One Month

I can't believe our little guy is already one month old. Time has just flown by. Jacob's had a lot of firsts this month - first Christmas, first New Years, first bath, first family trip, and first cold. (And he actually had his first time away from mom. I decided to attend primary for a little bit on Sunday and was surprised at how normal it felt. It was really weird the first time I went somewhere without Emily).

Jacob has done so well adjusting to his new life. We're very fortunate that he will usually go 6 hours between feedings at night and I'm very appreciative of his desire to eat every 3 or 4 hours during the day - instead of the customary 2. Jacob has such an intense stare and a thoughtful expression. I love staring into his eys - they look bluer and bluer every day. He has such a quiet, hoarse little cry that it either makes me smile or want to cry when I hear it. He is also very strong. When laying down he pushes himself all over and he's almost always in the top corner of his crib when he wakes up. Several people - grandparents, doctors, nurses, and Jeff - have all commented on how strong he is (of course my ribs and I already knew that). Jacob is such a little cuddler. I love how he curls up in my arms and snuggles. And of course I'm still totally in love with his dimples. I love it when he cracks a smile while sleeping, eating or at other random times (like yesterday when Emily was showing him how silly her potato head looked).

I am grateful for what a wonderful helper and big sister Emily is. She is always so good to get me things when I'm stuck on the couch or help cheer up Jacob when I'm busy making dinner. We are all so grateful for his sweet little spirit. I just can't imagine life without him or my sweet Emily. What a wonderful blessing to be a parent.

Holbrook Family Festivities

Saturday the 26th we got together with Jeff's family. We began with pizza and family pictures and ended the afternoon with presents. Emily was just as excited for her gifts as she was for Ella's. And Niki was nice enough to paint the girls toenails.
The next day we all headed up to Bear Lake for a three day retreat. We got a late start and ended up driving the last half in the dark. Thankfully Jacob slept the whole way and Emily slept for part of it too. I have to mention (and praise) Jeff's amazing driving skills. Just outside of Evanston we came across several deer that decided to see what was so great about the other side of the road. Jeff was able to navigate our car in between two of them and we thankfully arrived at the condo all in one piece.

We then spent the next few days relaxing, laughing, sleeping, playing in the snow, and unfortunately getting sick. Shortly after arriving I started to not feel well and took advantage of the numerous babysitters and spent a good part of my time resting in my room (and nursing of course). Jeff and his siblings all went snowmobiling on Monday. I'm sad I missed seeing Jeff fly 15 feet through his windshield and Brad catching his snowmobile on fire. Thankfully they all returned in one piece - even if the snowmobiles didn't.

Emily had a blast with Ella. They played all day long and we practically had to drag them kicking and screaming to bed. The first night they wanted to sleep together - it didn't last long. They spent the rest of that night and all the others on the floor in their parents rooms.

Jeff and Emily went sledding with Ella, Brad & Gpa. I love how fearless Emily is. Even after running into a big bush she was still laughing and wanting to go again. She loved it and of course she ate as much snow as she possibly could. And maybe that's where she got it - or maybe it came from someone else - but Emily got sick that last night. She complained that her head hurt and while Jeff was holding her and trying to convince her to take some medicine she threw up all over him. We then spent the next few hours dealing with her and trying to get Jacob to sleep. There were a few times that Jeff and I almost packed up and left right then - even if it was 2am.

Thank you Dave & Arline for the great time. Even with all the sickness we still enjoyed it all and we look forward to the next adventure in May!

Christmas

Traditionally we spend Christmas Eve with both or our families. This year we got together at my parents house and had dinner and watched The Polar Express. It was the first time Emily had seen it and it was fun to see her excitement when Santa and his reindeer were on. Per tradition we also tied blankets for Primary Children's Hospital. After the movie we came home and wrote a letter to santa to put out with cookies and milk (and carrots for the reindeer). Then Emily got to open one present - new pj's. She loved them and has wanted to wear them everynight since. They are fancy jammies - like Fancy Nancy - because there's a sparkly kittie on them.

Christmas morning was really nice. Emily didn't come in till 9 so we all got decent sleep. She was so excited for her presents. She got a scooter and Snow White dress up from Santa, a game and scrapbook from us, and her favorite - a Snow White polly pocket - from Jacob. Jeff and I were happy with how things turned out this year. We think the amount was just about right and not overdone - which is a hard line to walk.

That night we had dinner at my parents, played games, and opened presents. Jenn's girls got matching sweaters for Christmas and since Emily already had one that matched we had to get pictures of all the girls.

It was a nice and relaxing Christmas this year. Because of the baby we didn't attend a lot of parties and weren't frantically running around all month. Of course Jacob did bring a lot of changes and things weren't "normal", but they were better. We are so grateful for our new addition and love him so much. We can't imagine life without him.