A Visit with Shamu

Today we went to Sea World.  This was Jacob's first visit.  We got to go because Papa's work had a "play day" there, so Mommy, Daddy, Nani, Papa, Uncle RJ, Auntie Sonnia, her mama and Uncle Eddie all went.  The first show were saw was "Pets Rule"  There were doggies, kitties and birdies (and one piggy) in there show.  I think Jacob like the birds the best.  He really didn't get excited until the end of the show when the animals came out to take a bow...that's when he started waving at them.  Then we headed over to see the dolphins.  Those dolphins are AMAZING.  Jacob just stared the whole time while sitting on Nani's lap.  The best part about that show was when the dolphins got the crowd wet.  We were sitting high enough that we didn't get wet, but those dolphins really hit one of the sections HARD.  They kept splashing and splashing.  Those poor people were DRENCHED!  But I guess they loved it otherwise they wouldn't have sat there.  After that show we rushed over to see the sea otter show.  They were kind of boring and Jacob was getting a little anzy.  He just wanted to get up and walk around.  After the otters we saw the main show...Shamu!  Before the show Jacob was able to walk around a little to stretch out his legs.  I think he like the show.  He was pointing to Shamu at certin points.   Later in the afternoon we went to see the sharks, penguins and polar bears.  Jacob LOVED the sharks and kept pointing to them as they swam near us.  I think that was his favorite part of the day.  Of course Nani bought him a shamu stuffed animal.  You can't go to sea world and not get a shamu stuffy!

The weather was great for the most part.  It was cool and cloudy and then just as we were about ready to leave it started to drizzle.  The big boys had to play some carnival games and while they played the rain came down pretty hard.  Luckily, mommy brought the rain gear for the stroller so Jacob didn't get wet at all.  We walked VERY fast to the car and drove home.  We had a great time and Jacob saw animals he had never seen before. Thank you to Papa for getting us tickets!  I'm sure we will be back again, and we know Jacob will be wanting to sit in the Soak Zone to get wet by the dolphins and Shamu.  So until next time...mommy and daddy love you!

0 comments - Posted by Missy Roberts at 8:21 PM - Categories: About Jake

He's growing up so fast

It seems like in the past few weeks Jacob has been turning into a big boy.  He is starting to feed himself with a spoon.  The other morning he got the spoon and fed himself some oatmeal.  Tonight at dinner he was eating mashed potatoes with his spoon.  Of course they were all over the place, but he is trying.  He is also starting to run around everywhere, most he is running away from me when it's time for a diaper change.  Sometimes his body isn't fast enough for his brain and he trips over himself.  He is really trying to talk too.  Yesterday he said "YES" but not for any particular reason...he just kept saying "yes"  I don't know if it's a sound he's making or actually a word.

Yesterday he was playing with his crayons made for toddlers and he ended up pulling the crayon out of the holder and putting it in his mouth.  I wish they would make those things so that kids can't pull the crayons out.  Today at stroller strides he tried to escape from the tennis courts through a small gap in the fence.  Of course no other child noticed the gap except for Jacob.  He was halfway out by the time I got to him and he had a HUGE smile on his face like he was almost able to get away with something.

He is FINALLY holding the bottle on his own.  I completely spoiled him and kept holding the bottle for him.  The other day he grabbed it when we sat down in the chair and fed himself.  He is also getting a lot better with a sippy cup.  I think in the next couple of weeks we will be completely off the bottle.  He is also going down the slide by himself now.  I think he was a little fearful of the slide, but now he loves it.  He is also trying to reach up to the door handle.  He's almost there and when he is finally able to reach he will know what to do.  I did the mistake of allowing him to open the door when I go to change his diaper so he knows how the handle works.  Uh Oh...I don't think they make safety covers for our type of doors...we'll have to look into that one.

He still LOVES to dance.  Every night we put the music on and he gets down...really, he is moving his head swaying his arms and bouncing up and down.  He's even got a bit of a twist going on.  He is HYSTERICAL to watch.  He prefers some songs over others because with some songs he simply bounces up and down but with others, he is a dancing machine.

