Organic Baby Food for Little Man :)

So. . . don't think I am one of those super uptight moms or anything. . . but I am making Jacob's baby food!  He loves all the fun creations I have whipped up so far.  The weekend that Lauren was up, we decided to tackle this project.  We made Jacob like a month's worth of baby food in 2.5 hours.  I was overwhelmed before we started, but now I see it is EASY!

We steamed him carrots, peas, green beans, and yellow squash.  Then we baked sweet potatoes, butternut squash (in a water bath), and apples.  After cooking, we pureed it in a food processor (thanks mom) with water and then poured it into babyfood freezing containers and ice trays. 
Here I am cutting up the veggies.

Making yellow squash.

Pureeing carrots--yum!

I tasted everything that I made for Jacob before I put it in the trays.  The funny thing was that it was soooooo GOOD!  Everytime I would taste something, I would say how good it was.  Lauren finally said, "Well, if you ever get your jaw wired shut, you'll be set with something to eat!"  Ha!  I don't think it would really be that good :)

Jacob watching as we were being productive.

Having so much fun in my exersaucer!  I can't wait to eat Mommy and Aunt Lauren's food!

Here I am pouring it into the ice trays.  After it freezes, all I have to do is pop it out and put it in a freezer bag for storage.   Super fun!

Aunt Lauren & Uncle Stan Pay a Visit!

Aunt Lauren & Uncle Stan came for another visit on the weekend of March 9-11th!  Lauren stayed at our house to help out with little man and Stanley hung out with Steph, Em, and Hannah at their house.  Brett was out of town with a youth group trip to Myrtle Beach, SC.  We decidded that Jacob might not be up for a youth trip so soon (staying up long hours, etc).  So, he and I stayed home and Lauren came up for a visit and to help out.  She arrived late Friday and stayed until late Sunday night.  We had so much fun!

We went on walks and took long naps (Jacob did)!  Lauren loves to be silly with him and always had him laughing big time!  With Brett absent, she was the voice of reason saying, "Katherine, he does NOT need a jacket!  It is 75 degrees out there!"  Brett was thanking her all the way from Myrtle Beach :)

Uncle Stan came over to have dinner with us on Saturday night.  Em had been having fevers during the week and Jacob hadn't been 100% either.  So. . . we decided to let our little ones get healthy and not have a big meal together at Steph's. 

I love my toy time! 

Uncle Stan had a short visit, but Little Man loved him being there!

Thanks so much for coming to hang out with us LBJB!  Jacob loved spending time with you and can't wait to see you soon!

Happy Cousins!

It has been WORK getting these little ones in a picture together!  As you can see, we managed to get this first shot with no one looking :)  Jacob and Em were dying to get out of my arms and Hannah just wanted to get snuggled up.  Jacob and Em are starting to get so interested in each other.  Jacob tries to touch Emily's face everytime they get together.

Here I am helping Aunt Stephanie do something.  Jacob and I went over to hang out while Bert was out of town for a couple of hours.  We had a great time, but I'm not sure how much helping I did!  At least I was some company :)  We sure do enjoy letting our babies hang out!

Here we are trying to get an official cousins picture for Mimi as she has requested many times!  We tried with Jacob in the middle, but he wasn't sure about having anything to lean on.  So. . .

We put Emmy in the middle and he really liked that!

Emmy liked that too!  We love you sweet babies and can't wait for you all to grow up together!  So happy you are here with us Hannah Banana!

Brett's Birthday Weekend!

The weekend of Brett's birthday was super fun!  Unfortunately for Brett, he had a weekend class that weekend, so he was in class from Friday from 2-10 and on Saturday from 9-5.  Mom was still up here with Steph for Hannah and Dad came up too!  We really missed Stanley (who was sick) and didn't want to come and get our little ones sick.  On Saturday, Dad came down to help with Jacob since my back was still hurting.  He loved getting to see little man and Jacob loved to getting to hang out with him!  Here they are reading books below:

Then we did some tummy time and Jacob played us a song!

