The New Jacob

Our sweet, cuddly, calm Jacob is now gone....and now we have an active, opinionated, very determined little guy. Now that he can sit, he seems ever so slightly more content. But really, all he wants to be able to do is walk. If I'm sitting with him, he wants to be supported standing on his feet. He seems to be becoming very active (uh oh, another one). He pretty much demends being held all the time (we don't always give in, though.) And he's very much a mama's boy. He has also decided that he doesn't need baby food anymore. He's only been eating it for about a month and a half. He discovered that the rest of us are not eating off of a spoon, so he should not have to. In the last day or two he has also decided that he doesn't want to be fed...he wants to do it himself. I fear that if he's doing this at 6 months of age, he's going to become quite a stubborn little toddler! Everyone warned me that the second child would be a challenge - active and likely to introduce us to the ER (that's what our doctor said!). Up until recently I thought that maybe we had escaped that (and maybe had gone through it with child #1! We definitely met the ER with Matthew, a couple times!) At Jacob's first few visits to the doctor I told the doctor how calm Jacob was, and he kept telling me, "Just wait." Now I see why...

Here are Jacob's 6 month stats:
Weight: 17 lbs. 4 oz (only the 40th percentile...he's slowing down!)
Length: 27 inches (60th percentile)
Head circumference: 60th percentile - once again, I can't remember the measurement.

Last visit, all three measurements were equal, but now his weight has slowed down. This was about the time Matthew did the same thing. However, Matthew only weighed 18 1/2 lbs. at the age of 1, so Jacob is well ahead!
Here are some recent pictures.



Here is his six month picture.

Jacob's Special Talent

Today at lunch, Jacob showed us a new little trick. I don't know why I found it so hilarious, but I did. You have to listen very carefully to hear the little pop noise he makes. He kept doing it over and over. It seemed like every time I gave him a bite of food, he'd do it again.

Perspective

I feel like God has really given me some things in the last couple days that have put my days in perspective. I feel like right now I'm in a slump...probably just needing a mommy break, but not really knowing what I need to do for that break! We all get like that, I'm sure. Really, I probably just need some sleep! But anyway...So here are a couple of the things that have been making me think.

The other day I went to the grocery store with both kids. I do this all the time. Sometimes it goes better than others. On this particular trip, Matthew decided he wanted to sit in the "front seat" of the cart, which is rare. Normally I have him in the back and Jacob in his car seat in the front. I had my snuggli carrier with me, so I let Matthew sit in the front seat and I had Jacob on my chest in the carrier. Normally before I go to the store I sit and organize my list and coupons according to the order of the store and what I need. I had done this, but because our Kroger was recently renovated, I'm not super familiar with where things are yet. While I thought I had everything in order, I didn't. I kept having to go back to aisles I had already been to because I forgot something. I was having a hard time staying organized with the way I had both kids. I had taken some snacks with us for entertainment, but it was gone after about two aisles! About three aisles in (but we had been there for a long time because of my disorganization!), Matthew decided he wanted to get out and help. Knowing very well that I would never be able to handle a baby on my chest and a toddler running up and down the aisles, I handed him my coupon organizer. Mistake #1! Almost immediately, he dumped the whole thing all over the floor. I was facing the other way when it happened, so I have no idea if it was on purpose or not. But, needless to say, I was very frustrated. So as I bend over, again, with a baby on my chest, to pick them up, and very kind, older gentleman comes to my rescue. He bends over to help me pick up my mess and says something like, "Oh I remember having helpers. My helpers are in college now. I miss my helpers." The way he said it was very convicting to me for some reason. It really made me stop feeling sorry for myself and realize that my children will only be "helpers" for a very short time. So instead of wanting to strangle my beloved two-year-old, I just let the frustration roll off my back and tried to continue in a better mood. I was good for a couple more aisles, involving Matthew in what I was doing as much as I could. But eventually, I sank back into my frustration. I was looking at Matthew, who was using his finger to scoop out the caramel from his apple dippers, eating it all - however with half of it all over his shirt. But how do you get mad a the kid when he's sitting there saying, "Thank you, God, for caramel!"???? Again, I am convicted that I really need to just enjoy this and not get angry. By the end of the shopping trip, I have Matthew out of the cart, "helping" (helping to put lots of random odds and ends into the cart, things that weren't on my list!) and I run into someone I know. This person also tells me how they miss the days of shopping with small children. God definitely strategically placed all of these subtle reminders for me. So, we made it out of the store, without any extra items, and all three of us still alive (and only three things that I forgot to get!)

