Thank you! Love, Jacob

Jacob just finished sending off his thank you notes for all of his amazing gifts! He is so lucky to have so many people that love him. Here is a look at the front of his thank you card:

What a day!!

Jacob took TWO steps today!! Quite exciting. Philip thinks he will be walking in a few weeks - that is a scary thought!! He was a very messy eater at breakfast this morning (oatmeal and bananas) and he went on a few "Basket Rides" with Daddy (he rides in the laundry basket down the stairs and thinks it is the funniest thing ever). He also has learned how to say Duck, Dog, and Bug in the past two days! A big day in the life of Jacob Allan!

"Basket ride, basket ride, going on a basket ride!"


A cute family shot from Hanukah at Mama and Papa's!

Another Successful Party!

We hosted dinner for Phil's family two nights ago (about 25 people).. the turkey and dressing were a huge hit! There was quite a bit of chaos when the presents came out... presents were EVERYWHERE!! Jacob had lots of fun opening his gifts.. especially his new picnic table, tool bench, and Leap Frog Tad from Grandma and Grandpa C.!

Jacob opening his presents:


His new bath toys from Dan and Morgan!


Of course, he liked the container of chex mix the best!

Cooking Turkey!!

We were hosting Phil's family for dinner the other night so my mom came over to help me prepare turkey and stuffing!! It was quite exciting learning how to make this delicious meal and the food turned out great. The big question is whether or not I could duplicate this on my own... In other news, while we were cooking, I accidentally left our pantry door open. We think we might have a lovely mouse visiting our home, so there is a mouse trap on the floor. Jacob's little finger got snapped right up and Philip was not very happy with me :) Jacob was recovered within three minutes! Thanks to my mom for teaching me to cook!

Christmas Day!

Merry Christmas!! Another relaxing day in the Cotta household... We went to church this morning with Philip's parents and have spent the rest of the day laying around the house. We had the first snowfall of the year... not too much, but enough for me to want to bundle Jacob up and take him outside. He was standing on the deck and enjoying the cold until he toppled over.. the only problem being that his coat is too big on him and so his little hands couldn't stop him. We had a cold baby on our hands, but a few cute pictures to show :) We also had Jacob's first visit to Santa last week...Jacob was all smiles! Other good news? Jacob has slept through the night for the past three nights. We have enjoyed the sleep, even though he has not quite mastered the art of going to sleep on his own at night!

Vacation... Finally!

Loving our time off ... today we have done absolutely nothing but spend time with this little guy!

Our first party!

Last night we hosted our first party at our new house! We had about 30 people from my family come enjoy a post-Hanukah/Housewarming Party! We had tons of food, a good poker game, and the babies had lots of fun with all of their new presents.... Jacob received his very first chair from Pottery Barn Kids from Yaya and Pops as well as some new puzzles, an activity tent, and sports toys. Aunt Lindsay and Uncle Jonny gave Jacob many, many books (including some Dr. Suess flashcards and The Very Hungry Caterpillar book!), and Uncle Jason and Aunt Becky gave him his first mezuzah. While we didn't take any video from the night, my comments before we ate went something like this:

"As we grow up, you think more and more about what you want in life. I have an amazing husband, the most precious, beautiful child in the world, and we now have this wonderful home to be able to have everyone who is most important to me over... I have everything that I have ever wanted and I am so happy you are all here." [I think that is when Philip starting tearing up :) ]

Ma Ma!!

Today was a big day in the Cotta household.. Jacob said "Ma ma" for the first time! We were eating breakfast together and I went to wipe his chubby little cheeks clean and he said it.. and then continued to say it all day. Jacob was also busy standing and knocking over towers today!

Other good news? Jacob received the cutest pair of new Polo shoes today from one of my favorite students... Check these out!

Kiss Kiss!

Jacob just started giving Mommy and Daddy... and Yaya and Pops and Ellie and everyone kisses!! It's quite cute when he opens his mouth and plants a big slobbery mess all over your face. Jacob turned ten months yesterday. We celebrated by going to a Hanukah celebration at Mama and Papas - Jacob got some great new toys:

Thank you to...
Mama and Papa for the Hanukah gelt, menorah, and ball.. and for cooking an amazing dinner!

Aunt Gale and Uncle Rick for the "Jacob" sippy cup and new books

Sim, Michael, Joseph and Reis for the Fisher Price Little People farm animals and barn

Mattew and Robin for Jacob's Fisher Price CD player

Uncle Justin for his first football!

We will finish our celebration at our house on December 23. How lucky we are to have such an amazing family :)

A few pictures from April:



Jacob and Yaya

The Men!

Jacob's First Hanukah!

We celebrated Hanukah at our house and at Yaya and Pops house so far. Jacob opened his first present at our house (a few new Baby Gap clothes from me and a toy boat from Dad!) and he loved lighting the candles (actually he loved trying to grab the candles... not so safe!). He also tried his first Matzah ball soup at Yaya and Pops house ... still too little to try a latke.. next year! His bigger present has yet to arrive...

Standing Baby!

Jacob has done two very cool things in the past two days:
1. He can stand on his own for about 20 seconds at a time.

2. He can do "soooo bigggg!" (video to follow...)

Chicago Trip!

We went on our first trip without Jacob a few weeks ago. I tried to limit my calls to only 4 or 5 times a day - some of them I had to sneak in while away from Philip :) He was of course in good hands, with Yaya, Grandma C, and Linzaloo. It was such a fun trip... we went to see Jeremy play on Sunday night, lunch at ESPN sports zone (for the boys of course), a little bit of shopping, stayed at the Sophitel Hotel... Oh.. and I lost Philip's Northface gloves in the cab ride :)

Jacob's First Thanksgiving!

Jacob's first Thanksgiving was a success! He loved eating turkey for the first time and stayed up ALL night at Yaya and Pops! Check out these cute pics.