Airplanes!

We took Jacob to the Paso Robles Estrella Warbird Museum this morning. He loved climbing into the helicopter and airplane, pressing buttons and turning dials. We all had a blast.

Airplanes

Mr. Rally's Yellow Tractor

About three doors down from Nana and Papa's house, there is a construction site. One particular lot contains a nice level area, being prepared for a foundation by a big yellow tractor. Jacob has recently been very interested in tractors, since we've been reading him Dig!, the story of Mr. Rally, his dog Lightning, and his big yellow backhoe (we say tractor because he knows that word). So we took him to see Mr. Rally's tractor down the street, and he was fascinated.

Mr. Rally's Yellow Tractor

I suspect he will ask for a visit to Mr. Rally's yellow tractor again tomorrow.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! We are having a fabulous time visiting Nana and Papa, after a quick stop in Bakersfield to visit Grandma and Grandpa. Here are a few pictures of Jacob's day.

Christmas 2008

All by Myself

I gave Jacob a clementine ("tootie") without peeling it, figuring he wasn't actually going to eat it, since he already ate snack. But a few minutes later, I found him very busy. He peeled and sectioned the Cutie all by himself, and I just snapped away. Can you see how proud he was when he finally had a mouth full?

Peeling the clementine

Wet

Wet

Jacob had a blast playing in the rain. At first he just stood outside the door and stared. Then he discovered the puddles. And he just kept saying over and over again, "Wet. (pause) Wet. (pause) Wet...." When I finally got him to come inside, he was definitely wet!

December Pictures

Here are a few pictures from this month and Thanksgiving, including the annual visit to Santa.

Santa time

Advent cake?

Happy Advent! Since yesterday was the first Sunday in Advent, we began lighting the appropriate candle in our wreath yesterday, along with singing the song I sang when I taught preschool and Kindergarten (to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle"):
Advent is a time to wait,
Not quite time to celebrate,
Light the candles one by one,
'Til this Advent time is done,
Christmas day will soon be here,
Time for joy and time for cheer!
Hopefully over the next several years, our children will love counting the candles as we approach Christmas and learn that Advent is for waiting. Last night, as we lit the first candle and sang for the first time, Jacob grinned. But then he asked for cake.

The New Do

Have you noticed the new do? We finally changed the name of the blog. If you go to the old address, it will redirect you here (which is how most of you are currently reading this). We will be making some other changes to the look of our blog over the next several months to better fit our family. We hope you enjoy the changes.

Jacob's favorite video, part two

Jacob still loves his kitty video. We decided that it would be more fun to capture his reaction to the video, than just the video itself. In this case we were only able to get 30-second snippets because he would invariably be distracted by the camcorder, but here is Jacob enjoying the kitty video.



(Mandi is showing it to him via the iPhone.)

An Early Morning Discovery

Thanks to the Krols, we received a free slide yesterday. However, Jacob didn't discover it until this morning at 6:45 am. He immediately wanted to go out and play (it was 52°), and didn't come back in for almost two hours, even skipping breakfast! And since we had so much fun with the last video/song compilation, we decided to make another:



We also found out today that we have another reason to party. I am officially done with my master's thesis paper! I was contacted by my advisor and given the go ahead to have my paper printed and bound. I will then be issued a grade and the registrar will issue the Master's degree. Hooray!

The Pants

Jacob has decided that he wants to put on his own pants, without Mama and Daddy's help. If we try to help, he complains and fights us. So we let him do it, and then we took video and added silly music. Please enjoy.

Jacob's favorite video

Jacob isn't even 2 yet and he has a favorite YouTube video. Here it is.



He will giggle and giggle, and say "kitty!" No matter how many times you show it to him.

Fun Afternoon

Jacob got a package today.

The Box

Help Us Rename the Blog

Since we have another baby on the way, it's time for a new blog that Jacob will now share with the rest of the family. He likes to share, and is very good at it, so I don't think he will have a problem with renaming the blog. John and I, however, somehow have no creativity whatsoever when it comes to a new name, so we were wondering what you all would suggest. Now remember, this is a family blog, so please keep suggestions G-rated. Please leave your suggestions in the comment section by Saturday November 15, and the winner will receive a small prize (to be named later, but probably involving a gift certificate to a popular coffee retailer).

