Jacob is One!

What an amazing year it has been!  We now have a one year old living in our house (we're still getting used to that) and our year of firsts is officially over.  Jacob had a wonderful birthday week and along with pictures of the celebrations I thought I'd write a reflection of his first year.  Where do I even begin?

You don't fully understand being a parent until you become one.  I'd like to think Mark and I did a good job preparing for a child, and we did, as much as you can.  There are so many things impossible to prepare for, especially the unfathomable, never ending, always growing, amazing love we both have for Jacob.  It's a love I've never felt!  The past year was filled with so much change, and so much emotion.  Sleep deprivation is obvious, but it still takes a while to get used to.  Breastfeeding brought struggles I didn't expect but I'm so happy to have met my goal of exclusively breast feeding for a year.  I wasn't sure if we'd make it, especially in the first 6 weeks before they figured out Jacob had a tongue tie.  The pain was something I don't know I'll ever forget.  There were again challenges as I started working more, but we made it and as of Monday we have the doctors approval to start transitioning to whole milk.  The term "free time" takes on a whole new meaning after having a child (and I'm sure something even different if you have more than one).  We've spent many more hours doing laundry and washing dishes then ever in the past.  I think, Mark and I both agree it's been the best year of our lives!

Weekly photo wall

The back yard, ready for the party.

Before the party and 5 one years olds :-)

Jacob's 1st birthday was a fun celebration.  Mark, Jacob and I were all home Wednesday through Friday and enjoyed spending time together as a family.  We took Jacob to have pictures taken on Wednesday morning and then Beep and Pops got here in time to go to Satchels for Jacob's birthday dinner.  He had his own slice of mushroom pizza and some graham crackers, yum yum!  Thursday and Friday we spent getting ready for the party.  Cooking and shopping and cleaning and doing last minute projects.  Jacob kept us busy since he never seems to stop moving.  He loved Piper and JJ (who have since been renamed the "double bubbas").  Jacob calls Bailey, "bubba" and has since started referrring to all dogs as that.  The whole time they were here he crawled after them saying "bubba, bubba, bubba" or standing by the gate at their bedroom door watching them.  Friday night Suzanne and Megan came into town and we went to Satchels again (the last time Suz came they were closed so this was a must).  Saturday was Jacob's birthday party.  Here's the invitation.

Thank you Becky for creating such a perfect invitation for us!  We had 21 adults and 5 babies and it was a lot of fun.  Everyone ended up staying inside because it was so hot and humid so the living room turned into a big play room which worked out perfectly.  We enjoyed yummy food and were all entertained by Jacob and his "smash cake".

Talking to the double bubbas

"Bubba bubba bubba"

Mark and I spent a lot of time trying to figure out the perfect cake recipe for Jacob's birthday.  We wanted something he would like, was homemade, wasn't too sweet, and on and on.  We finally decided on a vanilla yogurt cake with cream cheese icing and fresh raspberries on top.  We hoped that the raspberries would attract Jacob to the cake and he'd have fun with it.  He did exactly what we expected though.  He picked the raspberries off and ate all of them, making faces when he tasted some of the icing on them.  Then, he sat there and played with the balloons tied to his highchair until we took the cake away.  He wanted nothing to do with it.  He ended up making a small mess by playing with the balloons enough that they hit the cake and spread the icing.  Silly boy!

Birthday cake

Balloons are so much fun!

Happy Birthday Jacob!

Mmm, raspberries

Family picture

Very full on raspberries

Why are you guys trying to get me to make a mess with this a

The best picture of all 5 babies we could get.

Presents(paper!)

Playing with his new cars from Devon and Nolan.

Monday Jacob had his one year check up.  His growth has been steady all year and is still right on target.  He weighs 23 pounds,  and he is 30.5 inches long.  He got 3 shots and a finger prick(ouch) and now can eat anything expect for shellfish and nuts.  (The trick is getting him to eat anything except for green vegetables, yogurt and raspberries).

1 year later:  Jacob's 1st doctor's appointment and his 1 year appointment (same room even)

Jacob is amazing us with his development recently.  He does new things everyday and is a really fun stage right now.  He is cruising all over the place, letting go and taking a step or two every once in a while.  He stands on his own more and more, and his vocabulary is taking off!  Last night at dinner he saw a bird out the window and signed bird to us while trying to say it.  Mark said, "yes, that's a red belly" (a woodpecker) and Jacob pointed to his belly.  We were both a bit shocked and asked him to show us his belly which he promptly did again with a smile.  Wholly cow!  Then, we showed him our noses, and his nose and later asked him to show us his nose and he did.  We also realized this weekend that he knows what the word hug means and if you ask him to give you a hug he'll give you the sweetest little hug with the biggest grin!  He is taking in everything and is so inquisitive.  It's almost as if you can sit and watch him learn new things.  It is true that you re-live your childhood through your children and it's amazing how something as simple as turning a light on can be so exciting!

Eating bagels with Pops

Happy boy!

These olympics are so exciting!

Relaxing with Beep

We are so blessed to have such amazing family and friends and know that this year would have been much more challenging without all of your support! We're now ready to tackle year two and look forward to the many new challenges and adventures it brings.