So I don't forget

-Jacob peed in his potty for the first time tonight!! I know you are all so happy to get this news ;-). We gave it to him for Christmas and have been letting him sit on it before bath time since. *proud parent moment*

-Jacob has another ear infection, his first of 2013. He went 2 weeks without one though so guess that's good news?

-In the past week Jacob has figured out how to walk backwards and "practices" it daily. I haven't been able to video it yet but it's quite cute

-Jacob says(signs) thank you without a prompt from us now and it melts my heart. I just moved his rocking chair away from the wall so he could sit in it and rock and he signed thank you as soon as I moved it. He even does it to strangers but I often have to explain because they think he's blowing them a kiss.

That's all for now.

Happy New Year!

Happy 1st day of 2013!  Today we celebrate the beginning of a new year which brings with it lots of reflection about the past year and dreams about the year to come.  Today we "celebrated" quietly as a family at home after a busy holiday season. 

As I reflect on 2012 so many things come to mind:
- Jacob starting "school"
- The death of two of my closest friends parents
- Progress in my work towards my PhD
- Jacob's 1st birthday and so many milestones
-The engagement of another wonderful friend
- Wonderful visits with close friends and family

As I anticipate 2013 I know only a few things are certain:
- We are going to welcome many new lives into the world:
- Tonight (or tomorrow) one of my good friends will become a mother and I'll get to meet here sweet baby girl
- I will become an Aunt, Mark an Uncle, and Jacob a cousin in March
- And in April, Baby Boy Jorne will be welcomed into this world by lots of excited family
- Jacob will continue to grow, learn and amaze us as we continue to grow and learn as parents.
- My best friend will graduate from Flight Surgery training and instead of being a 5 hour drive away will be living on an island in the middle of the Indian Ocean
- Work will be challenging and life will bring us bumps and bruises but with the support of our loving family and friends we will soon be reflecting on the memories of 2013 together.

Ok, so that was my attempt at a heartfelt little post to begin the new year; now back to my typical posts:

Jacob is 17 months old today and between having a cold and some terrible teething he's been a challenging toddler the past few days.  We've been taking lots of walks and enjoying the nice weather playing in the backyard to provide distractions.  Yesterday we went to the museum with friends in the morning and the park with more friends in the afternoon which helped keep him busy.  His gums are so swollen, I can't imagine how uncomfortable it is getting so many teeth at once!

I hope you all enjoyed your holiday season and have a happy and healthy new year.  As always, here are a few pictures.  

Chilly morning on the last day of 2012

4 kids looking at the camera?!

Silly face :-)

Is anyone home?

Daddy's little helper

Cleaning his house

Christmas morning

Here is a video of Christmas morning 2012 and a few other pictures from the past few days.

Ha ha ha!  Little Mr. Picky will now only eat bananas if he gets to hold them with the peel.

Chatting on the phone, working in the kitchen.

Hello?

Cheese!

Making some acorn and leaf soup.

Merry Christmas

Yesterday we had our Christmas Eve meal and then headed to a beautiful church service.  After Jacob went to bed we got a preview of Christmas Eves to come.  Beep and Pops sent Jacob a play kitchen  and we(Mark) spent the evening assembling it (with some Skype intervention from the "McCoy Country Club") and watching a movie.  It was a fun evening. 

Merry Christmas Eve!

Family picture before church

Best buddies!

Leaving milk and cookies (Strongbow and Peanut M&Ms) for Santa

Ho Ho Ho

This morning Jacob woke up around 7:30 and the fun really began.   He spotted kitchen right away and immediately starting playing.  We finally got him to open his stocking and a few presents from Aunt Jessie before she left to meet up with her family.  He got some great music toys, lots of good noise makers (thanks Jess;-).  He loves music time at school and its some of the same instruments, he was in love!

We spent the rest of the day playing with new toys and opening presents.  He played with his new outdoor playhouse from Great Aunt Susan and Great Uncle Dave, and cooked us many meals with his kitchen. 