Papa Stan held Jacob while I helped Brett with his birthday dinner!  He did the most work of all for this dinner since we were all covered up with little ones!

Mimi and Emily making Uncle Brett's favorite cheesecake bites!

Emmy Jean wishing Uncle Brett a happy birthday!  Too cool in her sunglasses :)

Brett getting to hold miss Hannah for the first time!  We love you Brett and are so thankful for the wonderful husband you are to me and the wonderful father you are to Jacob.

Nana & Papa visit NC!

On the weekend of the 17^th, Brett’s parents came in to help celebrate his birthday.  They arrived late Saturday morning on a beautiful day and Jacob had soooo much fun seeing them.  We ate a late lunch at the Farmer’s Table in Bunn and then came back home for J baby to take a nap.  He loves his Nana and Papa so much!  Nana and Papa both took turns feeding him a bottle, although he was so enamored with them he could hardly eat!  I think he definitely remembered them from Christmas and didn’t take any time at all in getting snuggled up with them J

We think it is so funny how big he looks in Nana's lap!

Playing with Papa

Mommy got in on the feeding action while Nana and Papa helped Brett with dinner.

We miss them (and all our other family too!) being in GA and look forward to living closer to them one day so that Jacob can really know all his grandparents.

Hannah Elizabeth Watts is Here--February 14, 2012

The afternoon of Valentine’s Day, little Hannah Elizabeth Watts decided to make her entrance into the world!  Emily and everyone else were so excited to meet her.  They all said that Em was not too sure about her mama being up in that hospital bed and wanted to “hold” Stephanie (aka “get a hug”).  Mimi and Papa Stan came to take care of Em while Steph and Bert were in the hospital.  Hannah has been such a sweet girl from the very beginning. 

Here I am getting to hold her for the first time. Brett and Jacob had to wait down in the lobby because babies under one can’t go up to the floor. Also, Brett was still sick with the aforementioned Brohchitis. I was such a proud aunt and think it is so fun that Jacob and Hannah will be in the same grade in school. He’ll have to be her big protector! He might be Emily’s too, if he can catch up with her on height and weight J

Sweet baby girls!  Hope they'll have as much fun as Steph and I did being sisters :)

February Challenges and Mimi Comes to Help :)

February was a month that we wished had passed a little faster. It wasn't like a Biblical plague or anything, but I was starting to think: "What could happen next!!??" :) The first thing to happen was a problem with my back. One night I was playing with Jacob and my back went OUT! I couldn't move for a minute and I had tremendous pain in my back and shooting pain in my legs. For the three weeks prior, I had been letting Brett know that my back was starting to hurt pretty badly. That night, it gave out from carrying my almost 22 lb baby and made it so that I could hardly walk. For the next three weeks, I was not to pick up anything heavier than 10 lbs, which made it very difficult for me to take care of Jacob. Basically, someone had to babysit me while I babysat Jacob. It was pretty funny and logistically difficult. So, the very weekend that I hurt it, Brett had class and was going to be away from the house from 2pm-10pm Friday and from 9am-9pm Saturday. We were going to have to pay someone to stay with me for all that time so that I wouldn't injure it further. So. . . Mimi came to the rescue! Praise the Lord for my sweet mama! She came to pick up Jacob for me and help me take care of him and then helped me do all kinds of housework that I couldn't get to myself. It was definitely one of the most thankful I have been for to my mom (second only the weeks following Jacob's birth!).

Jacob loves his stroller that Papa Stan got for him!

On Saturday morning, Brett woke up and said that he had run a fever all night. When we finally got him to the Dr. later that day, he had a bad case of bronchitis. His cough was really bad and was keeping him uncomfortable most the night and day. By Sunday, Jacob was sick too and had lots and lots of congestion with a bad cough. He woke up multiple times at night for about a week there. I was thinking, "if we can just make it through Febuary. . . " :) Praise the Lord, Brett got over it finally after about two weeks, Jacob's sickness cleared up about the same time, and my back continued to improve drastically. When it rains, it pours, but we had lots of blessings along the way through good help!

