Jake Takes a Hostage

So here is a picture from yesterday when Jake came to work with me for an hour or so. My friend Moni is holding Jake, and he has decided to take her thumb hostage and gnaw on it for a while - ha! Luckily, Moni had just come from washing her hands. This pic just cracks me up. Thanks to my friend Elizabeth who took this with her camera phone (which puts my camera phone to shame), and thank you to Moni for letting Jake slobber up her appendages.

"Pooped" Out

So are you all ready for stupid daycare rule #483? This one is just insane.

(Warning: Another gross post...)
I go to pick up Jake at daycare on Wednesday evening (after being out sick Monday and Tuesday), and they tell me that Jake is not allowed to attend daycare on Thursday. Apparently, if a child has diarrhea twice in one day, they are sent home for 24 hours. This is the official language on my big yellow form that had to be signed in duplicate:
Your child was sent home due to illness highlighted below. Per State of Delaware "Delacare" guidelines, sympotoms requiring removal/exclusion for 24 hrs...include: Acute diarrhea, characterized as two (2) times the child's usual frequency of bowel movements with a loose consistency within a period of twenty-four (24) hours; a handwritten note also tells me that Jake was determined enough to poop through two (2) sets of clothes.

So let me get this straight - my kid can't go to daycare cuz he POOPS too much? Lord, I wish I could use this excuse at work: "Sorry boss, can't make it in today - I am feelin REALLY regular." So Jake stayed home and I tried to work from home and we traded Jake off between Ralph and I so that we could each at least get some work done. Jake even went into work with me so I could approve the printer's proofs for my catalog. He had a great time being passed around the office by my girlfriends. Hmmm... you think anyone would notice if I took him to work everyday and just had Lisa, Moni, Mary and Elizabeth watch him?

Pictures coming soon. Been CRAZY busy lately. But I know I hate it when my favorite bloggers don't post (not that I think this is anyone's favorite blog), so I figured a good poop story is better than nothing...

Jakes Just Says NO! to Solid Foods

I am afraid my little guy might be still wanting bottle feedings when he goes off to college. So far he only tolerates it when I give him some rice cereal, and absolutely seems to hate any baby food I try to give him. First we tried appleasauce.



Jake reacted to the applesauce with gags and horrible faces. You would have thought I was shoveling turds into his mouth. I tried to get him to eat it a few more times, and he still hated it. You are supposed to feed a baby one new food at a time, then wait a few more days before introducing any new food, in case of an allergic reacction.

Next we tried bananas. Grandpa seemed to remember baby bananas being very good. I offered him a pack to take home, but he figured he should leave them for Jake. Once again, Jake gagged and spit out everything I put in his mouth. Can't say I blame him. I sniffed it and wanted to gag too. Maybe we'll send the rest up to Grandpa afterall.

Health Report (and an unrelated picture)

So Jake is feeling a lot better - he spent a few days up at Camp Grandma, since I had to go to work (on deadline for a catalog) and Ralph had to work, and Jake wasn't allowed to attend daycare. Grandma found a way to get some work done while babysitting the sick little one. What would we do without Grandma??? She's the best!

But then I go and get sick. My voice is so hoarse I sound like I smoked 28 packs of cigarettes. I don't think it's Jake's bronchitis that I caught (my symptoms are totally different), but I feel like crap and I am at work fighting thru it. Gotta meet that deadline!

Will try to post pics soon (of what I have no idea) - because I know the blog is boring without pictures. Okay, here's a picture, but it is work related. Yes, we sell a Shakespeare Action Figure. English Teachers buy the darndest things!

Eagles mania

So this picture is a few days late, but I am posting it for all of my Philly-based family and all the (sad) Eagles fans out there...



Here is my brother Danny (Jake's godfather) with Jake asleep on his chest after Sunday's defeat. Even the matching jersey/onesie couldn't help win the game. But Ralph was happy that his Giants won. They were joking that Jake would become a fan of whichever team won this big game - so will Jake be a Giants fan or an Eagles fan? Well, Danny was born in Philly, but raised in Redskins territory, and you can see where his alliance lies.

