New Swing Application

We aren't quite sure if an infant is supposed to use the swing's mobile like this or not, but it seemed to put Jacob to sleep. Amy and I were doing different things around the house while Jacob was swinging away. Based on what Amy found, we aren't sure whether the swing put him to sleep or if it was the fact that he was cuddling the teddy bears on the mobile. Looks like the clamping technique that Graco used isn't good enough for a 5 month old any longer.

Technical Difficulty

We are currently experiencing some technical difficult with our internet. Please be rest assured that everything is okay and we are not just blowing off the blog... Heehee!!! Comcast is "upgrading" our area which is causing some outages. I believe this means resetting everything as I have attempted in part, but not all as yet.

More importantly, today is the last day to vote for a fun center at Detroit Children's Hospital. Houston has started to leave us in the dust, so hopefully Detroit can battle back today.

Hope everyone is enjoying the snow today!!!

Diaper, What Diaper?

Amy left Jacob on the floor with just his diaper on as she threw the old diaper out and got her phone to make a call. Now, Jacob has been playing with the velcro on his diaper, but we are usually there to stop anything. Upon Amy's return, she found Jacob in one spot and his diaper in another along with a wet spot on the floor about an inch from his little pickle. Apparently, Jacob decided as much as he likes being naked, he would take off his diaper and roll over. Since he was free as a bird, he also decided to relieve himself. His mother couldn't help but to laugh because it was just so unexpected. She immediately called me to let me know what was going on at home. He is definitely happy when he is naked and it looks like we are going to have to watch him because he knows how to get himself naked... ;)!

5 Month Appointment

So, what brings you in today asked the doctor? Amy responded with, just getting a 5-month checkup. The doctor said I normally don't do 5-month appointments, so let's just talk (the doctor at the 4-month appt. said that he likes to see his patients every month until 6 months and our new insurance pays the bill for it, so why not?). Jacob was very active and trying to take off the nurses glasses and moving anything he could get his hands on. He has definitely reached the stage that if it isn't nailed down, it could be moved...

During the visit and relatively quickly, the dr. said that we need to get his eye cleared up. Yep, that's right, Jacob's left eye still isn't right once again. She gave us another prescription for drops and said that if it wasn't cleared up by 8 months, Jacob would have a procedure to fix the drainage issue. At this point, the procedure would be done in the doctor's office. After this point, he would need to be put out and the procedure, etc. wasn't discussed at this point. If it is still an issue, we will address it at his 6-month appt.

Other than that, Jacob is an active growing boy and still hasn't lost his touch in flirting with this doctor. Amy is still convinced that this is Jacob's favorite. Jacob's stats for this visit are that he is 25-3/4" tall and weighs 15 pounds, 14 ounces.

Two Days Left For Fun Center

There are only two days left to help the Detroit Children's Hospital get a Fun Center from Colgate-Palmolive. Houston in currently in the lead by about a 1/2 per cent. Voting ends on Friday and Detroit needs your help. Please be sure to vote every day!! Let's DO IT!!

Jacob Has Joined Us At The Table

Jacob can now eat at the table with the rest of us. The bouncer just wasn't cutting the mustard when it comes to feeding. With the more actives hands and arms, couple with the bouncing, it was time for something a little more stable. Yep, you guessed it, time for the high chair.

Jacob and I had our first father/son project. I went up to Jacob's closet and got out the booster chair/high chair. Jacob read the plans and I put it together. He could be an aspiring engineer and the early age of 5 months. Jacob couldn't wait for us to be done putting it together so that he could christen it while testing it on the floor. Oh well, not like it was going to stay crystal clean anyway... It didn't take long after it was strapped to the chair and getting fed that it was fully christened once more.

Jacob enjoys hanging out tilted back in his chair. We think it is just because he knows when he is in it what is coming next. It's still squash at the moment. He did continue to be hungry the other night and rather than continue squash, we tried green beans. That was not to his liking. He was hungry, but didn't like the fact that we tricked him in the middle. Guess we'll wait on the mixing a little longer ;)! Needless to say, this all happened on Sunday which is why he has his "spit stop" bib on.

News Flash

This just in... Amy has decided to also feed Jacob sweet potatoes prior to starting the fruits. The ending time for voting has been extended for those that have not viewed the blog in a while, haven't made up their mind, or just plain haven't voted yet... :)!!

Watch out for those curve balls...

Mom Stop The Car!!

This is a little bit that could be enlisted for "Kids Say The Darndest Things"...

After Aunt Abby picked up Jacob from the motel, she needed to pick up Jacob's cousins before heading home until it was time to head to grandma's. Jacob decided it was time to be a little fussy. This is something that Colton hasn't really dealt with too much in the car, so he hollered up to his mom, "Stop the car, there is something wrong with Jacob." Aunt Abby quickly noted that he was okay and was just a little fussy and they were almost home. The kids weren't convinced, however... Sydney asked where's that thing you put in his mouth? They quickly went through Jacob's bag to find his pacifier and put it in his mouth. Jacob was quickly relieved. With Jacob's relief Colton states, "Oh! Thank goodness he's safe..." No bothers here! Oh to be a little fly on the car roof to see this. I'm sure I am not doing the situation justice... LOL!!!

Wedding Anniversary Night Out

It was a time to relax away from at least one of our children. We have had offers for Jacob to spend the night away from us, but we just haven't felt like giving him up at all yet. We decided that a night out for our anniversary would be a good thing for all of us. Timing was just right for Amy's school as well because this week is her winter break.

