Adventures at Home

It has been a big week for us! It started out with an overnight visit from Jess and Nate last Tuesday. We really miss being next door neighbors with them, so it was nice to be able to hang out for a couple of days. We showed them around Salem, and stopped at this pond to take some family pictures. This was a first for us with our new little boy! I'd been putting it off for nearly 2 months, hoping I would lose some of the prego poundage I was carting around. It was an awesome couple of days, and we are dreading the day that they move to Arizona for dental school :(
The next fun thing was yet another sleepover! My good friend Sarah is leaving for her mission this week, so on Friday she drove up from Cedar City. Our other old roommate Jessica drove down with her husband Jeremy and 5 month old daughter Lilee from Boise. We had such a blast, cooked dinner together, and stayed up talking until 3 AM. Something funny: Lilee is a realllyyyyy tiny 5 month old. She was only slightly larger than our 2 month old son. It was so strange seeing a baby Jake's size looking so coordinated. Saturday afternoon the reunion ended, and we said our teary goodbyes to Sarah.


Yesterday Jake had his 2 month check-up. I can't believe he's already so old! and not only old, but so big! He weighs 12 pounds 4 ounces, putting him in the 69th percentile, and he is 23 inches long! (58th percentile). What a big boy! For those of you who have kids, you know what the real point of these check-ups is: SHOTS. It was Jake's first round of vaccinations. I was a bit nervous, having read about all the possible side effects and reactions. But I decided to go for it. I am pretty sure Jake would have gone the other way, had it been up to him. When the nurse started doing the shots, Jake became very quiet and red. By the 3rd shot, he was completely purple in the face--Then he let out the loudest wail! it was so sad! But we both survived and headed home to face an evening with tender thighs (Jake) and tender hearts (me and Wes). Jake bore it like a champ, and we spoiled him with lots of cuddles and kisses. He even got to do his favorite thing--A half hour bath with mom. We played til the water was tepid and our hands were wrinkly. Wes decided to snap a few pics of the fun. I was skeptical at first, but they turned out so cute! Yay for random photo-ops. The night ended with an episode of Lost (Wes and I have finally started watching). Jake got another small leg rub and thanks to the makers of Infant Tylenol we all got a pretty good nights rest.

Gratitude

It's been 3 weeks already since my last post! it's crazy how fast the time goes, and it amazes me how much Jake changes every single day. I'm starting to forget what he was like as a tiny newborn. At this point he is already over 7 weeks old. He spends all of his waking hours diligently working on his neck muscles, trying to hold his head up. Jake is sort of a strange duck. He won't allow anyone to hold him in the "baby" position - you know, cradled in your arm. he has to either be standing on your lap, trying to hike up your chest, or be thrown over your shoulder like a sack of potatoes. We aren't quite sure what this alludes to about his future personality, but its pretty funny. Also, when laying on his back, he always turns his head to the right. He's actually starting to get a lopsided head, so we are constantly turning his head to look left. The pediatrician doesn't seem concerned, but i'm still trying to correct it. I was collecting a bunch of pictures for Jake's album, and realized he is looking to the right in every single one. He definitely has a mind of his own. I've got to say, I feel very lucky these days. Being a mom is hard work for sure, but it's so rewarding! Jake is just getting cuter every day, smiling at me like crazy, and developing his little personality. even the crying isn't so bad, because he looks so funny when he is doing it. Poor kid is crying and i just end up laughing at him. The other day, he was screaming for food while we were driving home. When we finally got there, and got him some milk, he expressed instant relief, and sucked like crazy for about 10 seconds. Then, he paused, looking up at me. All of a sudden he cracks this huge smile, letting milk pour out of his mouth all over the place. It was a huge mess, but so worth it. Already, Jake is learning to express gratitude.

A couple of his firsts - First nap in his crib, and first haircut. I know it seems a bit early, but what can I say? I'm a hairdresser and he was growing a small rattail. It had to go.