ON Monday we went to have lunch at Rainforest Cafe with some of Bill's employees.  I was showing Jacob the gorilla (while it wasn't moving) and then all of a sudden it made a movement and a large gorilla sound.  It startled Jacob so bad that he started crying and clinched onto me so tight.  I felt so bad for him. During lunch everytime ne heard the gorilla he grabbed on to me and we were sitting far from that silly gorilla.

I'm sure he will be doing more things in the near future and I will have to remember to write them all down.  So until then...mommy and daddy love you!

0 comments - Posted by Missy Roberts at 8:15 PM - Categories: About Jake

Daddy has a boo-boo

On Thursday, Daddy had surgery on his finger.  They had to re-attach his tendon!  Jacob spent most of the day with Nani at the office and then Papa picked him up and took him to the park and they played there for a long time.  Jacob didn't come home until it was almost his bed time.  It was great that Jacob was with his Nani and Papa because he would not have done well at the outpatient center, but I sure did miss him!  Daddy is doing much better now.  He is on some pain medication but he can still play with Jacob, just a little less than normal.

Friday we stayed home to help out daddy.  Jacob was so tired the whole day.  He didn't sleep well Thursday night and then he took two naps during the day on Friday but both got interrupted by phone calls, so he was a grumpy little dude ALL DAY!!!!  He went to bed early and woke up in a much better mood this morning. 

So this morning we woke up and went to Stroller Strides.  Nani was able to join us too...it was pretty fun.  After mommy's workout Jacob played at the park with Nani and his friends.  He must have really played hard because when he got home he took a 3 hour nap!!!  So mommy and daddy snuck in a nap too!  AFter he woke up and had some lunch (late) we went to check out the Open House at "My Gym."  Jacob had fun running around in there.  He loved jumping on the small trampoline and climbing up and down these stairs they had there.  Daddy was cracking up at him on the trampoline.  A few times he really got some air!  I was surprised at how much he jumped on it.  Of course we won't sign up for classes, they are VERY expensive...but we will try to go back tomorrow for another free time.  Hey, we'll take anything we can get for free!!!

At dinner tonight, Jacob drank his milk from his sippy cup.  He did pretty well with it.  He had a little bit left, so I put it in a plastic cup to see how he would do with that.  He really likes drinking out of a cup.  I was holding it for him for a while, but then I let him go for it and hold it himself.  He did REALLY well with it.  He only spilled a little bit of the milk and only once did he drink too much to make himself cough.  I think he really liked drinking from the cup because after each drink he had a big smile on his face and he was making this really cute face where he blinked his eyes really hard and had a grin from ear to ear.  He is so adorable!!!

During his bath we put out a new toy.  It's a small basketball hoop.  He played with it the ENTIRE bath.  I guess I can say that he loves it.  He didn't play with any of the other toys in the tub and he didn't even touch his cup which is what he always ends up playing with after he's done with the other toys.  This was a great birthday present from his friend Aidan (and Auntie Erin, Uncle Will and Randy!).

Alright, time for mommy to hit the hay...my head is hurting pretty bad right now,so I'm going to bed early...so until next time...mommy and daddy love you!

0 comments - Posted by Missy Roberts at 7:51 PM - Categories: About Jake

First Birthday Party

Today was Jacob's first birthday party. It was Mickey Mouse themed. I made mickey mouse hat centerpieces out of styrofoam balls and painted them black and then put someof our favorite pictures on them. We also had a wall dedicated to pictures of Jacob throughout his first year. We had balloons and mickey mouse confetti. There was a Mickey Mouse jumper that all the kids (and some mommies and daddies too) jumped in. All of Jacob's family and friends came to the party. We had a full house. The little kids had fun playing in our small play yard. I think the ball pit was a hit. The Taco Man came to feed us all some yummy chicken, carne asada and carnitas tacos with rice and beans. It was YUMMY. WE got a HUGE cake that had the disney characters all over it. The cake was so big we were trying to give cake away at the end of the party.

