The Jacobs: July 2015

July 21, 2015

Facelift and Feedback

Notice anything different around this old blog of mine? My friend Michelle helped me spruce it all up. Not only was it such a sweet gesture to ask, I was again amazed by her talents. She designed the header, even using my handwriting for "the Jacobs." I love it so much. Michelle is just an amazing person. I'm so glad to know her!!
I've been thinking for awhile now about how I can help my friends. I truly feel like they all help me, serve me, love me so wonderfully and I would like to be more of a giver rather than a taker. I'm not looking for reassurances that I have talents, etc. I just really need advice on things I can do to be a thoughtful, good friend. Any advice?

July 16, 2015

Family Pictures...Hilariously Accurate

Our family has never taken a great family photo. You could blame us, the photographer, the camera, or fate. Regardless, it's the truth. :) Good thing photos like this just make me laugh. This is basically the best of the bunch. That's what we get for having crazy kids. :)

These were taken after Henry was blessed on July 5th. Fun facts - 1. Henry was wearing a pretty spiffy little outfit that he decided to destroy with a blow-out, so here is the replacement outfit. :) 2. Andrew was blessed six years to the day that Henry was blessed. 3. WE are blessed to have all these amazing kids.

Karen Update

Well, let's see. How am I feeling?

...

AGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's mostly accurate, although everything's going well for us. We love having baby Henry in our family. He's the perfect addition, and we all adore him. Having four kids is definitely not the shock-to-the-system that having three was. It's still been quite an adjustment. It's amazing how quickly you forget what it's like to have a newborn in the house. Everything changes. That isn't a bad thing, but it IS a thing.

Can I tell you how much I hate the term "baby blues"? I mean, seriously? It sounds like, 'Well, after you have your baby you may feel a teensy-weensy weird sometimes. But don't worry, it's super cute to feel this way!" Baby blues? It's basically (at least for me) the time when I feel like I've gone insane. I'll be cruising along, feeling exhausted, but fine....then BAM! Some weird thought or emotion will hit me. "Hmmm, what should we have for breakfast? I was thinking of making panca....oh my gosh, what if the baby somehow pulled the mobile onto himself and he's eating the pieces and choking!!?!?!" Or "I think I'll go take a shower. Yeah.....oh my gosh, I love my husband but does he HAVE to breathe like that?!?!" I mean, seriously? I'm not an overly emotional person, but after I have a baby? Welcome to Crazy Town. The "baby blues" have gone away, thankfully.

The last three months have been extremely stressful. I didn't really realize at times how wound up I was until I would notice I had my hands clenched or my shoulders shrugged or I would start crying. I'm trying to learn to be more aware of how I'm feeling and not shove it away so I don't have to deal with it.

I'm just realizing now how depressing this post sounds!!!!! I'm happy! Truly! I even got to see my dear, dear, DEAR friend Meagan. Gosh I love that girl. She was in town visiting so we all got to hang out and she gave me a haircut which I was so happy about. I love being with friends that you haven't seen for a long time, and feeling like you can just take it up where you left off!

I feel incredibly lucky. Despite all the challenges we've faced, our family has stood strong, been strengthened, and felt the hand of the Lord. We have 4 amazingly wonderful kids. I have a dream husband. We have a home to protect us from the elements. We have so many blessings, and I am grateful for them.
Next week starts our family's regime of health. Wish us luck!

July 14, 2015

Henry Update

Besides the obvious (he is a gorgeous baby), Henry has a million good qualities already.

He is very tolerant of the love his brothers and sister have for him.

He is a happy little guy almost all of the time.

He is a good little traveler. Thank heavens because that could have been really hard with all the time in the car lately.

I think we can mention his beauty again.

He makes the funniest faces.

He's patriotic.

He lets us make him dance, sing, etc.

(I found the picture!)

He has the cutest smile and little chuckle when he gets tickled.

He is so interested in everything around him. He's an observant little gus.

Charlie Update

Our Charlie is almost 2 1/2 now, and is as smart as a whip. Charlie is the sweetest little guy ever. He always asking us to "Snuggle for a little while."

This picture is of him with his very favorite daddy on a ride on the metro.

He is a very independent little guy. For example, on the metro he wanted to stand.

He might be new at this big brother business, but he has definitely taken on his role well. He always wants to hold him, kiss him, give him a pacifier, etc. We're so glad he's in our family.

Emily Update

Our little Emily has decided that she wants to be a big girl. She got so excited when she peeled her own banana. She has had the ability to do these sorts of things for a long time, but has been her stubborn self and has just now decided to do them.

She is kind of serious around other people, and super silly around us. She always tries to make us laugh and usually succeeds. Her favorite "funny" thing to say is 'mashed potato' which actually in Emily-ese is "Masha Datato!" It's adorable.

Another thing she decided to start doing is drawing. She makes cute little people (this picture is a 'happy Mommy') and has branched into drawing bugs, flowers, etc. It has also helped her to want to write letters more. She has known what they were for a couple years now, but hasn't really wanted to write until now.

We apparently haven't taken many pictures of our girl lately, but I kind of loved this one of her jumping on her bed. The bag is filled with an assortment of stuff she found around the house. She's a cute little packrat. We love our little 4 year old.

July 13, 2015

Andrew Update

Six year old Andrew is just as funny, spunky, crazy, silly, energetic and smart as ever.

Here he is in a rain cover he made himself.

Here he is pretending to work in a patent office. Yes, seriously.

He has discovered that he really likes the camera.

A lot.

Andrew's been seeing a lot of specialists lately. ENT, opthamologist, audiologist... Here he is with the opthamologist. Andrew was very excited that they shared the same first name.

This bear was in the waiting room! It looks exactly the same as the one Mike got as a boy.

After a haircut, Andrew was lamenting his loss. "I don't like spikey hair. Just fluffy hair." So Daddy put it in a jar and he's been carrying it around. It is christened 'Fluffy'. He is a funny, odd little duck.

And here's our cutie little guy getting his hearing checked. The doctor said he has ok hearing, but there was some weirdness so she wants to see him at the end of the summer. He will also be going to a speech therapist to check and see if he needs speech therapy. He has been a great little trooper and is loving the attention.

He will also be getting his tonsils removed (date TBD) and has a stronger prescription for his glasses.

July 12, 2015

Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, and Cousins...Oh My!

We've been traveling a LOT over the last couple of months, so we have gotten to see lots of family. We just love our family on both sides, and so it's been fun for everyone to hang out.