Jacob Roberts, please stand up

Well last night Nani spent the night again and she and Jacob were up playing at 2am!  I was not a happy camper about that.  Of course she said he was hungry, but I stuck to my guns and did not give him a bottle, which was good, but he was still up for an hour playing with his Nani...not exactly the thing I had in mind.  The goal is to get him to sleep through the night, not to wake up to eat or PLAY!!!  I know she's the grandma and just wants to play with him, but at 2 o'clock in the morning, give me a break!

So we were all tired waking up this morning.  Papa came and picked the three of us up and we went to Grand-Nina's to have breakfast.  She made some yummy food.  We stayed there visiting with her until the early afternoon.  Then we headed back to Nani and Papas.  Then Papa kicked us out at about 5:30...I guess he wanted some piece and quiet and didn't want to have to chase Jacob up and down the stairs.  Yes, he has definitely discovered stairs.  He was loving it at his Nani and Papa's house because they have a set of three stairs, just perfect for him, not too overwhelming.  So he was climbing them while we were there.  He was also standing up by himself a lot today for longer periods of time...a whole 20 seconds!!!! WOW!  Most of the time when he's standing on his own it's because he is holding on to something, either his cell phone (yes he has his own cel phone, Papas old one) or a toy.  But there were a few times when he just let go and stood there for a while.  He is even starting to squat while standing and then stands straight again.  I can't believe it.  Those little chunky legs have some muscle.  I'm afraid he will be taking his first steps sooner rather than later.  I was thinking that he would be walking by his first birthday and at this point, I'm almost positive that will happen...Now I'm thinking he will be walking by the time his auntie Vanessa gets married in the middle of November.  We'll have to wait and see.

Daddy is still in Chicago.  He went to the White Sox game today with a couple of friends.  It sounds like he's having a good time in Chicago, but he misses us a lot and Jacob and I miss him too.  Only 4 more days until we see him.  I think Jacob and I might pick him up at the airport instead of him getting a ride home with his friend.  We miss him too much!  So, until next time...mommy and daddy love you (and daddy misses you!).

Posted by Missy Roberts at 8:20 PM - Categories: About Jake

A day with the ladies

Today was Auntie Vanessa's Bridal Shower.  Jacob spent the morning with Nani as mommy was getting ready for the shower.  As guests started to arrive, one little girl, an older woman (2 1/2 years old) came and when saying hi to her, Jacob leaned over and gave her a kiss!   WHAT????  He doesn't even give his mommy kisses like that!  We had a little talk about that later in the evening.  He had a good time playing with the two little girls that were here Hope 2 1/2 years and Alexis 1 year.  I think he was wanting to impress the ladies and show them he could do more than crawl and walk with his lion, so while they were all playing with the activity table, he let go and was standing on his own for a good 5 to 10 seconds.  At this time Vanessa was opening her presents so I have to admit my eyes were not on him but when I looked over he was standing there all by himself.  I couldn't believe my eyes.  I was so excited, but I also wanted to cry, it's sad that my baby is getting bigger:(, but that's a good thing.  So for the rest of the day, he let go of the couch or the lion or me and stood there for a few seconds all by himself.  Mainly it's when he's olding on to something in his hands, especially his cell phone.  I think he is distracted by looking at something and he doesn't realize he's standing alone!  what a big boy!  Of course I had to call daddy and tell him the big news.  He was visiting a friend of his in Chicago so of course he had to share the news with them.  It's so funny how we get so excited about the first time Jacob does anything...but it's the very first time in his life that he is experiencing these things and they are big deals to us!

