"new" toy

For Christmas, Nana gave Jake the Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Learning Home. Since he received lots of other toys, we decided to save this one for later. Well, yesterday was later. We set it up yesterday afternoon, and Jake LOVES it. He got so excited when we set it up that he repeatedly got himself into a seated position so he could play with it! He has managed to get to a seated position twice before, but there were a few days in between. I think he's figured it out and remembers how to do it now:) He loves to stand and walk along the front and side of the house, as well as open the door. He also really enjoys opening and closing the window. Thanks, Nana, it's a hit!

9 month pictures

On Saturday we were able to get Jake's 9 month pictures taken and are thrilled with how they turned out. He is such a happy boy and very photogenic... it makes it hard to narrow it down when they're all so good! Looking back at his three month pictures, his facial expressions really haven't changed much. It's amazing how similar they are except that he has more hair now!

Here are the ones we chose:

Here are some of our other favorites:

happy birthday, lucas!

Today is our nephew Lucas's 5th birthday. Sadly we were unable to make it in for his party yesterday, but we wish we had been there. Jake loves Lucas, especially when Lucas plays peekabo with him. Happy birthday, Lucas. We're so glad you like all of your new art supplies! We love you!

The birthday boy enjoying his new easel from Nana.

Lucas always makes Jake laugh with his antics. This picture just doesn't show Jake's amusement very well... the brightly colored keys were distracting him:)

Lucas playing peekabo with Jake.

uh oh, spaghetti oh!

Yesterday at play group, we had one of the best activities ever! We filled plastic swimming pools up with cooked spaghetti and let the kids play. Thanks, Gretchen and Amber, for cooking all that spaghetti... I think it was a total of seven pounds! Jake was the only kid that really seemed to enjoy actually sitting in the spaghetti and playing with it. I think the older kids were distracted by all of the other fun toys at Amber's house. Jake really liked playing with the shovel and the spaghetti. He definitely is not afraid to get his hands wet or messy! I foresee many loads of laundry in the future. We had a great time and maybe I'll have to fill the bathtub up with spaghetti sometime:)

Anxiously awaiting the spaghetti to fill the pool:)

Ready to get in and play. Mommy just needs to take his clothes off!

Playing in the spaghetti with Zach.

Having fun with Mommy.

Zach checking out the fun over in the big kids spaghetti pool:)

Loving the spaghetti. He's got a huge grin (my camera was too slow to catch it with his head up).

Feeling the cool texture of the spaghetti.

Look what I've got, Mommy!

Wait, there's more in this bowl!

january heat wave

Since Monday it has gotten up into the 60s here in South Carolina, which is warmer than usual for this time of year. We have been outside enjoying the weather in the afternoons, running with friends and swinging at the park. Jake loved swinging; he got very excited when he would get close to me. Monday was a school holiday, so the park was packed with kids running crazy everywhere. I think Jake liked watching the other children more than he did swinging!

9 months

It's hard to believe Jake is already nine months old! He has finally decided he is interested in moving. While he is not crawling yet, he loves to pull up and stand at furniture and can even move a few steps down the coffee table. I think seeing Jackson and Paige at Christmas spurred him into action because that was the turning point in his sedentary lifestyle! He remains a fantastic eater and loves to feed himself. He can pick up bananas, carrots, peas, mandarin oranges, and peaches to feed himself as well as puffs, mums, and teething biscuits. The newest additions to his diet are yogurt and tilapia- he loves them both! He is getting quite verbal. He can say both mama and dada but indiscriminately. He has a lion above his changing table, and he is very good at growling like a lion when you point to it:) It seems like he's doing something new every day. He is so much fun, and we are enjoying every minute!

He goes for his checkup on Tuesday, and we'll let you know how much he's grown. Here are some recent pictures. Enjoy!

He loves being able to "pick out" his own books to read:)

Determined to get those shapes!

