Cuckles for All! (Or at least for his one and only)

No, I'm not talking about Katie. I'm talkin' 'bout Jacob's bunny.

We have been fruitlessly waving stuffed animals under his nose for almost two years now, and finally he hit it off with one. It's a blue easter bunny that Grandma and Grandpa Gam sent him. I don't have a really good picture of the bunny because Jacob is usually doing this,



or this,



when he's with him. He typically throws the bunny on the ground and then body slams him in a loving cuddle. Needless to say, he LOVES his bunny. Tonight we heard him talking after we put him to bed and realized that he was saying, "cuckle" over and over and over again. When we check on him later I am pretty sure we'll see Jacob and his bunny in a warm embrace (just like we did last night).

Ah, Young Love

Well, at least young friendship. Jacob has found a wonderful friend just up the street (to say nothing of mommy finding this wonderful friend's mother as her own friend). Her name is Katie. Jacob actually started saying Katie (phonetically: Tay-dee) almost two months ago, that's the kind of impact this sweet thing has had on him. They have attended movement class together, played at the park together, and run naked through the grass together. What?!? Yes, naked (okay, diapered) and hand in hand through the grass. Just scroll down, you'll see.



These pictures were snapped after Katie and Jacob had been playing with water and these amazing spongey balls in Katie's back yard. She just couldn't resist grabbing him by the hand and running off with him. And he was more than happy to go.



p.s. Katie's got lovely olive skin and Jacob is white!

Cousin Cuddle

Some Stunning Realizations

The past few weeks I have been feeling like my baby boy is growing up. Heck, grown up. He is so big in his crib. He says so many little words (my favorite is "mi-ma" for lima beans). He can follow my directions. He knows what things are used for. He amazes me. For example, we cuddle and sing lullabies before naps and bedtime in his red rocking chair that Grandma Hutch got him. Pre-cuddle I always put two small throw pillows on the back of the chair one on top of the other because, well, wicker hurts! Today he walked over to the chair, said "cuckle" and started trying to put the pillows up for me. Such a sweet, smart kid. Sigh. So, I guess realization "A" is that my boy is growing up. Realization "B" is best explained with pictures.

My J-man used to look just like his daddy. EXACTLY like his daddy. People would, and still do, always comment on it, which I love. Behold.





However, lately I just can't help but notice something...



(The yellow dust all over him and the porch is the pollen that attacked Georgia a few weeks ago...I know, eeeewww.)



(The feathered hair all over my head is the style that attacked the world in the 80's...I know, eeeewww and aaaww.)

Do you see what I see? Maybe I'm grasping at straws because I want to get a part of that cuteness action. Regardless who he looks like, we are so grateful for our boy. (But especially if he looks like me...)

Matt Rocks!!

I just wanted to declare to the world (okay, so the five of you who read this) that Mr. Hutch is one wonderful dude.



What's not to love? Not only does he have stylish hair (see above picture), but he's supportive, loving, smart, fun, kind, and so much more. I'm just grateful to have a fellow like this in my life. Thanks baby, for everything.

Aaaah Spring

So far our spring has been lovely. Here are some of our goings on:

Matt bought me beautiful yellow flowers for my birthday.



Jacob got two new pairs of shoes. One for church (thanks Grandma & Grandpa Gam)...



...and one for play (thanks Target). And rest assured, by the looks of it you can eat in both pairs.



Jacob had his first piece of Easter candy. I think he was stunned at his luck and didn't want to jinx it by interacting with us.



And lastly, Jacob's very adept at shaking his head "no". On Easter he "mixed it up" and shook it with added gusto and playfulness. Enjoy.

Jacob's Library

Last week I realized that Jacob's book collection was far too big for the basket we had been keeping it in. Those books needed room to breathe! So I pulled out a bigger basket and the very next day I found Mr. Jacob doing the following:

If you need Jacob, he'll be in his library. Shhhhh.

Long Awaited Finale of our Trip to Savannah

We know you've all been breathless with anticipation regarding our fun filled vacation. Well, the wait is over!!! I must say though, that pictures without Jacob just aren't all that exciting. We'll make this quick and painless.

We ate at an English pub that is so "English" that they claim that the entire store front was made in England and shipped to the U.S.



I had the best chicken salad sandwich of my life and Matt had a mediocre corned beef sandwich. Seriously, nothing but corned beef and mustard? Where are the greens? I thought it was a bit stingy.



We also took in the Savannah ports and riverfront. My favorite part were the candy stores. Particularly when some nice lady gave me a sample of a glazed pecan and (gasp) I LOVED it! It was cool to see the old streets and buildings from the 1700's. We like old stuff.





The next day Matt took it upon himself to organize the jam caddy during a particularly long wait for our breakfast. He made two grape stacks, one mixed fruit stack and one strawberry stack.



He is so giving with his time.



Sigh.



After that exciting breakfast we wandered around in some beautiful colonial neighborhoods. Once again, old stuff is cool.



We also saw the oldest home in GEORGIA. That's old (so I loved it and wanted my picture with it)! It is next to a tavern that they say the sailors and pirates used to eat at. Cooooool. I am standing like that because we saw another pregnant girl on the trip who, when someone was going to take a picture of her, posed like that. I felt it was worth making fun of.



I think our favorite part was the beach. It was too cold to swim, but just right to walk, read, make out, and enjoy. Just kidding about the reading thing! We spent 3 hours at the beach (broken up by a bathroom break for me) and felt so rejuvenated afterwards.



Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Hutchison for taking care of Jacob so that we could have such a wonderful trip! We have gained a testimony of the power of a good getaway.

Toot, toot!

Today, as Jacob and I were on a walk, Jacob had a great linguistic moment. We had just crested a hill when I heard Jacob "let something fly" as his daddy says. I was about to say, "Jacob, did you go toot, toot?" when he turned around in the stroller and said, "toot, toot". It was like the great day when he said "shoe" when I was putting his shoes on, 'cept for funnier because, well, you know...

I'm proud of my man-of-few-words-but-not-for-much-longer for putting the real toot and the word toot together. (Toot, toot, toot.)

Beautiful Savannah

Our trip was definitely not a high-adventure trip. We mainly walked, ate, and looked for bathrooms a lot. It's logistically hard being pregnant on vacation!

There are 21 squares (as in town squares) in historic Savannah located every few blocks. Talk about always having a place to mix and mingle and be! There are also about 21,000,000 (approx.) historic markers in Savannah, 90% of which are found in the squares. The squares also have gorgeous trees called live oaks that are covered in Spanish moss. Apparently they are full of "reyd buuugs and cheiggers!" At least according to our trolley tour guide Denise they are. We think Denise has the most stereotypical southern accent ever. We also think that she turns that accent up a few notches in order to get more tips. Just a theory, but our pockets were deeper for her than for her Yank co-worker.

Check out them trees, them chiggers and that hot guy on the park bench!



A few interesting facts about Savannah:

1. The girl scouts were founded in Savannah, which made us happy because we love the cookies. For reference, I love thin mints and Matt loves tagalongs (gross!).

2. All of the bench scenes in Forrest Gump were filmed in one of Savannah's squares.

3. Savannah is full of old homes that people insist on claiming are "haunted". The colonial architecture is so beautiful that even I would consider living in one, despite all of the spirits of the damned, et al.

4. There isn't much in the way of public parking or bathrooms in Savannah. Which means that with all of the walking and the lack bathrooms this pregnant girl got swolled (swollen). I must say though, it was well worth the pudgy toes and nose!