One thing is for certain: Jake is a Yankees fan. This is not optional.

The baby is REALLY sick.

Poor little Jake-a-boops has been pretty much sick since the day he went to daycare, but this weekend was really bad - fever, lethargy, severe congestion, extremely runny nose, decreased appetite. We had a couple late-night calls into the doctor, who prescribed baby Tylenol and baby Advil to bring down the fever, which seemed to work some. We were still giving him Robitussin for the cough and congestion. He seemed better yesterday and this morning, so I took him to daycare. They called me around 11:30 and told me he had a fever of 101.8. They send the babies home if they reach 101.5 or higher.

I am on deadline with a catalog here at work, so Ralph came to get Jake at the daycare. I called the doctor again and got an appointment for this afternoon. By the time Ralph got Jake to the doctor, his fever was up to 103! The diagnosis: BRONCHITIS! Ugh, I could cry. I feel so bad that I can't be with my baby boy right now. Stupid work. (Yes, technically, I am taking ten minutes out of my work day to blog about this, but I am going right back to work!).

Poor little baby Jake is so sad and lethargic and I just feel so bad for him. He has been ordered to stay home from daycare until at least tomorrow, probably Wednesday too. He is on a 5 day antibiotic now. The doctor said it was a good thing we had been giving him the Robitussin, or else it could have turned into pneumonia.

As soon as I finish my stupid work for the day, I am running home to smother my poor little guy with kisses. And then back to work again...ugh.

Duty Calls....

So I had to serve Jury Duty today. Which wouldn't be so bad, but my employer doesn't pay for Jury Duty service (argh). And I have NO vacation time left, NO sick time left, nothing - I had to give it all up for maternity leave. So I had to pay for daycare for the day, while I went unpaid. Argh argh argh. Not fun.

But Jury Duty wasn't so terrible. I ended up not having to serve on a trial and was excused from service. I was terrified that I might have to serve on a drawn-out, month-long trial, not get paid for that month, and end up broke and homeless. (LOL) While waiting to see if I was picked for another trial, I happened to chat with the nicest older gentleman who was serving with his wife today. He turned out to be a former Governor of Delaware! You never know who is sitting next to you, or standing in line next to you, and Delaware is a small state. He jokingly offered to watch Jake for me so I could serve on the two-day trial with his wife - ha!

Daycare Artwork

Camera phone shots of Jake's latest artistic renderings. He is in his "orange phase."

Fun at Grandma & Grandpa's

It had been a while since we ventured up to see my parents (they have been sweet enough to come to our place to visit Jake lately), and even my brother was going to be in town, so we headed up friday night for a weekend of fun. Here are some great pics from the weekend:

I LOVE this picture of my mom with Jake sleeping on her. Awesome in every way.



Here is Grandpa and "Suuuuuper Jakey!" (He loves this game)



Jake hangs out (and drools) on Grandpa's recliner.



Dan was decked out in Eagles gear. Head to toe. Literally. Must have worked, cuz they won. Here he is influencing my poor little innocent baby. (I hate football - lol).



Even Jamie got in the spirit of Sunday football. (Yeah, I'm sure our pets hate us.)



Grandma attempts to feed Jake a very messy meal of rice cereal.





Ruthie ended up wearing the bib too. (Ralph's idea - we like to see what Ruth will put up with. So far she has worn antlers, bibs, her sweater, her fleece jacket, and multiple doggie t-shirts. And we wonder why she poops on our bathroom rug.)



Jake enjoys some fun time with Aunt Nancy.



He allowed me to snap a few cute pictures on the floor, then he started to fuss. I am Jake's own personal papparazi. :)

Funniest. Baby Clothing. Ever.

Found this one and this one on Cafe Press....





And this one and this one on shopkitson.com...





Not to be outdone, HotTopic.com has some of the funniest and most outrageous baby stuff out there...

I know, I know....

Sorry for the lack of updating - I have been super super busy with freelance jobs (lots of spring 07 brides!), and we were away all weekend visiting Grandma & Grandpa Valentine, and I was super busy at work this week too, so the baby blog hasn't been updated as much as usual. But rest assured, I took lots and lots of pictures this weekend and a big post will be coming soon. Not right now of course, but soon.

