Cinco dientes para Cinco de Mayo

Mommy is just showing off that she still remembers something from Spanish class. Who said it would never come in handy in the real world? For those who are not bilingual (ha ha), that means "5 teeth for Cinco de Mayo." To translate further, that means May 5, which is a holiday celebrating a battle in which Mexican forces defeated the occupying French troops. You can send donations for the history lesson to our home address.

Anyway, the big news is that Jacob has a surprise 5th tooth! We thought he would have a break for awhile, but just today I noticed a new bottom tooth poking through. At this rate, he'll have a full set of teeth by this summer! I'm sure that won't happen, though. He is busy lately making his crib his own. There are bite marks all over the railing. If you look closely, you can make out the words "Jacob was here" in the scratchings.

8 months old

Jacob is 8 months old today! He is the proud owner of FOUR teeth. Hopefully we have a little break from the teething for awhile now. He can crawl all over the place, and usually knows just where to go to get into trouble. He is starting to try to crawl up the stairs, so we will have to get a gate up soon!

Look out, world!

Jacob can crawl! He's gotten really good at it in just a few days. Last Thursday, he was just figuring out how to move his hands and knees. He would take one "step" and then stop. He worked on it all day Friday, and that night he crawled out of his room and all the way to the bathroom! That was right after his last update. I guess he wanted to prove me wrong. He showed off for Tom's family on Saturday, and ever since, he's been all over the place. He's now working on his next feat: exploring every inch of floor in the whole house.

Ready to bite

Jacob's top teeth are making their way. One is already in, and the next one should show up within a few days. He has already tested his new chomper by biting Mommy. I can assure you that it's sharp! If you look closely in the picture, you can see his newest tooth.

He is learning all kinds of new things. He can aaalllllmost crawl. It's not quite there, but he can definitely get on all fours and scoot himself around. He practices a lot at night in his crib, when he's supposed to be sleeping. He can go from his tummy, to all fours, to sitting. That's impressive! We couldn't believe it when he started sitting himself up.

We are also starting to let him try feeding himself. Not so much the messy foods, but he is eating fruit and grain puffs. He's still getting the hang of it, but more often than not he is getting them in his mouth. It's hard to believe how many things he has learned just in the last couple of weeks. He's been busy!

More pictures

Tasting green beans for the first time...this kid likes everything! I shouldn't complain, but I never get any funny face pictures.

Trying to figure out how to get up the stairs

Wearing his "Easter bonnet" and playing with his new ducky. We visited the Schoenbauers for Easter, and Jacob got an Easter basket. He also got early Easter gifts from Grandpa & Grandma Boyum, and from Aunt Jena & Uncle Ty.

7 1/2 months old, playing in a learning seat. He is probably about 3 months too old for it, but he was having fun!

Tasting carrots for the first time (this isn't a funny face, it's annoyance that I keep taking pictures while he's eating)

We have lift off!

Jacob can get on his hands and knees! He had been working on this for several weeks, and finally had success on April 7. He shows off for us all the time now, and seems to be working on the next big thing--how to get moving. He has also impressed us in the past couple of days by going from laying on his tummy, to up on his hands and knees, to a sitting position! I'm sure it won't be long before he figures out how to crawl. Tom and I are nervous about having a baby who moves around for real, but it's very exciting!

A new friend from Missouri

A week ago, Jacob and I went to Rochester to visit my friend Kelly, who had a baby in January. William is a little over 2 months old now, and he is a big boy! He looks more like a 4 month old, and was almost as long as Jacob. It was fun to see a "little" baby, who was doing the things I remember Jacob doing several months ago. It made me realize just how much he's learned. He entertained Kelly and William by sitting up and rolling all over the place, and although I was hoping that he could learn about sleeping from William--I don't think the topic ever came up between them. You can tell they became quick friends though, as in this picture William is sleeping, and Jacob is playing with a TV remote.

Play Ball!

Jacob was all set to watch the first Twins game of the season. He saw a few games last fall, but this was his first season opener. He was pretty excited, and wore his Twins shirt. It must be a lucky shirt, because the Twins won! The final was 7-4 Twins. Johan Santana got the win and Joe Nathan the save. Jacob is ready to watch the next 161 wins with his lucky shirt.

"Hey, I thought this ball was supposed to be autographed!"

"Justin Morneau and Torii Hunter hit back-to-back homeruns!"

7 month photo: Behind the Scenes

I just wanted to share a few of the "outtakes" from Jacob's photo session. Now you can all see that he's not a perfectly behaved child all the time. Sometimes he's a little stinker!

Mish mash picture post

I have a lot of random pictures from the past couple of weeks that I've been meaning to put up. So, here they are!

A favorite activity, playing pantsless

Being entertained by his cousin Abby

Helping daddy open his birthday present

Playing with his animal train
Avocado face (he loves it!)

Playing outside on an 80 degree March day!

Tasting a leaf First time in a swing at the playground

7 Months Old

Jacob is 7 months old now! Where is the time going? He has always been very alert, but now he is becoming very curious. Some might call him nosy. He is very interested in what other people are doing, particularly if they are drinking out of a can or using a remote. Toys on the floor are sometimes not as interesting as anything that's on the coffee table.

You might notice that the 7 month picture doesn't feature the great smile of many other pictures. I'm not sure of the reason for this, but after approximately 20 tries, this is the best I could get out of him. Maybe he's feeling more serious in his old age.

