Happy 10th Birthday, Jacob!

Jacob! You're 10! TEN!! One. Zero. Double Digits! I can't believe it. 

10 years ago you came into this world and we instantly fell in love with you. A whole decade of loving you and watching your grow into this amazing person you are today! Wow. 

I'm sure I write this every year, but I continue to be amazed by you and who you are. You are an incredible boy and I am so lucky to get to be your mom. Every single day, I am reminded why you are my most favorite person.

You had an incredible year at school, completely rocking 3rd grade! As much as you say you don't like school, you continue to excel. Mr. Malay was your teacher and in your card to him at the end of the year, you wrote "You were one of the greatest teachers I've ever had!" I couldn't agree more. In fact, I wrote Mr. Malay a separate note myself to let him know how much I appreciated the fact that he was your teacher. Mr. Malay's personality and teaching style reminds me so much of your dad. And I am so grateful that you were able to experience having a teacher like that. Watching you interact with Mr. Malay, I can imagine what it might have been like if you ever would have had your dad as a teacher. 

You also have a strong group of friends. The nice thing about Jefferson is that it's a very small school, just two classes per grade. And you have the type of personality that can become friends with everyone. And you do. In fact, you invited 9 kids to your birthday party this year! And six of them were able to make it! That was a crazy time (mostly for me)! It's so fun to watch you with your friends and when you meet new kids as well. And it makes me so happy to see how kind you are to everyone.

You are still an amazing reader and I love that you love books, even when you don't admit it. But recently, you discovered the 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' series and you have devoured the books. I just love to see it. :) You are also still obsessed with wanting to be the one in charge, the boss, the CEO. You love to talk about business organizational structures - boards, shareholders, founders, manager, etc. You have your own company, Jacob, Inc. which is very successful. :) You still love space but you have also become very interested in nations. You know where nations are on the map, you can identify flags. You watch videos on YouTube that show you lists of countries by size, GDP, population, military size, etc. You know the craziest things. You also enjoy watching YouTube videos where you watch other people play video games. I'm not sure I understand it, but you love it. And of course you love to play videos games. And sometimes, pretend you're creating your own YouTube video. Your newest game is Ages of Conflict (I think?), which is a war simulator where the countries fight to conquer each other. You also still love playing TABS, Roblox, Minecraft and different Mario games on the switch. 

You are also a very good thespian and you add a dramatic flair to almost everything you do - which is extremely funny when you're in a good mood but not all that fun if you're in a bad mood! ;-) You are still witty as ever, quick thinking, goofy and funny. You are so much like your dad in that sense. You love being the center of attention as long as it's on your own terms and not so much if you're being forced to like a church performance or school music performance. You have this thing where you are against music - not wanting to like music or learn how to sing. Probably because you've grown up hearing how musical your dad was and I am. And so, probably to spite me, you dig your heels into the ground when it comes to anything musical. :) Whenever we have people over for dinner, you are always the last one to finish eating because you talk so much and want to drive the conversation. 

As much as you pretend to love all things bad and claim you want to be ruler of the world, you are a very kind boy. You are so good, so intuitive to those around you, so empathetic, so loving. Even now, you love to cuddle. And I LOVE that you will still cuddle with me. You don't like to see other people hurt and you either want to help fix it or you try to make people feel better by getting them to laugh. I am so proud of the person you are, Jacob. 

I love the person you are. I love listening to everything you have to say and I love learning new things that you teach me. I love watching you grow and learn and discover who you are and where you fit in in this world. I love watching your personality grow, even when you're butting heads with me and we both get frustrated. I still love to watch you sleep, no matter how creepy you think that might be. In fact, I just love watching you do whatever it is you're doing! You truly are the very best thing I've ever done. And I love you more than words could ever describe. 

As you enter your double digits, I wish I could say that I hope for only good things for you. And while I do very much hope for many good things for you, I know that life is not only full of good things. And unfortunately, you already know that too. But it is the combination of the good things in our lives and the bad, the hard, the struggles, that help make us into the people we are. And so I hope that you are able to take everything that happens in your life and let it make you into an incredible, wonderful human. 

