New Pic of an Old Pic - 2-1/2 mos. old

I just got this portrait printed for the first time yesterday. Jacob was not quite 3 mos. old when I made this (what I thought was a failed) attempt at getting his portrait taken. He CRIED and CRIED when we were in the photography studio... to the point that after this ONE and only shot, I gave up and told them I would come back another time.

Fast forward to when he was 5-1/2 months old... and that was the next time I got him back to the photographer.

So.. fast forward again to yesterday. Knowing that the studio kept the portraits for 2 years, the thought started nagging me to go back into the studio and have this picture printed after all this time. The memory of taking Jacob in there and how sweet that one-and-only shot turned out, well it was just too good to pass up. So here it is... first time unveiled... the "I'm too scared to have my picture taken without the comfort of my Mama's arms" portrait..... Enjoy. :o)

A Video from Easter Sunday

Forgot to put this in the last post.. My camera ran out of memory just as this video was getting good, but oh well, it's still rather cute if I do say so myself. ;) Jacob was saying "Chirp, chirp!" (meaning the birds), even though it sounded like "toot, toot". Mama KNOWS her boy's language... :o)

Happy Easter!

We had a very full Easter Sunday today, complete with a nice church service, an egg hunt, a trip to the beach, then dinner and another egg hunt at my friend Heather's house. Jacob had two very short naps in the car, and that's it! But he did amazingly well, and was in a great mood all day.
Arriving at church, with fresh new duds on, complete with fresh new milk spilled on the back!!! (That's what happens when Mr. Sleepyhead eats his breakfast in the car...)

The Easter Egg Hunt in the toddler (3 and under) playground at the church. He was not the most aggressive kid on the hunt, but he got his fair share. The other parents were very considerate of their kids taking eggs, and made it a really fun event.

Here Uncle Skippy, hold my egg basket, will you?

Mama had to hold him up high to reach this one... blue egg camouflaged in the blue playhouse.

Such a poser...... The church playground and some of the other egg hunters in the background.

Big boy sitting on the swing all by himself! Uncle Skip is a good swing pusher. :o)

Then church started...... and they had the children's moment. He was soooo good and really paid attention. You can see the pastor's black robe and sleeve at the left side of the pic.

After the children's moment, they whisked the kids off to their classrooms to play while the parents attended the church service. I was afraid Jacob would cling to me, but he didn't! He bellied up to the little kids' table in his classroom and began his serious project of coloring. His teachers said he did great, and was their very best helper! Jacob lovvvvves to put things back where they belong.... a trait that I hope lasts!

After church.... proud Mommy!!!

Mr. Hollywood with his shades on... heading to the beach after church. "Bye!!!" he says as he waves...

Stopping for a Kodak moment with Newport Harbour behind us.

Carrying his Easter basket (and his eggs) with him everywhere he goes....

"Let me see what's inside this thing...." Takin' a break to check on his eggs.

Mama & Jacob - Corona del Mar, CA (Mama's former stomping grounds :)

After we left Corona del Mar, we went to Heather's house for another egg hunt and dinner. For some reason, Jacob did NOT like the Spiderman eggs that were hidden. He kept giving them away or putting them back! He even found two of them in the house afterwards, and there he went, carrying them back outside to their "rightful" spots in the grass. LOL!!

Our Crazy Month of December

December was filled with illnesses, airline woes, and more illnesses, but we still managed to have a super fun Christmas and exciting New Year's. We started the month with a visit from Grandma, who arrived not feeling so great. She was rather under the weather the whole first half of her visit, but we finally managed a short shopping trip to Laguna Beach.

First order of business - breakfast in the living room! (Looks like Grandma approves.. :)Grandma, Jacob & Mommy at sunset with the Pacific Ocean behind us in Laguna Beach.

I think Grandma blinked on this one..Pausing along the boardwalk..
What happened to that sunset??
The hills of Laguna Beach in the early evening moonlight. Jacob calls the moon "mmmm".Jacob holding Flat Stanley (our friend Thailei's school project) with the Laguna sunset behind him.Warming up at BJ's Pizzeria - Grandma helping Jacob color.

Mama's Lap: No Better Place to Throw Up

(Another update from December.......)
I can now officially say that I have been thrown up on. Like, not partially, not just 'nearby'.. but completely and totally puked on. Oh well, what are moms for, anyway? I remember throwing up on my mom at least once, so this is the cycle of life. :) He didn't know what was happening to him when he would feel sick, so he would come moaning over to me and next thing you know.... oops... on my lap.

My poor sick boy... I didn't realize how he must have felt until I got the same virus the very next night. We had his pull-out 'sofa' in the kitchen where it was much safer to get sick..and he could still watch his cartoons. But all he wanted to do was go to bed in his crib.

Three Days En Route

Once we finally were well enough to travel (I postponed my flight to WV twice because of being sick), Jacob & I ran into every sort of airline issue imaginable. We left California on Thursday morning, got stuck overnight in both Houston, TX and Columbus, OH, then finally got to Mom's house on Saturday night at 9pm! But I have to say, as much of a nightmare the travel was, I have the BEST cousins in the entire world. My cousin Tim in Houston drove an hour to pick Jacob & I up at the airport, took us out to dinner (good ole Texas BBQ - yumm!!), put us up in his guest room, then took a half-day off work the next day to cook a nice breakfast for us and take us back to the airport. We even got to visit with other cousins who live in Houston who came over and had breakfast with us. What a treat!

After a full day in the Houston airport and seven failed attempts to get a standby seat, we finally managed to get on a flight to Columbus, where Tim saved the day again and arranged for my other cousins Debbie and Kelly to come get us (at midnight!) and put us up for the night! Like I said... yay for cousins!!!

We got lucky on most of our flights and Jacob got his own window seat. He really loves looking out the window! This is leaving Orange County, with Newport Beach below us:

Jacob's first time in Texas - and he had a great ole time! He made the flight nightmare so much more tolerable.Jacob really loved cousin Tim. He would've been happy to just stay a while!