Jacob is going to have a little...

brother! Completely healthy, and very, very, very active. Still due March 21. Here are a few profile pictures. The little guy is giving you a thumbs-up.

Ultrasound

It's a good thing I took pictures of Jacob in his costume on Thursday. It just didn't happen on Friday. He was a wild man at the Abiding Savior Halloween Carnival. He had a great time on Sunday morning riding the "eh paib" (airplane=rockets) at Disneyland with Nana and Papa. Those pictures to come soon, too.

Happy Halloween

Our Halloween adventures began on Thursday with trick-or-treating at Blizzard (John's work). Here is our little farmer.

E-I-E-I-O

Check back in this album as we have more fun Halloween adventures to come.

It's Haircut Time

It was definitely time. It's been 10 months since his last professional cut and I just couldn't maintain it any more. So, we went to the kids hair cutting place today and this time I remembered the camera. What do you think?

Haircut

A Busy Saturday

We took Jacob to the Pumpkin Patch on Saturday. Normally, I'm not too fond of places like this, since pumpkins do not grow in mall parking lots with fair rides. But, we took Jacob to an actual pumpkin farm last year, and we have just been so busy that a quick trip to the mall was about all the energy we had. And he had a great time looking at all the animals, having his first pony ride, and riding a train.

The Pumpkin Patch

Birthday Bash

We went to the birthday parties for Noah and Elexia a week ago and had a marvelous time. In a couple of weeks, we will be heading to Hannah's birthday, so stay tuned for more pictures.

Birthday Bash

Naptime Woes

Perhaps most parents struggle with naps at some point. Today, I apologized to my own mother for being a difficult napper, because Jacob follows in his Mama's footsteps (my dad loves to point out that diaper is "repaid" spelled backwards- well, daddy, I'm certainly being repaid now).

Jacob has always been a difficult daytime sleeper, and I have tried many different things. I have a pretty scheduled routine, that slowly gets altered over time as things work or don't work. I have tried putting him down earlier, later, taking toys and his beloved "Thummie" away, sitting with him, napping with him, leaving his pre-sleep CD on while he tries to fall asleep, and the list goes on. Some days some things work, and the next day it won't. I never know. I do know that he is too young to give up a daily nap, and I am unwilling to deal with a very cranky toddler all afternoon if he doesn't nap. It's days like today where I wish I worked so at least I wouldn't have to deal with the nap routine 5 days a week.

So here's today's story. After following a normal pre-nap routine, I place him in the crib and go downstairs. Pretty soon, I hear him hooting and singing. I think to myself that it's not a good sign, but sometimes he'll fall asleep on his own and I leave him be. After 45 minutes, I go check on him, and remove everything but Thummie. Fifteen minutes later, I go in and take away Thummie. Sure enough, as I leave the room, he begins screaming, and I tell myself that he will tire out and fall asleep. Fifteen more minutes and the phone rings. I talk to my parents for approximately half an hour, going up to check on him once, when the screams had died down and believing he was done. When I get off the phone, it has now been an hour and 45 minutes since placing him in the crib, and he is alternating between crying and being quiet, so I go check on him. He is standing in the middle of the crib, but his diaper is in the middle of the floor. He has nothing but his shirt on. Our little boy is expressing his redheaded independence (please God, let this next child have brown hair). No, thankfully no poop in the diaper, and no mess in the crib.

He did finally fall asleep after another 15 minutes.

Who Needs Toys?

Every parent learns the lesson at some point or another that children are much more interested in found objects then toys. Many of the pictures in this album show examples of the found objects in our house that become some of Jacob's favorite things. Today, it was unsharpened pencils, the shovel in the backyard, and a green paperclip.

Some of the pictures are while I was in Texas, at the annual MOPS convention and Jacob got to spend four fabulous days with Daddy and Grandma and Grandpa. Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa for teaching Jacob his first alphabet letters! Jacob can now correctly identify "X" and "O" thanks to the very large tic-tac-toe board at the park. He even attempted to draw them tonight. I'm so proud!

Who Needs Toys?

100th Post!

We've had some busy days. An evening in the park (before the no nap, running away from Mama incidents), this morning picking apples at Riley's Farm, and dinner out. Enjoy!

