Three weeks comparison!

When I realized that John was wearing the same shirt Jacob wore around three weeks, I decided to stage a picture to show their similarities and differences.  Jacob appears much older because he was born three weeks later (at 42 weeks instead of 39).  He was already smiling and everything.  John has yet to give us a good smile while awake...he does make pretty cute ones when he sleeps, though...

Here's.....Johnny!

 John Michael Zylstra was born July 7, 2011 at 8:08 am.  This experience was nothing like the first.  We arrived at the hospital at 6:00 am and had a baby two hours later.  I was given staples instead of glue, and my arms didn't shake at all like they did with Jacob.  I also knew what to expect in terms of recovery, and because last time so much went wrong, this time has seemed like a piece of cake.  Imagine calling major abdominal surgery a piece of cake!  The only thing better about last time was I got to hold Jacob in the OR recovery room while this time I didn't get to hold my son until two hours after his delivery.  Thankfully, they asked Larry to hold him skin-to-skin on his chest which he did for about twenty minutes before coming to check on me in the recovery room.  Here is a picture Larry took of Johnny in the nursery. 

 On Saturday, two days later, my mother-in-law brought Jacob to meet his new brother.  Here is our first family picture.  Please ignore my hospital look.  We also went home that day!  (Jacob stayed with Larry's mom for almost two more days...thankfully!)

Now we are getting used to being a family, and Jacob is slowly getting used to his little brother.  So far he has only made him cry once...

Here are some pictures we took of Johnny when he was one week old!

We've also started our own version of tummy time...well, we've done it once!  This was my sister-in-law Karena's idea for getting him used to being on his tummy.  (She's a physical therapist!) 

So far Johnny is an excellent baby and really just sleeps, eats, and poops!  Right now he's been sleeping way too long, so I better go wake him up and feed him.  Usually he wakes up every two to three hours to eat, but he LOVES his mid-morning nap. 

I'm sure I'll have more to come very soon! 



Quick Jacob update!

Jacob's life has been turned upside down over the past few weeks.  First, we moved near the end of June to a better house in Santa Nella (the home of Pea Soup Anderson's restaurant...pretty well-known if you drive highway 5 from northern to southern California).  We love our new house, and Jacob did pretty well with the transition.  One thing we have here is grass!  Jacob has loved playing in the sprinklers with daddy.  Here are some pictures/videos!

Jacob got to spend a lot of time with his cousins over the past couple of weeks, too!  He loves his cousin Tijs (8 months older), his Auntie Amy, and his little cousin Charlie (7 mos). 

The most exciting/tramautic thing in Jacob's life right now?  Jacob became a big brother on July 7.  He loves his baby brother Johnny, but he gets a LITTLE too excited when he sees him.  He has a lot to learn about being a good older brother. 

Jacob also got a visit from his Auntie Deb who stayed with us two nights to help out!  He had a great time with her.  She and her family live near Boise, so Jacob got to wear his cousin's Boise State jersey! 

Three more weeks! (20 more days!)

It's strange that I only have three more weeks until the baby arrives...maybe scheduled C-sections aren't that bad!  It's also strange to think that if this were Jacob, I'd still have six more weeks left!  I can't imagine that.  I don't think I'd make it.  Maybe it's because I'm older, or maybe it's because I'm caring for a VERY active toddler, but this pregnancy seems harder. 

Here's a picture of the belly...not the best, but it's the best I can do with a timer.

Jacob is excited for a brother or a sister, too!  He's already practicing.  I didn't tell him to do this; he did this on own!  He has no idea that his life is about to be turned upside down! 

Enter your guesses?

I know it's still 50 days away, but I am starting to think about the new baby's arrival, especially if it's a boy or a girl.  I go back and forth.  I usually think it's going to be a girl, but I'll take a boy, too! 

Here is where you enter your guess!

One-sided Conversation at the Kitchen Table

Kickin' It with Jacob

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Did you hear him say, "Kick it!"?

I apologize for the mess in the office, but we daily have a toddler tornado in our tiny, little townhouse as evidenced by the next pictures.

Believe it or not, I pick up all his toys several times a day...he is just starting to learn to put things away himself. 

Jacob thinks it is fun to take ALL of the condiments out of the fridge and bring them to the table...sometimes he also sucks on the ketchup bottle...I finally got annoyed and moved ALL of them out of reach!