Checking out his new kitchen

Cooking for us

Chef Jacob

These presents are heavy!

Little Drummer Boy

Christmas band

Sitting on his potty reading

Checking out the tree

Curls :-)

Mommy's new coffee cup

Roar!

Checking out his new house

Peek a boo!

Looking a bit tired!

We had a wonderful Christmas filled with family traditions old and new, good food, friendship, memories and lots of smiles.  Merry Christmas from Florida!

Christmas is coming

It's Christmas Eve Eve and we're enjoying time at home as a family and Aunt Jessie's visit.  Yesterday we took Jacob to meet Santa.  He wasn't a big fan . . . well, he wasn't a fan at all but with a bit of work we got him to smile for a picture sitting on Mommy's lap next to Santa.  He greatly prefers the little Santa we have at home.  He likes to go give him a hug and stand next to him for pictures.   Afterwards we took him to Build-A-Bear and he built a dog we name Bubba.  Today we built a gingerbread house and then walked around the neighborhood and looked at Christmas lights.   Jacob also discovered the fun in playing with empty wrapping paper tubes.   Its cold here right now making it feel much more like the holidays and its fun to bundle up in the mornings and evenings when we go on walks.  

Getting our tree at the beginning of December.  Jacob was afraid of the man we bought the tree from.

2012 Picture with Santa

Look Mom!

Look at our gingerbread house!

Winter in FL

Despite all of the crud we've been passing around and our busy scheduled we've tried to enjoy the nice FL winter weather.  I wouldn't say it puts us in the Christmas spirit when it's 80 degrees and we feel like we should be laying poolside, but it's nice!  Last weekend we went to St. Pete to visit our friends Devon and Nolan.  On our way there Friday we stopped at the children's museum in Tampa and Jacob had a great time running around.  His favorite parts were the boat (that played music so he could dance), the fake sand box (which had rubber "sand" so it didn't stick), and the ball pit (we literally had to drag him out of that). 

Saturday we went to the St. Pete Saturday morning market which is always a lot of fun and has so many great things.  Yummy food, lots of dogs and people to watch, music, lots of goodies for sale.  After the market Jacob needed a nap so we drove around St. Pete, ending up at a place called Sunken Gardens.  It was a beautiful place to walk around, feed the fish, see lots of birds, and let Jacob explore.  Saturday evening we went to dinner at one of their local favorites and then to a boat parade in Gulfport.  I guess if we're in FL we'll celebrate the holidays like Floridians do.  Instead of watching holiday parades while bundled up under blankets sipping hot chocolate we watched the holiday boat parade standing on a pier in our flip flops.  We didn't get there until close to the end but is was still fun and the idea is definitely growing on me. :-)

Jacob was just a trooper on our trip as he was up later than usual and in a totally new environment.  Despite their apartment not being Jacob-proof we have no injuries or damage to report.  Even their Christmas tree stayed in tact.  They have a fish named Fiona that Jacob was a big fan of, she provided good entertainment while we were there. . . and I think I may see fish tank in our house again in the future.

This week is one of the busiest of the semester for me (not the best week to have a sinus infection).  I'm giving my final(then grading my final), have lots of meetings and end of the semester deadlines, and my big prospectus meeting with my committee to discuss my dissertation project.  I know the meeting will bring lots more work but I'm excited to hear what my committee members have to say and am looking forward to starting my study in the Spring.

Have a wonderful rest of your week (and for those of you reading in cooler climates walk enjoy a cup of hot chocolate for me under a blanket by the fire since I'm wearing shorts and slip flops and drinking iced coffee still).

