Why Babies Have Pockets, 6

If they don't feel so good and need to keep their medicine close by. In an arm pocket.



Read all the other reasons babies have pockets: perfume, phones, pacies, the remote and cash.

Old school, Smurfy style

Leigh found this fantastic original Smurfs onesies. Mia was big enough to wear it for the first time. For some reason, the neck is way too small. I'm not sure if this means Mia has a big neck or if kids from the 80s had tiny necks.

Kickin' it

Mia has figured out how to kick the ball in her play gym. Cute.

Leave

Friday I left work for what will be several weeks of leave. I am nervous about taking this much time off but am hopeful for the future. I am going through lots of changes and hope to come out a better mother, wife, daughter and friend. I need your love and prayers, please.

A Hair More Interested

Mia has become very interested in hair. She tugs on my ponytail and Leigh's puffy hair. She's also been "petting" the dogs. She'll lean over and smack them lightly or grab their fur. Both of them are good sports about it and usually lick her like crazy. But she's also developed a keen interest in Leigh's goatee. Here are some photos of her checked it out one morning while Leigh is trying to sleep in.

Nuclear fallout girl

As if I don't already love Mia's daycare, today I discovered yet another reason it's awesome. It's also a nuclear fallout shelter. Seriously.

I was walking in with her this morning when I noticed the faded sign just outside the entrance. Leigh gives me a hard time about asking a million questions whenever we make big decisions, like choosing a daycare or when we were getting ready for our wedding. But I have to say, of all the questions I asked, this one honestly did not occur to me.

What is your DHS star rating?

How long has this teacher been here at your center?

What will you do in case of nuclear attack?

Ignoring an Olympian

I was so overwhelmed by Mia eating her foot on Valentine's Day I forgot to share what Leigh and I got one another. He gave me two framed pictures of Mia. Each one has a little thought bubble. One picture (the third one here) says, "Mom, mom, mom, mom, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, Carrie, Carrie - I'm watching you!" The other one says, "Mom, remember why you are working so hard! I love you!" I cried. Of course. Because that's why I do.

After that really sweet gesture, I gave Leigh this picture of myself:

What the heck is that? Rumble the Bison, the Oklahoma City Thunder mascot. Where the heck are we? My office gym.

You see, I was downstairs in the women's locker room because that's where the private room is for women who pump breast milk. So I come out of the locker room and Rumble is using the Pilates machine. I do a double take and leave the gym because my brain can't process why an NBA mascot is working out in full attire in my company gym. I saw Bryan Dean at the elevators and told him what I saw. I said I wanted to go get an autograph for Leigh, who is a huge Rumble fan. Bryan said, "Go do it." So I did. I went back to the gym. By this time, Rumble was using the stationary bike and I realized there was a camera crew. They were filming a commercial for an upcoming health fair. I waited patiently for Rumble to finish up and he gave me an autograph and took a picture with me. I felt kind of silly but I was excited to get it for Leigh.

The next day I realized that Rumble was with someone - gymnastics star Bart Conner, who's married to Nadia Comaneci. He was in the commercial as well.

So basically, I was like, "Forget you, gold medalist! I'm not impressed with your Olympic medals or your impressive career or you fame! I'm interested in the guy that looks like Teen Wolf!"

Yeah. Happy Valentine's Day, Leigh.

Not feeling so hot

OK, maybe Mia is feeling so hot. When Leigh picked her up from daycare today, the gals said she had a low fever and had been cranky all day, which isn't like her. She was acting upset tonight and went to bed a little early. We had to cancel supper plans with the Dupuys once again. We're starting to think that God doesn't want us to hang out with the Dupuys. Maybe it's because Mia is so suspicious of Kelli.

Vilakazi progress

As if we already didn't know, our Vilakazi board is amazing. We have the best friends in the world, and everybody is working so hard. It feels like momentum is building up to our trip in May/June.

We are SO HOPEFUL that we'll have enough money to buy chairs and desks for students in the preschool in Coffee Bay. (Incidentally, you can read about the organization we've partnered with here.) We've also added online donation tabs to our Web site, so we're hoping that may generate some extra money.

It feels like we have so much to accomplish and not much time to do it in, but we are confident in what we can finish before we go. This has been a wonderful thing!

My footy Valentine

I dressed Mia up for Valentine's Day. Yes, that is a bow. What of it? She wore a cute little number with hearts that says love on the side, along with red socks and her cute pink shoes from the Del Colles.

But after a little milk debacle, we had to switch outfits. While I was changing her clothes, she spent some time with her real Valentine: her foot. She finally was able to put her foot in her mouth earlier this week after several days of trying. It was a monumental achievement for her; she was obviously very, very excited. So since then, whenever she's free of the restraints of clothing, one foot is always in her mouth. Right after she was born Leigh said, "I can't wait until she can put her foot in her mouth!" And I was like, "Babies don't really do that, do they?" Yes, they do. A lot.

Hanging out with daddy

Mia is so close to crawling. I feel like any moment she's going to fire out of the gates. And she apparently it's interested in ATCing - all-terrain crawling. She's staring out with Leigh's face.

