August Highlights!

Yes, we've now resorted to monthly "highlights."  I'm so lame!  I can't even find the energy to review previous posts to see if I am repeating myself, so here is what I have to share... even if I've shared it before!

Jakob:

Jakob reminds me of a little puppy these days: drools, gnaws on everything, poops everywhere... melt-your-heart looks from this little guy have me whipped.  He is precious.  He's messy, but I'm loving life with him!  Let's see... He is cutting his first bottom tooth, and he seems to be handling it quite well!  He is still drooling buckets, but now I understand why :)  Jake started grabbing his feet the other day (one of my favorite baby antics!) and he is often seen rolling around the room, feet in hand.  His new trick this month was rolling back to tummy, and he gets such a kick out of himself when he does it.  He loves to sleep on his side, index finger in his mouth.  He's waking up so happy from his naps, and I love to hear him crowing first thing in the morning!  He still has one feeding between 7pm and 7am, and I'm feeling like he will drop it anytime.  I will probably be saying that every month...  :)  TO THIS DAY, Jakob falls asleep during most of his feedings.  Seriously.  Yes, he's almost 5 months old!

At his four month check up, he weighed 15lbs 9oz (42%) and was about 26" long.  He's quite an average guy!  His favorite babysitter is Elyse these days.  He follows her around with his eyes whenever she is close, just waiting to giggle with her.  I know I'm biased, but she is very good with him.  She's always gentle and seems content to just sit and talk to him.  I'm very thankful for such a big helper!  Emily on the other hand...

Emily:

What can I say about Emily?  She's definitely Miss Feisty these days.  I am vexed by her ability to tune out EVERYTHING AROUND HER when she wants to.  Seriously, I'm vexed.  I'm also entertained, as I almost always wish I could do the same thing :)  Potty training is going "fairly" well.  She is proficient at #1 when the conditions are right (no distractions, toys, distractions, or toys).  SO, she's got a ways to go.  She does very well at home, but has a hard time out of the house (distractions and toys).  #2... well, I guess it will happen eventually.  I am learning to love her just the way God made her, even if it means she will take a bit longer to do this on her own :)  I do love hearing her say, "I did big peeps!!!"  I assume she's talking about pee since she won't do the other...

(she was quite proud of her recent fall down the outside steps...)

As for her humor these days, well, she's got lots of it.  Her new response when we question her is, "me me thinks so!"  I assume that means, "I think so..."  She also uses "me me say."  She will pretend to talk on the phone and loves to throw that phrase out!  My second favorite phrase of hers is "I GOT IT!!!  I GOT IT!!!  --- I CAN'T!!!"  Seriously, at the top of her lungs and very desperate with each phrase.  I can still laugh at her most times :)  When she finds something funny, she says the word "laughing" as she laughs (you know, so we can put two and two together...).  She still calls her feet "feeties" thankfully (I hope she never outgrows that one...).  She has officially learned the "WHY?" question, and now she catches herself with the response "Yes, Mommy..."  She knows that's how I want her to respond, and she always has a little twinkle in her eye while saying it.  She calls all shorts, skirts, etc... "panties" and loves to yell it.

Emily loves to sing, and she can be heard singing to anything or anyone quite often.  Her favorite song is still "Holy God" (or "The Gospel Song"), and she loves to yell the title like she's cussing.  *sigh*  Another favorite is "Twinkle Twinkle" but I won't even attempt to break down her version...  Her other favorite pastime is destroying her crayons, drawing with pens (when I'm not looking) and placing stickers on her tummy.  She responds "Yes Sir!" to everyone and consistently amazes me with her humor and her funny little voice. Jordan and I both say we are going to miss her little chatter so much someday!

Elyse:

Elyse is just a string bean... so tall and skinny!  She is looking four years old to me :)  She is already talking about her birthday and all of the pink things she wants to partake of... Oh, yes, we are totally in a pink obsession!!! AGH!  I tried and tried and tried and tried to avoid this, but I'm doomed.  My daughter is in. love. with. pink.  I'm trying to be a good sport, can you tell?  Her imaginary friends are Percy, Van, and Twinkle Star.  Yep :)  She calls her comforter her "sweaty blanket" because we always warn her that sleeping with ALL HER BLANKETS on will make her sweat :)   I just have to share some of her other funnies:

* "Mommy, I just knew my shorts were on backwards because I was really sweaty."
* Upon spotting Jakob's eyes: "Mom, those blue things are moving all around!"
* I made a comment about being old, and she said, "You're not old!  You're new!"  (I love you, Elyse!)
* I told her she could stay up during naptime if she could behave.  She responded cheerfully, "Yes, I can be a cave!"
* One morning over breakfast, I explained to Elyse how Daddy and I fell in love, and later on she said, "When I was little, I used to fall down in love."
* "Maybe when Jakob gets bigger, he can have dollies!"  (Hmm...)

AND, my all time favorite: she thought Jakob's ear lobes were called "Egg nogs" - seriously.  SO CUTE!  When we corrected her, she just laughed her head off...  She is enjoying challenges these days- puzzles, paints, and learning legos :)  She is keeping me on my toes, but it's so fun.

