A walking little man

The past couple of weeks Jake has been taking little steps here and there. Just this past weekend, he decided to start walking everywhere! He is now all over the place and getting better at walking all the time. It's so funny to see him walking around! He's such a cute little boy.

I Love this kid

Sorry these are out of order. Our cute little Jake has discovered he can reach the piano keys. I think he's a natural. :)

We bought a gate this weekend to close off the family room/kitchen area. If someone (mom or dad) jumps the fence and goes up the stairs Jake gets pretty sad...as you can see. Also, we apparently let Jake roam around without clothes on.

Proud of his tunes.

First Owie

The other day Jake found a shard of glass (we have no idea where it came from) on the floor and was about to put it in his mouth when I grabbed it from him. When I grabbed it out of his little hand it sliced his finger. He didn't even cry! But that sucker bled

f-o-r-e-v-e-r. We would put a band-aid on and he would suck the band-aid until it came off.

So Britton had the idea of putting on a band-aid, and then putting his mitten on over it. I have to admit I was doubtful, but it worked like a charm. And Jake looked hilarious crawling around with one mitten on.

And here is our son, playing with the toilet lid.

Jake's Party

At Jake's party we had his cousins: the Chans and the Benhams; my parents and Britton's Mom over to celebrate. I made a ton of pizza, which was devoured, and we partied. Britton's Mom made a big cake for everyone and a little baseball cake just for Jake. Jake wasn't sure at first what to do with the cake, but he figured it out and enjoyed stuffing his face. Unfortunately his little tummy couldn't handle the sugar rush and he ended up throwing it up about 20 minutes later while playing with his cousins. It didn't seem to bother him though! For his birthday Jake got a little toy laptop, a Little People Garage/Carwash toy, some very cute clothes including a Mariner's outfit, and a t-ball set.

As I've whispered in Jake's ears many times over the past couple of days, this has been the best year of mine and Britton's life. We are just in love with this little guy. Here are 12 fun little facts about Jake, one for each month so far!

1. You love milk. You've had breast milk, formula, and cow's milk and you've never complained about any of them. Milk is definitely still your favorite food.
2. You eat graham crackers cuter than anyone I've ever seen. You take tiny little bites and finish chewing before you go for the next one. It's adorable.
3. Ever since you were about 4 months old you've screamed your head off when we take you out of the bathtub. We have no idea why you do it and have no idea how to help you get over it. You love bath time!
4. You love your Daddy. When he walks in the room your eyes light up and seem to say "that's my Daddy."
5. You can say ba-ba (for byebye), da-da (for Daddy and a lot of other things), ma-ma (when you're hungry, tired, or sad), du-du (for Gunther), and you have your own little language in which you speak complete sentences and are very convincing and eloquent.
6. You have figured out when you hold a piece of food out over the side of your high-chair, Gunther is there without fail to snatch it and lick your hand. You think it's hilarious.
7. You are speechless any time we go to Wal-mart, WinCo, Target or any other big store. You stare at the lights and the people and are completely mesmerized with all the activity.
8. You love being with other kids, especially your cousins. They make you laugh harder than anyone can!
9. You're starting to walk with your toy truck-walker and it's so fun watching you, you're so proud of your self and you smile the entire time, pausing every few steps to turn back and wave to make sure everyone is watching.
10. You are very opinionated. If we're making you do something you don't want to, like changing your diaper, getting dressed, or getting strapped in to your car seat, you let us know, and loudly.
11. You sleep on your stomach with your bum in the air.
12. You have the most adorable grin I've ever seen. I think everyone that's seen you smile has fallen in love with you Jake.

Happy Birthday to my baby boy!

Happy Birthday Jake!

Jake turns one this Friday! I can't believe it's already been a year. Enjoy the video!

Jakey's 1st Christmas!

Here's the Christmas pics I said I would post!

Jake did really well meeting Santa Claus...no tears! Just very quiet and concerned.

Not really a Christmas picture, I just think he looks super cute asleep.

Santa Claus brought Jake a giant toy chest. Jake loves it almost as much as his cousins do...they think it's pretty funny to hide inside of it.

Jakey surrounded by presents on Christmas morning...

Jakey with his cool tractor from Mommy and Daddy.

We had a great Christmas...and now Jake turns 1 in just a couple of weeks! I can't believe it!

It's a Wonderful Life!

I can't believe Christmas has come and gone. This is my absolute favorite time of year, and I hate to see it be over already. We had a wonderful Christmas though! We have a lot of things to be thankful for. First and foremost in the news department, I passed all my classes in my first semester of nursing school with all B's and above. Thank goodness. Secondly, and not exactly in the good news department, Britton was laid off from his job in mid-December. It's not a usual thing for his company to lay off salaried employees, but it is only supposed to last a few weeks. He'll be back at work in the beginning of January. Thankfully, we live with my parents, and we've been saving the majority of his paychecks to pay off our student loans. It's been quite the eye opener, though, as to how vital it is to have 6 months of savings and for me to have my education. Can you imagine being laid off with nothing in the savings account and a house payment, among other bills, to pay? This experience has been extremely positive. We know we want to be completely debt free and have 6 months of savings before we buy a house, and we know I am supposed to be in nursing school. Britton works in a field where lay-offs are common, and I will be working in a field where going from 1 day a week to 5 days a week and back to 1 day a week is okay. I'm thankful to be in nursing school, and I'm thankful to be married to someone who is smart with money.

Anyways. This past Tuesday I woke up at 2 in the morning and spent the next 12 hours lying in the bathroom wondering what in the world happened to me. I hate throwing up. It sucks. I spent the next 2 days feeling like I got hit by a truck. At that point I was thankful Britton got laid off because he did such an awesome job taking care of Jake while I slept. Then, Tuesday night Jake woke up screaming every 3-4 hours and would not go to sleep unless he had Tylenol in him. It was terrible and sad. We took him to the doctor on Wednesday and he had pressure in his ears or something, and they were on their way to an infection. Fortunately, every one was feeling much better by Christmas Day and we had a great Christmas. Britton got me the little Nike chip you put in your running shoes and it syncs with your iPod. I can't wait to use it. He also got me a massage certificate (which I used today and it was amazing), a couple of scarves and some other things. He did good. I surprised him with a plane ticket to Phoenix so he can go to a NASCAR race with his brother in April. He was shocked. Jake got some books and toys and a giant toy chest.

And now I am going to play Bananagrams with my sister.

I hope everyone has a great New Years! Definitely my second favorite holiday.
Pictures of Jake on Christmas to follow!