1st Tooth

Like I said in the post before this one my baby is getting so big. I was feeding him dinner tonight and I noticed that he kept biting the spoon with his gums. And for some odd reason it felt like the spoon was pulling on something. So I took a look and wouldn't you know it, his first tooth is breaking through the gums. It's his left bottom front tooth. He's been such a good boy about all of it. Not too fussy or irritated. Hopefully when it really starts coming in I will be able to get a good picture of it.

5 months old!!!

Yeah Jacob is finally 5 months old!!! I can hardly believe it. He is getting so big and active. Every day he is surprising me with all the new things he is doing. Right now he is crawling all over the place. I will put him down in one spot, turn for a second and look back and he is completely on the other side of the room. It's so cute. He doesn't quite have the crawling thing down perfect, but he's learned to do the worm on his tummy. The funny thing about all of it is that he still can't still up all by himself yet. Basically it's because he can't stand to sit still for a moment. If he is in the same spot for two long he totally goes crazy. He is also talking up a storm. He's learned how to blow raspberries and loves doing this especially after eating. So basically mommy is covered in baby food and formula. But who cares, he's so cute. So here are a few pictures that we've taken over the past few days.

Having fun in the Einstein, but now he is starting to hate it because he can't move around in it.

My big boy just crawling around on his tummy. Loving all the freedom he has.

Mommy better be careful.

He loves his squash and peas. Of course he hates rice cereal,

but can you blame him it tastes like wallpaper paste. I just love this picture. Mommy quite pointing that flashing thing in my face.

This sums it all up...

I came across this letter the other day and felt like it pretty much summed up my life as a stay at home mom. I love being home all day with my little man, but unfortunately other parts of my life seem to get further and further a way from me. I feel so guilty when people try to call or email me and I forget to get back with them. It's just so hard when you are constantly on the go with the daily activities such as feeding, bathing, playing, changing diapers and then trying to get a baby to take a nap is nearly impossible sometimes. This is just a small example of the day to day activities and doesn't even include household chores, that's another entire day. it's not all bon bons and soap operas. I guess what I am trying to say is, yes it is exhausting staying a home, but I wouldn't change a thing. I just want all those people out there that don't have children to understand because one day they will be in my shoes and I promise not to laugh or judge. I will patiently await for their phone call to say that they finally get it.

Four Month Chair Picture

We took Jake’s four month picture in the chair. The pictures are 1 month in the top left, 2 months bottom left, 3 months top right, and 4 months bottom right.

 

 

Here are a few good pictures we took over the holidays :

 

Santa Jake

Happy Jake

Jake & Mommy

Vince is turning 30!!!

Okay so Saturday night I was able to surprise the hell out of my husband. I threw him a surprise birthday party with all of his friends and family. I felt so bad because I had been lying to him for about two weeks so that I could keep it a secret. We had so many friends and family join us for the special occassion. I have to say a huge thank you to everyone for coming and for keeping it a secret because he had no idea. Thank you to all that helped me out because I was a mess and could not have done it without you. We had so much fun and really enjoyed ourselves. Vince was so surprised and happy to have all the company over at the house. He had been bugging me for about two months saying that we really needed to have an annual Christmas party every year. But I kept saying it was going to be too much trouble and that we just didn't have the room. So it was really hard not being able to tell him, but it was all worth it. I just didn't know what to get him for his birthday or Christmas because he is so hard to shop for so I figured the best gift would be celebrating with family and friends. Vince is a really big family man and he loves making memories with everyone.

The Texas State Bobcat Birthday cake. And yes there were 30 candles!!!

The Birthday boy blowing out all 30 candles!!!

Bryan and Jennifer. She's expecting and around 18 weeks pregnant!!!

Amera and Aly. I think Aly is up to something, you never know!!!

Ashlee and Braxton. She is also expecting and is around 18 weeks pregnant!!!

I hope everyone enjoyed themselves. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

Better Late than Never

Okay so here are Jacob's three month photos. Vince and I decided to celebrate with a Christmas chocolate cake. Isn't he so cute. Sorry for the delay, I promise I will get better at posting once the holidays are all over.

