A sad excuse

Jacob and I got flu shots yesterday. He seems fine, but my arm is pretty sore today. Too sore to do much typing, so pictures will have to do for now. Hey, I said it was a sad excuse!

Don't call child protective services. He really wanted to go in there!

Jacob playing in his toy from last Christmas. Yes, he is way too big for it. This lasted all of 5 minutes.

Standing on a pot. He figured this out all by himself. Climbing is a big thing these days.

Playing in his laundry basket. Notice a trend over the next few pictures...

Sitting in a Culver's bag. Note that the bag says "Good to Go." As is Jacob.


Sitting in a diaper box

Reading the Sunday paper. I think he was kind of annoyed that I interrupted him.


Slouching in his booster seat. He likes to do this, even though it looks horribly uncomfortable.

A dragon! Jacob at the MOMS Club Halloween party


The back of Jacob's dragon costume

Yes, I let him eat some Doritos for lunch. As you can see from his chin, he really enjoyed them.

Last but not least, someone spilled water at the party and Jacob helpfully sat in it to soak it up.

New Video (no sound)

There is a new video at the left. There is no sound, because it's mostly Mommy and Daddy cheering him on and it's a bit distracting. Jacob has figured out that spoons and forks (thankfully) are for more than just playing. He started feeding himself yesterday. Now he wants to do it all the time, especially using the fork. My new challenge is finding a good assortment of foods for him to practice on. So far, the easiest food is meat cut into cubes. Ravioli works well, too. I'm going to try banana tomorrow. He's been not as crazy about fruits and veggies lately if they aren't complete mush (like applesauce), so it could be a challenge. Maybe using a fork will make him excited about eating diced fruits and veggies.

Also, for those of you on the edge of your seat, I have been working on his 1 year photo slideshow. As with all things, it has been hard to find time to work on it lately. I was also very behind in loading the pictures, so I had 3 months worth to sort through. I've also figured out how to add in video clips, so of course I had to take advantage of that. The result: I may be finished with it by the time he graduates from high school.

Jacob Appleseed

Jacob went to the apple orchard today. It was a lot of fun. We rode on a hay wagon and picked some apples. Well, Jacob ran around in the tall grass and played in the mud while I picked apples. We had a lot of rain yesterday, so the mud was just perfect this morning. Jacob and his jeans approved. His taste buds approved too. This is one thing I would like explained to me: why does Jacob throw Goldfish crackers on the floor, but dip his hands in mud and then lick them off?

Anyway, after the apple picking, we walked through the pumpkin patch. Wait, I should correct that statement. I tried to get Jacob to walk through the pumpkin patch, but he was more interested in walking away from the pumpkins and trying to find more mud.

Walking in the tall grass at the apple orchard

Jacob's version of picking apples: off the ground

Another way to pick apples: out of the bag after Mommy puts them in

Checking out a pine tree--maybe getting ready to help pick out a Christmas tree?

Running out of the pumpkin patch

Standing near the pumpkins, but not TOO close

Pumpkins are too heavy to lift

Pictures

Happy birthday to Mommy!

Jacob, the expert birthday cake tester, eating Mommy's cake

Jacob, the not-so-expert purse stealer (busted!)

He did make off with my car keys, so I guess he is a slick one after all!

Safe to come out

I admit it, I've been in hiding. The "molar monster" visited our house a couple of weeks ago, and I've been afraid to come out from under the covers. I stuck a toe out this morning, and nothing bit it, so I decided it was safe.

Seriously, the molars haven't been fun. The first one actually popped through the day before his birthday, and he was OK until the day after his birthday. He had a low grade fever for 2 days, and was irritable, tired, and just not himself. I was a little worried about him, but everything I read said that this was normal, and just watch the fever. He had a really tough week, but seemed to be feeling better by Saturday. Grandpa and Grandma B. were visiting, and we decided to go to the state fair since Jacob seemed up for it. WRONG. He was miserable. He wouldn't ride in the stroller or the carrier. He wanted to be carried in Mommy's arms, which I did--but I'll never let him forget how hot and sticky it was that day (and I'm sure when he's older, the story will be that it was 150 degrees and he weighed 40 lbs.). We still found time to try lots of good, greasy fair food. Jacob took some tastes too. He had a mini donut, potatoes with cheese, and ice cream. He loooooves ice cream. Shocking. Anyway, his 2nd molar came in on September 3rd, and I'm on the lookout for the next two. They are definitely on the way. I can't wait.

In more exciting news, Jacob had his 12 month check up and is doing great. He was 31.25 inches tall and weighed 21 lbs. 4 oz. He is low on the curve for his weight, but he has been on the go for 4 months now, and we just can't seem to keep the fat on him! He seems to be taking after his daddy. I can tell that his appetite has increased, and now that he is drinking whole milk, I wouldn't be surprised if his body starts to fill out again. That's the other big news: he is drinking milk! I planned on trying the toddler formula, but he wanted nothing to do with it, even when I mixed it with other things. On a whim, I bought some strawberry milk one day, and we tried that. He liked it. Now, he LOVES it. I haven't tried non-flavored milk with him yet, but for now I'm happy that he's drinking it. Don't tell him, but I have been mixing the formula with his oatmeal. He can tell something is up, but he still eats it. Oh, and just this morning, he had his first bowl of real cereal--Cheerios with milk. He's officially a kid!

First Birthday part 2: I'm One!

Jacob has had quite a busy day so far, and it's only half over. He's sleeping off his busy morning right now. Here are some pictures of what he's done so far today:

12 months old

Big smile!

Playing with VCR tapes

Playing with some of his birthday toys

Lunch at Chuck E. Cheese, playing in the toddler area

Eating his birthday pizza (he also took a sip of Daddy's pop, but didn't seem to like it)

Riding way up high on a ride

JACOB IS ONE!

Happy first birthday Jacob!
More later, I just wanted to get this up. We're off to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch with Daddy, and then Jacob will get a couple of gifts tonight. Other than that, he's going to just play, play, play (and hopefully nap).

First Birthday part 1: The Party

Jacob has experienced his first birthday party. We think he had a great time. Lots of people came to celebrate with him, and he was in a pretty good mood all day--even without a nap. Here are some pictures from the party, and I will have to get a couple of video clips up too. We have some good ones. Thanks to everyone for coming! Jacob loved seeing you all, and he is enjoying his new toys. We played with them all day today.

The Birthday Cake

He doesn't like hats, so it's no surprise that he didn't like his party hat

"If you try to put this hat on me again, I'll snap the elastic at you!"

Posing with his cake

Enjoying his first taste of birthday cake

The Aftermath

Back to the Future

We're finally back in the year 2007. We just spent 3 1/2 days without electricity, and although many people have gone much longer without it before, I have to say I'm relieved to have things back to normal. There were some strong thunderstorms on Saturday morning, Saturday night, and Monday night. Lots of wind, thunder, and lightning. In total, we got 4 1/2 inchesof rain. Thankfully, no real damage was done in our neighborhood. We lost some good size tree branches and Jacob's pool was partially deflated after it flew across the yard and landed on the driveway. He considers this a major loss. Hopefully we can have it patched up for him soon.

Right now I'm beginning to get the house ready for Jacob's birthday party on Sunday. We're having it a week early due to other obligations on his birthday weekend, but who can believe he's going to be ONE? Oh my.

I don't have very many pictures right now, but definitely after his birthday party. Here is one of him last week playing on our air mattress.

Another First

I know, I need to get some more pictures up. But tonight, just a quick news note. Jacob stood up without assistance tonight! He seemed to be trying all day today, and just couldn't quite get up. Maybe he was waiting for Daddy to be home. He stood up in the middle of the room a couple of times tonight. The "firsts" are coming fast and furiously these days!

"Uh oh!"

That's what Jacob has started to say! We don't think he knows quite what it means yet, but he says it a lot, so sometimes he gets the context right. For instance, tonight he was throwing Cheerios off his tray, and he said "Uh oh." Close enough. Later, he was chewing on a toy and said "Uh oh." It's very cute to hear words (or in this case, an expression) coming out in his little voice. We would prefer to hear Mama or Dada, but "uh oh" it is!

In walking news, he is very good at it now! Yesterday, he just started taking off. We aren't even counting the steps anymore, but he will walk across a room. Actually, he'll walk from one room to another, and even turn corners! We got a new video tonight, so be sure to check that out. We're very proud of him!

Crawling is for suckers!

Jacob is walking more and more the past couple of days. He has taken several steps at a time, and will walk to something he wants, not just to people. He is very excited about his new talent, as are Mommy and Daddy! Sometimes he will stand and clap for himself. We think he is going to be ready to show off for everyone at his birthday party.

Walking Video

I have a video of Jacob walking. It's a 2 minute clip, and the walking is at the end. For the rest of it, he's playing and just being his funny self. If you have high-speed internet and can watch it, enjoy!

11 Months Old

I ask this all the time, but where has this year gone? In one month, Jacob will have celebrated his one year birthday! He is having a grand old time this summer. We go on a lot of outings, and he is learning more and more each week. He really impresses us with the things he can figure out for himself.

What does he do all day, you ask? His favorite thing to do is walk. He walks along furniture, along walls, and most importantly, holding on to one or both of a grown up's hands. Even though he takes some steps on his own, he still prefers to hold on or crawl. When he does take a few steps though, he gets a huge smile on his face. He knows that he's doing something impressive! He also loves to play with his toys. It's fun to see him get more involved with his playing, instead of just chewing on them. What else...he LOVES his books. We read to him, but he recently learned how to turn pages, so he will often sit and just turn pages in his books for several minutes at a time. His favorite book is "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?"

Our biggest accomplishment in the past month is SLEEP! He finally takes naps in his crib, after 10 months of needing to be held. Not only that, but he suddenly takes predictable naps. I can expect when he will start to get tired. I don't know where he learned this from, because he seemed to enjoy keeping us on our toes. Night sleep is greatly improved, too. He still doesn't sleep all the way through, but he consistently gives me a 4-5 hour chunk during the night. I think we're making great strides toward sleeping all night. To put it in perspective, 6 weeks ago he was still waking up 5+ times per night. I suspect he still wakes up, but is getting better at putting himself back to sleep. He has been learning so many new things lately, and all the "experts" say that babies wake up more often when they're hitting milestones.

We are so proud of our big little boy. He makes us laugh, and he makes himself laugh. We love the little personality that he is starting to show...although we also know that he is going to test us with his tenacious ways. Start the countdown: 30 days until Jacob turns one!

Mmmm...I love my puppy!

Pictures and more pictures

I haven't added new pictures for awhile, so here are some recent ones:

Checking out Uncle Ty's new leaf blower

Checking out Aunt Jena's elephants

Using his walking toy...ramming into things

...He can also stand by his walker

Playing with his bouncy seat (it's more fun now that he's too big for it)

Playing "find Daddy"

See? He likes his shoes better than the last post. They're delicious.

Walking with Grandma