Jacob - 3 Months

I'm a bit behind on this post, but I want to be sure to write down all of the things Jacob is up to these days.

Sleep:  We're in a pretty good sleep groove right now.  We just pushed Jacob's awake time up to about an hour between feedings (it was about 40 minutes).  It seems to have helped him to nap better.  He is sleeping through the night most nights and I cutoff middle of the night feedings last week.  On the nights he does wake up I re-swaddle him, give him a paci, and sometimes have to let him cry a little.  He goes back to sleep {occasionally off and on} until about 6:30.  To put him to sleep I turn on his sound machine, swaddle him, hold him upright {crazy detail I know, but I finally figured out this was much better than a nursing position because it made him want a paci}, sing Jesus Loves Me, and lay him down.  He is usually asleep within 15 minutes or so. 

Likes/Dislikes:  Jacob HATES his car seat.  With a passion.  He doesn't sleep very well in the car which is a difficult trait for a second child to have.  I'm hoping he'll outgrow it soon.  He likes his activity gym and his bouncy seat with the vibration on.  He still likes a paci occasionally, but not as much as he used to.  We still swaddle him for sleep, but I'm hoping we can drop it soon.  It makes it difficult for others to put him down since he has to be swaddled really tightly or he'll break out.  He is getting much better hand control and likes to suck on his fists, but he still isn't quite ready to let the swaddle go.  I'll try again in a couple of weeks. 

Schedule:  Still the same schedule we've been on for a while.  Eats about 6:30, 9:30, 12:30, 3:30, 6:30, and around 10:00 {or earlier if I can get myself ready for bed that soon}.  As I mentioned he has about an hour of awake time after each feeding and then naps until the next feeding {usually}.  So he is napping four times a day right now.  I am starting to try to give him a couple of ounces in a bottle after I nurse him at 6:30.  I have a suspicion he may not be getting enough milk at that time of day.  However, I haven't tried it enough to know for sure.  I just thought about this about four nights ago when I gave him a bottle {that I thought would be enough because it's what I pumped} and he still seemed hungry.  I let him nurse and he went to town.  The two nights I did it he slept solid until 6:30 and then 7:00, when I had to wake him to stay on schedule.  The two nights I didn't do it, he woke up around 4:00 one night and 5:20 the other.  It seems odd that the extra ounces would help at that feeding and not the 10:00, but I've tried to give him a little bottle after nursing before and he didn't seem interested.  I guess calories are calories when it comes to sleeping through the night.  I could be totally wrong, but I just want to try it a few more nights to see if it helps him to be more consistent.  He's been sleeping through the night off and on since he was about 5 weeks old, so I really feel like he should be able to make it more consistently than he is.  I've heard/read that sometimes women with other kids have a lower milk supply at the end of the day from being so busy all day.  I'd believe it.  We shall see.  

Milestones:  Jacob is smiling like crazy!  He is also a talkative little guy.  Give him some undivided attention and he will coo at you as long as you let him.  He does this especially with Bryant and me.  I'm not sure I can officially say he's laughing yet, but he definitely giggled at me the other day.  So sweet.  He has definitely found his hands and likes to suck on them, but I think he gets a little frustrated by it.  I suspect once he can find his thumbs or his fingers he'll be much happier. 

Sizes: Size 2 diapers; He can still wear some 0-3 month clothes, but mostly 3-6 month.

 Love this picture of my sweaty boys!

We picked Miller up in Birmingham today after his weekend with Poppy and Cissy.  He was so excited to see his little brother!

And just in case you're interested, here's Miller's three month post.

Jacob's Dedication

Sunday was Jacob's big day to be dedicated at our church.  We believe in "believer's baptism" which means that someone should choose to be baptized once he or she has made the conscious decision to give their life to Christ.  Our church does however hold a brief dedication ceremony for newborns where we as parents publicly "give" our child to the Lord and promise to raise him within the church in hopes that he will follow Jesus.  In turn, the church pledges to support us and also help in his spiritual growth.  We have been so blessed with Jacob and we are thankful that God has entrusted him to us while he is on this earth.  Sunday was a beautiful time to acknowledge these things in front of friends and family.

Jacob slept through the entire dedication and did well for most of the service.  There were a few moments when he cried, but he pulled it together quickly and we were able to keep him in the service with us.  Usually we leave him in the nursery.

 Sweet baby

 This little stinker on the other hand...

