Merry Christmas from Jacob!

We took pictures of Jacob a few weeks ago for our Christmas card and I couldn't resist posting a few of my favorites. It was kind of hard putting a turtleneck on him when it was 70 degrees outside, but we had a good time. (and, for those of you wondering . . . no, we did not put blush on his cheeks :-)).

"Finally, a little break to talk to Bailey!"

Cute little elf!

Chewing on Daddy's shoulder.

"Ok guys, I'm over this!"

17, 18, 19 Weeks Old

The sweetest cheeks, eyes and smile I've ever seen!

Oh, I just can't keep up. I'm having so much fun playing with Jacob I don't have time to blog. He is so much fun these days and his personality is coming out more everyday! He found his feet the day before he turned 4 months old and life will never be the same. They are SO interesting, and socks are such a great toy! If he's playing by himself on the floor, or sitting in his car seat his sock are off and on the ground or in his mouth in no seconds! He can even put his toes in his mouth, and it's quite entertaining to watch him try to do this when he's sitting in his bouncy seat :-).

The night he figured out he could put his toes in his mouth.

Jacob had his 4 month check up on December 2, 2011. I posted his stats on the side of the blog but here they are: 15 pound, 15.5 ounces, 26.5 inches long. He was 5oth percentile for weight and 93rd for height. No wonder he grows out of his onsies (lengthwise) daily! The doctor suggested we start rice cereal to see if he's interested in eating, so Jacob had his first food from a spoon on December 3rd. He did better than we both expected and actually ate 3/4 of what we made for him (the rest ended up on the bib or under one of his chins). We've given it to him a few times since and he seems to be getting the hang of things. I've definitely noticed his interest in what we are eating and drinking has increased in recent weeks. We'll try rice cereal for a few more weeks and then move on to bigger and better things (sweet potatoes, avocados, etc).

Jacob's first time eating from a spoon. Rice cereal, yummy.

We've had a busy couple of weeks with baby play dates. We still go to "Mommy & Me" luncheons with the Moms and babies born around the same time as Jacob. They are at a new location now but its still most of the same Moms and a fun weekly outing to look forward to. It's amazing to see how much the babies change each week and I really enjoy sharing stories/suggestions/worries with the other Moms.

Last week we also hosted a cookie and ornament exchange/baby play date which was a huge success. Everyone brought enough cookies to share at the party and to trade and take home as well as an ornament to exchange. The babies "played" for a few hours while all the mommies chatted and enjoyed yummy holiday treats. Then we swapped ornaments (randomly) and each got to go home with a pretty new ornament and yummy cookies to share with family. I think it might become a new tradition!

All the babies . . . Jacob between his two girlfriends.

Last weekend we took Jacob to meet Santa at a local toy store and went out to breakfast with another couple and their baby, Genevieve. She is only 10 days younger than Jacob and her Mom and I enjoy talking about what the babies are doing since they are so close in age. The Santa pictures turned out great, especially for $5, and breakfast delicious, a new favorite of mine.

Jacob's 1st picture with Santa

Family picture with Santa

Wednesday we went over to Genevieve's house for arts and crafts with Jacob's other friend Adelyn. He was the man of the house that day. We did footprints of all of the babies and made cards and ornaments with them. Super cute!

Can you tell he's helping :-)

Crafts and a play date with Genevieve.

Saturday we went to a "baby holiday party" with a group of friends we've met through baby play dates and luncheons. Most of the things I do are just mommies and babies so it's fun when the Dads get to be there too. We had yummy food and as you can see, had lots of entertainment with all the little ones around.

Moms and Babies

Dads and Babies

In other Jacob news, he's teething again and has been a drooling, clingy, squealing little guy this week. I think I mentioned this before, but since I got to listen to it A LOT this week I'll mention it again. When he's teething he does this wonderful pterodactyl scream constantly and it seems to just get louder and louder. Fortunately, today didn't seem to be as bad so maybe it's subsiding for a while.

How we spend a lot of time these days . . . one hand in our mouth, one hand holding a foot.

We found out Jacob got into out #1 daycare choice this week, a big surprise to us as we thought he had years to wait on that list. Our prayer were definitely answered as I've been getting more anxious by the day about when and where he's start "school". Getting this news instantly put me at ease. I know it still won't be easy for us, but it's a great place and really close to my work which will make things a lot easier. He starts January 9th.

We did all of our Christmas celebrating in Florida this week and are now getting ready for our trip to VA. We celebrated Christmas with Jacob on Friday morning and spent today cleaning the house and packing. It's amazing how much stuff you need for such a little guy!

Jacob's 1st Christmas . . . Part 1.

Oooo, what's in my stocking?

