Visit with Jacobi's Birth Family

A week ago, we went to visit Jacobi's birthmom & brother. We had a great few hours with them and enjoyed seeing them again. It was fun to watch the boys play together. We took a cake and birthday party fixin's to have a small "party" to celebrate all of our birthday's while we were together. The boys loved the balloons and of course we all enjoyed cake, so I guess it was a hit. :) Here are a few pictures from the visit...realized later that Ryan was the only one behind the camera and we didn't get any pictures of all of us together, but with 2 busy boys and a limited amount of time it was just hard to stage pictures at all.

New to Us

This post is about a couple of things that are new in our lives lately. :) I'll have to download pictures from the camera someday soon and post some new ones of Jacobi...but for now all you get is me blabbing. ;P

I started a new venture recently to promote literacy and a love of reading. I became an independent consultant for Usborne Books & More! I'm very excited about the possibilities, but mostly about filling our bookshelves (it may take a new one, since our existing ones are full already) with awesome and exciting books for our children! If you've never seen these books and are the least bit curious, feel free to check out my website. :) I could go on forever about the great features of these books and all that Usborne has to offer, but I'll leave it at that. If you have questions or want to know more, you know where to find me. :)

The second thing that is new is that we are now a licensed foster home! Our final walk-through was on Friday and we are ready to go...well, our home is, anyway! We are excited but I have to admit that I'm a little nervous, too! There are so many uncertainties and unknowns--but we're thankful that God does veil the future because we might not be able to handle it if we knew all the details in advance! We know it will be a memorable journey, to say the least--and hopefully we can touch lives in a positive way, whatever direction it takes. :) We didn't get an emergency placement call over the weekend and I must say that I'm grateful for that. We'll see what (or should I say who) this week brings, if anything! :)

I guess that's the most of our new news here. Jacobi is growing and mastering the pre-walking skills, although he hasn't taken any steps on his own yet. I'm not going to push him, either. That will come soon enough! He has also discovered that there's this awesome water in the toilet, just great for getting both hands in and splashing (yuck!) and that the toilet paper does this really cool un-spooling thing when you spin it. :P Also, he can fall into the tub and finds that fun, but he wants help to get back out. Needless to say, the bathroom door just stays shut most of the time now...this mama isn't very sensitive to the exploration needs of her boy where the bathroom is concerned. :P The tupperware cabinet, though, is open for business. ;) He's also getting pretty good about backing off of the bed, couch, futon, etc. when he wants down--I'm pretty impressed with that new-found skill; hopefully it will save a few bumps. One other thing I should mention is that he has become quite the impressive imitator of sounds, too. He prefers burps, coughs, laughs, and other obnoxious sounds but also imitates pretty much any short phrase or word that we say. It's not the word that's imitated, exactly, but more the tone, syllables, and general sound. It's pretty cute and we love imagining that he tells us he loves us, etc. :P Guess there was more newness in our house than even I realized when I began!

Have a great week

Just Hangin' Around

Thought I'd post a few new pictures for our faithful blog followers (if there are any left). :P Jacobi is moving faster than ever and is loving being able to stand up and hang on to anything and everything. He's also recently been enjoying climbing (the futon in the office is a favorite due to it being low enough to actually get up on)...and taking lots of tumbles, of course.

Loving this inverted tunnel--borrowed some climbing toys from a friend and they are getting great use here these days!

Stuck under a kitchen chair--this makes me laugh just remembering; he doesn't sit still ever--but this had him stuck in one place and crying for help, which he got right after I snapped the picture. :P

New favorite toy...need help searching for something?

One of my Craigslist purchases--1/3 the price of a new one and in just as good shape; I was thrilled!

Discovering any little place to hang on to--the furnace/ac closet ledge in the hallway here...

Family Pictures

Okay, so this crazy thing wouldn't let me type text above the pictures so I'm adding a new post to explain the one below. :P I have been wanting a "formal" family picture--something more than a snapshot taken at random. Our friend Jordan wanted a picture of our family and we had some time on a Sunday afternoon...so we both got what we wanted! :) (Thanks, Jordan!) Here are a few of my favorites with captions to explain why. Feel free to weigh in and "vote" if there's one you like more than the others--we're wanting to print one for our wall and to send to family, etc. We need to mess around with black/white and sepia tones as they look good, too, but this will give you the general idea. :P

Family Pictures

The back of our house in the background makes this not my favorite picture for a "formal" one, but I do like it otherwise.

We were having fun. :)

LOVE Jacobi's expression and "thumbs up" in this picture!!! Nevermind that his thumb was really just on the way to his mouth. :P

This one is our favorite--I think it's the one we'll have printed.

Happy 4th of July...a week late! ;)

Wearing the star hat Zaden made and checking out his new environment at Papa & Mimi's house! :)

We planned this photo shoot with all 4 of the boys and didn't get one picture of all of them smiling and looking at the camera, but I think Ryan got several good ones anyway. Here are a couple of my favorites. What did I expect with boys who are 3, 2, 1 and and 8 mo with LOTS of energy?! ;P They are also LOTS of fun!

Jacobi wasn't quite awake here--but I love pictures of the cousins all together. :)

Chewing on a mango seed--and LOVING it! He was so mad every time it slipped out of his hands and fell to the floor-and he loves mangos! Speaking of mangos--if anyone has a Sam's Club near you, see if they have the Ataulfo mangos--they are seriously Delicious! They puree and freeze really well, too! :)

Our Little Ham

Jacobi has always been an expressive little guy and it's fun to capture his personality in pictures. Here are a few I took on an exceptionally goofy morning late last week. Hope you enjoy them as much as I have! :)