I haven't written a blog post in months. Probably because life is a little busier with 2 little ones under the age of 2. Or, because our day to day life isn't all that exciting to merit a whole blog post. Or, once the kids go to bed I would rather veg out than think about what to say in a blog post. But, as a second child, I know that second children really get the short end of the stick a lot of the time. Since I have only written minimally after Jacob was born and he is already 7 months old, I figured now was the time to write a little update and share a little bit more about our sweet boy Jacob.
Life with Jacob and Nathan is really fun, but really exhausting all the time. Nathan is quickly becoming more of a toddler in some ways. He is always on the move, talking in excess of 200 words, is super sweet and has a mind of his own. But, he still needs lots of love and reassurance and in a lot of ways, I still very much have two babies. He has never really been jealous of Jacob, but at the same time, he doesn't like when Jacob gets attention. Often I have both of them on my lap because they both need comfort. Or, I am carrying both of them around because I need to get them from one place to another quickly. Just this morning I was lying on the floor playing with Jacob and Nathan hopped on my back and was cuddling me. I love it, but sometimes I wish I had more than 2 hands or could be in two places at once.
Thankfully, Jacob is a very chill, super laid back baby. He is so happy and loves to smile. He adores his brother Nathan, who is great entertainment for him. Jacob watches him closely all day long. You can tell Jacob wishes he could be on the move like Nathan. The admiration Jacob has for Nathan is super evident to anyone who spends time with them. Nathan can sit on him, pat his head, accidentally step on him, take toys away from him and Jacob is just happy Nathan is paying him some attention and smiles in admiration as he is enduring all that toddler Nathan throws at him (Sometimes literally. We are in the throwing our toys stage).
Jacob is definitely a mama's boy. He loves to cuddle and looks to me for reassurance a lot. He started the whole 'stranger danger' thing. Nathan never ever went through that stage so this is new for me. He is fine when people smile at a distance, but if anyone wants to hold him, forget it! He starts crying instantly. Luckily, he warms up pretty quickly and a few times being held by the same person he is over his fear.
He has recently learned to roll all over the room. He has it down to a science. Rolling and pivoting on his belly to get what he needs. We thought he would never attempt any other means of getting around, but recently he started army crawling to any toy just out of arms reach. He also LOVES to play peekaboo. He will find his burp cloth and throw it over his head and kick his feet in delight. If you don't realize what he is doing he will rip it off his head and look at you like, "Mom! I am trying to play here. Come play with me."
He is such a blessing to our family. Although we were definitely not anticipating adopting again so quickly after Nathan's adoption we are so happy we said yes when their birth mom asked us. We can already see the love both boys have for each other and know they will grow up being best friends. We cannot imagine Jacob not in our family! We love him so!
One thing that I hear a lot from perfect strangers is, "Wow! You are busy aren't you?" Usually this is when I am alone with both boys and someone sees us getting in and out of the car, or when we are out as a family for dinner or some fun activities. Just tonight, we decided to go out to eat and a man and woman sitting near us made that exact remark. I never know whether they feel sorry for us or they are just stating a fact, but I know that even on the most trying days, I wouldn't change this for the world!