Santa's Little Helper

Well Vince and I went to Northeast Mall on Sunday to take Jacob to see Santa. We stood in line for over 2 hours. We decided to take shifts to go shopping because it was so boring just hanging out in line. Jacob did awesome because he was asleep the entire time. We finally woke him up a few kids before it was his turn. We figured he would wake up once we put him in Santa's arms so we decided to wake him up so that we didn't have a cranky groggy baby for the picture. Here's the picture, what do you think? He's so darn cute. Hopefully next year he will have more of a clue what is going on.

Disco Elves

Can you hear me NOW!!!

Okay this is going to be a long blog, but I wanted to share with everyone one of the most amazing days of my life. Today was probably the most exciting and thrilling day for Jacob, Vince and myself. Hooray!!! Jacob got his new hearing aids today and it was the perfect gift for Christmas.

As most of you all know Vince and I have been dealing with the recent hearing diagonsis of our son, Jacob. He has Auditory Neuropathy, which is a hearing impairment that means he can still hear sounds at certain levels, but the sounds don't quite synchronize with his brain. The first step of treatment to help minimize his hearing loss is to fit him with hearing aids. The aids are meant to allow for sound to travel directly to his ear and to continue stimulating the auditory nerve that transmits sound signals to the brain. Getting the hearing aids today was such a blessing. The appointment took about 2 and half hours of testing and learning all about how the aids work and to properly care for them. Trust me they are expensive so we want to know exactly how to take care of them. Right now Jacob currently has two aids, one for each ear. One is a loaner aid provided by Cooks Children's Hospital and the other we purchased ourselves.

At the beginning of the appointment we tested Jacob's hearing using a sealed sound booth. It is pretty much the same kind of test we all received when we were in elementary school. Now don't laugh because even though I think my baby is a genius, he didn't raise his hands when we turned on the sounds. I think that might have freaked me out a little because he can't even roll over by himself. The main difference with this test is that small tube micorphones were placed in both of his ears and we looked for body responses from Jacob while he was sucking on his bottle. Basically when babies are sucking on a bottle or paci when they hear sounds it causes them to stop the sucking motion in order to respond. Sometimes they raise their eyebrows, their pupils can widen or their head my flinch. Jacob's audiologist said that he was the poster child for the test because he showed great results. She was able to determine that Jacob has a mild hearing loss, which means he can hear sounds at a conversational level and that quite whispers are where his hearing gets a little fuzzy. Still great news, because it means that this whole time that Vince and I have been playing, singing and talking to him he has been able to hear us. All that hard work paid off. Just kidding!!! Being with our baby is the most precious and exciting thing for us to do, so it's not really work, just awesome play time.

After the appointment was over, Jacob and I headed back home, while Vince went to work. Jacob was awake for about an hour after we got home, so he wore his aids the whole time and then he quickly fell asleep. His poor little brain was on over drive and he needed a break, so he slept for about 3 hours. And believe me he needed it, because we have been sleep training for the past week because he doesn't really like to take naps. But he went down with really no problems. He woke up a little bit before 5pm and it was time to put his aids back on his ears. He is only suppose to wear the aids during all waking hours of the day and not really during his sleep. It's not that the aids would do anything to him during his sleep, it's just that they can be uncomfortable on his ears while pressing down on the mattress and his head.

So we started to put the aids back on and they look easy enough to mess with, but try dealing with a moving target. It does get easier, it just takes practice. And they fit perfectly. Once we got the aids back on and he had a refreshing nap, it was like a whole new baby. I have never seen him so excited and giddy over all the toy sounds that we started playing with. He was laughing and smilling the entire time and was so intrigued by the toy piano keys. I know this might sound corny, but I pretty much cried a little to myself because it was the most touching and amazing thing I have seen so far. Vince and I have been truly blessed with this miracle baby boy. The one thing that I wished could have happened is that Vince didn't get to see much of Jacob in action. By the time Vince got home from work Jacob was winding down and it was getting pretty close to bedtime and he started to get a little cranky. I guess babies will be babies.

