Bubble Ambiance

As already mentioned, the bubble machine was a big hit! Hopefully I can post the video, so you can see Jake just look at these bubbles in amazement .... but here are some pictures for now.

SUGAR RUSH

Jake loved every bite of the icing and cake (chocolate and vanilla). When we gave him a cupcake on his actual birthday, he was a little confused on what to do, so he just licked the icing and basically played with the cupcake. Fast forward a couple of days to his party...and Jake acted like quite the PRO - shoving the icing and cake in his mouth at a rapid rate :-) As far as making a mess, on a scale of 1-10, I would say maybe a 6....it really wasn't TOO bad! I think he mainly wanted to make sure all of the crumbs got into his mouth!! He figured if Mommy was letting him eat all of this sugar, he should probably take advantage :-)

Jake's Party!!

This past Saturday was Jake's 1st birthday party. I decided to forego the petting zoo and moon bounce ..... and I opted only for a $14.99 bubble machine - which was actually REALLY cool, and I highly recommend it - for any party! The highlight of the party (besides Jake) was that Gram and Poppy and Aunt Jenn, Aunt Becky, and Aunt Katy all came down for the weekend! It was great having them here - and so nice of them considering it is an 8 hour drive - and they got here late Friday night and left early Sunday morning. THANK YOU GUYS FOR COMING!!!!!! It was a very special day! Jake was in bed on Friday before they got here, so when he woke up on Saturday morning - he had quite the surprise. THAT started out his FUN, FUN day!! Here are some of the highlights....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAKE!!!

So, I'm a little behind since Jake turned 1 a week ago today - Jan 28 (they tell me to give them 2-3 more weeks and the internet out here will be working fine....but I still wanted to post as many pictures as I could from his actual birthday...and then party this past weekend). Here are a couple pictures of Jake right after he was born - and then from his birthday night eating a cupcake :-) It's amazing the changes that a year brings.

Here are the stats -

Birth weight: 8lbs .3 oz

Birth height: 20 inches

1 year weight: 28 lbs

1 year heights: 31 inches

We just had his 1 year check-up on Monday ..... and I survived the 4 shots barely. :-) This was the first appointment that Jake actually was realizing (and caring) what they were doing....and didn't really want them doing it :-) Before, he just has been a big flirt with the nurses and doctors, so maybe he was more resistant this time b/c of the new office and doctors....or maybe because he actually just didn't like someone giving him a head to toe check up - and then shots! Overall, though - he did really well...not too many tears, and he enjoyed the puffs that he got to eat right after the shots!! On a funny note, when the nurse was weighing him at first, she told me he weighed in at 15lbs, and I was like, "um, that definitely isn't right?" She didn't believe me, but she said she would do it again. I told her that if he weighed 15lbs that that would mean that he lost 9lbs since his 9 month appt, and I was pretty sure my back proved that that wasn't the case. In any event, she weighed him again - and we finally got the correct weight of 28 lbs :-) 15lbs - ha!

What an amazing year this has been! Jake, I know you can't read this....but you are such a blessing to us! You bring so much JOY to our daily lives, and I feel so fortunate to be your Mom!

The Penguin

A couple of weeks ago, Mom-Mom and Pap-Pap came to visit and brought Jake his Christmas and birthday presents. It was really great to see them - and Jake was so excited to see them that he didn't even take a nap the WHOLE day...and stayed happy :-) Anyway, one of the presents was this penguin (in the pictures), and when you knock it around, it plays music. It has a weight at the bottom of it, so when you hit it, it always pops back up. Well, I thought Jake was just going to think this was the best thing since sliced bread....and he does now, BUT it took a little while. When the penguin first got blown up, Jake was SOOOO scared! I mean, we would put it in the kitchen (Jake's favorite room in the house, b/c it's the room we want him in the least), but he wouldn't even step foot in the kitchen if the penguin was anywhere in there....and he would shutter and start to cry when he would come face to face with it. It was half funny and half sad. Eventually, Chris and I decided to work with him and help him enjoy the penguin, so we played for a while with the penguin...and Jake eventually came around. NOW, I randomly will see him hugging the penguin, so they have become friends now, but it sure was funny at the beginning.

Matt and Jake bond

Matt and Jul visited over the holiday weekend! We had a lot of fun - except for the fact that I got sick, BUT it was still great having them here - and Jake (of course) loved having them on "his turf" :-) Jake and Matt really bonded - and we are looking forward to them coming back and visiting SOON!! I mean, it's not like they have anything going on this year ;-)

Bundling up

Can you believe it snowed here last week? I mean, just heavy flurries, and it didn't stick, but still! It has been COLD! I hear it's the coldest it has been down here for like 14 years or something like that?! Must be global warming coming in.... BUT - regardless, it's hard getting Jake all dressed up nice and warm for the cold weather, but he sure is absolutely CUTE when he gets all bundled up (if I do say so myself) :-)