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We had a ton of fun visiting our friends in Savannah. Here's a few pictures. Jacob took notes from his buddies on crawling and I think he's got some ideas. We put all his toys in his chair and point him in that direction. Now he sorta scoots and twists himself over to the chair and takes all the toys out one by one. It's pretty funny to watch. He's quite proud of himself once they are all over the floor around him.

Fun in Savannah

Hi everyone. We are in Savannah for a few days. Daddy is at a conference - but I think we see him more than they do at the sessions :) We went out to eat at a yummy steak place last night. It all sure looked yummy, but Mommy gave my yucky old baby food. Today we are going to visit my friend Teddy and then tomorrow we are going to visit my friend David. Teddy was born 2 months before me and David was born 1 month before me. We head back home on Sunday afternoon. Hope Cousin Ben is having fun in Texas and Grammy & Grampa are having fun in Florida! Love, Jacob

Hi Grampa!

I'm wearing daddy's Lehigh shirt. We miss you and Grammy. Love, Jacob

Daddy in Enemy Territory

Jacob's Daddy here:
I'm on Day 3 (of 4) deep in Enemy Territory -- Athens, Georgia (home of the University of Georgia Bulldogs). The university hosts an honor band festival each January, and I have seven students who were chosen to attend.

Anyway, tomorrow is concert day. The concert starts at 11:30 a.m. and will end around 5 or 5:30 -- talk about a marathon! There are six bands performing; fortunately my students are spread out in four different bands. That means I get about an hour and a half break in the middle of the concert. I'm sure I'll be in need of some coffee by then. :)

Tammy and Jacob -- I miss you tons and tons!!!

Sippy Cup!

Mommy got me this cool sippy cup. It didn't take me too long to figure it out. Daddy is out of town till tomorrow night and we sure miss him. Can't wait to see you daddy!

Look what I can do now!

Hi! Guess what? I am trying to crawl... (well that's what mommy and daddy think anyway) Here's a picture of me trying to get to things that are far away. Daddy took some video the other day and is working on putting it on my video page. I'm also trying more new foods lately. I decided a week ago that I wanted to get up in the middle of the night and eat again - just like when I was little. I gave mom and dad about 6 months of sleeping through the night, so now I think they need some adventures. Last night I even got up twice!! Mom thought she was being smart by feeding me more filling foods before bedtime, but I fooled her :) Stay tuned for more adventures.

More Teeth!

Hi there. What a crazy few nights we've had! Jacob has been working on teeth 5 & 6 so we've had night waking and screamfests.... but today I noticed tooth #7 has shown up too. Ugg. No wonder he's been nuts. Oh - and to add to it all - he's growing again so he wants to eat about every 2 hours! The past few nights Hank and I have taken turns staying up with him. He has been glassy-eyed and just plain hyper. So hyper that we though he was going to just walk last night. He likes to hold on to stuff and stand - but can't figure out how to move his feet yet. It's pretty cute :) So it's been some tired nights in the Carter household. Hopefully it won't last but a few more days/nights. I tried to give him a cherio yesterday. He can't quite pinch it with the tips of his fingers. I sorta showed him to put it in his mouth. He nibbled and then swalled it whole! I freaked out as I thought I was going to have to refer to my "choking chart" to save him. His eyes watered and he was fine - but not quite ready for steak - no matter how many teeth he has now. HA! And so it goes.....

Gator Party

We sure had fun at the Gator party last night. There were other kids there and daddy and the others sure jumped around and screamed alot! They were pretty funny to watch.

More Go Gators!

I've got my game face on!

Cousin Ben inspired us to take some more Gator pictures. Jacob loves the helmet chip bowl :)

Go Gators!

Hi there! Just a few pictures since Christmas. Mommy got daddy this cool Gator banner for our house. We are going to a "gator" party tonight and it's gonna be fun!

