4 months old!

I really feel like Jacob has grown up a lot in the last few weeks! His personality seems to be shining through a little more and he's just growing up fast!
He went to the doctor yesterday for his 4 month checkup and he is now 14 lbs, 6 oz and 26 inches long- they say he's pretty tall for his age- 90th percentile!

Here are a couple updates of what Jacob has been up to...

He's gotten much better at grabbing his toys and playing by himself.
This is a picture of his guilty face. I put him to bed one night when I was in MD and when I came back a little while later he was up playing with blocks with my dad and two sisters! Yea he's guilty and he knows it...

This picture is of Jacob talking to Luke on speakerphone while we were in MD and Luke was back at home in CO. Every time Jacob would hear his dad's voice he'd perk up and turn and look for him, it was cute. But he definetly did miss his daddy and liked "talking" to him every night.

Jacob loves to pull out his pacifier and try to put it back in himself, still not very good at putting it back in but it's cute when he tries. I have a cute video of him trying to put his pacifier in, which maybe I'll try putting up later.

He still loves to suck his whole hand and his thumb every now and then, and it's always very loud and sloppy! Definetly has turned into a big drooly baby. A lot of this has just been because of his teething though.

Laughs all the time now, for lots of people, and usually without even being tickled- I loove to hear him laugh! And he does this pose a lot when I get out the camera- it's hilarious! He puts his hands together and smiles, haha I can't get enough of it. Here are some more...

And another big mark is Jacob can roll over now from his belly to back! That was pretty exciting when my family all got to see him do it for the first time and now he'll do it over and over! It's fun but also means, I'm going to have to start baby-proofing the house soon!

Jacob loved playing with all my family when we were visiting Maryland...

twins with Julia

playing with Andrea

hanging with Erika

resting with Grandpa

listening to the Ipod

listening to Erika play guitar

wearing Andrea's glasses

One of my big worries about coming home from our trip from MD though were Jacob's sleeping habits. He had been doing really well before we had left and had established a good schedule for himself. But going to MD where we lost 2 hours and never seemed to really catch up with the time difference, and didn't have a real crib or his own room, it was very hard to make good sleeping habits while we were away from home. So he hogged the bed with me every night, but I really didn't mind it since we were on vacation.

But I worried about coming home, and was pretty sure that my 2 1/2 week vacation would ruin his sleeping habits for life since I spoiled him so much letting him sleep with me and so on. But of course he surprised me once again. Luke and I decided that since we got home on the day Jacob turned 4 months, and he was all off any routine anyway, it would be the perfect time to introduce him to his crib and get rid of the bassinet altogether. Anyway- Jacob has never been better at sleeping through the night and taking naps! I'm just relieved that he has bounced back, accepted he's in a crib at nights, is sleeping allll through the night (and usually even longer), and even takes several, long naps in the crib throughout the day too! I'm actually blown away, but thrilled! Like I said, Jacob's growing up fast!

Trip to Maryland

Jacob and I took a trip home to Maryland to visit my family and to be home for my good friend Amy's wedding. It was great because I got to visit with lots of friends and spend plenty of time with my family too. This was also the first time my dad and sisters were able to meet Jacob so they were all real excited, and my Grandpa came out for 2 weeks to visit him too.

So one of the first things I did when I got home was plan and go to Amy's Bachelorette Party. A small group of us went on a dinner cruise at the Baltimore Harbor and we had so much fun! It was really nice to be able to have my family babysit Jacob for the night too.

I was also Amy's Matron of Honor for her wedding, I was so excited to be a part of things- I had never been in a wedding before! But everything went so well and was so beautiful! I even got to show off Jacob to all my friends at the wedding since Erika brought him and took care of him through the ceremony and reception. And he did such a great job, I was worried about him being loud or disrupting things but everyone said they didn't hear him at all, so I was happy to be able to bring him.

And I spent a lot of fun time with my family. Luke surprised me by coming out for a couple days for the 4th of July weekend, so both our families had a bbq at Luke's parents house on the 4th, and later that night our family went to fireworks. It was Jacob's first time, but he enjoyed watching them, and luckily wasn't bothered by the sound.




