Bath Time - A Little Older

Amy thought it had been quite some time since we took some pictures of Jacob in the bathtub. We have changed from the hard-sided tub with a sling, to just the tub, to a new inflatable tub. The toys are still the same, just a few more and a couple less. The reason for the couple less is that Jacob enjoys taking a bite out of them on occasion and then swallowing the plastic. So, those do get exchanged/replaced on occasion. Jacob enjoys his baths and sometimes more than others. We are able to splash him a little bit without too much turmoil... Well, not really any, but we don't dowse him either. Anyway, here are some pictures of Jacob in the tub, just a little older...What?!?! Are you taking a picture of ME??? I'm not so sure about this... I am going to have to give you a Jacob chop! Hiee yah!!!Boy!! This bath stuff sure wears me out!! Good thing mommy and on occasion daddy gives it to me right before I got to bed.

If It Isn't Nailed Down...

If it isn't nailed down and it is the right height or at least good enough, Jacob is pushing it around the house. It can be a toy that you are supposed to walk behind (which frustrates him when it stops because he hasn't figured out to turn it yet), a toy that rolls and it just works out that way or a chair from the dining area getting pushed from there into the kitchen and toys that are the right height that just works and goes across the floor. He certainly is beginning to like walking/cruising more and more all of the time. I think sometimes he forgets that he doesn't know how to walk and cops a squat and then starts crawling to his destination. OOooohhh how the world inside our house is going to change once he figures out how to walk unaided... This is going to be some great times!!! :D!!!

Mommy Can't Take It Anymore

I guess I must have really done something today. I don't know why, but I just have a lot more energy now and am really wanting to learn more about what is behing closed doors. There is thing box in the living room that has pictures and movies on it and then some buttons below it. This isn't too interesting because it is just all black. However, there is this silver box that has all kinds of buttons and doors to put my fingers in and stuff. I try looking at mommy and/or daddy to see if I should put my fingers in there. I hear something like "no" and then see a look that can kinda scare me, but I just laugh it off and stick my fingers in. Then I heard a little louder no and sometimes when I do it I all of a sudden find my self sitting on the floor with a toy and no longer by those boxes. Not sure how that works, so I just get back up and go back to the boxes again. When this gets boring, then I try opening this door that I can see stuff behind and I can sometimes see myself in. There's lots of goodies in there like books and papers and stuff. Mommy didn't like it when I pulled a bowl out and almost hit my head with it. After that mommy said something about it being that's it, we are going to Babies R Us.

Before long, I was tossed into my car seat and strapped in so that we could go for a ride. Guess what, when I mommy got me out, we were at Babies R Us. After we got home, I was no longer able to open that door. I tried and tried, but I just couldn't open it. Then I saw this white thing that I didn't notice before. I started touching it and then I started hearing no on occasion again. I think this might be what is keeping me from opening that door now. Mom was playing with the two boxes and putting this clear thing in front of it. It was fun pulling that off! I saw mom and dad talking when dad came home and were holding the plastic. I don't know what's going on, but I have a feeling that it will have something to do with me putting my fingers in one of the boxes... Guess I will just have to go somewhere else to explore.... :-D!

I think this might be what they are calling childproofing...

Frankie Needs To Go Outside

All Jacob needs to hear is a bark at the door and/or some one saying that Frankie needs to go outside and Jacob immmediately gets super duper excited!! He is smiling, giggling and laughing and gets very anxious to be picked up to go out with her. He really likes to be a part of the task. He quickly settles down once the door is openened though. It is pretty funny to see, you can't help but to laugh with him because he is so darn animated when he does it. I doubt we will ever be able to get a picture of it or capture it on video though. He is so interested in the video camera that even when he doesn't see it, he knows you are turning it on by the noise it makes. Then he is all about trying to get the camera...

Look Out!!

Look out!!! Here comes Jacob!! Look both ways before getting up off the floor or pulling out a chair because Jacob is on his way to somewhere fast. His now found talent only accelerates his ability to get into an open fridge or open dishwasher. We thought he was fast before, but we were sadly mistaken...

Sleep Training

Sleep training for Jacob has once again resumed now that things have settled down. He was pretty much trained and then there was the camping trip and it was difficult to maintain the nightly routine. We were increasingly more lenient with our regimen and Jacoob quickly took advantage of it. The sleep training resumed last night and it was the first night in a while that he slept through the night.

The need for sleep training and routine has become more needed as we are getting closer to the commencement of the school year and Amy's tenure as a stay-at-home mom comes to a close. Amy has been sending out a good number of resumes and has her first interview today. Please wish her luck!!

Jacob Is Crusing!