Just a reminder, if you click on the pictures, you will be taken to Picasa, where you can view a larger, better slideshow of the pictures.

Our friends, the Krols, also have more apple-picking pictures. Click here to see them.

No Nap Day

We just survived our first no nap day. This was not by choice on my part. Jacob decided to play in his crib during nap time. After 30 minutes of play, then 30 minutes of me sitting in there, hoping he would fall asleep while he lay quietly, we decided it just wasn't going to happen. So, we toughed it out, and now the poor, exhausted boy is fast asleep. Now my prayer is that he'll stay that way for the next 12 hours.

Love from very tired Mama and Jacob

Fingerpaint Fun

We had another busy day on Friday. First we finger-painted outside, as demonstrated by the pictures. Then, after nap-time, we headed to My Gym for a free open house to try it out and play with Jacob's friend, Noah. We just might have to sign him up, he had so much fun climbing around and playing in the ball pit.



And as only parents can be, we are proud of Jacob's latest accomplishment. Tonight, in the bathtub, he stood up with a cup of water in his hand, balanced on one foot, lifted the other foot, and poured the water over it. Silly boy. No, no pictures of that either! This is a G-rated blog.

Morning at the Petting Zoo

Jacob and I went to Zoomars Petting Zoo this morning. We had a great time, except for the mean goats that jump on us and knock Jacob down. Here are some pictures. I couldn't get pictures of Jacob feeding Cookie the Cow because I had to hold him, and of course, no pictures of the mean goats, but we didn't stay by the goats very long.

More pictures

We've been bad about updating this month. We've got a big batch of photos, including a few from Disneyland when Nana and Papa were in town, Jacob in his Indian clothing, and a visit from Jacob's friend Hannah.

"He's so... normal!"

Yup. That's what the pediatrician declared today at his check-up. Thank God. He's happy, healthy, busy, and normal. His current stats are 33 inches tall (70th percentile) and 23.25 pounds (15th percentile). And a couple of pictures of our very normal boy...

Summer Days

Shoes!

Jacob really wanted to go outside to play today. So he sent us a subtle clue... by putting his shoes on, by himself. Mandi didn't even notice what he was doing until she realized he had shoes on and didn't have them on before.

Now, technically he had put them on the wrong feet, but that's still a pretty amazing accomplishment for an 18 month old. The velcro was strapped and everything.

Shoes!

August Vacation

We headed out of town about a week ago to visit the family and attend a wedding in Paso Robles. Jacob had a great time swimming, exploring, and being generally busy. His absolute favorite part of the trip was Audrie, my brother and sister-in-law's dachshund, whom he referred to as "Bobwee."

August Vacation

Sibling Update: I saw the doctor for the first time on Wednesday. We did not have an ultrasound, or hear the heartbeat yet, but the doctor states that "something is definitely growing in there," so as long as it's a baby and not a watermelon, we should be okay. We'll hear the heartbeat in September. As of this point, our due date is still March 21. I am not feeling as tired as I was, but am very nauseated most of the time. This, too, shall pass.

Happy August, everybody!

Jacob and his Papa

This series of photos was taken on Mother's Day at our friends' home, using their camera. I had so much fun using Susan's camera, that Monte and Susan convinced John to get us one as well. I narrowed down the 150+ photos to just these few of Jacob with my dad, and included a couple of Jacob playing with Noah as well. Stay tuned for many more pictures to come as we play with the new toy.

Mother's Day

Mama's Birthday

My birthday was a week ago, so here are a few pictures from the weekend's events. John and Jacob had a great time mixing and decorating the cake, and we had fun playing with the new camera.

Mama's Birthday

We are still trying to figure out what exactly we are going to do to add baby #2 (the gosling) to the website updates, so this blog address will probably change soon. We'll keep you all posted. Have a great Monday!

A Message From Jacob

Hi, everybody! This is Jacob. Thanks for reading my website. Mama is letting me do my very first post ever.

A lot has been happening around here lately. I am very busy learning new words every day and perfecting my art skills.

Mama says something big and special is going to happen soon (March 21 to be unofficially exact.) Mama and Daddy have been looking at a bigger car and Mama is sleeping a lot more and eating lots of chocolate chip cookies, which I love to help make.

Mama wanted me to post these two pictures, too. Have a great day. Love, Jacob

** Remember to click on the picture to see the whole album.

Jacob's post

Little Artist

Another of Jacob's favorite activities is to color. We like to use the high chair because he is contained and any marks on the tray wipe off. We had fun this afternoon with the bag of markers.

little artist

That Darn Goose!

He threw his shorts in the toilet! And we have locks on our toilets!

Jacob demonstrates mastery of hats

Jacob knows all about hats. Here he is, sharing his knowledge with us.



(Direct YouTube link)

Little Reader

Jacob loves books. No, let me rephrase that. Jacob LOVES books. A big part of every day is spent with books, whether we are reading to him, or he reads to himself. Since most of my higher education has had to do with how young children learn to read, and children's literature, etc., I find his fascination with books truly incredible. The first thing he wants to do in the morning is read stories. We now keep a handful of books in his crib, and in the morning and after nap, he sits in his crib and reads to himself for 20 minutes or more. It's amazing that we can lose Jacob in our home because he has disappeared behind the rocking chair in his room to pull tons of books off the shelf and read them. Now he knows how to put them back on shelf, and he's very particular about which book he wants to look at. It's so fun to have him run up to you with a book in his hand. The other day, we took him to the book store, and he thought that the aisle full of board books was (almost) as amazing as the ceiling fan section of the home improvement store. We were able to set a bunch of books on the floor, and Jacob had a great time deciding which ones to actually buy. And now that he has a bit of language, he is able to point to things that he recognizes and tell us what they are. I love it. I pray that our son will always love books and reading as much as he does now.

Reader of books

Vocabulary Lesson

“mama”- me
“da-dee”- John
“daw-tee”- dog and a variety of other unidentified objects
“haw-tttt”- turning on the stove, any mug, or a sidewalk in the sun
“hatt”- anything that is placed on the head, including toys, books, etc.
“eez” or “deet”- keys, cheese
“nnna-na”- a banana, or a picture of my mother
“(breathe in and make a meow sound at the same time)” – cat
"hi, hi, hi, hi"- used at random times
Will repeat after you if you say it: up, apple, kitty, any of the above

Study up. There will be a quiz.

Watering the Plants

It's been really hot these last couple of days (around 100), so when Jacob goes outside, we've tried to find water activities for him. Today, he decided to use the water to water all of the plants (and a few other things, too). He took a very good nap afterwards.

Watering the yard

First Finger Paint

Jacob finger painted for the first time the other day. I made homemade finger paint, just in case he tried to eat it (which he did), using flour, water, and food coloring. I think next time, I might add a little vegetable oil so that it cleans off a bit easier. I think his favorite part was getting hosed down afterwards.

Finger paint

Nana comes for a visit

My mom came to visit us last week to help after my minor surgery and to have fun with Jacob while my dad and brother are in India. (It's amazing what God is doing over there, if you want to see what they have been up to, check out http://www.cnhindiamission.org/ ). Here are a series of pictures of Jacob and my mom on the beach. Even though it was quite cool that morning, all Jacob wanted to do was play in the water. I also included a few others from the week. Enjoy!

Nana Visits

Fun Jacob Videos

Here is a little tidbit of Jacob's ramblings and such. We just wanted to capture it before it turns into real words.



(Direct YouTube link)

Also, Jacob now can locate belly buttons. Very cute...



(Direct YouTube link)

When Jacob helps make dinner...

The kitchen may end up looking like this...

Dinner help

May Playtime Pictures

Here are a couple random pictures of play around our house this last month. A few days ago, as he was playing in the backyard with his jeans, and sneakers, and t-shirt, I realized how much he looks like a little boy now, and not a baby. He certainly is a busy little boy, playing with and getting into everything.

I also included a couple of zoo pictures from our trip last month from Uncle Josh.

Playtime in May

Vegetables

Jacob has never liked any vegetables, until now. He now likes raw carrots, raw snap peas, raw zucchini, and cooked whole peas. However, he doesn't eat them. He takes a bite, chew, chew, chew, and then sticks out his tongue and lets the vegetable fall out. And then he takes another bite. Repeat. Perhaps one day, he will swallow it. For now, we'll take what we can get.

Jacob's own Disneyland

We went to Lowe's today and ended up in the lighting section. Jacob was in awe over all of the lights... and then he saw the fans. He was entranced. He just looked and looked and looked and had a whole lot to say about all of those ceiling fans in one place. For Jacob, the ceiling fan section of Lowe's is the happiest place on Earth.

Yogurtland

We visited Yogurtland for the first time today. Jacob approves.

Yogurtland

If you don't know (like we didn't), Yogurtland is self-serve with a ton of different yogurt flavors and a topping bar full of fresh fruit and other items. After standing in line, Jacob was very insistent that he get his own cup and then immediately walked over to the yogurt dispenser waiting for his share. So, we got him his own yogurt with plenty of fruit on top. Yes, he did eat more than he ended up wearing.

Spinning and New Word

Jacob has a new word. Imagine a little redheaded boy picking up the phone with a huge grin on his face, punching a few buttons that make a fun "beep" sound, and then holding the phone haphazardly up to his ear. Then this little voice starts talking, "Hi! Hi! Hi! Hi! Hi!" He won't do it if someone is actually on the other line, though.

And right now, he has a new hobby: spinning. He and Daddy are spinning in circles as fast as they can, and then falling to the floor in a dizzy heap. And then he stands right back up as fast as he can, but is still quite dizzy. And he starts all over again. The silly goose.

Trip to Paso Robles

Jacob and I headed to Paso Robles last week for a few days to spend time with family for Nana's birthday. We were very busy with swimming in the baby pool, spending time at Atascadero Lake Park with lots of extended family, his first visit to a zoo (Charles Paddock Zoo; Uncle Josh has all of those pictures, oops), visiting the ocean in Morro Bay, and all sorts of other stuff. We got to stay with Aunt Dana and Uncle Josh at their house, and Jacob had a great time with Audrie the dog.

While we were gone, Daddy took the time to get the workers over here to run the new gas line in the kitchen for our new range. We were glad the bulk of the work was done while Jacob and I were out of town and now we have gas in the kitchen. Hooray! Hopefully, no more construction for awhile.

Trip to Paso Robles

New Portraits!

We had new portraits taken about a month ago, by the same photographer who took our Christmas photos. They were taken at Heritage Hill Historical Park in Lake Forest, which has several buildings from the initial settlements in the El Toro area in the 1880's.

April Photos

New words

Jacob pointed to the light on the inside ceiling of the car today and said, "Wight." Yay! He also repeats after me if I say yucky (uhh-eeeh) or green (eeen). However, his favorite current thing to say is "ott? ott? ott? ott? ott?" I have no idea what that means.

Pictures from the last several days.

A few pictures for your enjoyment, including Jacob's first baby pool experience.

Water play and yogurt

Jacob Invents A New Game

Title says it all. He came up with the game entirely on his own. We didn't even show him the sprinkler.



(Direct YouTube link)

Rocks in Socks...

We used the camcorder one evening while playing in Jacob's room. The following is our edited version. It includes Jacob making his funny noise when he throws objects, making his cute monkey zoo noise, waving bye-bye, and some other cute stuff.



(Direct YouTube link)

Jacob's latest accomplishments include walking about 30 feet, feeding himself yogurt with a spoon, eating peanut butter sandwiches, brushing his hair, and putting rocks in socks.

Also, here are some fun pictures of Jacob around the house the last couple of days.

Around the house

Disneyland fun

At 8AM this morning, in a moment of spontaneity, we all jumped in the car and drove to Disneyland! We found that early-morning Disneyland is really great—almost no lines, cooler temperatures, and smaller crowds. This gave us an opportunity to go on three big rides—plus a break for snack time—in the span of about two hours. We managed to do Pirates, Haunted Mansion, and Jungle Cruise. For the last one we managed to get a few pictures.

Trip to Disneyland

On the way home, he was exhausted! Too bad he didn't stay asleep once we got back.

Also, Jacob's new hobby is to crawl around chanting "da, dee, da, dee, da, dee, da, dee." Or often it will take the form of a question—"da, dee? da, dee? dee? dee???" Of course Daddy approves highly. Mommy is doing her best to convince him to drop some "ma" syllables in here and there, but so far that hasn't gotten much traction.