My baby is getting begger everyday!  I can't believe it...now I just have to get him to sleep through the night!  Last night, Nani spent the night with us and she experienced the wrath of Jacob at night.  I think he woke up crying about 3 or 4 times!  One time I had to feed him because he would not go back to sleep.  I told Nani that tonight if he wakes up crying because he's hungry, he is crying until he either (a) falls asleep or (b) it's 7:00am and it's time for his morning bottle.  I am done giving him a bottle in the middle of the night.  He has gotten into this habit the last couple of nights and I cannot let it go any further.  Since daddy is out of town I don't have to worry about keeping him awake at night.  I can stay up all night if I have to hearing him cry.  But I will not feed him at night any more...sorry Jacob, but you either eat when the sun is out or you don't eat at all, that's mommy's new rule:)  The only exception I'll make is your bottle right before bedtime (because it's already dark then).  So we'll see how this new tactic goes.  Say a prayer for us that he catches on quick and we only have one sleepless night:)  So until next time when hopefully we have more sleep...mommy and daddy love you and daddy misses you lots!

Posted by Missy Roberts at 8:26 PM - Categories: About Jake

Climbing stairs!

Today daddy left for a business trip to Chicago.  He will be away from us for 6 days.  Jacob and mommy already miss him.  Today we spend getting ready for Auntie Vanessa's bridal shower.  Jacob didn't let me get much done though because he was stuck to me like glue.  The living room was empty so that we could put some tables in there so he had fun walking around the room with his lion.  There was nothing to get in his way except for the walls:)  I caught him looking at himself in the mirror in the dining room.  He stands up on it (and gets fingerprints all over it) and laughs at the baby staring back at him.  Today he was kissing himself.  It was so cute!  He is trying to stand up on his own without holding on to anything.  He's gotten as far as putting one knee on the ground and then lifting the other leg up, but he can't quite pull himself up from there yet.  He is talking a lot more and grunting a lot more, especially at me when I am tell him not to do something he is wanting to do.  Oh yes, he discovered the stairs today.  I was sitting on the stairs watching him walk around the living room.  He came over to me and pulled himself up on the stair.  He made it all the way up to the first landing (about 4 steps I think).  Of course I was right behind him the whole time.  He thought he made a HUGE accomplishment becasue when he got to the "top" he looked back at me and gave me a big smile and wanted some praise.  I was thinking about wheter or not to praise him, because do I really want him going up and down the stairs???  But, of course I clapped for him.  Ultimately, he is going to go up and down, but I will always be there and most of the time he won't be in the living room anyway becasue the gate will be up to keep him out!  So we had a little fun today:)

Tomorrow we are having Auntie Vanessa's bridal shower at our house.  We are excited about this big event.  Jacob will be in attendance, probably the only boy again!  Daddy is in Chicago, Papa has to work and Uncle RJ...well do we really want him watching Jacob??? First, he's never changed a diaper and second, who knows what he will teach Jacob to do!  So he will be hanging out with the girls.  I'm sure he'll want to walk around with his lion all day like he does everyday:)  So until next time...mommy and daddy love you (and daddy misses you!)

Posted by Missy Roberts at 10:10 PM - Categories: About Jake

9 months old

Happy 9 month birthday my baby!  I can't believe that Jacob is already 9 months old.  I was reflecting today on the day Jacob was born and it is still unbelievable to me.  I don't think I could even imagine what he was going to be like 9 months later.  He is an active happy baby.  This morning we went for our doctor's checkup.  Jacob is now 19 lbs 9 oz and is 28 3/4 inches long.  He is doing much better weight wise.  He is no longer in the 20th percentile...now he's in the 40th!  YIPPEE.  Our baby is gaining some weight.  Dr. Gladstein was very impressed with Jacob's smile.  Jacob was so inquisitive with all the instruments Dr. Gladstein was using to check his eyes, ears and heart.  He was most amused with the eye light.  He couldn't figure out what that light was doing.  So cute.  He did not like it when the Dr. was trying to check out his teeth.  He stuck a tounge depresser in his mouth to open his mouth up and Jacob was not having it.  He tried to shut his lips so tight, but the doctor finally got him to open his mouth.  Then the nurse came in to take some blood so they could check his hemoglobin to check for anemia and he did great with the prick and was still when the blood was coming out.  It was as though the nurse wasn't doing anything to him.  THen he had a flu shot.  He only cried for a couple seconds and then he was fine and all smiles again.  He is such a good boy.  The doctor did tell us that he can definitely be eating table food now.  I don't know why, but I was hesitating on starting that.  I think I thought he was still too young, but the doctor looked at me funny when I said he was eating baby veggies and fruit.  DUH mom, he can have big people food too, like enchiladas, pizza, etc.  I was hungry and the doctor was making me more hungry when he was describing all the food Jacob could have and would probably like.  So today for dinner I made some wheat pasta with spinach, tomatoes and mushrooms.  Jacob just had the plain pasta and some cheese and he loved both.  At first I couldn't tell if he liked the pasta and then he was gobbling it up.  He also ate some squash and then about 20 minutes later he gobbled down 6 ounces of formula.  I guess he was hungry:)

