Play Date fun.

So, as mentioned in the last visit, Jacob hung-out with his friend Colby (of the same age) last week. Not only did the two boys seem to enjoy the park time, but it was great for for us parents of similar age/ development level children to converse and feel reassured about some things- or just commiserate and laugh.

For example: Despite being night-weaned, Jacob still doesn't sleep. Apparently, Colby is of a similar mindset (sleep is last priority after eating, snuggling, laughing, being awake, playing with your toys like seen in the following picture, etc.).

Our conclusion is just that some babies/kids/adults just don't sleep through the night or need a ton of sleep. We know that as children, we didn't really sleep for long periods of time and neither did our siblings. Or our parents. So we're seeing a trend of high energy people here in our lineage....

I guess all this is to say: we've officially fully embraced the sleep-deprived reality of parenthood- not just during the 'newborn' stage. But, just so you all know, at one point when we were working on all cylinders, Daniel and I were pretty smart and ocassionally even witty!

*Side note: My thesis proposal went well and I've got the green light to crank it out!

Goofy Grinner and other random poses

While in AZ, I've been able to resume running (from pre-pregnancy...perhaps "resume" is an incorrect term after more than a year has passed...). Jacob has been graciously accompanying me as we make use of a hand-me-down jogging stroller that is too large for our Berkeley apartment. While on these runs he tends to groan and listen to his voice vibrate, space out until we pass other dogs, runners, trees, etc., or as you can see, sleep.

*note: in no way is the Cardinals gear intended to be a slap in the face for the Panthers. We love the Panthers. Jacob has a Panthers jacket that he proudly wore a few times a few weeks ago- and will wear again....likely after we return to Berkeley. But we're in Phoenix and Daniel (and family) is a ticket holder and proud Cardinals fan, too. Anyway, "Go Cardinals" and on with the pictures.

This photo, as you can see, was Jacob frustrated at me for even thinking about interrupting his music for a photo op.

And now for the goofy grins and snotty face shots. Little boy still has some mean congestion / cough from the first day of 2009. But, he still is mostly smiles and we're thankful to have seen all Jacob's cousins, germs and all.

(And Chells: like the onesie?)

Here's Jacob eyeing the dog and the pool - from safe indoors.

That's it for now- Jacob played with his friend Colby (they're less than a week apart in age) a few days ago and there are some humorous shots to post...but, alas, I do have to do thesis work. I'm proposing my thesis this Tuesday, for those who are interested. Wahoo! forward motion on being nearly complete with my Masters!

Happy 2009

Happy 2009 Everyone and Happy Birthday Dad (grandpa Jeff)! During the 'break' since our last post, quite a bit has gone on. There was Christmas with the whole Pugh clan, avoidance (for the most part) of a stomach bug shared by most every other member of the Pugh family, moving daniel's parents to a new house, and then bringing in 2009 with our friends Matt and Bri.

Here's a smattering of Jacob candid's from the past 2 weeks- laugh at will.

Jacob is thrilled with his big boy cups from the Taylor family (pugh connection= daniel's sister Traeci).

Jacob was beside himself with excitement about playing with his cousins- but Samuel wasn't sure about this little guy taking his toys.

Jacob's Aunt Traeci (R) with cousin Colby and Aunt Tally (L) with cousin Parker (daniel and my godson!)

The Chell Christmas package arrived and Jacob immediately 'claimed' the bag of Jelly beans. We had a good laugh at how much he enjoyed the beans until we realized it was because his sharp teethies had cut a little whole in the bag and he was sucking on a sugar-laden bean.

Jacob getting in touch with his musical side- the piano was his gift from 'Santa' and this little boy couldn't contain his excitement as we were just taking it out of the box on Christmas!

Now, as a grown-up 9 month old (as of yesterday), Jacob has a few new tricks. He grins- not just smiles but outright grins with his eyes closed, head held back, and teeth visible for all to see. He knows its hilarious and does it often.

He claps for himself, he waves on ocassion, and he's starting to give high fives. He babbles all the time, 'sings' in the car, and every once and awhile he's trying to stand on his own. He'll lift his hands and stand for about 2 full seconds, then sit down and look around.

He's feeding himself pretty well, but slow to move past fruits and veggies. He's had a nasty cold since the 31st and didn't eat for about 4 days (thank goodness he's still nursing!), but he accepted avocado and pear when nothing else would actually go down. We're really gonna work on meats when he's less congested....we'll see!

Anyway, he's still extremely happy, high energy, and mischeviously adorable. We hope you enjoy the post and are having a great '09!