So to wrap up this whole experience, I would have to say it was eye opening and awe-inspiring. Learning all about Jacob's condition has made me so aware of all the wonderful things God has given me. I have a wonderful and caring husband. A beautiful home that I take so much pride and enjoyment in decorating. An awesome family and circle of friends. And of course a healthy and extraordinary baby boy that has touched my life in so many ways he will never know how much. I couldn't ask for more. So I want to say thank you to everyone for taking the time to read this blog and caring so much. All the wonderful words of encouragment and prayers have gotten us to where we are now. I've said it before and I will say it again, Vince and I have been truly blessed.

Jacob with his first pair of hearing aids. Isn't he too cute for words. Pardon all the drool on the bib, this child just can't keep it in his mouth.

This is the right ear hearing aid that is on loan from Cooks Children's Hospital.

And this is the left hearing aid that we purchased. Notice that it is nude colored. We figured when he gets older and if he is still wearing a hearing aid he can choose his own color next time. I figured nude went everything, I am such a girl.

Decorating for Christmas

Christmas is our favorite time of year. It has become somewhat of a tradition that on the Friday after Thanksgiving we get down the decorations and get to work. Hauling down boxes and decorations from the attic is a total whipping, so is testing light strings to find the one light that is burned out that is keeping the entire sting from lighting up. Aside from these small nuances we love getting ready for Christmas and this time of year. Here are some pics of our process this year:

This is the outdoor portion of our mess this year.

Once assembled this might resemble a Christmas tree!

Rebecca and Jake are busy making cheesecakes for Christmas Parties.

Making sure each light works, each light is evenly spread out and working is no easy process.

Seven is trying to figure out why I have been outside for 2 hours and won't let him out.

The finished product. Not Christmas related but a good pic, Jacob holding his head up trying to figure it all out.

2 Month Old Pics

Jacob is now 11 going on 12 weeks old. Here are two pictures of him at 1 month and 2 months old.

1 Month

2 Months

Audiotory Neuropathy

This is what Jacob has preliminary been diagnosised with. Below is a link for information if anyone would like to know more about the condition. http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/neuropathy.htm

Appointment with Otolaryngologist

We met with the Otolaryngologist (Dr. Bauer) on Wednesday for the first of many times. In the event you did not know, an Otolaryngologist is an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor, one of many new things we are going to learn about. The appointment was not really so much about a diagnosis but rather talking about what we can expect from here. Dr. Bauer told us that this is most likely permanent and we have to see where to go from here. One of the things that the he ruled out is that this has nothing to do with ear infections and goes way beyond anything tubes could help with. His hearing loss is most likely due either an illness, genetics, or perhaps the hardware is simply not put together correctly. In any event we have an upcoming appointment with the audiologist again on November 13th to get another ABR test (Auditory Brainstem Response) test; this is the same test he received back in mid October that gave us this original news. The doctors want to see if they can get more information than what they received previously; this will all go to help diagnosis the underlying problem. We also have an appointment lined up with a Speech Therapist that we will likely be visiting once a week for quite some time. We are also going to have some genetic testing done to see if we can get more information as to the “Why”, this will also likely help with the diagnosis. In Feb/March timeframe we will have an MRI to see if his ears are developed properly or if that is part of the problem. In between all of this we are going to be getting some hearing aids to see if this may help, however it is likely it will not as the doctors feel this is more of getting him use to having something on his ear for the future. If it’s determined that a cochlear implant will benefit Jacob then we can look at doing this surgery at around one year of age. All of this is being done so that we can give Jacob the best chance at being able to hear, speak normally, and develop just as any other child his age. It is going to be far more difficult, time consuming, and challenging than we ever anticipated but Rebecca and would not trade this for anything.

He's going to be a genius

Here's just a little video of the little man hard at work!!!

A Sweet Treat

Here's a couple photos of our Halloween NightItsy Bitsy Spider

He was orginally suppose to be a tiger but he out grew his costume.

Scary Face

Texas State Bobcat

Justin, Jill, and Jason joined in the halloween fun with their painted pumpkins!