I also make a new "face". Yep -I can close my mouth now!!!! I don't drool nearly as much and only go through about 2 bibs a day. I used to soak up about 5 during a day. Mommy likes this face and it makes her giggle as I do it all the time now.

This is me and mommy on our porch. Look at all my teeth! I have 5 now and the 6th one is on it's way!

Christmas 2006 with Grammy and Grampa

Jacob's Daddy here. Here's some video from Jacob's first Christmas, which we spent with Grammy and Grampa in Fort Smith, Arkansas. If you skip part of it, be sure you see the bath segment at 2 min 40 seconds. It's hilarious. More video to come, hopefully before next week.

Bowl Update

My current record is now 11-6 with LSU's big win over Notre lame in the Sugar Bowl. (Read below for more.)

How are your bowl teams doing?

Jacob's Daddy here ... I was going to start my own blog and post this, but then I realized two important things:
1. No one would read it.
2. If someone did read it, they would expect me to post another one, which may never happen. (See Exhibit A: Queep's Blog.)

Here's how I'm doing with the Bowl Games I Care About:

Saturday, Dec. 23

PapaJohns.com Bowl
My pick: South Florida
Winner: South Florida (def. ECU, 24-7)
Why PapaJohns.com? Why not just Papa Johns? Why does every bowl before Christmas have to be the something DOT COM? Anyway, I picked USF because they're from Florida and because they beat an overrated West Virginia team in the regular season. Plus, Tammy's friend Tamira went to USF.

Armed Forces Bowl
My pick: Utah
Winner: Utah (def. Tulsa, 25-13)
I like Utah because current Gators head coach Urban Meyer spent 2 seasons at Utah.

My record so far: 2-0
All right!

Wednesday, Dec. 27

Emerald Bowl
My pick: UCLA
Winner: FSU (44-27)
Florida State actually gets a winning season this year at 7-6. UCLA had 'em until a meltdown in the fourth quarter. At least a Florida State win helps the Gators look better, since we beat them in the regular season.

My record so far: 2-1
and sinking fast...

Thursday, Dec. 28
Independence Bowl
My pick: Alabama (go SEC)
Winner: Oklahomoa State (34-31)
Way to drop the ball for the SEC, 'Bama.

Texas Bowl
My pick: Rutgers
Winner: Rutgers (def. Kansas State, 37-10)
For some reason, Rutgers was the underdog all season. They deserved to play in a better bowl; hopefully their complete workover of K-State will help them out for next season.

My record so far: 3-2

Friday, Dec. 29
Music City Bowl
My pick: Kentucky (Go Laura, Go SEC)
Winner: Kentucky (def. Clemson, 28-20)
Surprise surprise! UK actually won a bowl game! I still can't believe it. Go SEC!!

Liberty Bowl
My pick: South Carolina (Go SEC, Go Spurrier)
Winner: South Carolina (def. Houston, 44-36)
Gotta pull for the SEC. So far, it looks like we really are the toughest conference in the nation.

Champs Sports Bowl
My pick: Purdue
Winner: Maryland (24-7)
I picked Purdue because of the Reese clan. Sorry guys.

My record so far: 5-3

Saturday, Dec. 30

Alamo Bowl
My pick: Texas
Winner: Texas (def. Iowa, 26-24)
Had to root for TX after they blew their shot at the Big 12 Championship Game, if for no other reason than I felt sorry for Pete and Jenn (mainly Jenn). Hook 'em, horns!

Chick-Fil-A (formerly known as Peach) Bowl
My pick: Georgia
Winner: Georgia (def. Va Tech, 31-24)
Gotta pull for the SEC here. I liked it better when it was the Peach Bowl.

My record so far: 7-3
Things are looking up!

Sunday, Dec. 31

MPC Computers Bowl
My pick: Nevada
Winner: Miami (FL) (21-20)
I don't really care about Nevada, I just can't stand Miami. Nevada had the lead, but lost it in the 4th quarter. I guess the blue turf got to them.

