Hives are for the Bees!

Here is my story:
I am a bear. Mom and Dad call me little bear. Bears like honey. Honey is made by bees. Bees live in hives. Hives live in trees. HIVES SHOULD STAY IN TREES PEOPLE!

Okay, so this hasn't been the greatest 7 days. Last week I got an ear infection and I had to take antibiotics. Then, on Sunday I got the stomach flu...don't worry, no swine flu. Then, on Tuesday I woke up with crazy red spots all over my face, arms and legs. Chicken pox, monkey pox...no, I got the hives. Apparently, it was a reaction to the antibiotics that I was on for my ear infection. Mom and Dad think it might be from the virus that I had over the weekend. We aren't really sure. Needless to say, I was not able to "bee" myself. It really looks worse than it is. I am handling it very well and no one has played connect the dots yet! Most of the really big blotches went away by the end of the day today. I am on the road to recovery!!

Last night, I fell asleep at 7pm on the couch. Duncan came and cuddled with me. He is quite cozy!

We will be sure to get some better pictures up soon!

Hope all is well!

Smiles,

Jake

Yahoo for 7 months!

Hi Friends - It's been 7 months since my arrival... boy, how big I am getting.

It's been a busy few weeks for us as a family.

• We had mom's birthday, I sent her to the spa (dad put it on my tab).
• We had an awesome Easter looking for eggs with my cousins, Ethan, Ari and Ciara and the Biebel family.
• Ear infection count - #3 = Not cool.
• Dad and mom went out to dinner and a movie. Although I was sad I couldn't go, Lisa, Joe and Max watched me. Mr. Joe tickles my toes, I laugh and we all win. Ms. Lisa and I cuddle, she rocks me right to sleep. Max... well, he licks my face just like Duncan. BTW - happy birthday Max! Fun party and treats.
• Grandma Karen came to visit this weekend. We had a ton of fun and she got to see all of my tricks, including rolling over, playing my guitar and soiling myself. We went over by the Wilson family for a garage sale party and hung out with Andrew. Favorite part of the weekend... Buffalo Wild Wings with dad and grandma. Who doesn't love some wings? We also went to a cool dessert place called the Cupcake Cafe for yummy cupcakes! Soooo good.

Last time, I mentioned swimming lessons. I'm calling them out on the pool temperature. 82 degrees my eye! More like 62 - I shivered, but hung in there. At least I didn't have blue lips like some of my friends. My teacher Gus asks me to blow bubbles, kick and move my arms - I'd rather play with the sweet toys he's got. Dad helps me work on technique and makes sure I feel safe in the water. I'm a rock star, I was dunked totally under on day one and didn't even skip a beat. I did it three times, good stuff. After, I changed out of my 50 pound swim diaper.

Enjoy the pictures!

Much love - Jacob

Three Little Bears

Happy Easter Y'all!

This is usually the forum for Jacob to give you the ins and outs of his week, but as you see - he's sleepy.

So I thought I'd let you know about something cool we did as a family recently.

Some of you might remember the story of our engagement and how I proposed to Melissa. It had a little bit to do with the Build a Bear workshop and a bear we made together on one of our first dates (Kennedy). Well, in 04' when I proposed - I created a new bear (cleverly named JT) that was decked out in a groom outfit to accompany Kennedy.

It became a little symbolic of our family. Since our family has grown, we figured we'd add to it. We took Jacob to the Build a Bear factory where he enjoyed watching the back of his eyelids. That didn't stop us from picking out the best bear of the bunch. Melissa and I deliberated briefly, but we were both drawn to one bear. His name was "Champ".

Champ is a nickname I call Jacob and also something my dad called me from time to time. It was perfect. He is now a part of our bear family (see picture below in the middle).

For those of you crying foul that Duncan isn't represented - relax... First, he doesn't have thumbs, so he couldn't make a bear. Second, he's a dog... probably not getting into the Mall of America unless he looks more like Snoopy. Third, he's eaten several stuffed animals. Chances are he wouldn't pick one, he'd just pick them apart - I'm not paying for any more destroyed ones. Those of you who know Duncan, know he'll have his own special place in our family as our first baby.

Much love, Happy Easter!

- Adam, Melissa, Jacob and Duncan

Hey Grandma - Don't Burn Mine

As I'm told, the story of the red converse hightops dates back to 1980 something... when Grandma Karen and Grandpa Terry were chumming with the Nicole Ann Circle posse having a bon fire. Grandma was looking for something to burn and found some of my daddy's Chucky Taylor red hightops - they were a little old.

She asked my dad if he wanted them anymore, being a bit of a pyro and having already burned her unmentionables, she had an itch to toss them in. Now, my dad is a smart cookie - but I don't think he understood what he was signing his shoes up for. Either that, or he had a change of heart because after they went in the fire the tears came... and came...

It made for a fun story growing up for dad and Grandma Karen. It makes an even better story for me, I laughed my socks off.

Lucky for me, I got the best end of the deal. Once Grandma knew a baby was on the way - the first gift was a pair of red Converse hightops, just like dads old ones. If I may say so myself, I look pretty fly with them on my feet.

Much love,
- Jacob

I am officially the bigger brother! Ha!

Hello World!
Today I went to the doctor for my 6 month check up. Dr. Saxton said that I am "perfect". I guess that I can't argue with that! Come on people, check out how cute I am. Would you argue?
I am 18 lbs. 9 oz., which officially makes me weigh 5 oz. more than Duncan. I am 28.5 inches long, which puts me in the 95th percentile for height. I am tall like my mom. My ears are good and it looks like I might be getting started on some teeth soon! Other than those nasty shots, I didn't mind my visit to the doctor. I did have some big crocodile tears in my eyes after my shots and that made the doctor feel really bad!
Here are a few more pictures:
I am wearing my new Bam Bam shirts that mom got me from Target. I guess it is appropriate to wear this shirt in this blog post to show everyone that I am extremely strong! You should come to the show and check out my "guns"!

I like to play in my exersaucer. I finally have some coordination in my arms to be able to grab the toys!!

I think it is really funny when Dad kisses my cheeks and whispers in my ears!

For those of you who don't know yet, I have found my toes and I am rolling over on my own. I still get my arm stuck under me from time to time, but I can do it. Along with being able to roll over, I have discovered that being on my stomach is not so bad after all. I am still working on sitting by myself yet. I still topple over!

More pictures soon. Mom took some good ones the other day. She just needs to get her act together and upload them from the camera!

Love and smiles to all of you!

Jake