Last night Jacob stayed over at his Nani and Papa's so that we could get some stuff done last night and this morning without having to watch Jacob. Nani took him to the park in the morning and then he came home and took a very short nap. Bill and I were getting everything ready for the big day. Everything went smoothly until I tried blowing up his Mickey balloons. One had a hole in it and the other one wouldn't even blow up. I had to go back to Party City and get them to give me new balloons and have them put helium in them because the tank we bought ran out of helium! OH NO! Other than that the morning ran smoothly and everything was ready to go by 12pm when the party started. We were pleasantly surprised to see the entire Ahlswede family come to the party. Baby Donovan, only 2 weeks old was here too! I was so excited to see him. I got him out of his car seat and held him and then Jacob came over to me almost immediately and hung on to my legs. I think he got a little jealous.

Jacob had a good time jumping with his daddy and friends in the jumper. I think his daddy had a little more fun than Jacob did. Jacob also had a good time playing inside the house with all his friends and cousins. When it came time for the pinata, we had each of the kids pull a string but then the candy never fell out. UH oh...so cousin Chris and Uncle Gerad had to drop the pinata from the balcony a couple of times to make the pinata break open. Then all the kids went diving in for the candy. It was so much fun to watch. Jacob was a little overwhelmed by it all. Then we cut the cake. Like I said the cake was a lot bigger than we expected. Everyone sang happy birthday to Jacob and we let him eat a small cupcake. He mainly ate the frosting, really not wanting the cake part. When it came time to open the presents, He was more interested in reading one of the books than he was opening gifts. There were so many presents to open that mommy and daddy tag teamed and opened one right after the other. Poor Whitney was taking notes and I think she might have gotten a cramp in her hand from writing so much so fast.

A couple of times during the party he got sleepy and layed his head down on my shoulder, but only for a few minutes. Then he got his second, third and fourth winds and went crazy again. When most everyone had left only Gerad, Brendan and Christian and his parents remained. We all went in the jumper and went crazy! Jacob and Christian were so tired by then so they didn't want to jump too much.

We had a great time today. Again, I can't believe the first year went by so fast. I was looking at some of the pictures on the wall and it seems like just yesterday that we took most of them. Now our baby is a big boy wanting to run not walk and wanting to gain lots of independence. Anway, today was a fun day and I can't wait to see all the pictures we took. So until next time...mommy and daddy love you!

For only having a 45 minute nap today, Jacob was GREAT with everyone there.

0 comments - Posted by Missy Roberts at 8:03 PM - Categories: About Jake

Playing in the sand

This morning at the park Jacob finally discovered the sand.  He's been walking on it forever now, but he's never actually bent down and really stuck his hands in it.  He loved it today.  He began digging his hands in the sand and got VERY dirty.  I actually had to take off his shoes before he got in the car and for the first time there was sand in his shoes.  Of all days I had his pants cuffed up so when I uncuffed them, tons of sand came out.  It was so fun to watch him explore all that there was to do with the sand.  I think he may have even gotten a taste of it when I wasn't looking.

This weekend is his 1st birthday party.  We have been busy preparing for that, though he has no idea what is going on.  He just plays all over the house.  He loves going in the ball pit and throwing the balls out of the pit.  Mommy and daddy especially love when he does that because then they get to pick up all the balls.  We've noticed that he loves taking, actually throwing, things out of where they belong.  He got a wagon full of blocks for Christmas and he loves taking the blocks out and either handing them to whoever is close by or throws them on the ground.  He has become a good sharer.  Many times he will hand you what he is playing with at the time, but then he wants it back right away.  Everyone comments on his walk.  Now both arms sway back and forth next to his body.  He walks with an attitude.  Yesterday the mommies at Stroller Strides were laughing at him as he was walking around the tennis court like he owned the place.  When we are at the park he hates it when it's time to go.  He loves running around, climing on the jungle gym and going down the slide.  I think his favorite thing to do is climb up and down the stairs, which of course makes mommy nervous. He likes to swing too.  Today he walked over to the swing and kept touching the swing until I lifted him up into the swing.  He just kicked back and enjoyed the ride on the swing with his hair blowing in the breeze. 

