Jacob Turns 4!!

Hard to believe that our little 4lb 11oz-er has gone from this ...

to this ...

Jacob's 4th birthday was on May 9, 2012.  I've put off writing this post because I wanted to wait until we had been to the pediatrician for his check-up.  Well, we went today, and it looks like our little Bubba is developing right on track.  He's doing all the normal, annoying things four year olds do.  lol

We celebrated his birthday with my parents ON his actual birthday.  We had dinner at Friendlys and then came back to our house for cake and presents.  We got Jacob the Leap Pad by Leap Frog.  He's only played with a few times, but from what I can tell, he really loves it!  My parents got him a battey operated motorcycle which he loves.  We've already taken it out on quite a few different walks through the neighborhood.

 

One of Jacob's newest loves is superheroes.  His favorite right now is Batman.  I found the perfect cake for him from Wegmans!!

This past weekend John's parents came down from PA with Josh (our nephew), and our soon-to-be sister-in-law, Jamie, came down with Aubree (our youngest niece).  Uncle Jason (John's brother) and Aunt Dana (John's sister) had to work, so they were unable to come.  We missed them alot!!

Anyway, they all got down here on Friday evening, and on Saturday we got up and drove two hours away to Massanutten Resort where they have this AWESOME indoor water park.  The last time we were here Jacob was about Henry's age, and I was barely pregnant with Henry.  Henry was a real trooper.  He went most of the day and really played hard in all the different water areas ... he even went down a few of the slides and rode around on the lazy river with John and I alot.  We kind of knew he would react that way, though, after all he's our waterbaby!

Jacob's a little more cautious, but he loosened up and was able to have a blast too.  I think he was super happy to have his cousin, Josh, with him. 

After the water park we had dinner and then came home where Jacob opened a few more presents.

Jacob Phillip is growing into such a little boy right in front of our eyes.  He's a fun-loving, caring, sweet, funny, independent little man.  He loves pretend play (restaurant and doctor are two of his favorites), doing art projects, singing, dancing and putting on shows.  He loves cuddling with his mama, wrestling with his brother and playing sports or doing anything boyish with his daddy.  Speaking of boyish-daddy things, Jacob and his daddy actually just recently went on their first camping trip together.  From what I hear they both had a blast!!

One thing I wanted to start doing with our kids (and I probably should have started this last year for Jacob, but I didn't think of it then) is having them answer 20 questions every year on their birthday to see how the answers change from year to year.  Below are Jacob's answers from his birthday this year.  Next year we can compare to see how they've changed!

 

1. What is your favorite color? Blue
2. What is your favorite toy? Fire Truck
3. What is your favorite fruit? Apples
4. What is your favorite tv show? Team Umizoomi
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? McDonalds
6. What is your favorite outfit? Army shorts
7. What is your favorite game? Mickey Mouse for Mobigo
8. What is your favorite snack? Fruit Snacks
9. What is your favorite animal? Horses
10. What is your favorite song? The Fresh Beat Band song
11. What is your favorite book? Clifford
12. Who is your best friend? Jack
13. What is your favorite cereal? Cap n Crunch
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play in the water table
15. What is your favorite drink? White milk
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Care bears
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? French Toast Sticks
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Cake
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Fire Fighter and an EMT (or, ambulance driver as he puts it, lol)

And, to close out this post all about my first baby boy, I'll leave you with his stats from today's doctor's visit, he's growing perfectly!

Height - 40 inches (50th% - 75th%)

Weight - 37 lbs (50th%)

Vision - 20/20

Way to grow, Jacob!! I can't wait to see what the next year brings!

Nature Scavenger Hunt!

This morning we were finally able to take our first morning walk!  It's something I had been planning to do on a daily basis once I was home full-time with the kids, but so far this week, mother nature had other plans.  Well, this morning we woke up to warm temps (not too hot, though) and sun shining.  Had to jump on it while we could, so off we went!  I decided to spice things up a bit, so I made up a nature scavenger hunt for us.  Jacob and I had a blast looking for all the things on our list ... and, since I had the last minute idea of writing a blog post about our walk, I took some pictures to share as well!

