Jacob Allen

My World

2011-11-05T07:40:00.000-07:00

There are not words for how much I love these two boys. Matthew is the best dad in the whole world. There is not a day that goes by, that he doesn't show Jacob how much he loves him.

New Age Potty Training

2011-11-05T07:31:00.000-07:00

No Presents Needed

2011-11-05T07:29:00.000-07:00

Well, the holiday season is around the corner. I have already begun thinking about what to get J for Christmas. As it turns out, toys are completely overrated.

Two Year Old Quotes

2011-10-12T18:53:00.000-07:00

When I was putting J to bed tonight, he told me his stuffed panda was crying. He said, "Momma, panda cryin'." I asked him why. He just looked at me and said so matter of factly (I may have just made up that word) "He sad." He promptly gave the panda hugs and kisses which of course made panda "happy."

Today after dinner, Matthew was drinking some hot tea in a coffee mug. If you know us at all, you know Matthew and I do not drink coffee or hot tea for that matter. We have four coffee mugs, and have never used them ourselves until today. Jacob looked up and said, " I want coffee."

Tonight after J's bath Matthew let Jacob wear his big boy underwear (as a side note, he thought he was the coolest thing ever wearing them). I had made a little popcorn and J was sitting in my lap sharing with me. I quickly felt something warm on my leg. This warm feeling took my by surprise, so I jumped just a bit. I also said "he just te-teed on me." This startled J a bit. I asked him "did you just te-te on Momma?" He stood up, looked down, said "nope, then sat back down and started eating again. I quickly sent him to the potty just to make sure he was completely finished. I went in after cleaning myself up. He was sitting completely naked on the potty (he had just gotten out of the bath), and eating from the bowl of popcorn. He was also pointing to his shower curtain, and whispering his letters. J's shower curtain has the alphabet on it, so I guess he was practicing.

The other day he had my computer sitting on his lap and started calling out, "Grandma, where are yer?' He doesn't say you when he is looking for someone or something. Instead it is yer. I haven't corrected this because I think it is so cute. After all, I still have a few years before he starts kindergarten. I just thought is was funny he was wanting to call Grandma on Skype.

I know these are totally random things, but the boy cracks me up all day long! I am amazed everyday at how smart he is. Just the other day he spelled his name for me. He also knows a ton of songs, and too many words to count. He has such joy for life, and I am so proud to be his momma. I had one of my proudest moments this morning. Dropping Jacob off at school is my least favorite part of my day. Luckily Matthew splits this responsibility with me, and I only take him to school a few days a week. Well, this morning Matthew and I both took him. Matthew left quickly, but I stayed to take J's jacket off. At first he wasn't crying (he actually cheered "yay school" when we pulled into the parking lot), but after I took his jacket off, he knew it was time for me to go. He began to fake cry. I took him over to see Mac Mac. Mac is a little boy at school with special needs. I found out today that he is 2, but I am not sure if he is in J's class all day or just in the mornings. We talked to Mac, and J made him smile. I asked Jacob if he would be a big boy for mommy, and play with Mac Mac. J shook his head, and I put him down. He promptly ran over to the toys, and pulled out a tambourine. Jacob's teacher told me that Jacob loves to play with Mac Mac, and knows all of his favorite toys. Mac Mac cannot run around with all of the other kids, so it warmed my heart to know that Jacob will just sit down and play with him. Jacob's teachers tell me he know's everyone's name. I believe them too. On the way home from school, Jacob names every single one of his classmates. He says "Bye Kenzie, bye Nicholas (I love how he says Nicholas), bye Myles, bye Gracie..." You get the picture. He also knows everyone that works there by name. Even though he is shy around new people, I love that he has a desire to know everyone. He is always asking me "who's that momma?" I know he has brought so much joy to our lives, and I am excited when I think about how he may one day influence others. I just pray he keeps his sweet spirit, and joy for life.

Just Living The Life

2011-10-10T09:43:00.000-07:00

Life doesn't get much better than this.

Waiting patiently to go to the zoo.

Bunnies

2011-10-10T07:47:00.000-07:00

Jacob was obviously excited to play with the rabbits.

He decided to give the bunny a kiss.

I am not quite sure what face he is making here. I am sure he was about to say something to me. This little rabbit kept jumping up and trying to give him more kisses. I have never seen such friendly rabbits.

Watch out bunnies!

He realized he was about to sit on two bunnies.

Jacob makes it a point to count everything now. This was him counting the rabbits.

Sweet Face

2011-10-10T07:02:00.000-07:00

Matthew took this picture of Jacob right before we rode the horses at the pumpkin patch. I love this sweet face!

One More Day

2011-08-11T18:50:00.000-07:00

I officially only have one day left with my one year old. Although he has obviously been closer to two for quite some time now, and I have been saying for so long he is almost two; two is suddenly a number I don't want to hear. I was rocking J the other night because he was sick and just wanted to be held. He takes up my entire lap now and in fact his feet dangle off the side of my lap. I am continually changing and shifting to help him find a comfortable position. Just what seems like a short time ago I could hold him up on my chest and there was nowhere else he would rather be. Now he finally gets tired of shifting and says "Momma, lay down." Then he does just that. Granted once he does lay down, he points to the bed and says "Momma, you." Meaning he wants me to lay with him. So I do most nights. Just for a while because I know someday he won't want me anywhere near his room. That brings tears to my eyes.

I was watching the students in the carpool line this morning. They would bounce out of their parents' cars while their parents waved goodbye. Unfortunately in many cases I was the only one that saw the wave. The kids were already halfway to the building and could care less about what their parents were doing. I know all children grow up, or at least we as parents hope they do. Growing up is the natural thing. I look forward to watching J grow. If he didn't progress I would be worried. The progression though is bittersweet. I have seen how quickly these almost two (eek) years have gone by, and I know I can't stop the clock.

Jacob brings so much fun and joy to my life. I look forward to him yelling for me first thing in the morning even if it is early. His hugs and kisses are from Heaven above. He has the best dance moves of any toddler I have ever seen, and I love his taste in music. I wish we could all have the zeal for life that a toddler does. When does that stop? When do we stop enjoying the little things? His excitement is contagious and I look forward to introducing new things to him just to make him laugh and smile. His smile will forever be burned in my mind. Thinking about his little laugh makes me melt. I have been so very blessed and I praise God for giving Jacob to me. I know his Daddy feels the exact same way.

Saturday will be a day of fun and excitement. I am sure we will sing Happy Birthday a million times since that is currently one of Jacob's favorite songs. In fact tonight we sang it to him while he was testing one of his birthday cupcakes. He then wanted to sing Happy Birthday to Elmo. When I was rocking him tonight he wanted to sing it again to Sammie (his all time favorite subject), Elmo, then to his cupcake. So we did. I think all in all I have sung the song at least eight times tonight.

I would like to say I am not always this sappy about J, but I am. I cannot tell you how many times a day Matthew and I say, "man, I love him." We are constantly watching for what he will do next. Honestly, even on the hard days, being a mom is the best job in the whole world. I wouldn't trade it for anything and I mean that. Am I the best mom, no probably not. But I love my child with all of my heart and I always will. I pray he wakes up every morning knowing he is loved so very much, and that no matter what our love for him will never stop.

Bread

2011-07-26T20:20:00.000-07:00

Jacob has this thing with bread and french fries. If one or both of those things are on the dinner table, that is all he will want to eat. Last night we had Hamburger Helper. Super healthy, I know. Regardless, that was dinner. With the HH we also had garlic bread. Jacob would not even try a bite of the HH, he wanted the bread. We resorted to bribery. Matthew told him if he would take one bite of Hamburger Helper he could have his piece of bread. He straight refused.

I typically don't work as a "short order cook" but we needed him to eat something other than bread, so I heated up some left over spaghetti. Jacob loves spaghetti. I knew this would work. He would eat a bite of spaghetti then get his bread. Not so much. He continued to refuse his dinner and cried for that piece of bread. Finally he got over it and just wanted down from the table. After Matthew and I were done with dinner, Jacob went back over to the table and started to climb up to get none other than "his" bread. Luckily I saw what was to ensue and stopped him before he reached his prize.

I wanted to give in so badly and just give him the stupid piece of bread. We felt the need to hold our ground though. He went to bed without eating ~~anything~~ (well he had already had a pretty big snack while at Sam's), and we felt terrible. The kid can't just live off of bread and french fries. That just wouldn't do. So, what is a mom to do? I guess we won't be having bread with dinner for a while.

"Buy Me Some Peanuts And Cracker Jacks"

2011-07-26T20:08:00.000-07:00

Let me just say, if awards were given for being super fans, Jacob would win. This kid never ceases to amaze me with his love for baseball and for the Braves. We purchased his Prado shirt and Tomahawk outside the gate and he was read to go see his Braves (well them and the Chick Fil A cow). Rather than have his face painted, we opted for an arm tattoo so he would be able to see it. Mind you we were there two hours before the game began, we had to find things to do to occupy our time. We played in the kids area then settled on a bag of kettle corn. Our $10 tickets (thank you AUM student id) made for the perfect seats. That is until Mr. Know-It-All showed up and sat behind us. You know how I know he knew everything? He talked the whole time. Seriously. The whole time. In fact his first story started out, "I went to my first baseball game in 1951, I've been to thousands of games and never caught a fowl ball." As you can tell, his knowledge of baseball was untouched and he was planning on sharing it with his friend in the seat next to him. Maybe I was hot and tired, but he was on my nerves instantly. If you know me at all, you know that isn't hard to do. Jacob didn't seem to mind. He was intent on eating my entire bag of kettle corn and getting on to me when I tried to eat some. After sitting for a while J looked at me, put up one little finger and said "be right back." Now, he has only recently started saying that. After about three times of him saying this I finally figured out what he was talking about. Luckily he pairs the phrase with a finger in the air. I am the only person that understands him most of the time, but even this one took me a minute. Now every time he does it I giggle.

After awhile he began getting sleepy. To be quite honest, I am so proud of how he held up. We had already been to the zoo today then topped the day off with a Braves game. Don't call to nominate us for The Parent's of The Year Award just yet. He had a thirty minute nap on the way to the game. Ok, now you can call. Really though, if it is something he enjoys, Jacob is quite the trooper. He is so laid back and loves life. After singing almost the entire song of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh inning stretch, Jacob promptly turned to the cow and said "bye cow." He then looked at the field and said "bye Braves." We took our cue and made our way home. The ninth from what we can tell from the radio was pretty eventful but they went to extra innings. I am not quite sure how the game is going to turn out. All I know is Jacob loves his team, and that adds to the many reasons why he is my favorite little boy in this whole world. We love our new city and look forward to the many adventures we plan on having here.

Day Four

2011-06-24T21:00:00.000-07:00

Today is day four in our serious potty training endeavor. I say serious because we started talking a bit about the potty a few months ago. On our last trip to Hunstville J started really showing interest. I decided to get serious about it and buy him some big boy underwear four days ago. Armed with about fourteen pairs of Thomas the Train and sports underwear, I determined that J would not put diapers back on after he woke up from his afternoon nap. We "threw away" all of his diapers and started that day using the potty. The first day and second day were a bit rough. We had numerous accidents but would make it to the potty and he would finish there. He figured out candy, stickers, and songs were involved and quickly became a fan of the potty. Day two our friend Chris was there. Now, I am not sure if he was just showing out, or if it just "clicked" but J looked at me and said "tee-tee potty." We rushed in and low and behold he needed to use the potty. He got two skittles for asking to go. I never thought I would bribe my child to use the potty, but it works so don't knock it. The rest of the day he consistently asked me to go. I was so excited. We went to church that night and I was a nervous wreck but he didn't have any accidents. We went to the Cookie Company to celebrate (really more for me than him, but J was excited about the prospect of a cookie). So excited I guess he had to tee-tee. Luckily the Cookie Co is right next to Motherhood Maternity which thankfully has a bathroom. We rushed in but he was way to excited about the toilet paper dispenser, plunger, etc. to really go. On our way back out to the car he had his first accident since early that morning. Day three started off dry and we did quite well. We went out to eat at Moe's and almost immediately he decided he need to go to the potty. Again he got distracted and would not go. I was a bit frustrated because I cannot stay at home forever but he really has gotten this potty thing down. I didn't want to revert by going back to pull ups or diapers. Finally after about trip three to the bathroom we had success. I was so thankful. We went to the library. Again we had to potty and again we got distracted. This time the potty got the better of us and he had an accident. After getting home though, he stayed accident free the rest of the evening. He wouldn't go before bed though and we were at a bit of an impasse. He was really fighting me with the potty. I finally broke down and put a diaper on him, then put him to bed. He wouldn't go to sleep though. I went back in his room and he frantically said "tee-tee potty." We rushed to the bathroom and again success. I then gave him the choice. Did he want his big boy underwear or a diaper. He looked for a minute, quickly picked up his underwear, and with a smile began to put them on. I felt at that point that I needed him to make the choice. All of this brings us to day four. J woke up dry and went to bed dry. Day four was a completely accident free day. We even went out in public, and he stayed with a friend while M and I went on a dinner date. I must say, today has been a good day. Will we have accidents in the future, of course, but I am so proud of my little guy. He is too. I will leave you with J's favorite potty song. A song made up at the spur of a moment, but has turned out to be quite fun.

"If you're dry and you know it shake your hiney, shake shake
If you're dry and you know it shake your hiney, shake shake
If you're dry and you know it, then your pants will surely show it,
If you're dry and you know it shake your hiney, shake shake."
(Sung to the tune of If You're Happy and You Know It.)

Hello Water

2011-06-14T20:19:00.000-07:00

During our last beach trip, the quote of the day was "a bye wa-her." Jacob was afraid of the water and wanted nothing to do with it. This trip was a whole different story. He loved the water. I will post a picture and video of this later. He also loved the pool. He can swim with just floaties and is a big fan of jumping in the pool. J would count "2-4-8" then jump right in. I think he gets this from the Thomas The Tank Engine theme song. You can youtube that if you care to hear the song. Anyhow, here is a picture of him enjoying the pool, one of us at dinner, and the other at the beach.

Just In Case You Were Wondering

2011-06-14T20:02:00.000-07:00

At church, Jacob's favorite part is the singing. His second favorite part is the Lord's Supper. Up until a few months ago, those were probably in reverse order. I think J is so entranced by the the Lord's Super because it deals with crackers, juice, and silver plates. I mean really, they are just teasing little kids. In Bible class, they work with the little ones in teaching why we go to church. Jacob can tell you the four things we do, "We go to church to learn, to sing, to pray, and to give!" They also practice giving. Because of this, we always give J a dollar or our check for the collection plate. I try to talk to him about why we are giving. They also have a book they read in class that goes something like the following:
"Because I love Jesus, I'm giving some Money! The money buys Bibles for children to hear stories from God's word." I am paraphrasing of course, but you get the idea. Before J gives his money I always say, "because I love _________ (he fills in the blank appropriately), I'm giving some ___________!" Well, apparently we still need to work on this concept a bit as you can see from the video below.

This video was taken at Shuckum's in Panama City Beach. They have dollar bills taped to the walls from people that have visited. J was pretty interested in them as you can see.

Changes

2011-06-05T20:30:00.000-07:00

With J everyday brings something new. With a move coming up soon there will definitely be some changes in all of our lives. We will probably be renting a two bedroom apartment for a while. I told Matthew I was concerned that we wouldn't have a full size bed for guests to sleep in if we only have two rooms. My solution, move J to a big boy bed. I called some friends to get some tips on the big step. I quickly (that day) decided to head to the store to purchase some fun sheets that might entice J to sleep in his big boy bed. I found some super cute ones at Ross for only $6.99. After a quick wash and dry we moved just the mattress of our guest bed into his room. I chose to only start with the mattress simply because J wiggles a lot when he sleeps. I didn't want him falling off and I hadn't had time to purchase any type of safety railing. Honestly I didn't even think he would sleep in the bed for a few nights. I simply wanted him to get used to the idea. Matthew and I took him in to show him his new bed and to say he loved it is an understatement. He ran full force, jumped on (like a belly buster off a pool diving board), and yelled "BED!" He slept in it the first night. I was so proud. Within an hour or so though I heard a thud followed by crying. I rushed in to get him re-situated and he never even woke up. Around three in the morning we had another fall. After that, I put a couple more pillows around him and he was set for the night. He woke up a little earlier than normal and came running through the house to our room. Sammie of course was not expecting him and greeted J in typical Sammie fashion. Which consequently scared J meaning a few more tears. Overall, we made it through the night in a big boy bed.

Naptime soon rolled around the today. When I took him in for a nap J ran to his bed, jumped in, and was ready to sleep the afternoon away. He stayed in place the whole time so again I was impressed. Tonight was a little more difficult. I think J was just having trouble settling down. After a few more innings of the Braves game, a glass of milk, and singing Twinkle Twinkle ~~five~~ fifteen times, he was finally ready to hit the hay.