And just a video of her looking at the camera - nothing too crazy or exciting.

Healthy and hungry

Mia had her four-month check-up today, complete with a round of shots. She handled everything well and continues to be super health. She weighs 11 pounds, 15 ounces, and is 23 inches long. (That's almost 2 feet!) She's still little but she's healthy. She's so healthy, in fact, that she ate the paper on the exam table while we waited for the doctor. When I shot this picture she was momentarily distracted by a stuffed butterfly, who was immediately covered in drool. After eating him, she turned back to the paper and let it have it some more.

Cute baby feet

That is all.

Shake, Rattle 'n' Pants

When I picked up Mia from daycare today, she had no pants.

She had just fallen asleep when I arrived, but I pulled her blanket off anyway to take her home. Her teacher, Persephone, laughed when she saw my face. She then explained that the teachers eventually just gave up on Mia's pants today. Mia loves her rattle pants. A little too much.

Apparently Mia had been so excited about the rattles in the feet of her pants, she was pulling her pants off and either eating them or flinging them around. So the teachers decided that rather than risk some kid losing an eye to Mia's pant flinging, they'd just give up and let her spend the afternoon pantsless. Mia seemed content, so it was OK with me. Better to wear no pants at all than to swallow them whole.

When I got her home she immediately did the same thing. She squirmed out of her pants and stuffed them in her mouth. Apparently rattle pants are delicious.

Keeping things casual

Here's Mia, lounging around the house, taking it easy.

Why babies have pockets, 5

In case they need to freshen up with their favorite scent from the Dillard's cologne counter.

Read all the other reasons babies have pockets: phones, pacies, the remote and cash.

Soft as a Mia's butt

So we've been giving the cloth diapers a try and they're really nice. They feel softer and cozier than the disposables, though the person who has to actually wear them has yet to tell us which she prefers. Right now the smell is to a minimum, so that's nice. We haven't been able to use them as much as we've liked because of the super cold weather. (Our washer and dryer are in the garage, so no laundry when the temperature is really low.)

However, one thing that we can't get past is how hilariously huge they make her butt look. I'm thinking that this is because she's on the low end of the sizing scale. These are adjustable and are supposed to be able to fit until she potty trains, which we're hoping will be some time next week. We also hope she'll be able to drive herself to daycare some time before this summer.

Going to South Africa

We finally did it. We bought our tickets for South Africa. We're leaving mid-May for four weeks and we absolutely cannot wait. The only thing that muffled our excitement a bit was the ticket price. Good gravy! But nevertheless, it's going to be an amazing trip. We absolutely cannot wait for Mia to meet her family in South Africa. And we can't wait for the World Cup! We're hoping to see at least one game.

In Da Hood, 2

In case you didn't know, our family loves hoodies. Mia is wearing a hilarious sweatsuit that makes her look like a skeleton. We admit it's probably a Halloween costume. But YOU have to admit that it's adorable!

Why babies have pockets, 4

To keep their phone in case they need 2 txt ur BFF.


Read the other reasons that babies have pockets.

I hate you, blond girl. Maybe.

So Monday marked the beginning of my return to physical activity. I went to gym for the first time in about a year. (A YEAR, people! I have no excuse. That's pretty embarrassing.) I had mixed feelings about this: excited about working out and nervous about operating my new mommy body in public.

Well.

I changed and was getting ready to leave the locker room when this girl from the office trots out of the changing area to go work out, too. She's about my height and maybe half my weight. She's going to work out in makeup and a skin-tight Jagermeister tank top she obviously got from when she used to work at some strip club. She gets onto the treadmill and starts running without even putting her blond hair into a ponytail. Come on! She probably doesn't sweat.

So while I was feeling all grumpy about huffing and puffing next to Queen Barbie, I had an epiphany. This is really the best case scenario for my first time back to the gym. I looked around and realized that every pair of eyes was on her. Yes! I was working out in virtual solitude. The elliptical machine could have ricocheted me into the weights and nobody would have batted any eye.

So thank you, blond girl, for being the best decoy ever.

The Jacobs Fam

So, I'm going to get mushy. Don't judge me! I entered this contest that was to send in a photo that describes love and write a short essay about why. I entered us with this photo, which is probably the coolest photo ever. (In case you're wondering, the uber-talented Lindsay Laird took it.) And I included my essay below. Yes, it's mushy but I mean it! So hush!

Love is our family.

My husband and I celebrated our first anniversary ten days before the birth of our daughter, Mia. As first time parents, we were petrified and excited. Most of all, we were impatient for her arrival. We couldn’t wait.

This photo shows our hands over my pregnant belly just a month before Mia was born. A friend of ours took it. To me, this picture shows our effort to raise our daughter in a caring home where she will be supported and encouraged by both of us. And it shows that before she even came into the world, there was an army of people who already loved her. It’s my favorite family portrait, even though you can’t see anyone’s faces.

Now that Mia is here, our excitement continues every day. It’s hard to believe that your heart can get any bigger — that there’s any way for you to love any more than you already do. But each day brings new challenges, triumphs and little details that are special to us, even if they’re the everyday things that nobody else would care about. I realize now that the heart doesn’t have a limit.