Happy under the exersaucer.

first snow

Jake experienced his first snow while we were in Louisville for Christmas. He did SEE snow on our drive home, but he actually FELT snow that week. It didn't snow very much, but it was enough for us to put him in his snowsuit and snap some pictures. He was very interested in tasting the snow, and apparently he thought it tasted pretty good. It's a good thing it snowed while we were in Kentucky because it's a rarity South Carolina!

fancy camera

Uncle Tom and Aunt Sarah had their fancy camera out at Christmas and took some fantastic pictures of Jake. Here are some of our favorites.

He LOVES this spoon!

Showing off his front teeth.

We love this facial expression.

Talking with his hands:)

Such a sweet smile!

He loves chewing on this spoon. It's a soft, rubbery texture so its fun and safe to chew on:) It has countless teeth marks!

You can actually see his bottom teeth in this one.

Cards lose again...

We had friends over to watch the UofL and UK basketball game in hopes that it would go better than football did this year.  I'll keep my opinions about the function of the rules regarding elbows to myself (see www.ncaapublications.com for official game rules. apparently the refs didn't read them).  We did have fun hanging out, and Beth made fantastic quesadillas on her new Cuisinart Griddler.  We also remembered to get out Jake's UofL bear that sings the fight song and "Go, Cards, Go!" and he still gets excited every time he hears it!

Jake was enthralled. Yes, we did invite our local UK fans.

Jake loving his singing Cardinal bear. Jake very strategically blocking out Jeremy's UK shirt:)

christmas vacation: a photo essay

We hit snow just north of Knoxville while driving home to Louisville for Christmas. It was the first time Jake had ever seen snow, and he seemed to like it- as much as a baby can like snow from a  car window:)

The snow stopped traffic in both directions on the interstate, and an 8 hour trip (already lengthened due to a detour for the rock slide) turned into a 10 1/2 hour drive. We saw many cars in the ditch between north- and southbound lanes. Luckily we made it in one piece and managed to stay on the road without incident.

The week before Christmas, we were able to spend the night at my sister's house and have an entire day to play with our niece and nephews. It was a crazy day... Knox and Lucas were full of energy!

Jake and Paige playing together.

Jake enjoying his rocking chair from Aunt Suzy.

Jake couldn't take his eyes off Maggie. He LOVES dogs!

Jake loved the chair back spindles at his Great Grandma's house; they are the perfect size for his little hands. I think he could have stood there all day holding onto them.

Jake was able to meet more family while we were in town. He met his Great Aunt Dale and Great Uncle Mike, as well as his Great Uncle Dave and Great Aunt Mary Ann. Thanks for the visit!

Great Aunt Dale and Jake. That cup was his favorite toy!

Great Uncle Mike and Jake. The neoprene camera case was a close second!

Great Aunt Mary Ann, Jake, and Great Uncle Dave.

Grammy and Grandpa planted a Norway spruce in Jake's honor. They hope to plant a tree for every grandchild they are blessed with. Here is a picture of Jake in front of his tree (complete with lights) with Grammy and Grandpa.

Jake was ready to go Christmas morning.

Jake's favorite part of his packages were the bows. He even tried to taste one...

Clearly he didn't think it tasted as good as it looked!

One of the funniest and most unusual gifts was the Mark bobble head. Mom sent in two pictures of Mark, a profile and a full frontal, and this is what a bobble head of Mark looks like. It is now proudly displayed at his office. I think it's pretty close to perfect:)

Jake had his first fever on Christmas night. He was definitely acting under the weather and enjoyed snuggling with Daddy as he opened presents at his Great Grandma's house.

Uncle Tom got some snuggle time with Jake, too.

We celebrated with my family on the 26th. Here is Jake in front of Nana's tree playing with the train we gave him. He was still under the weather with a fever and feeling not so great. He was definitely a cuddly boy.

He really liked Uncle Brad's package. He just wanted to sit and play on top of it. Uncle Brad didn't seem to mind.

Jake liked it so much that Uncle Brad even let him help unwrap it.

All the little ones enjoying Nana's new rug. It was impossible to get them to all look at the camera at the same time. Maybe next time...

Aunt Stephanie and Anna.

Jake got tired of riding in the car on the way home so we decided to take a little stretch break. Apparently Jake just wanted a chance to drive! He's a quick study- he managed to honk the horn and turn the windshield wipers on.