So much progress...so many blessings!

GREAT NEWS: you'll just have to wait...

okay...I had to write this post earlier because I knew I wouldn't be able to add anything until late or super early this morning (it's 12:49 am right now). I have been working on my research paper, thesis, portfolio, whatever you want to call it, for my masters program. I can't do it during the day because Jacob demands my time, so I work on it when both Jeremiah and Jacob are asleep!

The great news is that one, Jacob is crawling (short distances) and that he has now reached his chronological age with gross motor and fine motor movements!! It's a huge milestone for him! His occupational therapist came today to reassess his skills and she found that he exceeded his goals and is now working on developing skills for a 9 month old baby. Jacob is a little over 8 months old (chronologically), but only 5 mths old (adjusted age). Jacob is just an amazing miracle baby! To think that he was a micropreemie born at 26 weeks weighing 2 lbs. 6 oz. is unbelievable! He has made a lot of progress. We are so blessed! He has done so well because of all the prayers and fasting family and friends have made. In addition to that, I know Heavenly Father has blessed us with the spirit to prompt us on a daily basis on how to be good parents to Jacob. We are so happy and so proud of our son. It makes me want to cry just thinking about how far he has come...

Now time for pictures...everybody loves pictures, so I've posted quite a few below!

Therapy session: Grabbing, there are three ways of grabbing. First, grabbing with the fist. Second, grabbing with three fingers. Last, and most advance, grabbing with thumb and pointing finger. Jacob proved that he's advanced. =)

He was not happy when his therapist tried to put the toy away...he screamed, so she let him play with it for a few more seconds.

Here, Jacob is saying, "Yeah, I'm the man!"
Here, Jacob is grabbing a very tiny toy.

And...he did it!

First time eating prunes...it was a mess, but he finished the whole thing! By the way, we have washed that swing cover a million times! I loove that it is washable!

Cleaning up after getting food all over his face, underneath his thighs and in between his fingers. So now you know how exhausted I am at the end of the day. (He has six bottles at 5 oz. each, two meals, and a dessert)

We've lowered the mattress on the playard. We can't trust him alone anymore...he'll pull himself up and stick his bum in the air.

What can I say...the little boy loves the camera!

We went shopping at the outlet in Tracy on Tuesday. We bought Jacob new clothes because he outgrew almost everything in a short time span. He is now wearing 12 mths. sized clothing. I love this onesie..we bought quite a few of them.

First walk with the family...FINALLY! Gracie was really good, except when she got too excited and stepped on the brakes on the front wheels without me knowing until we got home. I was totally wondering why the wheels wouldn't turn...should have known...then again...it was my first time strolling Jacob for that long. Hehehe...

Jacob wouldn't stay in the reclining position...we had to sit him all the way up.

He only lasts about 3 minutes in this playard.

Trying to prove to his developmental teacher that he CAN sit on his own for more than 30 seconds. He can sit for a long time, actually.

Mr. Handful

Jacob is learning how to do lots of stuff! He has become quite a handful. He tires us out, but it's so much fun just watching him grow and learning new things. The pictures below tells it all...

Good News!

Monica (baby of the family) is ENGAGED!! We are so happy for her! She met Daniel at BYU-I. He is an RM who served in Taiwan in a Mandarin speaking mission. I'd love to tell you more about him, but I'll have Monica fill you in because she glows each time she talks about him. It's so cute! We are so excited for them! This is Monica visiting us for the weekend from BYU-I. She was sick and had to wear a mask so Jacob wouldn't get sick! I felt so bad because she had a hard time breathing through that thing...hahaha...we LOVE you E-CA!
I love it when he pouts...it's so cute! You can barely see his upper lip because he sucks it in! I was trying to make him look cool by leaving his collars up like that...it didn't last very long because he kept pulling it away from his ears.

Yuuuummy sweet potatoes! Jacob has tried all the veggies and loved them all, except for squash. Now, he is eating pears. He has learned how to coordinate his tongue while feeding, which has made it very fun to feed him because he eats more. Jer thinks I'm a messy feeder, but if you knew anything about Jacob...if you're not fast enough, don't count on feeding him longer than 5 minutes. Jer likes to clean Jacob's mouth after each spoonful a gazillion times, so he doesn't get dirty. Either way, Jacob eats so we're happy!

Grandma loves to spoil Jacob. The Children's Place had a huge sale over the weekend and she splurged on all these cute stuff for the little guy. He now has cute clothes for church that actually fits him!!!! Grandma also bought summer clothes for Jacob for our big trip to Whidbey Island in July!!

First cap...so cute!

He looks super chunky doesn't he??

Fell asleep during snack time after 30 minutes of workout!

Playtime...he likes to snuggle up right next to me. Plus, I just painted my toenails and I thought it was cute. (I have ugly toes though...but I liked the color!)

Sick?

Jacob is not feeling too well...nasal congestion and runny nose. I'm worried, but the doc says that it'll last for a few days and advised against using OTC drugs. If Jacob starts to wheez or have shortness of breath, we will probably take him in. Please pray that he will be okay.

