Loft Mountain

We loaded up the truck and hooked up the pop up and headed for the mountains. I towed the pop up by myself with 3 dogs and Jake. You would think I was crazy! Jeff met us up there after he got off work. He had a nice motorcycle ride on the Skyline! It took about an hour and forty five minutes to get there. Jake slept most of the way. Thankfully, dad and Teresa were already at the campground to help me out. I had only set up the pop up once and dad and T weren't sure how to do it either. We all took turns holding Jake while we figured out how to set up the pop up. Finally, we figured it out after breaking the pins in the crank twice and having to take the sides down a few times. As soon as we finished it poured rain! So dad, Teresa, me and Jake and all 3 dogs hung out under there awning. As soon as I sat down with Jake he threw up on me. Of course all his clothes etc are back in the pop up and did I mention it was pouring, lol! It rained on and off but that didn't stop us from having a good time. We took Jake on several walks in his wagon and of course we ate smores!! It's so beautiful and peaceful there. The deer walk right up to your camp sites. There have also been bear sightings at the camp ground. I would love to see a bear, but would be a little scared. It was nice and relaxing to just sit around and visit with dad and Teresa. Jake did awesome and slept well. We are going back for the 4th of July!

Summer Time

Summer is here and I don't know where the days go. I haven't done a good job in keeping up with the blog. So I will update you on the last couple of weeks and try really hard to post more often! Jake is doing awesome! On Saturday, May 30th he ate cereal for the first time. Or should I say wore cereal for the first time. It was so cute to see his facial expressions! I would give him a little and he would push it all back out with his tongue. Too cute! Daddy got great pics and video of this milestone. After Jake ate his cereal we went on a bike ride. Jake's first time and he loved it. After the first 5 minutes of daddy pulling Jake in the trailer he was fast asleep. On the 31st we visited Grandpa and Grandma Cash! Jake had a good time and loves all the attention. He was really tired from the visit and slept 8 1/2 hours!! Woohoo for sleep!
Jake is really talking up a storm now. Its so sweet to hear him coo. When daddy gets home from work Jake's eye's light up. Jeff and Jake carry on quite the conversations. Several times now Jeff has said Hi to Jake and Jake says Hi back. It's so cute. Jake's hair is finally growing back (unlike daddy's lol). His eye's are still a beautiful deep blue. So we are hoping they stay that color. Jake tried out his jumping johnny and seemed to enjoy that. He loves jumping and kicking around. On June 4th I weighed Jake using the Wii and he is 14lbs 3oz and 25 1/4" long. When does the growing slow down? I am starting to pack up his 3-6 month old clothes. His big toe is starting to stick through his footed sleepers. Jake has discovered his hands. He will hold his arm up and look at his fists. Then straight to his mouth they go. He loves chewing on his hands. I am wondering if he will start cutting teeth soon. He is a head of the game with everything else so it wouldn't surprise me. On Saturday June 6th we went to an expo at Babies R Us. Everyone that saw you commented Jake's beautiful eyes. Then when we tell them how old Jake is they freak and can't believe it. You are a big boy! We found a canopy for Jake's wagon while we were there. Daddy put it on his wagon and fastened his car seat in it. The finishing touch was a license plate for his wagon! Jeff took a great pic of Jake smiling while he was in his wagon. I believe he likes it! On Sunday June 7th Aunt Stephanie and cousin Trevor and Trent visited. I got a great pic of Trent holding Jake. Its so cute. Trent always makes sure to wipe Jake's face off when he drools! I don't know where the time goes. It has gone so quick and I can't believe Jake is already 3 months old!
We have had a lot of rain recently which has been great for our flowers and garden. Jeff and I planted lots of seeds and now we have our handsful. Some of the flowers are blooming and the garden is taking off. Jeff has also started working on Jake's playground area. Thank goodness we have some time before Jake is mobile! In between Jake's naps I am outside weeding and planting.
The doggies are doing great. They are enjoying the warm weather. They love being outside but I make them come in to rest when it gets real hot out. I know they are spoiled! Zuki was bit by a copperhead a few weeks back. Thankfully she has bounced back and is doing great. Jake has started paying more attention to the dogs. It is a great distraction. Out of all 3 of them Zuki really pays attention to Jake. If he is crying Zuki goes right over to Jake to check on him. If we are outside she will stop running her laps to check on him. Its really sweet.
We are working this week on getting our pop up ready and things packed up. We are going camping at Loft Mountain for the weekend! So until next time..........