J has also recently shown an interest in the potty. I will not go into detail but I will say we have begun potty training and are following Jacob's lead. I am in no way pushing the issue and really don't mind if he is not potty trained for months. He is however beginning to figure things out. We just have to work on him letting me know he needs to potty. Matthew will say potty training was my idea, but really J initiated it. One day while getting J ready for a bath I took a little too long to get him from the undressed point to the tub. I figured while he was in proper attire for using the potty I would let him try before getting into the tub. To my surprise, he had already used the potty without me even mentioning it to him. Go Jacob! The next day we were headed to Huntsville and had stopped in Morris to spend the night with M's parents. I asked J if he needed to go, and again he went. When we got to my sister's house, J climbed up onto her potty (the lid was shut so don't freak out) and said "te-te potty." I let him try and it was a success. Since that road trip (perfect timing right?) we have slowly worked on getting him used to the potty. I am not really sure if I am going about it the right way but I am trying to not put any pressure on him because really there is none. Now if he is 3 1/2 and not potty trained then we will revisit the idea of pressure. We that or if I can no longer find diapers to fit him, which is a possibility considering he weighs 32lbs.

One day I will have to tackle the paci, just not today...

Everyday Nothings

2011-06-02T12:53:00.000-07:00

I wish I were posting pictures today but quite frankly I haven't taken many lately. Life has been a bit on the hectic side to say the least. We will be moving to Atlanta in just a few weeks (yikes, I really should be doing something other than blogging) for jobs at Greater Atlanta Christian School. We are very excited (scared) and are hoping this will be a good opportunity for our family. J will be able to start going to school there for K3 and we get a 60% discount. That being said, our discount is enough to bring the cost down to what full tuition is at ACA for high school. We will be paying a lot, but I think the education will be very good. If we make it for J to go to high school there, they have numerous (I think 19 and counting) AP programs. He will have access to any sport, and instrument, any art form he pleases. Although I am scared out of my mind, I think in the long run it will be very good for our family. I'm not sure if we could afford more than one child there but all we need if for one of our kids to be a doctor, lawyer, CPA, so J will have to take care of us when we are old in gray. I am really jumping ahead of myself, but hey that's what I do.

J has become quite the talker. He takes after his momma. He has begun talking about things without us prompting him. He knows the majority of the major animals at the zoo and will talk about them quite freely. He has a pet stuffed rat, thanks to a gentleman at church, that he named Papi. Not sure why Papi, but I prefer that to "rat." J sits Papi on his shoulder and walks around with him that way because that is what Mr. Randy showed him when he gave J the gift. I don't know... While at my sister's this past week he walked her dog Roxy (pronounce "Rockies" by J) on the leash. He would tell her "come on, come on." I don't quite know where he got that, maybe me always trying to get him to come when he is told, but wherever it came from it is cute. Today at Burger King he dropped his kids crown and said "come on crown, come on." When we pulled in the drive at BK he yelled with excitement "Dink (a cherry icee he has decided is his favorite), burger, fries." Can you tell we eat way too much fast food? He then saw the playplace to which I knew we would work off the calories climbing through the tunnels.

The word cute earlier reminded me of another story. The other day J and I were shopping at the mall. I had received a $10 off card from Victoria's Secret and decided to take a look around the store. We went in the dressing room to try a few things on. J sat in his stroller, picked up a bra, put it to his chest, and said "cute." Now, I can tell you I did not teach him that. I about died laughing right then and there.

He is growing more and more every day and is becoming such a little man. I know I have said it before and I will probably say it again, I would give anything to just be able to record our daily life and play it back over and over. Matthew always jokes on me about making sure we get the photo opps but my favorite things are the day to day nothings. Jacob wearing his BK crown and sitting opposite me in our booth is a picture I pray will forever be ingrained in my mind.

Easter 2011

2011-04-24T20:26:00.000-07:00

My boys

"Where did it go?"

School Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-24T19:42:00.000-07:00

I dropped Jacob off Thursday morning then waited for him and his class to come outside for their Easter egg hunt. I loved watching all of the little kids running out and being so excited to see all of the eggs. One little boy was helping all of the other children put eggs in their baskets. He had me cracked up. Jacob was more excited about dumping out all of his eggs rather than picking up new ones. He has learned the "Clean Up" song and as he was dumping out his basket, he was singing "mean up, mean up." We had a great time and it was good practice for the real Easter egg hunt we had today.

This Is What A Potty Is For Right?

2011-04-21T11:40:00.000-07:00

A few days after I bought Jacob his potty he figured out it could be used as a step stool. That is all it has been used for, and honestly I am fine with that. He turns on the water full blast so I am sure I need to budget more for next month's water bill. I don't want to discourage good hygenie though. This kid loves to brush his teeth. I may have to pull this picture back out one day to remind him of that.

Growing Up

2011-04-21T09:48:00.000-07:00

I cannot even begin to tell you all of the new words/tasks Jacob has learned. He surprises us everyday with new things. I wake up every morning wondering what will come next. Jacob now understands the concept of hugs and kisses so that is one of my favorite accomplishments. I ask him for a kiss and he plants a slobbery kiss wherever he can reach. He repeats everything, especially words said with inflection. While driving down the road the other day, a driver cut me off to which I said "seriously?" My little back seat driver yelled "seriously," and I just about died laughing. He has learned how to do the Tomahawk Chop due to his daddy's love of Braves baseball. We cannot wait to take him to a game this year. A few of his other favorites are:
-Alright
-Ok
-Again
-Awesome
-What's that
-Here Kitty Kitty
-Oh no
-play
-potty (and other words associated with it which I will not mention)
-hush (to the dog or to his baby doll)
-NO Mine!
-He knows all of the words associated with the table like table, chair, plate, fork, spoon, cup, napkin, etc.
-diaper, wipe (His diapers now have Elmo on them so he calls them (melmo diapers)

The list above doesn't even take the cake (yes he knows that word too, and ice cream although I am not sure how since he cannot eat it) on the words he knows. He sings so many songs at school and knows all of the hand motions and most of the words. He can count to two (he claps when we get to three) and will sometimes say five. Jacob knows a good bit of his alphabet and can tell you what a number of the letters say. He can also point out the majority of his shapes, a few colors, and knows a ton of animals and their sounds. I adore that child more and more each day. This morning he came up to me without me prompting him and said the three magic words... "I love you." Then I had to pick my heart up off the floor because it melted into pieces.

Peekta-Peekda Boo

2011-04-09T20:22:00.000-07:00

I love this kid more than life. He brings joy to every day, and a sense of adventure to everything. I love exploring with him.

A Little Blue Bucket

2011-04-03T19:07:00.000-07:00

Matthew had to preach one Sunday down in Andalusia which is halfway between our house and the beach. We decided to be "spontaneous" and head down to the gulf after he was done preaching. We picked the closest beach which happened to be Ft. Walton, and it was actually very pretty. Matthew's favorite part was the lack of teenagers. This was the same week as Spring Break which was our only hesitation for going. We found a public beach, changed clothes, and took to the sand. Jacob hit the ground running, or at least trying to as we all know how difficult it is to walk on sand let alone run on it. You will see one of the pictures above where he is looking down at his hand. He fell over right at the very begining and was quite concerned about the sand that was on his hand. He dusted it off though and went right back to what he was doing. I think my favorite part of the day was when he actually saw the water. Now, if you have heard him get excited about something then you might be able to imagine just what he sounded like. With great excitement he said "a Wah-r" (a water). Matthew took him to it but the closer he got, the more anxious he became. Matthew tried to ease him into the gulf by sitting him on his knee. The first picture you see Jacob is smiling. All was going well until a wave came...and splashed him straight in the face. That was all she wrote. Jacob started to cry, Matthew started to laugh, and I just took pictures trying my best to capture what happened. Matthew stood up with Jacob, and Jacob with a wave said, "bye wah-r." We died laughing. He had had enough and was ready to do something else. Luckily that morning I had thought to pack his little blue bucket and shovel. That proved to be the best decision I made all day. He finally did warm up to the water as you can see in the other pictures, but he really prefered playing in the sand.We had an awesome time and I cannot wait to have more family beach trips (maybe more than just one day)!

Bawoon Day...Oh and don't forget pancakes, candy, and chocolate cupcakes Mom!

