The Q Family Blog » Jacob

Daddy-less Weekend

Jamie — Tue, 18 May 2010 12:46:12 +0000

This past weekend Joel went to Miami for a photography workshop; he returned energized and appeared to have a productive and fun experience. While he was gone, Mommy, Jacob, and Grandma played. I left Joshua out because unfortunately he was pretty fussy all weekend. He had drainage issue (probably due to allegeries) and cried quite a bit. It wasn’t that bad, but he wasn’t the most fun child to be around. Jacob…. he got spoiled. I got him McDonald’s Saturday for lunch and even I partook for the first time in months. They were so busy; it had to be fresh. The fries were pretty good, but I can’t say it’s the greatest food. I think it tasted better in my fantasies. We also watched movies, did a craft, worked on his Bible verses and speech exercises, had pizza, ate ice cream… we did fun stuff. Jacob was good for most of the weekend, and only really frustrated me once when he wouldn’t do anything but was “bored.” In the end, it was a fun weekend but exhausting!

Project Night Night

Jamie — Thu, 06 May 2010 00:26:10 +0000

This passed weekend I had Jacob go through his stuffed animals with me. We made three piles: Jacob’s, Joshua’s, and donate. Jacob was actually pretty good, giving many of his stuffed animals to Joshua. Many were obviously for a baby while others surprised me. He definitely did not want to part with certain ones. I helped with the donate pile because most were stuffed animals that Jacob said were for Joshua, so I made the decision that this one or that one should be donated. We filled a small garbage bag and when mom saw it, she suggested that I find a local group that could really use them. I liked the idea and went looking on-line. It was more difficult than I thought. Most places want items that are new; however, I found a couple that accepted “gently used” stuffed animals. Several were out of state, but I found two relatively nearby. Mushy Mates in Ft. Lauderdale, which didn’t have too much on-line information, and Project Night Night that has a location in Boca Raton. I decided to go with Project Night Night, and after I talked to Joel about it, he said that he’d help out and drive me there in order to donate.

Project Night Night helps homeless children. Their goal is to provide comfort and sweet dreams. When a child leaves a shelter, Project Night Night gives the child a tote bag with a book, a cozy blanket and a comforting stuffed animal. They believe that items such as these help with emotional trauma and overall well-being.

I’m posting this because Joel and I won’t be making our donation trip for a little while (end of the month or may even June) and I wanted to offer to take stuffed animals, blankets, and/or children’s books with ours. To find out more details, go to www.projectnightnight.org. I would love to bring a large donation. In fact, I went through the boys’ books and found a few, and I thought that maybe I might make a blanket. The website has the type of items that can be donated, including details about how the stuffed animals can’t make noises or have battery compartments, etc. You can bring your donation to me or may be we can work something out where I come to you.

Completed Homemade Door Signs

Jamie — Mon, 03 May 2010 05:01:21 +0000

I’ve been working on special door signs for Jacob and Joshua’s rooms since my time in the Tampa apartment. I had hoped to finish them before leaving – nope. Then, I wanted to get them done by Easter – nope. But this last Friday, completion and I think they look great. They’re the most detailed items that I’ve made out of plastic canvas. I think my characters and animals look really good. It was incredibly time consuming, but I am definitely pleased. Plus, I think they mounted well on the doors. It’s a great personal touch to their rooms, and I made it so I can change out the pictures and because the main characters hang, I can change them by making new ones as the boys get older.

As a bonus, Jacob seemed to like his sign when he got home from school. That made me a proud mommy.

Jacob’s Updated Room

Jamie — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 12:25:41 +0000

Since I’ve been home, I’ve going through everything. Organizing, purging, etc. Jacob and I have been updating his room to a big boy’s room, which I think I mentioned in a previous blog. We’ve done more work since then. We added a Spiderman poster and a lot more Cars stickers including a mural poster.

We also decorated his room with the crafts that we’ve done. Last weekend it was Melty Beads (Jacob prefers a rainbow pattern) and sand art.

Today I cleaned out Jacob’s room, going through and organizing his toys in his closet, boxes, and bins. I feel I did an amazing job and that his room looks awesome. I separated his stuff and part like things together, so at least for now, we can find anything!

