Picture Update...

Here's a quick catch up on some recent pics...

We're still transitioning to one nap even though it's been over a month and a half since we started. By the time lunch rolls around, this little guy is spent. This happens often in his high chair while I'm feeding him lunch. You can see the progression...

 

 Poor buddy.

 Josh and I got Jake a wagon for his birthday. Best purchase ever. He LOVES it. We ride in it at least twice a day. He has never been so content being confined to anything...until now. His face lights up if we mention the word wagon.

 We laid sod in our backyard a couple weeks ago (actually on Josh's birthday...poor Josh...it's okay, it was a great gift once it was complete.) Before we laid it though, Jake got some good dirt time.

Love the concentration. And that belly.

A pic off Josh's iPhone from this past Sunday. Nothing better than a little afternoon snuggle time with my boys. I know it's a blurry pic, but I'm obsessed with it. Maybe because I wanted to freeze that moment in time. My heart overflows.

Visit from the Grands...

I'm way late on this post, but better late than never. Josh's parents came to visit us a few weeks ago for Jake's birthday. They got to stay for almost a week - had to make that 18 hour drive worth it. Yep, that's right, they drove. They're dedicated grandparents! They hadn't gotten to see Jake since he was about 5 weeks old, and I think it's fair to say this visit was much better than the first. Jake had probably his worst colicky weekend the last time they were here and screamed the whole time (and Josh's dad was sick for the entire visit.) This visit was SO good. We thoroughly enjoyed their company (and their help), and it only took a matter of minutes for Jake to fall in love with them. He was going through withdrawals (probably from the constant love & attention) when they left...something tells me that was mutual. I only captured a few pictures of them with Jake but I wanted to make sure I documented the visit. What a sweet time.

Papa & Jake reading his new Mickey Mouse Clubhouse book.

 Jake & Grandma on his birthday.

Papa took Jake on lots of "adventures" outside. He loved it.

Jake was using Papa's head as a drum here. :)

Jake with his South Carolina grands. Look at that grin - happy, happy guy.

The Fly Swatter...

Who needs toys when you have a fly swatter? The first time we really heard Jake get super tickled at something and bust out his belly laugh was back in the spring when Josh was killing flies in our kitchen. Apparently, the fly swatter hasn't lost its touch...

Kind of obsessed with the part where he laughs so hard, it turns into a silent laugh. :)

And then a few more pics of Jake with the fly swatter... (We actually did have a ton of flies to kill recently...not really the season for it I know, but we laid sod the other day in our backyard - YAY - and the constant in and out resulted in a few "friends." It's okay - it provided Jake some entertainment.)

He's all boy for sure.

Sweet Reunions...

We got to reconnect with some great friends this weekend. We feel so blessed that we still have such great friendships from all the different seasons of our lives...we only wish we saw all them more.

Brian & Kelly Key, both best friends of mine in college, were passing through on their way to Siloam Springs. Brian was teaching at a college retreat, so we got to grab lunch with them on Friday. Was definitely not long enough - I sure treasured those two hours. (In case you haven't ever caught up on their story, you need to - it's beyond inspiring. Check out their blog here.)

Miss them so much! Unfortunately, Jake didn't get to meet Gabby, their 10 month old. Despite the "long line" they claim there is to get to her, I think Jake could jump to the front pretty easily. I mean, look at him? :)

Then our friends Bodie and Marissa came in on Saturday. I posted about their wedding and engagement back in the spring. This was our first time to hang out with them as a married couple. Crazy! Jake loved them - I think the feeling was mutual. Even for Bodie. Apparently Jake's out of the "boring baby phase" now. ;) Thankful they were willing to come to us since it's a little tougher to take road trips these days. 

 

 Love this pic. And love how Jake always crosses his little feet. Thanks for loving on our little man, Bodie & Mo!

Birthday Celebrations...

I want to share some pictures from Jake's birthday celebrations. Yes, that's plural. We just did two very small family parties. And party really isn't a very accurate term - we simply had cake and opened presents and loved all over him all day (not that we don't do that everyday.) I kept going back and forth, feeling bad that I wasn't making a huge deal out of his 1st birthday, but I think we covered the important stuff. And we got some great pictures! Jake did not disappoint with the cake smash.  (Warning: picture overload below, sorry. There were so many good ones, I just couldn't narrow it down.)

The cake. I ordered it from Shelby Lynn's. It was awesome. I love how it turned out. (I decided to just match the cake to his nursery instead of having a theme, since there wasn't much else to the party as far as decorations go.)


Jake had a matching little smash cake. (Josh was playing around with our camera in this shot. We still only know about .05% of what the camera is capable of doing. We're learning!)

Had to include at least one pic of him opening presents. He, of course, was more infatuated with the tissue paper than the gifts.

Getting started on the cake...

Really getting into it...

Once he started to get a reaction, he really started to ham it up. He was signing "please" here...exactly why he was only wearing a diaper.

Starting to get a little full.

Love this close-up.

 

Opening gifts at party #2 (with Josh's parents...they came in all the way from South Carolina for his birthday.)

 

Jake's first baseball mitt. Thanks Great Grandpa Carl! 

 Starting on cake #2. I decided to make my own cake for this one, since we ordered one for the first party. I also decided to let him try chocolate. Apparently he likes both.

Love that little grin. 

Can't get big enough handfuls. 

Hamming it up again. 

 He's so proud of himself.

 
And a little family picture from his first birthday. New favorite.