1. Something green

2. Something red

3. Something you consider to be beautiful

4. Something purple (this one I threw in last minute because this bush was so pretty!)

5. Something round

6. Something straight

7.  Find a stick

8. Something that makes noise (the bike was the subject, not the child, though he makes his fair share of noise, too. lol!)

Mother's Day

It's taken me a few days to have the time to sit down and blog about our Mother's Day weekend, but it was fantastic!  I hope everyone else had as awesome of a weekend as we did.

On Friday, John surprised me and sent an edible arragement and balloon to my office.  It was such a pleasant surprise since it's SO out of character for him. 

Friday afternoon John picked Jacob up early from daycare and took him for his first overnight camping trip.  He loved it!  So, while daddy and Jacob were off on their guy bonding trip, Henry and I spent the evening having a mommy/baby bonding night.  We had dinner at Houlihans and then went to Kohls to do a little shopping.  I ended up letting Henry stay up an hour and a half later than normal just because he was having such a blast playing quietly by himself and/or with me.  I love having one-on-one time with my guys!

The next morning Henry and I just hung out at home and waited on Jacob and daddy to get home, and then that afternoon/evening I had to work at Kohls (my 14th day in a row working - a new personal record!).

Finally on Sunday I had the entire day off!  When I woke up, Jacob jumped out of his bed and climbed in bed with me and said (in the sweetest voice ever) "Happy Mother's Day, Mommy!  You have to stay in bed today, cause it's Mother's Day.  I'll bring you cake in bed."  lol  He forgot all about the cake once he went downstairs, but that's okay, it's the thought that counts.  :)  When I came downstairs about an hour later, I was given my present (a new charm for my Pandora bracelet), and then John went off to get us Anita's for breakfast (this seems to be turning into a Mother's Day breakfast tradition).  I had planned for us to do nothing but hang out at home, but we had some errands that had to be taken care of, so off we went.  Henry got his hair cut for the first time, and we did some grocery shopping.  When we got home, we just hung around the house for the rest of the day.  Later, for dinner, we met my parents at Red Lobster (also starting to become a Mother's Day dinner tradition).  We had a pretty long wait, but it was fun getting to visit with my parents and hanging out with the whole family.  The best part, for me anyway, was that Henry had fallen asleep on our way to dinner and then when we got there, he stayed asleep and cuddled with me for another 30 minutes or so.  The whole weekend was just perfect - I couldn't have asked for a better Mother's Day! :)

First haircut!!

The boys (all three of them) have been in desperate need of a haircut for some time now.  So, on Sunday, even though it was Mother's Day and I had vowed to do nothing all day, we finally made a family trip to the barber shop.  Why did we feel the need to make a FAMILY TRIP to the barber shop?? Because it was Henry's FIRST haircut!

I'll be honest, I was not really looking forward to it.  He's my baby and a haircut is a BIG milestone in my mind.  It's kind of the dividing line between babyhood and toddlerhood.  Crossing that line was the last thing needed to really make my baby not a baby anymore.  I mean, he was born with that same hair on his head.  No matter how shaggy it got he was still the same adorable, sweet little baby.

When we got there, we were taken right away to a chair.  I decided to be the one whose lap he sat on for his first haircut and I'm really glad I did.  He did AMAZINGLY!  Not a single tear.  He didn't whine, grunt or even attempt to throw a tantrum.  He just sort of sat there looking around and checking out the woman who was trimming his hair.  He got a little restless toward the end, so she gave him a few toys to hold on to and then all was well again. 

Check out our little stud ... doesn't he look so handsome?!?! :)

6 years!

I cannot believe it's been that long since we tied the knot over looking the beautiful clear, blue caribbean. 

In the past 6 years, we've had our fair share of fights (and, making up ;)).  We've moved twice. He's been promoted a few times at work, and I was once.  We've welcomed two amazing little guys into our family, and I'm preparing to quit my full-time job outside of the home, to stay home with our little ones.  We've had an amazing journey so far, I can't wait to see where the next six years will take us!

So, here's to you, babe, and the amazing life we've created together.  Happy anniversary to my husband ... my best friend, love of my life and father to my children.  I love you!!