Later that week my mom, grandpa, my sisters, and Jacob and I went to the DC zoo.

Of course Jacob had to wear his animal shirt to the zoo

and I had to take a picture in front of the turtles because I call Jacob a turtle head :)

My family also took a week trip up to Deep Creek Lake, a place my family has been many times before but this time it was with my parents, grandpa, my three sisters- Erika, Julia, and Andrea, and Jacob and me. We all really missed my two brothers that couldn't be there, and I still missed having Luke around, but we still had a good time and did lots of fun stuff.

We went jetskiing the first day and all took turns driving for the 2 hours we rented it. Here is my sisters on the jet-ski, Julia was so excited to drive since she had just gotten her liscense the week before. My little sister Andrea got to ride with all of us and said Julia went the fastest and was most fun, and I was the slowest, haha- I think I got too scared of flipping over and falling in! But it was still probably the most fun we had all week!

The next day we rented a pontoon boat and went tubing off it. It didn't go as fast as we would have liked but we still had a good time riding around. The most exciting part though was when my dad was riding all crazy and fell off, haha. And Jacob sat in his car seat the whole time, just enjoying the ride!

Later we went to a park at the beach and hung around. It was so pretty there we all actually drew pictures of the view from the beach. Even Jacob drew a picture!

The next day we went on a short walk to Swallow Falls.

And then we went to a park and rented canoes. I went with Andrea, but we got tired after a half hour, so we parked the canoe and went to go play at the park and in the sand at the small beach there.
Later that night we also went mini-golfing and my sisters and I went go-carting. It was their first time doing that, so that was a lot of fun too! So that was our trip! We drove the 3 hours home the next day and then I flew home to Denver the next morning.

baby was zonked out in all the long car drives and each airplane ride, works for me!

We had a great, long trip and can't wait until we can go back in January and see our family and friends again!

3 months!

So Jacob is 3 months already! He's just over 13 pounds now and it still feels like he's growing so fast! There's nothing too new going on, but the most fun are his little laughs, which are happening a lot more now and even without me tickling him sometimes. His favorite time to laugh is when he's naked on the changing table, but even today at the store I saw some baby hats so I tried one on him and he just was laughing away! I'm not sure why, but we played a little peek-a-boo and he thought it was so funny! It was so cute I just had to buy it for him!

And speaking of buying stuff for him I was soo excited this past weekend, I decided to drive around looking for garage sales and I came across a childrens sale at a church- it was great! I got him lots of clothes, elmo shoes, a new boppy, lots of books, some rattle toys, and even those outlet plugs and all for $20! I almost bought him an exersaucer but I decided I'll buy him a new one in a couple weeks. He could use a few more toys and things. I don't buy him much but when prices are that cheap I have to take advantage of it!

playing with the horse his grandpa won for him at the beach

i love his new little elmo shoes

We were lucky enough to have Luke's mom fly in this past weekend to babysit for us a couple nights. And right now we are just looking forward to our trip home to Maryland, which is now less than 2 weeks away! I can't wait to see my family and friends again and for them to meet Jacob!

Proud of my baby!

I have to say- I am so proud of my baby! He has been sleeping in his own room for over a week now, and I've just been impressed how easy it was! I realized that he was sleeping longer through the night and so I really didn't need his bassinet in our room anymore- and his nightlight was starting to drive me crazy. So one night I just put his bassinet back in his room, (with his nightlight) and that was it! I think he noticed but it didn't seem to bother him. In fact, I feel he sleeps longer, and that may just be since I don't wake up to every little sound he makes now, so it feels like longer to me. I still feed him once in the middle of the night, but I really can't complain. I'm very lucky he's been great so far, and soon enough I'll transition him to his crib.

He's also been doing a good job holding up his head- he likes tummy time now!

Also, another "first" for Jacob this past weekend was his 'first birthday party'! I didn't get any pictures of him there, but again I was proud of him being such a good boy! His friend in the ward Hailey turned one so we had a good time going to that.