My record so far: 7-4

THE BIG DAY: Monday, Jan. 1, 2007

Outback Bowl
My pick: Tennessee
Winner: Penn State (20-10)
Gotta pull for the SEC, but dang, Tennessee looked horrible during this game. It was tied at the half, but Tennessee allowed a fumble return 80+ yards for a TD in the 4th quarter, and they lost hope after that. Oh well.

Cotton Bowl
My pick: Auburn
Winner: Auburn (def. Nebraska, 17-14)
After watching Tennessee take a dump in the Gator Bowl, it was nice to see Auburn take care of business against Nebraska. I hope Pete and Jenn enjoyed this as much as I did.

Capital One (formerly knows as the Citrus) Bowl
My pick: Arkansas
Winner: Wisconsin (17-14)
The SEC really could have used this one. Michigan played two good (i.e. ranked) teams this year: Ohio State and Wisconsin. They lost to OSU; they beat Wisconsin. Wisconsin played one good team this year -- Michigan. So Wisconsin, which seems overrated, should get killed by the Razorbacks. Instead, the Razorbacks don't take advantage of opportunities, and they take a dump on behalf of the SEC.
By the way -- I liked it better when it was the Citrus Bowl.

Rose Bowl
My pick: USC
Winner: USC (def. Michigan, 32-18)
HECK YEAH!!!! Michigan fans who griped and complained that you deserved to be in the national title game instead of Florida, SHUT UP! Yes, I know, your heart wasn't in it. That's the lamest excuse I ever heard.

Fiesta Bowl
My pick: Boise State
Winner: Boise State (def. Oklahoma in one of the best finishes in bowl history, 43-42 in overtime)
If you didn't stay up to watch the end of this game, you missed it. That's all I can say. Everyone in the country outside of the state of Oklahoma was pulling for the so-called underdog here, including me. I would like to officially thank Boise State for getting the orange and blue some positive momentum in Glendale. (For those who didn't know, the national title game, featuring my Florida Gators, will be played on Monday in Glendale, AZ, at the same stadium as the Fiesta Bowl.)

My record so far: 10-6
Not too bad!

Two more to go:
Tonight -- Sugar Bowl, LSU vs. Notre Dame
My pick: LSU
This pick is easy. One, I think Notre Dame is overrated. They are always overrated. And two, course, gotta go for the SEC team. Right now, LSU is looking good; they're up 34-14 at the end of the 3rd quarter. If they can hang on, I'll be an impressive 11-6 in Bowl Games I Care About.

And of course, Monday night -- BCS Championship Game, Florida v. Ohio State
My pick: DUH (Florida Gators)
Here's why I think the Gators will win: First of all, Ohio State expects to walk over them, and the Gators are a lot tougher than the Buckeyes think. Ohio State will have had 51 days off before the game; Florida played two games (including a major win over Arkansas in the SEC Championship) since Ohio State hung it up for the season. But most importantly, the Gators seem to find a way to win. It's not always pretty, but they make it happen, whether it's a last-second interception against Florida State or a blocked field goal and a blocked extra point against South Carolina.

OK, your turn. How did your teams do? Who are you rooting for in the Championship Game? (No pressure, but keep in mind that I officially rooted for any and all teams linked to family members, except Penn State. Sorry Mom.) Add your picks in the comments:

Happy New Year's Day

Hi everyone. Today we all slept in late (I even slept later than usual). Mommy went to the craft store and daddy and I watched some football and of course - the Rose Parade! Then we went to the park as the weather was real nice today. Daddy said we had to eat steaks on New Year's Day so after they put me to bed, they grilled steaks. Daddy goes back to work tomorrow. I sure did enjoy having my daddy around alot more than usual. Our next travel adventure is at the end of this month. We are going with daddy to Savannah for a few days. He will attend a conference while mommy and I go visiting old friends. Happy New Year everyone!