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. =(

rock, paper, scissor...

I should have suspected this since I married into the Sorensen Family...here's the story...

Adam, Tevy, Anthony, and Ariel came to visit and we had such a good time with them that when Jacob had a poopie diaper, Jeremiah and I didn't want to leave their company. Jer was playing the golf game on the WII and I was talking about chick flicks with Tevy. So Jer said, "Let's do rock, paper, scissor...best out of 5 wins!" So, being the innocent and gullible person that I am, I agreed to play. Guess who won? I did and instantly threw one arm up in the air because I was so happy that he'd have to change the diaper! And what was Jeremiah's response? "Yes, you won! Since you won, you get to change the diaper!" LOL...we all laughed. It was pretty funny. If you know anything about the Sorensen men, you know this stunt is soooo them! Anyway, I ended up changing the diaper with giggles and a big smile on my face. *SIGH*...poor Jacob...=)

Our lil screamer...

What Jacob has learned to perfect over the past few days:

1. Screaming is his favorite thing to do now. He's not doing it because he's agitated or angry, but because he wants to.

2. Sitting up straight on his own for a few seconds and using his arms to hold himself up in a slanted position. (His OT will be happy to hear that he's using his arms to keep him from falling.)

3. Rolling over from his tummy to his back. Typically, babies would roll over from their tummy to their back before rolling from their back to their tummy, but Jacob just decided to do things backwards...it's so him.

4. Pivoting while on his tummy without the spinner! We arrange his toys in an arc and he tries to grab them and pivots himself in circles attempting to get them. He just needs to learn how to move FORWARD to actually grab them instead of scooting backwards. =)

5. Having patience for mommy to finish the "Indian" massage on his legs first thing in the morning, especially with that grape seed oil. (We have two more appts. with the message therapist. She'll be teaching me how to massage other parts of his body, including tummy, back, arms, face, etc. Pretty cool huh? I tried the baby yoga once with him, but he was too stiff. Perhaps knowing how to massage the other parts of his body will loosen him up. We'll see...)

6. Getting mommy 'wrapped around his pretty little finger again' ...and again.... and again.

7. Grabbing the feeding spoon and getting rice cereal all over his swing. (We don't put him in the bumbo for feeding yet bc he hasn't learned how to sit upright by himself. His developmental teacher suggested something with back support. In the meantime, we're just using his swing bc it sits in a reclining position. We'll get him a high chair later when he gets better at eating solids.)

8. Making bubbles with the nipple in his mouth during bottle feeding time.

9. Pulling my hair. Ouch!

10. Laughing at all our silly faces and awkward noises!!

Grandma Horn visited for two days to help watch Jacob while I was at school (my schedule is crazy) and brought along with her, a present for Jacob. She got him the Cars bedding set, but bc he already has his nautica themed set in his nursery, we decided to put it in his playard. A little tucking here and there and wahlah, it's perfect! Thanks Grandma.

Grandma Sorensen will be visiting us for an entire week in June! HOORAY! We are so excited and can't wait. Painting Jacob's room will be so much fun!

One last thing before going to bed...I'm really excited about an upcoming project for Dameron's NICU. I can't reveal it yet bc it's not set in stone. Then, why bring it up right? Well, I'm just too excited and wanted to write it on the blog because it's very special to our family...

When you chance to meet a frown...

When you chance to meet a FROWN,

do not let it stay...

Quickly turn it upside down,

and SMILE that frown away!

Jacob had a rough day today...so did mommy! I call it, TEETHING! Yikes! Although, we didn't have a great start this morning, we were able to end the day with laughter and giggles!

My morning...

This picture says it all!

Weekend update...

Cortizone worked for Jacob. It cleared his rash in less than 24 hours and relieved the itchiness. Thank goodness because it really bothered him! In this picture, I placed him on my bed for a nap to monitor if whether he would have some reaction to the cream. I got up to do something and I heard a few burps. I ran over to see if he had vomitted but what I saw totally shocked me. He rolled over in his sleep!!...which caused him to burp several times. AGAIN, another reason why we can't leave him alone for a second. I believe it now...babies, no matter how big or small, are really fast!

One of the many things we do with Jacob is strengthening his trunk through exercises on the therapy ball. He loves loves loves his yellow egg (ball). When he sees the ball, his eyes get wide open and he starts to make noises. He then bangs on the ball or tries to grab it, which he can't because it's round. It's really cute. Picture me at a candy or craft store...that's how Jacob looks...really excited!

I can't get over how cute these sunglasses look on him. It's soooo adorable. I know I won't be able to take pictures like these anymore once he figures out how to pull them off his face. He knows how to pull Jeremiah's glasses off, but can't quite figure out to do it when it's on him! I have to take advantage of that right now...hehe.

