Jacob's 4 month check-up

Look Who's 4 months old!

So it may have been over a week ago, but my littlest baby turned 4 months old on February 22nd. He is developing quite a little personality, but is still the easiest baby ever. He has been sleeping soundly through the night since 2 months old and he really is super laid back. Here are his stats:

Weight: 14 lbs. 2.5 oz.
Height: 24 3/4 inches long
Clothing size: 3-6 mos.
Diapers: size 2
Eating: 8 oz. bottle every 3 hours

I was comparing Jacob's 4 month update with Jackson's and he is eating significantly more than Jackson was at this age. Jackson was only eating 6 ounces and it was every 4 hours. We're lucky if we even make it three hours before Jacob wants to eat. Surprisingly he is still not a large baby. Larger than Jackson was, but smaller than James was. It's interesting to me see how they progress and grow so differently.

Sweet baby Jacob

I haven't started Jacob on solid foods yet, but I am thinking of starting to put some rice cereal in his last feeding of the day and see how he takes to it. If he does well I may begin feeding him some baby food. I hesitate to do it just because I am still struggling with Jackson's feedings (that boy is so picky!) so I'm worried I'll be stretched too thin in order to feed them both. Although mother's of multiples do it all the time so I just need to suck it up! :-)

Jacob is becoming much more vocal and I was able to catch him on video laughing away:

Things he loves:

• Mommy & Daddy
• His big brothers
• Jumperoo
• Baby TV
• Lounging in the big green recliner

Things he hates

• Wet or dirty diapers
• Being hungry (he gets "hangry" like his momma ;-))
• Tummy time

I am absolutely in love with this little boy and so excited to see where this journey with three amazing boys takes us.

My world!

I'm back!

So I guess it should come as no surprise, but having a newborn, 17 month old and Kindergartner really does tend to completely and utterly take over your life, leaving little or no time for yourself, let alone blogging. Between having a new baby and all of the holidays life has been a little bit hectic, but I promise to start making time to blog more. It has apparently been since September that I last blogged. As most everyone knows, a lot has happened since then. The biggest thing being the addition of our beautiful baby boy Jacob Matthew:

As most everyone knows he was a complete surprise, the best surprise anyone could as for, but still a BIG surprise. He has definitely added joy to our family and made it complete. Everyone asks if we will try for one more, a girl. The answer is still unknown. I have been pregnant for the last three years and I just want to take a break from that and enjoy my boys. Who knows what the future holds, but right now I am completely content with my beautiful boys.

James is really enjoying Kindergarten and is really thriving. He has even been accepted into the GT classes, so I am looking forward to seeing how well he excels at that. Jackson is loving preschool and has made quite an impression on his teachers. Although he can be difficult, he is an absolute joy and I am really enjoying watching him grow into an adorable little boy. He finally says "Mama" and "Dada" along with "Uh Oh", "bye-bye" and "ball".

These boys definitely keep me busy, as well as being Chairman of the board at Jackson's preschool and assistant room mom for James' Kindergarten class, but I am loving every minute of it. Since I've been absent for so long I thought the easiest way to recap the past 4 months would be in pictures, so enjoy!

Just days after Jacob was home...James is in love :-)

The weekend before Jacob arrived, James was in one of my good friends weddings...isn't he handsome?!

My family minus Jackson (Jacob's even there, even if he's in my tummy ;-))

Jackson and James on Halloween

My little Monkey on Halloween

James, Jackson, Lyla and Ruby before heading out to trick or treat

James at his sports themed birthday party

James getting happy birthday sung to him with his giant cookie cake

Jackson loves bath time!

Our Family Christmas card

My boys with Santa

Our house all lit up for Christmas (look closely and you can see James and Jackson)

Our family on Christmas Eve

Jessica and I on New Year's Eve

Jackson on New Year's Eve

My bestie, Margaret and I on New Year's Eve

James popping on popper

Our friends gathered around the fire on New Year's Eve

Baby Jacob at 3 months

James and Jackson enjoying breakfast together

James started playing basketball this year (gotta love the headband and wristbands ;-))

James soothing his baby brother (melts my heart)

James at his barn dance at school

James' adorable Valentine's for his classmates

James at his class Valentines party

Jackson being a helpful big brother and helping daddy feed Jacob

James' Kindergarten School Pictures

My first born baby boy really is growing up. Here's his school pictures from his first year in elementary school. I still can hardly believe he's in Kindergarten. Stop growing up James!

A bit of a cheesy smile, but still adorable!

James' 1st UT Game

This past weekend we were lucky enough to go to the UT VS Baylor game because we were gifted tickets by our wonderful friends the Byrds. We thought since it was an afternoon game it would be the perfect opportunity to take James to the game. He was beyond thrilled and had a wonderful time. Despite it being a bit warm at the beginning, it turned out to be a beautiful day with perfect weather. Wish I could say the same for the game, but at least it wasn't a shut-out. We played pretty well considering Baylor is one of the top teams, but it's still tough to watch your beloved team struggle so much. Oh well, there's always next year! HOOK 'EM HORNS!

