Slacker Central

Before you go on thinking we're slackers, just hear us out first. Sit back, relax, grab a can of Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi and we'll dive into the sorted tale of what has happened since our last post.

When we last met, the new year had started and Jakob was trying his hand at posting to try to keep things fresh. A few weekends ago Marc traveled to Orlando to oversee a few large events. One might think it would be nice to get away from the cold in January. . . but alas, while things went better than expected and all were excited about the outcome, it was cold. All but one day it was in the upper 30's/low 40's. Also, Jakob and Kim were both sick with bronchitis (Jakob also had pneumonia) making Marc feel miserable to be so far away. During this time Kim's mother also came down from Iowa to see Jakob.

When Marc got back both Kim and Jakob were feeling much better. The Friday after his return, we went to the movies while Jakob was in daycare. We both needed a Friday off so we decided to go see Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler" and the latest installment in the "Underworld" movie series. Both were very good and it was easy to see how Mickey Rourke got the Golden Globe for best actor.

Two days later Marc got the flu and it hit him like a truck. He was home from work one day this week and miserable most of the others. This weekend will be nice for him to continue to recuperate.

Jakob continues to fill our lives with love, laughter and responsibility. He's now getting out of bed on his own and we found him in the basement on the weekend Marc got back (even before we got out of bed!). He's also a big fan of cruising up and down the carpeted stairs with ease.

He has really begun to mimic us in what we do and he loves to explore. As a matter of fact, Kim found him exploring the master bathroom and he definitely left his mark. Check it out at www.youtube.com/watch?v=nakehMXceH4.

We're looking forward to warmer weather this spring so we can get outside more and get him some of that tan back that he had last summer. It's been hard to stay cooped up in the house when he definitely wants to explore more outside. His favorite discovery is still the moon. He finds it instantly when we're outside at night, and sometimes mistakes the larger lights in our house for it, but he's definitely on the right track and it's fun to see him point it out with so much tenacity!

This weekend we're heading over to see our friends the Kilson's to watch what we hope will be the Arizona Cardinals upset the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl. We'll try to be more diligent in posting now that things are beginning to calm down and we're all almost well. . .

More soon.

New year, new personality

First off, sorry for taking so long to get in the first of the year post. As you can imagine with recovering from Christmas and New Years plus the coming apocalypse from the Arizona Cardinals hosting the NFC Championship game, we've been swamped. Now, a news brief:

"However, Skynet became self-aware thus alarming its creators at its new found abilities. When the human operators attempted to shut down the system, Skynet defined all humans as its new enemy and decided to terminate all humans to protect its existence. Every nuclear missile in the United States under Skynet's control was launched at their preset targets and in the resulting counterattack of other nations' nuclear arsenals, three billion humans were killed in minutes as a result of the nuclear exchange." - Sarah Connor

Now that we have your attention, imagine this "self-awareness" on a much, much smaller scale and you have the little boy. Jakob's personality traits continue to grow and become more of his own. He's smiling more, laughing more, blowing kisses and showing more of these charming looks. He's become more fearless and while it still takes him a little while to warm up to new people, it's only a matter of time before he shows off his belly or gives a well-deserved high five. The other big news is that we took the side off Jakob's crib so it's officially now more of a day bed.

Words Jakob has now mastered:

Daddy

Momma

Oh-no!

Oh wow!

Awesome

Nana

and just this week. . .moon! They're learning about the nine (or eight) planets at his daycare and he now looks for and points at the moon.

Non-verbals Jakob has now mastered:

Smiling

Blowing kisses

High fives

Taking our hand and leading us somewhere

Dancing

Crawling up and down the stairs on his own

Getting off the bed/couch by himself

Clapping

Clicking his tongue

Shaking his head "no"

Signing "more"

Signing "all done"

Eating with a fork

For Christmas, Jakob got more quality than quantity. Some of his gifts include a table and chairs from Santa, a Batman 4-wheeler from Nana and Pape, Dancing Wubzy from his aunt and learning toys from Grandma and Grandpa and Great Grandmas. It was great seeing him understand this year and really get engaged in enjoying the time.

Although it's hard to see unless you turn over your monitor, you can see the boy in live action on the 4-wheeler at www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1PlpBLD2Mo.

Kim got Marc Guitar Hero and Jakob really enjoys watching daddy play songs he can dance to. Jakob also loves more and more time watching mommy cook and read stories.

This month Marc heads to Orlando to oversee a media event at the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex and a few other client meetings. One of these times, we're just going to plan on moving down there. The weather alone is enough to make you want to never come back to the Midwest.

Kim has officially started the countdown. 19 weeks until summer break.

More soon.