jacob jay: five months

what a FUN month this has been. j has become quite the explorer over this last month and it has been so much fun.

highlights include:

+ rolling across the floor. while he tries valiantly to crawl (legs and arms flailing), he can't quite do that, so he rolls from point a to point b. it's QUITE amusing.

+toe grabbing. he started doing this last month a little, but now every time we change his diaper, the feet go right to the hands.

+petting beans. he's discovered beans, finally! he pets beans anytime he is within reach...and by pet, i mean pulls his hair. we have to convince beans to sit and withstand the pulling. they'll be best friends in no time.

+he laughs! it's so darn cute. mostly he laughs for ryan, but sometimes i can get one out of him.

+putting EVERYTHING in his mouth. if he grabs a toy in his hands, it goes right in his mouth.

+j's first thanksgiving (family photo above is from that!).

+we picked out our christmas tree with the first time with j.

+ NOT traveling. that was glorious.

as parents:

we loved this month. it was by far the  most fun we've had with j. perhaps it is because it was our first full month with him in our own space, or perhaps it is because j is really starting to show his personality. i think it's a little bit of both. he is such a little explorer. not one part of him wants to stay still. he always wants to move and see what is going on. when you place toy a little out of his reach, he must roll to get it. it's just so darn fun. each passing day we love him more. it's crazy how fast time is flying. june 26th feels like it was just yesterday, but years ago at the same time. we are loving being a family of three!

routine at long last.

...and breathe.

it's a glorious thing, really. sitting down to take a breath...and eat chips and salsa while j naps due to him not sleeping well last night. i finally feel like things are falling into place in our little apartment here. it's oh so nice to have our own space again and to be able to settle into our weekly routine. ry had his first full week of work last week, so we have started to figure out our morning routine with baby for the first time - no more ry leaving before j and i wake up due to a VERY long commute - PRAISE THE LORD!

if the evening goes smoothly (read: j doesn't wake up wanting to play for 1 am to 3 am like he did last night), ry and i get up together. we take care of beanies while j still sleeps so i can limit my trips outside with him with j after ry leaves (unlocking and locking multiple doors with child and dog is not a skill i have mastered quite yet). we make ryan's lunch and get ry's clothes ironed. coffee gets made, as do the smoothies:

any day started with a green smoothie is a good day! yum. and i say we above because it is a team effort in the mornings here. j has recently stopped sleeping through the night. in fact he's been up multiple times through the night lately, so i am a zombie most days, which means ry takes on the bulk of the morning duties and allows me to sleep until j wakes up or i stumble out of bed feeling guilty that i'm still sleeping (to which he usually turns me around and sends me back to bed for as much shut eye as possible). j wakes up in time to eat and play a little with daddy before daddy heads off to work and then we're off started on our day. i'm still working part time for a little while, so that happens during naps.

we are so thankful to have our own space and to have a job that provides enough so that i am able to be home with j. soon i will be done working and then we will really be able to settle into a routine where i will be able to get most of our chores done during the day instead of having to do them at night or on the weekends. for now, i am thoroughly enjoying getting used to our mornings here :)

jacob jay: four months.

baby boy is four months old (plus one week...i'm slow on the blogging). he gets more and more fun every month.

some highlights include:

- "talking" non-stop for mommy and daddy. he seems a little more shy around others, but he'll talk a little for a few people. we get to enjoy the 15 minute long conversations, though!

- roll over, big boy. jbaby has mastered the art of rolling over. in fact, when we put him in his crib, if i check on him one minute later, he's on his belly. yes, he's a belly sleeper. there's no stopping it. he's just like his daddy.

- oh. the. smiles. they get better each month.

- grabbing at everything. pulling my hair. i've completely stopped wearing my hair down. it's just not worth it to have it pulled every time i pick up my little man.

- the highchair. phew. thank you high chair for allowing us to eat a meal while j plays contentedly in high chair with his train!

- he moved from vermont to new york. that was pretty exciting for him. he has done pretty well, though we had to relearn sleeping through the night for some reason. silly boy wasn't used to sleeping in his new room all by himself!

- we have a great schedule. he wakes up, eats, plays, sleeps 1.5 hours and repeats the cycle until bed time between 7 and 8. sometimes bed time is a battle, but we're getting there. usually we get him to fall asleep and then the noisy neighbors upstairs wake him up, so i think we're going to be getting a white noise maker.

on being parents:

my oh my do we love our little man. LOVE HIM. it was quite a challenge, though, moving with a 3 and a half month old. i'm not quite sure what we were thinking. we are so glad we have our own place to call home with him now, though. oh and with the move i resigned from gordon. i am working part time while they hire/train someone and then i get to be a full time stay at home mama. this makes my heart so happy. working full time hours and full time mama was becoming quite taxing as his awake time lengthened. we are falling into routine with the drop in my working hours and ry has started at his new job. it's nice to have routine back and we feel great about feeling a bit more stable for j. oh and did i mention...we love this little boy? what a gift from the Lord he is to us. we are so thankful.