Jacob is increasing his cruising speed along the furniture and now includes cruising on the furniture. He is also getting much more stable on his feet and is getting closer to walking while some one is holding one hand. I don't think he is quite sure that he can do it yet like this, but I think he could if he wanted or tried to. His new thing is developing his skills at what his mom has dubbed "rolly polly". He really likes rolling the ball back and forth and is getting better at it.

Other noticeables for Jacob is his ever growing hair. We may need to cut it ourselves or take him to get it cut before his first birthday. He needs to look sharp for pictures and company, right? Jacob's weight gain has definitely decreased since he has become much more mobile although his height continues to increase. He has practically outgrown his infant carseat in length as his feet are hitting the back of the seat in the car now. He has reached the target for weight so that we can turn his seat to be front facing. Just need to wait until he turns one year old, yep, he is almost one already, and we can legally turn his seat around (or get a new one that he fits in better...).

Shutterfly Changes

In case you haven't noticed, sometime in the last week or so Shutterfly made some drastic changes to their site. This is the site that "Our Photos" is linked to. More functionality has been added, although I haven't tried or understand all of it yet. I will continue to tinker with it and let you know how it goes. Apparently, if you are added as a member, you can send comments via e-mail to the site via the andgfeb2006@sfly.com e-mail address. Not only can you send comments, you are also supposedly able to send pictures and/or projects to the site. These features can be turned off and on and we haven't decided as to what we would like to keep and delete. Looks like some one still has some homework to do... I'll update you later.

Technical Difficulty

Our main computer has come down with a virus and is waiting to get into the doctor to be looked at. There was some indiscretionary mingling on the web that caused the computer to get sick. The preventative in place to avoid such indescretitions had expired and did not remedy the ailment. To avoid further degradation of the hardware, a conscious decision has been made to let the computer gain rest in this time of need before heading to the doctor and becoming healed.

In the meantime, Jacob is now REALLY cruising along the couches, furniture, walls, cupboards, etc. and is hanging onto our hands/fingers less and less when walking. He is making many more facial expressions and is kinda sorta sticking his tongue out. Not sure if this is trying to make words or being defiant/funny... Also, his sleeping habits have been out of sorts lately so, we are once again working on that. We aren't sure if it is due to the camping trip or knowing that some one is now living next door to him. Sleeping habits are hit and miss at night and nap times, etc. are evolving as well.

Hopefully, our main computer will be healed shortly and we will be back online as usual.

Follow-up Appointment

Jacob was taken to the doctor today for follow-up to his 9-month appointment. The doctor wanted to check and see if the fluid in his ears from his ear infection was dried up. Good news!! There is none of the fluid that shows up after the infection and everything checked out as well too!! Jacob weighed in a 20 pounds, 10 ouces and is now 29-1/2" long. He certainly didn't gain much and the doctor asked as if she already knew the answer as to whether or not he is pulling himself up. Amy answered yes and the doctor noted that babies don't gain weight as fast once they are more active in pulling themselves up.

During their discussions, the doctor noted how muscular Jacob's legs were. Amy had tried to putting Jacob down and he quickly stuck out his legs so that he didn't sit down. The doctor said, "There isn't any fat in those legs..."

Jacob is definitely getting more and more mobile every day and improving the speed at which he is getting up on the furniture as well as walking along it. Bursts of energy are ever increasing his laughter and speed. Look out world, here comes Jacob!!!!!

Picnic At Grandpa's!

Amy, Jacob, Anyssa and I packed up the family mobile and headed off to Ohio for a picnic with the family. Little did we know that it was going to take so long to get down there. We knew of one of the closures on I-75 and were okay with that. Little did we know that there was one more that we needed to deal with. Once close to the Ohio border, there was a major back up, so we got off the expressway and ventured around on some backroads. This was definitely a timesaver. How am I so confident you ask... Well, I started laughing once in Ohio and the vehicle that almost rear ended us going into another construction zone (Amy was wondering why I was so close to the barrels because I was allowing for the goof ball some room on the road in case he needed to swerve off, stupid Buckeye fan!!) flew by us once again even faster than he did the first time. Anyssa and Amy couldn't figure out what was going on because I started laughing out of nowhere and starting waving at the fool flying by. I guess I must have been pretty funny because they laughed at me for a while and then brought it up on the way home too! The normal time of an hour to get out of Michigan was almost two this time...

After finally getting down there we were greeted by many of the family and were relieved to have gotten there. We even had a surprise visit from Amy's Uncle David who drove in from Oklahoma with his son. It has been a few years since we saw him, so it was a nice surprise to see him.Jacob enjoyed watching everyone play soccer and bag toss, baggo, tailgate toss, bean bag toss or whatever the case may be while gnawing on Abby's purse, etc. This was all under the watchful and protective hand of his Uncle Jerry. (Does anyone know what the official name of this game is? Maybe it doesn't have one so that is why you hear so many different ones...) Anyway, there was fierce competition going on... Last year's contenders were no match for Amy and Abby this year. They were on fire. I guess Amy's belly not being in the way this year may have had something to do with it... ;)!

