While we were at my brother & sister-in-law's, Jacob decided to show his true colors...

Yes Dear Mr. M, that is indeed a Spartan your son is sporting so happily. And doesn't it fit him nicely?

(I know Grandpa P is loving this...)

Mallory's Baptism

I've been going through the process to become Catholic since fall of 2008. I started the classes to late to be a part of the 2009 Baptismal class, but my faithfulness in attending enabled me to be a part of the upcoming 2010 class.

So when my brother & sister-in-law asked me to be their daughter Mallory's Godmother, I was just plainly tickled. I was so very honored to be asked, and look forward to helping grow & develop Mallory's relationship with the Lord, even as mine is still growing. I will hope & pray that she finds similar peace and joy within the Lord's family. I hope you will all pray for this with me.

Mallory was incredibly happy during her Baptism.

Eat a cookie, wear a cookie...

I should be downloading pictures of my niece (& Goddaughter) baptism. I should. She was beautiful happy baby as she was reborn into Christ's family yesterday. However, as Jacob made his presence known in the church, much to my total chagrin, he is bumping her today as well...

Why, well because he was just so darn happy today. As in, rolling over in bed to give me a hug before snuggling down to sleep. As in, stalling sleep off some more by sitting up to give me a kiss goodnight saying "Nighty, night!" Or poking at my nose "Noze", ears "earzz", eyes "eyezz", hair "hair", and I'm sure you get the picture... He didn't want to sleep, and yet this child could not have been a happier boy if I'd bribed him with a cookie...

...Speaking of cookies... Here is a picture from Friday when, in an effort to gain myself 5 minutes of laundry folding, switching from the washer & starting the next load, I gave a certain little boy refusing to nap a bribe...

Yes, that is chocolate up by his eye... Thankfully wet wipes had him clean in moments after I finished the laundry & he finished his cookie...

Granted the cookie probably didn't help the lack of nap, but it helped my sanity & that's what counts, right?

Pics from FL - pool time...

On our last day of play, it did warm up to the mid-to high 70's... So I threw J in his swim suit & we hit the pool... Well, actually, Grandpa took him to the beach for ball throwing time first, so Mommy could relax...

Luckily (snicker), we had it all to ourselves, as we were the only ones crazy enough to go in it...

After a few minutes, J was ready to get out & have some lunch... So I got him ready for nap time, Grandpa fed him & then put him down for a nap. He napped forever, and Mommy finally got some much needed downtime.

Granted, the nap paid me back 10 fold when he wouldn't go to bed for the night until oh, 11 PM ET...

Pics from FL - day at the mall...

As I look at these pictures, I realize - Jacob is wearing the - exact - same - sweatsuit everyday. I promise, he did get a shower & dressed differently every night for dinner... However, I did not want to believe the 10 day forecast, so my child had many more shorts than sweatsuits packed. Heck, he had more swimsuits than sweatsuits.


Mother Nature, she had plans for more sweatsuits than swimsuits. Hence, the same clothes...

In an effort to entertain the active almost 2 year old, we spent a morning playing in the kids area of the Naples Mall. We had eye-spied it our first trip there, when we went to walk it & kill time avoiding the cold that we hoped would soon depart. (by the way, it finally broke as we were loading the car for Ft. Lauderdale's airport)

Jacob was in love with the play area. He could touch things without hearing "No, Jacob!" He could run full speed, from one thing to the next... :) And best of all, it gave him a chance to really master the slide...

Here he is at the top of the slide. They hid it inside a tree that the older kids climbed all over, giving me a heart stoppage as J would jump off the slide at the bottom & turn to go to the stairs - right in the bigger kids direct line when jumping off the tree... Thankfully, there were no major collisions.

He really navigated getting in & out of the canoe rather well, for a first timer...

And when we got home, after a nice long nap, Grandpa took us on the beach for some more time to RUN! Jacob is getting really good at throwing the ball & fetching it. Catching it is something he still shies away from a bit, but that will come in time too...

As you can see, Grandpa had even pulled out a coat - and this was the warmest time of the day... Sigh... However, even at it coldest, it was still MUCH warmer than Chicagoland...

Pics from FL - day at the park...

Today we re-entered "the real world"... The world of work and daycare... Schedules and routines...

So as promised, here are pics from our FL trip...

Marco Island has this wonderful little park, which Jacob totally enjoyed...

With lots of guidance by Grandpa P...

Until, Mommy let him push the big swing and it, um, conked him in the eye - which may or may not have turned black & blue as a result... It was totally normal by our flight home, so it wasn't too bad...

Christmas 2009 - at Grandma & Grandpa M's

As good as Santa was to him at our house, the M family's generosity made him think Santa accidentally visited him twice.

Mommy's favorite new addition... It holds a lot of his toys, and as J has experimented, it holds him easily. Daddy loves the theme and that it allows him to 'forget' his house is no longer his...

Just love that smile....

And a great picture with Grandma M...

Isn't this just too cute?!?!? Thanks Aunt Liz!!!

Thank you so very much to Grandma & Grandpa M, Uncle Jon & Kim, Aunt Liz, and Aunt Joan. Your love and generosity for our son is more than we could have ever dreamt. We appreciate it more than I could ever post in words.