Lots of New Pictures!

Hey everyone, it's been awhile, so I thought I would post some recent pictures. Our computer crashed last week, but hopefully will be repaired by the end of the week... keep your fingers crossed! Jacob is doing wonderful, he is surprising me with new things everyday. I can't believe he is 5 1/2 months old already. He is saying da-da all the time, but still only ma-ma when he is upset, go figure. He is 100% bottle feeding himself, which is wonderful and has started eating veggies, he is loving them. Jacob can sit on his own for quite awhile before he starts to tip, so it won't be long until he is on his own. Enjoy the new pictures! Hope you all are doing great, miss you!

Just talking to mom

Uggg... mom, will you stop taking pictures of me!!

Yeah!! Daddy's home from work!

This is my friend Aidan, he came over to play one afternoon - we had such a great time!
Thanks for hanging out with me!!

Hey mom, what is he doing?

Hmmm... can you feel any teeth in there yet?

My first taste of food, sweet peas, I LOVE it! Keep it comin'!

This food thing is pretty awesome.

Yummy - this is SO much better than rice cereal!

My fingers are always in my mouth! Mom says I am getting my first tooth.

Hey daddy, whatcha doing? Can I have some of that popcorn??

Here I am sporting my new "6 month" PJ's, mom and grandma had to go shopping, I got some pretty cool new clothes!

Oops - I got caught trying to pull off my diaper. Mom hates it when I do that.

Staring at my crib mobile - it's just so fasinating! The bears just go round and round and round, but I can't reach them.

I love my new high chair!

Grandma is feeding me sweet potatoes, I love them!

Going Home!

Maggie and Jerrod were able to bring Whitney home yesterday from the hospital! They are hoping to bring Kennedy home early next week. Hope you had a great first night as a new mommy and daddy... did you get any sleep?!?!

Visits!

As most of you know, Nate was on a business trip for 5 days to Reno. But Jacob and I weren't lonely, we had lots of visitors. My dad and grandmother came up and spent some time with us, and our friend, Aunt Libby came up on the train for the weekend. We had so much fun with all of you, thank you so much for visiting. Jacob sure enjoyed all the kisses, he was so spoiled! And I was spoiled as well, I got sick the day Nathan left and Libby made me homemade chicken noodle soup and watched girlie movies with me - thank you!

I have been bragging... Jacob is now saying "da-da, da-da, da-da" all day long, it's so adorable. He woke up one morning, turned to look at me, smiled and said "da-da?" as if it was a question, I smiled and said, "no, da-da is at work" he then gave me "the pout lip" as if he understood me. It was so cute, I almost cried! Of course, he only says "ma-ma, ma-ma, ma-ma" when he gets upset and wants saving from his crib or swing. He also says "ba-ba" but I don't think he correlates it to the bottle yet. It's very cute to watch, I am trying to get it on video to post on the blog, but Jake tends to get shy around any type of camera.

Update on the girls: I spoke to Maggie on Friday, the girls are doing wonderful! They are almost back up their birth weight, they are both off their IV's and Kennedy is off her oxygen machine. Their feedings are becoming longer and more frequent. Welcome to the Blog Australia Family, thanks for the comment; we will try to post more pictures of the girls soon!

Whitney & Kennedy Mickle

Nathan and I put together a little video of the girls; make sure and turn up your volume. Enjoy!
Congrats Maggie and Jerrod!

Visiting Friends

We took a trip to Oregon this weekend to visit some friends and family. Thank you Joel and Sara for your hospitality, we had a great time seeing you guys, and Jacob enjoyed hanging out with the girls.

Taylor and Jacob

Trista and Jacob

Cutie Trista!

Trista and her mommy, Sara

Oh, my - is this chair pink? Don't tell my daddy...

Laughing with Sara!

Some New Pictures

Okay, close your eyes grandma and grandpa's... I know, my heart jumps a little everytime Nate does this!

But it's Jacob's new thing to love! Only when he is airborne, he lets out a loud giggle, he absolutely gets a kick out of this and it's a workout for Nate. If Jake could talk, he would say "Again, Again, Again Daddy"

Jacob also loves to bounce and bounce and bounce - he will stay in this toy for hours! Thank you to Amy and Jared for the borrow! It's been wonderful and entertaining to watch Jacob have such a great time.


Oops... another naked picture, how did that get in there?!?

Promise to Jacob: When you have your first girlfriend, I will delete all naked photos off the blog... maybe I'll just frame them in the living room instead.

Jacob and Mommy after bath


After Jake's morning nap, I take him upstairs to get dressed for the day, then he gets put in his crib to hang out while I get ready and get some stuff done around the house. Jake LOVES this, I will put on some music and he will talk, talk, talk, he likes to kick the bumper - as you can see.

I can hardly keep socks on Jacob anymore, all he wants is his toes!

Can sit up for about 10 seconds... getting better each day.

Welcome to the World!

Whitney Claire and Kennedy Paige were born this morning at 3 am. Both babies are in the NICU, and are expected to stay about 3 weeks. Whitney is 4lbs, 5oz and 17" long; Kennedy is 3lb, 10oz and is 16" long. Maggie is doing great, she is resting at the hospital. Welcome to the world little girls! We love you!

