A New Place

Well we've gotten ourselves through another successful move! Seriously, we are pros at this whole moving thing! I actually starting thinking about this the other night... how many places I've lived at in my 28 years. And it is a lot. Let's review...

My first home was the red and white house on Prince St, from there it was the house on Oakland, then that little blue house next to the fire station. Then we lived at Lily Lakes Estates and then the little yellow house we rented until we moved out to the farm. Now some of these were during college so I wasn't always living there, but I'm counting them. These were the places I called home. Then there was college: I lived in Centennial Hall for two years, and in two rooms so I'm counting this one twice because I did have to move completely out and back in again. Then there was Founders Hall, I did a brief stint in the Manors for May Term before moving to a condo in Waverly for the summer. There were also the Wartburg West apartments in Denver and finally, Knights Village my senior year. Then it was my first apartment after college, the place on Pinehurst in Waterloo. Crappy apartment, but for the right price. Then Austin and I moved to an apartment on Edgemont (still in Waterloo) for a short six months. After that was the "big move" out west. We lived in a really great apartment but on the dreaded third floor in Council Bluffs before moving to a neat little apartment in Oakland for two years. Next we moved back east and lived in a small house in Reinbeck before a temporary move to Austin's parents until we finally found a place of our own in Lisbon. Where we are now. 

Did you lose count? If you did, that's 20 places. 20 places I've called home for any amount of time. 20 places in 28 years. Our family are angels for helping us move so much. We have a reputation among our friends as the ones that move the most. And it's probably true. It's just been how things have worked out. For the most part, we probably could have stayed put a couple of times. :) 

And as much as I hate packing and moving boxes and furniture, there are somethings I love about a new move. I love the way a place is empty before you bring everything it. It offers a new beginning. It offers the possibilities of making this place your own. Making it a home. And I do enjoy the unpacking part. I love finding places for everything and making sure everything is organized - even if it never stays organized! I love added the personal touches to make it our home, hanging pictures on the wall or a rug on the floor. I love that feeling of a new place. Your own place. But then the novelty wears off... maybe that's why we keep moving. :) 

I would like to say that this is our last move before we look into buying a house and really settling down, but I can't. I can't say something like that because I've learned that life is going to happen. Events happen, people change their mind. Would I like to be looking at buying a house? Absolutely. Both Austin and I feel like we're at that point. But because we have moved so much, I think we're both hesitant about making that big of a commitment to one place. Are we really ready to settle down here? Is this where we want to be? What we want to be doing? Those are questions we don't know the answers to yet. But maybe someday. 

And now back to updating you on our life...

We've moved to Lisbon and so far we're really enjoying it. We're working on getting into our own routine. The shorter commutes to work have been so fantastic. I feel like we get to spend more time with Jacob. 

And speaking of Jacob, some of you may have seen, he got to spend almost a full week up in Minnesota with his Grandparents. He went up right after we moved and Austin and I were able to take advantage of the Jacob-free time to really unpack and organize everything. Jacob had a great time in Minnesota and even got to venture way up North to visit his Aunt Meg and Uncle Dan even came over from Fargo for a visit! As much fun as he had, we were sure glad to get him back home. It was crazy how much we missed him! I've honestly never missed anyone more in my life. A parent's love is a crazy thing! 

Jacob is still being stubborn and not really walking. He's more than capable, just lazy. :) He is standing a lot more and taking steps away from furniture own his own, so it's really just a matter of time before he figures how walking is so much better than crawling. Jacob seems to really like the new apartment, especially the sliding doors -they're perfect for him to look outside. We do have a small balcony and we've spent some time out there blowing and popping bubbles - something Jacob loves to do! 

