Has is really been 4 months?

October 8, 2010
    I can't believe Jacob is 4 months old today. Sometimes I feel like he was just born while other times I feel like I've known him forever and can't imagine life without him. He has changed and grown so much; only into a more cuddly and all boy baby.
   






    In the past couple of weeks, Jacob has discovered his tongue and his feet! He had just finished eating one afternoon when he looked up at me and stuck out his tongue! It was out for a while while he felt his lips with it and wiggled it back and forth. It must have tickled his lips because he started laughing! It was so cute. Now it's turned into a game where I slowly move my finger towards his lips and say, "I'm gonna get your tongue!" Jacob will stick it out and then back in really fast and smile or laugh =) I know there will be a day in the not so distant future when I will be telling him to keep his tongue in his mouth, so we're enjoying it now!


    It was like Jacob woke up one day and discovered, "I have feet!!!" His new favorite thing to do is hold onto his toes. And he doesn't have to be fully awake to do it either. If he wakes up at 3am to eat, I feed him and then lay him down to change him. While his eyes are still closed and he's trying to go back to sleep, he lifts his legs up and reaches for his feet...and just lays there holding them.     
    When he's wide awake he'll also try to put his feet into his mouth. I must say, it does help with diaper changing, because he's keeping his feet out of messy diapers!

 

We're Moving!

    It's official, we are moving! When James and I got married we moved to Carbondale and have lived here for the past 18 months. Before we had Jacob, we were both working full time jobs. Now that Jacob's here, and I've experienced what it's like to be home with him, I didn't want to go back to work! At least not full time and not right now. So we began the search. 
    At first we were considering EvErYtHiNg...like film work in California, editing in New York, or joining our dear friends in video work down in Houston. The search went on for awhile; we had some leads, but nothing that really grabbed our attention.
    Then one recent morning before James went to work he got a phone call about a job opening near STL. The position hadn't even been officially posted yet, but the man who called James is the husband of one of his former high school teachers AND the couple went to church with my parents for a few years. 
    James' 2nd interview with the company was this past Monday. They told him they would let him know soon... 1 hour later James got a phone call saying he got the job! I guess they figured they didn't need to call his references since they knew his father-in-law? haha His new title is Assistant Marketing Director and he starts on October 13th so we're making the move on the 10th. Though we will miss our church family & friends here, we are very excited about what is to come =)

Just Keep Swimming...

    Occasionally my husband has to travel for work. I usually go with him and we get to spend some extra time together. Then while he is working I'm on my own. But that wasn't the case this time! A few days ago James had a conference that he was going to be the "tech guy" for. So I packed our bags! This time, I would have Jacob for company while Daddy was working :-) 

    Jacob had a lot of firsts on this trip! It was his first time staying in a hotel & we stayed in a Holiday Inn. It was HUGE. Our room was great & they gave us a crib for Jacob that, well, wasn't so great. He didn't have much room to move around in it because it was barely bigger than he was. And when he would roll over, his legs would get stuck between the slats! (I should have snapped a photo, it was quite funny; but I was also worried!) I guess it was a good thing that our room had two beds, because at 2am Jacob was through with the crib & upgraded to a comfy bed. With me on one side of the bed and pillows on the other, he was safe & slept great the rest of the night! 

I love how he's wearing Nemo!

    When we arrived Wednesday, James had some equipment to set up & then was free until the next morning.   So we grabbed dinner at Krieger's, the restaurant attached to the hotel and talked about the day as people walked by smiling at Jacob :-) Afterwards, we got ready for the pool! I was so excited when I found out there was going to be a pool where we would be staying! So I went to the store and got Jacob some Little Swimmer's for the special occasion :-) In case you're not aware of what Little Swimmer's are...they're like waterproof diapers that don't swell up when they get wet. I wondered what Jacob was going to think of the pool. Was he going to think it was one big bath? Because he absolutely LOVES bath time! (and he always laughs when I wash behind his legs!) Or was he going to freak out & scream like I've seen other babies do before? Well, not much to my surprise, Jacob really enjoyed the pool! He was smiling a lot and kept staring at the water. We had so much fun with him! One time in the pool just wasn't enough, so we returned promptly the next morning :-)

                     

Seconds after Jacob was wrapped up all warm & cozy
he fell asleep :-)