Now that he has been sitting by himself for a month, he seems to be getting ready to start moving around more. He's been trying to figure out how to get his knees underneath him, but isn't quite there yet. His arms are sure ready, though! He can push way up, and turn himself in any direction he wants to go. He has figured out how to get around by rolling. We're learning very quickly that nothing on the floor is safe from him anymore. It's exciting to see him grow and learn new things, but it's hard to see him grow so fast. Luckily, he reminds us several times a day and night that he is still a baby. Only 5 months until he is a year old!

What's my favorite food?

Here are a few pictures of Jacob eating various foods. He has definitely liked some better than others, but he eats whatever we offer him. It's hard to remember to take a picture with each new food, so I'm missing some. I'll try to remember in the future!

Peaches (his first fruit)

Sweet Potatoes

A bag of M & M's

His favorite these days is a Bud Light can cooler...

The new food for this week is avocado. It's my first successful attempt at making homemade food! I did some pears a couple of weeks ago, but they came out like soup because I added water. I'll get better at this! I'm also ripening a papaya for a future food. Jacob is going to become a baby culinary expert!

3-6 Month Video

I finally finished Jacob's next photo montage. Hopefully everyone can see it! If the player below doesn't work, you can click on this link to go to the website where I created it. http://www.onetruemedia.com/my_shared?z=eda4ca804e6c4a1bb0b3e&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url

Make an on-line slide show at onetruemedia.com

In other Jacob news, he had his 6 month check-up last week. He weighed 18 lbs. 4 oz. (I think he weighs more, but that is the official weight) and is 28 inches tall. He now gets a 6 month break from shots, so he is pretty happy about that. Eating is going really well. He gets 3 meals of solid food a day, and we have started fruits and vegetables. He has cereal for "breakfast" and "lunch," and then he gets the fruit or veggie for "supper." So far, he has had peaches, pears, and peas. He liked the peaches OK, and just loved pears. Peas are not his favorite. He eats them dutifully, but he definitely isn't excited about peas like he was pears. I would have to agree with him.

We've enjoyed the nice weather the past couple of days. Jacob got to spend time outside for the first time in several months. He really liked the fresh air, and there was so much to look at. He touched the snow, and tried to eat it of course, but I didn't let him. Daddy showed him how to throw a snowball. I think Jacob will really like being outdoors this spring and summer.

6 months old

Jacob is 6 months old today! He celebrated by going to visit Daddy at work. It was fun to visit people and have them all say how cute Jacob is.

Pictures

Just adding some pictures from the past couple of weeks.

Messy face!

Showing off his teeth

Sitting in his laundry basket

Rolling all over the floor

Playing with babies from our birth class

Jacob sat up by himself for the first time at the baby class reunion

Happy Valentine's Day!

Jacob had a very exciting Valentine's Day. Well, most of the day was spent the same as any other day, playing and eating and occasional fussing. In the evening, he got to sit in his Bumbo seat and watch Mommy and Daddy eat a heart-shaped pizza (it was a very fancy meal). Then he helped us open cards and test candy packaging. He tried his best, but he couldn't get into Tom's sour sugar candy. Later, he took a nap while we watched a movie, and then he played for awhile. All in all, it was a good day!

Jacob has been up to a lot since I last posted. He's been doing very well with the cereal. After the rice, we moved on to oatmeal. He seems to like that better than rice, although he had to get used to the more lumpy texture. The introduction of solid food brought the expected digestive difficulty, so luckily he's also taken to prune juice. He doesn't like it alone (I don't blame him), but if I mix it into his cereal he gobbles it right up. Next he gets to try barley cereal. Sounds delicious, doesn't it? In a couple of weeks, we will start on fruits and vegetables. I'm sure he can't wait for that.

We had his baby dedication at our church this past Sunday. It was a really nice service and we were so happy that most of our family was able to be there. I'll put some pictures in another post. I was so busy that day, I didn't take any! I'll have to get some from those who did, especially ones from when he put his fingers in the cake.

Another tooth

Jacob sprouted his second tooth today. He is really starting to want to chew on things to relieve the pain, but we think he's being very tough through this. He hardly fusses at all.

He has been eating rice cereal for 3 days now, and he seems to love it. We can't get the spoon into his mouth fast enough. He grabs at the spoon and the bowl. Maybe he thinks he can feed himself, but we'll keep letting Daddy feed him for the time being!

5 Months Old and Big News!

Jacob turned 5 months old on January 27. It was a very big weekend for him. We went to visit his Great-Grandpa and Grandma Kuehn in Iowa. While we were at their house, we noticed that he got his first tooth! It's a little white tooth poking through on the bottom, and the one right next to it appears to be close behind. He seems to be in good spirits so far, and hasn't been too fussy over the tooth.

The other big news of Jacob's weekend is that on Sunday, he ate rice cereal for the first time. He seemed to like it, although he made a funny face at first. After the first couple of bites, he kept opening his mouth for more. We did make a bit of a mess on his face, his bib, and the table, but it was all fun. What a big boy!

Roll Over!

Jacob finally figured out how to get onto his tummy! He did this for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and usually rolls once or twice when he's playing on the floor.

He's happiest to roll when he's not "impeded" by clothes, which is why he's half dressed in the pictures!

4 months old

He turned 4 months old on December 27. He's growing very fast! At his check up, he weighed 16 lbs. 1 oz. and was 26 inches long.

Everything goes in his mouth. If it's close to his hands, it belongs in his mouth! He really likes to be upright. He will sit in our laps if we hold him up, but what he really likes to do these days is stand. He has also figured out how to bend his knees, so he can bounce. It really wears Mom and Dad's arms out! He is also babbling more, and of course smiling. We think he might have giggled, but we're waiting for a big belly laugh. Maybe we're just not funny enough.