cup with his name and birthday. Just like Ben's I got him his first Christmas. Kind of a family tradition. Rob and I both have silver ones from when we were babies.

I guess that's all for now. When the weather was so great last month we spent lots of time outdoors. I'll have to check out the pictures to see if there are any especially good ones.

We had family pictures made and there were lots of good ones. Hopefully they look better when you click on them.
(thanks to my sis-in-law Aimee @ elementalphotography.com)




with cousin Havyn

Cute Boys

Just now I have been watching Jack press the music button on Ben's "Sit-n-Spin" and then dance around in a circle until he falls down giggling. Of course when I got up to get the video camera he stopped and came to investigate the camera instead. Oh well, it made my day to watch him anyway.

Jack has the other top 1st molar coming in. Still don't see the bottom ones poking through yet. His new thing to do is say "Moooo", or rather "MmmmmMMM". When I ask him "How does a cow go?" he will make the MMMmmm sound and then start to giggle.

Ben is sitting on the couch eating a huge green lollipop that he got while trick-or-treating. I promised him if he took a nap nicely without throwing a fit he could have a treat when he woke up. Guess what was the first thing he said when he woke up? "I get to have a treat!"

Last night Rob took me out for my 40th birthday. When we got home Dad said Ben had gone to bed at 6:00pm saying "If I go to sleep, when I wake up Mommy will be home." =-) His normal bed time is 8:00pm.

Here are a few pictures of the boys from Halloween:

Smart Boys

Just a quick update before Ben wakes up and while Jack is occupied with Cherrios and some apple pieces...

We have been having a bit of an issue with sibling rivalry. Ben is constantly trying to get Jack to react in any way since he can't really play with him yet. This involves Ben screaming at him, doing a very loud fake laugh, or just walking over and pushing him down (which of course makes Jack cry). He's gotten better though. Rob and I explained to him that if he wanted to get Jack's attention he just needed to say "Hi, Jack!" or that he could give him a hug and a kiss (carefully).
Yesterday in the car, Ben was playing "peek-a-boo" with Jack and making him laugh, so there's improvement. We're always sure to positively reinforce the GOOD behavior!

Jack is just as bad. If I have Ben on my lap or am reading him a book, Jack will come over and try to push Ben away and will get mad and start crying. Hopefully they will be able to play together nicely by the time Baby #3 arrives!

Jack has a new tooth - his first, first molar on the upper right side. His gums are very swollen where the other first molars are coming in and he's been chewing on his hands, drooling like mad, and not sleeping well. No canines yet, but Ben got all his first molars before the canines too. I think I read that was normal.

New Benjaminisms recently:
radido (radio)
pinano (piano)
"Mom, I did it! Booray!"
"Mommy, can you close window? It smells like dog poop." (while riding in the car)

Me: How ya doin' Ben?
Ben: I'm doin' great! (or rarely: I'm just doin' okay.)

Not sure if I mentioned it or not, but Ben is now in a booster seat in the car and Jack has graduated to riding facing forward in Ben's old car seat. The swing and baby car seats just got put in the attic a couple of nights ago for baby #3's use.

Playtime:

Ben has disassembled his tool bench and stripped it down to where there is nothing on it. Luckily he hasn't figured out yet how to take the legs off (or hasn't wanted to). His new activity involves tying things to other things and dragging them around. Like, he'll tie his video game remote (that was given to him - but it doesn't have a power cord so he can't play with it) to Jack's ride-on car and drag it around. He really loves it when Jack tries to get it too. He loves his Playdough play set and will sit quietly for a good 1/2 hour or so with that. He has also been enjoying jumping on his "new" bed. He graduated to Rob's old twin mattress set after he fell out of bed one night. I figured he needed some more room. We have yet to find the bed frame for it, but for now the boys are enjoying it on the floor.

Jack is really good about keeping himself occupied if Benjamin leaves him alone long enough. He loves putting things in and taking things out of other things. He has also been enjoying Ben's Magna-doodle drawing tablet. He is showing some interest in figuring out how to actually ride on his ride-on car that sing and makes noises when you push various buttons. Yesterday he was dragging around one of Rob's old pull-toys from when he was a kid. He was rolling it around in circles and giggling. I got some video of that.

I'm expecting some words from Jack soon other than Mama and Dada. Sometimes when I tickle him and say "giddy giddy giddy" he'll pretend to tickle himself and also say "giddy giddy". I'm so impressed! he he

Jack is also getting a lot more steady on his feet and can practically run now.

We've been playing outside this week since the weather has been so nice in the afternoons. Jack took a spill off the edge of the deck - just enough to scare him. It's a bit of a challenge keeping him in the "safe zone" outside and he'll wander over to where all of Rob's tools and the lawn mower and wood stack are which are off limits. Still, I can manage to sweep the deck and the other day I managed to weed an entire flower bed and re-mulch!

