A night (day) out on the town!

Today Jake and I had the car all day!  Sometimes it's very hard to be stuck at home all day and not being able to get out, especially when the temps here don't get warmer than 20 degrees.  We needed the car so I could take Jake to his 15 month (yikes 15 months already!) check-up.  We woke up early and took Dan into work.  

 We came home for a bit and talked with Aunt Beth and his cousins on FaceTime!  Jake is starting to recognize them and gets this cheesy smile on his face.  Though he doesn't understand who they are, he does know that they are apart of his life.  After FaceTime and lunch, we went to Target to get out of the house.  We had fun browsing the aisles and playing with toys.  I underestimated our time frame so we rushed out of there to get to his appointment.  

He is doing great and developing right on schedule.  The office gives these cute developmental stickers that show where he falls with other kids his age. I plan on keeping them in his baby book.

Height 31" 50th percentile

Weight 29.6 75th percentile 

Head circumference 18" 50-75th percentile

He had to get 3 shots but handled it very well, with minimal crying.

We left there to go to the library and pick up Lily.  Jake slept on the car ride home, poor boy was tuckered out.  We didn't have any time to play because we had to go pick up Dan at work. 

We finally made it back home at 4:00 pm after leaving the house at 11:45 am.  Jake handled it very well.  No breakdowns or tears considering he missed his morning nap.  I think he enjoyed being out of the house!

Jake and daddy bonding time

These past couple of days I have been getting terrible headaches.  Most the time they are managed with Tylenol, but the most recent one was a horrible migraine. I had it all day and no matter what I did, it wouldn't go away.  When Dan came home, I went to lay down.  Since I couldn't read or watch tv I listened to Dan and Jake play.  Most of the time Dan plays his iPad while "watching" Jake.  I'm the one that plays and interacts with him.  This time, Dan was playing with Jake and they were having "conversations".  Jake would babble and Dan would reply.  It was so cute to listen to.  

At one point Jake said "huh" and Dan said "I don't know, buddy" and then play resumed.  I love listening to them interact.  Very rarely is Dan alone with Jake.  If I try to go to another room, Jake follows me, or if I leave the house, Jake is sleeping.  Plus when I am not around, I can't tell what's happening.  Sometimes I wish they would play together more without my interference, but I am the mother and Jake and I have a very strong attachment (seeing as how I am always with him!) plus Dan works all day and deserves a break, some time to himself.  I do love my boys though!!!

Thankful

Daniel and I are so thankful and appreciative for everything that our families do for us and Jake.  To those of us who have helped us in any way, thank you!  We can express how much it means to us to have your support.

My brother and his wife come over every Sunday to play and spend time with Jake.  He loves seeing them and being silly with them.  They continue to show their affection by buying Jake presents.  The most recent present was a train table!! Jake absolutely loves it.  Even though he doesn't quite understand how to play with it properly, he still enjoys it and wants to play with it all day.

I am so glad that he gets to see them and spend time with them every week.  Even though it may not seem like it, having them come over to play has a huge impact on Jake.

My sister used to come over every week also to spend tIme with Jake, but her schedule was been crazy lately, so we FaceTime.  Jake always gets a huge smile on his face when he sees her on the iPad.  They like to talk and make silly faces at each other.  Jenny also buys him the cutest clothes.  It seems like every time we talk, she has bought another amazing shirt.  

My sister in law Beth does whatever she can to help us out.  Even though her family lives in Georgia, she still supports us.  She offers motherly advice and an ear for me to vent to. She has 4 of her own kids and still makes the time to talk with me.  She bought us a high chair, and saved her sons clothes so she could pass them down to us.  It has been a major help to us financially not to have to buy a new wardrobe with the season changes.  I wish we lived closer so we could spend time with her and her children.  Hopefully we can visit them this summer.  

Raising a child is stressful, challenging, exhausting, and upsetting.  But it is also rewarding, fun, adventurous, and loving.  Without help, I can see how parents can get so disheartened.  We are so glad for the people in ours lives that help us and Jake.  It's not the dollar amount that they spend, but the time and energy to help us raise our son.  We love you all.

The end of February

You know, for only having 28 days, February seems to be dragging.  Maybe it's because I have only a month and a half left until baby 2 finally comes into our lives.  I am currently at 33 weeks and everything is well.  He moves a ton and I started having Braxton hicks contractions.  

Jakes rash is all gone, and we are continuing to put lotion on him so it doesn't come back.  He can now say "hi" "bye" "mama" "dada" and "Lily"! He will walk into the room and say "hi" over and over again.   He loves to read, and eat, just like his mom!! We are going to have so much fun this spring and summer being able to play outside, and go to fun places like the park or the zoo!  Now that he understands more, and can focus on things, both Dan and I are having fun experiencing the world with him.

I have been reading like crazy because the weather here makes it impossible to go outside.  The temp starts in the negatives and takes all day to warm up to 20. I am half way through the reading challenge.  25 books down, 25 to go! I am finding it harder to read books for these categories, these are the categories that are out of my comfort zone.  Short stories, Pulitzer Prize winner, more than 100 years old, a book with a bad review, and written in another language will be my toughest. 

That's about it for us.  March better go by quickly and the weather better turn around.  I want to meet my baby boy and get out of the house!

Rash update

It's been 6 days of the steroid cream and the rash is looking 100% better.  These pictures make it worse than it is.  The rash on his legs is completely gone and his back only has a couple of spots instead of the entire surface!

We started the medicine Saturday afternoon and it worked very quickly.  We probably won't continue with it for the full 10 days.  I was told the cream could discolor his skin.  No need to continue if the rash is gone.

Our day in photos!

7 am wake up and breakfast

7:20 am diaper change, clothes change and play time

9:00 Jake naps while I clean up, wash dishes, complete the laundry.

10:30/11:00 am wake up, play, eat lunch, play more

A little bit of movie watching around 1:00 pm, then nap again while I finally get to relax and read

3/3:30 pm wake up, snack, and more playtime

4:00 pm the greeting committee watches Dan come down the driveway, then they greet him at the door

5/5:30 pm dinner then diaper change and pjs on.  Sometimes it's a struggle to get him to change

6:00-7:00 pm play with toys or parents, bottle then off to bed!!

Family Fun Weekend

Friday Dan, Jake and I went to Olive Garden to celebrate Valentine's Day.  Jake ate half my meal, the crazy boy.  

Saturday was stay at home and be together day.  The wind was incredibly nasty and would whip the snow, so we stayed home and relaxed together.

Sunday Jake and I went to my parents house for a bit so they could visit with him, and to give Dan some space.  Jake had lots of fun playing with Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Jenny.  

When Jake started melting down, we left so we could make it home to hang out with my brother Ben and his wife Allison.  We live about 45 minutes from each other, and only see them during family get-togethers.  It was awesome for them to come visit us.  They brought us Jimmy Johns for lunch and Allison made mini horse cakes.  

Jake loved having them there and was so silly.  He kept doing weird things just to get a reaction out of them.  His favorite game was to run into the room, growl and laugh like a villain, then run away.  

                                  Feeding the bottomless pit!

We definitely need to see each other more! Next time we will come to them and bring the food!