it's my party and i'll cry if i want to...

today, my baby turned 1 and i can't believe it! as i fed him tonight, i was looking at the pictures on his bedroom walls (one picture for each month) and i actually started to cry. these pics represent somewhat of a timeline of his life so far. where has this year gone???
jacob is such an amazing little boy! he is almost always happy and smiling! in the past year, he has gone from being a tiny slug who didn't move much to a social little animal who crawls faster than some kids can walk/run. he now has 5 teeth and thoroughly enjoys using them to crunch and munch just about any kind of food. forget most baby toys, jacob prefers andrew's big boy toys. just like his brother, he likes playing with anything with wheels. i'm sure it won't be long before he's building legos alongside his brother and daddy too!

jacob is definitely your traditional case of 2nd child syndrome...he pretty much spends his days getting in and out of the car seat, running errands, always trying to catch a nap on the road, before we reach our next destination, where he'll once again be lifted from his car seat. not like when andrew was a baby and my schedule revolved around his naps! many times jacob is fed whatever leftovers are in the fridge. not like andrew, for whom i made his own baby food and cooked well rounded meals for most of the time! jacob is put second many times, while i focus on andrew's needs first. jacob's first birthday party invitation was printed on some cute stationery i happened to have in the house, and the theme was then based around the invitation (animals). his party consisted of family and a few close friends...about 15 people total. the party was not well thought out and sort of fell into place in the past 24 hours (including the awesome cake made by derek!). andrew's first birthday party was a full on celebration...well thought out over a month long planning process, cute themed invitations, enough food to feed the neighborhood, a cake ordered way in advance and probably 30-40 people in attendance.

despite all this, jacob seems to always have a smile on his face. he is laid back and lovin life! today was a day filled with love, laughter and a few BIG tears from jacob. he was not such a fan of the crowd watching him eat cake! we had a great time celebrating his first year of life and can't wait to see what the next year holds for us all!

click here to see an album of pics from today

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jacob bday (34 photos), by amy banocy

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UGH!!!!!!!

ok...i just have to vent! i'm so annoyed with health insurance!!! for quite some time now, i have been on an individual health care plan through aetna. i added each of the boys when they were born, so now all 3 of us are covered under aetna. let me pause here, and say that i AM thankful we are all covered...but...the coverage is quite crappy!

so...i've been looking into other options and thought i'd go with carefirst bcbs. after spending almost an hour on the phone with the rep today, i will probably still go with them, but it's amazing how they "getcha" online and then really fill you once you speak to someone. just one example...online it says my monthly premium would be around $380...WAY better than what i'm paying now, and the deductible is half of what we have now. so, i thought this looked great! come to find out, there's an additional $100 prescription deductible PLUS i have to pay an extra annual fee to have dental coverage!!!

ok...so as i mentioned that took about 1 hour. well...i then started researching through the list of therapists i've been given. i wanted to see who, if anyone, would be covered under this new insurance plan (btw...not a single one is covered under aetna!). out of about 30, i found 1 who accepts bcbs! better than nothing i suppose, but c'mon people! why don't these people accept insurance?!?! there is a major mental health issue in this country and it's never going to get better if people can't afford to get the help they need. fortunately, we are not quite in that boat, because we will find a way to make it work, but this all just seems crazy! we live in such a progressive country, yet we can't all receive health insurance or receive services that we can afford! UGH!!!

i've vented and now i'll move on...

i did contact a few therapists today...spoke with one and left messages with others. i'm continuing to educate myself on "play therapy" and really think this is the way to go for andrew. it's so hard to pick one though, when i really know nothing about them! i want to make sure that this is a good experience for andrew, one he can feel comfortable with and learn from at the same time.
will keep you posted...

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