He is standing up on everything now.  Today while I was making dinner he was standing up holding on to the dishwasher and trying to kiss it.  I think he could see his reflection in it and was trying to give the cute baby a kiss.  He let go a couple of times and stayes up for about a second...longer than the split second a couple of days ago.  He is definitely getting more brave about letting go.  He also "walks" around EVERYWHERE pushing his lion.  He's already figured out that the carpet is too small of an area for him, so he is now venturing into the kitchen with the lion.  It is so funny to watch him walk behind that thing.  I can't wait to see what new things are in store for him.  So until next time...mommy and daddy love you!

Posted by Missy Roberts at 8:14 PM - Categories: About Jake

Lots of catching up to do

Well we've been busy this past week and I haven't been good about writing.  Last Thursday Jacob had his first official "play date"  that sounds so funny.  We went to his friend, Christians' house from swim class.  Jacob and Christian were so funny together. Christian is 11 months old and will be one on Oct. 14th (mommy's birthday).  The two boys got along great.  They were so interested in eachother when we first arrived.  They spent the first couple of minutes just staring at eachother and wanting to touch eachother.  they played with toys together and even had some conversations.  Christian's mommy, Christina and I had fun interpreting what they were saying to eachother. 

On Friday we went to the Mattel outlet to get Jacob some stuff.  New toys, like he really needs them.  Actually, he doesn't have too many toys and we wanted to get him some stuff he could play with while standing and something he could push around.  We got a play table with some cool stuff on it and this really cool lion that he can push while "walking."  That lion is his favorite thing now.  It plays music while he's walking and sometimes he has to stop to "dance" a little (I think he gets that from his mommy!).  He was so excited when we got it home.  He got right up on it and took a couple steps and then the top half of his body was moving faster than the bottom half and he fell a couple of times, but got right back up and kept going.  He would take a break after a couple of steps and look at his mommy and daddy for approval.  He was so proud of himself and we were very proud of him too.  We spent a lot of time clapping for him that night.  He was so adorable.

Saturday, Nani came over in the early afternoon to watch Jacob so that mommy and daddy could go to the UCLA football game.  It was raining all night Friday and early Saturday morning, so Nani's plans of taking Jacob shopping were shot.  So they just hung out at the house and played.  Papa came over after he got off work and we're not too sure exactly what happened, but I'm sure they all had fun.  We do know that Jacob did not finish his bottle right before bedtime because someone (Papa?) gave him too many cheerios with his dinner.  oh well, I guess that's what grandparents are for.  So that night we were up at 3:30 giving Jacob a bottle!  We'll forgive Papa this time!

Sunday afternoon Grandma and Grandpa came over.  They had not seen Jacob in a while and were surprised to see his teeth and him munching on his cheerios.  They were very impressed by the speed of his crawling and got a kick out of him walking with his lion.  We went to an early dinner with them, but unfortunately, we decided to go around Jacob's nap time and though he wasn't a bad baby at the restaurant, he wasn't on his best behavior either.  I don't know how many times I had to get up to get the toy he threw on the ground.  Finally after the (what felt like) the millionth time, I took the toy away and thats when it got a little more difficult.  But we managed and didn't disrupt the people around us (too much).  I think the guy behind me only got hit once with Jacob's stuffed toy!  opps sorry:(  After dinner grandma and grandpa stayed to watch a movie, but Jacob was way too tired for that and conked out within the first five minutes, leaving mommy and daddy able to enjoy the movie too!