I hope that your 10th year here on Earth is filled with love, family, happiness, friends, memories, laughs and whatever else you hope for. I am so excited to be with you every step of the way and continue to watch you as you learn new things and continue to grow. I love you.

Happy Birthday, Jacob! 

Happy 9th Birthday, Jacob!

Happy Birthday Jacob! 

Today you are 9 years old. Nine years you've been on this earth, bringing me joy and love and laughter every single day. 

I continue to be amazed by you as you grow and learn new things. You are extremely clever, witty, goofy, smart, kind, caring, lovable, silly, curious, bright and so much more! You constantly remind me of your father while at the same time continue to flourish into your own person. 

---

I started that letter above to you right before you turned 9. But I never finished it. I'm not sure why. But I remember feeling like the right words weren't coming. And soon it was long past your birthday. 

But now, you are 9 and a half years old. Actually, 9 years and 7 months tomorrow. And I find myself unable to sleep and instead thinking about just how awesome you are. 

You brought home a reading/writing assessment from school this week. At the end of it, you were told to continue to story using one of the prompts. I'll post a picture of the story below (I told you I was going to save this forever!!). 

I read your story and it took away my breath. I sat in awe at the kitchen table thinking, "wow". And yes, all moms are going to think that their kid is amazing and best. And I do think that about you. I was amazed by your imagination, I was impressed by your talent but I also felt this deep admiration for the story itself that you told. A story with such beauty. From my own little boy. 

I think the story caught me by surprise. When I started to read it, I thought it would end somewhere with world destruction and evil wins all - things you love to talk about. But instead, your story reminded me of who you really are.

Yes, you still talk about how you want evil to win, how you wish you were a god who could control the world, how the bad guys are always better. But truly you are the most sweetest, kindest, caring, and loving boy. You just don't like to show those things to the rest of the world. :) 

But I am convinced that you have a truly good soul inside of you. You have a very big heart inside of you. You are a very special kid.

In the back of my mind I can see you rolling your eyes at me, trying to hide or even getting upset with me because you dislike it when you are praised or to hear anyone say good things about you. But luckily for me, you likely won't read this for many years down the road so hopefully this is something you've outgrown!

Jacob, you are, so very truly, the most spectacular kid. You are smart. You are insightful. You are curious. You are full of wit. You are funny. You are dramatic. You are the biggest cuddler, even at age 9. You are kind and caring. You are goofy and silly. You are my most favorite person in the whole world. 

We talk a lot about how much you're like your dad. And that's true. In so many ways, I see your dad in you. How much you love to talk, how you have to 'regenerate' before you can finish eating, your love of farts, your dramatic tendencies. But as much as you are like your dad, you are also your own amazing self. 

I have loved watching you grow over the past 9 years. I feel so privileged to have a front row seat to watch you grow into the person you are today and will become. I am constantly amazed by what you do or what you say. My heart feels like it's constantly bursting at the seams with my love for you. I am so lucky to be your mom. 

I think the first half of year 9 has been good for you. You've got a great teacher, Mr. Malay, at Jefferson and a great group of friends you play Monkey King with at recess. You're taking swim lessons at the Y and continue to improve every time you get in the pool. You're still an avid reader even though you say you don't like to read. But I often catch you reading books when you haven't been told to do some reading. You're astonishingly good at spelling - unlike me, which Nana and Papa like to remind us all of... You still enjoy science and space and a thirst for knowledge of the most random things. You're constantly wanting to google something on my phone for a question you've come up with. 

You've also wanted to learn all that you can about how companies work, who are the managers, the bosses, the CEOs, the board of directors, the shareholders... You want to know it all. And you have your own (imaginary at the moment) company called Jacob, Inc. And while you're the boss and board chair and whatever title you come up with, you're also a very generous boss who pays his employees very generously. :) 

You still really love playing Roblox, TABS, Minecraft and Mario Builder and Mario Party. You went through a time where all you wanted to play though was Monopoly. You finally got the hang of riding your bike and started doing some longer rides with Nana. The one thing I haven't been able to get you interested in yet is music. Either singing or playing piano. Much to my (and probably your father's) chagrin. ;-)   

In just a few short months, you will be 10. Double digits. The rate at which you grow before my eyes never fails to amaze me. You are the best thing I've ever done. 

I love you buddy. So much. And I'm so incredibly proud of the boy you are. Even if you won't let me tell you. 

Happy 6th Birthday, Jacob!

Happy Birthday to my favorite little boy, although not so little any more!!

Jacob, you continue to amaze me every single day. Watching you grow and learn new things is fascinating. You are, in many ways, your father's son. You talk nonstop. You are a silly goofball who loves to make people laugh. And you are just so happy. 

You make me laugh with your funny little quips and your imagination continues to grow. I love listening to you playing, telling stories or singing your own songs. You are incredibly clever and kind. Although, you do still favor the 'bad guys'.... :) 

You are not shy by any means, not afraid to talk to anyone and everyone. Wherever we go, people around us get to experience the joy of life you share. You'll say hi to everyone or go up to strangers or anyone who will listen and say "guess what?". You also like to talk about yourself probably the most! :) You went through a phase where you were in love with telling jokes. You would make up your own, ask us to tell jokes and just love to laugh. 

You can charm the pants off pretty much anyone, no matter where we are - the dentist, the children's museum, the barbershop, the park... And you don't even realize you're doing it. You're just that sweet and amazing and kind. 

You are still full of questions. You call yourself the Question Boy. You also call yourself Toy Boy in an attempt to continue to get more toys to add to your growing collection... But you love to ask questions. You are so curious about everything. You'll ask about new words you've just learned and what they mean. You'll ask about the why the weather does strange things. You'll ask about bugs or what I'm doing when I'm trying to work. You have to find all the answers. 

You continue to mature every single day. Things that you use to struggle with or not want to do, you now do bravely and without whining. It makes me so incredibly proud. 

You finished a year of Knights Plus at school. You grew so much over the past year. And like so much else in your life, you ended the year much stronger and smarter. I think next year at Kindergarten, you're going to thrive. 

You currently LOVE numbers. All numbers. All things numbers. All things math. You love telling time, knowing the time, wanting to know how much time. You want to know everyone's age. You can count extremely well and even more so, you've learned to do basic addition - both verbally and by writing down math problems. You are so incredibly smart for your age. 

You still love tractor rides and all things dinosaurs. You have also gotten into Transformers, StoryBots and the Magic School Bus. You have a globe that you love looking at and asking questions like "when are we going to go here?" (aka the middle of Russia and probably never) You really love playing with anything because of your amazing creative imagination. You're getting more and more comfortable on your bike too. 

You love to walk and run around, especially at parks and you love to go exploring on the playground equipment. You love bouncy-houses - especially this one that you climb up the one side with a rope and slide down the slide on the other side. 

And you still love reading books. We've been working on reading some sight words and you like to read certain parts of some of your favorite books. Soon you'll be reading on your own! 

Every day I am amazed by you. I love your joy, your happiness, your loving heart. I love your innocent and free spirit and your crazy imagination. I love your laugh and your smile. I love your hugs and your kisses. You are absolutely my favorite boy. 

I love you. Happy Birthday. 

Happy Birthday Jacob!

You woke up early on your birthday. Like 6 a.m. on the dot. The first words out of your mouth were, "Mommy, tell me Happy Birthday!" And then you raced upstairs to open presents. 

It is so fun to watch you go through this world with your unlimited joy. I cannot believe how quickly you continue to grow and learn. I am forever amazed by the things you say and do. You are truly a light of joy and happiness. 

My heart aches knowing what you've gone through in the past year of your life and what that means for each year moving forward. But I know that you have such a good heart and a strong love, and those will serve you well. 