The outing started off with Aunt Abby picking Jacob up from the hotel. Jacob's mom did amazingly well as I didn't see her shed a tear... this time... ;)! It was definitely difficult to get her mind off of our little man, but a trip to the store to get some adult drinks and bubble bath eased her minded enough to be able to relax. Most of the night was spent hanging out at the motel with the exception of heading to downtown Ann Arbor for a bite to eat and a stop to an infamous ice cream spot.

A night without the need to wake up in the middle of it or without the possibility waking up was a great feeling. Well, the night didn't go off without an interruption. At 1:00 am, we heard a pounding on our door. Who the heck is beating on our door? Amy thought my phone didn't ring what is wrong with Jacob, I thought, did the tub leak or is there something else going on. I opened the door to find a high school aged girl asking for Dustin. She was dressed up with caked on make-up. I quickly told her that she had the wrong room and closed the door. Amy was able to get back to sleep pretty quickly, but then I was up because the adrenalin was flowing...

Jacob had a great time spending it at his grandma's house. It turned out being a slumber party with his two cousins too! They all slept together while downgrading grandpa to the pull out couch... It was a nice relaxing night for us as well.

Time For A New Look!

If you haven't noticed that Doug & Amy's Rattle Tattle has taken on a new look, then you haven't been here before. Out with the old and in with the new. Now that Jacob has arrived, we don't need a gender neutral feel and can go with whatever we want. Besides, it is time for a change, don'tcha think? The color theme may continue to change along with some other smaller items, but the bulk of the changes are done. Feel free to comment on whether or not you like the new look.

Yes, those are Jacob's eyes in the header. I knew I wanted to put a picture in the header instead of the same old boring description and title that is generic to the template. I had a few ideas, but nothing that I could really get started and make it look good. I just started playing with some pictures just to get an idea about what I could/wanted to do and what you see is what you get and it didn't take too long to make it work.

Squash

Jacob is now eating sqash in his diet. Amy tried waiting for dad to get home from work, but there was no stopping Jacob in wanting to eat, so Amy gave in, of course, why wouldn't she? So, Jacob did make a funny face and wasn't quite sure if he wanted to eat this new stuff as he shook it off, literally. It is like the shiver you do when you take some horrible tasting cough medicine. I guess this "cough medicine" wasn't too bad to Jacob because he shrugged it off and opened his mouth for more. The squash did settle pretty well. So, to recap, he is now eating green beans, peas, carrots and sqash. The only questionable food has been the carrots, but nothing to worry about...

As it stands now, it looks like Jacob will be eating bananas which I kinda find funny. His mother is rooting for bananas and doesn't even like eating them. Maybe this is just so that dad will have an "eating buddy" when Jacob gets a little older. This is a good thing since she can be a picky eater at times. Jacob and I can't eat Chinese all of the time... ;)!

It's Almost Fruit Time - You Get To Decide

Jacob has been trying a new vegetable every week. After the peas he is working on this week, we are going to have one more vegetable to add, squash. So, the next step is to introduce fruits. We have decided to let you pick which fruit Jacob should try first. There is one fruit available that has been purposely left off of the list. It is prunes. It is our understanding that these will help "move" things along more so than others and we are reserving them for when they are needed. Also, we don't think Jacob will ever really get prunes other than baby food because Jacob's mom and dad don't really eat/like them.

So, there is about a week or so before Jacob will be getting to try a fruit. You have plenty of time to vote for your favorite. I think you will only be able to vote once per computer...

Peas, Peas, Peas...

Peas are/were the next choice of food to try for Jacob. The camera was loaded (when isn't it... okay, it's when Amy wants to take a picture... lol!) and ready to capture the funny face that Jacob makes when he tries something new. Since we were at Grandma G.'s house, Jacob had the proper attire... an "I love Grandma bib"... Drum roll please...

The peas traveled through the air on the spoon held by Jacob's mom. Jacob's mouth opened in anticipation not knowing what was coming his way. The peas slid into his mouth... and... NOTHING!! Jacob took the peas in stride like he had been eating them for a week. He sucked those green veggies down like a champ and was yearning for more.

The introduction of peas into Jacob's diet this week was obviously anti-climatic. There are still a lot more stage 1 foods that will follow and maybe there will be a funny face to capture. The next food on the agenda and I think the last vegetable available is squash. We'll just have to wait a week and see what happens then!!

Hanging Out At Dinner

One way for Jacob to be involved and entertained is to put his in his bumbo seat on the table. He certainly pays attention to what is going on and likes to share in conversation at the dinner table. Amy made a comment that we are going to have to start having family meals more often, especially if he is going to be this good.

Here's a picture of Jacob just hanging out waiting quietly for his turn... Yes, the peas...

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!!

Better late than never... Although this was a school day, Jacob was able to spend much of the day with his favorite valentine, his mother. There were still a little issue with our day care, but Jacob was able to spend some time with one of his grandma's, another valentine, while his mother took an exam. She doesn't like taking exams from this professor because she needs to write a novel. However, she got an A on the first exam she took, so let's hope a trend can be made with this exam.

Jacob decided he wanted to go out for dinner and promised he would be a good boy. He said that he wanted to go somewhere that was kid friendly so that there wouldn't be grumpy old stuffed shirts around. Red Robin was the place he wanted to go. There were definitely a lot of kids there, but none of them were as good as Jacob. After all he promised to be good. He was VERY good as he slept through the appetizer and dinner. Then when mom was almost finished, he decided it was time for his dinner too. So, we headed out and got him fed.

I can't take credit for these pictures, I can only take credit for picking the ones to put up. I can also take credit for only the socks he is wearing... If you can't read his shirt, it says 'Heartbreaker'...