happy 6 months, sweet jacob

Happy half-birthday, our precious little one!!

How can it possibly be that Jacob is six months old already?  I'm thankful that keeping this blog has helped me to be more mindful of how rapidly time continues to pass by.

It truly feels like just a few weeks ago that we were anticipating "baby brother's" arrival...that we were adjusting to life as a family of six...that we were learning who this wonderful new person in our midst would turn out to be.

And now, as I sit in our simple temporary home in northern Tanzania, dealing with an extremely slow internet connection that only occasionally allows me to upload pictures, I have a chance to realize the blessings that have enriched our lives since August 19, 2012.  I am filled with gratitude for sweet baby Jacob and the love and life that he brings to our family.  As I wrote to friends recently, he has turned out to be the gift that we didn't even know we needed.

His warm, engaging and endearing personality is not lost on a single person he meets.  No matter the age, ethnicity, or language of persons who cross his path, each one seems so taken with this baby and his loving attitude.  We are one lucky family to have him in our midst.


And in these six short months, what a ride he has already experienced.  From his birth in Houston, to our cross-country drive to Georgia and South Carolina, to our month in Louisiana at Christmas time, to our trans-Atlantic journey to Tanzania, Jacob hasn't missed a beat.  Without a doubt, his relaxed persona has made a big difference in making for so many great memories.





So what do I want to remember about Jacob at this age?  Well, everything, but most especially...

• how he smiles that gorgeous gummy smile when he sees one of us approaching
• how he sometimes wakes up singing in the morning, and what a beautiful a sound that is
• how he makes everyone around him feel so funny/special/loved
• how he is rolling over all the time now, and how he recently figured out that sleeping on his tummy is way more comfortable...and how wonderfully he has slept at night since making that discovery (happy dance!!)
• how he is starting to enjoy his first solids this week--"Cerelac," made by a European company and very similar to baby cereal in the U.S.--and how Madison has already asked when she will get a chance to feed him
• how he has taken to so very many changes so readily, how he rarely cries (and when he does, I know I need to pay attention), how he just is joy, all the time...and how I wonder if this is predictive of his personality later on...and how I really don't want to mess that up! 
• how his siblings still clamor for time with him, how they never tire of snuggling with him or trying to make him laugh his precious belly laugh, or how they are constantly amazed by the new things that he can do
• how he adores his daddy...and how his face lights up every time he hears Chris' voice or sees him nearby
• how he still opens his mouth wide onto my cheek, chin, shoulder, etc., so often...I don't even care if he is actually rooting for milk that he might have missed--I just love that it feels like precious, slobbery kisses to me
• how he is keeping his daddy and me young and energetic, because really, what choice do we have?  :)
• and finally, I want to remember how he reminds me, every single day, that God is so very present in my life...right here...right now

You are deeply loved, our sweet Jacob.  Thank you for being you, and for making us, us.

jacob at 4 months

With our move to Africa approaching in just over two weeks, I don't really "have" time to post about Jacob's 4th month of life.  Yet when I take a minute to realize how quickly this precious baby is changing, and I remember how very soon our other little ones are becoming such big kids, I know that it's well worth it to "make" some time to record some of our family's recent memories.







Soon after Jacob turned 3 months, he celebrated his first Thanksgiving.  Because my parents were out of the country visiting family in India at that time, we spent the holiday with our friends in Houston.  It was a nice, low-stress time of giving thanks and relaxing.  The kids helped Kathi with some decoration and food prep, and I was in charge of baby Jacob and a brie...not a bad deal at all, I'd say.  Chris was busy on call the night prior, but made it home in plenty of time to enjoy a delicious meal with all of us, including this happy little butterball :)







Once my husband completed his work after that Thanksgiving weekend, we were given the gift of two weeks in a row with him at home with us.  What better to do with that kind of time than load up the whole crew and hop in the car for a cross-country road trip?!  Our trip to South Carolina deserves a blog post unto itself, but I will say that it was a wonderful time of reuniting, sharing, and catching up with many dear, dear friends.  Those days were full of so much joy and laughter, all made even richer because we were able to introduce our sweet Jacob to so many friends back at "home," which is what Greenville continues to feel like for me.
 

Before we went to Greenville, however, we spent almost a week in south Georgia, where we enjoyed a quality visit with Chris' parents.  It was a treat to hear stories of how much Jacob reminded them of Chris as a baby, as well as to watch our older kids' relationships with their paternal grandparents continue to grow.  

We enjoyed lots of meals together, a visit to a bookstore where Grandpa let the kids each pick a book for themselves, and some time outdoors enjoying the mild southern winter.

This time was especially meaningful for Chris and me, not just because of the connections between generations, but also because of the wholehearted support we received from both Grandma and Grandpa as we embark on our missionary journey.  It takes a whole lot of self-giving love to be able to say, "I'll miss you like crazy, but I'm so glad that you're doing what you feel you are called to do."

Since Chris' parents do not do much on the internet, we left with lots of hugs and promises to send handwritten letters at least once in a while.  This is a habit that I am so hopeful we will all adopt when we are overseas.  It's just too easy these days to dash off an email or text.  While terribly useful, and honestly almost indispensable, such communication is also fairly easily forgotten.  But there is nothing like receiving a piece of mail written just for you––no carbon-copying or forwarding or cutting and pasting.  No spellcheck or autocorrect.  Just a beautifully simple reminder that someone you love has taken the time to pause and share a bit of his or her life with you.