Baby #3 is officially due April 1st, but since Ben was a week early, and Jack was 2 weeks early, I'm expecting him or her to make an appearance around St. Patty's Day. The gender ultrasound is November 9th at 10:30am, so I will update that day as to whether this will continue to be "4 The Boys" or will change to "The Shertzer Kids" or something like that - hopefully a more clever name.

Gotta run. Ben is bored with cartoons (he woke up after I had written the first 2 paragraphs). Forgive any misspellings - I'll try to come back later and update with pictures and maybe video if I'm lucky!

So Many New Things... So Little Time (and memory)

The boys have been doing so much over the past month, but I have not been feeling great and so haven't posted.

Ben is talking up a storm! I had to get some video of him the other day because he was just chattering non-stop about this, that and the other without a pause. He's been a very good little boy. His terrible 3's stage only lasted a couple of weeks. Now he is back to responding to requests with "Okay, I will". He's really good to his little brother (most of the time) and will give him toys if he hears Jack crying - or he'll tell me "Mommy, Baby Jack crying". Lately they have been running back and forth in the living room - not really chasing each other but just making lots of noise and giggling a lot. Sometimes Ben will stop and hug Jack and they'll fall down and laugh. Got a wee bit of video of that too.

Ben also did a poo in the potty all by himself finally. I had just been reading online about what to do when your 3 year old is potty trained for peeing but not pooping and all the articles said that it's a power struggle and the more you try to force it, the worse it will be. And then what do you know but I went in to help him pull his pants up and he said "I'm not done, I'm poopin'!" I thought, yeah, yeah, heard that one before... but sure enough he did! Hasn't done it since, but it's a start. He still won't go in public toilets though, but won't go in his pants either - just complains and dances around. Guess we just have awhile longer to wait on that.

We just bought a "booster" seat for him for the Jeep which he seems to like. We'll get another for the Suburban and then Jack will get his old car seats (which he has already been enjoying). New baby will get the old baby rear-facing seat. Man, we are getting lots of use out of our original baby purchases like the car seat, high-chair, pack-n-play, swing, walker, etc. Go us!

Jack is getting smarter and cuter every day. He's really walking around everywhere now (started August 22nd) and seems to love the new freedom. This week he has been making himself laugh by picking up a big inflatable ball and throwing it to watch it bounce and then going after it to do it again. He also loves for me to read to him and likes the touchy-feely books.

At his 1 year check up he was in the 90th percentile for height and 70th percentile for weight which the pediatrician said was good (he is 25 pounds). She also commented on how healthy he was because he has never been to the doctor (never been sick). He only cried for maybe 30 seconds after his shots and then was fine.

He has 4 top teeth and 4 bottom teeth now and eats just about anything we put in front of him. Seems to get diaper rash after eating anything with egg in it, but other than that, he's a great eater! Doesn't like milk at all, but the pediatrician said that wasn't a problem as long as he got 3 servings of calcium per day and suggested we try calcium fortified orange juice. I tried cheese and yogurt but they were no-gos. Not a dairy guy (which is the only deviation from him being a total Daddy's boy).

He's been a great sleeper - goes to bed about 5pm and wakes up about 6am. Sometimes he wakes up at night but he puts himself back to sleep usually so we rarely have to get up and return his paci or "sleepy bear".

ADDENDUM: I forgot to mention that Jack will clap whenever someone says "Yay", "Good Job", or "Good Boy", even if it's someone on TV. Also when Ben kisses him and says "Good night" Jack will wave at him.

When Shertzer Baby #3 gets here we'll be moving Jack into Ben's room. Grandpa Huber has offered to make the kids a bunk-bed with stairs instead of a ladder, and Gigi has offered to buy a twin mattress since we have 1 already. I think they will LOVE it. Just hope Jack is in the mood to stay in bed by that time. Ben was really good about it, but Jack seems a bit more independent and aggressive, so we'll see.

Here are some pictures for your amusement from the b-day party through this week:









You da man (he's getting so big!)


Ben found my sweater. =-)

Quick Post

I need to get the boy's birthday party pics posted (and I will someday soon), but just wanted to pop on and say 2 things:

1. Jack took 3 steps this morning. I was lying on the floor in his room and he walked 3 steps and then fell on top of me giggling! We've seen him take 1 or 2 steps over the past week or two. Won't be long 'til he's off and running.

2. On our way to Gymnastic Joe's this morning I was trying to distract Ben by suggesting we sing the ABC song. So I started singing and SO DID HE! I had no idea he knew how to sing it since he never has before - even in part. But after we sang it all the way through he said "Do it again!" so we sang it 3 times. Makes me wonder what other things he can do but just chooses not to. Hmmm...