they grow up so fast

As I'm sure you can imagine (given the newly expanded state of our household and judging from the serious lack of new posts lately), the Jacobs family have had a lot going on the last couple of months. As much as we might want the world around us to slow down a little as we adjust to life with dos chicas en la casa, it does nothing to oblige us - just keeps right on spinning, at times so fast that we feel like we're the ones that are doing the whirling! Some new developments since the last time we posted:

Haven is sleeping through the night and has been since she was just under 2 months. (Remember that poll that we took awhile back about predictions on Haven's timing in reaching this milestone in relation to what Gracelyn did as a newborn? Well, Haven did beat Gracelyn's time, by over two weeks! That made me a happy...and more well-rested...mommie!) It actually all started when we were on our trip to San Diego late-August, early-September. One morning at the beginning of our trip, I woke up around 7am, realizing that Haven hadn't woken up yet; she continued the trend through the rest of our trip (10 days or so). When we got back home, there was a slight regression, but she was again sleeping through the night about a week later! Yay!

Haven -- code name "Origami" because of all her folds

In case you can't tell from the above photo, Haven has also been packing on the pounds! At her 2-month well-baby check-up, she weighed in at 13 lbs, 2 oz (85th percentile, meaning that 85% of babies her age don't weigh as much as she does)! She is now about a week away from three months old, but she's fitting nicely into clothes that a sixth-month-old baby could wear! Must be something in mama's milk!

In Big Sister news, Gracelyn started preschool last month, attending East Hills Preschool three afternoons a week. She is making some great new friends, learning a ton of new stuff, and bringing home lots and lots of artwork!! We recently purchased a small bulletin board to hang in her room, so we could show off some of her best work. She loves going into her room to see her paintings, drawings, and collages. Here are some photos of her first day of school.

Rockin' the Diego backpack

Finding her cubby

Working away with Miss Shelley and classmate Neel

Also, Gracelyn is now potty-trained! She still wears diapers for naptime and bedtime, but during the day, it's nothing but Big-Girl Panties!! We do have the occasional accident here and there, but we've made really good progress in getting ourselves to the potty when we need to go! Mommie and Daddie have a smal dilemma, however; when we began the potty-training process, to help Gracelyn be motivated to use the potty, we incented her with Dora the Explorer videos - go potty in the potty, watch Dora on the TV. It worked great the first week! She would be so excited every time she went in the potty: "I get to watch Dora now!" with a huge grin on her face. As she's gotten better and better at using the toilet, we have realized that this incentive program can't continue this way, or well be watching Dora all day every day (and wanting to shoot ourselves everytime we hear "Swiper, no swiping"!). Any suggestions on a new incentive program (and how to transition from the old one) would be greatly appreciated!!

Wearing her Big-Girl Dora panties on the first day of "Potty-Training Boot Camp"

haven bottle feeds

Today was our first attempt at bottle feeding the newest one. She was a bit fussy at first, but after feeding from mommie and calming down a bit, she sucked down 3 oz. from the Avent. Good job! The odd thing was that Gracelyn wanted a sip. Eh...we gave her one expecting her to make a face after trying the milk. She didn't...oops! Looks like we have to wean her again.

Daddie nursing...

having 2 at home

The first week has gone by, and there is really nothing that could have prepared us. There has been little sleep and lots of activity in our house. We have managed to get out a few times, but it takes nearly 2 hours for an idea to turn into a garage opening. Gracelyn has been such a big helper at times, and we are beginning to adjust into our new life. I have put a challenge in front of Haven, though. She has an opportunity to "lead" if she can manage to sleep through the nite in less than 2.5 months, which is Gracelyn's mark. Last nite, she went 5 hours! (We'll find out if that is a fluke or just kickass parenting.)

Haven is chillin'.

Who says having a newborn can make the oldest regress?!

baby sister is here!

On Monday, July 21st at 7:10 AM, Haven Brielle Jacobs was born. She busted out at 7 lbs 14 oz and was 20 inches long. She is showing jet black hair and sporting a buzz cut. Here eyes appear to be a deep dark blue (very likely to change down the road) and her skin tone is slightly more olive than Gracelyn. (But, pretty much anyone is darker than Gracelyn, even daddie.) We are finally home and relearning how to be parents to a little baby. Of course, we are getting plenty of sleep and even have time for a movie here and there.

Haven and her big sister, Gracelyn.

fun with friends

Recently, Gracelyn had a couple of playdates with her friends Max, Molly and Makenna. (For those of you who don't know them, Max & Molly are twins, about 2-and-a-half months younger than Gracelyn; Makenna is their three-month-old cousin.) We always have such a great time with our friends!

