Walking a Little and Halloween

Almost there, just a few more weeks and I think Jacob will be taking off. He is an expert at walking on his knees and speed crawling. This past week he has walked four or more steps. Only if Rich and I (or one of his Grammys), face each other, with our hands out to catch him. The stairs are no challenge for our little guy. He goes up quickly but takes his time navigating his descent. Eating well and starting to say more words. When his Daddy is mowing the yard he goes to the window where the noise is the loudest, sometimes the door-wall and yells for him "Dah". Dah Dah Dah!!! I have stopped laughing at this because it is time to teach him the inside voice :)

Halloween was fun this year. For the first time in years I felt like participating, it helps to have a baby around. I am always on a diet so I buy candy we do not like. Not the easiest thing to do. One little boy came to the door and said "Yuck". I guess he did not like the Darts and Glow in the Dark Gummies we passed out. That made me LOL. He had on a super cute costume though. Jacob was a lion. He went to a party at Rich's work and stole the show. On Halloween night he only went to six houses, it was so cold and windy. After arriving home he had to be at the front door to check out all the kids stopping by. Of course I had to hold him. Once I had given out the candy he was shutting the door saying bye bye. I can hardly wait to see what he will be next year!

We are so excited about Thanksgiving! All my siblings, their partners and some family friends will be here. Mom is helping me cook. Gonna be Great!

Home for three months!

Bath-time is so cute. Molly has to be in the room too. Jacob and Molly get along really well. Except Molly does not like to have her tail pulled and she lets Jacob know that. The first time I gave Jacob a bath was in Kaliningrad after the driver dropped us off at the hotel. It was 90+ (HOT) in our room. The Moscow Hotel did not have air conditioning. Jennifer and I made sure the water was perfect and that we had a few toys. I placed him in the tub and he just sat quietly staring at the tiles. Made me a bit nervous. I had forewarned Jennifer that he may cry and could have a fit. Poor guy, now that I think about that day it seems he was in shock. We quickly bathed him and got him out of the tub. Maybe some of it was the heat? Now he splashes everyone, his flashy lights have to be on, the toys out, a washcloth on his head and he is in no hurry to get out of the tub, hehe.

Today Jacob has been home for three months. I have read on many blogs how the author feels like their new child has been home with them forever and always. We completely feel that way too. It is as if he has always been here with Rich and I. I will tell you about one thing I am working on. When he is breaking in teeth/teething he bites me. It can hurt too. He has not bitten Rich and I told him how lucky he was. Lil guy is strong. I have been reading about this and it is normal. At first I was concerned that it might have something to do with attachment and bonding. Now I am trying to teach him not to bite. Also working on not reacting too much. Some of my facial expressions make him laugh. He is in pain though, poor guy. A couple of our friends told us to get "Hylands Teething Tablets" and they seem to help. He is working on his 7th and 8th. Not sure how it will feel when the big molars start to come in. Tonight I am going to try the washcloth in the freezer, my cousin liked this remedy for her two cuties.

Regarding sleep, he is doing so good. A few blogger friends suggested "white noise" and that was a great idea. He still has the music to listen to. Plus we have a humidifier that Grammy gave him for his room. That humming sound does help a lot! I hope everyone is doing well!! :)

Videos for a rainy day

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Here's a couple of videos. The first one is Jacob's first haircut. This hot of the press - we just went this morning. The second one is a video from one of our first meetings with Jacob back in April. At the time I just posted the audio because we were not allowed to post pictures. So for those who haven't seen it yet, here it is.

Going Private!

We will be making the blog private. This time I thought I would let you all know first. If you would like to read along please leave a comment.

Feeling better and a new Birth Certificate

I always want to include a picture when I post. This is a black and white taken at the Target Portrait Studio for Jacob's first birthday. They did a real good job. We have had this frame for years but never put anything in it until now.

Today was a good day. We received Jacob's Birth Certificates from the State of Michigan. The process started about three weeks ago when I applied at the county to have a Probate Judge approve the application that was then sent to the State. The total cost was approximately $210.00 and we did ask for two official copies. Now I will be able to apply for his US passport and SS#. Let me say how very impressed I was with the staff at the County office. So kind and explained everything politely. The State of MI has been wonderful too except for some confusion back in May re: the State police clearances. Not that either of us had a record, just not sure they would get the paperwork done it time.

I have not posted about too much because I was just not feeling well. Nothing has effected Jacob he has been pretty fantastic. (Later I will share his whole rash scenario with you) You see I was so run down when I came home in early July. Kidney stones (yes plural) a double ear infection with popped ear drum and respiratory infection. Plus the emotional ups and downs of that court trip were not easy. Just in the last two weeks I started to feel better. The reason I write about this is because a lot of the families I am following are getting referrals and travel dates. It is so fantastic too! So excited for everyone!!! Here is some advise, take care of yourself. Hopefully, your placement agency won't be like ours and make everything much more difficult for you. Even with that taken into consideration I wish I had slept more, drank more water and exercised more frequently. So for me go get a massage, oh I wish I had done that before trip three, hehe.

What am I saying you folks all have it so together! Congratulations and Enjoy your lil one!

Two Months Together!

Tomorrow will be a busy day so I am posting today so I don't miss doing it. It's the day that marks Jacob being home in America for two months. Wow!!!! He is so great on so many levels. He is a blessing, a gift from god, an angel and the cutest baby in the world, hehe. Yes I could go on for hours. We are all so lucky to have him in our lives especially his Mommy and Daddy!

Yesterday we went to the store for baby food. He is so good in the car and at the store. On the way home when we pulled into the garage he said "Dadah Dadah", he knows his house and that his Daddy is there. Still working on the Mama. He says "Yeah" and "Oh oh" (when he drops something) just to mention a few. A lot of baby talk. Not quite standing and walking on his own but I can see it won't be long. This week I have been dressing him in 18 month clothing because he is growing so much. Some of the pants are still too big so I roll up the bottoms. Rich has been working so hard and misses his son when he leaves. This morning they were playing before he had to go. I heard Rich tell Jacob "you can't get through life on looks alone". Jacob said "Yeah Oodle Qee" it was too cute.

Fall is almost here

With fall right around corner the subject of Halloween has come up. Actually it came up a few weeks ago in the "Babies R Us" store because apparently baby costumes sell out fast. So Jolynn asked what I thought Jacob should be for Halloween this year. The first thing that popped in to my head was "IronMan." I have no idea why I said that, it was a silly answer. But on the other hand, it's also really cool. STOP. FREEZE FRAME. Now we've stumbled upon the root of what's turning out to be the great debate of 2009 "cool" vs "cute."

I've had other really cool ideas like "Ace Frehley" but all that make-up on a baby probably isn't a good idea. But still, Ace is really cool.



Then I thought, how about "Baby Hulk Hogan?" Jacob already has the long blonde hair. Jolynn thinks that it's outdated. True, but who hasn't heard of Hulk Hogan?




The whole time I've been coming up with ideas Jolynn has been campaigning for this cuddly little lion costume. Yeah, ok it's sort of cute. Then Jolynn tried the jedi mind trick on me and suggested a bunny costume. The reference being that before we knew anything about Jacob we were calling our child to be "Bunny." But I think Jolynn put the idea out there as an alternative to the Lion costume so that I would eventually just agree to the Lion suit. Ok. Maybe it worked. Because all I can think about when she mentions the bunny suit is Ralphie from A Christmas Story. It's just not fair to torment Jacob like that.



So in the end I think "cuteness" will prevail. I guess it really doesn't matter as long as Daddy gets some of those special dark miniature Hershey bars.