Grandma Hanks Comes to Visit

We had the privilege of having Mike's mom, Pat, come and stay with us for a few days. Jacob loved hanging out with his Grandma and wishes he could see more of her. Lodi, California sure is a long ways away but we treasure every moment we get to have with her when she comes up every few months. Pat was able to stay at our house for 3 nights and then we traveled up north to spend time with the rest of the family too. Mike's sister and brother, Theresa and Cliff, live up north in Bellevue with their families. It's always a blessing to get to hang out with them too. Since Pat hadn't been up since Christmas we were able to have a Hanks family Christmas in January. It was fun to see Jacob open up presents since he is a little more responsive now than he was at Christmas time. We love when you come up Grandma Hanks and we look forward to the next time with much anticipation. Jacob promises not to grow too much for you! Daddy, Jacob and Grandma Hanks hanging out at my parents house.

Cousin Angelique and Jacob with crazy cousin Michael.

Jacob loves his cousin Angelique

Aunt Theresa and Jacob with a pouty face (I don't know why?)

At cousin Michael's basketball game

Angelique trying on Jacob's hat.

Jacob going after those presents.

The jumparoo at church

Mike and I have been volunteering our time to be with the junior high and senior high kids at our church on sunday evening for youth group. Jacob gets to tag along too. :) Normally after I have fed him we make our way back to where everybody else is hanging out in the sanctuary but this time I thought I would give him some play time in our church's nursery. I found out he loves the jumparoo there. He thought it was hilarious he could touch the ground and make himself move. I guess out jumper at home just doesn't measure up.

Meeting little Zach

Our friends Sarah and Michael just had their first baby, Zachary Michael. Mike and I went over there to bring them some dinner and visit for a little while. It was so wonderful to get to see them and meet their precious little angel. Zachary was born at about 8 and a half pounds. It was pretty amazing to lay him down next to Jacob and see just how big these little guys get quickly. Congratulations again Sarah and Michael, he's beautiful!

We had to move little Zach away from Jacob a bit because Jacob was getting wild with his arms :)

More Carrot Photos

Carrots!

Jacob tried carrots for the first time today! It didn't even phase him one bit. As long as mommy is shoveling food in his mouth he seems to be happy as a clam. He's such a boy! :)

Talking on the phone with Daddy

Daddy was talking on speaker with our friend Seth

and Jacob was very interested

So interested he wanted to eat Seth.

5 months

Well our big boy is now 5 months old. It's so hard to believe how fast time has flown by. Everyday we get to see Jacob's little personality come out more and more with every facial expression and sound he makes. He is now grasping things above him without any problem and everything that he gets his hands on goes directly to his mouth without fail. Jacob sleeps through the night ever since we took the pacifier away from him and wakes up in the morning with a huge smile for mommy. Instead of sucking on his pacifier he has found his thumb, which will probably be a habit to break later, but for now it's just stinkin' adorable. He's taking 3 naps a day with the first two lasting about 2 hours each. Jacob still isn't that fond of tummy time but it's growing on him. He is able to hold up his head much longer and today he rolled over for the very first time. I even caught it on film! Also we have found Jacob's tickle spot, on his left side right under his arm. It is so much fun to tickle and listen to his little giggle over and over and over again. He is so good about eating rice cereal every morning and is even seeming to look forward to it by opening his mouth in anticipation of the spoon. Our little boy is perfect in every way and we are so blessed to have him in our lives. We love you so much Jacob!

Jacob teddy bear rug from Aunt Debbie and Uncle Larry.

Thank you so much!!!

ROLLING OVER FOR THE FIRST TIME!!!

Jacob's many facial expressions

Ducky Bath

Jacob has outgrown his baby bath tub :(. It makes me sad to be having to move him to big boy things but we can't let him sit in a puddle of water anymore just because mommy wants him to stay little. We ended up buying an inflatable ducky bath from target that even quacks when you squeeze the bill. Jacob seems to get a kick out of that! I thought I would post a few photos of our bath time fun! Enjoy.

Back to work!

January has come as well as my return back to work. It has been such a blessing to have been able to spend these past 4 months doing nothing but playing and loving on Jacob. I thank God that I no longer have to work full-time but am able to be on-call at the hospital. The last time I had been at the hospital was when I delivered Jacob. I found myself passing by the mother/baby rooms wishing I could turn back time. It seems almost impossible that Jacob will soon be 5 months old. However, let me clarify, while I would love to turn back time to when he was newly born I definitely do not want to return back to labor pains. Those can remain in the past!

Yesterday, I worked my first shift and to be honest I felt pretty nervous getting back into the swing of things. However, the day passed without any problem and I had a nice little assignment that allowed me to remember what I needed to. Jacob spent the evening with my Mom and Dad which they loved and I'm sure he did as well. It's so wonderful having them close and being able to leave him knowing that he will get the next best thing to Mommy and Daddy. He's loved beyond compare when he goes to Nana and Granddad's house :) They'll be watching him about once a week for me when I work a shift at the hospital. Luckily, I don't have to return back full time and will be working about once a week at the hospital and twice a week nannying for two sweet little girls, Sophie and Emma. Sophie is 4 and Emma is 2. They are adorable girls, full of energy, and we spend our day playing dolls, making crafts, and living in a magical land of make believe. I'm so thankful I am able to nanny while their mom Jill does some part-time work because it means I can take Jacob with me and spend as much time with him as possible. That is so important to me right now especially since he's changing and learning so much during the next few months. I am so blessed to have a husband who works so hard and a job that allows me to work around Jacob's needs.

Sophie and Jacob

Emma and her sweet little curls