When eating we know when he's done because he will either throw the food over the edge of the tray onto the floor or he will "hide" it on the seat.  He takes a piece of food, when he thinks we are not looking, and stick it under the tray either on his leg or between his leg and the chair.  He thinks he is being slick, but we know better than that.  New foods he's had lately include broccoli (Nani gave him some the other day and he ate it!), oranges (He loves the oranges, but the juice runs down his face and it gets everywhere), and he finally likes his vanilla flavored soy milk.  Last night, he drank half of his milk out of big boy cup practically all by himself.  Of course we had to take him out of his shirt after because it was all wet, but he got a good majority of it in his tummy.  He loved drinking out of the cup and didn't like it when mommy tried to help him.  He also loves avocado.  The other day I had a salad that had avocado on it and I did the mistake of giving him a bite and the next thing I knew, I no longer had any avocado because he ate it all.  For breakfast he loves pancakes, french toast and waffles, but I think he likes his blueberry waffles the best. 

He is doing much better with his naps now.  He will usually take at least an hour and 45 minute naps, but sometimes they are 2 hours.  It is so great now that he is taking longer naps.  I get lots of stuff done which is great. He will even sleep through the telephone ringing, assuming it doesn't ring just as he's falling asleep. 

Well speaking of naps, he is due to be waking up from his nap anytime now, so I better get going.  So until next time...mommy and daddy love you!

0 comments - Posted by Missy Roberts at 1:26 PM - Categories: About Jake

Got Milk?

We tried to transition Jacob from formula to whole milk yesterday.  When he woke up in the morning I gave him a bottle of milk.  He took a couple of gulps and then started crying.  After calming him down and another couple of gulps, he cried some more. Finally I was able to get him to drink about 2/3 of the bottle.

In the afternoon I tried giving him another bottle and he screamed the whole time after taking his first sip.  He would not even let me get the nipple close to his mouth.  It reminded me of when he would not take the bottle when he was about 6 months old.  So I tried a sippy cup and all he did was play with it. He did manage to get a couple of drinks in and then red spots turned up all over his face, including on his eyes.  He definitely is having some type of reaction to dairy products.  So this morning, after our morning workout, we stopped at the store and got some Soy Milk.  He did alright with his first bottle, but apparently when Nani and Papa were watching him this evening, he would not take it from them.  AFter a lot of crying he managed to drink about 5 ounces from me when he got home.  This little one just does not do well with transition when it comes to liquids.  I am hoping he does better with the soy milk tomorrow.  It is definitely trying when he is so against drinking his milk.

Also today for the first time EVER, Jacob took a 3 hour nap. After about 2 hours I kept going in to check on him because the longest he's ever gone is 2 hours.  But he was sound asleep.  I guess he was up a little too late last night and didn't want to sleep in this morning, so he made up for it this afternoon. 

Well, we'll have to see how he does with the soy milk tomorrow...so until next time...mommy and daddy love you!

0 comments - Posted by Missy Roberts at 8:03 PM - Categories: About Jake

One Year Doctor Checkup

Yesterday Jacob went to see Dr. Gladstein for his one year check up.  He weighed in at 22lbs 3 ounces and measured in at 30 1/2 inches long.  He is in the 45th and 75th percentiles, respectively.  The doctor checked him out and everything looked great. He gave us the go ahead to put him on whole cows milk despite his reaction to cheese and yogurt.  We will actually start with the milk tomorrow morning.  This evening he had a scrambled egg and vegetables for dinner.  This was his first go at eggs and he seemed to like them. 