The Last Couple Weeks

Have gone by so fast! Wow, Jake is growing so quickly and is about 15 pounds now. I look back and wonder already where the time has gone. It's going by too fast! After our camping trip Jake spent a few days pretty fussy. I know he was really tired from our trip and it took him a while to get adjusted to being back at home!
My first Mother's Day was spent in the truck coming back from North Carolina. I was happy to spend the time with my boys! Jeff took me out to eat at The Outback Monday night. Jake slept the whole time! Thank you guys for a yummy meal! On our way home we stopped and bought Jake a new Rocker/Vibrating Chair. He loves it and looks like such a big boy sitting in it. It has a ladybug that plays music and I video taped Jake laughing at it!
Jake has been busy trying out his Bumbo chair, his exersaucer, his jumperoo and his new swing. Busy little boy he has been. I can't believe that he fits in everything already. What really surprised us was how well he was jumping in his jumperoo. Your only 3 months, you aren't suppose to be doing all this!
Jeff was playing with Jake and we heard his first out loud laugh! It was so sweet and of course I captured it on video!! Jake's smile just melts my heart! Daddy also took Jake on his very first tractor ride! I am not sure who had more fun Jake or Jeff, lol.
Jake has finally started liking his swing. It has been a lifesaver for when he gets fussy. He falls right to sleep! Well wouldn't you know it it broke. Jeff and I went to BabiesRUs and picked out a very fancy swing. It had an MP3 player hook up, ac adapter so no batteries, a fancy cover and toys. Jake screamed when we put him in it. So, I thought lets give it one more try and see what happens. Well Jake threw up all over the swing, aacckk. After I get him cleaned up I am frantically cleaning the new swing. At this point I know we are going to return it. It made him sick because it did more of a cradle back and forth motion. Thankfully I got everything cleaned and we returned it. We got a more traditional style swing and Jake loves it! He falls right to sleep and mommy and daddy love it too!
Jake's first Memorial Day daddy and grandpa B worked on hanging up Jake's toddler swing outside. Grandpa said Jake wouldn't be ready for that kind of swing yet. Right, not with how big our boy is. He fit in it perfectly and had a blast.
Jake loves stretching out in his pack n play. For 2 nights he slept for 7 hours straight. We are anxiously waiting for him to do that again, lol. He does a great job falling asleep on his own at night time. He likes his new mobile that puts pictures on the ceiling. He is getting stronger and stronger everyday. We try to do tummy time everyday and Jake is really holding himself up. He also loves the Baby Einstein videos daddy got for him. Jake loves for us to read to him. We have one book in particular that has lots of babies in it. He loves looking at them. Wow, Jake really has had a busy month. So many first experiences and new toys. Our sweet boy is growing and changing so much! We love you Jake!