New words and songs

Jacob has finally started talking: Daddy, Mommy, and baby are the ones we recognize. We're very excited about his emerging language abilities. He has this little zoo toy that makes a monkey sound, and Jacob will imitate it ("eee-eee- eee- eee-ah-ah-ah-ah") which is totally cute. He also has a toy which plays the "If you're happy and you know it" song and I was singing along with it, and Jacob started clapping along with the song. He also knows and loves ceiling fans, and if you say "fan" he'll turn and point and want us to turn it on. As for tooth count, we're up to 10, so we're halfway there now.

Spring Pictures

We're so proud...

... and so doomed.

It's not April yet

He took his first steps today. He's been taking these sort of, kind of, one step things the last few days as he lunges toward another piece of furniture, but today was two solid honest to goodness steps. So, I think we can officially count them now. I knew it would happen while Jacob and I were in Bakersfield and John isn't. I just didn't think it would be two hours after we got here. I think it may take another week or two before he really takes off (one can hope), so maybe we will make it to April after all...

Here are the pictures of the MOPS Easter egg hunt. I was in charge of filling about 500 eggs and "hiding" them in the church gym. Jacob and the other little ones had a blast.

MOPS Easter Egg Hunt

Thank goodness for no rain!

So, John and I said we wouldn't be like other people and stop posting after Jacob turned one. Yet we haven't posted in two weeks. Shame on us.

I'm really glad we haven't had rain in a few weeks, because all Jacob wants to do is play outside. In the backyard, in the frontyard, in the parking lot, in the grass, in the sandbox, in the dirt, in the mud, you get the idea. He could spend all day outside if he could. We pretty much do, except to eat. This morning we sent him out in his pajamas. We figured they were just going in the laundry anyway, so he could crawl around in the sandbox and mud as much as he wants.

Jacob also got into the Easter eggs for MOPS. He really wanted them to bounce. But all they did was roll. He was very confused. Good thing they were only plastic!

As for updates, he finally has eight teeth. He still isn't walking, so we just might make my wish for April, but I doubt it because he lets go to stand or walks just holding one hand now. It'll probably be any day now. No words yet either, but he just started waving bye and doing the sign for more, as well as putting his hands on his head when you ask him, "How big is Jacob?" We're so proud!

Eggs and Sand

Pictures and Updates

Here are the pictures I promised. The last two pictures were taken while I was trying to upload these photos, and when I discovered what he was up to, I laughed so hard I almost peed my pants.

Outdoor Fun

In other Jacob news, we tried introducing whole milk into his diet, and it didn't work. I've decided no dairy for 6 months and then we'll try again. Poor little boy. He's also been teething, but no new teeth yet (still the same 7 since December 3). Just a lot of crankiness and lost sleep. It's so hard to grow big. But, he sends you all big smiles.

Sharing and Clapping

Jacob's newest game is to share. Everything. Most of the time, it's absolutely the sweetest thing. Like on Monday, when Jacob and John fed each other grapes (Jacob's grapes were cut into quarters). Or, when he holds out his water cup for me to drink. But, he also wants to share his bottle, or half-eaten slobbery gooey crackers, or things that he'd rather not eat, so it's more fun to feed it to mom. He's so sweet.

He is also learning to clap. Tonight, he was having so much fun with his new trick, that John reports that he was clapping in the bathtub, as well as while trying to drink his bottle before bedtime.

I cut his hair by myself, today. We have these kids haircut places that are rather expensive and not worth it, or someone I know takes her child to a barber, who is not all that kid-friendly. So, I decided to just do it myself. It's not perfect, but not terrible and will save us some money. I just turned on Sesame Street and sat him on the coffee table. It worked great!

We have pictures, but I'm too tired to post them tonight. But he's enjoyed his sandbox, and climbing on the coffee table. I'll post them soon.

Jacob's Birthday Party!

We went down to the park this afternoon and celebrated Jacob's first birthday! We had a pretty big turnout, and it was a lot of fun. Jacob finally got a taste of chocolate cupcake!

Jacob's Birthday Party

One fun highlight of the party happened when we put Jacob in the swing. Audrie, Josh and Dana's dog, decided she wanted to play too. Luckily, Donna had the camera ready and took a video:



Also, last week we uploaded a few pictures but never got around to making a post for them. These feature Jacob climbing precariously on furniture, and attempting to feed himself with appropriately messy results:

Jacob climbs, swings, and eats

Happy Birthday, Big Boy!

