I hope they call Aunt Rachel on a mission...

when I am te-e-e-en months.



That's right...Rachel has been called to serve in a very special place that is near and dear to our hearts. She will make the most amazing missionary and we are so proud of her. Matt served in SLC and so he is especially excited to have Rachel serving at Temple Square in Salt Lake City. Rachel, you will be such an effective, loving missionary. We are so excited for you. We love you Rachel! Here's what Jacob has to say about it...the taskmaster dictated it to me earlier.



While I am assuredly puzzled as to why you're leaving,



understanding is beginning to glimmer.






You are such a wonderful, lovely Aunt...and Aunt Natalie & Grandma aren't too shabby either (but this post really isn't about them).



You came and saved mommy and daddy from my six week old self and held me in this fashion that always made me stop crying (I know it looks bad, but it seriously was so comfortable).



You came again and helped us move into our new house, and even rocked me to sleep in a way that really capitalized on my angelic-ness.



You've even loved me through my crazy hair days (everyday).

I'll miss you Aunt Rachel...but I know you'll be helping other people just as you've helped us so much. Plus, I'll be seein' you in Utah! I suddenly have an urge to drool at the feet of some seagulls.

P.S. from Robyn...



Don't tell Matt we used his tie for this post. It is OBVIOUSLY his favorite.



At a family party with Grandma and Grandaddy Dollar before his mission.



Doing the "bootie bounce" during his mission (don't ask).



With Lance right after his mission.



With me four years after his mission.



With me at our wedding luncheon, still four years after his mission.

So, hope you like drool on your favorite tie daddy! It's mine now! Hah!

Report: Jacob's cuteness has outstripped momma's blogging pace

Due to this overabundance of material I have posted a gajillion entries after this one...so keep scrolling down until things look familiar again.

For those of you who like to leave long, juicy comments (our favorite type of people), please feel free do so on this first post about any of the subsequent posts.

And just as proof of how his cuteness has gotten totally out of hand, observe.















How on earth can I keep up with this? Enjoy the new posts!

New uses for the Pooh Arch

Namely, Peek-a-boo, or Peek-a-pooh?

Anyway, for you old-timers on the blog you know that I have, for a long time, tried to figure out how Jacob can most enjoyably use this little arch that I got for $2.00. Well, here's another use! And truly one of Jacob's favorites, so far.

Front View: For those of you who live far away and would love to be playing with the man...plus he almost looks like he's standing up.






Side View






And he realized how to do this on his own! I can't tell you what a surprise it was to see him peeking through the first time. What a smart little Mister.

Super Sitter

So, it's been almost a month...but Jacob is sitting up. Here are some pictures from one of the first times he sat up for a good long stretch.



I have an embarrassing number of shots like this...I just love how his whole sitting body sweetly fills the frame.



And he likes sitting too!

Jacob and his peeps

Recently Jacob had some friends over. Olivia, age 2, and Everett, age 2 months. Now, Jacob's 7 months...so maybe this playgroup is more for the moms to hang out than for the kiddies. But regardless they all seemed to enjoy eachother. When Everett came Jacob gave him a big back arching, scream inducing wave. Once Olivia got here Jacob was in heaven, and quickly reached a kids-in-the-house-besides-just-me euphoria. He took a LONG nap after their visit and I think it was purely from his excitement at having visitors.



So, does it matter that Jacob is about to reach Olivia's size?



Everett and Olivia...what a calm, sweet baby.



and Jacob, let's all remember to look Olivia up when she's 21 or so, because what a beautiful girl!

All Blacks here I come!

This is Jacob's rugby outfit. Perhaps he's getting back to his New Zealand roots? Plus, his BYU "football" has more of a rugby-ball (how you say that?) quality to it than a traditional pigskin.



But perhaps with the hairstyle he's sporting in these pictures he's going for more of a Jane Austen time period nobleman...Mr. Darcy anyone?

Jacob + Hats = Good

Jacob has been trying a couple of his hats on for size. The weather has been lovely and we've been walking. The baby books all say that taking your baby for a stroll is a "feast of sights and sounds" for your baby, and a good way for the momma gets some exercise. Well, Jacob just dolefully slumps in his stroller and abides. I guess abiding is better than screaming.

Enjoy his first responses to his lil' hats. (Thank you Aunt Lucy and Grandma Gamette for these cute hats!)

Bad Beef (or how Jacob found his gag reflex, or Jacob gagging)

There is a fairly famous (in our family) piece of footage of my dad when he was a young boy. He was probably between 2 and 4 years old. The old home movie was shot by my grandpa. Grandpa had organized and labelled the movies years ago and we found this particular one when I was a senior in high school after he had passed away. The movie was taken on Easter and the whole family was having a picnic and easter egg hunt in the mountains. A very memorable trip that could have been labelled as Easter, family outing, springtime, picnic, etc. The title is simply, "Leland Gagging". Grandpa panned across the family eating hard boiled eggs while sitting on a blanket and just as my dad goes out of the frame grandpa darts back to dad only to catch dad have a pretty violent dry heave-ish gag followed by a heavy shudder. So daddy, I want you to know that even though this boy may not look like you, he sure has a mean beginner's gag.

Now on to how Jacob found his gag reflex. I should have known it wouldn’t taste good to him if it made me sick just to open the jar. Two words: cat food. We had (unfortunately) not tried meats until today. It was an exciting foray into the world of a reluctant eater. Until now Jacob has slurped down cereals, vegetables and fruits with unchanged enthusiasm. The pears smelled so good I almost got two spoons out when he ate those. Needless to say, I have been terribly proud of his like of green beans and peas. However, as my friend Kelli says, “I had better make my words nice and sweet because I’ll be eating them later”. Touché Kelli, touché.

So, please feast your eyes on a series of gags that all took place in response to ONE bite of beef...although my camera was not fast enough to catch each and every gag. I know they are not necessarily real gags, but they were positively overwhelming him and very funny. Plus, if this makes any sense, his eyes were definitely gagging. After I had preserved the moment in film, (if only you could see the video) and made him eat more for the camera, he ate some green beans (to make his mommy feel good).



These two pictures look just the same, but they were taken during two separate gags.















So happy after the beans...



So wistful after the beef.

I have a feeling we will be purchasing all of the meat and apples line. Shudder.

Turning Corners

As I packed up all of Jacob's zero to three month clothes (mainly a bunch of onesies...I love summer babies!) a lump started growing in my throat. He is growing up so fast. And while I am a little emotional at the reality of this growth, he couldn't be happier. Here are some of his sweet new ways.



He gets engaged with toys and really concentrates on them. Especially the tags.



He can read.



He reaches for anything in sight. And he is an amateur monkey trainer, although here he's not taming it too well.



He eats his feet (check out the latch he's got on that big toe!)



He sits up (without the boppy now) and he has "morning face" when he wakes up. (This was the Eve of Christmas Eve, when Santa came to our house)



He has a new friend. He also met someone else this week who is also his friend. Although he is a little unaware that they're friends just yet. Unless Gideon has a bottle, and then they are no longer apathetic friends but the fiercest of competitors.



He can dance around on his hands and knees.



He can make cute faces like this.



He can make mean faces like this.



He can laugh when Grandpa Gamette & Uncle Jonny make silly faces at him.



And he can look terribly cute in a gray little bunting.