The Richards Family

Sweet Jacob

2006-07-15T12:58:00.000-07:00

Summertime plans

2006-06-07T12:11:00.000-07:00

Well, it’s been a long time since I’ve updated. We have been busy, busy, busy over the last month and a half. Jacob is doing great! He is growing like a weed and getting to be such a big boy! He’ll be 4 months old in just a few days! He can roll over from back to tummy now and is working on getting it the other way around. Allison and Caroline adore their baby brother, and Peter is waiting for the day when Jacob will be able to play trucks and trains with him. Homeschooling has been going well. We only have a couple more weeks and then we will take a break for the summer. It will be a lot of fun to let the kids enjoy playing, swimming, having friends over, and going on “fieldtrips” to places like the San Francisco Zoo, the Tech Museum, and the San Jose Historical Museum. I am hoping maybe I can trade some babysitting with a friend so that I can just take the older three and not Jacob, since it’s hard to go places with all four kids, keeping up with the oldest three and having a baby in arms as well! I hope you all have a wonderful summer, enjoy the nice weather, and spend time with your families! God bless!

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow

2006-04-23T17:26:00.000-07:00

God has abundantly blessed us. Jacob is such a happy and healthy baby. He is so content, and sleeps so well for us. He had his 2 month baby check up and is thriving. He weighs 12 pounds 13 ounces! He holds his head up really well now and enjoys it when the children put a toy in his hand to play with. He has a pretty good grasp as well. Our schedule has settled down nicely. Jacob gets up around 6:00, I feed him, then he's awake until about 8:30, at which time the children are up and have had breakfast, then I put Jacob down for a nice long nap and can supervise the children with their chores and school subjects. Jacob then wakes up around 11:30, I feed him while the children have recess, Jacob then plays while I feed the children their lunch, he's sometime awake for a bit longer, then he and Peter both nap in the afternoon and the girls have my undivided attention for school. I thought it would be really hard to be homeschooling with an infant but Jacob is really such an easy baby and he sleeps so much that it is not nearly as hard as I thought. Jacob takes his third nap right before dinner so I can prepare it, and then his most awake time is in the evening, which is nice because that is when the children can play and Daddy and I can both enjoy and take care of Jacob. He is such a blessing to our family!

It's been awhile

2006-03-29T20:07:00.000-08:00

It has been quite a while since I have added an actual journal entry on here. Things have been busy since little Jacob joined our family. Definitely busy in a good way though. He is such a good baby. He sleeps a lot and is very content. Allison and Caroline love their baby brother, and Peter is adjusting pretty well to no longer being the youngest child in the family. We are also finally getting back in the swing of things in terms of homeschooling (we definitely took an extended break from school when Jacob was born), and of course it is still always more fun to play or help with baby brother than to do school work. Jacob is very healthy and has gained weight very nicely. At his 2 week old check up he already weighed 9 lbs. 3 oz. (up a pound from his birth weight). I'm sure he's gained at least another pound or so since. Here are some recent pictures of him.

More Jacob Pictures

2006-03-17T16:27:00.000-08:00

Jacob's homecoming

2006-02-17T13:05:00.000-08:00

Monday, February 13

All ready to come home!

More Baby Jacob pictures

2006-02-12T12:33:00.000-08:00

Introducing...

He's finally out!

A healthy baby at 8 lbs. 1 oz.

So docile already...

Snuggled in the hat the kids picked out for him.

"Now I finally get some peace and quiet"

It's A Boy!

2006-02-12T12:24:00.000-08:00

Announcing the arrival of the newest member of our family:

Jacob Alan Richards entered the world yesterday, February 11, at 1:50 in the afternoon. He weighed in at a healthy 8 pounds, 1 ounce, and was born after about 5 hours of labor and hard work on the part of Mom. The delivery went well, and Mom and Jacob are both doing great. Allison, Caroline, and Peter were all delighted to meet their new brother this morning. Mom and baby are expected to come home tomorrow.
Jeff

Pregnancy Pictures

2006-02-03T12:26:00.000-08:00

Since we're almost to the end of our pregnancy, I thought I'd post some pictures before the baby is born. These were actually taken toward the very beginning, maybe at about 3 months or so, but I didn't have the effort to take more recent ones that look nice like these. So here they are. :)

1 week

2006-02-01T10:41:00.000-08:00

This morning Allison happily skipped out to the kitchen and announced, "Our baby will be born in one week!" Yes, sweetness, our baby is due in one week, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he or she will be born then. It could be sooner...or later. But I am proud of Allison for being able to use the calendar and keep track of dates so well. We have everything ready for the baby - Peter's crib is all set up, we have a friend available to watch the kids, I have a bag packed and a take-me-home outfit that will suit a girl or a boy. But in all my preparations I am reminded that with all our best laid plans, God is ultimately in charge, and knows what is best for us, and will change what we think our the "best" plans if He knows something else is best. Trusting God for a healthy baby and a safe delivery, on just the perfect day that God has already picked out for our baby.

Our children

2006-01-24T11:18:00.000-08:00

Allison, Peter, and Caroline

Fun at Happy Hollow

2006-01-23T15:20:00.000-08:00

I took the kids to Happy Hollow today. It was fun but exhausting. Caroline and Peter were out on the drive home (and still are), and Allison fell asleep watching Veggie Tales. I think I might join them...
I did get a couple cute pics of the girls today. The first is Caroline near the entrance right when we got there. The second is Allison feeding the ponies (the girls love horses). Peter did not want his picture taken today...oh well, some other time.

The Richards Family

2006-01-20T10:59:00.000-08:00

Hi, we are the Richards Family. I am Laura, the mommy. My husband, Jeff, is the daddy. Our oldest, Allison, is seven. Caroline just turned five. Peter just turned three. And our new baby is due February 8. Will it be our third girl or a little brother for Peter???
More to come later.