Second Christmas

December was full of Christmas anticipation, with two unsuccessful Santa visits (one at the hospital and one at Mom's work), playing with the candles in the windows and pulling ornaments off the tree and banging them together.  Jakob's vocabulary increased quite a bit, with "doi, doi" on December 10th, "bam boo" on December 13th, "uh oh" on December 21st and "baby" on December 31st.  He also added a lot of other jargon.  December 1st was his first time on the playground and he LOVED it!  It was in the 60's all weekend and we couldn't pass up the opportunity to play outside. On December 3rd, he graduated to the toddler room at daycare, which was exciting but also nerve-racking for Mom and Dad.  We no longer get a daily report card with what he ate for the day and he's amongst all of the walkers.  He did start off the first day by taking Mom's finger and taking 4 steps across the room which was great.  He managed just fine in the new room, despite a few tears on the second and third days.  He was quite happy the first day to be back with some of his buddies from the infant room.  One other milestone in December was that he took 4 steps unassisted o December 27th.  He did get to experience his first snow on December 31st and didn't like that the snow was falling on his jacket.  When he realized it was there, he started swatting at it and fussing.

First time on the playground

First day in the toddler room (with friend Brady)

His newest adventure-getting in the fridge and shutting the door on himself

Nana and PaPa visit for Dad's birthday

Scenes of Christmas

Santa visit at the hospital

Christmas with Lito, Noni and Aunt Kate

Christmas with PaPa and Nana

First time out in the snow - New Year's Eve

November Notes

November was such a fun month even though we were going from activity to activity!  Jakob has increased his vocabulary, saying "me, me" for the first time on November 20th.  Some other fun things he started doing in November included holding our hands when praying before dinner on November 6th and on November 24th, he stood for 3 seconds on his own without help.  He loves pushing his truck around the house and enjoyed the warm days when we could go outside to play.  Despite some of the mornings being colder, Mom still took him out for morning walks.  He also loves playing the "nose game" with Daddy (see video).  We had a fun visit with Lito and Noni for Thanksgiving as well, even though he was sick for the entire visit.  Thank you to Lito for making him a wonderful rocking horse that he will enjoy for years to come--an early Christmas present!  We also enjoyed a visit with the Farris' the Saturday after Thanksgiving and he liked playing with his cousins!  He was amazed by the Christmas tree and managed to get a few ornaments off the tree.

Jakob loves playing the "nose" game with Daddy, trying to bite his nose.

Thanksgiving Fun

Trying to pull the ornaments off the tree the first day it was put up.

Super Halloween!

Jakob was a split personality for Halloween.  He was Superman for school and Winnie the Pooh for trick-or-treating.  Thankfully there were multiple costumes since he managed to tear up his Superman costume by the end of the day.  He had been practicing carrying around his treat bag for weeks on our wagon rides so he was all ready!  Mom took him down the street while Dad handed out the candy at home.  Unfortunately he was tired and cranky after several days of little sleep from being sick so we only made it to a few houses.  Still a good time!

Superman!

Can we say Chocoholic?

Thank you Noni and Lito for the musical card and dancing pumpkin!

Cruising around the neighborhood in the wagon.

Fall Fun

October was such a fun month and Jakob is growing up so fast!  At the beginning of the month, he started with his fifth word, "ga".  Not sure what it means but he typically says it when he is taking his bottle in the morning.  On approximately October 12th, he decided to start crawling "normal" instead of the army crawl.  Of course, he often gets tired of that and goes back to the army crawl because he has become a speed demon at it.  On October 13th, Jakob started walking with the help of his new truck and he did even better when Nana and PaPa brought him a car on October 27th. It was a warm enough month that we still enjoyed walks outside as well as a couple of fall festivals.  

Getting ready for our early morning walk in PJs.

Fall festival at the fire station on October 13th.

Practicing for Halloween...

Halloween party/Baby shower at a friend's house on October 27th

Walking with his truck

NICU Anniversary

On October 30th, we celebrated Jakob's one year anniversary from coming home from the NICU!  We allowed Jakob to celebrate with a cupcake and Mom and Dad sang to him for his "NICU Birthday".

Fall Festival At the Farm

On October 19th, we had a playdate with Jakob's NICU friend, Sophie.  We went to Daniel's Farm near Sophie's house and had a great time seeing the animals and playing on the tractors.  Unfortunately the strollers were too wide to fit into the straw maze.  Jakob loved petting the kitten but was oblivious to the cow that was about to lick his face. :) Despite the cold, a great time was had by all!

September Surprises

Jakob was full of surprises in September and made great strides.  On September 1st, he took his first step at the couch so he is officially "cruising", although his cruising has been few and far between.  On September 8th, he drank from the straw for the first time and is now a pro on the sippy cup although he still prefers the bottle.  On September 10th, Mom found him sitting up in his crib in the morning and towards the end of the month, it was common to find him standing at his crib, peering over the edge.  On September 18th, he (finally!) picked up the bottle on his own and started drinking from it.  He had been starting to climb the stairs assisted in August but on September 25th, he managed to sneak by Dad downstairs and climb the stairs by himself to get to Mom upstairs.  Thankfully no falls!  We also had a lot of fun in September playing outdoors, taking wagon rides and had a visit to the zoo with NICU friend Sophie.  He also attended his first wedding (Daddy's cousin Matt) and got to visit Kansas City, MO and Overland Park, Kansas in the process.  Jakob never passes up an opportunity to play with Mom or Dad's computer, open and close doors/cabinets or stick his hands in the toilet.

Watching the sea lions at the zoo with Mommy

Smooches from Nana after the wedding

Playing in the grass

On an evening bike ride with Dad and Mom

Visit with Lito and Noni

Lito and Noni came to visit on Sunday, September 16th for the first time since Jakob came home from the hospital.  What a difference a year makes, given that their last visit to St. Louis was to see Jakob in the hospital last October!  Jakob had a great time playing with them!  On Monday, we visited the World Bird Sanctuary and Lone Elk Park.  On Tuesday, Noni and Lito got Jakob a pumpkin at the farmers market for Halloween.  Jakob enjoyed playing with Noni and Lito and taking lots of wagon rides during their 3 day visit!

Playing with Noni and Lito

World Bird Sanctuary

Bison at Lone Elk Park

Walking with Lito

Fun Times with Noni