Update and Happy 5th Birthday Rosco and Bailey!

First of all...we'd like to take a moment to say, "Happy 5th Birthday" to our 2 wonderful beagles, Rosco and Bailey. We realize this is Jakob's site, but hey, he "over loves" them everyday so they deserve a little TLC and a mention on his page. They did not get a special BBQ party like they got every year in Houston as we decided that the Calgary folks might think it was a bit strange (since they had not been part of them since the beginning). They did get a big, long run at the dog park without Jakob there bossing them and some wet food for dinner (and I've been smothering them with kisses all day).

We have had lots of excitement since the last posting! We had WARM WEATHER!!!! Not so much in Calgary, but when we went to Houston for a visit! Yes, Jakob got to enjoy his first experience wearing shorts (without stockings underneath them and red boots like Pinocchio). He also got to wear sandals and have the grass touch his feet (which he did not like when we were at the Taylor's house playing). Of course, everyone else got to enjoy our pasty, white skin which has not been exposed to sun in ages!

We were very excited to see our family again and also to have many of our friends finally meet Jakob and vice versa!

On Friday, we had a wonderful time visiting Natalie, Martin, Martin's mom and aunt, and Jonas Jensen on Jonas' 2nd birthday! These are our very wonderful and close friends that live right across from our house in Houston. Jakob and Jonas had the best time playing together and we also enjoyed lunch with Maggie and Aidan and the Jensen's at Chatter's. Jonas just loves Wayne so it was cute to see Jakob get a bit anxious when Wayne would hold Jonas and Jakob would also want Wayne to hold him. We took Jakob to a TexMex restaurant that evening with my sister, Ed and Ben (yes, I was being a bit selfish and knew he probably would not eat it, but I wanted my fix). I was right, he didn't really eat it, but enjoyed playing in the sand (for the first time) in the play area outside.

On Saturday, we had a fantastic time at the park with about 25+ friends! The weather was rainy in the morning, but it completely cleared up by the time we all met and turned out to be a gorgeous day! Thanks to everyone who was able to make it...I'll be sending out pictures soon! Poor Jakob actually had the start of a cold sometime that morning we think, though, as he was not quite his lively self and he hardly ate anything the rest of the weekend....not even Ed's homemade lasagna we had that evening when family came over for dinner!

On Sunday, we headed over to Target for some last minute shopping, then over to the Chris and Sarah Taylor's house so Jakob could have a play with Madie and Alex. We then headed over to the Jensen's for 1 last visit before heading to the airport. We were so sad to have to leave before Jonas' birthday bbq started! I was on the airplane mourning over my dried up chicken sandwich thinking about the bbq below! Jakob was SO happy to be home that night. We realized the last time he went on a plane, he never went back to the original place (i.e. Russia), so he was so happy to return home. When he got upstairs, he just stood and stared in his room and was excited to see his bed and everything still there!

Once we returned home, everything went to crap. Jakob came down with his first full blown cold since we've had him, I got some virus (which I previously thought was food poisoning about a month before when I had it) for about 2 days, and Wayne eventually started vomiting by the end of the week. So, for the record....all Turpin's in this house have vomited this week! Jakob once on Monday, Courtney all day Tuesday, and Wayne on and off on Wednesday and Thursday! How is that? One thing that is funny is that now when the toilet seat is up, Jakob starts to spit in the toilet (as he saw me doing it when I was sick....hey, I could not help it, Wayne could not get off work that day and the poor kid had to see me like that). We are all starting to feel a bit better, but energy levels are still running low (except Jakob's has gone back up of course).

Jakob and I are leaving for LA on Sunday for 1 week to stay with Christi (my sister), Larry (brother in law) and Autry (Niece). Christi and Larry are filming a web movie that Larry wrote and they are both co-directing and producing! Jakob and I will be there to help get Autry off to school and in bed each night while enjoying some family fun in between! We are so glad that we could take this opportunity to help them and can't wait to see the final finished movie product! Jakob and I will also get to spend Mother's Day there in LA with my sister and family so we plan to make that a special day for all of us (and Wayne will do something special when we get back, right?). We are then looking forward to a week long visit from Aunt Kathy who is coming up from Dallas!

Which reminds me...we did receive some good news today....Jakob has been guaranteed a spot in the Honeybee Kensington Daycare in our neighborhood. This is the one that is just a few blocks away from us and is owned by a Russian woman (and 4 of the caregivers speak Russian). We have been a bit concerned that we would not get a spot and thought I might have to delay going back to work, but Jakob will start going part-time May 20 and closer to full time when I return to work June 9.

Jakob is continuing to grow and grow...not just physically, but mentally as well. He continues to say new English words all the time and also loves to challenge us as well ("No" is his current favorite word which he says with lots of conviction over and over again to try to get his way). My current favorite thing he says is "Bye Bye Helicopter" (which we see a lot of when the news is reporting on "traffic" in the afternoons...which in Calgary, there is hardly any traffic). So Jakob's version goes more like "Bye Ca Hop Ta Ca Ba Bye!" He kind of gets all of the words mixed up since Helicopter is a long and not so easy to say word. Wayne thinks it is mean that I try to get him to say it all the time cause it makes me laugh....but I'm just getting him to practice...ha ha!

Jonas Jensen pulling Jakob in the wagon

Jonas, the birthday boy, showing how fast he is at the age of 2!

Jakob teaching Jonas the infamous "Yah Yah"

Jakob walking on grass in his bare feet!

One of Jakob's better versions of "Bye Bye Helicopter"