Zuwharrie Camping Trip

We started our trip by dropping Haley off at dad and Teresa's house on Wednesday. Jake was wide awake for that visit and full of smiles for grandpa and grandma. When we got home we finished packing for our trip. We left Thursday morning for Troy, NC. Jake did a great job in the car. We stopped a few times along the way to walk the dogs and to get some food/diesel. After about 4 1/2 hours we arrived at Uwharrie National Forest. We set up camp, well daddy set up camp and Jake and I watched. Our first afternoon/evening Jake was really fussy. We were pretty nervous and hoping that this wasn't a sign of how the weekend would go. Finally, we got him to sleep. Friday and Saturday it got really warm. Thankfully, our campsite was in the shade. Jake spent a lot of time in his bouncy seat wearing only his diaper enjoying the outdoors. He loved looking up at the trees and seeing all the new faces. He got a lot of attention! He slept really well at night. Friday night he slept for 6 1/2 hours straight before waking up to eat. On Saturday the temps reached 90 so it was rather warm. We gave Jake a bath in his inflatable duck to help cool him off. I am not sure he really liked it but the pictures turned out cute. Saturday evening we got a bad rain storm. We all huddled under the canopy. Jake was nice and dry in his Jeep stroller. Of course he got a lot of grief for being in a Jeep, since we went to a Suzuki event. The Zuki crowd doesn't really care for Jeeps or Heeps as they call it. Of course now the Jeep stroller tires are coved in red clay from Uwharrie. I am hoping we can get it all out. Daddy went wheeling with Dave and Jake and I hung out at camp with the doggies and friends. As soon as Jake is old enough daddy will be taking him wheeling. (Need to wait until he is in a front facing car seat). We left Uwharrie Sunday morning and started our drive back to VA. Jake did awesome. He slept most of the way. Now we get to unpack everything, fun fun! The good news is that we had everything we needed for Jake!! Now mommy has tons of laundry to do.
Jake's first time leaving the state of VA, his first time in NC, his first time being in the car for so long, his first outside bath and his first time camping! Wow, Jake you were a busy little man. Sunday was my first Mother's Day! Since we spent it coming home we celebrated on Monday. I got an ecard from Jake, Simba, Zuki and Haley! Daddy and Jake took me out to eat at the Outback! MMM, it was really good. Jake slept the whole time. Then we went to dad and Teresa's to pick up Haley. Jake was a little fussy for the visit but soon fell asleep on daddy's chest. Haley was happy to see us. She was a little destructive while we were away. She chewed up her blanket and the tray in her crate. I guess that is our punishment for leaving her.
We had a great 4 day weekend and Mother's Day!

Our Evening

Yesterday was a rainy day. Jeff and Jake hung out in the "man room" while I worked upstairs. I did a lot of packing for our camping trip. That evening we went to town to run some errands. We went to Babies R Us to return some things and get diapers. Then we went to pick out some fish for our empty 75 gal tank. We figured Jake would like to watch some fish. After that we ate Chinese food for dinner. The buffet was awesome and Jake slept the whole time. I ate fast not knowing if Jake would wake up and we have to leave. He was a good boy! We got home and Jeff and Jake went back down to the "man room" so I could do a little more packing. It takes a lot of work packing for a baby, 2 dogs and myself. Jeff has to pack his own clothes. Between baby stuff, dog stuff, my stuff and food...hhhmm not sure we have room for Jeff's clothes, lol. He gets the chore of loading everything up in the pop up and the truck.
Jake loves sitting in his bouncy seat and kicking his legs. We always ask him, where are you going? He loves to suck on his hands and stick out his bottom lip when he gets upset. He also likes laying on daddy's chest and look all around. He is doing a great job holding his head up for long periods of time. He really likes watching the fish and he likes when I read to him. He loves looking at the pictures in the books. Well, he is calling me now so I gotta run. Until next time......
(Jake 9 weeks)

Aunt Stephanie's Birthday Dinner

Yesterday we all met at Rivals for Stef's bday. Grandma Scruggs, Aunt Dana, Cousin Lauren, Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Chris and Cousin Trent were all there. Trent is 2 yrs old and he had fun holding Jake. Jake was drooling some and Trent without anyone telling him, would pick up the burp cloth and wipe Jake's mouth off. It was really cute. Jake was very happy and enjoyed being passed around for everyone to hold him. He for sure knew where momma was. He kept looking at me as he was passed around. During our dinner Jake sat in his infant carrier all happy, until we heard lots of noises coming from him. It was really funny and well Jake felt much better after he took care of business. It was nice seeing everyone! As soon as Jake and I left he fell asleep and slept while I ran some errands. We got home and he woke up long enough to eat and he went back to sleep for the night.

Thursday's Outing

Yesterday we met Aunt Dana, Grandma Scruggs, Cousin Leah and Camden at Aunt Sarah's for lunch. Of course everyone took turns holding Jake. Camden was holding Jake while Leah was talking to Jake and she got the cutest smiles from him. Jake had been awake all morning so he was only up for a short visit. I held him and he fell asleep for the rest of our meal. It was yummy by the way. Then we all went over to the Dollar Tree to walk around. We ran into Aunt Stephanie and Cousin Trent. It was like a family reunion! Jake was sleeping so he missed out on seeing them.

We had a nice time and Jake was so happy. Especially after his shots on Monday he had a tough time. He has been very fussy. Yesterday my little guy was back to his normal happy self. It was great seeing everyone and next time I must remember to bring the camera.