Congratulations to my good friend Jill Tallents and her husband Ross, who just welcomed a baby girl to their family. Emerson Marie joins big brother Wyatt. You can check out the Tallents Family blog here. Jill was my first friend when we moved to Maryland in 1984. It's so great keeping in touch with her, even so far away, now that we are both parents. Seems like just yesterday we were playing with our Cabbage Patch Kids and My Little Pony...

In other baby news...

My good college friend Jolene Sodano and her husband Justin have two beautiful little boys, Matthew and Ryan. Jolene and Justin were looking forward to expanding their family, but Jolene REALLY REALLY wanted a baby GIRL. I mean REALLY. So they recently found out they were expecting again, and were very excited. Jolene, who told me about the blood gender test when I was pregnant with Jake, immediate ordered a gender blood test for herself. She waited patiently for the results, which were delayed because of the rolling power outages in California, and waited and waited and waited. She endured lots of emails from me saying - "I'm SURE it's a girl this time! I can feel it!" Well, the tests finally came back and said..... it's another boy. Jolene was... um, a little disappointed.

So then I got this email from Jolene today... "Hello Everyone, I just wanted to send a quick email to let everyone know that we did a 3D sonogram this afternoon and got confirmation that my gender test was WRONG!!! We are having a GIRL!!!! Yay, Yay, Yay....We are sooooo excited. I cried the whole time and looked like such a baby. I have already bought little Marissa Rose 14 baby outfits!!!! How crazy am I??? Just thought you all would like to know.....Thanks to all who prayed for this moment for us.....We'll see if we can send some shots soon, Jolene"

Congratualtions to the Sodano Family - I can't wait to meet this very anticipated baby girl! Jojo - good luck for a healthy and easy pregnancy!!! Sooo happy for you!

Baby Toupees

Inspired by Suri Cruise (who is cute, but has the most disturbing amount of baby hair I have ever seen), Jake has decided we should invest in a Baby Toupee. Thanks to the always-funny Chrissy who sent this crazy link to me. Too funny!

(Another) Doctor's Office Visit

He was sick again (stupid freakin daycare), with this horrible cough and congestion (he sounds like an old man trying to cough it up), and then we suspected he had an ear infection, but the doctor said he just had some build-up, so it might just be itchy. Jake plays with his ears a fair amount anyway.

He is 17 pounds, 13 1/2 oz. Not sure how tall he is - we will have to measure him ourselves. He is a beast!

Jake once again tears up the paper on the doctor's office examining table:

Visiting with the Reilly family

After visiting with Papa Joe, we headed upstate to visit Ralph's family - Patricia & Larry, Alexis, Charlie & Crystal, Joey & Tita, Diane, Aunt Dorsey, Lynne & Wally, Aunt Barb, Mema Peggy, and Mema Mary & Papa Ralph. Alexis had a nice time holding baby Jake and was interested in all things related to the baby.

Alexis, not sure about this baby-holding thing...



Jake, doing his absolute best impression of his Uncle Danny as a baby... (Valentine/Guie family - do you agree with me here or what?)

Visiting with Papa Joe

We spent most of Saturday on the road on the way to New York, braving the stormy weather to get to the wedding of Ralph's friend Mike Cerasoli. It took us four hours to get to NY and we missed the entire wedding ceremony, but made it to the reception... just in time for the power to go out! The reception was lit by candlelight - how romantic! Thank goodness for the generators that got the band playing and the food cooking. We had a great time! Mema Mary and Papa Ralph babysat while we were at the wedding.

On Sunday we went to visit Papa Joe. Jake fell asleep not long into our visit, but it was nice to get to see his great-grandfather. I LOVE these pictures!!!

Visiting with the Boyds

We had quite a whirlwind weekend! As soon as Jake and I got home from work/daycare friday night, we had a nice visit with Aunt Marianne, Uncle Bob, Cousin Brad and Cousin Caley.



I remember holding Brad when he was Jake's age and I was Brad's age. How time flies!



Jake loves how Aunt Marianne feed him his rice cereal! He ate his whole bowl!