Well, let's see...My biggest beef from the week was the celebration of Valentine's Day at day care. We got a note on Wednesday, I think, with the names of the other kids in Jacob's room in case we wanted to send valentines. Now...I have fond memories of valentine exchanges back in grade school, and I am fully prepared for the celebration of holidays in school as Jacob gets older. Heck, I was all excited to get cupcake pans back when I got married simply because I wanted to be equipped for my kids' birthdays! Though nowadays I think you have to send store-bought stuff because of the allergen information, which is a bummer...one of my favorite memories of school birthday celebrations was when someone brought cupcakes in ice cream cones...yum! Anyway...maybe this was naive of me, but this whole valentine thing caught me off-guard. I never in a million years pictured 7-12 month olds exchanging valentines. But if I would have had more time and energy, maybe I would have done something. But Wednesday and Thursday were late evenings as it was thanks to working late and my once-a-week class at the gym, so I just never got around to it. Next year I will probably do at least a little something for the teachers, and depending on how interactive Jacob actually is by that point, maybe valentines too. He ended up getting three this time around, so at least not everyone did it. Still, I couldn't help but think that this is one of those symptoms of the world being a little wacky.
Of course, just when I was reeling from the Valentine's Day stuff, reality set in as I got to work yesterday and saw the front page of the paper. Somehow in this world of ubiquitous media, I didn't hear about the plane crash until then. It must not have made it to the headlines online when I was on at 11pm the night it happened, and then I must have missed all of the major news at night and in the morning. It was obviously so sad and scary. Our family even knows people (close friends/distant relatives) that live very close to the crash site--close enough to feel the earth shake and then run out to help. It's so tragic and is one of those things that makes you think--about the people who lost children, the children who lost parents, and the young people that never got to make it to their marrying/childbearing years. It definitely made me want to hug Jacob just a little more last night. Craig is flying to and from Newark tomorrow this weekend for a Knighthawks game, and I'm obviously just a little more nervous than usual. Normally I'd be relieved that he has such a quick trip, but not this time around. It also makes me more hesitant as a parent to fly anywhere. You can't let stuff like this stop you, but it certainly makes you stop and weigh the risks.
Jacob is doing well in general. Not much has changed. He still has his cough and we are really looking forward to seeing the specialist and getting him checked out. Still a week and a half until his preliminary tests, then another week or so beyond that until his appointment. Even if there isn't much they can do, it will be good to know what's going on. He's still not exactly loving the solid food, but he does seem to be getting better overall. Earlier he finished an entire bowl of food--a couple tablespoons of cereal (prepared) and some applesauce. It took some coaxing, but he probably opened his mouth more than he ever has for me. He's been doing pretty well at day care, too. Of course, mid-meal he had another diaper blowout, so that's still an issue. While he did get poo on his onesie, it didn't reach his actual clothes, and considering all that was in the diaper (yikes!) I was thankful that was all that escaped. And since it didn't have to sit in a bag at day care for a couple more hours, it washed out pretty easily this time. I don't know what it is, but Jacob's butt, cute as it is, must be formed in some way that makes him predisposed to blowouts. No idea why no diaper can contain him. Apparently Craig had similar issues as a baby, so I suppose he comes by it honestly. I'll keep my fingers crossed that our next baby gets my butt :)
Well, it's almost time to get Jacob up from his nap so he can be fed and ready for when Lori comes to babysit tonight. Craig and I are off to dinner and the Rascal Flatts concert (Jessica Simpson is opening), so it should be a fun night...even if we are thinking about Jacob the whole time! I'm happy it's a long weekend (even though Craig will be leaving early early in the morning for his roadtrip) and I will have a lot of time to spend with the little man. Stay tuned, because I will have a very funny treat to post in the next couple days...but in the meantime, Happy Valentine's Day!