Image management

Now that Jakob is officially one, it became obvious that it was time for us to help him along in what we're positive is going to be a quick road to stardom. The first thing we did was make sure to get him on television to ensure his story was told.

While the audio isn't the best, and we recorded it from DVR to digital camera, you've got to check out our latest YouTube clip. Jakob appeared on the "Birthdays with Brett" segment during NBC Action News's Midday edition. Brett meant to talk about the fact that he was born on August 9 [2007] and adopted on September 5 [2007], but mistakenly said he was born on both days. He's going to show the photo again on September 5. To see the short clip, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=4af5RKJdBnc.

With that completed, it was then time to move the little boy's hairstyle into something a bit more appropriate for the "big boy" strides he's been making. On a tip from one of Marc's coworker friends, we made an appointment last night at Shear Madness over at Zona Rosa. Shear Madness is a kid-friendly salon complete with car chairs, kid movies and lots of colors. Prior to going, we gave him a bath so you could see just how long his hair had gotten:

At Shear Madness, Jakob first seemed excited to have his hair wet down in the Hummer he was "driving":

Things quickly went downhill as the stylist continued cutting. This photo was taken shortly before the cape went on and the tears began a' flowin':

But in the end, we were left with a cool experience and a little boy who now looks like a little man. The session came with a before and after certificate we signed along with the stylist and a baggie of his first hair locks. Good news though. Even after cutting his hair, he still retains his strength (Judges 16:17).

Once we get the okay from his doctor, we'll move to putting product in to spike it up. Perhaps a faux hawk is on the horizon. . .

Tomorrow, we head over to Santicaligon Days in Independence, MO, with Nana and Miss Tracy for an afternoon of carnival food, carnival fun and. . . carnivals. Should be a great time and the weather is supposed to be perfect. We'll be sure to upload photos from our trip.

We'd also like to share some amazing news. The power of prayer and God's faithfulness really came to light again for us this week. We have been literally agonizing over what to do about permanent daycare for Jakob. Our current daycare provider is moving next spring to Overland Park, KS, where her husband works due to rising gas prices. While we love her (a ton!), she's not state-licensed as well and if we go to a state-recognized daycare, the state will pay for it through Jakob's subsidy. Every little bit counts. One daycare investigated near the square in Liberty had an opening but we weren't sold on it completely. We were praying along with our small group and church that God would provide us with another opportunity, specifically one closer to home and one we would feel was safe for Jakob.

On Thursday afternoon, we received a call from Creative World, the daycare we had hoped to get in at and they reported having an opening for Jakob. They are state-licensed as well and he can start on September 8. The same day after the call, we received a prayer card in the mail from our senior pastor Fred saying, "Today we prayed that God would provide you with a safe and secure daycare for Jakob that you would feel at peace with." There's no way that's a coincidence. Powerful stuff and we're really thankful.

More soon.

McCain/Palin 08'

Jakob Marcus: Year One

Okay, so with this year's summer hit "The Dark Knight" going on, we thought we would borrow a title for the best baby in the world, from one of the greatest superheros ever to grace the pages of a comic series.

And we looked up and the little boy was one. Lots of reflection came with this startling revelation. We looked at one of the other many, many videos from his YouTube channel including the ones where he was smaller that our forearms and thought, "How did he get so big so fast?"

We felt like last weekend he was going to walk. He's been flirting with it for a while and cruises with the greatest of ease. His birthday weekend was as close to perfect as it gets. All the A-listers were there and he was surrounded by friends and family that love him. We tried the demolish the little cake idea again and it met with similar results. After a quick back and change of clothing Jakob began opening his presents. At one point he got bored and left the room long enough for his good friends Tegan and Bella to join in on the fun. He quickly returned and continued.

[Sarcastic tone] We'd like to specifically thank everyone who gave him something that makes noise. The silver lining in this is two fold. First, they have a volume toggle switch which is easy to keep low and second, it is continuing to develop Jakob's love of music. Marc couldn't be happier about that. [Compassionate tone] But seriously, thank you to everyone who came out and for the great gifts. We really appreciate you making time for us and this event wouldn't have been the same without you.

Last Friday, with Jakob's birthday under his belt, we got to head over to the doctor to get his booster shots. Now that Jakob has become more self aware, it's big fun to try to help him make sense of how something that hurts is going to help him in the long run. A few crocodile tears later, he was fine and spent the rest of the weekend doing what he does best. . . get pampered by mom and dad and slept on Marc most of Saturday afternoon. No complaints were made by Marc or Jakob.

Baseball has become unseated by a little thing called the NFL as the national pastime and Jakob loves spending time with daddy watching the games. And by that we mean that he enjoys being in the basement crawling, jumping and yelling on the leather couch. He does eventually lay on daddy and watch some of the game, but for the most part it's just good spending father/son time together. Baring a lack of enjoyment of football, we hope to make this a regular occurrence for years to come.

Tomorrow, Kim begins another year of teaching. With each year she continues to learn and grow. Perhaps one day she will actually realize that not only is she good at what she does, she's making a difference in the lives of kids others have decided won't make it in society.

Now that Michael Phelps has won his gold, the Olympics, like the election television ads, can't end fast enough. We're especially excited because Jakob's photo is going to be on the NBC Action News "Birthday's with Brett" once the games are over. We'll make sure we record it in case you miss it.

This week, we're going to be making a decision on what may turn out to be a new daycare for Jakob. We're not completely settled with the idea, and we're praying God will provide us with either another option or peace on making the decision to begin taking him there. We'll have more on that next week.

More soon.

One down. . .

Tomorrow is Jakob's first birthday, and this morning he was up early so he got to climb around in mommy and daddy's bed for a bit before Marc had to get up for work.

Kim made an observation which was interesting to try to comprehend. Today, Jakob is exactly 364 days old. In that time he has experienced Christmas, the birthdays and anniversary of his parents, summer swimming, fall leaves, cold winter bundling up and spring tornadoes. Not too bad for his almost first year on Earth.

To see the broadcast debut of Jakob Marcus: Year One, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyaNz0X3V90.

Last weekend we had Jakob's photo shoot with a photographer Marc works with at a nearby studio. It solidified we officially have the most ridiculously good looking kid on the planet:

Tomorrow is Jakob's birthday and we will have pictures for you later in the weekend. Should be a celebration so incredible, later school children will study it.

More soon.