The other thing that has really put things in perspective for me was hearing today that some neighbors (of our parents) and long time friends of ours suddenly lost their teenage son today. I don't know many details yet, but it was very unexpected. I am just so totally heartbroken for them. They are such a wonderful family, and the parents are great parents. So to have this happen is just totally shocking. I can't help but think of them tonight as they go home to their house, where their son will never come again. I can't imagine how they will feel to go in his room and sit on his bed, knowing that he will never sleep there. I can't imagine how it feels to have started today like any other, and now their son is gone. I don't know what they had planned for this weekend, but I'm sure it wasn't a funeral! I really had a hard time looking at my boys tonight and realizing that one day they will be teenagers, dealing with all the hard things that teens deal with. I can't help but think about what I would do if I lost one of my children in that way (or ever!!) It definitely made me hug them a little tighter tonight as I said goodnight. It will make me a more patient mommy tomorrow, that's for sure!

He's Getting There

Jacob can almost sit by himself. He can sit for about 20 seconds or so, then tumbles to the side. He's starting to enjoy being propped up with pillows and set next to a bucket of his toys. I'm hoping he'll be more content in one place for longer periods of time once he can sit and watch what is going on. Here's the big boy at work!

I tried...

I had very good intentions of trying to create a special surprise for Daddy for his birthday...but it just didn't pan out. I had these fabulous notions in my head of some perfectly posed picture of the boys. Both of them were smiling and looking at the camera. Then we were going to create some cute way to present it...maybe with finger paint and handprints of the kids. Well....we never made it. Jacob was sick most of the week, which made for some long days. On Thursday I was going to do it. I had both boys awake and ready to go. I got a couple of "okay" shots, but they were all blurry. By the time I figured out that the camera was on some wacky setting that I didn't know how to use, Jacob was very clearly, and loudly, telling me that he was finished with the photo shoot. Therefore, our attempts never turned into anything (well, they did, sort of, with the help of a photo booth at the museum center, and a strip of 4 not very good pictures of the three of us!)

The first one is the best one I got. Matthew, bless his heart, was trying so hard. It's funny how literal they take instructions (when I say look down he looks to the ground, for example).


Then this one was the last one, is a funny action shot that illustrates how our photo shoot came to an end...

A Trip to the Museum

Friday we went to the museum with one of my friends who used to teach at Finneytown and her two girls. Her oldest, Emma is 5 weeks older than Matthew. Her youngest, Alaina, is 5 months older than Jacob. We had a blast. On our way down, I told Matthew about Emma. By the time we got there, you would have thought they were life long friends. While we were waiting for them he would go up to other random girls and say hello to them as if they were Emma. He was so excited. They had a blast together. After we ate lunch, they chased each other around, squealing in delight, having quite a good time. Matthew pretty much talked about her the rest of the day!

Happy Birthday David

We couldn't help but remember this weekend last year...David's 30th birthday and the crazy snow storm that overtook the weekend, and his party!! This year was so different - 75 degrees and sunny. So wild! While Saturday was David's actual birthday, we celebrated with family on Friday night. We had a nice dinner, had a yummy cake that had ice cream in the middle, and then had some wild times playing Wii with the family. Here are some shots from the action!
This first picture is of Matthew digging into the cake before it was cut...he heard there was ice cream in the middle!



Aunt Becca - I almost zoomed in on the picture of you in the background while Matthew is digging into the cake so you could finally make it on the blog...but then I remembered how you watched my kids on Saturday night, and I decided to be nice :) I'll find a good picture someday and get you on here!