Jacob continues to be a good eater, but he's not always interested in his own food - he wants to eat whatever you're eating! So there's a lot of sharing at our house now. He also is getting better at saying new words - which I love. He can say "cracker", "bye", "gone" "baby", "nigh nigh", "duck", "quack", "kitty", "dog", "bubble" and "z". :) He also tries to say "thank you". We've starting saying "all gone" when Jacob eats all of his food otherwise he'll continue to ask for more so we hold up our hands and show him that they're empty and say "all gone". Well Jacob has started to do it too! He'll put his arms out and say "gone" but he puts his arms out behind him - too cute. This morning when Daddy left for work, I said to Jacob, "Where'd Daddy go?" Jacob held out his arms and said "gone"! It was adorable. :) 

He does do a lot of "talking"... he'll "read" books to us, talk to his toys or the cupboards. And he also has "learned" how to talk on the phone... if you haven't see the picture or video, you check them out on Facebook. It's so funny! Sometimes when he reads a book, he has to put it right up to his face. And sometimes he puts a lot of emotion into his readings! :) He also LOVES to have you point to things. Anything. But he has to help. He likes to grab your finger and have you point to things. Pictures in a book, pictures or hangings on the wall, the ceiling fan, the mouse in Goodnight Moon, the Owl on the rug... it's endless. And only cute until he won't let you stop. :) The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is still his favorite TV show and he will dance up a storm when it's time for the Hot Dog Song! 

Jacob has also already started the Terrible Twos... which I thought weren't suppose to start until he was actually two! Nope! They've started already. Now, some of this might because we moved to a new place and then sent him to Minnesota so his routine was very much disturbed, I don't know. But he has started to throw fits. When you won't let him play with your phone, when you tell him no and stop playing in the blinds, when you won't give him another cracker, when you won't pick him up because you're doing the dishes, when his toy shapes won't fit in the hole they're not supposed to go in.... you get the idea. And I know it's hard because he can't really communicate to us any other way. Just another joy of parenthood. 

Jacob has finally started to do more and more walking. And he'll do it on his own, without us trying to get him to walk. He'll pull himself up and slowly walk around. He also loves to dance - to pretty much any music! But he will almost always stop when a theme song for a TV show comes on and dance to it, it's pretty cute. He also likes to nod his head yes or shake it no, although I'm not sure he knows what that means yet. :) And he just recently started doing this "big smile" thing where he will show all his teeth and squint his eyes! And he finally enjoys brushing his teeth! Every night, after bath, we go look in the mirror and Jacob will try to push it open. I grab his toothbrush and he'll open his mouth and point to his teeth, ready for me! It makes me smile!  

This is such a fun stage because Jacob is constantly learning and developing and I can't tell you how fun it is to watch! :) 

More Jacob Updates

Who doesn't love Jacob updates? :)

Jacob is teething again, this time he's working on cutting those top front teeth. We've noticed some of the same habits from the last time he was cutting his bottom teeth: waking and feeding more at night, drooling, fighting sleep at night. So we know he's probably in some pain, which is no fun for him. Hopefully they come in sooner rather than later!

Eating solids is still going great. We've tried carrots, bananas, sweet potatoes, green beans, apples and pears. We've made more food and we also have broccoli and peas in the freezer. We did buy some yogurt melts but they're pretty tart, so Jacob isn't a huge fan. Dad is though... :) And we have a couple mesh feeders so I've put banana in that so he can work on feeding himself and maybe work on chewing and not just sucking. Pretty soon we'll have to make another batch of food! Jacob has started eating solids twice a day.

Jacob still loves the sound of his voice and he has started to screech and scream a lot. It's pretty cute and only sometimes annoying. :) He still babbles some other sounds as well, mostly when he thinks we're not listening.

He is also a little wiggle worm, he just wants to move around so much! But he hasn't figured out the crawling thing yet! He's great at rolling to where he wants to go though. This past weekend, he also really started to pick up his feet and "walk" when we hold him up. He had a lot of time in his walker at Grandma and Grandpa's and was just moving all over the kitchen and dining room.

Jacob also has the cutest laugh. And boy does he get going if something is really amusing to him! He's very easily entertained too!

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To continue on the Jacob updates, he is becoming a master at getting what he wants. Ha! He has started to whine if he wants a toy out of reach, or if he falls over and can't get back up, or if you leave him alone in a room. So we're working on not immediately giving in to what he wants and trying to help him understand he has to do some work too! He will also hold out his hands and open and close his hands over and over - when he does that you know he wants something! He will also do a little bounce! It's pretty cute to watch.

We also had a very productive weekend of making more baby food. We were actually up in Minnesota at my parents' and the extra space and help was greatly appreciated! We left with three plastic bags full of frozen baby food! We made apples, pears, zucchini, nectarines, peaches, plums, prunes, cauliflower, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, corn, green beans, peas, chicken stock, and chicken with veggies. Jacob is such a great eater and does really great when trying new foods!

