3 Years Old!

Dear Ethan,

I just cannot believe that you have been in my life for three years!  The past year of your life has just flown by, and you have grown so much!  I love you so very much and love watching you grow and learn new things.

You are absolutely in love with fire trucks, dump trucks, trains, and cars.  You love to build train tracks and watch your trains go round and round.  Your obsession with fire trucks and ambulances leads you outside or to the window any time you hear the sirens, whether they go by our house or not, and you love to ride by the fire station when we go places.

For your birthday, we had a fire truck birthday party for you...fire truck cake and all.  I made your cake, and it had dalmation spots all over it.  It also had fire trucks, ambulances, and a helicopter on it.  Within 45 minutes of finishing the decorating, you stuck your finger in it.  You were very proud of it!  It also tasted very good!  The fire truck from Fire Station 24 came, and you were beside yourself...very excited.  It was so much fun to see your face as the fire truck pulled in our yard.  All of your friends came to celebrate with you, and y'all had a blast.

Ethan, you are so full of life...you always find the bright spot in the day.  You have the most optimism of anyone I have ever met.  I love you more than words can say.  I am looking forward to seeing you grow for many years to come.

Love,
Momma

11 Months!

Jacob,

You are officially one month from turning ONE!  Wow, I just cannot believe you are 11 months old.  The past month has flown by!  You are absolutely the sweetest baby on this earth, and I love you so much.

In the past month, you have mastered cruising around the furniture, learned to open cabinets (which is one of your favorite past times), and started saying "mama" and "bye bye".  You are currently teething, so you have not been sleeping through the night for the past few days, and I am tired!  But, I do love holding you!  You cuddle right up to me, and I am trying to soak it all in.

What joy you are to our family!  We love you very, very much!

Love,
Momma

10 Months Old!

Jacob,

Happy 10 month Birthday, Sweet Boy!

Daddy and I cannot believe how fast the past month has flown.  During the month, you had a visit with Mimi, and then we went and stayed with Mimi and Pop for a week and a half.  Oh, you and Ethan love going to their house.  You started saying "dada" this week, and Daddy loves to hear you say it.  One of your favorite toys is a wooden spoon, and you just talk to it constantly when you're playing.

You are a good eater and are eating solids twice a day.  I will probably start feeding you three times a day in the next couple of weeks.  You are also a good nurser, and there is no question about what you want when it's time for you to eat.

You are such a joy and smile all the time.  You love sucking your thumb, and I wouldn't have it any other way.  You are going to be ONE in two short months, and it doesn't seem right!  You are growing up way too fast, but I love every minute of it!

I love you so very much!
Mommy

Singing

Ethan,

You have developed a love for singing and singing at the top of your lungs all of the time...anywhere you are.  We were at Mimi and Pop's the past week and a half, and you loved every minute of it.  You learned to sing "Baa Baa Black Sheep" while we were there, but it sounds more like, "baa baa bwack sheep, how many more?!?".  I recorded it today on my phone, and at one point, you said, "moooooooooooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee".  Reagan and I just laughed!  We could not hold it in!  You love singing, and I love listening to you.  Your other favorite songs are "Twinkle Twinkle", "Rock-a-bye Baby", "The Silly Song", and "Farmer and the Dell".  When I am rocking Jacob to sleep, you always sing "rock-a-bye baby" to him, although you sing "rock my baby!".  I love it!

You are so precious, and I love you more than you will ever know.  You are my sweet boy!

Love,
Mommy

9 Months!

Jacob,

I cannot believe that you are 9 months old today!  It doesn't seem like an entire month has passed since you turned 8 months old.  You have grown an incredible amount this month, especially in the past 2 weeks.  You started crawling on March 14.  It was a Sunday afternoon, and we were waiting on Gammy, Camden, and Jeremie to come over, so we could go to the park.  There was a toy on the floor that you wanted, and you just crawled right to it!  Since then, you have started getting into a lot.  You love getting into the DVDs and the computer cord if it is where you can get to it.  You have also taught Ethan that you will take your toys back from him after he takes them from you!  The first time you did that I just laughed!  Ethan was not to thrilled, though.  You also pulled up yesterday for the first time.  Daddy and I heard you and Ethan wake up, and when he came to check on you, he told me to get up and hurry.  I stood in the hall and looked into your room, and you were holding onto the side of the crib just a bouncing on your knees!  Ethan was bouncing along with you in his bed.  It was so fun to watch.  Then, later in the day, you pulled up on the couch all by yourself!

