Updates!

Jacob turned 11 months old a little over a week ago and I just cannot believe that in a few weeks he will be a year old! Where does the time go??? We are just loving our happy, smiley, laid back little guy so much. He is such a little comedian and he brings tons of laughter to our home every day.

Jake took two very teeny steps on July 15th. And then about a week later he did it again. We keep getting a step here or there but no real walking just yet. He's getting there though! One of his favorite things to do is pretend like he is in a Strongest Man competition. He picks up one of his heaviest toys and goes from a squatting to standing position in the middle of the room. If he doesn't succeed the first time, he tries and tries until he gets it right! It's absolutely hilarious and I have no idea why he does it. I guess he is just trying to show how macho he thinks he is!

I had my latest OB appointment today and everything looks good. I am measuring on track and 2.0's heart is beating strong at about 143 beats per minute. I had my blood drawn today to test for gestational diabetes and as long as I don't hear anything back from the doctors office then I am in good shape! I now have appointments every 2 weeks until I reach 35 weeks and at that point I will have one appointment per week.

All of us are doing really well and just enjoying our super hot summer! We've spent time at the pool (which Jake loves) and Tim has been playing a LOT of softball. His team won the State championship this past weekend! We hope you all are doing well and staying cool despite the temperatures. Here are some photos from the past 2 weeks:

Jake pushing his stroller at the park

Watching Bailey jump into the lake while Pilot stays as far away from the water as he can
Jake looking up to his main man - his daddy!
Checking out the fireplace (little rascal!)
Mom! Why did you block me from the fireplace???
Enjoying an evening refreshment in the front yard Jake and his lovey
Our big boy!
So happy with all of his new clothes mommy bought for him!

The Oatmeal Uh-oh

So I had searched many times for the coveted Steel Cut Oatmeal that is just oh-so-yummy (Oprah talks about it a LOT) and I FINALLY found some. Not the cheapest stuff in the world, but I had to have it. Well, I only got to have one stinkin' bowl because SOMEBODY decided it would be fun to pull it down from the pantry and spill it ALL OVER the floor. I WONDER who THAT could have been? Hmmmm.....

Monkeys, Cowboys, and Bellies

When babies get in to the dog bowl

He crawls up on everything now - dishwashers, fireplace hearths, etc.
Little John Wayne
Little Hillbilly
Mama and her Cowboy
an almost 25 week belly
View from the front (and a sassy hip pose, lol!)

Photo-op? Not so much....

So, this is what my little guy has been giving me to work with lately when it comes to pictures:

After 15 minutes of trying to get one good smiley photo, I gave up. He is just WAY too much of a busy body these days!

JAKE UPDATES:

• His balance has greatly improved and he stands for longer and longer periods on his own every day. We are just waiting for those first steps.
• He cut his 7th tooth last week!
• He is a monkey. He likes to climb onto the dishwasher door when we are unloading and he was climbing all over the plastic storage containers in his brothers future room when we were cleaning it out this weekend.
• He babbles ALL.THE.TIME. And says "Mama" quite regularly.
• It seems he may be starting to understand a few of his sign language words I am teaching him. I'm just going to keep at it!
• He LOVES to clap. My goal is to get some video of him cheering for himself in intervals as he pushes his walker down the hallway.

2.0 UPDATES:

• I had an appointment about two weeks ago and everything was great! Measuring right on schedule.
• 2.0 is a WILD baby. I swear that Jake never kicked and punched as much as this one does. Even the nurses mention at every visit how active he is when they try to get his heartbeat on the doppler.
• His bedroom is coming along! He has a crib already! Thanks for all of your votes on the bedding. We *think* we've made a decision, but we haven't made the purchase yet.
• Next appointment is the end of this month and I will get tested for signs of Gestational Diabetes. This is the first of two tests. If I fail the first, we move on to a second. If I fail that, then I am diagnosed with GD. I didn't have it with Jake, lets hope I don't have it with this one!

TIM & STEPH UPDATES:

• We are TIRED. Between working and keeping up with our 10 and a half month old we are just constantly on the go. And yes, we realize its not going to slow down any time soon!
• Aside from that, we are pretty boring :) We haven't hit any milestones like first steps, or anything like that. I'll keep you posted if we do ;)

Happy Independence Day Weekend!

We hope you all had a happy 4th yesterday! We spent the afternoon at a bbq at our neighbors and then had our friends Casey & Andy come up from Plano to go to the Red, White, and Boom festival that the City of McKinney hosted. We got to see country singers Charlie Robison and Josh Gracin for free (yay for free concerts!) and we saw a really spectacular fireworks show afterwards! Jake was a trooper even though he was up 4 hours past his normal bedtime. He danced to the music and crawled all around our little spot on the grass. Here are pictures from our evening.

Mommy & Jake (who now hates to take pictures)

Dancing to Charlie Robison

Dancing with daddy

Charlie Robison on stage!

Daddy with our tired monkey

Miss Casey and baby Jake

Jake's first fireworks show!

He was in absolute awe of the fireworks

Watching the show

THE END! Hope everyone has a safe and happy weekend!