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.

christening jacob christopher

After negotiating a number of busy schedules, we had the opportunity to have baby Jacob baptized last weekend.  On the afternoon of Sunday, November 4th, we gathered with about 60 dear friends at a church near my parents' home in south Louisiana, and officially welcomed Jacob into the Christian family.

Although it sounds like a large group, we were surrounded by wonderful family friends whom I have known since childhood, and who have been great supporters and encouragers of Chris and me from the time of our wedding, through our multiple military moves and his deployment to Iraq, and to the births of each of our sweet children.  So it was extra special to me to experience this important milestone in Jacob's faith walk in the presence of so many loved ones.

Equally special was the fact that we were able to share this weekend with my entire immediate family as well as our great friends from our Greenville days, the Carrolls.  These dear folks pulled their kids out of school early on Friday and drove the almost 700 mile journey to my parents' home just to be with us for the baptism weekend.  And we cherished every moment we had to reunite, catch up, laugh and share this time with them.  Their beautiful girls were always so welcoming and gracious to our kiddos back in Greenville, and all six of them have gotten along very well since we met back in 2009.  Despite the fact that these girls are in middle and high school, they possess that awesome and unique ability to interact very naturally with all age groups.  Our girls had everyone playing dress-up, tag, and running around within minutes of their arrival.  Their presence there was a gift to us all.

The celebration of Jacob's baptism was lovely.  Our whole family joined the god parents at the front of the church, and we were so fortunate to have our old Jesuit friend, Fr. Paul, officiate.  Chris met Fr. Paul in New Orleans in the early 1990s (before Chris met me!), and he has been a great friend to us since.  He was one of the pastors who officiated at our wedding, has stayed in touch with us over the years, and also celebrated Joshua's baptism in 2001.  That sort of history is so very meaningful for us, and we truly appreciate Fr. Paul's involvement and support.

We also loved having my sister, Michelle, who has been an incredible aunt to all the kids, as Jacob's godmother,

And a few shots of all of Jacob's godparents. 

 He's a lucky guy to be surrounded by all of this love...

It was, indeed, a very special time.

God bless baby Jacob.

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:26-28

happy one month, jacob!

The minutes and hours sometimes seem to creep by in my sleep-deprived state, but it's hard to believe that this little guy has been here for one month already.

At other times, it feels as if he's always been right here with us.

In just these 31 short days, we've had the chance to watch his personality begin to shine through––and so far, he is by all accounts an incredibly sweet and calm baby.  He loves all the love he gets from his big sibs.  He enjoys just hanging out in his swing and taking in all the happy chaos of this loud and lively family...and has demonstrated that he can sleep through just about anything.  When he is hungry, however, there's not a set of lungs stronger or a cry louder than that of our little guy.  He's got determination and strength that I trust (and hope) will someday benefit him and those whom he cares for.  

Also in this first month, he's experienced a number of "firsts."

first introductions (and love at first sights)

first kisses

first heart-to-heart talks

first bottle given by this sweet big sis...

...and by this one

 first bath (foggy because of the steam in the bathroom––for added warmth :)

first time holding his paci (which, i'm afraid, is not going to stick...need to find a lovie!)

and most recently, first smile!!

And lest I forget, it's not been all perfect or blissful.  Our first few weeks were spent trying to get some semblance of a schedule with a baby who seemed most alert and hungry throughout the night and was the soundest sleeper when the sun was up––which made for a very tired mommy.  And though we had begun homeschooling in early August so that we could take some time off after Jacob's arrival, we still did have three very active kiddos at home all day long.  Add to that the fact that Jacob didn't quite return to his birthweight by his two week checkup.  This is not a huge deal for most normal people, and I would have said as much if I were counseling a new mom faced with the same situation.  But if I'm going to be completely honest, I took it as a small failure on my part, since I am his sole source of calories and had been tasked in those first two weeks with little else than the care and nutrition of this precious new life.  Anyway, with some commitment and a whole lot of prayer, he regained his needed weight (and then some) in just a few days and continues to be a champ at feeding now.  Lastly, we are still trying to figure out if all the spit-up and occasional cries of discomfort are just plain old newborn spit-up, or if Jacob is following the lead of all of his sibs and beginning to contend with true reflux.

All that being said, however, the last few days have brought a much more reasonable schedule.  Jacob is sleeping for 3-4 hours at a time during the night, waking only twice to feed (the second awakening happening as late as 5 or 6 am––a most acceptable time for me).  This has led to my energy level {and my ability to think and speak coherently} at least approaching normal and giving us all a chance to enjoy our days more fully.  Jacob is also alert for longer stretches during the day, which gives the big kids many more opportunities to play with/love on/hold him.  And just as I've begun to be fully in charge of the gang (with Daddy back at work and extended family back at home), my big kids have pitched in to help in ways that astound me everyday.  What awesome little people I get to spend my days with!

And, just for memory's sake, here's how our little man has grown over the course of his first month...

one week old

two weeks old

 three weeks old

 four weeks old

It's hard to imagine that just a few months ago, the idea of four kids seemed more than a little overwhelming...fear of the unknown, I guess.  And now our life feels like the most natural and good and wonderful thing, and just the way that we are meant to be.  Thank God, truly.

Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
    are children born in one’s youth.
 Blessed is the man
    whose quiver is full of them.

Psalm 127:4-5