Yaya and Pops

We celebrated Uncle Scott's birthday last night at Uncle Steve's house. We thought that since Jacob did not go to sleep until 10:00, he may sleep in a bit for us this morning. Nope. We were wrong. Up at 6:00. We put him in our bed (think what you want!) to see if he would go back to sleep and, while he didn't do that, he was quite calm laying there awake. I actually thought it was quite comical to think about what he must be thinking as he lay there. "If I'm really good and don't make a noise, maybe they will let me stay here every night." Or, "Maybe if I keep giving Mommy kisses on the mouth, she will get up and go get me a bottle." Oh, the mind of a one year old.... Regardless, we were up and going by 6:30 this morning. At bath time this evening, he figured out he could drink the bath water. I don't know why this was so funny to him, but he kept doing it even when we told him to stop. Hopefully, a little Mustela shampoo won't harm the little guy. Off for some Sunday night TV...

A shot with Yaya and Pops last night:

The Sun is Out!!

On average, February has been colder than normal this year.... Today, the sun finally made an appearance! We were glad to spend some time outside in our backyard finally. Jacob ran around on the deck and the grass and played on his swingset. We can not wait for even warmer weather. He is now taking a much needed nap!

Going down the slide for the first time!

The weekend is here!

Quite a relaxing Friday evening at our home. When Phil came home from work, I headed out to get my nails and toes done with my mom - such a treat! Jacob continues to amaze us. He now says "moooooo" when he sees his toy cow. The child also has absolutely no fear. He wants to go up and downstairs (without just sliding), stand on his toys, run around the house with the puppies, crawl in the washer... the list could go on and on. We thought the fortune cookie we opened for him this evening, after he was fast asleep, was very fitting. We will be explaining this to him in the morning...



There is something very special about watching these two read books together:

Our Little Athlete

One of Jacob's favorite birthday presents is his Little Tikes basketball hoop. He loves throwing (or dunking) the ball and then cheering for himself. Thank goodness soccer season is not the same as basketball season!

One Year Check-Up!

The big one year check-up was today!
Jacob's Stats:
Height: 30 inches (50th percentile)
Weight: 23.5 pounds (60th percentile)
Shots: 2
Tears: 75 seconds (both mom and son)
Total Package: Perfect :)

The Toilet Game

I love playing games with Jacob - peek-a-boo games, sports games, music games, singing games... all games. I do not like the toilet game. The toilet game is played like this: Jacob grabs one of his toys and heads to the bathroom. Jacob is told, "Let's play over here, Jacob" [correct redirection by Mom]. Jacob proceeds to enter bathroom and lift up toilet lid. Mom now must head to bathroom and ask Jacob to please put lid down. Jacob smiles and holds toy over toliet. Mom (who believes her child will listen to her) asks Jacob to please bring toy into other room. Jacob smiles and throws toy into toilet. Mom does not stay anything. Jacob stares into toilet, enjoying the sight of his toy floating in the water.

While I'm sure this situation could be avoided by some child-proof toilet locks, I'm determined to convince Jacob that there are other fun games to play....

Mid-Toilet Game

An innoncent, "I would never do anything that my mommy tells me not to do," look.

First Birthday Party!

I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. The sun was shining, Jacob was feeling better from his two ear infections, and his birthday party was a success. I had so much fun planning his big day... from the invites to the personalized napkins and snacks for both adults and kiddies, I can't wait to do it all over again. It is hard to believe that Jacob's first year has already come and gone. We treasure every moment with our little guy. Here are some highlights from the day:

Personalized "Jammin' with Jacob" Cups and Napkins!





My mom picked out some fun balloons!


Jacob received the sweetest gifts from his friends!

Sangria for the Mommas and Juice Boxes for the Kiddies!




How lucky Jacob is to have amazing grandparents!


Music time with Robert Bernstein!


Everyone loved playing with instruments!


Jacob loved the egg shakers!


His favorite songs were Wheels on the Bus and Itsy Bitsy Spider!


Cake Time!!






Singing Happy Birthday Jacob!


First time EVER having real sugar. And the child LOVED it.


But did share some with Pops!


He ate the whole thing!




Practicing soccer skills with Yaya!


Jacob was so happy that his cousin Claire made a special visit in town for his birthday!





Hanging out with some of his buddies...


With his Yaya...






A little goodie bag Jacob sent home with his friends!


Relaxing after his big day!

Happy Birthday, Baby!

I can't believe he is already a year!




Let's hope his big party tomorrow doesn't result in this!

One year ago today....

.... we were checked into the hospital awaiting the arrival of this little guy! He waited 19 hours to make his entrance.

Day Off with Mommy!

What a great day to take off... Jacob has still not been feeling that great so we have spent the day playing around the house. The doctor told me to run a hot bath and sit in the bathroom with Jacob to help clear up his nose... Clearly, the doctor doesn't realize how hard it is to make an eleven month old understand that we are not going to take a bath even though the water is running and the toys are floating around in the water. Jacob must be getting taller because he was standing by the bath tub, staring longingly at the water, and went to reach a toy. Before I could grab him, he had slid face first into the tub. Luckily, he thought this was very funny that both his clothes and him got wet. Not quite sure how productive that activity was for his nose.

Jacob's big day is in two days!



Look at those eyelashes!


Valentine's Day flowers from Philip that I am trying to teach Jacob how to "smell" and not "destroy"


Before our bathtub incident.


Philip and his fourteen year old puppy.

An Amazing Delivery!

My new camera and lens arrived today in these two perfect little boxes!

True Mom

Jacob has come down with a terribly runny nose and the saddest sounding little cough. Given his condition, he hasn't been incredibly crabby today, but there was a constant battle with finding a good balance between his runny snot and wiping it off (which he hated). This evening, I felt like an adequate amount had dribbled down to his mouth, so I reached into my pocket and grabbed some kleenex I had stored away and wiped off his red little nose. Phil, witnessing this event, told me I was finally a "true mom" since "that's what moms do." I'm not quite sure what I have been for the past eleven-and-a-half months, but I'm glad I finally made it to "True Mom" status :)

The Men in My Life.

On this Valentine's Day (Jacob's first Valentine's Day), I could not be more in love with the two men in my life...

When we first got pregnant, we were both convinced that we were having a girl. On a shopping trip with my mom, my mom actually bought the cutest little pink sweater from Janie and Jack (which we later returned). On our big twenty-week check-up, the conversation with our nurse conducting the ultrasound went something like this:

Nurse: Do you want to know want the sex is?
Me: Yes, definitely!
Nurse: Do you have any idea what the baby is?
Me: Oh, yes! It's a girl!
Nurse: Well... there's his male parts.

While I was slightly shocked at this moment, I could see Philip out of the corner of eye just beaming. The car ride home was when I heard the first "That's my boy!" Fast forward to earlier today...as Jacob came toddling over to me, arms up and ready for a big hug and kiss, Phil said, "such a mommy's boy" and I know I would not have it any other way.

Loving my boys...