Niles Beach: This first set of pictures is from our trip to Niles Beach, a nice "beach" perfect for little ones. It's on a lake, so it's usually relatively peaceful (a criteria that Gracelyn holds for her decisions of getting near the water or not). When we got there, there was an elementary school having a beach day, so it was a bit crazy, with close to 100 kids in the water. Gracelyn absolutely refused to go near the water (in fact, she refused to go anywhere if Mommie wasn't holding her)! Once the school left, things quieted down and our little ones were able to enjoy the sand and water. What a fun day!

Holding hands with our friends in the parking lot

Makenna & Mara getting their feet wet

Playing in the sand

Aren't they just precious?

We love the water!!

Max & Molly's House: The following week, Gracelyn and I went over to the Cooper-Allen house to have another playdate with Max & Molly. Kelyn's (the twins' older sister) sixth-grade graduation was that morning, so Heather had asked us to come over to play with the twins. Being the smart mommie that she is, she knew that the twins would not be able to sit through a two-hour graduation ceremony! We had so much fun, running around outside in the beautiful sunshine, playing with toys inside, and sharing snacks together.

Max & Molly on their trikes

Playing "House"

"Peekaboo!!"

These bugs remind Mommie of when she was little...

A very contemplative Max (how cute is he??)

Best of friends, cuddling together on the couch

father's day

The morning of Father's Day, we had no idea how we were going to spend it (actually, I should say, Judd had no idea how he wanted to spend it). We packed a lunch, got in the car, and started driving, but with no real sense of where we would end up. Nearly two hours later (it took that long due to stops for cash and the previously mentioned lack of direction), we ended up in Napa. However, we still had no idea how to get to any of the wineries!! Eventually, we made it to the Folies a Deux winery, which was under construction (their tasting room was open, but the only bathrooms available were port-a-potties...after two hours of driving, my pregnant ass didn't care, though! A bathroom is a bathroom is a bathroom when you really gotta go!!). Judd did a tasting, chatting it up with the dude behind the counter, we grabbed a free winery map and were directed to Diamond Oaks Winery where we could picnic. The pictures below are from Diamond Oaks - gorgeous view, but just so-so wine (according to Judd...I, of course, was not partaking). After Diamond Oaks, we went to Domaine Chandon, mostly to kill time before our dinner reservations. We were sorely underdressed for Chandon, with the rest of the clientèle looking like they had just stepped out of the J. Crew and/or Banana Republic catalog. Judd did a tasting there, too, and since it was all of the champagne variety (or "sparkling white wine", for those of you who want to get technical), it put him over the top as far as level of drunkenness is concerned!

We ended our lovely day with a delicious dinner on the patio of the Napa Valley Grille. Needless to say, Mommie ended up driving home, since Daddie was in no condition to be operating heavy machinery! Happy Father's Day, Daddie!!

The beautiful view from Diamond Oaks Winery

Gracelyn & Daddie playing bocce ball

Looking at the fishies in the pond

Gracelyn made a new friend!

gizdich ranch

On Sunday, we drove over to Watsonville to pick strawberries at Gizdich Ranch. I hadn't been there since my mom and a few of her homeschooling cohorts dragged us kids over there to ride some silly wagon-thing around the property; it wasn't even berry- or apple-picking time when we went, so the extent of our activities included driving for an hour to get there, riding the silly wagon-thing, eating lunch, twiddling our thumbs, and driving for another hour to get back home. So exciting. (Part of me thinks that the "field trip" was more for the moms' enjoyment than anything else. Billy concurs.)

This time, we wanted to make sure that there was something more to do. Since strawberries are available May-July, it was the perfect time for picking! It was actually a last-minute decision; with the weather being so crappy here in SJ and our moods gradually turning sour being stuck at home, we packed up and got in the car, with no real plan as to what to do. We just had to get out of the house. As we pulled out of the garage, Judd suggested heading over to Gizdich, so that's what we did. When we got there, we spent about a half hour picking the reddest, juiciest strawberries (and eating half of them before we got back to the car).

Yum!

Then we ate lunch and gave Gracelyn some time to play around in the sandbox and hay tunnel. Our opinion: While Gizdich Ranch may not be the most exciting place to spend your Sunday afternoon, it certainly does make for a relaxing and pleasant family outing. We're planning on going back in June when olallieberries and blackberries are ready for picking; anyone care to join us?

Gracelyn with Moses, a friend she made at Gizdich


I swear that's the same hay tunnel that was there when I was little.
Have they ever changed the hay?

random pics

Some of the various happenings in the Jacobs family over the past few months...

Olivia's 1st Birthday: Yummy food, good company, and Daddie even got to hone up on his "macking" skills while conversing with a couple of the ladies at the party! :-)

Daddie: The (older) Ladies' Man

Presents from Aunt Judy: Gracelyn's Great-Great-Aunt Judy sent her a beautiful sweater that she knit for her, and, for her birthday, she sent Gracelyn her first bike! Go, Gracie, Go!!

I just love my new sweater!

Look at me go!

Passover: Grandma and Aunt Barrie came for a nice visit. We ate yummy food, went shopping, got our nails done, and had a great time!

Ready to grub on some delicious Jewish food

San Francisco: The week after Passover, Gma stayed with us. We spent Friday up in the city, checking out Golden Gate Park with Gma's friend Fran.

Exploring with Gma

Oom Billy's Bike Race: Oom Billy has bike races every weekend, and we finally made it to one! It was a beautiful day in Los Gatos, and we enjoyed watching the race, cheering Oom Billy on every time he passed by.

Picking flowers with Oma

Gracelyn's Birthday: Gracelyn turned 2 on May 6th, and, as a special treat, Daddie and Mommie let her eat some ice cream! Yummy!!

Yes, that is a Hannukah candle in her ice cream...

Mother's Day: Mommie was spoiled with a special brunch in the Imperial Ballroom at the Fairmont Hotel. We stuffed our faces, pet the baby farm animals in the petting zoo, and decorated some sugar cookies. Later in the evening (after our stomachs had nearly finished processing all that food), we had Oma, Opa and Oom Billy over for a bbq.

Giggling with Daddie

Happy Mother's Day, Mommie!

Mommie's Graduation: Hooray!! Mommie finally finished school! Now she has a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential and is ready to take on a classroom of 35 little rascals. Good Luck, Mommie!

Yay for Mommie! She did it!

such a gansta

Gracelyn loves to sport Mommie and Daddie's gansta gear! Have you ever seen a cooler nearly-two-year-old?

Wife-beater, Cal beanie, and raisins...I'm a total gansta.

Check out my saggin' pants

Rockin' the yankees headband and the rasta wristband...so cool.

mommie, wow! i'm a big girl now!

A couple of weeks ago, Gracelyn's big girl bed was delivered to our house. We opted for a bunk bed style, in anticipation of our growing family. The delivery dudes had it all put together in about 30 minutes (a job that probably would've taken me and Judd the whole day)! The evening prior to the delivery, we all headed over to Bed Bath & Beyond to shop for some new big girl sheets for Gracelyn. We found these cool Paul Frank monkey sheets; Gracelyn loves them! They go so well with the big monkey chair that Biwie and Meggie got her for Christmas.

Gracelyn has been sleeping just fine in her new bed; she's only been found on the floor a few times (no injuries, of course...in fact, all but one of the times, she slept through the whole thing!). Although she is quite adept at climbing into and out of her bed (via the panda bear step stool that Daddie bought for her), she hasn't figured out that she can get out of her bed on her own when she wakes up from her nap; she just waits until someone comes to get her. The past few afternoons, I've heard her crying out, "Guy fell down!" over and over again, until I come up and get Guy off the floor for her. She just hasn't realized that she can climb down to get him herself. We're pretty certain that she'll figure it out soon, but, until then, it's kinda cute that she waits in her bed until naptime is "officially" over. :-)

Using Panda Bear to climb into the Big Girl Bed

Don't you just love my cool monkey sheets?!

I'm such a big girl now, chillin' in my new bed.

egg hunts and horsies

This past Sunday, we went to the Goulet's home...er...farm for an Easter potluck. The weather was so beautiful; we ate outside, played ball, fed horsies, and had all kinds of fun. It was Megan's birthday,too, so we were glad to share it with her. Happy Birthday, Meggie!! Here are some pictures of the day.

Feeding the Horsie

Cool new shades from Oom Biwie & Megan

Coloring with Cousin Nick

Having a snack with Oma & Opa

What's in the grass? Ooo! A green Easter egg!!

Daddie!! Look at the pretty eggs I found!

bsc 2007 results

Since 2008 is well under way, here are the final results of the bsc 2007!! Judd had high hopes of joining the century club of burrito eaters everywhere and started off the year strong, averaging close to a burrito every other day. However, as the year progressed, his burrito intake sadly declined, leaving him 20 shy of his goal of 100. Jonah (who works across the street from a burrito spot in Seattle) was looking like he might blow away the competition, but his numbers never reached the much anticipated apex. There are those who wonder if the communication line responsible for reporting Jonah's burrito consumption numbers might have failed at some point early on, making his actual results completely inaccurate. Billy's performance throughout the year was strong and steady; towards the end, he took the lead in the race for the finish. Gracelyn still has yet to eat a single burrito. Unfortunately, none of our bsc contestants showed anything remarkable enough to be logged in the annals of burrito eaters worldwide. Maybe this year will prove to be more exciting for us all.

The final results are as follows:

• oom biwie: 81
• fuddruckus: 80
• manders: 57
• josh: 20
• jonah: 13
• gma: 12
• auntie b: 4
• gracelyn: 0