Grandpa Hanks Visits

This past weekend we had Mike's Dad come up from California. He hadn't met Jacob before and was able to come up for the weekend just so he could hang out with us. Jacob loved being held by Grandpa Hanks and showed it by laughing and smiling. Saturday, Mike's sister and brother and their families came down to hang out with us and their Dad as well. We had a yummy dinner and had fun just spending time together. We miss you Grandpa Hanks and are glad that you were able to come up. Come back soon :)

Mike, Grandpa Hanks, Jacob and Cliff

Fun with Babies!

Jacob made so many new friends this week. Friday, three of my friends from work and I, along with our little ones got together for lunch. My friend Rebecca had us all over just to relax and talk about the new adventure of mommyhood. It was so much fun lining all four of our babies on the couch and seeing how they interact with each other. I found that Jacob decided Lucy was for him. He grabbed onto her little outfit and didn't seem to want to let go :) Uh oh I'm in trouble he's already going after the girls at 3 months old :) Our little party consisted of Jacob and I, Asha and Sarah (10 months), Rebecca and A.J. (5 months) and Christy and Lucy (3 months). We had a blast. Thank you Rebecca for having us over...we had a great time!

Sarah, A.J., Jacob, and Lucy

A.J. and Jacob (who is forcing Lucy to stay :)

Jacob became very attached to Lucy.

A.J. chillin' in his bouncer


Lucy and her mommy Christy.

Sweet little Sarah.

A Visit With the Peterson's

This past week has been a blast for Jacob and I. Last Thursday we had the opportunity to visit with Lisa Peterson and her three adorable little boys. Lisa has two twin boys named Lane and Charlie who are just over 2 years old as well as a 3 month old, Max, who is one day younger than Jacob. We were even in the hospital at the same time. I was checking out and Lisa was checking in :) Needless to say it's always fun to get together with her and watch how our sons are growing. Even though Max and Jacob were born a day apart and at almost the same birth weight (Jacob 9lbs 6oz and Max 9lbs 2oz) Jacob has far surpassed Max in weight. I had a feeling that might be the case since he is wearing 6-9 month sizes now and doesn't even come close to fitting into 3 month sizes. While we were there Lisa made a awesome salad for her and I while all the boys (except my son) went down for a nap. It was so nice to just talk and laugh together and I look forward to our next visit. Max and Jacob are both doing great. Max even decided that he would roll over for the first time while I was there just to make us feel special :) It sure is fun watching our little guys grow!

Lane and Charlie playing with playdoh

Lisa amazed at how big Jacob is :)

Jacob and Max chillin' on the couch

Go Seahawks!

Yesterday was Seahawk Sunday and even though they aren't doing very well my men are still representing. I wanted to share some adorable photos! Our friend John gave Jacob the coolest jersey ever with our name on the back and everything. Thanks John!

Happy Birthday Grandma Alspach!

This past Saturday we celebrated my Grandma Alspach's birthday (Jacob's great Grandma). The whole family ended up throwing her 80th birthday party in style at a little restaurant near where she lives in the golf community of McCormick Wood's. It was a great time full of laughter, food and family. We were able to reminisce about wonderful memories surrounding Grandma and shower her with our gifts. It is such a blessing to be able to live so close to all my aunts, uncles, and cousins and have so much support surrounding us and now little Jacob. I have greatly appreciated the many family birthday parties, thanksgivings, Christmases, fourth of July's, and family camping trips that make up so much of my childhood memories and pray that I will be able to provide that for my son in the future. Thank you Grandma Alspach for instilling in your children the importance of family. I can never begin to verbalize what a blessing it has been growing up amidst such a huge loving family. We love you!!!!

My Big Family!

My little brothers

The Elkins Family

Aunt Erin & Cousin's Ryan and Kevin

Cathy, Tyler, and Grandma

Uncle Rick, Aunt Lael, Nancy and Grandma

Cousin's Doug, Julie, & Shannon Carl

Grandma's frame of her 5 adorable munchkins.

Auntie's Cathy and Lael with Jacob

Aunt Dana, photographer extraordinaire, caught a great smile!

Cathy telling a story about Grandma.

Lunch with Daddy and a visit with A.J.