Your year of five already promises to be an exciting one! You received your first-ever bike and are learning how to ride it. Right now, it may be tough, but I know one day you're going to love zooming all over on your bike. We have a family trip planned to Disney World - your first big vacation, first theme park and first trip the ocean! I'm curious to see how it all goes. And this fall, you are starting the Knights Plus program in Lake Crystal, going to school five days a week. I know you're going to love that! 

You still love all things dinosaur. And I mean ALL THINGS DINOSAUR. You can never have enough dinosaur toys. Seriously. I'm tempting to round them all up just to count how many you do have, but I don't know that we would be able to locate them all! 

You love playing good guys and bad guys, and in fact, you still like being the bad guy more often than not. You enjoy watching YouTube videos, especially of other kids playing or opening new toys. Whenever you find a character you like, whether it's from a book, movie or game, you want it as a toy. You love helping Nana mow or going to the farm with Papa to "play pool". Of course you still love tractors and farming. 

Recently you've done a lot of singing. You'll make up your own songs and tell some sort of story, all while dancing around the room in circles. I love these story songs. You and Nana also like telling stories by taking turns. You've had some interesting stories! You also like to play the piano while I sing a song. You like throwing the ball down the stairs and having someone throw it back up to you. You love bouncing. You love going to the park. You love watching me play Donkey Kong. 

You also love to read. And this warms my heart!! You love to have stories read to you. You get the library fairly often with Nana. You love any book about dinosaurs, the Pigeon books and right now you really love the Elephant and Piggy books. We read these so often, that you like to be either Piggy or Elephant - mostly Piggy. So we read those books together, me as Elephant and you "reading" the part of Piggy. It is adorable. And you have a good memory! 

We're continuing to work on letters and spelling. Soon we'll be teaching you to read! You love asking "What does this spell?" and then listing off different letters. Sometimes you manage to make a word, but not very often. You also like asking "What does __ and __ make?" Like what does 10 and 5 make? Or what is 4 and 6 and how do we get there? You have such a curious mind. The other night at dinner, I may have let you go a little crazy by letting you mix things up like your milk and ketchup or the ketchup in my water and stirring it up. You were having a blast. I might have to find you some sort of science kit for Christmas! 

You still love spending time with your cousins Evie and KK. You love visiting Nana and Papa Z at the farm. You love playing with your "brother" Liam. You actually keep asking for a baby brother or sister. You love the babies at daycare; playing with them and making them smile and laugh. 

You are the most wonderful kid, the light of my life. I love you so much. Happy Birthday. 

Happy Birthday Jacob!

Jacob, where do I even begin? This past year has felt like a roller-coaster to most of us but you have been our constant light and joy. 

I remember the events of four years ago well. We were so ready to meet you. So ready to start loving you. But we had no idea just how much love and joy and happiness you would bring into our lives. It is truly an honor to be your mother and watch you grow and learn every single day. 

I often call you a little man. Some of your mannerisms and expressions are so grown up and are absolutely adorable on you. You're getting the hang of rolling your eyes, something that I'm sure you'll only perfect as the years continue. :) You say the cutest things - some of which you've picked up from us and others I have no idea! "Holy Moley!" "I know, I know" (in exasperation) "That is awesome!" "Woah!" You are incredibly smart and nothing seems to get past you. You can remember so many things, especially fun experiences we have. You also enjoy repeating what we adults say or mocking our expressions or movements. You love to be the center of attention and you can always make a room full of people laugh. 

Your personality is so bubbly, so infectious, so clever, so joyful. You are smart. You are kind. You are caring. You are goofy. You are lovable. I love when you randomly give me hugs and say "I love you so much". I love how after giving you hugs and kisses from daddy for a few weeks after he was away, you came into my bedroom one morning to give me a hug and a kiss from daddy. I love that you still want to cuddle. I love that you love to read so much - even if it is the same book five times in a row! :) I love when you look at me and give me a silly face for no reason. I love when you ask me to sing you songs. I love your giggle. 

