Birthday Bash!

Well, it's official....my baby is now 1! He turned 1 on Saturday, and I can't believe how fast time is flying by! Most of our family were able to visit to help celebrate! It was so nice having everyone here!! Jake is blessed to have so many people who love him! Cousins: Noah 2, Jake 1, Teagan 8 months. They loved playing together! He wasn't too sure about his cake at first. He was very delicate with his cake and never really smashed it, but he did LOVE the frosting :) The balloons were a big hit with the kids and provided tons of entertainment. It was such a beautiful day that we were able to spend a lot of time outside too! Jake loves being outside, but today was the first time he has ever been out there in bare feet. Needless to say, he was not a fan of the grass touching his feet :) He tried so hard to keep them off of the ground. This past year has been amazing, and Jason and I look forward to all the new adventures life will bring!

11 Months Old!!

Jake turned 11 months on Wednesday. I can't believe he will be 1 in a month...crazy!!! Over the last month, Jake cut 2 new teeth and had his first ever bout with the stomach flu. Between those two events, Jake became pretty dependent on me rocking him at nights. He started fighting sleep and waking up multiple times at night because he wanted to snuggle with mommy. I finally broke down and read Ferber's sleep training book. Jake has always been a decent sleeper until this last month, so we have never had to let him cry it out...EVER, and Jason and I were both terrified to do it! Well, the first night we put him to bed an hour later than normal at 8 (wonderful idea by Jason). Wouldn't you know it, the little stinker went straight to sleep and slept all night! No major crying!! He fussed for about 2 minutes to see if I would come in, and when I didn't he just rolled over and conked out! Ever since then he has also started really loving his blankie! I couldn't resist risking nap time for a picture because he is just too darn cute!! Jake cuddles right on top of his blankie to sleep!!

I have started taking Jake to Kid's Court at our Rec center twice a week! (Thanks Rachel for the info!) There is an area set up for kids to explore and play. Jake couldn't get enough of it!

On a sadder note, Jake encountered his first bully last weekend. We were all out and about last weekend, and Jason and I took Jake to the kid's play area in the mall. It was pretty busy. At first Jake was pretty timid but soon set out to explore. I was walking right behind him to make sure that nobody ran into him. A little boy, probably about 3 years old ran right up to Jake, made a karate sound and kicked him in the face. I yelled 'no' at the other child, who then giggled at me and ran away. Jason and I furiously looked for the child's parents and weren't that shocked that they weren't anywhere to be found. Jake didn't cry for very long, but he had a bruise on his forehead. Thank God that other child only had socks on and not shoes.

Just Cruising Around!

Jake just learned how to use his walking toy this weekend! Now he is playing with it constantly :) He walks around talking up a storm with a big grin on his face!

10 Months Old & A Snow Day!!

Jake turned 10 months old today! I had him at the doc's on Monday because he kept messing with his ears and tilting his head. I thought it was an ear infection, but he is just teething. He has 6 teeth now, and I'm sure there are more on the way. He weighed in at a little over 21 lbs. He has gained a pound in the last month. As you can see Jake loves to eat, and he has no problems begging for a treat :) I think he learned this behavior from Reagan! Jason was home with us today because of the blizzard. This is me in front of our stairs leading to the front door. It better warm up soon because I am NOT digging those things out from under the snow! It sure is hard work shoveling!!!

Round and Round We Go!

Today, Jake kept walking around his music table while talking very loudly to himself. He is pretty proud of himself that he can get around so well! He was too funny!

Standing Mania

Now that Jake has figured out the art of standing up and sitting down, it is all we do. He is starting to slowly cruise along the edges of the furniture, so I'm sure just standing up will soon be out of style. Jake had his 9 month checkup a few weeks ago. He is 20 lbs 3 oz and 28 in. tall. Jake also just cut his 5th tooth. He is growing up way to fast!! My favorite thing that he does is that when he hears the garage door at night, he crawls over to the top of the stairs to wait for Jason. He is always so excited to see his Daddy come home! Jason and I spent our first night away from Jake last weekend. We had a wonderful, relaxing time and it was really nice spending one on one time with Jason again. We missed our little guy and were so excited to see him when we got home! Thanks Grandma Connie for watching him! Jake and Reagan are now inseparable! They have quickly become BFF's. Jake has always loved Reagan, and now that Jake feeds himself and her, Reagan LOVES him too :) We have to baby gate Jake out of the kitchen when Reagan eats her food because he will try to eat the dog food right along with her. They are quite the pair. Well, I'd better wrap this up and head to bed. Here are just a few more random pics of Jake playing.....well, Jake and Jason :)

Look Mom!!!

Jake has been pulling himself up since the day after Christmas, but last night he figured out that he can stand up in his crib. The sad part is that he can't quite figure out how to sit back down. Not a big deal during the day, but at 1am and 4am it's a little harder.