Christmas Videos

Today we said goodbye to my family who was visiting for Christmas. It was so sad to see them go, but we had a wonderful time with everyone here. My sister came and stayed with us for a week before the rest of my family got here, and we had a blast together. The rest of my family got here late on the 23rd so we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas day together before going to my cousin's wedding in Nauvoo on the 26th. Jake just adores his grandparents and there was never a dull moment for him with everyone here. He was, of course, the hit of the holidays.

Jake got some pretty cool toys for Christmas this year. One of his favorites was a walker/scooter that he got from Grandma and Grandpa. He is learning how to walk (can you believe it?) so we thought this would be a good way to get him going. He just loves it! Below is a video of his first time using it.

He also got a xylophone from Santa. He really enjoys pounding away on that thing. Maybe a future piano player? We'll see!

We just had a good time being with family for the holidays. Since my family was here over Christmas, Joseph's parents had us all over for Christmas dinner and we had the most delicious meal which was enjoyed with wonderful company. We played some Christmas chimes that my dad made. Here is a sample of the beautiful music:

A wonderful Christmas was had by all here in the Dougherty home and we hope you had a great one too!

A trade for the toilet

Jake has a fascination with the toilet lately. Let me rephrase that...he has a fascination with the water in the toilet lately. There have been many times that I have been unloading the dishwasher or folding laundry or something of the sort and I hear silence, and the first place that I look now is in the bathroom. As much as I try to remember to keep the toilet lid down, it seems that he always finds it when I don't. This is a pretty disgusting fascination, but I really don't want to discourage the fact that he is interested in water, so I decided to make a "trade" for the toilet. Instead of feeling the water in the toilet, I put a bowl of water that was at his level in the bathtub that he can stand and play with as much as he wants. He really thinks it's so much fun to just stand there and play with the water in the tub. At least it's not the toilet!

Of all the rotten luck...

Today we decided to do some last minute Christmas shopping, and since my sister is in town, we thought we would go to the outlet malls and take advantage of the good sales that they have going on right now. We walked into the Old Navy outlet and saw that a man dressed as Santa Clause was giving out promotional coupons - a sweepstakes sort of thing. You could get $5 or $10 off your purchase, and there was one winner who would get a $500 Old Navy shopping spree. As we walked in, there was another lady right in front of us. Santa gave her her coupon and then gave us ours. We all stood there and peeled our card to see if we won anything, and then we saw that the lady who had walked in right in front of us was standing there speechless. She had won the $500 shopping spree!! If we had gotten there 5 seconds sooner that would have been ours!!!! I couldn't believe it!! I didn't know that people actually won those things, but apparently they do. Well, we each got $5 off our purchase, so it wasn't a total loss, and of course we took advantage of it. But still, of all the rotten luck!!

Bear Crawl

So apparently Jake doesn't like the feel of his bare knees on the floor. I noticed this the other day when we stripped him down to take a bath and he wouldn't crawl like normal on the bathroom tile. This bear crawl also occurs on the carpet if he doesn't have pants on. For your viewing pleasure, here is Jake doing his bear crawl:

9 month stats

Height: 29 1/4 in., 90th percentile

Weight: 19 1/2 lbs., 30th percentile

Head: 18 1/4 in., 80th percentile

Crawling: check

Pull to stand: check

Walking: check (ok, not exactly, but he does walk along furniture and if you hold both of his hands)

Eating solid foods: check

Babbling: check

Into everything: check, check, check!!

We went to the doctor today for Jake's 9 month check-up and found out that our son is a beanpole (actually, Joseph and I just had the conversation that neither of us know what a beanpole even is, but it must be tall and skinny). At any rate, Jake's height and weight stats have reversed since he was born - he used to be short and fat. The doctor said that that happens a lot when kids start to get mobile, and Jake has been extremely mobile for the past few months. I was at the grocery store check-out line the other day and Jake was just into everything. The cashier was asking me questions about him and how old he was and when I told her his age she said, "Oh he's just a little guy...those little guys are always the most energetic." To be honest, I'd never heard Jake described as a "little guy" before, nor have I since heard him described that way, but nevertheless, he is very energetic. We love watching him as he continues to grow and develop!

