Hanging out with the de Jongs

Last week my sister's kids were up here for a few days. I got to watch her 5 kids and Jacob for one of the days. We went to the park. I was really impressed with the kids and how nice they were to Jacob. He loved having extra attention. Here are a couple of pictures of Jacob and the kids:


Here is the whole group: Ella (8), Annetta (10), Joshua (11), Simon (6), and Johanna (4 1/2).


Simon at the top of the slide.


I was pretty impressed that Johanna did such a good job of giving Jacob a bottle. It was nice to have some help!


Everyone wanted a chance to push Jacob in the stroller.

Seven Months!

Yesterday Jacob turned seven months. Everyone says it, but I'm beginning to realize how fast time goes. Each month seems to go by faster (Well, this last one did because it was only 28 days...).

Height and weight: Obviously I don't know. He doesn't go back to the doctor until June 1, and standing on the scale with him, then without him, doesn't yield great results. I know he has grown because his 9-month pants are starting to look a little short, and 9-month shirts are getting too short. I moved him up to the 12-month ones recently partially because they are short-sleeved, and it's getting to be pretty warm.

New Skills: Jacob can sit up by himself, but sometimes he cries because he can't figure out how to get back on the floor. He doesn't crawl, but you'd be surprised how quickly he can roll across the floor. He can pretty much get wherever he wants on the carpet. When he gets to the tile floor, he doesn't quite know what to do. He usually ends up hitting it with his hands and turning around in a circle.

Food: He's tried to many different foods. My doctor said I could pretty much give him what we ate as long as I mashed it up enough, but I'm pretty much using baby food. He eats Cheerios, too, but really only manages to get 2 or 3 in by himself within a couple of minutes. He's learning the pincer grasp and can pick them up pretty easily, he just can't get them out of his hand and into his mouth.

No words, but he has learned how to make a yelling noise that can get kind of annoying. He's just playing, but he sounds like he is angry. I quit nursing him a couple of days ago because I just didn't feel like I had enough to sustain him. He always seemed hungry. I've pumped a couple of ounces a day, but I haven't really had much problem with quitting. I have a lot more time on my hands now, but I don't get to watch as much TV.

All in all, I can't complain too much. He's sleeping about 9 1/2 hours straight at night and sometimes goes back to bed after his morning bottle. If he doesn't go back to bed he takes a pretty long nap around 11-1:30. He's not a big napper, though. That's not a big deal to me, but I do get a lot more done when he takes a long nap; then again, I am a lot more tied to the house when he takes a big nap.

Today he gets to go play with his de Jong cousins who are in town. The girls love playing with him, and he is the perfect age because they can now pick him up without hurting him, and he loves to watch them run around. It gets pretty busy with 5 kids between 11 and 4 running around the house. Tomorrow he gets to stay with his Auntie Cindy and her family for a couple of days while I go down to Escondido for Rudy de Jong's funeral (my brother-in-law's dad). I'm going to miss him SO much. I can't believe I am doing this, but my sister is SO excited!

Going to the park

I took advantage of the beautiful weather yesterday, and Jacob and I walked to the park behind our house. They had baby swings there, so I took several pictures...I actually had my own little mini photo shoot. Anyway, here are a few of my favorites.

He liked the swings right away!

It was sunny; glad I remembered to pack a hat! I think he looks kind of like a lowrider thug in this picture.

Jacob may have got a little too into the photo shoot. Now he is channeling Zoolander and doing blue steel.

This is my favorite. He does this smile all the time now. It always cracks me up!

Lessons Learned about Washing Cars

Today I washed my car for the first time in probably 9 or 10 months. The last time I did it I was in my third trimester...Anyway, while I was cleaning it, I kept thinking about the lessons I have learned about cleaning my car.

#1--My dad always washed the car on Saturday. I always assumed that since we always wore nice, clean "Sunday" clothes for church, our cars must need to be in their "Sunday best" as well.

#2--Never wash a car on Sunday because "what would the neighbors think"? They knew we were Christians, and we didn't work on Sunday.

#3--No matter how hard I try, I'll never get my car as clean as my dad could. (Also, I don't think I'll ever get back into the habit of washing it almost every week.)

#4--A clean car can't go in a dirty garage. Therefore, I had to sweep out my garage today before I could put my clean car back in the garage.

#5--I made sure that I put the hose back in a neat circle and put away the bucket and sponge before I went back in the house. (I've been in trouble for this one before...)

#6--Today I don't think I did a good enough job; if I was still at home I would have promptly been told to "do it again." I don't think the words "good enough" are in my dad's vocabulary.

#7--I wondered if my dad ever had to wash a car while checking on the baby every ten minutes to make sure he was still sleeping. That's probably the biggest reason I haven't washed my car since Jacob was born.

#8--If the towel doesn't move smoothly over the paint while drying, you need to polish the car. My car needs to be polished--don't know if I'll ever do it. I did put some polish on the hood because that's the place that needed it the most.

#9--Even if it looks like it is going to rain, you should still wash your car anyway. The later it gets in the day, the more it looks like it is going to rain...

#10--Yes, I am thankful that my dad taught me to clean my own car, but today I think I would have been more thankful if he had just come over and done it for me!

I love you, Dad!