And Jacob was finally able to fit into this outfit that his Aunt Jane made him for Christmas. I have been trying since he was born and yesterday he was finally tall enough to wear it to church. A lot of people were impressed when I told them that she actually made it, so these are for you Jane!

And just for fun, here is a cute video of Jacob. I have been trying to get his laugh on camera and haven't gotten it yet. He only laughs when I tickle his neck but somehow I never have the camera in time because he only will do it once and then it's like he forgets how, but he tries so hard to laugh! So that's basically what goes on here:

Uncle Dan's Visit

My brother Daniel came out to visit us last weekend. Actually he had just graduated high school two days before and was on his way out to New Mexico to work for the summer so he stopped through Denver first. But we were excited to see him and he was happy to be the first from my family to see Jacob, besides my mom.

We took him to lunch at Rodizio Grill downtown to celebrate his graduating, and it was great! Luke kept telling me about this Brazilian steakhouse and I was a little skeptical, but it was probably one of the nicest restaurants I've ever been to! And it was really fun because the waiters come out with slabs of meat on a stick and just come around and cut you off a piece right at your plate. So we got to sample like 15 different amazing pieces of meat and we just kept going until we were full! Daniel said it was a great graduation gift! :)

We also went to a couple parks downtown- we had a good, relaxing weekend!

Also, Dan was with us at church on Sunday and it was a crazy morning for Jacob. It is a poopey story though so if you don't want to hear dirty details then maybe skip this one, haha. But before church even started I went to feed Jacob and then soon realized I needed to change his diaper. But it wasn't until I got him on the table that I realized poop was everywhere, all up his back, all over the table, all down his pants... it was big. And so I pull out my wipes and I only have 2 left! But I manage to clean it all up and get a fresh diaper on him but of course I forgot to bring a change of clothes- he's never needed new clothes before. So I knew I was going to need to take him home real quick and change him but of course I left the carseat in the chapel and the sacrament had just started and so I have to wait until it was over to go in and get it. And so I had my naked baby with no clothes, not even a blanket to wrap him in because I left that with the carseat too. So all I had was my nursing wrap to cover him and when I finally went back in to get his seat he was crying and poor baby looked like this when I took him home:

Story is not over though. So after 35 minutes or so I get him back to church in a new outfit and now Luke wants to hold him. Within two minutes Jacob poops again and it's instantly all over Luke's white shirt! So I go out again to change him and was just thinking "thank goodness I brought another extra set of clothes!" But when I lay him down on the table I realize that I left my wipes at home when I restocked them! So I carry him back out and luckily I had a couple friends in the hall so they let me borrow some wipes. But now that he was on his last set of clothes and out of wipes I was just praying he didn't go again the rest of the day- which he didn't, until we got home. So the lesson I learned was- no more Pampers for Jacob, we'll stick with the Huggies.

First laugh! and lots of smiles...

So our most exciting update about Jacob was he made his first laugh on Tuesday! It was so cute! I was changing his diaper and putting him into his pajamas and when I lifted his legs he spit up. So I grabbed a tissue and wiped his neck off and when I went to wipe under his chin he giggled! I gasped I couldn't believe it and called Luke in to hurry and come see. I did it again and he laughed again! I'm glad he did it one more time for Luke because he hasn't laughed since! So we'll keep trying!

Jacob is also getting a lot better at smiling at people. It's actually kind of funny because recently when he'll smile really big he'll squinch his nose! And I do that too so I don't know if he's doing it to copy me or if that's just what he does now, but it's kind of funny when he does! But either way he's seeming to notice faces more now. He loves watching other kids, and especially other babies! My friend had her baby Gwen pretty much one month before Jacob was born. So we had these two together at a bridal shower last weekend and it was so fun watching them interact! Right away apparently they were holding hands, but I kind of missed it since her dad jokingly pulled Jacob's hand off- he said he's have to keep an eye on Jacob! But Jacob just smiled at Gwen, it was so funny though, just flirting with his eyes! He even stared at her sideways for a couple minutes, just drooling. We got a big kick out of all of it. You can see a little bit of it on this video:

Also, here's a couple pictures of Jacob in his Memorial Day outfit. I actually bought the shirt for the 4th of July but I figured it would work for Memorial Day too. And yes we were matching haha. He has a blue jacket just like mine too but I didn't get a picture with us both in it. We had a nice relaxing day since Luke was off, unfortunately it was rainy all day, but we still had a nice cookout at home that night.