Amongst the festivities, Grandma B. passed out frozen treats. Jacob picked the red to try not know what he was in for. We thought he might not like the popsicle since it would be cold, but he quickly grew to like it. First he would suck the flavor out and then bite off a chunk.

This might have been the first time Jacob has thought about his career choice when he grows up. We aren't sure if he was telling us he wants to be a plumber or a carpenter with his baby butt crack... :D!!!

Unfortunately, our timing wasn't as good as it has been for other trips. We usually try and time Jacob's naps so that we can still get to bed at a reasonable time. Well, this time Jacob was able to get enough sleep on the way home so that he could keep us up until after 11 since we didn't get home until 9 or so... Oh well, can't time everything the way you would like all of the time. At least he wasn't cranky when we were waiting to go to bed.

Only One Thing Left To Do!

That's right, there is only only one thing left to do!! Amy needs to take her online final exam in statistics and she will be done with her Associate's Degree. WOOHOO!! The time is ticking and things are busy as we are rearranging our computer/guest/kid's room. So, with less than two days left to take the final, it could be a late night or two.

Let's hope there is more than one reason to celebrate tomorrow!! We know there will be one for sure and hoping the second and third will be NO MORE SCHOOL, at least for now, and a good grade on the final...

WOW!!!!!

Rather than send an e-mail, I thought this was worth putting on the blog:

This will bring a tear to your eyes and a lump in your throat. THIS is one of the best examples I have seen to define the word... dedication. Wow!

A son asked his father, 'Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me?'. The father who, despite having a heart condition, says 'Yes'. They went on to complete the marathon together. Father and son went on to join other marathons, the father always saying 'Yes' to his son's request of going through the race together. One day, the son asked his father, 'Dad, let's join the Ironman together.' To which, his father said 'Yes' too.For those who don't know, Ironman is the toughest triathlon ever. The race encompasses three endurance events of a 2.4 mile (3.86 kilometer) ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometer) bike ride, and ending with a 26.2 mile (42.195 kilometer) marathon run along the coast of the Big Island. Father and son went on to complete the race together.

Jacob Enjoys Camping!

Jacob has now taken his first camping trip and survived quite nicely. We headed up to Standish for five days and four nights. There were many firsts for Jacob and many redos. Some of the firsts he missed because he was napping/sleeping and others were because he just wasn't paying attention. The big first that he missed was the campfire. He fell asleep on the way back from singing Karaoke. He made it almost all the way back, but then crashed.
Jacob sure enjoyed the camper as his mother and I were constantly saying no to him. We didn't think setting the fire extinguisher off inside would be a good thing for him, us or the camper. We kind of thought Jacob forgot about climbing up steps, but he sure has his game back on. He is now working on the steps at home as is more active in the pulling himself up and checking things out, not to mention starting to really walk along the furniture, doors and walls, etc.

The most excited I think Jacob got during the trip was when we were walking to the beach and arrived. Before we even got around to get Jacob out of his stroller, he was already breathing heavily through his teeth like he does when he gets excited. He obviously knew what we were doing next..

The biggest challenge while camping and concern once we got back home was napping and sleeping. We were able to Jacob to nap in the morning and then again later afternoon (after heading to the beach or pool). The morning consisted of putting in a movie while we catnapped with Jacob. Okay, so Amy watched the movie while Jacob and I slept. This worked out pretty well as Jacob would get a great nap in the morning and then a small one in the afternoon. Even with little sleep, Jacob still didn't go to sleep until 10 or 11 pm. He just didn't want to give up because there was so much to do.

Fortunately for Amy and I, Jacob didn't get extremely inquisitive about the outdoors until the last day. We were able to keep him next to the picnic table on some towels and carpet. After he saw what else was around the campsite on Sunday and Monday, he was on the prowl to see what he could find and get into.

Here Jacob is nodding off at the tail end of a walk. He made is with 3 sites of ours before crashing. Amy asked if he was still awake with about 5 sites to go and I said yes. I was working on the other side of the camper when Amy came over and asked me again. Of course, I wasn't sure why, but the picture says it all...

There are many more stories, but too many to list here. We all had a great time as the weather was not overly hot, even though we did run the A/C in the camper on occasion and needed to run the furnace a bit at night and only had a few sprinkles on Sunday night when we were getting ready for bed and had most, if not everything picked up for the night. It was a great time, but Amy and I think it was time to come home and thought Jacob was ready too. We are looking forward to camping again this summer, hopefully in August for a number of days and then a weekend in September.

Look for Jacob's first camping trip pictures coming soon that show many more of Jacob's firsts...

Happy 10 Month Birthday Jacob