2011-02-15T19:30:00.000-08:00

Jacob woke up Valentine's Day morning to a wonderful surprise. Waiting at his little table, he found a heart shaped balloon and heart that lights up (like a strobe light almost) from his daddy, and a play recorder (the kid likes whistles and that was all I could find), suckers, bendy straws, and other goodies from me. He was ecstatic! He can say his own version of the word balloon, and it sounds like bawoon with a few other syllables to it. We also took the time to make special heart shaped pancakes. He had no idea they were anything special, but I did.

J's class party. He is a big fan of cupcakes.

The classroom was full of balloons which of course he loved. They had all kinds of goodies. Jacob took homemade crayons shaped like hearts for his Valentines. We broke crayons then melted them down into the heart shapes. They were a bit hit. I am starting to see a major pattern in my blog posts. A majority of them are about food. I guess that is why Jacob weighs 30lbs (ish). He is solid and loves to eat!

Such A Little Man

2011-02-15T18:48:00.000-08:00

I found this clip on tie a long time ago at a consignment sale. The tie reminded me of one Matthew has so I thought for $2 I should probably buy it. I am so glad I did. Jacob took a minute to get used to the tie, but when he did he worked it. Everyone at church raved about how cute he is. Can you blame them?

17 Months Old

Climbing Up His Slide

J loves the giraffe trike Aunt Amy got him.

Silly Face

Climbing takes concentration.

Done! He was ready for me to put my lens cap on so he tried to help me out.

Where Else Would He Eat Crackers?

2011-02-15T18:06:00.000-08:00

Hey Mom...

These crackers are good.

Jacob loves to sit in Sammie's bed.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-16T12:12:00.001-08:00

Merry Montage Christmas

Visit Shutterfly.com for classic photo Christmas cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Look Mom, No Hands

2010-12-12T20:27:00.000-08:00

The other day I was watching Jacob ride his rocking horse. He did something I had never seen before. He took both hands off the handles and just started yelling. I of course laughed which provoked him to do it again. Apparently Matthew has been teaching him to lift one hand in the air and say "Yee Haw." This is J's interpretation.

Hide and Seek

2010-12-12T20:01:00.000-08:00

Matthew called me into the laundry room yesterday and this is what I found...

First Artwork

2010-12-12T19:57:00.000-08:00

Flashback

2010-12-12T19:51:00.000-08:00

J's "first day of school."

This Looks Oddly Familiar

2010-11-29T21:27:00.000-08:00

That was my pose as a little girl. I would put my hands on my grandpa's guitar strings while he played. I love to hear him. Those are some of my fondest childhood memories. My grandparents took such good care of me!

Maybe I Am Too Proud

2010-11-29T21:21:00.000-08:00

I know I am not very consistent in my blogging. In fact I go a month or two then sit down and bombard everyone with posts. That is how my life is though. There is always so much going on. I wanted to take a minute to take note of J's accomplishments. I will make lists to the best of my memory of what has taken place in the last few months.

Signs He Can Sign:
More
Bath
Help (with prompting)
All Done (with prompting)
(Shakes His Head No)

Signs He Understands:
Cookie

Words:

Jacob
Da-da
Ma-ma (*He knows this word yet chooses to say "da-da" when he sees me. We think he uses this as a greeting rather than as a name. He will call for me if I am not in the room.)
Dog (Though he would rather bark.)
Cat
Milk
More
Cookie
Pops
(They tell me he says Granddaddy though I haven't heard it myself.)
Outside
Bath
Hello
Hey (He did say "hey there" the other day when shaking hands at church.)
School
No
Go
Hot
Duck
Cup
Nana (banana)
Door
Yes
Belly
Amen
This
Touchdown
Car
Truck
Church
Up
Sit

He must be prompted to say these words.

J also tries to mimic many other words. He has learned how to sing just in the last few days. He may not know the words, but he does "sing." I can ask him to point to certain things in his book or to body parts and he will do so. Now, I will say some of these words are probably not at all recognizable by others but, because we are his parents, M and I can decipher what he is saying pretty well.

Animal Sounds:
Horse
Cow
Duck
Dog
He can also roar so we are working on putting that sound with the lion.
We are working on "meow" for cat.

J's motor skills are coming along as well. He is learning how to put on hats, take off clothes, twist, hug (oh his hugs are the best hugs in the whole wide world. I don't know what I will do if he ever stops wanting to hug me.), kiss, he can clap, point, wave, stomp, spin, patty cake, clasp his hands to say prayers, raise his hands, bounce, dance, walk backwards, sit up in a chair, and climb (stairs are his favorite of course be he climbs other objects as well). He recognizes people and songs. One of my favorite things that J does is at church. When we walk in the door he wants down so he can go and shake everyone's hand. They all say he will be a preacher or politician but I am holding out for something else. I think he is just overly friendly.

I have got to gain some balance. I am way to crazy about this little boy. I don't understand how there are people in this world that don't love or want their children. My life is so much fuller since I have had this wonderful little boy. I am sure I will mention my love and adoration for him about 852 billion more times before my life has ended (at least).

Everyone Has Fries But Me, What's The Deal?

2010-11-29T20:52:00.000-08:00

We have found that if we give J all of his food choices on his plate at one time he will typically only eat one of the items. He prefers vegetables over meat in most cases, and anything fried over anything not. French fries would have to be in his top 10 favorite foods. We have started trying to give him the "good" stuff first. For example, tonight I only put his green beans on his plate rather than filling his plate. He ate every single green bean and asked for more. Sunday after church we went to Five Guys. I gave him a portion of my hamburger which he ate like a champ. We made it a point to keep all of the french fries hidden away in the bag until he was finished eating. That worked up until a guy at a nearby table poured a huge pile of fries out of his brown paper bag. J promptly put down his hamburger, pointed at our brown paper bag, and grunted. We both knew exactly what he wanted. He is too smart...

And this is how it turned out...

Best Friends

2010-11-29T19:36:00.001-08:00

Do All Babies Do This?

2010-11-29T19:33:00.000-08:00

Years and years ago I purchased an Anne Geddes photo book and the above picture was one of my favorites of the book. I dreamed of the day when I would have my very own little one in order to recreate this photo. Now, I didn't go all out with it as you can tell below. We went for a simple version. J loves to look at his belly. He pulls it up as much as possible in hopes of sneaking a peek at his belly button.

Useful Things Like Rakes and Mittens

2010-11-29T19:13:00.000-08:00

When Pops bought this rake (I'm pretty sure he bought it while I was in the hospital right after having J. I could be wrong, but if it wasn't then it was definitely before J could even sit up) I thought he was crazy. Well Pops, thanks for the rake. J loves it. I'm hoping one day very soon to put him to work in the backyard with that rake. If you have seen our yard (ever) you know we need all the help we can get.

J has become increasingly aware of his belly (as you will see in a later post) and his clothes as well as other people's bellies and their clothes. He will point to his belly and say his version of the word. He is also learning how to take off his clothes. I can say it will only be a matter of time before I have to find a way to keep the boy from running around naked.

I absolutely love this picture because it captures one of his real expressions. He is facing the backyard where the dogs (we are dog sitting Gracie hence dogs plural). Ever since J figured out that dogs bark he makes it a point to bark back at them. This is what he is doing in the above picture...barking.

After being outside for well over an hour, J's little hands became cold. Lucky for me I had just purchased some new mittens for him. Of course we couldn't have traditional stripped or solid color mittens, rather we needed the ones with skull and cross bones. He was quite proud of them if you cannot tell.

(Don't worry, we put a hat on him too.)

Favorite Things

2010-11-29T18:38:00.000-08:00

When I was a little girl my mom would make my sister and I cheesecake. Now, these were not elaborate cheesecakes. In fact they were Jello No-Bake cheesecakes. I prefered this type to "homemade" or store bought cheesecakes up until a few years ago. Even now, I guess I really do prefer the no-bake kind. Well the other day for Thanksgiving, my mom made me and my sister yet again a cheesecake because she knew we didn't like other traditional Thanksgiving desserts (Thanks Mom!). Well, I didn't get my fill so I purchased a mix to make at home. One of my favorite parts of the cheesecake making process was licking the bowl, spoon, and mixers. I passed that on to J and I can say he is a child after my own heart...

In fact, I think I'll have a piece, ~~or two~~ now.

The Pumpkin Patch

2010-11-15T13:13:00.000-08:00

Documentation

2010-11-14T19:55:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Jacob rolled his eyes for the first time and I laughed.

I just wanted to remember that. I am sure one day he will roll his eyes at me and laughing will not be my immediate response.

