"So much to say, so much to say.."

Really, I suppose Jacob doesn't yet have SO much to say, but a whole heck of a lot more than mere weeks ago. Jacob is now using "momma" consistantly- for daniel and myself(and with grandma ruth here, she's become momma, too).

He's now waving and saying bye when people leave. He makes the same "yay" sound when we say yay, which usually follows him assuming the techincal touchdown gesture or giving someone 'high five'. It's pretty much hilarious. He's standing well on his own, up to about 10 seconds before sitting down or grabbing ahold of someone or something. Him walking could be anytime now, but we're really not in a rush as he's kinda precocious....yikes!

Touchdown!
Being a huge kid eating breakfast.
Worn-out!
Daniel made-up a "jacob" song and now, whenever he hears it, he heads to the guitar hoping daniel will play that AND sing his song!

And for the talking video:

America's Funniest

I am not sure what we did at dinner time before Jacob, but it could not have been this much fun. Arguably best video ever.

Milestone-
Jacob has uttered the beginnings of his first words. "Mama" is the first word he used, and he really started using it well a couple of weeks ago. He has added the word "Dada" in his repertoire saved for special occasions, but still prefers to call both parents "Mama". What are ya gonna do?

10 months old!

You know what they say about the apple and its proximity to the tree.

Jacob Daniel is 10 months old. He stands more than he sits, he sleeps more than he eats, but just barely. All he wants for Valentines Day are his two front teeth, and he just might get them.

As a father of a 5/6th- year-old, every day I am reminded of how much my son rocks. What we usually try and do here on the blog is to show you how much our little boy is growing- and we usually track his development physically.

Yet, today, it seems like the real story is his cognitive growth- what his Great-Grandfather Tom would call, "making convolutions" in his brain. Jacob's personality is bigger than Texas. I find myself pushing the shopping cart backwards down aisles so that he can wave at everyone he passes. And he does. He LOVES to play and equally loves to learn. When it comes time to eat, he does a little bit of both.

To preface this video, I picked up a camera when I saw Jacob try and eat an entire piece of bread in one bite. Usually he is done eating when he throws his food on the floor. I was breaking the rules for the video. I also unsuccessfully try and get him to wave at the camera. He can wave and does often off camera. This video is 2min.

Here's another 2 min. video in which Jacob is auditioning for a Lord of the Rings gatekeeper. You Shall Not Pass!!! Notice how after he realizes he's locked in, he tries to fit through the bars. He's a little problem-solver. He is, after all, related to a few different engineers.

As smart and funny as our young Jacob is, I thought we would keep him humble- so here's an embarrassing (but adorable!) picture for the future.

Here's Lookin' at you, Kid!

We love you all immensely. Thank you all for your love and support of us and our little nudist.

Love, love, love,

Daniel, Ashley, and Jacob

"Hotel California"

On our drive back out to Berkeley, we stopped halfway in LA and stayed the night at "hotel Fuller", also known as Alecia, Tripp, and Elgin's home. We loved being able to see some original-NC friends this far west and Jacob adored playing with Elgin and his toys instead of riding in the car for 12 hours in one day! Thanks Fullers for the kindness and good time (and especially Elgin for sharing his ball-pit).

After we arrived back here in Berkeley (home sweet tiny home), Daniel and I decided to bite the bullet and try the Ferber method with Jacob. This involves much crying (or in Jacob's case, yelling at the door while jumping in his crib), but we are so happy to report that we all made it through the first really rough night...and are now all sleeping better. Jacob is now waking just once or twice a night- after sleeping anywhere from 7 to 9 hours at a time. But fret not(stubborn as he is) Jacob continues to fall alseep sitting up and we sometimes have to go "knock him over" ever so gently and cover him up. We love our silly boy.