Happy New Year

2010 has been a wonderful year. Of course the best part of 2010 was the birth of Jacob and all the joy he has brought us. I am also thrilled that we added a nephew Max and niece Olivia to our extended family.

I am very sad to say good bye to 2010 but am excited to see what 2011 will bring. I know that we will have a lot of milestones coming and memories to make. Jacob will turn 1 and Andrew will turn 30 on 11.11.11. I have been charged with planning a big BLOW OUT b-day bash for him so save the date and make your travel arrangements. :)

Tonight Andrew and I decided to stay home with Jacob to ring in the new year. I have to say it is the best new years eve I have ever had. Andrew made us lobster tail and crab legs. The meal was AMAZING! I think tonight we started a new New Years Eve tradition.

I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year and Happy 2011!

Christmas Traditions

As Christmas arrives tomorrow I started thinking about the traditions that we will start with Jacob. Over the past few years holiday traditions were not that important to me but since I've had Jacob they have become a little more important.

Andrew and I have decided that we would really like Jacob to be in his home for Christmas and open his presents here. Andrew was always at his home on Christmas morning and so was I. I have very fond memories of waiting patiently on the stairs or outside a closed door until my parents said it was time to see what Santa brought me. I want Jacob to have the same memories of running down the stairs of our house to see his loot. Of course this year he won't be running down the stairs but I do think he will be crawling at lightning speed to get the shiny bows off the presents.

Growing up my family had taco salad Christmas eve, went to church, and then we came home and got to open one present which were always Christmas pajamas. Then we would set out cookies for Santa and read the Twas the Night Before Christmas. Tonight we will go to church and then head over to a friends house to have dinner with her family and a few other friends. Then we will bring Jacob home, set out some cookies for Santa, and read Twas the Night Before Christmas. I know Andrew is a little sad about missing out on the taco salad but there is always next year.

Tomorrow morning we plan to wake up with our alarm clock (Jacob) and have a relaxing morning. We will probably open our gifts and then wait for Andrew's parents to arrive around 10. I can't help but think back to last Christmas morning when Andrew and I opened the envelope that told us we were having a boy. I remember crying and crying because I didn't know how I would raise a boy. All I knew was how to play with dolls and buy dresses. Now I cannot imagine having a little girl. My little boy is so perfect, sweet, and the 2nd love of my life.

When Andrews parents arrive we plan to have brunch with them and open some more gifts. Around 1pm my parents, Aunt Rachel, and Uncle Adam will arrive and we will spend the afternoon visiting and paying with Jacob's new toys. Then around 4pm we will all have Christmas dinner together. I'm sure Jacob will be pooped by the end of the day but it is so nice that everyone is coming to visit him on his first Christmas.

I'm very excited for us to start some new traditions in our house. I hope they are ones that can continue for years to come and provide great memories for Jacob.

Christmas Tree

Yesterday we decided to go and cut a Christmas tree for our living room. Last year we went up to Dillsburg, PA with my parents and cut trees down. The experience was great and a lot of fun. I expected the same thing this year but it was a bit different with an infant and new Christmas tree place.

We showed up somewhere in Carroll County, Maryland at a tree farm with about a million other people. When we got out of the car I thought it would be a good idea to put Jacob in the baby bjorn so it would free up my arms to help Andrew carry the tree. Well....we hadn't put Jacob in the bjorn lately and even though it said it was good up to 29 lbs. we forgot Jacob's belly jiggles like a bowl full of jelly and so the bjorn wouldn't close on the side. So off we went carrying Jacob what felt like a mile to find the perfect Christmas tree. After we found it and Andrew got down in the mud to cut the tree down he realized the saw he borrowed from the tree farm was too dull to cut through the wood. I had to walk (what felt like a mile) back to the car and get his saw. Once back with the saw, Andrew cut the tree down, and then we had to walk the mile back to the check out with Jacob in one arm in the tree in the other. We must have been a site to see. I will say that Jacob was the perfect baby through the entire experience. He didn't cry, played on the ground, tried to eat hay, and didn't mind the freezing cold weather one bit.

Today, Aunt Rachel and Uncle Adam came over to help (watch) us put decorations on the tree and play with Jacob. We had a very nice afternoon with a fire going in the fire place, stockings hung by the chimney with care, and a beautiful lit tree with all our decorations. This year I got Jacob a little tree for his room. When I was little my mom had a little tree for my room and I loved that I had my own little tree so I decided to start the tradition for Jacob. His grandma Birmingham gave him a little train last weekend that I put around the bottom.