Our good friends Melissa and Nathan were over for dinner last night. After dinner J decided to explore as he usually does. He began to look through Melissa's bag. I explained to him that looking through Mrs. Melissa's bag was probably not something he should be doing. He put his little hands down to his side, looked up at me, rolled his eyes, and huffed. I couldn't help but laugh! Upon doing so he tried to roll his eyes again and again. Each time Melissa and I rewarded him with laughter. I doubt he even knew what he was doing, but he does know that I find it humorous. If only I can remember to keep a sense of humor about me, I do believe parenting will be much easier.

First Real Haircut

2010-10-26T22:06:00.000-07:00

Although he had already had a trim, this was his first "official" haircut.

Who Do You Think He Is Calling?

2010-10-26T22:01:00.001-07:00

So Us

2010-10-26T21:51:00.000-07:00

I look at the picture below and think to myself, "that is so us, so natural." I was so comfortable that day on those steps with my two favorite boys in this whole world. I couldn't be happier with the fact that God blessed us with such a wonderful marriage and such a happy baby boy. That expression on Jacob's face is the one he carries most days. I really have never met a happier baby. The ladies at his daycare all know him and make sure to tell me how "happy" he is. They love to go and visit his classroom and see him in the hallways. I pray he keeps that wonderful attitude. Life is hard and can be tough at times. If he can keep that smile about him though, he will do many wonderful things in this life and bring joy to the lives around him.

Thanks for a wonderful vacation Grandma and Granddaddy!

I'm Guessing He Is Happy.

2010-09-23T19:30:00.000-07:00

This video was taken a while back, I just haven't had time to share much lately. Jacob was watching his Elmo video. Now up until this point he hadn't paid much attention to it. Then all of a sudden, "If You're Happy And You Know It" came on. He couldn't get in front of the tv fast enough! He totally cracked us up. I had to get it on video. He had been clapping for a while and would even clap when Matthew sang him the song. We knew he really put two and two together so to speak when he started clapping along with the video. We were so proud! I love this little boy more and more everyday.

Club Applebee's

2010-09-23T19:21:00.000-07:00

We have known for a long time that Jacob loves music, hense the rock n roll birthday party. He not only loves music, but loves to dance. A trip to Applebee's could only be made memorable by our sweet baby boy Jacob. The song playing in the background is Fergie's "Clumsy." He loved it! I hope you enjoy this as much as we did.

Where Are The Cheerios Mom?

2010-09-12T21:10:00.000-07:00

I took Jacob dowtown to some of the spots where we took our maternity photos. Now, I should have waited until one morning to do the photos as it would have been cooler, and typically Jacob is in a better mood in the mornings. I'm pretty sure I only got one picture with him even smiling. I guess you live and learn. Regardless, I think some of them turned out alright. Even if he was searching for his Cheerios the whole time.

Two Voices

2010-09-12T19:45:00.000-07:00

I sang Jacob to bed tonight as I always do. We have a list of around ten songs that we rotate through. Some nights I get in a rut and simply sing the songs in the same order. Tonight was different though, each song was sung with meaning. I sang with all of my heart and hoped that Jacob understood how much I adore and love him. I knew he did as he put his little hand in mine. I couldn't help but think one night, he is going to join in with me as we sing those bedtime songs. One night, we will sing with two voices in harmony, praising God for the blessings in our life. Tears came to my eyes with that thought. Tears of joy, tears of sorrow. I am sad that a phase has ended (books tell me I know longer have a baby, rather a toddler), but excited about what is to come.

Great Grandma Barnes

2010-07-07T22:02:00.000-07:00

We made the trip up to Indiana, and boy was it a trip. Jacob was so good the entire time even though he was completely out of his normal daily routine. These were just a couple of pictures that I took. The first is of the corner. My dad grew up in this house and always told us stories about the Polish club next door. I thought this photo was very fitting. The second is a photo of my grandmother's house. I edited them with more of a vintage finish. The third photo is of my grandmother's hands. I don't know what it is but something about holding a child is beautiful to me. I'm glad I have this photo of Grandma holding Jacob. The fourth photo is of her roses. Grandma has always had a green thumb, I'm kind of upset that was not passed down to me. As a child I remember looking at all of her flowers and being so impressed with how pretty they are. I now have roses in my yard (due to the green thumb of the lady that lived her before us) and I often think of my grandmother when I see them.

Outside & Dog... What Other Words Does A Kid Need To Know?

2010-07-07T21:05:00.000-07:00

When Jacob started saying "outside" we were a bit surprised. No doubt though he knew exactly what he was saying. Matthew opens the back door, and he starts saying "outside." He will crawl as fast as humanly possible saying "outside" the entire time. His pronunciation is quite humorous to us. As far as "dog" goes, he has been saying that for a while. The pronunciation has changed a bit and he leaves out the "g" every now and then. No doubt though he understands the word for "dog." He is also starting to say "bite," he can sign the word "more," and will sometimes try to say it. I know too when he is trying to say "milk." The word is not very pronounced yet, but he crawls towards the kitchen saying his version of "milk" all the way when I am fixing him a bottle. Today he has been working on the "g" sound and saying "go." He will probably be a chatterbox just like his momma. We are anxious to hear what is going on in that little mind of his. For now, we know food, outside, and dog are top priority.

My Little Rascal

2010-07-07T20:44:00.000-07:00

Jacob has recently discovered how to open drawers. Well his bottom dresser drawers is one of his favorites. I left him alone for literally five seconds and came back in his room to see the top picture. He had thrown almost everything out of the drawer. He still had a few remaining items for which he had to "dig a little deeper" so to speak. He is such a little rascal!

Not So Much

2010-07-04T20:27:00.000-07:00

While in Indiana visiting my Grandmother, we (well, I)heard the ice cream truck and decided some ice cream was in order. If you know me at all, you know that when the ice cream truck is around, somebody better start searching for cash. What was so special about this for me however, is that I have previous memories of getting ice cream from the ice cream truck at my Grandmother's. I was so excited Jacob would have that same experience. Well sort of have the same experience. He really didn't get his own ice cream, rather a bite of mine. As you can tell from his expression below, he wasn't a fan. I'm not sure if it was the flavor considering mine was a sour popsicle, the cold, or a combination of both. If he is anything like his mom and dad, he will learn to LOVE ice cream.

Really Kid... I Know What I Am Talking About.

2010-07-04T20:21:00.000-07:00

We took a mini vacation for Father's Day to Atlanta. Matthew had been wanting to go to a Braves game so Jacob and I decided to surprise him with tickets to the game and to the Georgia Aquarium. We had such a good time! Jacob enjoyed the ballgame a lot. He was a little sleepy at the aquarium and wasn't too interested. We finally got him out of his stroller and he became a little more involved. While at the Beluga Whale exhibit, I was down at Jacob's level pointing at the whales and saying "fish." I chose the word fish, because A) Jacob had heard that word before, and B) I really didn't expect him to leave the Georgia Aquarium saying "Beluga Whale." Well, it just so happened there was a four year old that overheard my explanation of the whale to Jacob, and quickly corrected me. "Um, that's a Beluga Whale." (Insert a very critical face in which his eyes were really saying "moron, that's a whale, not a fish. Get it right.") I then proceeded to explain myself to a FOUR YEAR OLD! Realizing no matter what I said this kid was still going to think I was an idiot, I gave up, turned away, and proceeded to the next exhibit. Jacob still hasn't said fish, but he isn't saying "Beluga Whale" either.

Click Here For More Photos Of Our Trip

Don't Get Me Granddaddy!

2010-07-04T19:52:00.000-07:00

Jacob loves his Granddaddy and his Granddaddy loves him no doubt! I loved watching the two of them play and I was so glad I had my camera with me. Matthew makes fun of me for always having my camera and making everything about a photo opportunity. At least I have my camera when the important things happen in life. I know Jacob will cherish these pictures when he is older.

First Haircut

2010-07-04T19:26:00.000-07:00

I know what you are thinking, the first haircut is supposed to be at a year old. Believe me, I wanted to wait. The problem was, Jacob's hair was so long! I was in his eyes and worse than that, it had started to cover his ears. One night in Bible class, Ms. Billie asked if I was planning on waiting til Jacob was a year old to have his hair cut. I told her, I didn't really see how I could. She pulled out her scissors and got to work. He really wasn't a fan so we were only able to cut his bangs. For now that will get us through. On his first birthday, I will take him to get the rest of it cut. He looks so grown up now. I miss that long hair...

Around The House

2010-07-04T19:21:00.000-07:00

Little Teeth

Playing ball with Sammie Jo.

Trying to get the ball from Sammie Jo.

Helping Daddy in the kitchen.