Jacob's First Rice Cereal

Hmm... What's This?

Tastes Pretty Good...

Yum!

I'm A Mess!

Here Mom, let me help you clean my face!

Okay, I think I know how to do this now...

Let me take over!

Pictures

"The Embarrassing Picture"

I was changing Jacob's clothes this morning on the floor, and before I could reach for a diaper, he was rolling away.

As you can see in this picture, Jacob has a lazy left eyelid (inherited from his mom unfortunately). We went to a doctor last week to have it checked out. Jacob can have 2 surgeries to correct it, which we opted not to at this time. They ran a few tests and found out Jake's vision is fine, and were told to come back in a year unless it continues to get worse.

Such kissable cheeks!!! Jacob has found his ears, and he loves to feel the texture of his hair. He also loves to pinch mommy and daddy's cheeks and noses, he will pull our faces to his so he can give us a sloppy kiss!

Finally enjoys being put in his car seat.

Kisses from Daddy

Feeding himself... now if he could just change his own diapers!

Such a happy baby!

Maggie Update & Jacob Milestone

Maggie is doing well, she was released from the hospital last week to Jerrod's brother and wife who live about 10 miles away from the hospital in Portland. She had an ultrasound before she was discharged, the girls are doing well, weighing 3.1 and 3.4 pounds. Maggie is feeling great and is taking it easy.

Jacob rolled over yesterday for the first time from back to tummy! He has been really close lately but couldn't figure out where his arm was supposed to go, and could roll from tummy to back easily. Today he keeps rolling over from back to tummy and then to his back again and giggles. He is growing up so fast! He is just a joy to be around and is such a great baby. We are so proud of him! Here are some cute pics from a couple of weeks ago. Jacob LOVES to be naked, as most babies, he can reach his feet much easier.

4 Months

Happy 4 Months Jacob!
Wow, we can't believe how quickly these 4 months have gone by! I have the wonderful opportunity to stay home with Jacob every day - I have the best job ever! He makes me laugh each day and I love spending time with him. He had his 4 month checkup the other day, Jake weighs 14lbs, 10 oz and is 25" long. Our doctor gave us the green light to start rice cereal and some veggies in the upcoming weeks. Yum, Yum... carrots, squash and peas. Oh, the fun diapers to look forward to.

Jake has hit several milestones over the past month, he seems to learn something new each day. His smile is amazing, it just melts your heart, and when he laughs, you can't help but laugh with him. And his pout is very effective on me, he just pouts his bottom lip a bit, and I'm toast. He is now rolling over, from tummy to his back, tummy-time is going very well, Jacob actually enjoys it now. He is holding his own bottle for most of his feedings, sometimes it ends up in his eye or up his nose, but eventually the bottle finds its way back to his mouth. Jake is mimicking our sounds and gestures, he coo's very loudly now. He wants to stand all the time, if he starts to get fussy, I just stand him up and he is a happy boy. He is starting to teeth, and is a drooling-machine!! The best part is Jacob is still sleeping ALL through the night!!! I LOVE IT! He sleeping for 9 hours straight (9-7) wakes up for a bottle and goes back down for 1-3 more hours and has been doing this for 2+ months. He makes this mom job too easy!

Here are some pictures taken in the last few days.

Finally getting used to the camera... although I have to start taking the picture, move my head from behind the lens and talk to him to get him to smile or giggle.




Jacob in his big-boy crib. He is still sleeping in his bassinett in our room, but is starting to take naps in his nursery.

Tummy-time, just about to roll over.

If we try to help him hold his bottle, he pushes our hands out of the way. Very stubborn little boy... wonder where he gets it from?!?


He gave me the "pout" right after this photo, telling me our photo session was ending!



Loves to look at himself in the mirror... lots of smudges on all of my mirrors! He laughs at himself and get embarrased.


Kisses from Daddy!

Nice Drool!

Playing "SUPER-BABY!" We take flights to grandma's house and sometimes to Disneyland or the Zoo.

Maggie & The Twins

On Sunday, Maggie had a bad coughing spell and thought she may have dislocated a rib, her and Jerrod decided to go into the ER. Upon arrival, she found out she was in labor with the twins' at 28 weeks along and was having contractions 3-4 minutes apart. Maggie and Jerrod were rushed by ambulance from Astoria to Portland's Emanuel Hospital, where they have an excellent NICU. Maggie was given medication to stop her contractions and medication to help strengthen the twins' lungs. Her contractions have stopped, although she is dilated to 2 cm and 75% effaced. Contractions began again for her on Monday and was given more medication and they have stopped, so at least we know the medication works on her body. She is still in the hospital, but is feeling great and is in good spirits and getting lots of rest. She is hoping to be discharged soon, but will be staying with Jerrod's brother and his wife a few miles away from the hospital and on bed rest. The girls are measuring at 2 pounds, 12 oz and 2 pounds, 15 oz, so let's hope they get a little more time to bake. Maggie, just know you and the girls are in our thoughts everyday and we are wishing you the best. You have lots of family and friends behind you and you are in everyone's prayers. We love you!