You truly have a kind and caring soul. You pick up on more things than I wish you would at your age, but you are a comfort to us in those times when we need the reassurance the most. I really believe that you are going to grow up with this huge heart, full of love to share everyone. 

You are growing up too quickly. Each time that I'm away from you even just for a few days, you come back looking even more grown up. You're becoming much more independent, which makes me both incredibly happy and sad. Right now, you're on this kick of saying "When I'm four....." "When I'm four, I'll get dressed by myself" "When I'm four, I get to ride the bus to school" "When I'm four I won't have any accidents" It's adorable. But you sure have given yourself a lot to accomplish when you turn four! :) 

You are starting preschool this fall, four days a week. It's easier for me to be okay with this knowing how excited you are to start school. Even if it is just because you get to ride the bus. You've continued to love ECFE classes this past year - even expanding your areas of play. You especially looked forward to seeing what was in the sensory box each week. You've been taking swimming lessons and again have come so far! You can swim by yourself and your frog floatie. You're doing great about floating on your back and sometimes even your tummy! You even asked Papa to dunk your head under the water in the pool the other night! You started at a new daycare this past year and have really enjoyed being around more boys with your same energy. :) You did Rainbow Room at church on Wednesdays and even stood up and sang in front of the church with your class a couple times. That really made me proud. 

You love going to Iowa to visit the Zaruba farm. You love when it's just your, your cousin Evie and Nana and Papa Zaruba! You ask often to go down there and tell us how much you love your cousin Evie. You also ask to visit Meg in Big Fork and Uncle Dan in Fargo. Really, I think you just like going for road trips! Everything becomes an adventure for you, even just going to the park on a Saturday morning. You love play dates with Liam, which is great because Liam's mommy and I need that time together too! :) You are often very patient when playing with other kids, courteous and really good about sharing. 

You are so good with counting, with singing the ABC's and with singing other songs! You rock at colors and shapes still. Some of your favorite books (that we've read a thousand times), you can "read" those back to us! You still LOVE dinosaurs and you know a good number of different dinosaurs names as well! We've started to work a little bit on tracing and drawing shapes or letters. You of course still love the farm, especially the combine. You pretty  much spend all winter, spring and summer asking if the combine is "awake" yet so you can help Papa and Mark harvest corn. 

You love to watch Daddy go bowling on the Wii so for Daddy's birthday this year, we took you to go bowling for the first time. You beat us both. :) You also loved the Jurassic Park video game. You love watching Daddy play Mario. You love going on walks. You love going down slides at the park - especially the twisty ones. You love going to BounceTown and the Children's Museum. You are so full of energy and excitement and it especially warms my heart when you still do your "Jacob jig". :) 

You are my pride and joy. You are my everything. I am so blessed to be able to call myself your mom. You truly add a bright light to this world. As much as I wish you would stay little, I have enjoyed watching you grow and learn over the past year. I look forward to seeing what year four brings you. Your daddy and I love you with all of our hearts. Happy Birthday, Jacob.  

Happy Birthday Jacob!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Jacob!

I can't believe we've been blessed to have you in our lives for three whole years now! You are as  adorable, cute, funny, goofy, kind, silly, energetic and lovable as ever!

You still can't sit still for very long. You love running around. You love the outdoors. You love the farm. You love trains, trucks and tractors.  You especially love the combine (still)! You love to talk and ask questions. You're not shy and love making new friends. You love going to ECFE classes and swimming lessons. While you don't always enjoy learning new things at first, you tend to pick up on them fairly quickly and make them your new favorite thing!

You love the show DinoTrux on Netflix. You love dinosaurs in general. You love being a dinosaur and roaring at any and everyone. You love to play with toy animals. You love jumping. You still love swinging. But you also love going down the slides now.

Some of your favorite phrases: "Don't be silly" "Be happy Friends!" "How about......" "We can do that!"

