Happy New Year!

Here's to a year ahead filled with dancing, rocking, laughing, and loving.

Happy 2009!

1. Hold it right there, pal. These Cheerios are for kids, not dogs.

2. Um, excuse me? Does this milk come with cookies?

3. Easy on the salsa people! I'm going to have heartburn for sure.

Party central

Grandpa Jake's birthday is December 26th. With Christmas, New Year's, and all of our birthdays falling around the same time, it seems like the end and beginning of the year is one long party.

For Grandpa's birthday we had dinner at our local Mexican restaurant where they clapped and sang and gave the birthday boy a tequila shot. Unfortunately, Scott, Jacob and I left right before dessert and missed it. We got to see the pics - apparently it was hilarious.

The next day we threw a surprise party at Jake's Pizza in Fairmont. Many family members, former employees, and friends were able to stop by and wish Jake a happy 60th! Grandpa even got to put on the apron again and bake a few pies. Jacob got some tips on baking the perfect pizza.

Jacob's "OMG" Face

It's always a mystery where new facial expressions come from, and this one is no less a mystery. This is Jake's latest new face and as you can see in the middle photo it is often accompanied by a tiny finger pointing in the direction of whatever amazing inanimate object he thinks he needs to go see. There are several things which are almost guaranteed to inspire this face, including Christmas trees, vacuum cleaners, balloons, cats & dogs, Cheerios, and swimming pools.

Christmas in Hastings

Merry Christmas from Hastings! As you can see, Jacob's name ended up on the nice list and Santa spoiled him with some great gifts. Grandma & Grandpa Jacobson drove down from Bemidji with Aunt Becky and Uncle Ernie (the hound) and we enjoyed a quiet Christmas in our humble Hastings abode.

Jacob learned how to play Snow Bird before he turned in on Christmas Eve, and we opened presents Christmas morning. His favorite present is his new vacuum cleaner from Auntie Sarah, but everyone else's favorite was his lounge chair from Grandma Jacobson. As you can see, it's the perfect chair for eating a few Cheerios and watching everyone else open gifts. He also has a new friend, Elmo, who has eyes which are just perfect for poking.

We hope you all enjoyed a blessed and merry Christmas!

The Big Sinclair Christmas

We spent last weekend at Uncle Robert and Aunt Rebecca's house in Omaha which was tons of fun. Jacob got to hang out with his cousins and play with the puppies, and Mom & Dad got to hang out with the whole family for a couple days. We had a blast catching up, playing games, and enjoying yummy holiday treats. Jacob was spoiled with great gifts including his favorite his favorite new toy car, some snuggly pajamas, a great Leap Frog farm animal game, and some cute duds as well. It was great having everyone together for the weekend, which is getting harder to coordinate as families keep growing. We're looking forward to our next Sinclair rendezvous up North this summer.

Believe

The faces of Janus, er, Jacob.

We are ceaselessly amazed at how quickly our little Jacob changes every week and every day, and in this case, every second. Tonight we captured his passionate fake-out cry, which he broke out when Dad told him his carrots and oatmeal were all finished (he is VERY passionate about food). Laughably, it took no more than half a second for him to snap out of his feigned sadness and start laughing along with us as we chuckled about his theatrical performance.

These photos were shot literally 2 seconds apart. Isn't it amazing what a difference 2 seconds can make for an 11-month old? I am amazed, amused, and inspired all at once. The next time I find myself pouting about something silly I will try to think of Jacob and not linger too long on my sad face.

These shoes were made for squeaking.

As you can see, Jacob has been practicing his walking and is getting close to going it alone. He especially likes walking in his squeaky shoes which always make him smile. As you can see at the end of the video, he's also really into the vacuum cleaner which is another object which always gets him excited (Christmas trees, airplanes, Cheerios, and swimming pools have a similar effect). He MUST touch it every times he sees it, and he's been known to lunge out at the closet doors to try to get us to open them so he can see the magic vacuum stored inside. He's a real hoot!

Tree!

We got our tree up last weekend. Our Christmas tree expert, Jacob, supervised while Dad placed the ornaments. Although they didn't coordinate their outfits, I thought the red and green was a nice touch.

We're excited for our trip to Omaha next weekend to celebrate with the Sinclair family. Upon our return, Mark, Sue, and Becky will be arriving to celebrate here in Hastings.

This Christmas is a bit more exciting...seeing it through your child's eyes. It is amazing how Jacob's eyes light up when he looks at the tree.

Speaking of Jake, he's been a busy boy lately. He has progressed to his hands and knees and can actually move about with his head up. It still isn't quite the traditional crawl, but closer. He's punched through his third tooth on the bottom and I am guessing working on the fourth. He also thinks it is a lot of fun to stand on his own and is getting good at moving from place to place while hanging on to something.

It is also amazing how much he understands. I was feeding him his fruit and cereal yesterday and I heard an airplane fly overhead. I said "airplane" and he looked out the window into the sky. When we say certain words such as music, dancing, tree, Melly, Luna, hug...he knows what we are talking about. Pretty cool!

Jacob's calling. I am pretty sure he is trying to set the record for the shortest nap. Thanks for checking in and we'll update again soon!