Hello everyone,

I hope everyone is doing well! The Turpin's are doing great and Jakob is growing and changing right before our eyes!

In my last post, I was bragging about the potty training and he is still doing extremely well. He will usually have maybe 2 or so accidents per week at daycare...always at the same time, just after they have had a snack and they go out to play. So, they are starting to watch him a bit more at that time now (I think because they are finally tired of changing him...I was like...hello...there is a pattern)! He normally does not have any accidents at home unless we have friends over and he is outside and just can't bear to go inside and miss out, but that is rare. So, we are very proud of him. I have created a photo album of all the people he has met so far (and will start adding those who he is about to meet) and he LOVES to look at the photo album while on the potty pooping. So, I call it the Poop book now. Was not what it was intended to be, but hey, it keeps him on there.

Jakob is still really enjoying "school" and he is really trying to talk more and more since he started going. He is now trying to branch out to full sentences, which is great, but almost not comprehensible at this point. Much easier when it is just 2 or 3 words. I always tell everyone that I can understand about 90% of what he says, Wayne about 75%, and everyone else about 40%. He is still doing remarkably well for only having known English for 4 months (I have to keep reminding myself). One of my favorite language mix ups that he has is when he comes out of the garage or back door, he always says, "poop dog" and I always think...how does he know the rapper, Snoop Dog? But no, he is trying to say "dog poop" instead and he just has it reversed...as I'm always telling him to watch out for it if I have not had a chance to clean it up.

The only thing we have noticed about when he comes home from school is that he usually has a "meltdown" sort of evening every other day. One day he will come home from school and be laughing and joking and having a great time and the next day he just can't stop whining, crying, throwing himself on the ground, etc. Good news is, that is what 2 year olds do...so he is "normal." Lastly, we LOVE the teachers at his school and he has a really good group of kids in his class. It is really the perfect place for all of us (since it is only blocks away from where we live and he is happy)! He is really starting to come into his own now...his personality, the way he carries himself, etc. He is also really starting to joke around a lot more and also get jokes (like on DVDs that he has...he will point and start laughing like he now gets it).

We had a great Father's Day. We had our friends over for brunch - Steffen (works on Wayne's project for Accenture), wife Carmen, son Lucas (3) and Baby Laura (only months old). Afterwards, we went to the Calgary Aerospace Museum. I figured anything involving planes would interest both Wayne and Jakob, along with Steffen and Lucas. We all had a really great day and the weather was just perfect (which it had not been just a week or so before when it rained non-stop for a week...the city was getting cranky after that...and wet).

We are also very much enjoying our neighbors. Brad and Nancy (also our landlords) have been great with Jakob and have even watched him a couple of times for an hour or so (thank you!!). The down side for them is that our deck is higher than theirs, so Jakob usually walks outside and says hi to them over and over while they are trying to relax in their backyard. Michelle (an Aussie) is on the other side and we've gotten to know her a lot more since I've been on leave. She had us over for a Lobster Boil the other week which was fantastic! Jakob is very funny...if he sees Michelle working out in her yard he says, "..Chelle....Come..." (in a very "Jesus" like voice...like, come hither my child...almost like he is so confused...why are you over there...come here...don't let the fence hold you back).

Oh, and I guess I've not mentioned yet that I have successfully completed 2 weeks worth of being back at work. It has been totally fine so far and very manageable. I am very glad to be going back to the new office that opened while I was on leave...great view of the river and Rocky Mountains a bit further out. Everyone has been very supportive in getting me back into the swing of things and I've been enjoying it. I'm not at a client site / project yet, but hopefully soon through work we are trying to sell.

Well, I am going to sign off for now. Wayne was in Houston from Thursday - Saturday and will be home in an hour or so. Jakob and I luckily had great weather while he was gone so we were able to go to parks and explore a bit...oh yeah, and have a girls night + Jakob on Friday at our house!

We leave for Spain on June 27, so I will likely try to do another post after that and Stampede which is just after here in Calgary (so mid July).

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and we will talk to you soon!

2 videos of Jakob trying to do "1 - 2 - 3 ....WAKE UP!"
(he thinks it is so funny when you act like you are sleeping and then he wakes you up)