Fearless

Jacob shows no fear on the playground. We go to this particular one near our house frequently and he has conquered climbing the baby playset and slide. I say "conquered" lightly because there are still times when he gets so excited and literally tries to RUN off the top of the slide. I have to remind him (in my loud, scary mom voice) "Sit Jacob, SIT!!!!" We did this yesterday about 50 times (ok, maybe 10 times, but it felt like 50.) :)

He also doesn't even hesitate climbing the big kids playset and sliding down the big slide but momma isn't quite ready for that. Instead, I make him sit in my lap as we go down. I'm so afraid he's going the fly right off the end of that thing and land on his head.

Reunited and it feels so good!

Jacob reunited with an old buddy from Chicago last week. Luke and his mommy Katie were in the Bay Area visiting family and we couldn't wait to see them. Luke used to suck on Jacob's toes and fingers when they were babies. Looks like Jacob couldn't wait to return the favor.

I miss my Chicago mommies!

Back in business

We're back online after a brief, but extra busy week. We finally moved into our new home this past weekend and have been unpacking boxes ever since. Every time we move I tell myself "I'm not doing this again. I am SO not doing this again." And somehow, 1-2 years later, I'm doing this again. I tell you what, we are super efficient unpackers these days and moving so frequently does force us to trash unnecessary items. I fantasize about becoming a minimalist and want to cry every time I unwrap yet another picture frame. Really, how many picture frames can a person have? We finally bit the bullet and threw away the 50 shot glasses we had accumulated over the years. (All this time we rationalized that they were souvenirs therefore they should continue to take up space in our cabinets. Believe it or not, all they did was collect dust from move to move -- we are not the party animals some of you think we are!)

All in all though, the move went very well. Jacob is getting adjusted nicely and loves that he has the whole downstairs to roam. We also love to spend warm days outside in the backyard throwing and kicking the ball around. (It's a game of fetch really. Jacob throws and mommy fetches. Jacob kicks and mommy fetches.)

I have also realized a few important things about living in a single family home:

1) Garages ROCK my world. Seriously, I spend significantly more money at the grocery store now because I know I can pull into the garage and drop the bags off in the kitchen (as opposed to hauling them up 2 flights of stairs in our previous condo/apartment buildings.)

2) Life is different with a yard. I love looking outside the kitchen window at our orange, lemon, and lime trees and the gorgeous red roses that line the fence. Is this truly my home? We really lack green thumbs in this family so I pray everyday that we don't kill our wildlife outside.

3) I LOVE not having to answer to anyone when it comes to our home. No apartment management offices or condo association boards. We can do whatever we want! So THERE.

Stay tuned for updated pics of Jacob at his many playdates in our new neighborhood -- we've been socializing up a storm!!!

Home schooling

Each day, Mark and I are amazed by how much Jacob understands what we are saying. He loves to read books and point to pictures and look to us for the names of things. I bought flashcards the other day because I thought he'd get a kick out of looking at the pictures and hearing the words. Already he has learned the names of so many more objects!

Bye bye curls

Jacob had his very first haircut last night and Mark and I have been mourning the loss of his little curls ever since. It seemed like a good idea at the time to clean up the craziness that had started to swarm his head, but now he looks even less like a baby and more like a little man!

The hairdresser asked me if I wanted to keep some of his hair and I said "no, that's okay" and she gave me a look of horror. Self-consciously, I changed my mind immediately and said "okay, I'll keep some" (as if this change of heart would redeem myself in her eyes.) So, now I have pieces of Jacob's hair in a plastic lunch baggy. You'd think they would give you a special box or something?

BEFORE:

DURING:

AFTER (YAY!):

Mr. Cheeks

There still isn't a day that goes by that someone doesn't stop me and say "I just want to squeeze those cheeks!!" (To Jacob. Not me. I hope.)

I find it hysterical that my son's most distinct feature is his enormous cheeks. Not his big brown eyes (although people do comment on those beautiful peepers.) Not his chubby thighs (at least not to my face anyway.) They just L-O-V-E his cheeks. Personally, I don't blame them. I get to smother them with kisses everyday so I understand their jealousy (err, fascination.)

I got a little nostalgic and started looking at old pictures of Jacob in his earlier months. Let me tell you, he has grown into those cheeks significantly. It's hard to believe that they used to be exponentially larger, but it's true. See for yourself!

Jacob at 5 months:

Jacob at 14 months: (I would say he's grown into those chubby cheeks nicely.)

Swim diapers

Swim diapers. I'm not really sure how they are different than regular diapers. Our swim school requires a "special" swim diaper that is reuseable (no disposable kinds for this crew.) I ran into a mother a few weeks ago that takes classes at the same swim school that we're going to and she said that her swim class had been cancelled that day. "A baby pooped in the pool, so they are draining it" she said.

You should have seen the look on my face (well, obviously I didn't see my own expression, but I imagine I was looking quite horrified.) What if Jacob poops in the pool and we have to clear everyone out? This is a big place people!

And what is this "special" swim diaper for if it's not protecting the pool from random baby poop? I have considered diapering him twice (swim diaper, then regular diaper, then swim trunks). Certainly, that would be armor enough in case a little poop tries to escape? Agh, I just cannot imagine the thought of it. I guess we'll just have to pray every Wednesday that Jacob has his "movement" before 8:45 am.

The oh-so-protective swim diaper (doesn't look like much, does it?):



Ok, mom, let's go!



How cute is baby Ethan??!!



Ready to get in the pool...



Ethan and his momma Shauna:

My kind of playdate

Jacob and I went on 3 playdates last week and let me tell you, if we keep up this frequency, we're each going to gain 10 pounds. The highlight of our last playdate was the flourless chocolate cake and the white wine (oops, am I speaking for myself again?) I meant to say that the highlight of our last playdate was the puppy dogs. Yep, that's what I meant. Jacob loovveesss going to Shauna and baby Ethan's so that he can press his little face against the glass door and oooohhh and aaaahhhh over the dogs outside. Every time this happens, I convince myself that we need a dog. A few hours later, I always have a moment of clarity (probably after the wine wears off) and I realize that this is the dumbest idea on the planet. We'll just go to Shauna and Ethan's for our puppy fix. :)

Baby Nemo

Jacob had his first formal swim lesson yesterday, and it was a blast! I heard so many praises about this swim school when I started researching where to go. Our friends Shauna and baby Ethan were on board as well, so we signed up together. After being on the waitlist for 2 months (geez) we finally got into a class on Wednesdays.

Jacob has always liked the water, but I was nervous about taking him to any structured swim activity, mostly because he likes to do his own thing these days and I was afraid he'd have a meltdown in the pool. As always, he surprised me and was an angel! When we first got into the water, he was clinging on to me for dear life (and didn't appreciate the instructors attempts to pull him away from me.) Toward the end though, I was fighting to keep him in my arms. The kid seems to think he already knows how to swim and kept squirming to get out of my grip. I couldn't believe it. It reminded me of all those stories I heard growing up of my older brother, Frank, running into the ocean when he had no idea how to swim. That Ildebrando is fearless. (Or crazy. I vote crazy.)

I wish I had taken some pictures of our new little Nemo. I'll try to snap one of him next week in his too-cute swim diaper. I'm sure he'll appreciate that 15 years from now.