 (a fun day trip to the Children's Museum... Jake obviously enjoyed it)

Life with these three is quite busy.  Jordan and I are always amazed by how much energy this stage of life requires, and it's constantly reminding me of my inadequacy.  I'm so thankful God makes this possible.  I am definitely not able to do it on my own!  Most days, we crash with that "good tired" feeling, but there are days when we literally feel like we did about 10% of what we wanted.  Perspective, right?  I love watching these three grow and change.  It's a beautiful thing...

Happy birthday

My love is my age as of today. Welcome to 31. He is more to me than words can express, and every day we have together is priceless. I love his smile, his patience, his free spirit, his eyes, his perseverance, his love for Christ, and so much more. I love celebrating the day God gave him to me, and I love celebrating his life. Happy birthday, J!

(Jakob is posing with daddy's gift :)

Four Months

Jakob, I can't believe you are four months old.  I have loved these four months with you!  I am amazed at how this little guy has grown over the last month, and it's fun for me to recall what three months looked like versus four.  I think the biggest change has been his attention span.  He LOVES tummy-time now and especially enjoys when I put toys down in front of him.  He smiles, puts on a concentrated look, and even tries to start scootching.  It's so fun and sobering at the same time!  I love his interaction at this age, too. He loves to use his expressive eyes to tell me stories in his crowing voice.  I know he just loves to hear himself talk!  The girls especially love it, as I think they thought he would be a bump on a log forever.  I have a feeling this is just the beginning of some serious sibling fun.

I am desperately sad that he seems to be losing a lot of hair.  I think the worst is over, but I dreaded those weeks of finding a slew of hair all over his sheet EVERY DAY! :(  He's back to "growing" hair again, which is nice :)  Poor little guy.  Elyse still insists when his hair gets longer, he can wear bows, too.  Hmm...
 

I am in love with his sweet personality.  At this stage of the game (and I know it can change at any moment?), he is extraordinarily content.  He loves to watch, chill, play, and pretty much do whatever we like during his playtime.  He doesn't seem to mind his sisters, but I do still love the wide-eyed look of terror when they get too close :)  I know, it's still evil...  His sleeping habits have improved drastically since we went on vacation at the beginning of the month.  He thought he was a newborn.  Mommy didn't find it funny.  SO, he is currently sleeping from about 6:30pm or 7pm to 6:30 or 7am with one feeding (usually around 3am).  As much as I dislike being awake at that hour, I have enjoyed the longer stretch before he wakes!  I dropped the 10pm feeding a few weeks ago, as it didn't seem to make a difference in his long stretch at night anymore.  I LOVE my mornings with him.  He usually wakes up a little bit before the girls, and I get to enjoy that 30 - 60 minutes with my little guy in peace and quiet (no offense, little ladies).

Okay, I am starting so see some boy-like behavior (no offense, little buddy.. it just took a few months).  I can totally see him light up when I pull him to his feet, or "play" with him more.  I don't remember the girls really caring if I tried to get them to stand.  I just know I should enjoy his lack of mobility, right, moms with boys?  Jakob just loves to roll around from tummy to back these days, so we did hit quite a hurdle with him not being able to fall back asleep on his back.  I believe we have passed that stage (thankfully!), and I now find him sleeping on his back and on his side quite often.  Nothing cuter than sleeping babies... Here are some of my current "observations":

fun's:

* I LOVE LOVE LOVE hearing him wake up happy!  He loves to crow and coo if he's had a good nap.
* I am enjoying that he's awake a little bit longer (about an hour) in between feedings.  SO NICE!
* Along with that longer wake-time comes longer between feedings.
* I love to see his crooked little grin..
* I love the way he loves his daddy!
* Seeing him interact with the girls is pretty nifty, too.
* He still has that baby stretch that he does (you know: the legs curled up, arms in the air stretch?).
* I adore his eyes.  They're so big.
* He's packing on a little weight, and I love seeing some chubby legs!
* I get to enjoy looking at his chubby legs when I let him stand up.. so fun!
* Giggles, giggles, giggles.  LOVE every one.

not-so-fun's:

* He's still not a super predictable baby.  My fault, I'm sure, but he still loves to keep me guessing about what he needs at least 2 days a week.
* He makes me appreciate naps.   :)
* I am NOT looking forward to starting solids in a few months.  Not cool.
* If he's not quite ready to go down for a nap, he will LET ME KNOW.  Sometimes I'll go pick him up to calm him down, and five minutes later, he'll go down without a peep.  Is that the first sign of a third-born spoiled child? :)   I think both of us need to stop doing that :)
* He seems to be sensitive to my spicy food intake, and I really despise spit up.
* Watching him achieve milestones reminds me of how fast this is going.

(we blamed Jake for our bad snacks the other night... so mean!)

I am determining all the time to enjoy this little guy.  It's not hard, but I still need the reminders that other things just aren't as important.  You might not want to verify this with my husband, but some cobwebs can wait :)

 (I love his expression... and Em's!)

Jakob, happy four months, buddy!  You are so loved :)