We've also started giving him puffs and rice cakes so he can work on feeding himself. It started off a little rough, but he's really got the hang of it now! In fact, when we went out for breakfast this past weekend, Jacob managed to grab a little handful of pancakes before I took it away from him! :) I'm sure it won't be long now before we will start giving him small pieces of food to eat.

We did end up going into urgent care while we were up in Minnesota too because Jacob looked like he had pink eye. Luckily, we took him in early enough, that it was just starting so he got some drops for his eyes. He is not a fan of those! But it cleared up in just a few days.

Since he still hasn't worked out crawling yet, we've started to "walk" with him. We hold on to his hands and let him take steps forward. It's so cute and fun to watch him do this! Some of the steps are really big, others very small, and sometimes he'll cross his feet in front of one another! I know we're just asking for trouble as we encourage all this moving! :)

Jacob has also started a Kindermusick class in Cedar Falls! We go every Tuesday night and have had two classes so far. They've been a lot of fun, but I think they've been more of a workout for Mom and Dad than they were for Jacob! :) But he loves to watch the other kids run around. The class we're in is for newborns to 18 months and there are some other babies younger than Jacob so he isn't the only one not moving on his own. But the class is great, we love the music and the movement and so does Jacob! He especially loves the bubbles at the end of each class!

I think that's about it for now! :)

Our Six Month Check Up

The time has come for another doctor appointment check up! This is Jacob's 6 month check up. Six months! I have absolutely no idea where the last six months have gone! And can I please have them back? (Okay, maybe not...)

Jacob's doctor's appointment was held on one of the colder days. Normally, Austin and I both try to go to these appointments but because of the time, Austin couldn't leave school early. So it was just me. I decided that this needed to never happen again. Ha! Normally, Austin will drop Jacob and I off at the door so we don't have to walk. This would have been perfect on this cold day! The walk from the car was long and very cold! Plus, Jacob is a big baby. So him plus the weight of the car seat - uff-ta! It really didn't help matters that I was feeling sick and weak myself that day either. So I made a mental note to always schedule his appointments as late in the day as possible so Austin can come along!

Other than that though, the appointment went well. Jacob is measuring right on track! He now weighs 19lbs 12 oz, which puts him in the 85th percentile. His height is 27.25 inches (70%) and his head is 18.25 inches, which puts him back up to 100% there! :) The doctor asked if we were able to fit shirts over Jacob's head and I mentioned that I had just tried to put on a turtleneck that was 12 months but it wouldn't fit over his head. The doctor said he wasn't able to wear turtlenecks until he was a teenager and all of his shirts as a baby had cuts to fit over his head! So he told Jacob that he was probably going to be a doctor with that big head of his! :) Everything checked out great and we go the go ahead to start solids! He also had some more shots, but again, they weren't nearly as bad as that first time and I was able to handle it. :)

Jacob is growing like a weed, and I'm not talking about just his height or weight. The kid is getting smarter every day! He's a great sitter, when he wants to be anyway! Sometimes he likes to just fall over backwards or face first into the pillows around him. He still isn't crawling, he can scoot backwards a little bit though. But mostly, when you put him on his tummy, he'll just roll over. He still loves to stand though, so we're working on doing the motions of walking. Maybe he'll walk before crawling like his daddy did!

Jacob has started to whine if he wants attention or can't reach a toy he wants or he leans forward and rolls over and wants to be set back up. He does this little fake cry. So we're working on him figuring things out for himself. We let him "cry" for a bit to try and get what he wants himself, without our help. My first instinct is to automatically help him out - pick him up or get the toy he wants, but I know he needs to learn to do it himself!

He also has his two bottom front teeth - so cute! But so painful! Teething is not fun for the little man! And you have to be careful putting fingers in his mouth now because those suckers are sharp! Sophie the Giraffe has become one of Jacob's favorite toys right now. It's so easy for him to grab and he loves to chew on it. He'll also put one of the legs in his mouth, bite down and then pull it out. It really is a great toy for any teething baby!

