Happy Belated Birthday, Reis!

We had so much fun at Reis's 2nd birthday party a few weeks ago. Sim put together quite the celebration for the "Where the Wild Things Are" party at The Putting Edge at the Mills Mall - there was a puppet show, music, mini Steak n'Shake burgers, and some amazing looking birthday cakes!

Greatest Noise Ever!

Listen to this little giggle - have you ever heard anything better? Jacob loves being tickled by Daddy!

Haircut #3

We went over to my parent's house for a family dinner last night (well, Uncle Steve's house really because their house is still being renovated) and Uncle Steve gave Jacob a haircut! Jacob was getting ready for bed so Yaya held him while Uncle Steve cut away. He looks like a little boy :) It is hard to believe he is going to be eleven months in just a week!

Snow Day #2!

Another snow day for us! It is great to be able to go back to work for just two days and then get a four day weekend. Today Philip set up our new tv stand (he picked it out himself!) and Jacob and I went over to Payton's house and had a playdate with some other KHS babies - Wyatt and Joey. These kiddies are going to be trouble when they get older! Pictures with four little ones are not always the most successful but here are a few:

Snow Day!

What a day! We found out we were having a snow day the night before (quite rare for Kirkwood) and so we stayed up a little later than normal. As usual, Jacob was up and ready to play at six this morning. Philip let me sleep in and I woke up at eight to an amazing breakfast of eggs and turkey bacon. Since Jacob isn't quite running around yet (he is up to eight baby steps!), we couldn't exactly "play" in the snow, but we did manage to take some cute pictures. Now we are awaiting a possible second snow day... keeping our fingers crossed!

A very peaceful morning:

Bundled up baby:


Look at that face!

Wearing Mommy's Uggs because they are warm on my feet!

Where are my hands!?





Cold Kisses!

Already a soccer stud!

The little one is not quite running yet, but Daddy is already helping him with his moves!

Too Cold to Play!

It is 11 degrees outside today so we are staying inside! Ellie and Jacob love looking outside. No snow yet but we are expecting some tomorrow....keep your fingers crossed for a snow day!

Happy New Year!

We celebrated last night with our friends at our house. We actually made it up until 2:30! Jacob spent that night over at Grandma and Grandpa C's house (and only made Grandma get up every hour and a half!).

What an amazing year we have had. In January, we were 36 weeks pregnant, taking Saturday baby classes, and putting our house on the market. Since then, we have celebrated the birth of Jacob of February 19, had Jacob's naming at my parent's house, sat on the sidelines as Philip coached his Varsity girls team to a winning season, watched Justin graduate from Indiana in May, took our first beach vacation to West Palm in June, went camping with my family, celebrated our one year anniversary, traveled as a family to Chicago to visit Phil's brother and sister-in-law, learned to cook baby food, started working part-time at Kirkwood and Mizzou, celebrated Lindsay's engagement to Jonny, sold our house and moved into our new home, took our first mini-vacation without Jacob to Chicago, celebrated Thanksgiving and the holidays with our families, hosted three parties, and watched our little man take his first few steps. We gave lots of hugs, lots and lots of kisses, and began life as a family.... As my mom always says, life doesn't get any better than this.

Here is a quick snapshot of 2009:

One of my all time favorite pictures from the year:

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!