16 months

Silly kid in his rainboots (the best hand me down present ever from the Pitkins, and they're going to be too small soon :-/)

Just a little evening reading after dinner.  Catching up on the seasonal bird activity.  (This picture is in no way staged, goofy boy!  He then started playing peek-a-boo with the paper)

Jacob was 16 months old on Saturday.  We celebrated by . . . being sick.   Well, I am sick, Jacob just got the cruddy cough and snotty nose portion of the bug and now Mark's coming down with something.  We did go get our Christmas tree on Saturday and somehow over the course of the weekend were able to decorate the house for Christmas!  It's quite a different experience with a toddler in the house and I think our best purchase of the year might be the huge gate/fence we got to keep him away from the tree.  He helped me put a couple of his ornaments on on the tree, then took them off and ran around the room with them, then throw them on the ground.  He no longer has access to the tree.

It is amazing to watch your child grow and develop, it is really so special and so miraculous!  Every part of it!  I know I've said this before, but I'm reminded of it every day!  Jacob is growing and changing and learning so much on a daily basis!  He says new words everyday and completely floors us with his abilities!  He can go and get things you ask him to find and bring them back, he is making crazy connections about all sorts of things, his signing vocabulary continues to grow as well and the past couple of weeks he's tried to sign and say "I love you" when we say it to him.  It melts my heart!  At school in a couple of weeks he is going to transition to the next class along with his friend James.  I'm glad they are moving at the same time, they have been together since Jacob started school and this is a big transition for them because they are going to a whole new suite with all new faces.  Until now he's been in the same suite but just different classrooms and there have always been familiar faces.  He's ready though, his teachers are excited for him and tell me stories everyday about how responsive he is to them and how his vocabulary is growing.  He knows the names of all the kids in his class and tries to say them (some much more intelligible then others.  He does a pretty good job with Audrey, Aislinn and James, but not Xander).  He also gives all of his teachers a big hug in the morning when he gets to school and goes around the class and waves bye to all of his teachers and classmates before leaving.   The separation anxiety seems to be subsiding (thank goodness).  I heard it peaks at 16 months and he followed that to the tee!  A couple of weeks ago he was crying everyday when I left him at school.  Towards the end of last week the crying stopped, he still has to know where Mama is at all times when we're at home but that's nothing new.   Here's a video to give you a little insight into the past couple of weeks.  He wasn't feeling so great this night so it's a little more extreme sounding but the word is always the same :-)  Literally, we heard this every waking hour, and sometimes in his sleep.  Even when I was right next to him (like in this video), even when I was holding him, or in the car next to him, or playing with him . . . you get the point.  Mama, Mama, MAMA!   He knows lots of animals and their sounds, and still loves music.  He can do the hand motions to a few songs now (Itsy Bisty Spider and Wheels on the Bus are the ones I know of).  I'm excited to see the changes that occur in the coming weeks as he transitions. 


Just a few random Jacob facts for us to remember about him at 16 months:
-His favorite animals are: elephants, birds, dogs, and cows
-He loves the moon!
-He started eating bananas!!! Yay
-He really enjoys going outside and picking up rocks and acorns.  He can pronounce acorn pretty intelligibly.  
-He somehow all of the sudden knows who Elmo is and seems to really like him.  He's had an Elmo teething ring for almost a year now but uses it rarely and one day last week I asked him if he wanted the Elmo ring and he smiled and said yes.  From then on he's said the word Elmo and will point to pictures of Elmo if he seems him.  This came totally out of the blue considering we might have one book with a picture of Elmo(which he found yesterday and showed us) and he never watches TV.  Like I said, he never ceases to amaze us!
-Speaking of teething, it's currently full throttle.  We change his shirt 3 times a day and he sometimes wears a bib again full throttle because of the drool.  He doesn't like us to look in his mouth but I think we're working on #8+.

Have a great week.  I am really busy with the end of the semester trying to get my study proposal ready for my dissertation so the blog may be quiet until exams are graded and my proposal meeting is over.  Then I'll be preparing for next semester (no rest for the weary).

Visiting with Great Grandad while we were in VA

 

Raising his hand to tell Ms. Rachel he wanted more oatmeal