You are smart, creative and imaginative. You are funny and goofy and silly. You are the best thing we've ever done. You are kind and polite. You are helpful. You are so darn lovable.

Here's to another fun-filled and healthy year! We love you!

Happy Birthday Jacob!

Happy Birthday to our favorite boy, Jacob! You're now two years old and I have no idea where the past two years have gone. But looking at pictures, I can see how much you've grown and changed. 

You are a ball of energy, always on the move. Our apartment isn't big enough for you to run around in but you sure make the most out of it - running laps around the kitchen table, often chasing mom and dad or being chased, and of course, using the couch and mom as your own personal jungle gym. :) 

You love being outdoors, so much so you're constantly bringing us our shoes to try and get us to take you outside. The swing is still your favorite playground activity. No matter how much we try to get you to play on the rest of the equipment, you always gravitate back to the swings! Bubbles are another favorite outdoor activity for you! You also LOVE trucks and tractors! In fact, whenever you see one, you have yell "truck" or "tractor"! And so of course, you love tractor rides at the farm. 

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is still your favorite TV show. You're old enough now to interact with the characters so when they ask a question, you can answer some of them. You also love to sing along and not just to Mickey Mouse, but to Big Block Singsong, another favorite show. 

You can count up to 10, identify each number and even count on your fingers. Right now we're working on the alphabet - you can repeat all letters after us and can identify most of them as well. You also know your shapes and some colors. You know some of the basic body parts such as eyes, nose, ears, teeth, etc. You especially like pointing these features out on other people, which sometimes includes a good eye poke! :) 

Some of your favorite books are Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late. Both of these you love to read along with us. No, David, No and Goodnight Moon (still) are also a couple favorites. Overall though, you are a huge fan of books, both having us read them to you and reading them yourself. 

Everyday you learn new words and oh boy, you love to talk! You understand so much more and know how to ask for certain things. It is so fun to watch you grow and learn. We look forward to the day we can really understand everything that you're saying because you obviously have a lot to say! You even enjoy talking on the phone, or anything that looks like a phone! 

You also are a whiz at the iPad - not sure yet if this is a good thing or not! :) But you have a couple apps to watch Mickey Mouse or Curious George and you also know where to find the movies Frozen and Monsters University. You had your own folder of apps that you loved to play. Some were as basic as animal sounds or sing-a-long apps, but there were also some educational ones where you quickly learned how to match, sort and collect. Unfortunately, you also dropped the iPad, breaking the screen so we're taking a break from that until we can get a new one! :) 

And finally, your 2 year check up stats. You are a very healthy toddler with no concerns! You are 35 inches tall and weigh 31 lbs and 12 ounces! 

Here's to another great year! We love you! 

Happy (Belated) Birthday Jacob!

Our sweet, funny, amazing, goofy, smart, adorable, lovable baby boy is no longer a baby. We officially have a toddler on our hands now. Jacob turned one (almost a month ago already, due to my poor blogging skills...) and I have no idea what happened to the past year. By all accounts it was the most interesting, most stressful, most fun, most difficult, most exciting, most amusing, most sleep-deprived, most adventurous year I think I've ever had. There were tears, laughter, mistakes, learning, growing, moving, challenges and love. More love than I've ever known possible. Becoming a parent really does change everything. And in ways you will never understand until you become a parent. 

I created this fun poster to help showcase Jacob's first year. 

Also during Jacob's first year, he has already lived in three different places (in three towns even and different parts of the state!), been to Nebraska and Minnesota in addition to his home state of Iowa, has visited a zoo, gone for some tractor rides, loves looking at himself in a mirror, looking at pictures of himself or watching videos of himself. He has developed an adorable belly laugh that I cannot get enough of. He's made new friends at two different day-cares, both of which have been great. He loves to go swimming and making noise - any kind of noise. He loves to eat and can make the funniest faces. He went as both Charlie Brown and Jake from State Farm for Halloween because we couldn't decide and he spent is first Christmas at home with just Mom and Dad. He's also already been to a Wartburg Outfly and Homecoming, so he's well on his way to becoming a Knight. And that cute little cone-head he was born with turned into an even cuter perfectly round head. :) 