Jake's Favorite Song

My wonderful sister sent me a Christmas mix cd a couple of weeks ago that has a ton of different Christmas favorites on it, one of them being that Alvin and the Chipmunks christmas song (I think we all know it). On our way home from our long car trip to Michigan, Joseph and I noted that Jake always started smiling and laughing when that song would come on. At first we thought it might just be a coincidence, so we tried to get similar reactions out of different Christmas songs, but we got nothing. Turns out that this kid really loves those chipmunks! It has since then become our secret weapon. Every time he starts to get a little fussy, we just turn on "Alvin" and he starts smiling again! Case in point (or is it case and point?):

He is so funny about that song. Literally every time we put it on there's an instant smile on his face, and it's often accompanied by laughter and sometimes even wild arms flailing, and it is the only song that gets that sort of reaction. It always cracks us up! Too bad his song of choice couldn't have been something a little more relaxing and a little less likely to get stuck in your head. It's a typical "Jake" sort of song though, don't you think? Energetic, upbeat, and it's sure to put a smile on your face!

Am I losing my mind?

So a couple of weeks ago I was at a friend's house where I walked in wearing two mittens on my hands. On my way out, I could only find one. We looked EVERYWHERE, and have looked several times since then to find the mysterious disappearing mitten, but it seems to be long gone. We literally have no idea where it could be.

Fast forward to Sunday. I was just putting away some of Jake's scattered winter apparel. As I was picking it all up I mentally noted a hat, coat, sweatshirt, and one mitten. I couldn't for the life of me find the other mitten. What is it with me and losing mittens??? A few hours later, Joseph decided to unload the dishwasher, and lo and behold, look at what he found:

Yes, my dear friends, that is Jake's mitten in the dishwasher. Nicely soaked from a good rinse. I have no idea how it got there, but it seems to be evidence that I am losing my mind. Maybe I should check my friend's dishwasher before I declare my own mitten officially disappeared. :)

O Christmas Tree

Joseph and I put Jake to bed tonight and put up the ornaments on our little tree. Growing up, every year for Christmas my parents gave all of their kids an ornament, the premise being that when they got married and had their own family that they would have some ornaments to decorate their tree with. Thus, almost all of the ornaments that we have are mine from when I was growing up. It was fun to look at the individual ornaments...they brought back fun memories. Here is the finished product:
And here's another picture of Jake that I took today for you to enjoy, of course open-mouthed grin and all (please excuse the redness of his face, he's getting a pretty bad rash on his cheeks...does anyone have any advice on what to do about rashes due to dryness/slobber?).

'Tis the season!

Merry Christmas everyone! Jake and I put up the tree today while Joseph was at school. We put lights on also, but we're going to wait until dad gets home to decorate with all the ornaments. Jake didn't know quite what to think of the tree. At first he tried chewing on it, but I think all the "pine needles" hurt his mouth, so after that experience he tended to avoid it. However, once the lights went up he was absolutely enthralled.

P.S. I don't think that Jake ever takes a picture with his mouth closed. Check out the pics, I'm sure you've noticed. I think it's kind of funny. :)

Our very happy baby.

Thanksgiving Achievements

This blog post is a continuation of our Thansgiving festivities. We had a couple big achievements over the break. First, Jake crawled up stairs! We don't have stairs in our little apartment, so Jake had never really had the opportunity to practice, but lo and behold, if Jake sees something that he wants he won't let a couple of stairs get in his way. The second big achievement is that Joseph won his first game of "Risk." Apparently it was the first time that he had ever played, and he was was what he termed the "dark horse." And, yes, that is our laundry in the background. I obviously wasn't the one taking this picture because I would have shoved it out of the way before I had him pose. My brother took this picture, go figure. The third achievement was that Jake and Isaac had a photo-op. You may not think of this as much of an achievement, but you weren't there, and believe me, it was. Actually, let me rephrase that. It was a big achievement that JAKE had a photo-op. Isaac is quite possibly the most perfect, mellow, cuddly baby in the entire world. Jake is quite possibly the most excitable baby in the entire world, but mellow he is not.

This picture was taken to show the size similarities between the two babies. Keep in mind that Jake is 8 1/2 months old. Isaac is 2 1/2 months old. Sorry about my foot in the picture, I did the best I could...

These two boys are essentially the same size. And let's remember that Jake was a big baby, weighing in at 9 lbs. when he was born. He hasn't shrunk. Isaac is a beast.

Jake and Isaac posed with Grandma and great-grandma (who celebrated her 80th birthday the day after Thanksgiving).

Thanks Grandma for these cute outfits for the boys!

We hope everyone had a great thanksgiving and we look forward to more fun this wonderful holiday season!!

VACAY!!