Mommy with her little Longhorn

The view from our seats

Little goofball

Jackson is walking!

I am happy to report that Jackson is finally walking all on his own. He's been taking a few steps here and there for the last couple of weeks, but has never really fully walked. Then just yesterday he started walking everywhere. I am incredibly happy about this seeing as we will have a new baby in roughly 4 weeks and it will definitely be helpful for him to be able to walk on his own so I don't have to carry 2 babies at once. I'm so thrilled to watch him grow before our eyes and I can't wait to see what kind of little boy he becomes. Here's a video of my little walker :-)

Houston, we have a Kindergartener!

I know I always say this, but it is hard to believe we have a Kindergartner in this house. It feels like just yesterday James was a baby and now he is an almost 6 year old Kindergartner! James has almost completed his first week of Kinder and he is loving it. I was pretty confident that he would adapt well, but you never know. He is in Mrs. Rodriguez's class and I am thrilled we got her. I have heard nothing but positive things about her and she is so sweet and caring with the kids. James is also in class with a few of his friends from NPDS, Christopher (yes, the same one he got kicked out of Magik Theater camp with), Ellen and Caroline (the little girl he claims is his girlfriend :-)). I was very happy that he had some friends in there that he already knew, but it should make for an interesting year seeing as Christopher is in class with him. Fingers crossed it goes better than Magik Theater camp :-) So far so good!

James with his teacher Mrs. Rodriguez on the first day

James at his desk

I thought it would be a nice surprise to have lunch with James on his first day of school so I went ahead and joined him at 10:45 for lunch. I know they have lunch so early! James was very excited about the opportunity to eat in the cafeteria and much to my surprise he chose a salad for the first day! I was so proud of him for making such a healthy choice, although I have a feeling it may be the last time he does that :-)

With my favorite Kindergartner for lunch

James is absolutely loving being a "big" boy at the "big" school and I am so incredibly proud of how well he is doing. It is my hope that he will continue to thrive and learn as much as his little brain will allow. Here's to a great year at Northwood with many many more to come!

Summer of Camps

With summer officially over I thought I'd do post about all of the wonderful camps James was able to attend this summer. I was torn between putting him in day school at NPDS for one last summer or putting him in various camps. Although it was more expensive, I opted for the different camps because I knew it would keep him more engaged and allow him to experience new fun things. I also buddied him up with a friend for all of the camps so that he would know someone at each camp and feel more comfortable. He had an absolute blast at each and every camp and we will definitely be returning to some of them next year.

Camp 1: Zoo Camp
This is the first year James has ever attended this camp, but I had heard nothing but great things about it and it definitely did not disappoint. James learned so many things about the animals and met a lot of new friends. We will definitely be returning for this camp next year.

James with his buddy Lyla all ready for camp

James and his class in front of the hippos

James' class riding the train

All the little campers



Camp 2: Artworks Camp
We signed the kids up for Artworks camp this year, but only for the morning session. Note to self: for the extra $50 just sign them up for the full day. I think James would have enjoyed it more if he could have stayed all day, but we just weren't sure they would fully enjoy it. It definitely was a fun camp and I'll probably send him back next year.

James with all of his artwork from the week



Camp 3: Aerial Athletics "Out of this World" Camp
This was the first year we went to Aerial Athletics because we went to Olympia Gym for camp last year, but at the recommendation of a friend we decided to try out a new gym. James had a great time and they even took a field trip to a nearby park and went out for ice cream on the their last day. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures from the camp. I'm not sure if I would return to this camp next year however. I was happy with it, but it didn't seem much different than the camp at Olympia Gym and the location of that gym is much more convenient to our home. We'll probably do gymnastic camp again next year because it's such a great way to get the kids energy out, but I would likely go to Olympia Gym instead.

Camp 4: Magik Theater Camp--Camp Showbiz!
This was probably my favorite camp that I sent James to. This was his second year to do camp at Magik Theater and he loved it just as much this time around as he did last year. They do an amazing job at this camp and have the logistics of it down to a T. At this camp they put the children into different age groups and each group does their own play which is showcased at the end of the week on Saturday morning. I think this camp is amazing for developing the children's confidence and allowing them to play out a make-believe world for entertainment purposes. Last year James played "Abu" in a play which was based off of Aladdin. Unfortunately we were unable to attend the performance because we were in the hospital having just given birth to Jackson. Much to my chagrin, we were unable to see James do a performance this year as well. You see, James was in class with not only Lyla, but also another friend from his soccer team, Christopher and they tend to get into a little bit of trouble together and this was no different at camp. We got called a couple of times about their behavior and unfortunately the camp directors felt it was better if they weren't in the performance because they were a disturbance.  I really do love this camp, but I was a little bit disappointed in how they handled the situation. I guess they really just have a no tolerance policy for not listening and obeying the camp counselors. We are currently undecided if we will go back to it next year which really makes me disappointed because I truly did love this camp the most.

James and Lyla all ready for camp on their first day