July was brutal. Thomas was working constantly on a large proposal for work and was out of town for 9 days, during which Erin was at Girls Camp. Now, with all of that done, we took some time to be together as a family. Naturally, that meant heading into the mountains.

We decided to hike to the waterfall in Bells Canyon, which is located one canyon south of Little Cottonwood Canyon in Salt Lake City. The hike starts in Sandy and heads straight up into the hills.

After about a mile of hiking in the scrub oak and sagebrush, we came across a more forested area with the creek we would follow to the waterfall.

From here, the trail headed up and up and up. The consistent rhythm of hiking put Jacob to sleep.

We woke him up when we reached the waterfall. He was happy we did. He kept pointing at the waterfall and rocks, which means “I want to play in that!”

After a long, uphill hike, the waterfall was refreshing, relaxing and rewarding.

So was the view down the canyon.

After we made it back to the car, Jacob decided to kick back a bit.

It’s rough riding on the back of a lumbering man.

Traveling on I-40 is always kind of fun (it would be more fun if we didn’t usually travel through New Mexico. Why it’s called the Land of Enchantment is beyond us, no offense to New Mexicans). I-40 follows the historic Route 66. This particular trip, however, provided something unexpected.

We were headed from Texas to Flagstaff, AZ, and then on to the Grand Canyon. One hour from Flagstaff, we were forced off of I-40 in Winslow, AZ due to weather. No clouds in the sky, just wind, gusting up to 60 mph, had created sand drifts on the interstate.

The freeway had been shut down since 9:30 that morning. We needed to get Jacob to bed, and since we didn’t know how long the freeway would be shut down, we turned around and went 2 hours back to Gallup, NM. Here’s a picture of Jacob at the hotel in Gallup after we were finally out of the car:

So, we ended up heading home the next day without seeing the Grand Canyon. Still, we had a fun time being on a little road trip. Jacob has now been to Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado. One final picture of Erin and Jacob in Moab on the way to Texas:

Don’t be fooled by the preppy look: these boys are dangerous (Jacob with his cousins).

Jacob with Dad (Mom’s behind the camera) at the aquarium. We still aren’t sure why Goliath Bird Eating Spiders are an aquarium attraction.

We couldn’t be more proud of a son who values oral hygiene, even if he doesn’t have teeth.

We certainly didn’t plan for this post to follow our previous post, but that’s how life goes. The weather is warmer, the sun is sunnier, and that means we are starting to head outdoors with Jacob. Yesterday we visited the park, where Jacob enjoyed swinging and also sliding down the slide with Erin. He is kind of quiet when we are outside, but we realized he is looking at all of the exciting, new things.

Jacob is much more vocal when he is indoors. He loves to scream and squeal to get our attention, and he will imitate sounds that we make. He loves to smile (and drool), and he has learned how to sit up on his own! He can balance himself with his hand, but still tips over when he stretches to grab whatever is within a few inches of his reach.

We visited some relatives in Phoenix a few weeks ago. It was great to get away and spend some time in warmer weather. Jacob was introduced to dogs, and he liked them, but not as much as the dogs liked him. Tessa would follow around the person that was holding Jacob, and when we went into our bedroom, she would wait outside the door and scratch at it. On a couple of occasions we had Jacob on the ground to change his diaper, and Tessa would sneak up and lick his hand or face.

We had a wonderful time with Debbie. Thanks for hosting us!

Speaking of friends, Jacob has one in his cousin Benson. They hang out regularly and show off their style.

I am ready for Spring. Sometimes it seems like January and February take up more than their fair share of the calendar, don’t you think?

Jacob has been enjoying his new Jumperoo toy. He gets really excited and squeals like a girl for much of his jumping time. And he’s not even embarrassed about it. He’s cool like that. I have been enjoying Jacob’s budding personality. Some things just make me laugh like his anticipation when we’re playing with him, his persistence at trying to reach what he wants (even if it lands him on his face), and how he delights in grabbing my hair and pulling his face right next to mine so he can give me a very wet kiss/slobber. He’s just a great kid.

We couldn’t be happier. Jacob had his 4 month check-up on Monday and we learned that:

Jacob is 25 inches long, which is in the 75th percentile.
Jacob weights 14 lb 2 oz, which is in the 50th percentile.
Jacob’s head circumference is 42 cm, which is in the 50th percentile.

By all accounts, Jacob is healthy and thriving!

By the look on his face, Jacob is simply glad to have his 4 month immunizations out the way:

We have uploaded a number of pictures to our Photos page. Have a look!

Jacob was the life of our new year’s party! Jacob and Thomas have been sick this week with a cold, so we decided to celebrate new year’s from home.

Jacob’s aunt just returned from a quick trip to Germany and the Netherlands, and brought back a Kinder Surprise Egg. We gave it to Jacob, and as you can tell from the pictures, he was surprised and then happy to have it!

Jacob at placement in his first outfit and blanket

A family picture on Sunday

Jacob likes to snuggle up to mom

Look for additional pictures on our Photos page!

Wow, we are so thrilled to welcome Jacob Thomas into our family. He is a perfect baby boy.We have so much love and admiration for Jacob’s birthmom, Brianna. She is a strong and courageous woman. For more information on Jacob, check out his page!

Here is another picture: