Too funny

I don't really know what else to say. This just cracks me up. He's been doing it ALL day.

Love bites

Remember when I said I was going to stop biting Jacob? It was in a previous post when I described how he dangerously stuck his fingers in the back of my mouth when I was pretend-biting his hand and his little finger got sandwiched between my molars (I guess I need to work on those "pretend" skills).

Well, it turns out, Jacob loves biting as well. And don't underestimate those 6 teeth, people. They are SHARP, and they HURT. Oh, and there is no biting discrimination. It's your face, shoulder, knee, stomach (yes, stomach)...not to mention the coffee table, crib, and leather wallets (must be like raw hide to a baby?) Not thinking much of it because all babies gnaw on various things, I dismissed it as a simple baby behavior.

Then, I saw an article in one of my baby newsletters entitled "My baby bites. What's going on?" The "expert" opinion read like so:

"If teething isn't the cause and your child doesn't seem particularly anxious about something (which can sometimes be behind biting), try to nip this behavior in the bud now, before it becomes a habit. Be sure that no one laughs when your child bites and that no one, including older siblings, treats biting as a game or ever gives your baby a 'love bite.'"

What? No more love bites?? But how?? How in the world do you do this? How do you not bite your baby? I just don't understand :( I am distraught. I want to inhale him -- how can I not give him love bites? Unfortunately, this is a behavior that I cannot control. I need to go to a baby biting anonymous class.

All this time, I've just been teaching him to bite more. Shame on me.

But really, don't you want to bite him too?

A Time for Thanks

I too often forget to take time to voice what I am thankful for. So, in the spirit of the holiday...

I'm thankful that we caught Jacob's ear infection today before it became a severe case resulting in too many sleepless nights (last night was enough.) I'm thankful that he is happy and healthy and for his goofy laugh that fills my heart every time I hear it. I'm thankful for my wonderful mother and father-n-law who took amazing care of Jacob while Mark and I got to waste away 8 days in Jamaica sleeping, eating and reconnecting. I'm thankful to have the choice to stay home with my son even if it is the hardest job I've ever had. I'm so thankful for friends...my amazing moms in Chicago, my dearly missed friends in San Francisco (can't wait to see you again) and, most especially, my girls (you all know who you are). I am thankful for apple pie, Ann Sather's cinnamon roles, eggnog lattes, and red wine. I am thankful that I belong to a gym that has a nursery so that I can go work off the aforementioned calorie-filled sweets I'm thankful for.

I'm thankful for my husband who almost always gets up in the morning with Jacob so that I can get a few more precious moments of sleep. I'm thankful for his patience, for his understanding, and for helping me every single day with taking care of baby Jake.

Tonight I am most filled with thanks for my family. For being there for me, and each other, without question and without limits. I am incredibly sad we can't be there to celebrate this holiday with you.

We did it!

Jacob was 42 weeks old yesterday! Yay!!

Why is this significant, you ask? He has finally been in this world longer than he was in my belly. Pregnancy is LONG my friends.

I don't know where they come up with this stuff

Back to reality. We got home from Jamaica late Sunday night. Jacob was fast asleep...I don't think Mark or myself have ever been more excited for Jacob's 5 am wake up time the next day. We were quickly back in the swing of things.

Jacob had his 9 month check up yesterday morning. Everything looks great and he's meeting all his milestones. He's still off the charts in weight too...which got me thinking about these baby growth charts.

So, Jacob weighed in at 26 lb. 12 oz. If you notice his weight line, it's above the shaded area (and we're not talking barely above here, we're talking at least 2 lbs. above which, in baby weight, is a lot!) This means that Jacob is as heavy, or heavier than 95% of the infant population. And he's been that way for 8 1/2 months now. This makes me wonder...where is the fattest baby and how much does he weigh (or should I dare wonder, how much does she weigh?) I'm fascinated by this so, of course, I had to do some research.

On October 26, 2007, it is believed that the world's fattest baby was born in Siberia. Nadia (a baby GIRL!) was born weighing 17.1 lbs. She was allowed to go home after a month. She is the youngest of twelve (TWELVE!) children. Holy moly, I pray for that family (specifically for that mother).

http://in.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idINIndia-30182820071026

So, Since Jacob didn't reach 17 pounds until he was 2 months old, I think we can safely rule out that he is not the fattest baby. Our doctor says that his growth, according to the charts, has been completely normal, even if he does form his own line on those silly things. Check it out:

One love.....one heart....let's get together and....

Mark and I have been in Jamaica for 6 days now. Ya 'mon.

We have had the most amazing vacation but there are 2 things I have learned:

1) Drinking dirty bananas, mudslides, miami vices, etc. all day has a different effect on me now and I can no longer handle my alcohol as expertly as I used to (ok, this is up for debate.)

2) I miss Jacob so badly I can smell him in my sleep.

Ugh. Please get us home as soon as possible??

I would forward these via email but...

...the Picture People's website isn't working and won't let me "share" these photos with you all. So, instead, I've hijacked them and will post our favorites here. :)

These were taken yesterday -- they are Jacob's 9 month pictures. He is such a HAM!

p.s. You can click on each picture to see a larger version of it.

If you're happy and you know it...

...clap your hands!

Jet-setter Jacob

Mark, Jacob and I just got back from Tracy's wedding in Miami yesterday. Oh my gosh, was she stunning. I remember the day I met her in 2001 when I first interviewed at Duke for the MBA program. We were sitting in the lobby waiting to go on our tour of the facilities and we just started chatting. I was so impressed by how much she knew about the program, the people, etc. I had done my own research of course, but she just blew my efforts away. I swear I owe part of my acceptance into Duke to her. In the short time we spent together that day, I learned so much more about the program and in turn, knew what great questions to ask during my interview. There began our friendship. It's so wild to think about how much has happened since that day. I am so incredibly happy for her and Matt.

This was Jacob's 4th roundtrip flight and I understand now why people say to travel with babies when they are very young. Now that he is mobile, that kid doesn't want to sit still! He still does really well on planes though. On Friday, he finally started waving. I've been trying to get him to do this for months. Every single day, Mark and I would wave "hi" when we'd see him and "bye bye" when we'd leave. I'd take his little arm and shake it up and down and say "bye bye" over and over again. I thought he'd never figure it out. Then Friday morning, randomly, I just said "bye bye Jacob" and he just started waving his arm up and down emphatically. And he hasn't stopped since. Mark was walking him up and down the aisles on the plane and he was waving at everyone. I was cracking up from the back of the plane as I watched him (in Mark's arms) wave at everyone in the seats as he passed them by. And everyone waved back. Ahhh, what a proud momma I was.

So now our little guy has been to Houston, Austin, Kansas and Miami. And I have a little hunch he'll be visiting San Francisco soon :) What a little jet-setter he is.

Check him out enjoying Miami.

Hmmm. Who knew?

Give the kid a straw, and he drinks from it.