Clockwork

    It never fails. 6am, 8am, 10am, 12pm, 2pm, 4pm, 6pm, 8pm, bedtime. Every 2 hours throughout the day Jacob is hungry. So every 2 hours I need to be available to feed him. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind feeding him, he's my baby! But every mama needs a break every once and a while. Jacob is 3 1/2 months old now and hasn't had a bottle since he was a week old. We've tried FOUR different types of nipples in the past week! Finally, I got the idea to match up the nipple with his pacifier. He sucks on his NUK like it's going out of style, so I went out and bought a NUK bottle. 
    It was 8 o'clock friday night; Jacob just had a bath while his bottle was bottle was warming up in a pot of hot water. I rubbed him down with his calming lavender bedtime baby lotion and put him in his pj's. James sat in the rocker with him and I handed him the bottle...Jacob took it! It was that easy! We were so excited! I had to stop talking though because every time I opened my mouth Jacob was turning his head to find me :-) So I sat on the other side of him and watched with delight. 
    Now if I have to be away from him for longer than 2 hours, or just want go on a girls night out, Daddy can feed him :-)

That's the rocker my husband got me for Mother's Day :-)

Labor Day Weekend

As always, a trip back home is never boring! Labor Day weekend we got to see my family, went to a family reunion on James' side, and took Jacob to the St. Louis Zoo for the first time!

Sharon & Juile joined in on our family photo :-)

At the family reunion, it was perfect outside!

One of James' relatives playing with a critter his mom said NOT to touch!

Jacob & I at the reunion. He was the center of attention! I felt like I didn't have a baby for the first couple hours we were there because everyone wanted to hold him! Jacob was happy the whole time we were there, too. -Probably because it was outside, he loves the outdoors!

Jacob doing his Bible study & enjoying a cup of coffee in the morning before we hit the St. Louis Zoo!

Grandma Cichon playing the piano for Jacob. Maybe he'll be musical??

Jacob's first trip to the Zoo! I'm not sure how much he was able to see from the stroller, but he seemed to enjoy himself.  The weather was beautiful to walk around for the afternoon. 

Roll Over!

Jacob turns 12 weeks old tomorrow! Everyday he laughs a little more and talks a little louder. A few days ago we took advantage of the great weather and went outside with a blanket. We hung out under a tree for a while, talking with our friend & neighbor, Ellen. Jacob absolutely LOVES being outside! If he’s upset, the moment we step outside he is calmed :-) Maybe this says something about his future??

This morning, Jacob woke up at 6am and when I went in to get him he was on his back! This was his first time officially rolling over!! (He may have done it a few weeks ago, but I kind of helped him.) So I fed him, and he went back to sleep until 8:30. I went in to get him, and he had rolled over on to his back AGAIN! He was just laying there waiting for me, and when he saw me he was full of smiles :-)

Here’s an interview with the little guy:

2 months already?!?

I can’t believe Jacob is 2 months old! Where has the time gone? I just got photos developed from his hospital stay; I better stay on top of things!

Well, our little man has changed so much over the past two months; I don’t know where to begin! I guess I’ll start at the top of the list, with his head…

¨ It no longer has that funny breach shape that said, “I’ve been squished forward for months!” His head is a super cute, round, easy to love & kiss shape. I like to call him our little bobble-head :-)

¨ Do you remember his taste bud? It was that white spot on the end of his tongue since he was born. It would cause him to rub his tongue on his lips and push it in and out of his mouth all day. Well, it fell off about 2 weeks ago. We kind of miss it!

¨ Jacob’s neck: Now, this is one reason why James & I believeour baby is advanced… He could lift his head up and turn it from side to side while on his tummy since he was two weeks old! Now it’s crazy how high he can lift it, and the length of time he can hold it up.

¨ Jacob likes to sit up. No, he can’t do it on his own yet. But when he’s lying on his back and you pull his hands for him to sit up he absolutely loves it! Every time we lower him back down, he gets scrunched in the face, his stomach tightens, and his head comes off the floor a little, as if to say, “Again! Again!”

¨ Jacob also likes to stand! You just hold him in the right position and he’ll straighten those legs with all the muscles he’s got!

Rarely does Jacob appreciate being held & cradled like a baby, he insists he’s not! Exceptions are usually only when he’s tired. Jacob prefers to see the world! Ever since his eyesight really started developing, he hasn’t wanted to miss out on anything.

Although I love Jacob to pieces, I can’t say that all the time I spend alone at home never gets to me. But during the last week and a half, something’s changed…Jacob started laughing!! Let me tell you, it has made a hugedifference. First it started with the laughing sound, with no facial expression; but now it’s moved to a full eye-squinted-grin with his laugh! The sounds he makes, along with the expressions on his face, just melt your heart away!

James & I invested in a nice camera a few months ago and I’ve been looking over the manual lately. –I don’t think there’s anything it can’t do! It’s just a matter of me figuring out how the settings work and such. So here’s my first trial run of a photo shoot:

Jacob at two months :-)

Poor little guy, he spit up at the very end!