Daddy's little helper.

Some monumental moments of the past week or two:
Jacob so enthusiastically aided his dad with laundry and we had to document it. From what i hear, Jacob even pushed the button to start the wash...so proud.

Jacob tried peanut butter with no negative consequence, aside from a messy face and a new favorite food (especially when in mom or dad's sandwich).

Jacob not only learned about doing laundry, but he's taken to sweeping everything at any time. We just have to work slightly on deliberate and controlled sweeping motion.

Not a milestone, but of developmental interest: Jacob has taken to stacking things or putting things in order quite well. He also enjoys removing every toy or item in a bowl or bucket and then climbing in himself...as seen below.

(and he loves to remove his own shoes.)

Other things of interest: Jacob continues to go to the park and play with a ball the entire time. Today a little boy tried to take the ball from him but jacob clung so desperately to the ball that he belly flopped. It was hilarious. The boy gave up and Jacob was pleased to continue playing with the ball, holding it, and chasing it.

Our little boy is communicating well! He now says "up" as he walks up the stairs, uh-oh when he drops things, and blows kisses on occassion. He babbles and laugh all the time...and we are having a blast with this toddler!

a snippet of walking

Sorry for the crazy wind and ignore my talking! Other than that, here's the drunken old man Jacob walk from this past weekend.

A glimpse...

This past week Jacob gave us a glimpse of what kind of trouble we may be in for having such a high energy kid on the go. To preface this story, let us just simply review that Daniel and I are attentive, educated, and responsible parents, but it turns out that with Jacob that is sometimes not enough.

So, it was all a normal evening -Jacob was playing (aka: getting frustrated when his plane didn't magically shrink to fit through small places) and goofing around. He then had some dinner and even used his infant fork to play with some of his food!

After dinner, we let him continue to play with his infant fork and suck on the soft, squishy handle side, as seen below. In this scenario, the infant fork in question has metal prongs that are rounded (actually bulbous) at the tips as to not stab anything other than soft foods. Right.

Somehow upon his travels from the living room, where Daniel was, to the kitchen, where I was, he managed to insert the pronged end into his mouth and impale his soft palate. There was no fall involved nor anything to scare him and make him jump. It appears that jacob just outright got excited and jabbed the sucker back into his mouth.

Skipping right over the gory details, suffice it to say that our hearts stopped for about 5 straight minutes as we tried to assess the damage and next course of action. Fortunately in talking with nurses and doctors (our first call to the after hours number!), and because Jacob finally opened wide enough for me to glimpse the little wounds in his mouth...everything calmed down and hearts restarted. In all our nights with Jacob including the first anxious nights after his birth, that night was the stand-out worst. He was pitiful, in pain, unable to nurse, unable to sleep, frustrated, and exhausted. But, after that night, he never showed another sign of pain or distress.

Our lesssons learned:

First, Jacob won't be using a fork until he's 10.

Second, kids really are insanely resilient.

Third, Daniel and I realized that there will be more hearstopping moments such as this one as parents. And now we know our protocol for emergencies!

For those in need of proof of Jacob's resiliency, here's the little imp the following evening...with a block in his mouth.

Back in Berkeley

After some 2 weeks of traveling, Jacob, Daniel, and I are all back home in Berkeley. Phew! Easter in NC with the ENTIRE 'Chell' family was truly spectacular and I couldn't have asked for more from that trip! Jacob loved playing with everyone, trying to chase a blind Maddie (dog), eating messily, and confusing us all by crawling everywhere instead of using his newly acquired skill of walking.

(J's reaction to the bday candle.)

We met up with Daniel in Houston, where our precious Godson Parker was baptized! While there Jacob got to play with Parker (who handled Jacob's tackles and deathgrip-hugs with laughter) and his giant canine buddies Carolina and Shasta, along with seeing his Aunt Tally and Uncle Trent, Didi and Yaya, great grandparents, and even some second cousins, etc. He also got to have another birthday bash thanks to Aunt Tally, and got some more bday loot to play with (and share). Jacob eventually decided to walk again while in Houston and began walking in longer spurts (30 steps at once!).

