Loving life out here in Phx. Jacob and I got President's day off from school/work last week and it was oh so lovely to have an extra stress-free day to giggle, play, and bond with the sweet boys.

Our shiny, lotioned-up boy is getting gigantic, as you can see. He's really grinning a bunch now despite it being somewhat elusive to the cameras.

Chunky thighs! Though we'll see if they reach baby-Jacob level.

Thomas sometimes sleep in his crib. It's rare. He still mostly screams when sleeping in a fully flat position; we continue to believe he may have further digestive ailments (reflux), but we'll see. The bouncer continues to serve him and us well....

This is peekaboo with Daddy. In live action, it seemed like Thomas smiled bigger and more often, but it's still cute.

And this, well....it's pure Jacob. Enjoy.

The Pughtette

So, us as a family of only 4 has officially begun. Yes, Thomas is 2 months old now...but Ma was here the whole time helping us along and watching Thomas while I was away at work! Let me tell you, there is nothing more calming than having your mom watch your child if you and the other parent has to be away. We'll never be able to fully thank ma for that kindness, but we'll keep trying.

Anyway, Pa drove across the country to pick-up Ma...and see Jacob and Thomas. (I know dad, the way too early pics don't make for the best photo...but I never uploaded mom's pics where there were some precious ones!)

Thanks for coming to see us and we miss you already!!!

Speaking of the chunky monkey...

He had his 2 month check-up today: he weighed in at 12# 12 oz; he exactly doubled his birth weight at 2 months old (guidelines aim for doubling by 4 months old....yeahhhh). And he's 23" long; 50%ile. At the last appt and this one they asked if someone tall was in the family because he's so "long" according to them despite starting so short; what a reversal from our munchkin JDP topping out at the 25%ile ht/age.

He does indeed have a dairy sensitivity ( I tried ice cream last weekend; it was a BAD choice and led to 3 days of pain and weird tummy for the boy). And he does have some intense eczema on his face and body accompanied by a continuing case of mild cradle cap. Overall, the Dr gave me the face of "yeah, he's gonna be sensitive to a lot" face when he looked at Thomas, heard the symptoms, and heard the familial history. So, though no more italian breadstick w/ olive oil massages, he is likely gonna have some rosy cheeks and lotion-y looking pictures for quite awhile.

In other 'news', Jacob appears to have channeled his more modern 'artist' look. Early morning painting on the patio in pj's w some shades on...he's too cool.

As a souvenir, Jacob painted ma a landscape that included a decent stick figure that Jacob described as a 12 pound boy. I have NO ide where that came from...

To ease the Ma-less night and celebrate Valentine's day, we all got into PJ's then into our bed w/ popcorn and a little show. Jacob loved getting ready for bed with daddy while they were matching with white t-shirts for bed!

This morning on the way to school, Jacob had some completely random yet important news for me:

J: "Mommy, damnit is a bad word and you should not say it."

Me: "That's true, it is a bad word. Where did you hear that word?"

J: "Well, daddy said it as Didi and Yaya's house. But it's bad and he should not have said it."

Me: slight chuckling from the front seat. Really, I don't know if daniel said that yesterday or 6 months ago; either way, our little tattle-tale just outed Daniel for a slip of the tongue (and I'm to thank for his knowledge of 'holy crap'. Yeah....such proud moments.)

I am thrilled that Jacob is understanding acceptable social behaviors and rules enough to articulate what is appropriate vs not.

I see 3 on the horizon and it looks to be.....interesting. We have lying to learn about/defeat, honesty to address, respect to further elaborate. Certainly more stories to come!

A special Happy Birthday

Uncle Josh, this is for you.

glorious weekends.

What a hectic and fun (mostly) past 2 weeks!

First, we welcomed our healthy God-daughter, Daniella Perez into the family on the 26th (for those curious about the connections, this is the youngest sister to Parker and Sofia, daughter of Tally-daniel's oldest sister- and Trent).
Then Jacob's best friend Eric (you may know him from the laughter during Jacob's "hey mine" video way back when) and his fiancee Megan came for a visit! Lots of video and action but not a ton of pictures. They gifted Jacob Where the Wild Things Are, and Jacob can be seen as below, frequently reading and rereading it!

Though, if not reading in the warm sunshine, he could also be found in a box coloring. Thanks Grayson; boxes will never be anything but an empty canvas for this guy <3

Last week, the church where Daniel is interning had a gift-card shower for Thomas; how generous and cool is that?! We learned that tere are so many people with unique talents in the congregation; Thomas and Jacob have many quilts, soaps, and cross-stitches, etc. Last week, Jacob received something totally unique: mouse slippers!


Aren't they precious? I can't say they make Jacob walk/run as quiet as a mouse, but they do make him grin.

Speaking of grinning, Thomas is beginning to really intentionally do just that. We are LOVING it.

He's getting so big. He's much longer than Jacob was at this point (partly because Jacob had stubby legs) and continues to outweigh him....which is an incredible feat. We just can't get enough of him!!