Jacob is already a spoiled kid and had two birthday parties! We had one in Minnesota and then another one a week later in Iowa. I figured it would be easier for family and friends this way. And Jacob was blessed by everyone that came and helped out. We are so grateful for you all. The birthday party theme was of course, Goodnight Moon, after Jacob's favorite book! As much as Jacob loved the cake during his cake smash photo shoot, he wasn't into it at either birthday party. For his credit, he was probably tired and overwhelmed with all the people and a different schedule though. He did want to eat a lot of the fruit though, and I know I should be thankful my son wanted the fruit rather than the cake, but where's the fun in that? :) 

Jacob also had his one year check up and of course, is still a healthy baby! And he's finally a well proportioned boy! :) Haha! He weighed 23.3 lbs (81%), is 30 3/4 inches tall (83%) and his head was 18 3/4 inches (87%). In the 80% for everything - first time that's happened! He also got some more shots which I was nervous about because Austin couldn't get off work to be there with me, but I successfully distracted him with the "Hot Dog Song". 

Jacob is getting closer and closer to being able to really walk on his own. He has taken his first steps, but won't go more than a half a dozen steps before sitting back down or falling over. He's great at standing unsupported though. And those first couple of steps he took? They were towards mama, but I was also playing the "Hot Dog Song" on my phone, so I'm not sure I can take the credit. :) He also loves to talk a lot, but we're not hearing any real words yet. Although he is getting closer I think. The other day it sounded like he said "yeah" to a question we asked him and last weekend, it sounded like he was trying to mimic the words "I love you". 

We also successfully quit nursing. I was actually very surprised at how well Jacob did with this. I had been slowly weaning him, cutting out feedings until we were just nursing at night before bed. But Jacob started taking a bottle instead with no problems! In fact, we've even stopped giving him bottles already and just use a sippy cup. The doctor had told me at his appointment that he'd like to see Jacob not using a bottle or his pacifier by 18 months. So the bottle is done but I think his pacifier might be a bit more of a challenge. Although, I generally just let him have it in the car and at nap and bedtime. 

Jacob has also started cutting his molars and it has not been fun. I think this has been much worse than his other teeth. He seems to get fussy at random times but especially at meal times. When he's normally been such a good eater, now it can be a give or take. Although he does like things that he can crunch, probably feels good. And he also loves to eat whatever we're eating. So my food is no longer my own... I better get use to sharing! :) 

In other news, Jacob and I got to spend the week of July 4th up in Minnesota with my family. My sister Meg was down on vacation too and she was able to get in a lot of Jacob time, which is good because we don't get to see her much now that she lives up North. :) Austin was able to come up and join us on Thursday and it was nice to finally have him there too. It was a perfect week of relaxing and spending time with family and friends that we don't get to see nearly enough. 

Writing this also reminded me that in mid-June, I had my 10 year high school reunion! I don't think I ever mentioned that here so I'll do it now. It was so great to be able to see those friends again. Some of us were able to get together a day early and brought the kids and husbands (if they weren't working) for some nice family time. And there sure are a lot of kids when we get together now! :) Then at the reunion, it was great to just have some fun adult time with no kids! After that, I realized how much I miss my high school friends but how thankful I am that we can still get together, even if it's just once a year, and it's like nothing has changed. We also had a great time going over old yearbook pictures and memories! Always a good time! 

And finally, we're moving! Again! I know, shocker. We found a two bedroom apartment in Lisbon and will be moving around the second week of August - let us know if you're available to come help. ;-) It's a little smaller than where we've been, but it's nice and super close to work for me - only 8 minutes! And it's only 20 minutes for Austin. Hopefully within a year or so, we can start looking for a house to buy. It's about time we try to settle down in one place, right? No? Maybe. We'll see. :)