Mmmm, something I can chew on.

Hmm, I think I can figure this out.

Jacob's 1st "ipod"

Those shoes are great guys, but I'd rather chew on Dad's hand.

"Here Dad, let me help you with that."

Wrapping paper is fun!

"Toys are great but I'd really just prefer to talk to Bailey."

"Ooo, this looks like something good to chew on."


Merry Christmas little buddy, we love you!

Here are some pictures from the past few weeks for you to enjoy. Jacob will be 20 weeks old tomorrow, where does time go?

Our little jumping bean.

Jacob has acquired quite an interest in Bailey. He lights up when he sees her. She always makes him smile, and if he's close enough to her he tries to pet her. She's not quite as excited about him but she loves him just as much as I love seeing the two of them interact. Since a few weeks after Jacob was born Bailey has been going into his room to check on him when he's sleeping at night. She also runs out to the car as soon as I get home to make sure he's in there. It makes me smile every time!

Tummy time is MUCH better when Bailey's around!

They did this themselves . . . so cute!

Laughing with Shawna.

Hanging out with Devon and Nolan . . . and Bailey of course.

Flying high with Uncle Casey . . . he didn't get spit up on (this time).

Silly boy

Our teething (almost) 20 month old.

*If you click on the pictures you can make them bigger.

Visitors, Visitors, Thanksgiving and More Visitors

Can you guess what this post is about? November was a busy month! We started off with a visit from Beep, Pops and Uncle Hank, then had a visit from Aunt Suzanne and Aunt Megan (my friends from graduate school). The next week we had a surprise visit from Anna and Grandpa ( Aunt Claire's Mom and Grandpa), and then Mark's parents and Aunt Mo and Uncle Scott all came to Florida to celebrate Thanksgiving with us. Shew, that was a mouthful (and a "monthful").

So, let's start from the beginning. We had a great visit with Megan and Suzanne, although it was too short. Suzanne flew down from Pennsylvania to visit and it was both of their first time meeting Jacob. They drove up from Orlando for the day and we hung out at the house and went to Satchels for lunch (of course).

Playing with Aunt Suz, Aunt Megan and Elsie . . . wow, that's a lot of girlfriends!

The next week Anna and Grandpa were on their way back to North Carolina from Leesburg and stopped by for a few hours. We had a nice visit and yummy dinner with them.


Can you believe Thanksgiving has already come and gone? We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year! Mark's parents drove down from VA and picked up Scott and Maureen who flew into Jacksonville from MD. They all arrived on Wednesday and we spent the afternoon around the house preparing food for Thanksgiving before enjoying dinner at Satchels. Thursday was Turkey Day of course. Mark cooked an awesome Thanksgiving meal (Turkey, Country Ham, and all the fixin's). Jacob was nice to Mommy and slept through the entire meal (while I held him), so I got to eat with everyone else. We watched the Macy's parade, looked though the Black Friday adds, and ended the evening with Sporcle quizzes. The holidays are so much fun with the little guy!

Meeting Uncle Scott

Kisses from Aunt Mo

Hanging out with Grandad

All smiles with Grandma

"Shew, Thanksgiving is exhausting. Glad I have a comfy lap to nap on!"

"What the heck are these thinks sitting around me?"

Friday we went to the LaChua trail and enjoyed being outside in the beautiful weather. The wild life wasn't very impressive but it was a fun outing regardless. Then we ate lunch and the girls (plus Jacob) went on a quick shopping trip before the best part of Thanksgiving (leftovers!). After dinner we laughed the evening away with a game of Scategories (those Siburt boys made it entertaining to say the least). :-)

Siburt boys (minus Michael)

Saturday morning Scott and Maureen left to fly home and we spent the day with Mark's parents. We got our Christmas tree, got all of the decorations out and watched football. GO HOKIES! They left Sunday morning to drive back to VA and the three of us spent the day decorating the house for Christmas.

Hokie Fans!

Jacob's first Christmas tree

December is already flying by, we're making plans for our drive to VA for Christmas and look forward to seeing lots of friends and family on that trip. Jacob has now met all of his aunts and uncles and is quite fond of all of them. Here are just a few random cute pictures I couldn't resist. I have lots more to update but it's too late to continue so it will have to wait for another day.

Jacob LOVES bath time with Daddy!

Petting Bailey during tummy time. He's become more and more interested in her recently. The evening I took this picture he reached out to touch her while they were both laying on the blanket.

"Paci, I want you!" He reaches for his paci now if he wants it and can almost put it in his mouth on his own. (Usually his fingers get in the way :-))

Future best friends! I love this picture. Neither one is looking at the camera but they are both so happy.

Look at this big boy sitting on his own. Tripod style.