Happy One Month Jacob!!

Today is Jacob's one month birthday!

He doesn't have too many "first time" things this month but here's what he's been up to in this first month of life.

Eating.

Sleeping.

Pooping.

Repeat.....Repeat....Repeat!

Seriously, though, do you expect much more to happen in your first month of life?

We have taken him for some quick shopping trips for groceries and such.  His first time at church happened to be Easter Sunday. (Which reminds me, I never posted our Easter pictures...gotta do that).  He also went on his first GeoCache adventure, but I doubt he'll remember much....he was asleep!

Some quick stats on Jacob, based on his 2 week well-baby check.

Weight:  8 lbs 6 oz at birth....dropped to 7 lbs 13 oz before we left....up to 9 lbs 1 oz at 2-week check.

Height: 21 inches at birth....21 and 1/4 inches at 2 week check.

There has been so many people who see pictures of Jacob and say "Oh my goodness...he looks just like Quinn!"  So to further prove that point, here are a few comparisons of Quinn and Jacob at 1 month of age.

Quinn

Jacob

Quinn

Jacob

Kind of scary, huh?!?

I'll be honest, I prayed while I was pregnant that one day people would be able to see my two boys together and think, "Oh, those boys have to be brothers".....I just didn't expect I would get a second son who looks so much like my first!  Jacob has some traits that are specifically fit for him, but at times he makes facial expressions that look EXACTLY like ones Quinn made.  And to make matters worse, I saved almost all of Quinn's clothes, so seeing Jacob in outfits that Quinn wore, makes the comparison even more intense.

I can't wait to see what Jacob has in store for me for month 2!

I forgot how much I love this simple recipe!

My mom used to make this recipe for our family a lot while I was growing up. I don't know what the actual name of the recipe is.  All I know is that it is my FAVORITE way to eat chicken, so we started calling it "My Favorite Chicken".  I haven't made it in a really long time, until Buddy asked for me to make it this week.

He said, "Would you make my favorite chicken?"

I said, "Ok...how do you want me to fix it?" 

He said, "You know....My Favorite Chicken!!"  Took me a minute to realize he wanted me to make this....so here's a picture recipe for you!

My Favorite Chicken:

First, take 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or however much chicken you need for your family).  I actually used chicken tenders.

Next, cover all the chicken with Swiss cheese.

Then, take 1 can of cream of chicken soup (or 2 cans if you used more chicken), and enough water to rinse out the can. Stir the soup and water together and pour over chicken.

Finally, add bread crumbs, crushed crackers, or breaded stuffing mix to the top for a crust. I used Pepperidge Farm Stuffing (blue bag) for my topping.







Bake this at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour, or until chicken is done.

I served this with rice and green beans. It was so nice to have this meal after such a long time. I had forgotten how simple and easy this recipe is and  how yummy it tastes. I'll be eating the leftovers for lunch later today!!

Four Generations of Love

My parents came to help us out while I was in the hospital having Jacob. Since we no longer have a guest room, they have to sleep on an air mattress or the couch when they come to visit. Because of our sleeping arrangements, my grandmother did not get to come the week Jacob was born. I didn't think the floor or the couch was the best place for my almost-92-year-old grandma to sleep.  Mom and Dad came up a couple of weekends ago just to bring Grandma to meet her 2nd great-grandson.

My parents and my grandmother live together, so when we go to SC to visit, Quinn has two grandmas there to love on.  He calls my mother "Grandma", and he calls my grandmother "The Other Grandma"!!  We tried to do something cute, like "Gi-Gi" for great-grandma, but Quinn insists that she is "The Other Grandma"...and so that's what she is!

Here is Jacob meeting "The Other Grandma"!   :-)

Of course, Momma had to get her arms full of her grandsons as well.

And I had to get a picture of our 4 generations together.

Grandma is the only grandparent I have left, and the times we spend with her are so precious to me.  As the oldest granddaughter (and the only one who is married), I'm also the only one with children.  I am so glad Quinn is getting to make memories with his "Other Grandma".

Can't believe I'm going to post this!

I love reading the blog/website MoneySavingMom.  She always has good deals, coupons, and home management tips. She is currently doing a series on organizing, cleaning, and purging your home. Crystal has posted an assignment every day and then at the end of the day, she posts her pictures of her clean-up process.

I finally decided to join in on today's assignment, complete with pictures.  I plan to go back and do all the other assignments as well. She started this series right after I came home from the hospital with Jacob, so I was on light duty for a while due to my c-section. Now that I'm feeling back to normal, I hope to do more of these tasks...and post my pictures for motivation/accountability!

So today's assignment was to clean out closets. With a newborn on an every-two-hours-chow-fest, I only got one closet done, but I'm motivated to do the rest.

