Outdoor adventures and our son, Jacob

The newest pictures that I have for you today are all about one thing...playing outside. First, we went to Kristi's apartment last week and Jacob played in the volleyball pit. That was a nice experience until he decided that the sand was fun to throw---and then the party was over. The next day, Jacob went to the park with his pals Bailey and Cohen to play. As usual, it takes him a while to warm up to things and get used to what's going on in a new environment, but after, oh I don't know, an hour of surveying the situation, Jacob is ready to take on the playground! He rode Bailey's tricycle (he didn't peddle it, he just used his feeties to scootch around), he swang on the swings, he went down slides head first, and of course, he ran off at every possible opportunity! The last outside pictures I have for you are from the next day (Friday) when we went to the SCBG with Kristi. We walked for the first part of our trip and then we released the hound (Jacob) the second part. Jacob ran free, checking out the waterfalls (holding his Vaseline tub in his hand...don't ask...he likes to take the lid off and then snap it back on again), bird and people watching, and scaling the steps of the caboose.

Anyway, Jacob has really been enjoying all the time spent in the great outdoors lately...like he keeps reiterating to me, "Spring Has SPRUNG!" Couldn't have said it better little Jacob.

Pre- Easter Extravaganza!

Today we hit up the SCBG- aka the South Carolina Botanical Gardens, to take some pictures of Jacob in his Easter outfit. It was BEAUTIFUL today-like 78 and sunny, so we decided to take advantage of the pretty weather today since it won't be quite so nice tomorrow!

Because I feel that all of our fans are really going to go ga-ga for the video application of this blog, I am going to try to start taking some more videos so that everyone can not only see the still life shots of our escapades, but you can see the movie as well!! I am also going to try to remember to turn the camera the other way so that when you watch the video, you won't have to turn the monitor on it's side! Here is one today that was him just playing around post-Easter pictures...



So, every time we take pictures of Jacob, I get more and more disappointed that we didn't really push Jacob to try the baby modeling career path. He truly is a real looker...he's got that "All American Baby Boy" thing going for him! But anyway, since he's over the hill in baby years, I guess we missed our chance. Moving right along, we had a nice little day at the gardens, where Jeff chased Jacob around, trying to get ahead of him, popping out of trees, out from behind bushes,etc. trying to get "the perfect shot" of him in his Easter outfit... we're just getting Jacob used to the whole paparazzi idea. So things were going well, and then we decided, "Hey, we're feeling energetic, let's go ahead and walk from the SCBG over to the campus, and then let's walk around the whole campus too." So we did that, and about three hours later we finally made it back to our car! Quite a walk---Jacob played on campus in the grass (you will see pictures), then he walked from behind the library, up the library stairs, over the bridge, up the like 8 sets of stairs to the horseshoe, and to Schilleter! He's going to be a marathon walker when he grows up!

The preceding pictures were taken today and are a sneak peak at how Jacob will look tomorrow morning for Easter!

Testing out the Video Part of this Blog!

Here's an oldie, but a goodie... I just want to try out the video part of the blog to see if I know how to upload them and if they will play right. This video I am trying to do is from when Jacob was almost 4 months old, playing in his crib.

Day Trippin' it to Greenville

Jacob's new sunglasses-he seriously could have made us big bucks as a baby model

Jacob and Daddy overlooking the falls at Falls Park

Jacob throwing rocks into the river where the creepy white and red faced duck was swimming

Just learned to walk? No problem! Let's just try balancing on the wall for 1/4 mile!

Los Guapos posing on the way out of the park

Great news! Jeff got yesterday and today off, so we have a super long weekend! We decided we would go up to Greenville today and hit the mall, trying to find Jacob a cold-weather Easter outfit (he had a warm weather one, but conveniently enough, it's going to be in the 50s on Sunday)...and we found one. I hate to keep you in suspense for all of two more days, but let me just leave you with this: he is basically going to be the cutest baby you have ever seen, so stay tuned for pictures of the ensemble!

After the mall(where he fell asleep in his stroller...for anyone who knows much about Jacob, you know that this is a miracle which we have not seen the likes of for about a year) we grabbed lunch and went to Falls Park to eat in the sunny weather. I think that the real reason Jeff was willing to go is because he had just purchased Jacob a pair of sunglasses (a complete necessity for any sun-loving baby) which you can see in the pictures from our day's adventure.

