Monday, August 31, 2009

Sir Prince Jacob - turns 1 on Feb 9, 2009








The Prince turns 1.... You had such a great day surrounded by the M family... being that you are the only little one, you are the favorite of all... Aunt, Uncle, even Great Aunt J gets in on the action of spoiling you...




However, the ones who were at your party and rival Mommy & Daddy for spoiling you the most and thinking you rock our world is - Grandma & Grandpa M.

Grandma made you the most wonderful cookies, since Mommy did the smash cake. And you, being the clean boy you are - preferred the no mess cookies to the double layer, banana pudding filled devils food cake that was topped in homemade buttercream frosting (okay, so I was a little proud of your cake)

Grandma M & Sir Prince Jacob


1st.... Mommy & Me vacation

Okay... So we really did do it to escape the horrible weather.... Jan 21 - 25th of 2009

The day before we left, we got this horrible snow storm, that left Fluffy tunneling through the path Payton so kindly created for him.













And... It wasn't just Mommy & Me, as we went to visit Grandma & Grandpa P in Marco Island, FL. Lucky us... Lucky them...




we took in the zoo at the Naples Zoo... (I think Mommy had more fun...)




and then... we hit the beach... Only it was to cold to sun or swim... :( but we enjoyed a good walk with Grandpa anyway...





however... What I remember most about this trip is... It's where you really started walking...



and walk you did... Pulling laptop plug cords, touching the TV buttons, pulling on the shades... I think you walked, just to see what you could get into next... ;)


















We can't forget the time you spent in the pool... Grandpa gave mommy a break every day by taking you on a beach walk, then pool time... Mommy spent this time with Grandma relaxing beside the pool. Granted, she was tanning her goose bumps, but considering the snowstorm in Chicago, we were still better off down there....










Finally, it was time to say goodbye...

First to the Marco Sunset with Grandma.....






and then to the Ft. Lauderdale airport...

I must say, you were an AMAZING traveler for mommy... I could not have asked for the trip to go more smoothly...

....and the forgotten fury beings...

Having seriously been demoted upon J's arrival, but not to be forgotten...

.....obviously... this is a day before J... Hannah (brown Chessie), Payton (black & white Pointer/Lab), and Fluffy (yappy Chihuahua)



We're at a Chicago dog beach on Lake Michigan



















A solo of Hannah... Sadly, she passed when J was only a month old...


A solo of P... Oh, I will have many stories to share of her with J... from her "cleaning" the high chair for me (which I promise, I will try to capture on 'film') to getting ever so kindly pushed out of the way as J makes his way down the hall... Sometimes I'm grateful for her herding of him in the moments when he moves quicker than I'd anticipated in a direction I didn't want...


and last... and sometimes least...

Fluffy... Seen here with Hannah.

Enter... Baby J

On February 9, 2008, Mr. M & I welcomed a healthy baby boy – Jacob Matthew.

Since this is historical... I know I am short changing his first year, and for that I am so very sorry... All I can say is - "I promise to do better"....


My last belly pic, taken the night before delivery.... (38 weeks 6 days)




Stats:

Birth: 7lbs. 15ozs. & 21in.




1 mo: 10lbs. 4ozs. & 21.5in.


2 mo: 12lbs. 6ozs. & 23in.


3 mo: 14lbs. 6ozs. & 25in. - you were already my seasoned traveler....




6 mo: 18lbs. 9ozs. & 28.5in. - crawling

@ 7 months


@ 8 months - your Baptism 10.26.2008 @ St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church



....and here with your Godmother Aunt K (P) & Godfather Uncle J (M)




9 mo: 20lbs. 12ozs. & 30in.
We did your 9 month pics as our Holiday card.... You were already showing signs of that mischief that so totally makes you who you are....


12 mo: 22lbs. 14ozs. & 31in. - walking



and...


oh... how I love you.... my dear sweet son...

History of Me to becoming Mrs. M.

Born June 5, 1976...I was a day late & my mom has always told me... A dollar short. ha... ha... Although, I am generally short of cash when shopping for clothes... :) We lived in a rual town in Mid-Michigan, just South of Lansing. Until the fall of 1989, when we moved a half hour West to a slightly larger town. From there, I did a year at Central Michigan University before transferring to University of North Carolina at Greensboro. May 1998, I graduated with a degree in Accounting and a minor in Econ. I moved home to work for EDS. Having not endured the Midwest winters, I found myself longing for the sun of the South. This caused me to lobby for a job in Miami, FL Spring 2000... Only Miami is very pricey (read: unaffordable), and thanks to Monster, I took a job with Ford - relocating yet again, to a suburb of Chicago by September 2000.

Mr. M & I met in January 2001. He had noticed me the previous November when I had bought my Explorer, but in my self-centeredness, I missed him. However, this crisp January morning, I was totally open and interested in meeting the guy who looked at me like a 'deer in headlights', saying "hi!" and taking off before I could really respond. Our first date was on a Thursday night at a Chicago/Detroit basketball game, although I don't think either of us watched any of it... Friday we did dinner. Saturday we did dinner and added a movie. Sunday we hit Brookfield Zoo, enjoying the warmth of the buildings. By Monday, he had told his brother (Uncle J (M)) that he had found the woman he was going to marry...Me... I told my now really close friend, then co-worker, he's a really nice guy & I don't want to screw this up. (Obviously, I was not so confident in our future)


Well... bumps happened. life happened.. love happened...



in August 2001, we were engaged and on May 25, 2003, we were married in Augusta, MI




Getting Started

Wow... I've been thinking of starting one of these for a while now... Having realized how many unshared pictures I have of our little man, I decided to do this... It will force me to stay current & keep our family & friends up to date happenings of J - and his current new quest of "Me Do".

In an effort to have one place for all important (okay, at least I think it is important) info in one place, I will be doing some historical posts prior to concentrating on daily happenings of "Growing up in the M Family".