This past Thursday was full of fun for Jacob and I. We headed out to have lunch with Mike up in Fife which is always nice to get to see him besides just a few hours at the end of the day. I ended up making some sandwiches and then picking him up at his office. We crashed Dairy Queen since it was a little too cold to eat outside on picnic benches and ate our homemade sandwiches. We felt a little awkward about eating our packed lunches in the store so we bought a coke :) Jacob loved seeing his Daddy for a little while and so did Mommy. After lunch we then packed up and drove down to Fort Lewis to pick up some diaper covers I found on Craig's list (oh the joy of an on-line garage sale) and visited with my friend Rebecca who has a son about 2 months older than Jacob. It was so much fun to get to see her and relate with one another on things that we commonly worry and stress about as mommy's. A.J. and Jacob had some fun too but mostly they were both cranky so I was able to snap a few happy shots before meltdowns. I so appreciate busy days that allow Jacob and I to get out and do something different than the normal routine. I hope you enjoy our pics.

A.J. and Jacob (They are almost the same size) Man my son is big :)

Jacob's first attempt at the bumbo chair at Rebecca's house. He was a little wobbly.

One more bath time Pic in the cow towel. Thanks Nicole and Justin for the great towel, it's our favorite!

Bath Time

Jacob has come to love his baths and mommy loves giving them to him. I thought that I would capture some of the happy moments and share them.

BIG SMILES!

Finally all warm and cozy after his bath!

12 weeks

Jacob is now 12 weeks and doing great. His smiles are getting bigger and bigger and I have discovered a few toys that make him crack up every time. He especially loves a little cow that jingles when you shake it and moos when you squeeze it. The reaction I get causes me to squeeze that annoying little cow so many times I'm sure even Louie our cat is completely fed up :) This last Thursday I took Jacob to the ear, nose and throat doctor. He basically just told me that Jacob's ear drums look perfectly healthy and at this point there isn't anything to be done. We will be returning for another appointment when Jacob is 6 months and has had another hearing screening. Apparently, there is not really any advantage to using a hearing aide because he has perfect hearing in one ear and is responding to sound. The doctor also gave me a little hope that this might resolve without any intervention as Jacob's body matures. Anyway, it was not a very informative appointment since I had already heard most of this information. Plus, the fact that every time Jacob HEARS a toy cow mooing he cracks a huge smile makes me relieved that he is able to hear me and daddy just fine when we talk to him and comfort him. He is so precious and is changing every day it seems like. I've been enjoying him discovering something new and watching his facial expressions when he does. He just recently discovered his right hand. He will hold his hand up and just stare at it while he moves it all around. SO CUTE! I think this is the only time in my life that I have been able to feel completely happy and content despite the tremendous lack of sleep I'm experiencing. Jacob is still not sleeping through the night and recently this past week has decided that after 3 AM he wants to be held :( ARGH I wish that he had come with an instruction manual sometimes. It's hard but it is all worth it when I pick him up and he snuggles into my chest. I love him so much!

Wow that's a cool fist

The Hilarious Cow

Halloween!

Wow...what a fun halloween! We had both our families over for halloween. Our neighborhood is so much fun with all the trick or treaters and Mike and I ended up hosting a family party so that all the kiddos could trick or treat in our neighborhood. We had my whole family with my parents, sisters and brothers and Mike's sister and brother with their families ended up making the trek down from Bellevue to hang out as well. My little brothers, Johnny and Josh, loved the company of our nephews and niece, Michael, Angelique, and Matthew. We ended up having two star wars storm troopers (Josh and Michael had to duke it out), a ninja (Johnny), and a diva (Angelique), a pirate Elizabeth from the movie Pirates of the Caribbean (Joanna), an Ironman (Matthew) and a little pea pod (Jacob). Dinner was marvelous consisting of my mom's beef stew (yummy), Theresa's fantastic salad, and some pumpkin bars. It was so much fun opening the door for all the trick or treaters this year and we ended up going through two and half huge costco bags of candy. The rain cleared up and the fog rolled in and it was a perfect halloween night. Unfortunately I was having such a fun time I forgot to take a ton of pictures so I can only post a few and guess who they're of :). For those of you who have been praying for Jacob's hearing, thank you very much. I recently just made an appointment at the ear, nose and throat specialist and we will be finding out more this coming Thursday. Please keep us in your prayers!

What sweet little cheeks
My pea pod and his Nana

Uncle Samir and Jacob.