Today we played a little in the morning.  He is getting much better at walking with the lion.  He will now walk across the family room without stopping and has some speed on him too.  He is trying to learn how to turn the lion around so he can head back.  He doesn't like when the couch stops him.   He is getting smarter too.  When we try to block areas from him, he tries to find ways of getting through.  I put the playpin in between the couch and the fish tank and he manages to crawl in between the play pin and the couch to make his way over to the kitchen.  His brain is definitely thinking all the time.

I found his journal from Yosemite and now I just have to find the time to type it.  Hopefully sometime before the end of the week!

So until next time...mommy and daddy love you!

Posted by Missy Roberts at 10:28 PM - Categories: About Jake

Home Again

Well we've been home from Yosemite for a few days now.  Jacob had a great time there and loved the cold water of the Merced River on his feet.  I have a journal I kept for him that I will have to post when I have lots of time to type.  For now let's just say, he had fun watching the squirrels, birdies, riding in his bike trailer and stroller, and taking baths out in the open on the picnic table!  We even had a bear in our campground one night.  Good thing he didn't get to anything and we were able to scare him off. 

Jacobs two bottom teeth finally broke threw when we were there.  You could barely see them, but you could feel them.  You can see them a little more now, but daddy still has a hard time seeing them.  Jacob is becoming much more vocal now.  He is making lots of different sounds, but his favorite to make is "who."  He sounds like a little owl.  He is starting to get brave and let go of the couch while standing up.  He manages to stay standing for a fraction of a second, but it's a little longer than before.  Tonight while getting a bath, he was splashing in the water so much that I was pretty much soaked by the time the bath was over...I should have just gotten in with him.  He was having a great time in there.  We haven't been to swim in a while.  We obviously missed last week because we were gone and this morning Jacob was still taking a nap when it was time to go.  I didn't want to wake him up from it because he had only been sleeping for about 20 minutes and I want him to sleep as much as he needs to.  Hopefully his nap schedule won't conflict with swim on Thursday. 

Jacob is getting into more and more things now.  He has learned how to pull plugs out of their sockets, so he have to keep an extra close eye on him.  He has also learned to open the drawer underneath the stove.  I think daddy needs to put the safety clips in the kitchen now.  Today I was making something in the oven and Jacob kept wanting to touch the oven.  I finally had to make a barricade between the couch and the fish tank using his playpin.  He was clever and found a way through that so I had to add his exersaucer and then he was trapped.  He is constantly on the move and does not like to sit still.  He would rather be standing than sitting.  I think it makes him feel bigger:)

Okay, now the "gross" stuff.  Yesterday he had one diaper that had a little diarrhea in it.  I didn't think it was that big of a deal, but today after his normal morning poop, he had three more diapers with diarrhea throughout the day.  I'll have to watch him tomorrow.  If it continues, I'll call the doctor just to make sure everything is okay.  I don't want to be too paranoid or anything, but I also want to make sure he's okay!

Alright, time to try to go to sleep early.  I'm tired!  So until next time...mommy and daddy love you!

Posted by Missy Roberts at 8:16 PM - Categories: About Jake

Preparing for Yosemite

This morning we went and had our new car seat installed properly.  Bill actually installed it correctly, we just had to tighten it some more.  Jacob was not pleased when he first got in the car seat.  The straps were a little uneven and one side was much tighter than the other.  Later in the evening I was looking online to figure out how to fix the straps and realized our carseat is being recalled!   ARe you kidding me????  Apparently something is wrong with the straps (which is why they were uneven and the manufacturer just has to send out a fix-it kit.  Unfortunately, Jacob will have to use his old car seat for our trip to Yosemite.  Oh well.  I'm glad I found that out before we left. 