Sleepy Baby Boy

A Little Biscuits Fan

2010-07-04T19:18:00.000-07:00

Jacob loves baseball as do we, so we decided his first Biscuit's game was in order. Although we were a bit nervous about the late time of the ballgame, we knew we were only a few minutes from home if need be. Of course the game went into overtime, but that didn't phase Jacob one bit. He was sleepy but in true form, he was wonderful. He loved the game and being outside. We were a bit nervous as well about how he would handle the fireworks so we went ahead and left the actual stadium before they began. We stood outside of the stadium to watch. Not a single tear. He wasn't afraid one bit. Of course, this is the child that slept during the Thunderbirds at the airshow! We should have known. Jacob watched the fireworks with his daddy while I snapped a few shots. That was such a sweet moment for me to capture.

My Little Creepy Crawly

2010-05-24T19:48:00.000-07:00

After weeks of belly crawling, Jacob finally crawled. I was such a proud Momma. Now it is time to really baby proof the house. We did lower his crib tonight so hopefully he won't figure out how to crawl out of it. I can't believe J is on the move!

Watch Out Beyonce

2010-05-24T19:33:00.000-07:00

So now that Jacob can stand up for a period of time, we have discovered he likes to dance. This was the best video I was able to get, but I promise, he is pretty hilarious. The song playing is apparently his favorite, because he doesn't really do it with any of the others... yet.

Best Buds

2010-05-24T19:19:00.001-07:00

Swimming With Sammie

Jacob loves the baby pool I bought for him. Before we knew it, Sammie joined him for a dip in the pool. Jacob thought that was the coolest thing and squealed with delight.

Mary Kate, Granddaddy, and Jacob

2010-05-24T18:14:00.000-07:00

Just Playing Around

2010-05-24T18:10:00.000-07:00

Jacob so far has liked playing in his pack-n-play. His facial expressions absolutely crack me up! I keep a box of toys in the pack-n-play. His favorite thing to do is take every single one of them out then he will play.

Wild Man

2010-05-18T18:35:00.000-07:00

I woke up the other morning and I found a wild man waiting for me in the nursery. Jacob loves to play with his hair when he is sleepy, so I imagine this is why his hair looked the way it did. We went directly to the living room for a couple of pics. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do.

Cruisin'

2010-05-18T07:54:00.000-07:00

Jacob went for a little cruise this morning along the couch. He has finally started to figure out if you lift your feet, you will go different places. He learned to pivot this morning (Pops, I think it is time for that basketball goal) as well as cruising. We had a few mishaps of course, but who doesn't? Last night was pretty rough. Jacob fell asleep on his own without his swaddle (once again I was proud) but he woke up around 2:15 AM hungry. He would fall back asleep but when I would try to put him down he would just cry. I believe his tummy was hurting and he simply wanted to be held. Around 4:00 AM he finally went back to sleep, only to wake up again around 5:00 AM. I hardly slept last night. I am so thankful he is cute and sweet because it really makes days like today much easier. We also played outside for a little while this morning. Jacob sat in his wagon in the shade and played with toys while I worked in the flower bed. I got some azaleas for Mother's day that really needed to be planted. Jacob loves to play outside and loves riding in his wagon.

The Deadline Has Been Extended

2010-05-17T17:31:00.000-07:00

As it turns out, they do not ask about crawling at the nine month check up. What a relief! I was able to answer yes to every question the nurse threw at me. Jacob is still a light weight weighing in at 18 lbs 7 oz (5th percentile) and is 28 1/2" tall (15th percentile). We will however need to start a savings account for the custom ball caps, and other head wear in our future, due to the fact that Jacob's head circumference is 18 1/2" (90th percentile). If you have seen his dad's head, you know where he gets it from. Maybe Jacob cannot get up on all fours because his head is too heavy. Jacob had to have his finger pricked so the doctor could check his iron. While the nurse was pricking his finger I gave him a sticker to play with. As soon as the deed was done, he looked up at her, gave her a face that said "what was that for," hen proceeded to cry. I wish I would have had a video camera with me. That was probably one of the funniest things I have seen Jacob do. As soon as I picked him up, he was over it, and reverted back to playing with his sticker. I am glad babies have a very short memory span. The doctor was a tad concerned about his iron levels and has suggested I up his iron intake as well as give him an iron supplement. We are still having reflux and other tummy issues so Jacob will be going to a specialist this Wednesday. I am a little nervous about this, however I am very excited at the prospect of finding out a way to ease Jacob's tummy troubles. The doctor's three month forecast included a chance of drool on account of the four or five that are about to push through. Let me just tell you, I'm stoked *insert sarcastic tone here.* Though I am not looking forward to cutting new teeth, I am looking forward to what the next few months hold for us. Jacob is my angel baby and I am absolutely crazy about him. I went to pick him up this afternoon from MDO and when he saw me Jacob started kicking his feet and giggling hysterically. Oh, it made my day. We have been working on getting him out of his swaddle at night time and for naps. Saturday night he slept for six hours straight without it. Then he woke up hungry because he had been a bit off schedule that day. I was able to get him back to sleep and he slept the rest of the night without the swaddle. Well, that success made me think maybe he could fall asleep without his swaddle today at naptime. I knew he was tired. With just a bit of crying, he was able to fall asleep on his own without the swaddle. I am so proud of him! That was 4:00 PM. The time is now 7:20 PM and I am debating on whether or not to wake him up. I know he is just sleeping off the shot he got today, but I don't want him to wake up at 4:00 AM ready to play. When I went to wake him earlier he was laying on his side just like I do when I sleep. I just didn't have the heart to wake him.

Coincidence...I Think Not.

2010-05-11T05:58:00.000-07:00

We have had some major events happen in the Beasley household in the past few days. I know what you are thinking. "Oh did Jacob crawl?" Nope, still not mobile. Jacob's accomplishments lately have been more verbal than physical, save one. We will start with the first. We were outside in our sunroom. Jacob has been trying very hard to pull up. I have been working on finding the perfect piece of furniture for him to pull up on. Well we finally found it. Jacob likes to pull up on the ottoman. As he was doing so, each time he would say "up." I was so excited. We practiced that a few times then finally took a nap. I think he slept just a little bit better knowing he had that milestone under his belt. The "up" was a clear as day. No coincidence there, he has that word down. That same morning he also looked down at the dog and simply said "dog." I did not prompt him in any way. There was no mistaking that is what he said. Now, he has been saying up, dog, duck, more, ma ma, and da da, for a while, but sometimes he is just mimicking and other's I just think it may be coincidence. There was no doubt with the above stated events. Well this morning I had Jacob on the floor and was about to feed him his oatmeal and fruit. By the time I got there to feed him, he had rolled across the room. So I sat where we normally eat breakfast in hopes he would be forced to crawl. Well he did make some headway. For a couple of days he has actually been able to go up on all fours, and is also very capable of pushing himself backwards. (As a side note, Sunday evening he did try to go forward and face planted. At least he tried). He was able to roll towards me some as well as push forward a bit in army crawl fashion. But then he did something he had never even tried to do (at least to my knowledge), he sat up from being on his tummy. I was once again quite impressed and gave him a round of applause, which he loved. We finally got to the good part, breakfast. There was just one problem, I wasn't feeding him fast enough. At which point he said "more!" When the food was all gone and I got up to wash out his bowl he said "more, more!" There was no mistaking what he said and once again, I did not prompt him. I left Jacob for a minute to wash out his bowl and pick up a few other things around the house. At one point I walked by him leaving him in quite the tizzy. As I walked back by, he looked up at me and said "ma ma." Coincidence...I think not.

We're On A Deadline Here

2010-05-06T09:55:00.000-07:00

Three months have passed since Jacob's last doctor visit. At his six month check up the nurse asked, "does he sit up at least in the tripod position?" "Well no, he doesn't" was my reply. Did I feel inadequate as a parent? Yeah just a little. I had no idea he should be able to do that. We went home and with a little practice, Jacob was sitting up like a little Buddha. Although I do not know all of the questions the doctor is going to ask at this visit, I know one of them. Is Jacob crawling? I am afraid the answer will be the same. "Well no, he doesn't." I'm okay with that though (sorta). Do I necessarily want to have to watch my child like a hawk every second of every day just because I want to answer in the affirmative for every one of the doctor's questions? I don't think I do. I like being able to put Jacob on his play mat and know that if I leave the room for a split second, he will still be in the same area. Now, he is a little more mobile now. In fact he will roll all over if given the opportunity. If I sit on one side of the room with food, and place him on the other, he will make it over to me. That process takes him about 10 minutes though and by the time he gets there he needs the food to help him recharge. I think he is well on his way to crawling we just might make the doctor's deadline. I just wish the doctor asked the important questions like Does he give his mommy sweet kisses? Check. Does he have an awesome impression of the Godfather? Check. Can he sing like a child from a Bollywood film (think Slum Dog Millionaire)? Check. Jacob has the fun things down and is probably way cooler than half the other kids his age. Can he crawl? No, but here is a list of all the wonderful things he can do. So for now I think I'll tell Jacob to take his time and enjoy sitting and taking it all in. One day he will have to be moving all the time and wish he could have just a moments rest.

