January so far...

I just realized I haven't posted at all this month! I'm such a bad blogger. Okay, well long story short is we've had a great month so far! Penelope is growing like a weed and is so much fun. She is all smiles and giggles and such an easy going baby.

Lucy's had a lot of fun this month too, especially enjoying some nice warm days outside and when it has snowed, she LOVED making snowmen.

This coming weekend we are taking a little trip to Galena with our fellowship group from church. Marcus is skiing and Penelope and I are relaxing/shopping and most importantly sleeping! :) Lucy, our early riser, is staying with Grandma and Grandpa Rapp - so you can be sure Mom and Dad will be enjoying sleeping in as much as possible! :)

Here are a few pics from this month!




Our cute little cub!


Marcus and Lucy about ready to make a snowman!



I had to get a few pics of Penelope in her cute little sis shirt!


Penelope and Judah at almost 4 months - aren't they the cutest baby cousins you've ever seen? :)

The best gift!

There really is nothing better than celebrating Christmas with family and friends. Here is a little recap of our holiday...

We enjoyed the Elsasser family Christmas on Friday night, and then opened presents and had a delicious lunch with the Rapp side on Saturday. We drove to Decatur on Saturday night and were able to attend a Christmas Eve Service (Lucy did AMAZING thanks to some new blocks) and opened presents and had other great meal on Sunday. Lucy and Penelope loved spending time with their cousins, especially Judah, Maggie and Lucas.

We drove back home on Monday night and got back just in time to get together with a bunch of our friends (Marcus's high school group) and all their kids. Seven kids under six years! It was a little crazy but super fun! (One six year old, two (almost) four year olds, two two year olds, one one year old, and Penelope).

Marcus took work off thru Wednesday, and we enjoyed having him home for a few extra days. I especially enjoyed sleeping in and a few long naps!

All in all, a great holiday and a WONDERFUL year! We are so thankful to have been blessed with another baby and now to have two happy, healthy - beautiful little girls. We couldn't ask for a better gift!


Penelope on Christmas Eve (Her three month birthday!)



Our sweet blessings!



We are excited to see what 2012 has in store for us! (Penelope is too, I promise!) Happy New Year!

Ho Ho Ho!

It only took two Christmases but Lucy finally loves Santa! He asked her what she wanted him to bring her and she replied with "Um...I'd like a pink present, Santa." He tried asking "what she wanted INSIDE the pink present" but I think he gave up after he kept getting "a pink one!" as an answer.

Lucy is still loving Red, the elf. We love watching her run downstairs every morning, trying to find him, screaming "there he is!" -"he moved!" and then proceeding to tell us "we can't touch him, he's special" - "if we touch him he can't go to Santa, okay?"

Our "little" 2 month old

It's such a weird feeling when you have a baby. I can't believe Penelope is 2 months old - as it has gone so fast, yet at the same time it feels like she's been a part of our family forever. She turned 2 months on Thanksgiving - and boy am I thankful for her!




She also had her two month appointment yesterday and she is a healthy happy baby girl. By no means is she a "small" baby, but in comparison to the other "Jacoby" babies, she is definitely the smallest. She weighed in at 11 lbs 6 oz (61% percentile) and 23 inches long (70% percentile). Lucy was 12 lbs 13 oz at 2 months (90% percentile) and 23 inches too. (All the other "Jacoby" babies rocked the 90% for most of their first year in weight.)

In other news, Lucy is still loving her baby sister as much as ever. I know this Christmas is going to be even more fun than the last few, as she is really starting to get into all the fun kid's Christmas activities. She helped with the tree this year and is every interested in finding "Red" every morning after he reports to Santa at the North Pole every night.

A bit behind...

I realize I'm a bit behind on blogging. October may have been the busiest month of my life - and the best too! We are adjusting well to life with two and enjoying every crazy minute. Here are a few pictures from the last month. Here is a small photo recap. I'll try my best to do a better job of posting this month - promise :)


First real bath


Lucy loves her little sis!


Our cute little package


Daddy and his little lady.


I love this sleeper - it was my favorite with Lucy too!


One BIG month!


Smiley little flower


Lucy obviously loves Care Bears and had to be one for Halloween


Girls in some Halloween gear


The girls with Great Grandma Elsasser on Halloween.


The girls with Nana and Big Jake on Halloween


Lucy loves Penelope, she just isn't feeling it yet.


Marcus and his girls.


Penelope and her cousin Judah at around 6 weeks.


Penelope was Dedicated at our church this past Sunday. She was dedicated with her cousin Judah too, which made it even more special. She wore the Jacoby family gown that is over 100 years old and has been worn by her great grandpa, grandma, aunt, mom, cousin and sister. The blanket that is in the picture was Marcus' that was used during his dedication.


The big sister wearing one of her Mom's tops from the 80's.

A quick synopsis of Penelope's birth...

We went in at 5:00am - got all checked in and waited for the nurses and residents to talk to my doctor. Because I wanted them to break my water before putting me on pitocin, my doctor decided to wait a few hours until he got off his rotation at another hospital, in the event that things went quickly - he wanted to make sure he would be able to make it to my hospital to deliver.

At about 8:30 am they broke my water and I immediately was at 7 cm and 90%. We waited a bit and my contractions got more intense on their own. At 10 o'clock we were joking with one of the residents telling him that my friend Makaya was only going to be in town until 11 am and wondered if he could speed things up a bit. He laughed at us and said that our chances didn't look good on that one. At 10:16, he checked me again and I was complete! My doctor came in, had me do a test push, and immediately stopped me and told me not to push anymore. Within seconds the whole room was filled with all the appropriate people to have a baby! I couldn't believe how fast it was all happening. At one point, the resident said it was going to be quick and I said "so I won't be pushing for 2 hours like I did with my first baby?" he replied with "um...no...maybe 2 minutes." Obviously, there was a lot going on, but I really didn't believe that it was going to be that fast. I literally pushed 2-3 times (for about 2 minutes total) and she was here! It was unbelievable, crazy, fast and much appreciated (by me!).

One of my favorite photos so far...our first moment together!

Introducing Penelope Helen Jacoby Rapp

Penelope Helen Jacoby Rapp
Born September 24th - 10:36am - 8lbs 2oz - 19 3/4 inches long




She is a super sweet baby (and pretty easy too)! We are loving every minute of loving on her!

Here is a pic of the first time Lucy met Penelope. She had a hard few days while Mommy and Daddy were at the hospital, but she's been great at home. She loves her baby sister "etapee" (Penelope) and is overall really great with her. She's concerned when she cries and loves to tickle her toes.



First night at home...



Eyes wide open on Day Five



In other great news, our brother and sister in-law had their baby three days later, on Tuesday, September 27th! A healthy baby boy named Judah Mark Rapp. He weighed in 8lbs 3 oz. We made a quick trip back to the hospital to meet him on Tuesday but we can't wait for him to come home today.

What a great week! :)