So Jacob has blossomed into every other kid I have met. He was so very disenchanted with the TV for his first 2 years I thought we had a prodigy on our hands. I was going to start an Epic about "Jacob, the anti-TV kid” Sure he would watch an occasional downhill mountain bike video with his dad, or cartoons with his Nickanous (Cousin Nick, the way Jake pronounces it); but it was very sparing and few and far between.
THEN..... Kel bought a DVD system for the Jeep. It was with great intentions and forethought of our recent travels to AZ and NV and future road trips. But it has entranced Jacob into the clutches of obsession. He would pry his eyes open to watch "The Happy Elf" (a low budget, stupid flick about a ADD, ADHD, OCD, PMS, Crazy elf that everyone @ the north pole hated because he got in the way and destroyed all of their hard work despite his good intentions). He watched this from Thanksgiving 08 until Jan 09. It had a catchy tune, but Kel and I turned Jeckle and Hyde when the DVD started, it was that annoying. We tried with no avail to change out the DVD with something new and refreshing. Jake would scream bloody murder if that annoying Elf wasn’t there to greet him when he sat in his car seat. We then put in "Baby Einstein" and that kept him amused for a few weeks, until he would get so frustrated that we arrived home and it was time to go inside the house. He wanted to sit in the Jeep in the garage and watch the simplistic shapes and colors flash on the screen. When he would finally come inside, he would repeat, over and over again; “I wanna wash a moooooovie!!!!”
We started putting movies in the DVD player, both in the living room and Mom and Dad’s room to appease him into some level of coping with the anxiety of not having a movie running 24/7. We would spend a considerable amount of time sorting through the DVD’s, placing them one at a time into the DVD player and hoping that Jacob would accept them and watch it. He would say “not this one” and the process would continue. He familiarized himself with the DVD’s until he knows which one he likes by sight. He has taken a liking to Shrek, 3D (he watches it in 2D). It is complimentary DVD, about 15 minutes long that continues the story of Shrek and Fiona after they got married in the original movie. Jacob watches it at least 20 times a day.
Keline and I have taught him how to use the DVD player; because it got really annoying to have to restart the DVD every 15 minutes. Now he is self entertained. He watches the DVD, then takes an additional 5 minutes pushing buttons trying to get it started, gets frustrated and throws a tantrum… tries again, and then you hear “I did it”, as the movie starts again. He has even become proficient at ejecting and putting in a new DVD. This has caused problems because he scratches the DVDs as they go in and out, and get tossed on the ground until he wants to watch them again. The Shrek 3D was scratched and stopped at the same place every time, and you hear from the back room “It’s not working” in the whiny voice. So we explain to Jake that you need to ask for help and not whine.
Last week Keline bought the original Shrek, and Jake loved it for about 30 seconds, until he realized that it was suspiciously unfamiliar. Same characters, different story. His world fell apart until Mom and Mimi sat and watched it with him. Now he loves it and recites his favorite parts.
So much for him not liking T.V. I am doomed. And Makenna has already taken a liking to bright flashy lights also…..
We got our Family pictures taken. It was tough with two kids. We spent most of our time trying to get Makenna to look up so then Jacob was distracted looking at her. I know it's tough for a two year old to just stare at a camera for a half hour. So this is what we ended up with. (I'm not taller than Matt. For whatever reason photographers always sit me higher then him.) 
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