Just To Toot My Own Horn For A Minute

2010-05-03T20:50:00.000-07:00

I have been working so hard to figure out all of this blog stuff. I hated the boring blog templates provided and I knew there was a better way, I just had to figure it out. I started by creating my own header, which by the way I will soon be editing again. Once I figured that out, I moved onto changing the fonts. Let me tell you, I worked on that a couple of days. One day as I was working on it, a light turned on for me, and I had an "Ah ha" moment. From there I was able to quickly change the fonts on one of my friends blog, and it only took me a few minutes. Since I figured out the fonts of course I could make my own background. I only worked on it one day, and as you can tell I figured that out as well. Am I one hundred percent pleased? No. But hey, for my first attempt, I think it is pretty good. I have loved editing html code (something I knew nothing about until a couple of days ago) and actually spotted and corrected an error today by myself. I am proud of my work and I just needed to toot my own horn for a minute. Thanks for listening!

I Can See The Wheels Turning

2010-04-29T08:01:00.000-07:00

Jacob is really starting to understand words now and I love it! His latest word is "up" He will only say it when he is on our bed though while pulling up on our bed frame. He will just say "up" over and over. Jacob has also just learned to wave. Matthew and I both just love to make him wave, and we get so excited when he does it on his own without prompting. He typically doesn't wave goodbye, rather Jacob waves to say hello. I think I prefer it that way honestly. Jacob doesn't shake his hand really, he just puts it up in the air. Before he actually started to wave, he would put his hand up in the air and twist it around. The way he he looks up at his hand while he is moving it makes you think he might be saying "wow, that is my hand and I am the one moving it." It is as though you are seeing him think. I have loved watching him learn.

Playing With Iliya

2010-04-25T18:41:00.000-07:00

A Day At The Park

2010-04-25T18:33:00.000-07:00

We took Jacob to the park to feed the ducks. He loved it. Mainly he liked being outside and eating the bread. He was however curious about the ducks and did reach out for them. Matthew made me a little nervous by sitting Jacob on the ground then placing pieces of bread near Jacob. At times I wasn't sure who was going to get to the bread first, Jacob or the duck.

Roly Poly

2010-03-24T14:39:00.000-07:00

I have been practicing this with Jacob for a long time now. I will sit with the camera while we play in hopes that he will roll over. Well today he finally did roll over a few different times. I was so proud of my little bubby.

Faker

2010-03-24T14:30:00.000-07:00

The other morning Jacob woke up in a good mood and talking as usual. I waited for a bit to go and get him out of his bed. Well, he started coughing. I got a little worried and rushed right in. I picked him up and automatically he was better. He didn't cough again. I later asked him if he had a cough and coughed a couple of times. He looked at me and coughed. Then he laughed. I have determined his is just a little faker! He chooses the funniest things to mimic.

Where Did Jacob Learn That? Oh That's Right, His Daddy.

2010-03-24T11:20:00.000-07:00

So the other night we were sitting in the floor and Jacob kept making this noise. We couldn't figure out what he was doing. Matthew thought about it for a minute, then remembered he had made that noise a few times when he and Jacob were playing. So he looked at Jacob and made the noise. Sure enough, Jacob looked up at him, giggled, then made the noise back to him. It was hilarious! I of course got out the camera. This is what I got before the battery died.

Who Needs Toys?

2010-03-24T11:00:00.000-07:00

Jacob loves going to Bible class. If I sing a song at home that his Bible class teachers sing, he just stops what he is doing and looks at me. His favorite "toy" though in Bible class is not really a toy at all. A paper plate, laminated and made into a clock is his favorite. He just shakes his little arms, kicks his legs, and squeals when they get out the clocks. This isn't the best video. Of course he won't do what I want him to when I have the camera out but you get the picture.

He Knows Exactly What I Am Saying...No Doubt.

2010-03-24T10:50:00.001-07:00

Shake, Rattle, & Roll

2010-03-24T10:49:00.001-07:00

I love how Jacob shakes his rattle. He just moves that little arm back and forth. He cracks me up!

Seven Months Old...Man The Time Has Flown By

2010-03-21T20:03:00.001-07:00

Sneak Peak

2010-03-20T20:35:00.000-07:00

Amy, Jacob, and I went out to the park today to take a few photos. We also took a few at home. I will be posting more later, I just wanted to give you a sneak peak. I am really excited about some of the shots we got. Since Jacob is sitting up now, photos are much easier. We have a small window before he starts crawling and walking away though. I took about 400 pictures today so it will take a while for me to edit and narrow the selection down.

6 Months Old

2010-03-09T21:14:00.000-08:00

I just took these one day when we were playing. He has so many different expressions. I just wish I could capture them all. The hardest one to get on camera at times is his smile. He has the sweetest smile ever. The face he is making on the bottom left was learned from Daddy.

Not Really Sure What Is Going On Here.

2010-03-09T20:55:00.000-08:00

I haven't figured this one out yet. Really I don't know how he even got into this position. I thought it was cute so I wanted to share. Don't ask about his pants either. Apparently we let him walk around with spit up on his pants. Don't judge. I hate doing laundry. Really he has started spitting up more lately. I guess it is the solid foods. None the less, I like this photo.

Sammie Jo Is So Funny!

2010-03-09T20:42:00.001-08:00

Jacob has just recently discovered Sammie Jo. He likes to pet her (rather pull her whiskers) and watch her play ball. She distracts him now while he is trying to eat, or go to sleep. I love it though. He will just laugh and laugh at her.

Fingers Are For Eating

2010-03-09T20:34:00.001-08:00

Jacob is currently working on feeding himself. In this video he is eating puffs made by Gerber. I have since made him some homemade baby pancakes that he loves. Who am I kidding? This kid loves everything he puts in his mouth. If you will watch closely, when I hand him food, he doesn't try to take it. Instead he just grabs my hand and pulls it to his mouth. He also will bend down and try to pick up the puffs off of his tray without usig his hands. At the end of the video he is searching for more. I just love everything he does right now. I hope you enjoy!

First Day Of School

2010-02-06T15:21:00.000-08:00

Jacob's first day at Mother's Day Out was tramatic for me. I don't know how mothers that have to go straight back to work after having a baby do it. I just take Jacob to MDO two days a week from 9:15 to 1:30. He stays with a good friend one morning a week as well. I am so lucky to have a job in which I can work from home. To say the least, I cried when I dropped him off, and I picked him up a little early. His teachers Mrs. Judy and Mrs. Jennifer said he did fine. Relief! They told me he had taken a nap and everything. Jacob is a needy sleeper so to speak. He has to be rocked and swaddled. I just wasn't sure he was going to make it in a room full of children, but he did. I will say he took a long nap as soon as we got home. In fact he does most days after MDO. Dropping him off is much easier now. I enjoy being able to get out of the house a bit and really I think he does too. I love going to pick him up though. There is nothing better than when he sees me and starts kicking his little feet and grinninng from ear to ear.

They Have Put Me To Work Already!

2010-02-06T15:07:00.000-08:00

Jacob likes to "help" vacuum, cook, etc. He loves being in his carrier. I think he just likes having the same view as Mommy.

Splish Splash I Was Takin' A Bath!

2010-02-06T15:04:00.000-08:00

Much to my surprise, Jacob still really loves bathtime. He is learning to splash and loves to eat his frog cover up. Bath is one of our favorite times of day.