I was getting stuff ready for his birthday party next weekend and he was playing with one of the toys that will go in some of the goodie bags.  It was a little car and when he was moving it on the chair he was making his version of car sounds, it was so cute.  Daddy got it on video so he can see it later.  He is also getting good at showing us where his ears are.  THe other day I saw him covering his ears so I asked him where his ears were and he covered his ears again.  He thinks it's funny to do that so everytime we ask where are your ears, he holds his hands over his ears and starts to laugh.  When asked "where's your nose" he touches my nose instead of his.  I keep trying to have him touch his own nose, but he thinks it's much more fun to touch my nose.  He was also very loving today and gave me LOTS of wet kisses...I loved every one of them.

Thursday night, the night before his dr. appointment, he woke up at midnight screaming at the top of his lungs.  Nothing Bill or I did seemed to calm him down. Finally after about 15-20 minutes of the shrieking cry, Bill layed him down on the floor.  After a couple of seconds he sat up and started to look around and wasn't crying as hard.  So I picked him up and I was able to calm him down finally.  We think it was a night terror.  It was seriously one of the most horrible things we've experienced with him thus far.  I felt so bad for him that he just would not be soothed by either of us.  Poor baby, I hope he doesn't get one of those again.

Alright, time for bed...so until next time....mommy and daddy love you!

0 comments - Posted by Missy Roberts at 9:15 PM - Categories: About Jake

Goodbye 2007 Hello 2008

Well last night we all rang in 2008 in our dreams!  Sad to say, but all of were asleep when the new year came.  This morning we hung out a little at home, then went to visit Nani and Papa in the late morning.  In the afternoon, Grandpa, Aunt Alana and Jeanne all came over to watch the Rose Bowl with Daddy.  Aunt Alana and Jeanne made us some yummy spinach artichoke dip and corn chowder soup.  Jacob like the soup a lot.  He also had a lot of fun playing with Jeanne.  They were chasing eachother around the island in the kitchen for a long time.

2007 was an amazing year.  We got to see Jacob grow up so much.  He went from being a little tiny baby into a walking toddler with an attitude.  I can still remember this day last year, holding him in my arms for almost the entire day.  He slept most of the day and today, he hardly wanted to nap, he was too busy playing most of the time.  What a difference a year makes.  He experienced so many "firsts" this year.  His first smile, we were so excited when he actually smiled at us...now you can't get him to stop smiling.  The first time he rolled over, now we wish that he couldn't roll over, especially when we are trying to change a dirty diaper.  The first time he crawled, now we make fun of him when he crawls and call him a "baby"  His first steps and now he is practically running.  I remember some of his first outings and now he loves being out and on the go.  I can remember wanting to get out of the house when he was just a few weeks old, but not wanting to take him into high public traffic areas so Bill and I would go together and he would wait in the car with Jacob as I ran into Target for a speed shopping spree to get everything we needed.  I remember leaving Jacob for the first time so I could go grocery shopping, I was so sad and wished I could take him with me.  Now, I love the times I can go grocery shopping without him...it's just so much easier.  I can remember the first time I put him to sleep in his crib in his own room.  I think I cried a little that night as I layed him down in the crib, he was growing up so fast and I wanted to keep him in our room forever, now, when he does come into our room to sleep, I get now sleep because he is kicking me or elbowing me and I am wishing he was in his own bed asleep so that I can sleep comfortably.  I remember switching him from his carrier car seat to his "big boy" car seat.  he learned to play with so many toys during this year.  I can think back to the time I put him in his floor play gym and how I wished he would grab up for one of the hanging animals.  Now he is throwing balls and blocks all over the house. 

2007 was a wonderful year for us.  We've experienced so much, learned a lot about being parents to Jacob, and had TONS of fun with him.  I pray that we are blessed with another wonderful year full of many more memories with our little boy and that we cherish every moment we have with him...including the tantrum moments :)  So until next time....mommy and daddy love you!

0 comments - Posted by Missy Roberts at 10:27 PM - Categories: About Jake