Ah-mazing!

Jacob has been napping so well today that I was able to do three loads of laundry!! It is ah-mazing!!!! He needed it bc he didn't sleep so well last night due to gas pains from eating green peas...maybe not used to the fiber??? Despite the gas pains, peas are probably his favorite solids right now. He willingly opens his mouth for it each time I feed him. I guess that's a good thing right? Next, he'll have carrots and off to fruits!

So what is up with Jacob?

-grabbing his toes! (one of his goals)
-doing well with solids (cereal, oatmeal, squash, sweet potatoes, peas)
-sitting on his own for 1-2 minutes (still wobbly though, but lots of improvements)
-rolling back and forth
-'purposefully' crying, reaching, and grabbing for toys
-babbling two syllables
-scooting backwards, left, and right (not forward yet)
-recognizing bottle (will open mouth and try to grab the bottle...also another one of his goals)
-laughing uncontrollably to these weird sounds, 'wah-sha' and 'pooh-sheuw'


His teacher did a quick informal assessment yesterday on Jacob. In May, he will have a formal assessment for everything, i.e. speech, cognitive, social, language, etc. Anyway, she said that he is about 6 mths for language and cognitive skills. That's pretty good. She thinks he is doing very well and will catch up to his peers soon, if he continues to make improvements like he has been for the last two weeks. =)

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone!

Ariel, my niece, spent the weekend with us and it was so much fun! She learned new baby exercises and infant massage techniques. Jacob loved having her full attention and can't wait for her to come visit us again.

Nurse Marcia

Nurse Tita

Nurse Maria and Nurse Christine

Nurse Didi, Nurse Angela, and Nurse Christine

A long evening without Daddy

My cutie patootie working his way around his playard. Daddy, oh Daddy, where are you? Jacob's developmental teacher noted a lot of progress on Jacob's mobility today. She thinks he is doing a great job and is looking at reducing his monthly hours in half.

Jeremiah is working late tonight, so I had to do everything by myself. I couldn't put Jacob on the floor without close supervision because he has gotten more mobile and a lot FASTER. He scoots backwards and pivots and gets from on place to another really fast. While I got the bath water and bottle ready, I placed him in the playard and he was fine...except, when I walked away, he rolled over the sleeping positioner (underneath the zippee blanket) and began to move around. I am pretty sure we will have to move the mattress down before he learns how to climb out of the playard on his own while we're asleep soon!

Jacob also threw up his entire dinner (5 oz. of milk and 1 oz. of sweet potatoes) tonight. He was crying while I was washing his bottles and I knew (motherly instincts) that he was going to spit up. I walked over and saw just a small amount of milk drippings from the side of his mouth, but when I looked at his facial expression, I knew he was choking on his dinner. I picked him up instantly and before I could situate him upside down in an elevated position, he threw up everything. It got all over his swing and the carpet too. I felt so bad because he was crying so much and I should have picked him up earlier to avoid the vomitting. He is okay now. I changed him and he played (for 2 loooong hours) like nothing happened. We're not worried about his recent vomitting because we don't think it's related to reflux...but more of him gagging (hand in mouth) himself and moving too much. It is definitely something we will be monitoring though.

38 days left~

We have 38 days left before the March for Babies walk! Please support us, in honor of Jacob, by donating to this organization. With the research efforts and developments of March of Dimes for premature babies, Jacob is home and healthy! Please support us! Click on the link to the right with Jacob's picture. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts! We love you.

Zoe, my favorite toy!

Jacob's favorite toy is Zoe, the frog. This toy was given to him by his cousin, Zoe, who lives in Washington and he looooves it! We can't wait for July to come around because we'll be taking our first family trip to Washington for Zoe's 8th birthday and baptism! It's going to be so much fun!

Speech Assessment

The speech therapist came for a consultation with Jacob. Jacob welcomed her with a few coos and giggles and started off the assessment on the right note! The therapist used the Rossetti Infant and Toddler Language Scale to assess his communication skills. After asking many questions about Jacob (and Jacob proving himself through interaction with the therapist), the results showed that Jacob fell in the 3-6 months range...right in the adjusted age range. His attachment, pragmatics, play, language comprehension, and language expression were in the average range. She also said, "Jacob turns to voices, recognizes his name, stops crying when spoken to, discrimates voice tones, laughs, babbles, vocalizes, moods, interacts with adults, and initiates talking. He does not require direct speech at this time. The developmental teacher can continue targe age appropriate development skills with him. Another consultation will be scheduled in three months." HOW AWESOME IS THAT?!?! =) For follow up, the therapist will come quarterly to make sure he is making progress and to give tips on how to encourage communication through play and interaction.

We are so proud of Jacob and proud to be his parents. He is making great progress!

By the way, just to note, today I noticed Jacob beginning to coo consonant sounds, such as wah, cah, and gah...before they were vowel coos like ah and uh. =) Tonight, he gave us a few bahs...and must I add, 5 oz. of milk all over my pajamas after I took a bath because I played with him too much. I totally deserved it, but poor Jacob. =(