We've put up some new frames and pictures in Jacob's nursery. Jeremiah thinks we're done decorating his nursery, but we're not even close...I have a few more things I'd like to do in his room. I'm working on convincing Jeremiah to paint one side of the nursery an "ocean" theme with waves, corral reefs, different types of sea life, etc. He's not buying into it, so I'm going to wait for my mother-in-law to come visit to help me persuade him that it's visually stimulating for Jacob. Right mom?!?! =)

I love this onesie! I have to take a picture with this angle before he grows out of it. I think it's simply adorable!

Getting ready for his first vegetable. The bib was given to Jacob by Linda Long from our ward. It is the cutest thing ever! She cross stitched Jacob's name and a fire truck on the bib. I totally want to learn how to make this! LOVE IT!

Jacob's first time having squash. I think he liked it. I can't believe Jeremiah tricked me into trying it. I should have known better! I said I would only try it if he'd try it. He agreed to it and so after I tasted it, he said, "SIKE!" How mean is that?!? Haha...it was all fun and games, but I'm going to get him next time...maybe with green beans or something! Hah! Anyway, we always have fun introducing new foods to Jacob. He'll be eating this for 4-5 days before trying another vegetable. Come back for a video of that...=)

By the way, when we went in for the appointment for the rash, Jacob was weighed at 15 lbs. 13 oz. I'm sure he's over 16 lbs. right now. He is getting bigger!

Tired.

I am exhausted.

We are all exhausted.

Jacob has a rash above his eyebrow...took him in to get it checked...and was told to use aquaphor. He continues to scratch and rub telling us that it's more than just 'dry skin.' We bought cortizone this morning and hopefully it'll relieve the itchiness.

Jacob was throwing up a lot too yesterday. No fever. No infections. We're still worried.

He is eating oatmeal now...alternating with rice cereal with every feeding. It's hard to give it to him in between bottle feeding since he eats every three hours, so we just feed him after giving him the bottle. It's been okay so far. Throwing up bc he might be full? I don't know.

Jacob likes to grab and play. We use the first feeding time at 8:30 for exploration and no exercises. We let him touch, feel, and grab the rocking chair, nobs on the dresser, the top of his activity gym, etc. He seems to enjoy it. Usually before each feeding, we exercise and challenge him with therapy strategies instructed by the OT for 30-40 minutes. It tires him out, but when we skip one session, he has soooo much energy! He is going to be a handful.

Jacob rolls like a rollie pollie. As soon as we put him down, off he goes. You can try to roll him back over, but he'll just roll again and again. It's quite fun to watch him do it. we think it's the coolest thing ever...at least for now. =)

Jacob is also staying up longer during the day...I mean no naps for six hours or if he has one, it's a short 30-45 minute nap. Hard for me, but he rewards us for our patience later in the day when he naps for three hours or so...so it's pretty fair. Hehehe...

Jacob has learned how to make bubbles with his mouth...it's funny, but also distracting when we are feeding him, especially the rice cereal or rice oatmeal. It gets messy sometimes.

Well, as for me, I'm not looking forward to the next couple of months. I'll finish up my last quarter in school taking 19 units...doubling my academic workload (Mon- Thurs. and a few Saurdays). Having to accomodate babysitting times has been difficult. Fortunately, my mom will be coming out to help, but it's still going to be a challenge with homework and such.

Thw weather has been nice and we are itching to go out with Jacob. However, we are going to wait. Jacob's RSV shot from early this month will be gone next week, putting us in paranoia mode since he will not get anymore for the season. Hopefully, we'll sail through April with no problems.

We also miss going to church. We really miss it. Can't wait for May to come around.

So, we are tired.

Exhausted.

Rolling champion!

Jacob is rolling over like a champ! He does it more often when we aren't paying attention to him. However, when it is playtime and we are doing exercises with him, he'd lie on his back and wait for us to move him. He can be sneaky. Nonetheless, he's doing it frequently enough to make us supervise him all the time.

Jacob is eating rice cereal twice a day now as a supplement to his regular bottle feedings. I can't wait to start him on vegetables and fruits. Dr. Millar says to start him on veggies first and fruits later. Any experiences with that anyone? Let us know okay?

Jacob is NOT napping as often as he used to. They are either shortened or not taken, leaving us exhausted by the end of the day. Something funny about Jacob is when he wakes up in the morning at about 8:30 or from any 'short' naps, he would play with the playard's siding (this netting material) and scratch it endlessly until one of us wakes up to pick him up. Smart huh?

Some days are harder than other days, but overall we are enjoying everything about Jacob and being first time parents. We feel so blessed.