Here is little man snuggling up for his last bottle one night. At the same time that we were having a few sicknesses at the Sanders, we had lots of close friends that were battling ilnesses with their little ones. Many of these were sicknesses and problems that had those babies hospitalized. It humbled us and really drove home what a blessing it is to have a healthy baby. We were a bit sick but were able to stay together and keep our little one at home. As I followed others' stories of 10 day hospital visits, I thought about how much my priorities had changed in the past year. Now there isn't anything Brett nor I wouldn't do to have a healthy baby.

That precious smile!

Sweet baby cousins holding hands!

Jacob's Sixth Month

Little Man's (this is our favorite nickname for him) 6th month was full of big changes!  He began to sit up really well, learned to eat from a spoon, became a ball of personality, and began to "chatter".  He was always sweet and cute, but his sweet and laid back personality has really developed in the 6th month.  Is also doing lots of "talking" and likes to "tell us about it" as I like to say.  He squeals with delight about things and will laugh so hard at us anytime we say "boo" or play  peek-a-boo with him around the walls of our house.  During this month, he began to insist to stay up at least an hour and a half and began to try to create a different nap schedule for himself.  We didn't really figure out what it was until the 7th month, but he began that transition here.  Maybe he just missed me, but from the time I got home from school, he liked to stay awake and play with me until bedtime.  We go on walks (especially during that REALLY warm week up in NC during Febuary) do tummy time, read books together, and have family time with daddy!  He is such a joy and brings a new sense of meaning to our lives!

Here is Brett snuggling him before the last bottle of the night.  He is not really sure he wants to wake up to eat it at first, and then he normally eats the entire thing!

Here he is practicing standing up.  He loves to stand and gets the biggest "look at me!" grin on his face.

These are two of his favorite things to do.  He LOVES to knock down cups.  We'll sit him down and then one of us will build the tower for him.  The whole time someone is building the tower, Jacob is moving around, breathing hard, and keeping that little mouth wide open in excitement!  When it is time for him to knock it down, he can hardly contain himself. 

He also loves to look at himself in our hall bathroom mirror.  I guess it is because the lights are so bright, but other mirrors in the house do not have this effect.  Here he is playing with Daddy right before a bath.  They love to be silly together!

Here sweet pumpkin is right before church one Sunday.  He was looking handsome in the church outfit that Nana bought for him.  We love this little man with everything in us and feel in awe of the blessing that God has entrusted us with. 

Mommy's little man!

First Taste of Cereal

So. . . here I am back at blogging again!  I love to have Jacob's first year documented so that I can have a little record of our family life. . . but I find myself being a perfectionist about the blogging.  I want to wait until I have time to write the perfect blog post with the perfect pictures and video.  :)  I have now decided that I am going to JUST DO IT so that I have something!  So, here is my less than perfect series of posts that actually exist!  :)

Jacob went to the 4 month appointment and was a very big little boy!  The doctor said that we might really want to think about giving him some cereal since he was clearing out every bottle that we gave him.  So, on January the 10th, we tried rice cereal.  We made it really runny with milk, but he still wasn't sure about eating anything from a spoon.  The first night, this is what we got:  a turned head.

By the second night though, he was getting into it and was opening his little mouth like a bird for more!  It was so adorable and we were laughing the entire time.  I am going to post our link to youtube so anyone can see the video of it if you would like.

He was very interested in the spoon, the bowl, and his Bumbo tray. . . even more than the cereal.  He spits most of it out, and for the first month, I wasn't sure I'd ever talk out little one into eating real food.  Then I told myself that I didn't know of any adults that didn't eat food, so I'm sure he would be just fine!  Actually, I think Brett had to tell me that, but I like to think that I became rational myself :)

Feeding time is so fun and Jacob really liked his rice cereal until something better came along.  We had a total rejection of rice cereal after he tried sweet potatoes!  Oh well. . . cereal with bananas was a quick and much enjoyed replacement.