Things Jacob liked at the park:

1.) Waffles fries (not his chicken tenders)
2.) Flowers of all colors (he knows he may touch, but he may not pick-don't worry!)
3.) Hackey Sack and the players that went along with it (when the guy threw the hackey sack to Jacob, he froze...stage fright I guess)
4.) Ducks and geese
5.) Throwing rocks, dirt, anything else that would fit in his hand in the river
6.) Walking on the wall instead of on the ground (of course)

And as an added bonus, even after all of that fun, the people who took our picture on the way out had a son who asked Jeff if he played for Clemson! Jeff shed a single tear of joy and had to stifle back full blown sobs as he regretfully informed the young chap that no, he did not play basketball...nor baseball like the dad thought. But the point here is that Jeff's striking physique caught the attention of and was mistaken for a Clemson athlete by a kid and his family! What a day!

Jacob is a Muffin Lover!!

Jacob's First batch of banana muffins-he stirred and then licked the bowl!

Weekend in Charleston

The Weddng Party

Jeffrey and Lindsey

Jacob helps me put clothes in the dryer

Posing while loading the dryer

SOOOO, Jeff just got back with my camera from New Orleans, so I can now post some new and exciting updates for you...with pictures included! We went to Charleston this past weekend for a wedding which Jeff was in. This also happened to be the first weekend that Jacob was without us (he's spent the night out before-but this was his first real adventure without us).

I don't have any pictures from his time here with Grandma and Grandpa Williams, but I do have a few pics I didn't post of Jacob before we left...the first is how I keep Jacob busy for hours on end-putting change in his piggy banks over and over again. Once he's deposited them all, I unscrew the bottom, empty that pig, and start over! We're really focusing on those fine motor skills these days.

Since I've been back, Jacob and I have unfortunately not had as much fun as we usually have, seeing as his 15 month well visit to the pediatrician this week turned into a sick visit from a bad ear infection...AGAIN!! Nonetheless, we still managed to capture a few Kodak moments for your viewing pleasure.

Jacob is Sharing and Caring!

Hey Peeps! When I went to pick Jacob up from Mom's Morning Out today at the church, Miranda and Gracie (they were watching the little guys today) told me that Jacob did the cutest thing! Evidently one of the little girls, Emily, who is a little older than Jacob...and who Jacob just loves, was being rocked to sleep. Jacob, careful never to go anywhere without his blanket, brought his blanket over to her and gave it to her when she was trying to go to sleep! Jacob won't give his blanket to anybody, so this is a pretty big deal!! He's so sweet! Last week when we dropped him off in the nursery for Sunday School, Becky (she was watching them that day) said that Jacob and Emily liked to get in these built in cribs-things and peek their heads out at eachother! Hopefully one of these days I can get a picture of all the babies he plays with in the nursery so you can really picture everybody playing together and SHARING!!

Jacob LOVES playing outside!

So, since the weather's getting nicer and nicer every day, Jacob is getting antsier and antsier about getting outside and exploring/staring at animals. He is obsessed with animals--he loves his animal books best of any that he has, and animals in real life-PLEASE!! He just can't get enough of them! Dogs and birds are his favorites, just in case you wanted to know...but he wouldn't object to chasing around any type of creature. Most days he likes to just wander around our yard, and once he is feeling comfortable with the grass, he generally takes off into the road. Needless to say, we have to run after him a lot when we are in the great outdoors! Yesterday, we went outside and it was nice enough that he went barefoot, which was a whole new experience. He was a bit timid at first, but once he figured out that it was actually easier to walk barefoot than in shoes, he was running for the road again!

These are just some pictures of Jacob outside looking particularly charming...

A New Way to Communicate with the Masses!

Hey there! I am trying this new blog thing...I hear it's all the rage these days! Anyway, we have a flickr.com site for Jacob's pictures, but since none of our family lives here, I thought that it might be a nice idea to try and write on here every now and again and post pictures as well. That way I can tell stories that go along with the pictures that we take and post! Plus, I like to write, so now I can just be a blabbering blogger! WAH AHAHAHAAH!