You went for your 9 month checkup on Thursday (your Mimi's birthday), and you were 24 lbs. 7 oz, and were 30 in. tall.  After comparing your stats to your brother's 9 month stats, you are only 1 lb heavier than he was!  You are the same height.  It is a lot of fun to compare the rates at which the two of you are growing.

Your Mimi is coming to visit you next week, and Ethan is terribly excited.  I know that Mimi cannot wait to get her hands on you!  We will also be making a trip back to Spartanburg with her for Easter.  Mama, Reagan, Sandy, and everyone else are beyond ready to see you crawl and ready to hold you!

Jacob, we love you more every day!

Momma and Daddy

8 Months!

Jacob,

WOW!  That's all I can say!  How in the world is it that you are already 8 months old?!?  That means in 4 months, you will be turning one!  I just cannot believe it.  I can still remember when Ethan turned one like it was yesterday.  I also vividly remember the day you were born...and how quickly it happened, too.

I do not believe I can say it enough, but you are such a joy to be around.   You are constantly smiling at anything and everyone.  It is so awesome that God has blessed Daddy and me with you.  You are so happy all the time.  Well, unless you are hungry or tired.  You are interacting with Ethan more every day, and it is so fun to watch the two of you play together.  You love to get Ethan!

At 8 months, you are beginning to crawl.  You will get on all fours (a lot of times looking like a chimpanzee, just like Ethan did) and rock back and forth.  I know that you will be crawling before I know it, so I am having to re-baby proof our house again!  As I was trying to take your 8 month pictures, I would sit you down, and you immediately got into your crawling position.  You just kept laughing at Ethan and me as we were trying to make you smile and sit up!

You are my snuggler.  I love when I hold you.  You constantly give me hugs and hold to my neck very tightly.  You also love to give kisses, slobber and all, but I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world.  Daddy and I love to watch you when you wake up.  You will lay in your bed, rolling over, and just look around.  When we get you up, you get so excited!

Oh, how I love every moment I have with you.  I feel like the world's luckiest Momma to have you and Ethan.  Happy 8 Month Birthday, Sweet Boy!

Love,

Momma

7 Months Old!

Jacob,

I cannot believe that you are already 7 months old! Where has the time gone? As I was looking through picture folders on the computer, I came across pictures from your first few days of life. I cannot believe how much you have changed and how much our family has changed since you were born. It is just amazing to me!

Little boy, you are absolutely the happiest baby I have ever known! You are always smiling and laughing, unless you are tired, hungry, or do not feel very well. Even when you are upset, you do not cry very much. You are currently sitting up for an extended period of time now! You have also been rolling over for the past few weeks. You do not crawl on the top of your head as much as you did since you realized that you can roll to get what to what you want. I just love watching you! You have also graduated from the infant tub to sitting up and taking a bath with Ethan. You absolutely love bath time. When it is time for you to get out, you do not like that very much, and you let Daddy and me know about it! Your laugh and smile are very contagious…it is very hard to stay upset or mad when you are smiling at me.

You still love your brother very much and constantly have your eyes on him. Anywhere he goes, your glaze follows. The other day, Ethan woke you up from your nap because he would not sleep, and he had you laughing so hard. He said, "Look Jacob! Watch me!", and you just laughed right along with him.

Jacob, you began eating solid foods right after you turned 6 months old, and it took you a little while to get used to eating. Now, you eat breakfast and dinner…which consists of either rice cereal or oatmeal and a fruit (bananas, apples, or pears). We are slowly introducing new foods to you and will begin vegetables next week! I sure do hope you like vegetables as much as your brother does!

You are growing so much, and it just thrills my heart every day that I am home with you. I love you so very much and love the little boy you are becoming.

Love,

Momma

6 Month Stats

J,

Today was your 6 month well child visit with Dr. Rabon.  You received 3 shots and did better than I had expected.

Your stats at 6 months are:  a BIG BOY!!
Height:  28 3/4" (95th percentile)
Weight: 21 lbs 14 oz (97th percentile)
Head:   (75th percentile)

You just keep growing!

Love,
Momma