First Christmas

It's Jakob's first Christmas.  On Thursday, December 22nd, we went to Lito and Noni's house and he got to see the cousins for the first time.  He didn't like all the noise but we enjoyed spending time with the Elan, Ellery and Ellia!  He also loved being held by Noni and Lito and Tia Kate!  We managed to only stop once for the 6 hour trip so it was a good one. 

Christmas Stocking

Here is Jakob with his stocking at Noni and Lito's house.  The stocking is almost as big as he is!

A Festive Tummy Time

We retired Jakob's pumpkin hat and now he's sporting his santa hat.  He's our little Santa (or maybe given his size he should be our little elf and sport an elf hat!).  This was an attempt at tummy time on the Boppy but unfortunately Jakob's not a fan.  He buries his head until he gets frustrated after a couple minutes and then we have to quit.  As of December 11th, he now weighs 8 lbs 8.5 oz and is growing well.

Day After Thanksgiving

We spent the day after Thanksgiving with Nana and PaPa.  It was Jakob's first big trip.  It was the perfect distance given that we could feed him before we left and get there right before he was hungry again.  Mom and Dad made a big "uh oh" and forgot some of his feeding supplies so he went a little hungry but managed just fine during the 5 hour visit.  We'll have to do better for the longer Christmas trip! 

Great Grandma got to hold Jakob for the first time!  He also met Great Uncle Wayne and Great Uncle Chuck for the first time.  It was a fun day and he definitely enjoyed all the attention.

Thanksgiving

Happy Turkey Day!  Jakob is 4 months old today and weighs a hefty 7 lbs 13 oz!  He spent most of the beautiful day in St. Louis in a turkey coma.  We took him on a nice long walk in the 60 degree temps so he could show off his pumpkin hat for the last time for the season.  He did wake up long enough to enjoy sitting at the dinner table with Mom and Dad while they enjoyed their turkey.   We are counting our blessings this Thanksgiving for our healthy and happy baby!

PaPa and Nana Visit

Nana and PaPa came for a visit today after their long day driving around Missouri.  It was the perfect opportunity to get a few pics of Nana enjoying her time holding Jakob.

Today was Jakob's last Nurses to Go appointment.  Although Mom was concerned about his fundo possibly coming undone given that he had a large projectile spit during his 11 o'clock feeding, the nurse was impressed with his weight gain and said not to worry just yet.  He was up to 7 lbs 8 oz!  It was the same weight he was at his pediatrician's appointment on Tuesday but different scales.  He has gained 6 oz in 7 days (on the same scale) so that's pretty good!  Mom and Dad are excited that he now has chubby baby cheeks so we just had to take a picture. :)  It's also the first day we noticed him discovering his hand so we got a picture checking it out.

Purring Sleeper

Jakob's newest thing is to "purr" when he is sleeping.  He also has learned to grip has pacifier pretty well.  Here are some videos.

Dedication

On Sunday, November 13th, Jakob was dedicated in church.  The outfit Mom bought him to wear was still too big so we had to go with the next best thing--a cute blue outfit with bear feet.  Nana and PaPa Farris and Great Grandma Schmidt got to attend the church service.  It was Great Grandma's first time seeing Jakob.  He was wide awake throughout the dedication and entire church service.

Jakob's Homecoming

Jakob got discharged from the hospital on Sunday, October 30th after spending the first 14 weeks of his life in the NICU.  We waited for him to get his Halloween pictures taken by a professional photographer for The Jeremy Project.  Unfortunately, Jakob wasn't liking the pumpkin hat we put on him and was out of sorts for his entire photo shoot.  Better luck next time!  At least he looked adorable in his little Pujols uniform, which held even more significance given that the Cardinals won the World Series for the 11th time!  He's ready to run right out of that hospital! Jakob has come a long way since his birth:
At Birth:
Weight: 1100 grams, 2 lbs 6.8 oz
Length: 14.75 inches
Head circumference: 22 cm

At discharge:

Weight: 3030 grams; 6 lbs 10.9 oz
Length: 20.08 inches
Head circumference: 36.4 cm

We are getting adjusted to having him home but it is such a blessing!  All of the sleep deprivation is worth it to have our little angel home.  He has certainly been an angel and would sleep through the night if we let him probably but he needs those extra calories so Mom wakes him up every 3 hours, sometimes successfully and sometimes not successfully. 

1st Halloween

Jakob had his first Halloween at home and enjoyed it by sleeping almost the entire time.  Nana and PaPa Farris came for a visit and enjoyed seeing Jakob in his new setting--out of the hospital!  Mom and Dad enjoyed eating Pizza Hut pizza that they had brought with them, while tending to the trick or treaters.  It was a rough first night at home on October 30th as Jakob got used to his new surroundings and bassinet which is probably why he was so tired.  A few of the neighbors stopped by to see the newest addition to Arbor Valley.  He was stylin' in his 1st Halloween outfit that mysteriously appeared in the NICU one morning and the hat that he received on the day of discharge as part of his Halloween pics.

Lito and Noni Visit

Lito and Noni got tired of waiting for Jakob to come home from the hospital so they came for a visit from October 18th to 20th.  Unfortunately, it was a visit spent with Jakob in the hospital but they still managed to get some "loving" time in holding him each day.  It was also the World Series Championship in St Louis so the hospital made Jakob a sign with the rally squirrel.

Eating the Tummy Pillow