It's hard to believe, but it's been a year! It some ways, it feels like it was just yesterday, and in other ways, it feels like he's always been a part of our family.

We had a big day for Jacob's birthday. Jacob got to visit Disneyland for the first time today! We took him after his nap, and only stayed for a few hours, but we had a lot of fun.

First Birthday at Disneyland!

Jacob has also been working on a few molars, so he's been a bit cranky, but ice works well. His new tricks are pointing, especially at the ceiling fans, and playing Beatmania with daddy (you'll have to ask John what that's all about). And so, as John said this morning, "We must be doing something right. He's still alive."

Super Tuesday's Youngest Voter?

Jacob went with John and I to vote yesterday, and they gave him a voter sticker. As my dad says, "Vote early. Vote often." Jacob's important issues in this election are never-ending bottles, banning the consumption of vegetables and nap-taking, an abundance of toys to chew on, as well as being allowed to crawl anywhere one may want to go. We're not totally sure who Jacob voted for...

little voter

Jacob eats spaghetti

Jacob has found another food that he enjoys—spaghetti!
I'm told that the end result was much messier than this—spaghetti in the hair, sauce all over the face—but the pictures should give a pretty good idea of how things went.

Pasta

Jacob figures out his shape sorter

Today, Mandi found Jacob playing with the shape sorter in his car, and actually putting the proper shape in the right hole! He's a clever one.

Busy January

I had one of those amazing parenting moments today. We recently turned Jacob's car seat around to face forward (slightly early, I know. His legs are so long that he didn't have room sitting backwards anymore.) Jacob has been pretty fascinated by all that he can see now that he faces forward. Anyway, back to today: we headed out in the rain this afternoon to go grocery shopping. As we were driving away from the house, Jacob started giggling. Pretty soon, his giggling turned into hysterical laughter. It took me a minute, but I finally figured it out that this was the first time he had ever seen windshield wipers operate, and he thought they were pretty funny. I adjusted them a little bit more than necessary to make them go really fast or really slow. He and I laughed all the way to the store.

Jacob currently is in transition from two naps a day to just one. Except, unlike many babies, he has decided that the afternoon nap is the nap he wants to give up. He will sleep 11-12 hours a night, and then fall asleep 2.5 hours later for a nap. He then will go 6 or more hours before wanting another nap, and by then, it's usually after 5 pm, and he is beyond cranky, but it's too early for bed and too late for a nap. And then, if that morning nap gets messed with in any way, it can be even worse. I am trying to delay that morning nap, but sometimes it can be tough. It was easy to delay the morning nap today with the tree-removal guys removing the tree next to our backyard. He definitely could not sleep with the chain-saw running right outside his window. Thank goodness those guys took a lunch break.

We went up to John's parents for the holiday weekend, so many of the pictures in this post are from that trip. Enjoy!

Ducks, Trips, and Trees

Eleven Months Old!

Jacob turned eleven months today. He is so busy. I happened to have the camera on hand for a couple of funny moments this evening. I was working at the dining room table when I heard the very distinctive noise of the television being turned on. So, I went and checked, and sure enough, Jacob could reach the button. Later on in the evening, he also managed to turn on his favorite DVD by using the remote. Like father, like son...

tv power button

As for construction news, I thought they were going to come today to begin putting walls back up. We still have no walls...

Construction Zone!

We've been very busy lately (which is why we have taken almost two weeks to post). After the New Year, John was sick for a day and then returned to work for a couple of days. Then, the rain started. Over the weekend, we discovered a sliding door leak and an attic leak that was causing some damage to a bathroom wall upstairs. Then on Monday, we had more damage in our living room and dining room ceilings. Tuesday, the contractor discovered that the dining room water damage was actually a pipe leak. We currently have fans and a dehumidifier running 24 hours a day, and they should start putting things back together tomorrow. I have included some construction pictures in the latest album, and will add more to this album as things progress.

Construction Zone

Also, here's a great video of Jacob with his walker out front. During the weekend, when it was too wet, we took him to the mall with his walker and he was a hit! Too bad we didn't get any pictures.