Once we returned to Houston in early December, the remainder of our time there was spent getting back into the groove of homeschooling (who was I kidding carting all those books with us on that trip?), and preparing for our move back to Louisiana.  We fell back into a pretty good rhythm, and Jacob has continued to enjoy the doting affection of all of his siblings.

Our youngest reader is undoubtedly the one who most enjoys sharing the gift of books with baby Jacob.

 And he loves every minute of it.

I really appreciate those of you who've sent well wishes, hoping that Jacob is sleeping better these days.  I wish I could say that he was.  Really, really I do.  In fact, on the morning of 12-12-12, I suddenly awoke with the realization that Jacob had slept a full seven hours and had not made a peep.  What a glorious feeling that was.  Rest!  Rejuvenation!  Normalcy!  And then he slept through the next night as well!  But I have been a mommy long enough to know that a couple of good nights does not a great sleeper make.  And we haven't had another long stretch of sleep since.  So yes, Jacob and I still greet each other once or, ahem, twice a night for a quick feed.  It's not ideal, but really, do I have any room to complain?  Just look at this face...  

There are worse things in the world than having to hug this angel baby a couple of times a night :)

And, just for memory's sake, he weighed in at his 4 month check-up at 16 lbs and 2 oz (apparently only 50th percentile?!), and measured 26 inches (which is at the 97th percentile!).  Yes, he does continue to wear mainly 6 and 9-month clothing and fits into it just fine, thank you.  He is getting better at rolling over on his own, is still babbling and cooing a lot, and has an amazingly sweet belly laugh.  And when you hold him, he loves to be held upright, where he can show off his awesome head control and reach right up to the nape of your neck to grab a nice handful of hair while you hold him.

I'm just sticking in the picture below because it is so typical of our lives right now, but I imagine that in years to come, my kids and I will look back and laugh at the fact that Jacob sat in his car seat, right on the table, while we enjoyed a meal at a (clearly rather casual) restaurant on our recent trip.

And while we're talking milestones, our road trip also provided Jacob with his first trip to Cracker Barrel.  While a stop at that country store slash restaurant may not seem like a big deal to most, it's been a bit of a tradition for our little family.



Ever since Joshua was an infant, my drives back home from Texas to Louisiana with our one, then two, then three kiddos almost always included a stop at the ole CB, where I knew I could get a good meal, a clean bathroom, and a safe, friendly place to take a break...Geez, I should get a commission for that kind of an endorsement :)

  
Anyway, it was fun to share a meal as a family of six at this favorite spot.

our sweet 3 month old jacob

I think that the biggest change that Jacob's 3rd month has brought has been his increasing interaction.  We are now treated––several times a day--to his amazing smiles, coos, and engaging nature...and each one of us falls more and more in love with him every day.  

Jacob continues to grow bigger and stronger all the time, and we are so happy with (and grateful for) his beautifully normal development and growth.  He is suddenly so big!  He's completely outgrown his newborn clothes, and now comfortably wears 3-6 (or 6-9) month clothing, and has moved up a diaper size as well.  His personality continues to emerge, and I would still describe him as incredibly sweet, loving, tolerant, and peaceful.  He is sleeping a bit better (regularly goes at least four hours between nighttime feeds and has given me the gift of longer stretches once or twice) and is awake and playful for longer during the day.  He loves being with his big siblings and seems to have a special relationship with each of them.  He is so accepting of their different personalities and the ways that they hold or try to entertain him, and he has a unique smile for each one.

And boy, does this little guy love his Daddy.  Just the sound of his voice gets Jacob quiet and looking around for his loving father.  

How I love that analogy for all of us--I want, like Jacob, to get quiet and look for my Father's voice, knowing that I am Beloved...trusting wholly in His care.

As Jacob has grown and we have (thankfully) developed a more predictable schedule, we've enjoyed some fun outings.  And so this month has been a busy one for our Jacob.

He had his first visit to a pumpkin patch

...which he seemed to rather enjoy :)

He is enjoying bath time so much now

And he did great with his first set of vaccinations when he turned 2 months old.  I, on the other hand, had managed to forget that whole immunization experience.  After having had a six year buffer since the last time one of my infants received shots, I had totally forgotten that initial shock, then the look of betrayal as the pain of the needle set in.  Heartbreaking for Mommy, only temporarily painful for Jacob.  Here he is resting peacefully afterwards:

He also enjoyed his first Halloween

...as part of a packaged deal

...which was part of an even larger package of silliness and fun.

He enjoyed a wonderful visit with my parents and sisters during his baptism weekend. And everyone loved getting to know, snuggle, hold, cuddle, play with, feed, sing to, and care for our sweet baby Jacob.

Amma's little Scrabble partner :)

I know that I say it all the time, but the days really are flying by.  It's hard to believe that we are now only two months from our planned departure to Africa.  So much planning and praying and preparing, and the time is almost here.  Just so, the lives of these beautiful kiddos are racing by before our eyes.  I'm grateful for the time we are taking, each day, to notice, to give thanks, and to love these little lives that have been entrusted to our care.

What a privilege to be parents.  What a joy.