Jacob also received a lot of new toys for Christmas! What a spoiled baby! :) And it's been fun watching him play with those new toys as he figures them out and what they do. He's great about being able to pick up certain toys, reaching out and grabbing new toys. He has one toy that is a dinosaur that has balls that bounce from the inside. Well Jacob has figured out since he can't quite reach inside to grab a ball, he'll grab the side of the toy and tip it sideways to get inside! Such a clever boy!  

Like I mentioned above, we got the go ahead to start solids with Jacob. We've been pretty excited about this and Jacob has definitely been ready. He loves to watch us eat and will often try to reach out and grab our food! I also decided that I wanted to make all of our baby food. I liked the idea of knowing exactly what I was feeding Jacob. We have the Baby Bullet and Steamer and it worked great! Austin and I spent a couple hours over the weekend making different types of baby food and freezing it. It was actually a lot of fun and something we enjoyed being able to do together. We made carrots, pear, apple and sweet potato.

The first food we tried was carrots. Jacob made a lot of faces and it took some time getting use to the taste and texture, but after a couple of days, he is eating them like a pro. We also tried banana and this was much better for Jacob! After just two days, he is eating them up! I think we're going to try the sweet potato next!

Otherwise, I know we're only about a week in, but other than the freezing cold, 2014 is off to a really great start for our family!

Just because

Just a quick update because I can... :)

 

My baby continues to grow every day! Jacob can now sit by himself, although we tend to still keep the boppy or pillows around him because he'll occasionally fall over reaching for a toy or something and our hardwood floors are no fun to fall on! He also loves to face-plant himself into the pillows we put around him. He'll lean forward, face in the pillows, then sit back up with a huge smile on his face. It's pretty adorable. Jacob loves to explore and learn. He absolutely loves his activity table with a walker around it and has learned how to move himself some around the table to reach different toys. Just the other night, after finally getting batteries in the table, Jacob would hit some of the buttons and just squeal in delight! He will also work so hard to try and get something he wants. There's one toy that spins but Jacob wanted to put it in his mouth but it doesn't bend, just spins. But Jacob tried and tried to get it closer to his mouth, spinning it away! It was pretty cute to watch. He's still not crawling but is a pro and rolling back and forth from his back to tummy or tummy to back. And he is getting so close to crawling!

 

We've also tried some new things with Jacob to help with some tummy issues recently. Jacob has now tried prunes... something he is not a fan of! His face was priceless after those first bites! And he's tried some apple juice - out of sippy cup even - and he kept making a face when he would get a taste but wanted more! I'm sure it was pretty sweet and tart for him! I'm glad we gave it to him in a sippy cup versus a bottle because it was such a new flavor for him. Jacob also LOVES to watch us eat our food. And of course, he wants some! :) He's such a curious boy! And he'll reach out and try to grab our food if it's close enough! In fact, he was quick enough to grab Great-Grandpa's roll at Thanksgiving! I think it's going to be really fun to start introducing him to new foods since he's so curious! I'm planning on making all our baby food too so that should be quite an adventure for me! :)

 

Jacob has been teething for a while now, dealing with sore gums - which has not been fun for any of us! He loves to just gnaw on anything he can get his hands on - teethers, clothes, burp clothes, toys... But finally we can say some of his pain has been worth all the trouble its caused! Jacob's first tooth has started to make an appearance! His bottom front right tooth has cut. Pretty exciting find for me as I was letting Jacob chew on my finger the other night. :)

Our bath chair finally came in the mail and has made bath time a lot more fun and a lot easier! We actually put the chair in a laundry basket in the tub for two reasons. One, the bottom of our tub is textured so the chair won't suction to it. And two, the laundry basket actually keeps all of his toys reachable for him! Thank you Pinterest for the life hack! :) So bath time is still a lot of fun for Jacob! And he knows after he eats, he gets to take a bath. He will eagerly look towards the bathroom when he hears the water running!

And eating his evening meal is getting so much easier! Jacob has gotten so great about opening his mouth wide for a big spoonful of rice cereal! As we get closer to his 6 month appointment, I'm excited for when we can start trying new foods! I'm still planning on making all our baby food too so it would be nice to get a start on that!

Also, if you haven't visited our Vimeo video page recently, check it out. I try to update it as much as possible with some fun little videos of Jacob! I think it helps for all our family since they live far away. :)