weekend visitors

My mom and dad came to visit us this last long weekend, which happened to coincide with our discovery of a leaking washer, which meant they got to help us put new floors in our kitchen and laundry room. Despite us putting them to work all weekend, we made sure to squeeze in dinner at Jet's and a few rounds of their favorite (and now our favorite) board game. Jake learned to high-five, thanks to some quality time with Grandma while we worked on the floors. We had such a great weekend that I teared up a bit as they drove away Monday morning (like I always do). I promise, Mom and Dad, that the next time y'all come to visit we won't have any projects to do!

nine whole months

I don't know if its because 'nine months' is one of the bigger first-year milestones, but every time I look at Jake now I feel like he's growing right before my eyes. It also seems like he's doing something new every day, like holding his own bottle to eat and "brushing" his teeth. Jake's so close to crawling but hasn't figured out how to get that one leg out from under him, which is a constant source of annoyance for him. He moves backwards and rotates in circles, so we're motivating him with remotes and iPhones to get him moving forward. ;) All day long it seems he babbles "dadada" ("mama" makes it in there occasionally..) and loves walking with us around the house. Jake is happiest in the bath tub, where he splashes hard enough to soak anyone in a five-foot radius (seriously). When Jake gets truly excited, for instance when we run the bath water, he gets this "happy wheeze" as we call it and rocks back and forth like a maniac. His rocking habit has become his signature move at church where he's still uber-popular with the 4-and-under crowd, mostly made up of little girls who pat his head and call him "Baby Jake".

snow day 2.0

Today was in the 70s. Jake and I "played" on the playground next door and I had every window in the house open. Last Thursday, though, we woke up to at least three inches of gorgeous snow. It barely lasted until noon but we had just enough time to stomp through it, pull Jake around in a laundry basket (#ghetto), and snap some pretty cute pics of my guys. Twins, those two.

Christmas in January

I'm way behind in posting this, but here's a recap of our Christmas with Deric's family. We traveled to Indiana late in January for a quick weekend and did the whole Christmas shebang on Friday morning. Jake's first Christmas with the Skinners definitely didn't disappoint, as he came away with a high chair, a "sports center" basketball goal/baseball tee/football, blocks and clothes, and a year-long zoo pass, which is what I'm most excited about! Now we just need spring to arrive and we'll be venturing out to see the animals all the time!