Andrew and I are looking forward to a very different Christmas this year. We feel very blessed to have such a beautiful little boy.

6 Month Stats

Jacob had his 6 month appointment yesterday and he seems to be doing great!

Weight: 20 lbs. 10 oz - 95%

Height: 28.5 in. - 97%

Head: 44 cm - 75%

The pediatrician seemed really pleased with his progress and said he is doing everything he should be. We need to start feeding him more cereal everyday but other than that he is great! He showed off with his reaching, standing, sitting, and rolling over. He even showed her his 2 little teeth coming through on the bottom. She said by his next appointment at 9 months he will probably be pulling up on things. (Watch out mom and dad)

Since his last appointment at 4 months Jacob has started to sit up on his own a little bit, eating solids, reaching for everything, babbling more, passing items from one hand to the other, getting teeth, and scooting a little on the floor.

Jacob has also started swim lessons on Tuesdays nights. He really seems to like being in the pool and splashing around. We put him on his tummy, back, sing songs, and last Tuesday Andrew dunked him twice!

Our little boy is growing up so fast. This morning I put him in his swing and he looked like a little boy, sitting up and watching his daddy put the jogging stroller together. I'm excited for him to hit all his milestones but sad that he is growing up so fast.

Happy Halloween

The best weekends are those with family!

Over the weekend we went up to PA to visit with Andrew's parents, his sister, brother in law, and our nephew Garrett. Garrett was staying over at Grandma and Grandpa's for the weekend so Jacob got to spend the entire weekend with his cousin. I think he had a blast! Garrett spent so much time with Jacob and was so sweet with him. Grandma got Jacob a barn with animals and a farmer on a tractor so Garrett showed Jacob just what to do with the toy. Garrett also played with all of Jacob's toys, rolled around on the ground, and entertained Jacob with wrestling, jumping all around, and riding his bike. I think Jacob was really wishing he was a little bigger so he could chase after his cousin. I had a wonderful time watching the two of them interact.

As they get older, I'm sure at times, Garrett will probably be annoyed by Jacob tagging along, but I hope they become good friends over the years. I couldn't help but picture the two of them dressed in their camo, heading off to deer camp with their daddies for the first day of hunting season. For the record I never thought I would picture that, but it is a tradition in Andrew's family. I also know how much Andrew loves to be in the woods with his dad, uncles, and cousins and I want Jacob to love that time as much as his father.

5 Months

My baby is growing up so fast. I cannot believe that today he is 5 months old. I feel like these last 5 months have flown by. Not to long ago I was planting flowers in the backyard when I had to go to bathroom and my water broke. How did my little 8lb 6 oz baby grow into my 18lb/19lb bubba?

Last night I had a very sweet moment with him when we got home from daycare. He was in a really good mood and sitting in his blue seat on the bay window as I was cleaning and preparing his bottles for the next day. I was talking to him and asking him about his day and he just started "singing". I started to "sing" back and we did this for about 15 minutes. I think we were both having a fun time as I would "sing" something and he would "sing" the same thing back. I wish I could have recorded the interaction. Andrew came home and could hear us from outside. He tried to record our session but Jacob became more interested in the camera than singing.

My little boy has changed so much this last month. He is rolling from his back to stomach in a blink of an eye. He still hasn't figured out how to roll from his front to back. He is starting to get up on his knees but isn't scooting too much. He is a lot more interactive and very interested in what is going on around him. He loves to sit at the dinner table with us and I think he would love to eat what we are eating. So far he has had sweet potatoes and peas. I think tomorrow we will have him try avocados. He loves going to daycare and is very social when he is there. His teacher Miss Beth loves him. She always tells me how sweet he is and how he is always in a good mood. He has a few friends in his class that he loves, especially one little girl, Nora. He loves to snuggle and cuddle and I am so thankful for that. I hope he never gets tired of his mommys hugs and kisses.

Over the weekend I had to put all of his 3-6 months clothes away and got out the 6-9 month clothes and washed them. I cannot believe that we have filled up an entire bin of clothes that he has grown out of. Sometimes I wish he would stop growing up and stay my little baby forever but then I remember that there are so many wonderful moments to come.