He looks like an absolute angel in this picture, but it's the only one {out of about 20} where you can see him and see his face.  The rest of the time he was on the floor, on the alter, crawling on the stairs... you get the idea.  I'm hoping he grows up a lot in the next year before we start bringing him into worship with us.  He was all over the place.  I was so thankful that Joel, our preacher, encouraged me before the service to just not worry about whatever Miller did during the dedication.  He reminded me that this was about Jacob and I could either spend the whole time worrying what other people thought and trying to discipline Miller or I could focus on the moment and the covenant we were making before God.  It takes a lot of pressure off to have the preacher tell you your kid can act like a hooligan in the sanctuary and it will be ok ;)  Thankfully he didn't do anything too crazy, but he wasn't the perfect angel you'd hope he'd be in a moment like that.

We were so thankful to have so many members of our family with us  for this special day.

After church, we went to my in-laws' house for lunch.  Margaret was so sweet to let us have lunch there since our rental house isn't exactly equipped for feeding a dozen people.

 The guest of honor had his lunch first.

We tried to have a mini photo-shoot of Jacob in his gown.  This gown has been worn by many Mastins including Jacob's grandfather {Papa Frank}, daddy, and big brother.  It is such a sweet family heirloom that I hope my grandchildren can wear someday too.

My sweet Jacob, we have spent so much time in prayer, and will continue to do so, asking God to help us be faithful stewards of the most precious earthly gift we could ever receive.  The gift of you. We love you so very much, but know that the Lord loves you more than we can even imagine.  We pray that you will come to know this great love and the unbelievable grace that has been bestowed upon you.  It is our hope that your life will bring honor and glory to God and that you will follow His will for your life.  Not yours.  Not ours.  His.  We promise to do all we can to show you the love of Christ and point you back to your creator.

I'd say He did a pretty magnificent job when he made you.

Party Time

Saturday we celebrated Miller's third birthday with a "Bob the Builder" party.  Miller had been counting down the days until his party and was so excited when the day finally arrived.  When he came down from his nap, everything was set and ready!

Miller was so excited to see everything for his party!  We went low key this year with all we have going on.  I packed up all of my cake decorating things in storage so I ordered a cake from the new bakery in town.  I was less than thrilled with the decorating job {why would you cover a cake with red icing of all colors unless requested??}, but thankfully it was delicious and Miller loved it.

 Before the guests arrived, we had to take care of a little business...

 

The poor child barely got a thing!  {Catch the sarcasm?}  Miller loved every gift and wanted to open and play with everything before opening the next gift.  We would have been there all weekend if we had done that.  We're still getting out new things to play with four days later!

 He got this new train "Alfie" that is kind of like a tractor/train.  He wanted to use it to open his gifts.

 A set of power tools like daddy's!

 Go Dores!  Thanks Scott, Kate, and Malley for my first piece of Vandy gear!

 Jacob must have snuck out during one of his naps and bought Miller this new lighthouse for his train table.  Sneaky little brother...

 Miller had to take every gift over to show to his daddy.  So sweet.  He was especially proud to have "my own chainchaw" since he loves to watch Bryant use his.

 After all of the fun gifts it was time for cake!  Miller sang along with us.  So sweet.

 Love my sweet THREE year old!

 After cake, Miller was ready to try out all of his new gifts.  Betty Jo got Miller this cute backpack with his name on it.

 Evel Knievel on his new motorcycle from Brad and La La.  Did anyone else know that's how to spell his name?  I sure didn't.  {We went shirtless for the cake due to the red icing.}

 Jacob took a record late afternoon nap and we finally had to wake him so he wouldn't miss seeing everyone.  Why do kids always take the best naps on the days you don't care if they sleep?

I'm pretty sure the only guest to not make any pictures was my mom.  How did that happen?  She came up on Friday morning and was a huge help getting everything ready for the party.  Thanks, Mom!

We had such a fun time celebrating our precious Miller and absolutely cannot believe he is three!  Where has the time gone?  Seriously, I know it's cliche, but I just cannot fathom it.  Happy birthday, Miller the builder!  You are such a joy to us!

House Update 4

It's been a while since I've posted about our house and a lot has happened since then!  They finished the electrical, plumbing and security rough-in.  The exterior is close to being complete (minus shudders, staining the front door, columns on the porches, and a little more brickwork).  This week they finished up the sheet-rock so now it's really coming together!  I meet with the builder on Monday to go over our cabinet layouts and I'm trying to think through each and every drawer and cabinet.  Alright, enough talking.  Let's get to the good stuff...

It is so exciting to see the walls up and much easier to envision everything.  We wanted to take advantage of the lakeview so that's why we put all of the living space on the back of the house.  I'm looking forward to having space to entertain and being able to watch my boys play outside from my kitchen!

A few of our "helpers" on the jobsite...

We seem on track for a Fall move in date!  I wrote this post on Friday, but it wouldn't publish for some reason and I just got around to trying again.  We had a whirlwind weekend with Miller's birthday party and Jacob's dedication at church.  Be back soon with lots of photos from those special days!