Jacob's First Christmas

2010-01-03T08:54:00.001-08:00

2010 Came Rolling In!

2010-01-01T07:06:00.000-08:00

I had been dreading New Year's Eve because you are expected to stay up until midnight (at least). Well when your child has been waking up every morning between 3:30 and 4:30, midnight is about three hours past bedtime. I didn't want to be a downer though so I had a friend come over while Matthew went over to another friend's house. We didn't go to bed until 1:30am, then Matthew came home at 2:30am (thus waking me up). Jacob decided he needed to wake up at 3:15am to eat. Luckily for me he went right back to sleep and slept until 7:00am. Exhausted, I had planned on Jacob laying on his playmat and I was going to catnap on the couch. Before I could even lay down he started in with his new high pitched shrill. "Great, I am never going to get any sleep." I decided just to sit down and play with him, and boy am I glad I did. Jacob was laying on his back and playing with his toys (mind you he has just figured this one out too). I noticed he would roll over on his side, so I pulled him away from his toys in hopes that he would reach for them and roll over. Well he didn't. I helped him to his tummy for the oh so important "tummy time." Jacob really has never liked this "tummy time" so I never really force the issue. Low and behold he started to roll over. I am sitting there cheering him on, praying he roll over the rest of the way. I waited and within a few seconds, presto! Buddy I scooped him up so fast and went running into the bedroom to tell Matthew all about it. He was impressed but not so impressed that he wanted to get out of bed to come watch. I took Jacob back to his playmat in hopes I could capture this milestone on camera. As you can see below, his second and third time rolling over are indeed on video. He progressively gets faster if you will pay attention. I hope you enjoy watching as much as I did!

My Sweet Boys

2009-12-06T21:39:00.000-08:00

Me?... I Want a Hula Hoop

2009-12-06T21:36:00.000-08:00

We took Jacob to see Santa at the Galleria in Birmingham. $25 later I figured out the photos I took of Jacob and Santa were much better than the one we paid for. Oh well. I guess it is about the experience anyway. This will probably be the only Christmas for a while that Jacob will even think about sitting with Santa without crying. All of my friends with children older than Jacob say their kids are afraid of him. Ali, Jacob's friend asked her mom on the way to see Santa "I don't have to sit with him do I?" Why are kids so afraid? I am sure I will figure it out one day.

I have figured out that having kids means you get to do all the fun stuff all over again. If I would have hopped up on that Carousel by myself that day, people would have thought I was crazy. Since I had Jacob everyone thought it was cute. I can't wait to take him roller skating, to Build a Bear, Chuck E Cheese, etc. Those were always my favorite things to do and now I will get to do them all over again!

Stone Up Tebow!

2009-12-06T21:08:00.000-08:00

"Lay off me I'm starving!"

Jacob enjoyed his first SEC Championship game. Especially since Bama won! Jacob said Tim Tebow was a bigger baby than him...

Jacob's First Trip To The Zoo (12 Weeks)

2009-12-06T20:53:00.000-08:00

We took Jacob to the Montgomery Zoo for the first time on November 7, 2009. Grandma, Granddaddy, Aunt Kim, Mary Kate, and Lauren all came with us. They were down visiting for the day and we had plans to watch the Alabama vs. LSU football game. We started the morning out right at IHop. Then while I was in the restroom changing Jacob's diaper, the family decided we had time for a quick trip to the zoo. As soon we got there, the first thing I did was purchase the monkey (in photo above) for Jacob. The stuffed animal was just small enough for Jacob to hold on to. We saw all of the animals. Of course Jacob really could have cared less about the actual zoo and animals. He just enjoyed being outside. The weather was beautiful and that was probably the longest he had been outside at one time. It was naptime so he caught some Z's as we looked at the animals. At some point I decided we needed to take a family photo which was really the whole point of the zoo trip to begin with. For me, most everything is a photo opportunity. At least that is what Matthew will tell you. After I took Jacob out of his stroller Grandma decided she needed to tote him through the zoo. After a while of walking she informed me that Jacob had a dirty diaper. I looked for the closest park bench, prepared a place to change Jacob, and laid him down only to discover I didn't have any diapers. If you will remember the beginning of the story... We left the house that morning with the intention of going to breakfast. While at breakfast, I changed Jacob's diaper. I was not expecting to be out all morning and was not prepared to be apparently. How embarrassing! I had to button him back up and move on. After all, what could I do? I couldn’t run to Walmart and I wasn’t about to ask anyone for a diaper. Good thing Grandma was there… Next thing I know Grandma shows up with a size four diaper (Jacob wears a 1 mind you). After a bit of work and a roll of duct tape, Jacob was once again fresh and clean. Matthew, Kim, and Granddaddy all left a bit early because they didn’t want to miss kickoff. The rest of us headed over to see the monkeys. We could have stayed there all day and watched them. There was a baby monkey that had us on the floor laughing. He was so mischievous. If you sit and watch monkeys long enough you will get a bit freaked out by the similarities between them and humans (except for picking fleas off one another of course and a few other disgusting things I will not mention here). Watching the monkeys protect and teach their little one was so sweet. I cannot wait until a trip to the zoo is not just a photo opportunity, but rather a time when I can watch Jacob learn about God’s creation and help him explore. Not to mention when he is older we can ride the train!

13 Weeks

2009-12-06T20:10:00.000-08:00

Jacob can hold onto toys now if I hand them to him.

Hey Pig...

I bought Jacob this little hat as part of his Christmas outfit. We just had to try it on. I believe it is a perfect fit and too cute!

I think Jacob likes his hat too!

Just Talking to Momma

2009-12-06T20:00:00.000-08:00

This is just a quick video to show Jacob cooing. He has figured out how to bring toys to his mouth (well somewhat). He will also laugh out loud and squeal with delight. Jacob has started teething as well. If he doesn't have a paci in his mouth, then you can expect to find one or more of his fingers in his mouth. Jacob also tries to fit his entire fist in his mouth as you can see in the video. His hands have been his latest discovery as are his legs. Jacob has yet to find his feet although I am sure he will very soon. I have absolutely loved this stage. I guess that isn't a fair statement though because I have loved every single day of his existence. Being a mother has been the most rewarding experience. I am so very blessed.

12 Weeks Old...Where has the time gone?

2009-11-08T20:28:00.000-08:00

Jacob is getting to be so big. As you can tell he has a lot more head control now. He is doing new things everyday. Everyone has always told me that the time would fly. They were right! I want him to stay little forever. Most days I just spoil him with so many hugs and kisses. I know there will be a day when he won't want me to hold him anymore. Until that day comes I am going to make it my daily goal to give him 150 million kisses a day. Oh how I love him!

I love this face. I feel like he is thinking "Seriously Mom, you have taken 100 pictures of me today. Are you done yet?" I think he gets this face from his daddy, king of silly expressions.

Just Clowning Around

2009-11-08T20:19:00.000-08:00

Jacob found Daddy's clown nose from Halloween. Daddy went as the man from the board game Operation (not a clown). I think Jacob is enjoying the big red nose a little too much! I hope he doesn't decide to run off with the circus!

Such a sweet little boy. I love him so much!

He really likes it. I promise! Oh the things I will do for a photo opportunity. Poor kid.

Crossing his eyes to get a better look at his big red nose.

Jacob and Uncle Adam

2009-11-02T13:06:00.000-08:00

Sometimes Adam will get upset and cry for certain people. Typically it is someone in our family. At school they figured out if he writes who he misses on the board he will be ok. I guess it is a way for him to "voice" his feelings. Mom has done the same thing for Adam at home. When we got there the other day "I miss my Jacob" was on the board.

I told Adam that Jacob likes it when people sing to him. So Uncle Adam decided to sing some songs to Jacob.

He has been watching YouTube videos of different musicians and you can tell he has picked up a bit of "country twang" and a little flair from these artists.

Jacob's Mohawk

2009-11-02T10:32:00.000-08:00

After Jacob's bath the other day I decided to give him a little mohawk. I think he really liked the look!

Our Little Pirate

2009-11-01T20:39:00.000-08:00

Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Milk!

A Pirate and His Paci!

Pumkin Carving

2009-11-01T20:15:00.000-08:00

We had our annual pumkin carving event last Sunday night at our friend's house. Carving our pumpkin was so much fun this year. Typically I am helping all of the other children with their pumkins. This year I was "helping" my own child. What a treat! We went for a simple and classic design. Matthew and Jacob watched while I handled the actual carving of the pumkin.

One Month

2009-11-01T20:02:00.001-08:00

Two Months

2009-11-01T19:55:00.001-08:00

Shhh... I'm watching Coach Saban.

2009-10-23T10:47:00.000-07:00

The other night Matthew and I were watching the local evening news. Jacob was laying on his playmat and Matthew was sitting and playing with him. Well the next thing we know the sports segment was on and Jacob's eyes were glued to the tv. Nick Saban was giving a press confrence and Jacob started cooing at the tv. He watched the entire sports segment with a huge smile on his face. I guess his daddy has done a good job of sharing his love of Alabama football.

Jacob's First Bama Game

We may have been in the hospital, but the boys were not gonna miss Jacob's first game.