I cannot believe I'm going to post this, but here goes.

This is my coat closet by the front door. As you can see, it tends to accumulate shoes and coats.

I started out with the coats. I left some in the closet, but pulled others to go in the back closet because they aren't worn as often, or to put in our closet because that's their proper spot.  Then I pulled everything out of the bottom of the closet.  There were 15 pairs of shoes in the bottom of the closet!  Also plenty of dirt, dust, etc and a bunch of hangers.

I put the shoes into pairs so I could easily see what was in there. I found a pair of flip flops and sandals I had been looking for, as well as a little pair belonging to my son. I also found shoes I thought I had gotten rid of a long time ago...not so much, as they were on the bottom of the pile.

MoneySavingMom also asks that you find at least 7 things to get rid of. So here's picture proof! I got rid of all the wire hangers, a few plastic ones that had broken, a mesh bag of some sort, the two pair of shoes I thought were already gone, and 3 pairs of steel toe boots that we used to use at the fire station. (For those of you who don't know, Buddy and I volunteer at our local station!)  When Buddy got home from work, he also purged 2 more pairs of boots, but those didn't make it into my picture. 

Finally, I swept out the closet. Then I got down on my hands and knees with some cleanser and hand-mopped the closet floor. Then I hung up the coats so all the hangers were facing the same way (pet peeve) and put the shoes we were keeping back into our closet where they belong.  And the closet has become the new home of our vacuum, rather than keeping it in the garage.

Much Better!

Hunting Eggs at Home

We missed out on the annual Easter Egg hunt with our Sunday School class this year. It was held the day after I brought Jacob home from the hospital. With my pain and discomfort, as well as all the grandparents visiting that day, we opted to stay home.  But on Easter Sunday, while Quinn napped, we hid eggs for him to find in our front yard. Wasn't as much fun as it always is with our church group, but it will do for this year. And next year, both boys will get to hunt eggs!

Geocaching With Quinn

With all the newness of baby Jacob over the past few weeks, we decided to do something fun with Quinn for the day.  He loved it a few months ago when we went Geocaching after our church had a big adventure. But those times he stayed in the car while Buddy and I searched parking lots for the "treasure". When we found them we brought them to the car for Quinn to see.

This time, we wanted Quinn to have part of the adventure too.

Buddy has downloaded the Geocache app to his phone, so he can always tell when one is nearby. He had noticed that a local park had several, so we went there one nice Sunday afternoon.  After a short hike through the woods (and yes, Jacob was there too...riding in high style in the Baby Bjorn), we found the treasure!  Quinn was convinced that Captain Hook had hidden the treasure and we needed to find the gold doubloons. He's a fan of Jake and the Neverland Pirates on Disney, can ya tell?

We had a great time, went on a nice hike, and actually saw 4 deer as we were hiking out!  Can't wait to go on another adventure with my 3 boys!!

But the biggest kick I ever got, was this thing called Crocodile Rock!

We were shopping the other day and Quinn asked to try on some sunglasses. Buddy and I weren't paying attention to what he picked out, but told him he could. He came around the corner, and you can see why we had to take a picture.

Channeling his inner Elton John?

Or is it because I've been watching "The Voice" on NBC and he saw the glasses and thought of Cee Lo Green?

Either way, he keeps us laughing!!

(Thanks Google Images!!)

Welcome Baby Jacob!

On March 27th, we welcomed our newest son into our lives. Jacob was born at exactly 10am and was my "sumo wrestler" baby, weighing in at over 8 pounds. Considering Quinn was in the 7 pound range and then lost ten percent in the hospital, Jacob seemed so much chunkier!

And before we could even leave the hospital, Jacob was sporting his first Clemson shirt.  This shirt was actually sent to me by a blog "friend", who I've never met in real life, but grew up not far from Clemson. This onesie belonged to her son, and she mailed it to me for Jacob to use.  Thanks so much, Megan, aka Fried Okra!!

It was so precious to see my boys meeting each other for the first time.  Quinn has been calling the baby "My little Jacob", and already seems so protective of him. When Jacob cries, Quinn lets me know.  He even suggests "solutions" to the crying....Jacob needs a new diaper, Jacob needs milk, Can I sing a song to Jacob?  It is very special to watch these brothers bond.

I am so glad to have two precious, healthy boys and so glad that God chose me to be their Mommy!  I am so blessed....my heart is overflowing.  I confess, I wondered how I would be able to love two children. My heart was so full with love for Quinn. I even joked with my doctor, if he would mind inserting an extra heart so I wouldn't have to share my one heart with both boys.  But somehow, it feels like my heart has grown!  No two boys were ever loved more!

Welcome to the world Baby Jacob!