My First Birthday!

In the Summer of 2007 we were told to expect our first child on April 10th, 2008. It is only fitting, then, that the pictures of his one year birthday party should be "due" on this day. Captions have been added for emphasis.

On 4/6/09 Jacob Daniel Pugh finished his 365th day, and several of his best friends showed up for the occasion.

Everyone sings, "Happy Birthday"

Ashley made a Caterpillar cake that was the talk of the town.

But let's be serious.

Just 'Kid'ding.

Jacob can make the same face as his dad.

Parents saying, "How can we have a 1-year-old?"

A good time was had by all, and the momentous day came and went. Our child is growing up, and there is nothing we can do about it. Put the bat down, Ashley. It'l be OK.

On the Verge

I realize that with tomorrow's birthday bash we will probably post two days in a row, but we have too much footage right now to not show you. This will be the last post of our baby, tomorrow ushers in the age of the toddler. Tomorrow night we will be celebrating Jacob's birthday with his 30-50 closest friends who live here in Berkeley. Don't worry, Aunt Tally, at Jacob's request, we will also be watching the CAROLINA game. What a day it will be!

I titled this post "on the verge" because on the verge of his birthday, Jacob Daniel Pugh is on the verge of so many things. He is taking steps several times a day. The most we have counted is nine-in-a-row, and he has done that twice. He still prefers crawling as his primary form of locomotion. Especially when we turn the camera on.
He is is on the verge of cutting his 5th and maybe 6th tooth. Because of that, some days he seems to be on the verge of the "terrible twos" phase, albeit (that's for you Gma&Gpa Chell!) a little early. For now we're chalking up his whining to teething- but if it continues...


Though it is hard to put into blog form, Jacob is on the verge of everything- talking, singing, climbing, comprehending, dancing, eating with utensils, playing the guitar, playing sports (I can't WAIT for that one!), and generally making the slow transition from baby to kid.

He's so stinking cute. I am going to couple of videos here, between 1-2 minutes. Make sure you can spare the time at work (Uncle Trent!).
I think these capture the essence of our little boy- the way he transitions from one action to another, the way he responds when spoken to, and his friendly disposition.
Enjoy!


Jacob and me watching the Carolina Game-





Spinning and playing

Earth Hour

A quick reminder for Earth Hour 2009: (http://http://www.earthhour.org/home/)

Saturday at 8:30 pm, turn out your lights for an hour!

In 9 days Jacob turns 1 years old. As his mom, that is just so many feelings that don't have words...but it's a thrill. And one of the incredible parts of this kiddo that sticks out in my mind is how he STILL changes and surprises us every single day.

As we've mentioned until we're blue in the face, Jacob doesn't sleep well; however, this past week he's been going to sleep completely on his own at nap times and night either silently or with under 20 seconds of fussing. The part that gets me is that we didn't change anything in the sleep-time routine...he just seemed to finally get it and act accordingly. Now, this in no way indicates that he's sleeping through the night (HA), but we'll take what we can get.

Part of him learning to put himself to sleep includes his ability to "tip himself". Jacob has a habit of falling asleep sitting up, and we used to have to go back in after he was asleep and gently "tip" him and tuck him in. Now, this is what happens:

(And yes, following these pictures, i moved his leg out from underneath him.)

His walking is currently maxing out at 4 steps, but he's mastered standing on his own (30 seconds and more!) He's climbing on things really well and is a sneeze away from climbing into the tub- which is not a great thing.

He's passionate about music and ball-related sports. This past week Daniel sprained his ankle playing basketball at a nearby park (Jacob and i were there watching from the playground). Following an intial cry when Daniel went down, typically sensitive and empathetic Jacob couldn't be distracted and instead had rolled the basketball toward the goal post, where he proceeded to throw the ball in the air at the basket. Seriously.

Here's jacob's whiney rendition of the alphabet song: