10 Months Old!

Jacob turned 10 months old yesterday! He's having a busy few days. Grandma B. is visiting for a couple of days. Mommy is getting a lot done around the house! As for the fun stuff, we went to Crystal Beach yesterday, and Jacob met up with one of his little friends from our playgroup. It was a really nice day for the beach, but it started to get windy so we went home. Jacob fell asleep in the car on the way home, and Mommy woke up him up getting him out of the car. If it hadn't been so warm, he could have stayed in there. So, I messed up his nap and got overtired. We survived the day though, and he eventually did take a nice long nap with Grandma.

Today, I did some more work around the house, and Jacob has played, and played, and played. I think Grandma might be wearing him out! They're both having fun though. Tomorrow, Grandpa B. is joining us, and we're going over to Daddy's work to have lunch.

Jacob is starting to recover from his cold. He still has a runny nose, but I think the end is in sight. He is still really enjoying cruising around the house. He will climb up on anything, and he will even hold on with just one hand, or even let go. He can stand by himself for a few seconds before he loses his balance! He will now walk around holding onto our hands, and is pretty good at it. Sometimes it seems like he is barely holding on. I think he's very determined to learn to walk. He's still eating really well, too. New foods lately have been cottage cheese, veggie chicken nuggets, and zucchini. He likes them all. He wasn't crazy about cottage cheese, but he likes it mixed with applesauce.

Time to go! Mommy and Daddy are going out to eat tonight, so I better be ready when he gets home.

Poor Jacob

I don't have any new pictures right now, but I haven't updated for awhile so I wanted to do that. For the past week, I've been dealing with a snotty-nosed baby. Literally--poor Jacob got his first cold. He started off sneezing a lot and rubbing his nose, and then it started to run like a faucet. Sometimes I couldn't tell whether he had drool or boogers running off his chin. Yuck. He barely lets me near him with a Kleenex, much less the nose-sucker thing, so I couldn't help him out very much. Now, after almost a week, his nose is less runny but I think it's starting to stuff up. He's battling this cold pretty well, and hasn't seemed too miserable. I would probably be more broken up over "my baby's first cold" if he hadn't had all those tummy issues when he was 1-2 months old. I think that was way worse than this.

We spent Saturday over at Uncle Mike and (soon-to-be) Aunt Katie's house. They had a pool party, and it was a nice hot day for it. Grandpa and Grandma Schoenbauer brought a little pool for the kids to play in. Jacob took a few dips in it, and even went in the big pool with Daddy for a little bit. He also liked sitting at the edge of the pool and kicking the water. He took one nice, long nap in the afternoon, and when he woke up he watched the "big kids" (adults) play with a ball in the pool and make lots of big splashes. He thought that was pretty funny. For supper, in addition to his yummy banana, he ate some of Mommy's cheeseburger and bun. He had his eye on my pop can the whole time, just in case I felt like sharing.

We have a busy week planned, so hopefully I can pop in later with some new pictures and fun stories!

New Slideshow!

Hot off the presses! Check it out (under the Photo Slideshows heading at the left).

Jacob's Pool Party

We had a busy weekend. On Saturday, Jacob and I went to my friend Mandy's baby shower. She is due in early August, and Jacob is very excited to meet his future new friend, who will be named Ethan. He was a very good boy at the shower, of course. When we got home, Tom had gotten a lot of yard work done, so we all relaxed outside for the rest of the day. We went to Fuddrucker's for dinner and ate outside. Jacob ate a few small bites of my cheeseburger and fries (the slippery slope has started).

On Sunday, it was really warm again and Jacob got to try out his new pool! We spent the entire day outside. Jacob would have liked to crawl around on the grass, but the ground is so hard that it seemed to hurt his knees. We ate lunch and dinner outside on the patio. By late afternoon, Jacob was all tuckered out and fell asleep in my arms.

I'll have to be sure to take these pictures down before he runs for public office, so there isn't a nudity scandal. He has little swim trunks, but we figured it's his pool and our backyard, so why not let him get some fresh air on his bottom? He gave us a good laugh by crawling around the pool in circles. His little bare butt was so cute.

I think that's it for our big weekend. Oh, here's a random item: we ate pancakes one night last week, and Jacob loved them. I guess I'll have to make those a lot! Also, I added 4 new videos!!!

Back by popular demand

As my friend Kelly so kindly pointed out, I haven't posted in awhile. We've been busy with playgroup and all the fun outings that go along with it (and not sleeping, thanks to tooth #8). I still haven't had a chance to finish his slideshow, either. Can I get a nanny? Or, at the very least, a housekeeper?

Kneeling, one of his newest moves

"Look at all my teeth!"

Playing at an indoor playground

Getting buried in the ball pit

Oh no, there are two of him! Or maybe he just found himself in the mirror.

9 months old

Doesn't that sound so old? 9 months is 3/4 of a year, and he's now spent as much time in the outside world as he did in Mommy's belly. This is a pretty big milestone, as far as I'm concerned. Jacob could probably not care less. He is a boy on the go, and will hardly sit still long enough to get a diaper change anymore. Any time he's on the floor, he wants to crawl. More specifically, he wants to crawl to the most dangerous spot in the room. If there is an uncovered electrical socket, he makes a beeline for it. If we don't have the gate up at the bottom of the stairs, he climbs them immediately. (He is actually getting very good at climbing stairs, when he is well supervised by an adult.) He loves to stand, and is really good at pulling himself up. He can walk along furniture, and has also figured out how to safely get back down on the floor from standing up. We think it's only a matter of time before he gets brave enough to try walking. He seems very determined.

He visited the doctor last week for his 9 month check-up, and all went well. He weighed in at just under 20 lbs., which was a bit of a surprise. We think he must be burning a lot of extra calories with all of his moving around, so he hasn't gained as much weight as he did in the past.

The good news is that he can eat many different foods, so we can bulk up his diet a bit and maybe get in a couple of snacks. He is still tall for his age, and according to the standardized skill chart that the doctor has, he is developmentally and socially at a 10+ month level. Those charts obviously don't take sleep into consideration! He has been going backwards with sleep again lately, waking up 5 or more times in 10 hours. On the positive side, he seems to have settled into a regular bedtime of around 10pm, and a regular waking time of around 8am. Just a few months ago, I was having troubles getting him to bed before midnight, so we're making some progress! They say that babies wake a lot when they are learning new skills. Maybe that's part of it, and teething is probably contributing as well. He has 6 teeth now (3 on top and bottom), and 2 more are getting close. I've been watching them for a couple of weeks, but they are taking their time coming in. I think Jacob would like a break from new teeth for a little while.

I'm currently working on his 6-9 month slideshow. Hopefully I can get the pictures uploaded soon and get it looking the way I want. Keep an eye on the slideshow section at the left, as there will be a new addition soon! I'm also going to keep trying to add more video clips. He's doing so many cute things these days!

Happy Mother's Day!

It's been a busy weekend. On Saturday, Jacob and I went to Rochester to visit while Daddy did some yard work. We thought we were going to see Grandpa and Grandma Boyum and Aunt Jena, but when we got there, Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma Kuehn were there too! They were excited to see how big Jacob has gotten, and he showed off his crawling, climbing, and singing skills. We stayed there all day, and went out for dinner before heading home. When we got home, some roses in different colors had magically appeared. I was confused, because Jacob was with me all day. When did he have time to buy those?

This morning we got up bright and early to take part in the Race for the Cure at the Mall of America. We did the 5K walk, which is just over 3 miles. The course took us on the streets all around the mall. We got some nice weather for the walk, even if it was a bit windy. Tom's company had a tent that we were able to visit afterward to get some nice food. We had worked up quite an appetite. Jacob did really well on the walk. He looked around at all the people, and even snoozed for a little bit. He really seemed to like his cool new blue stroller. We had a great time, and plan on making this a yearly family event.

Tom and Jacob crossing the Start Line

The Finish Line! We made it!

New Website Feature

I figured out how to put a list of Jacob's videos and slideshows on the left side of the webpage. In the future, instead of putting video in a post, I'll just add them to the list on the left. This way they are easy to find and won't get moved to the next page. It will take awhile to get more video put up, but I'm going to work on it!

Jacob Standing 5/4/07

Standing!

Crawling stayed interesting for less than 2 weeks. Now all Jacob wants to do is stand. He is figuring out how to pull himself up on most anything, whether it will support his weight or not. It's amazing how he can zero in on everything that will get him into trouble. He has almost the whole family room to roam, but he likes hanging out by the computer and the rolling chair. Go figure.

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