Bathroom redo & Trip to the zoo & a few others

Out with the old and in with the new...our bathroom had a few problems that needed dealt with. We very much like the new, updated version of our ever so small bathroom! The window details aren't finished yet, but hopefully soon!

A few weeks ago we headed to Omaha for the weekend. We were able to spend a lot of time with family which we greatly enjoyed! Jacob loved playing with his cousins too. A highlight from the weekend was a trip to the zoo. This was Jacob's first time to the zoo and I think we'll be making a lot of trips to zoos! Most of the pictures we have of him are of his back looking at the animals.

Some of the relatives stayed at a hotel so the boys were able to use the pool as well! Of course Jacob was very hesitant at first.....he does not like cool water! Once he warmed up to it he enjoyed playing ball and splashing though!

The petting zoo was great! He loved the goats!

These statues that are in multiple places throughout the zoo were wonderful for the kids to crawl on and play with!
Jacob with his 3 cousins....the person in the top right is not...she just appeared...

See...I told you he warmed up!

Truly a boy! Digging in the dirt...getting dirty...he loves being outside!

And of course a picture of him loving on our very own lion! Louie is huge and tolerates Jacob's love very well.

The weather around us last weekend and this week has been phenomenal! We have spent a lot of time outside which Jacob enjoys. Today has turned chillier with clouds and occasional rain showers. Not the ideal for a walk to the park or a run around in the back yard. His babysitter has a large backyard so I think every morning this week they were also outside, then ate lunch, and went back outside. The little guy did not want me to pick him up. He loves his sitter and her children. We are so thankful for the care and love she gives him.

Unfortunately though she will not be able to care for him next school year as she is expecting a child this summer. We are on the hunt for a new caregiver for our precious son - such a difficult thing, we pray the Lord leads us in our decision and hunt.

Our little echo and shadow is full of energy and checking out the world around him. He doesn't miss too much around him. We're trying to savor this "stage" of his life as it's so much fun for all of us! (a little tiring though!) Time to "shoot it" and play basketball with the little guy now! Enjoy the weekend!

Spring is here at last!

I guess it's been awhile...the running theme every time I do seem to post!  Almost a month ago Nate and I left Jacob behind in IA and we headed for Jamaica!  We had a marvelous time and enjoyed the hot sunny weather!  We did some things we'll probably never do again, pet a shark, swim with a dolphin, climb a waterfall...a few of the highlights.

This is what we came home to!  A very smily, happy fella!  He was so excited to see us and we couldn't wait to hold him, talk to him, and make him giggle!

Our first outing to the park still required a winter coat, there was still snow around, but the 55 degree temps were begging to be played in!  He loved the slide....

...and hated the swing!

Nate has been teaching his son a few MI state cheers.  They had a lot of fun watching basketball games together.  We just bought Jacob his own HOOP!  He absolutely loves it!  Now hopefully he won't run down the sidewalk to the neighbors that I can't lift him up to make a basket.

 

Isn't he sooo cute?!  He is so much fun and we are loving every bit of watching him grow and develop. 

Our birthdays are 3 days apart so we take turns when we get a cake.  This year the cake was for my day, but Nate ordered an "us" ice cream cake!  It's so delicious!

Here's the hoop.  Jacob stayed in the car while I ran into the store to make the purchase.  He did not know we bought it, for if  he saw it in the cart (or just on the shelf) he could probably start to freak out a bit.  We set it up after he went to bed and was overjoyed (or so I hear....I was still asleep) when he woke up and had so much fun playing with it in his jammies.

Easter....we did not take a good family photo...oh well

Grandpa is teaching him to be a switch hitter! 

We enjoyed our Easter noon meal with most of Nate's family today.  The two cousins had so much fun playing together.  We were very glad for the warmer temperatures and the lack of wind so the children could enjoy playing outside.  Happy Easter, Christ the Lord is risen today!

jumping in.....blind

That's how we feel about our latest endeavor.  Our main floor bathroom is in need of major re-doing and we are jumping in.....blind.  We really have no idea how much work it will be - always more than what you expect....  How do people build houses and make those decisions?  Good grief, it took me how long to actually pick my paint color - even though I 'knew' what I wanted it to be - it's bold, bright and daring.  I hope it looks as good on the wall as it does on the 2x3 inch piece of paper....then to tie in the flooring and trim work and all the other fun jazz.  I hope it actually turns out looking like something and not a compilation that people say.....whoa.....(unless it's about the color, cause thats kinda the reaction I'm going for there...)  I need something to get me moving in the morning - the alarm clock is NOT doing that for me.  We'll see.

Before and after pics will be necessary. 

18 months!  Our little boy is one and a half!  I've been a mom for a year and a half???  That is so crazy.  He is such a funny little boy, his laughs are contagious, smiles never ending and learning constantly.  We love teaching him new things.  This week he saw me using the swiffer vacuum and wanted a turn - he gets it!  He knows how to turn it on - just his little "minger" isn't strong enough yet.  He amazes us by how he just does stuff!  An observant lil fella.  His animal knowledge is growing - lately it's penguins and horsies he is noticing.  Branching out from puppies and kitties, sheep, cows, lions.

Things he likes lately:  cheese, of course!  bread - any kind. dip - ketchup, bbq, honey - he says "dip-dip" which means he wants to dip his food into the dip.  marshmallows, m&m's - which use to reside in a penguin dish on our counter, any time he sees that penguin he says - M&M!!  To which we say, all gone and he repeats and is satisfied.  He has a recent distaste to carrots, peas, baked beans, brocolli....I feel like this list is growing a little more than I would like...I can't think of other things....we even try to 'hide' it into another food but his little tastebuds know its there.

I wished we could have taken him outside more this winter in his sled.  We have WAY too much snow on the ground currently and it's not going anywhere fast (at least let's hope not....we don't need any floods).  The 10 day forecast is looking great - possibly highs in the 40's later on in the week - wow!  Are we sure we want to go away when the heat wave comes?  We are sure ready for a little vacation. 

Any who.....ta ta for now! 

pics from the days events

Here's the little guy in his hospital jamies - they were so stinkin cute!



Trying to get his blood pressure

To keep him occupied until go time the hospital gave us a wagon to roll him around in. He loved it until he realized he could get out - then he didn't want to be in it any more.

But daddy pulling him was a lot of fun.

However, pulling it all by himself was even more fun and the dr.s and nurses and other patients thought he was way super cute. (so did we!)

See! They all liked him! It was fun to see a little active boy 'running' through the halls as people were kinda on a downer day getting ready for surgery. He brought a little bit on sunshine to a very foggy, frosty, dreary kind of day.

This is post surgery, prepping to go home. He can finally eat and drink something! He loved his box of cheerios.

Ok, so did we really need a wheel chair to get out of there? The nurse felt that since I (mb) had vomitted earlier that perhaps they should wheel me out, and to make it not look so terrible I got to hold Jacob! Ha. I probably could have walked, but it was very nice of them.

We were very tired on the way home!

So this picture wasn't taken today - it was a few days ago, pre hair cut! Why do haircuts always make them look so much older!? I think that's why we wait until his hair gets wild and out of control before we get it done. I think that was his 4th haircut.

Jacob ate a good meal after returning from the clinic this afternoon. He is resting in his crib again. He is looking forward to Grandma and Grandpa visiting tonight. Hopefully the rest of our weekend is uneventful! Thanks for checking in!

small bump in the road

When Jacob woke up from his 3 hour nap after arriving home he had a fever. His temperature was higher than his discharge papers said it should be and to call the dr. The hospital we were at this morning is 45 minutes away and so the recommendation was to get him into our familiy dr. asap. Let me tell you, this was our shortest wait in the waiting room EVER. (But we still spent a decent amount of time in a stagnent room waiting) His ears were checked for possible infection and lungs were listened to for possible bronchitus. Both of those things were fine. They drew blood to check his white blood count which also came back fine. Narrowing down those things it was decided he probably has something viral going on. We'll continue to monitor him closely, keep him eating and drinking.



Other than that small bump in the road he seems to be doing quite well.



We are thankful that this fever happened during regular office hours and we didn't have to go to the ER. Our dr. is also the on call dr. so that is comforting to know.

We're home

We're home from the hospital. Jacob was very cute and fun with the nurses and doctors. He did very well pre, during, and post surgery. The only problem was MB throwing up while Jacob was recovering...hopefully it was just a one time deal and not the stuff that Nate and Jacob had over a week ago.

We took some pictures and will find some time today to put them up!

Today is the Day

"Today is the Day" by Lincoln Brewster is by far the most played song in our house, car, on my phone, and wished it would play song on the radio. Our little boy absolutely loves that song and asks for it by saying and signing "more" and then saying "whoa whoa". I don't think we get sick of the song because of how it has impacted our life and Jacob's life.

Our 25 (or so) inches of snow that we have on the ground is so crazy. I have never seen so much snow before. As you walk down the sidewalk you feel as if you are walking through a cave or tunnel of some sort - except you can see above you. For someone who feels some what claustrophobic it's a weird feeling. You have to stay on the path, for if you stray it's nearly impossible to walk. It's very exhausting. Kinda like when you stray from the path that God is leading you down - it's much more difficult and exhausting. We are thankful we have about a 50 degree warm up as well - those -33 temps were atrocious. There is some slight melting going on, perhaps preparing for some room for the next snow storm to dump on us. There's rumors of a lot more snow coming our way this winter. Yikes!

For those of you who follow our blog we ask you to pray for Jacob tomorrow. He is having a minor surgery to be re-circumcized. We're praying that the procedure will be effective and successful. We pray that Jacob will be a little trooper through the whole ordeal of anaesthia and the healing process as well. We have to be up and out of the house by 5:30 to get to the hospital on time. From talking to a nurse on the phone today it seems as if we should be home by late morning/early afternoon.

Jacob got his haircut yesterday and looks so much older again - it happens with every cut. He repeats every thing we say - it's pretty cute.

Well supper just beeped, we'll try to update over the weekend, thank you for your prayers!