Luckily today was gorgeous and Luke finished one of his CPA tests this morning so he had the rest of the day off! We had a great walk at the park and layed down in the grass for awhile just relaxing, it was wonderful!
So Luke and I were excited to go celebrate him finishing another test tonight even though he won't find out his score for another month. Our friends were nice enough to offer to babysit Jacob so we went and enjoyed a great dinner at Ruby Tuesdays. It's the first time we've really left him with anyone besides family, but he did a great job! They didn't have to change him, feed him, he didn't even cry, but I guess he's still young enough he didn't really know what was going on but it still made me feel better that he did so well. We have a couple more nights coming up where he'll need to be watched so hopefully he'll still do just as well next time!

2 months!

I can't believe my little baby is already 2 months old! It's really flying by but at the same time I feel like I've been his mom forever! Everyone says how small he is still but to me he's getting so big! He went to the doctor today and is now 11 pounds, 13 ounces and 23 3/4 inches. I knew going in today that he was going to need 4 shots but I was sad to find out he also had a double ear infection!

I felt bad because I actually suspected it last weekend because he had been crying like he never had before and would go an hour or more and I could barely calm him down and nothing seemed to help. So then I realized he had been getting over a cold so he may have an ear infection but then he seemed to be getting better and wasn't having fits and never seemed to have a fever. But looking back now he has been more fussy this past week at night but I guess I overlooked it because Luke was out of town and so I had Jacob's night routine all off anyway. But I felt better when the pediatrician said even if I called last week they probably would have just had me keep an eye on it for a week anyway since he already had his appointment for today.

So now he's got his antibiodic for the ear infection and Tylenol for the shots. Poor baby! At least now I now why he's been a little extra fussy!

But on a better note... I was thinking last night how Jacob's already 2 months and how much I love him so I thought I'd share some reasons why I love my little guy!

1. I love when I'm rocking him to sleep he'll suck on his pacifier and just stare at me with his wide blue eyes- I feel like it's almost like he's saying he loves me the way he looks at me!

2. I love that he copies my faces- if I smile he'll smile, if I raise my eyebrows he will too, when I talk to him sometimes he'll coo back, soo cute!

3. I love that he loves his stroller and car rides.

4. I love the way he always grabs the top of my shirt and even if I try to lay him next to me or put him down he'll keep reaching his hands towards me so he can always be at least arms length away from me! (It may sound annoying but I think it's sweet!)

5. I love the way he smiles and plays with me and Luke.

6. I love how Jacob loves to sleep on my chest with his arms wrapped around me! (and with Luke)

7. I love how cute he looks in every outfit! Especially his church clothes...and his pajamies!

8. I love the way he's starting to coo and make more noises.

9. I even love his cute baby cry.

10. I love his frown! It's so irresistably adorable! Especially with his dimple chin!

11. I love kissing his soft cheeks and how he smiles when I do.

12. I love when he's so intrigued by things to look at and will just smile.

13. I love the way he waves his arms all around and kicks like crazy when he gets excited! (someday he'll be a good swimmer!)

14. I love the way he also squeals when he gets excited!

15. I love taking his picture because he is so good at looking at the camera and smiling!
16. I love when he's waking up he stretches his arms and arcs his back.

17. I love holding his little hands.

18. I love how he has a serious face sometimes too and narrows his eyes.

19. I love how his upper lip puckers out.

20. I love how he looks like a perfect mix of Luke and me.

21. I don't love that he sucks his hand but it still is kind of cute!

22. I love his million faces and expressions!

23. I love his whole cute little body!

24. I love that he smiles even at people he doesn't know and is good at letting others hold him.

25. I love that he's MY baby!!