We're back! We had the most wonderful Thanksgiving break. In fact, I have so many things to blog about that I'm probably going to just have to break it up into different posts. The whole weekend I kept saying things like "That's so funny/cool/ironic/sweet, I'm going to put that on my blog!"

The trip started out on Monday when I picked up Joseph from dental school. We drove that night (it took a little longer than usual because we ran into a snowstorm) and arrived there at about 2 in the morning. Jake was a pretty good traveler, which is unusual (he is the only baby that I know of that doesn't like to sleep in the car). Our family was so excited to see us when we got there. Of course, when I say "us" I mean "Jake".

My sister Bethany was so excited to see Jake, but was apparently more excited about playing with Jake's toys! :)

Jake loved playing with Grandpa. And, yes, that's slobber all over his face. I think over the course of the week Jake could have probably filled a couple of milk jugs with all of his slobber. That's what he gets for teething... Actually, to be fair, some of it is Vaseline too. I had to put some Vaseline on his face to help stop a rash from developing due to his slobber.

The first couple of days were spent playing games, watching movies, and sewing PJ's for Jake. On Thanksgiving day Joseph and my two brothers all went to play in the Turkey Bowl. It was a good chance for Joseph to dust off some of his football skills. You'll have to ask Trenton and Jonathan whether he actually did or not.

After the turkey bowl we went to Muskegon where we ate/played/relaxed to our hearts content with about 30 family members consisting of cousins, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, moms, dads, and grandma (great-grandma to Jake and Isaac).

Some of the boys played an intense game of fooseball.

My sister-in-law Abby let Jake wear this cute little bib (because he of course needs one on at all times) that says "My Little Turkey". The two babies, Jake and his cousin Isaac, were the hit of the party!

Aunt Merilee, Abby, and my mom chatting on the couch.

There were lots of people in the house, and it was an absolute blast.

I'm not quite sure why Joseph and Trenton are sitting on my cousin Katie. Maybe you should ask them?

Whew, I'm a little exhausted from this blog entry, but there is much more to blog about and cute pictures to come!

What? There are books at a library?

Jake and I went to the library yesterday for baby storytime. It was great because there was lots of singing and bouncing, but not a whole lot of actual reading. Don't get me wrong, I am all about books and reading to kids, but Jake just doesn't get it yet. He still thinks that books are chew toys... Every time I try to sit down with him and read him a little story he would much rather get on the ground and play than hold still for a short book. So yesterday, baby storytime was absolutely wonderful. The library also has a play area for the babies and toddlers and Jake thought that was just great. He found one toy particularly fascinating and spent most of his time trying to figure it out/chew on it.

I tried to get a picture of Jake smiling while he was playing, and I kept saying "Smile Jake, smile!" and he wouldn't...and then I realized it was because his finger was stuck in the wheel...whoops!

He just loved this little pulley system thing...maybe we have a physicist on our hands here. Probably not actually...that would require reading.

It's times like this that I love being a mom

You can't tell in the picture, but Jake is actually laying on my lap (my legs are underneath the blanket). It was early this morning, and Jake and I had both just woken up. I'm sitting on our couch, and he was just laying there on my lap. I know it sounds silly, but I told Joseph to hurry and get the camera because he NEVER just sits/lays anywhere for more than 3 seconds...literally. He was a little distracted by the flash on the camera (hence the funny face) but he still just layed there. I am still in shock. I treasure those little moments that I can just hold my baby. They are extremely few and far between. My little baby growing so fast and he is too busy exploring the world to be held. He was probably still feeling a little sick from his cold that he has (he always gets a cold when he's teething). You can see how red he is underneath his nose...But still, sick or not, I'll take what I can get when it comes to holding this little guy. *Sigh...*

The best birth control ever

Today we had our little nieces from Texas stay with us for the day. Their mom (Joseph's sister) just had a baby so Joseph's mom and dad are watching the two older girls, who are ages 3 and almost 2, for a couple of weeks so Elizabeth can get some quality time with her new baby Bridget (who, by the way, is the most adorable little baby). Nana and Papa went to the temple today, so Madalyn and Olivia stayed with us.

We had so much fun! They were absolutely in love with Jake and kept saying "baby Jake, baby Jake" over and over. Jake didn't know quite what to think of his very energetic cousins at first, but he eventually warmed up and played with them. Joseph and I took them to the play area at the mall and just let them run around for a while and they loved it.