This evening I noticed a little bump on Jacob's head.  Neither Bill nor I really knew when he got that. We think he got it while we were messing with the playyard in the guest room.  He was playing on the floor near the end table and then all of a sudden he started crying.  Maybe he hit is head on the table.  Oopps!  I guess this is the first of several bumps on the head...hopefully they are all minor like this one was.  I was going to take a picture, but he fell asleep before I had a chance, maybe I will take it in the morning, if it's still there! (hopefully it won't be:) )

The rest of the day we spent preparing for our trip.  There is a lot of packing to do for the little one.  We have everything ready to go as we will depart at 3am on Friday morning.  It will be a long day, and I hope Jacob does well with the ride there.  We'll just have to pray for that. 

I think I'm a little nervous because I can't sleep (which is why I'm writing at this insane hour) and my neck is starting to hurt again.  Oh well, I'm sure it will all go away once we get there. 

So we will write again when we return from our camping trip and write about everything that happened up there.  I am bringing a notebook to keep a journal for Jacob and then I can transfer it onto the blog.  So until then...mommy and daddy love you!

Posted by Missy Roberts at 12:05 AM - Categories: About Jake

We love Jacob

Since our last post Jacob is doing much better.  Since Sunday night, he hasn't woken up in the middle of the night to eat.  YEAH!!! He still wakes up and cries when he can't find his pacifier, but once we find it (usually on the floor) and give it back to him, he is right back to sleep.  Jake is crawling all over the place and he is FAST!  He is climbing up on everything he can get his hands on.  He loves to sit by the sliding glass door and tries to stand up by scaling the door.  He is so funny.  He has managed to do this a couple of times now.  He pulls himself up on the couch and walks back and forth.  He loves to move the rocking chair back and forth too.  This morning I put the TV on and there was a Mickey Mouse cartoon on and Jacob crawled to the TV and stood up and stared.  Of course I had to pull him off becasue he was too close to the TV and like my grandma always said, he's going to go cross-eyed...So I turned off the TV.  He shouldn't really be watching right now anyway:)  But it was cute to see that he was so amazed by it and Mickey Mouse.

8 months old and still no teeth.  I really can see them, they just want to stay in the gums a little longer.  I hope they come out soon.  They don't seem to be bothering him this week and I hope it stays that way.

Jacob LOVES his Cheerios now.  I think Friday was the first day he actually managed to put one in his mouth and chew.  He asks (in his grunting sort of way) for more when there are no more on his tray.  Today, he starting putting another one in his mouth before he was finished eating the first one...he is definitely his daddy's son.  I had to stop him from doing that.  So now I can only put one cheerio on his tray at a time otherwise I think he might put all of them in his mouth at the same time.  He is also drinking his bottles better now

Jacob also drank some water out of a cup for the first time on Sunday.  I think he really liked it.  He felt like a big boy.  We also tried giving him watermelon and he didn't like it, just like his Grandma. 

Tomorrow we are going to have Jake's car seat installed by someone who knows what they are doing.  They sure don't make those things easy to put in.  The instructions are written in a different language.  It's not easy to follow.  Bill and I were laughing this weekend that two college educated people can't figure out how to install a car seat in the car.  Oh well.  We are hoping to get it in before we leave for Yosemite this Friday.   Bill and I had some reservations about going camping with Jacob especially since he was a little pill last week.  But he's back to normal now and we are really excited about taking him to Yosemite for the first time.  He will be the youngest person in the Ulloa family to go to Yosemite.  I can't wait to take a picture of all of us at the end of the tunnel.  Monday morning Bill put Jacob in his bike seat and took him for a spin up and down the street.  He looked so cute with his little helmet on.  We can't wait to take him bike riding and of course take him to the famous "water hole"  it's a Ulloa family tradition. 

Well, I need to get back to packing for our big vacation.  So until next time...mommy and daddy love you!

Posted by Missy Roberts at 8:29 PM - Categories: About Jake