We came home and had some much needed quiet time, then after naps Jake needed to have his diaper changed. 2-year-old Olivia wanted to watch and when I took off his diaper she pointed to his little private parts and exclaimed, "Look! Jake has a belly button!" I had a good laugh over that!

As much fun as we had, it once again reminded me that I'm not yet ready to have more than one child. I'm sure the day will come when I'm ready, but this was pretty good birth control. :)

Are they not the cutest??

Sometimes I amaze myself

A couple of exciting things have happened to me this week:

1) I went to the outlet malls with my friend Rachel. I found some awesome deals at Baby Gap which I'm totally psyched about, including long-sleeved onesies for $.50!! Don't worry, I stocked up for Jake and I'm selling the rest on ebay. :)

2) I cut my friend's hair. Yes, that's right folks, sign me up for the next season of "Shear Genious". Haha, ok, not really, I actually only trimmed it, but I was still proud of myself.

(note: Her hair is supposed to be assymetrical, isn't she cute?!)

3) We got our new camera! Yay!! That means many more high quality pictures such as these to come in the future:

Yes, that is Jake pulling Joseph's hair and ears and Joseph trying not to yelp in pain.

Oh boy...this kid is going to be a handful

Now that Jake is crawling, he is into absolutely everything. Not only is he crawling, but now he's learned how to open drawers and cupboards. He's our little explorer! As I was cleaning our room this evening, Jake graciously undid everything I was trying to do. He had opened Joseph's sock drawer and was checking out its contents then spilling them on the floor.

Opening the drawers...

"Mom, have you seen the stuff in here? This is so cool!"

How could I ever get upset when the kid flashes this smile?

Ok, NOW it feels like November

After some much-appreciated mild weather, I woke up this morning to flurries outside. The blistery weather put me right into the Christmas spirit! There is a station on the radio that has been playing Christmas music as of late, but since the weather has been so nice I haven't been able to bring myself to listen to it on a regular basis like I normally would (my general rule of thumb is that I wait until after Halloween to break out the Christmas music then listen to it non-stop all the way through New Years). Speaking of Christmas, look at what I made yesterday:

Ok, I know that it's a little large and I'm not sure where I'm going to put it. I also know that it's a little scary with the big eyes, but the important thing is that I did it all by myself! I am so crafty! :) It's made out of wood and I'm just a little proud of myself that I did it. I never thought that I was an arts and crafts type of gal, but here I am scrapbooking and making snowmen out of wood. Don't get me wrong, I certainly didn't come up with the idea, I'm not that creative (not yet at least, give me a few years with this whole crafts thing). We did it as a craft night with the women in our church, and I had a blast.

So now that I'm in the Christmas spirit, I am considering breaking out the Christmas decorations. Is it still too early? I just love this season!!

Is this really November? Because it feels like June...

The weather lately has been WONDERFUL here in Iowa. Today it got up to 77 degrees. All of the sudden I really do believe in global warming... Anyway, it was so nice out today that I just had to go to the park with Jake. The park is actually quite a walk, but I thought that I may not be able to do it for many months to come, so we took advantage and made the trek. Jake seemed to thoroughly enjoy the time outside, and it was good for me to be able to reflect and enjoy this time as a mother with my baby.

Here are some pictures of Jake at the park (Bethany, you're gonna die). He loved the leaves and the swing. I loved being there with him.

Jake was watching all the other kids playing on the playground. He's thinking "wow...how do they run like that?"

Jake reaching for the leaves. You'd think this kid was a horse the way he was trying to eat all the leaves (do horses eat leaves? hmm....).

My happy baby.

Enjoying the swing.

Yawning after a fun but tiring day at the park.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!! Our family had a great time this morning at our ward's Halloween party. As you can see, we dressed up as Olympians this year! Joseph was Michael Phelps, I was Shawn Johnson, and Jake was Coach K. (the men's basketball coach). Our costumes came complete with an Olympic torch (handmade by yours truly), 8 gold medals for Michael Phelps, three silvers and one gold for Shawn Johnson, and one baby gold medal for Coach K. We even had a cd player that played the Olympic Fanfare as we walked in. Although we didn't win the costume contest (Joseph and I think it was rigged), we were a hit! There were all kinds of awesome costumes, fun games, and trunk or treating for the kids. A good time was had by all! Joseph was trying to teach Coach K. how to throw a baby basketball. He'll have it down in no time, I'm sure.

On the back of our costumes we had our names with the Olympic logo. They were starting to fall off by the end of the activity...

Here are the gold medalists!