I love it.

Build-A-Moment

Jamie — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 05:00:13 +0000

Snowy

Before leaving home, I asked Joel and Jake to make me a bear at Build-A-Bear at the mall. I wanted something to take with me, and I wanted the bear to have their voices. I ended up choosing a soft, white polar bear and Jake recorded a message for me to put inside. Joel tried to do it with him, but it was too loud in the store and sounded poor. Jake’s message – a very loud: “I love you mommy.” I have slept with that polar bear every night since I’ve been in Tampa – in the hospital and now in the apartment. I press the sound button in Snowy’s (the polar bear – I know, so creative) arm before going to sleep and although at times it makes me sad, it always makes me smile.

I had the idea to make the boys bears with a message from me. I think I had this thought because a few weeks ago, Joel told me that Jake cried because he missed me; it was really the first time we saw him realize my absence. He always knew I was gone but he’s young and went throughout his day; however, we believe time finally took it’s toll. All my ideas seem to be coming to me when I sleep and it just occurred to me one night that hearing my voice might help the boys deal with my absence. So last week, mom and I went to a mall and passed a Build-A-Bear and I did it. I made personal messages for Jake and Josh and stuffed them into two similar yet different bears. Jacob’s is called Cookie and Joshua’s is Brownie – I think I was hungry when I made them! I told Joel and we decided to give them to the boys during their Valentine’s Day visit.

Cookie (for Jacob) & Brownie (for Joshua)

I gave the boys their bear when they arrived late Friday afternoon. Jacob was not that thrilled; plus, my voice sounded muffled. It sounded fine in the store, but it was loud inside. We had a little boy behind us who literally screamed – just a high pitch scream for absolutely no reason at all. It actually gave me and mom a headache. Mom got Josh to giggle with his bear, and his message was completely clear. Before the boys left, I brought out the bears again and this time went better. Jacob even posed for a picture with the bear. Now, the bears are with the boys at home and hope the messages provide them some comfort.

Jacob with Cookie

Joshua with Brownie

A Valentine’s Weekend to Remember

Jamie — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 13:24:24 +0000

The boys are back in West Palm and, of course, I miss them. Luckily, our weekend together was memorable. The boys arrived late Friday afternoon, and we just hung out and had dinner together. I gave Jacob and Joshua teddy bears that I made at Build-A-Bear with message from me (expect a separate post on this); I can’t say Jacob was that thrilled but mom got Josh to giggle with his. Jacob did show more interest today before he left; he even posed for a picture with his bear for me.

On Saturday, mom and I made the boys Belgian waffles, which they seemed to like. Then Joel and I went to the flea market while mom watched the boys. It was fun just to be together; plus, I got to show Joel this shop with tiki’s. I bought one on a previous trip for Joel because it’s the theme Joel wants for our backyard pool area. Since he liked it, we got two more, but we still need more to decorate – maybe some tiki torches.

That night Joel and I went out to dinner at Red Lobster, which was decent. Busy, though. Apparently, we weren’t the only people who thought the 13th would be better than the 14th. Again, it was just nice to be out with Joel and spend time as a couple. Speaking of being a couple, this trip Joel slept in the same room as me. My room (as well as the guest room) has two single beds, so we were in the same room like it’s 1950, but I enjoyed not being alone. We watched some TV and said our good-night’s and love you’s which I had missed. I wake up quite often now, and what was great this weekend is that I could see Joel and listen to him breathe.

We also exchanged Valentine’s Saturday night via Joel’s request. The boys surprised me with a CD of pictures taken by a photographer (Dawn Yap) who used to work with him at the movie theater years ago. It’s amazing and so unexpected. I gave the boys their gifts too, but the boys’ gift still stands out. Here are a few of the pictures:

Didn’t Dawn do a wonderful job? They are beautiful.

Sunday morning we had waffles again because the boys liked them. We took Jacob to MOSI science museum and it was okay. We like some parts better than others. We had fun in the “Kids in Charge” exhibit because Jacob got to explore and manipulate.

Next, we went through a Da Vinci exhibit, but it was really more for adults. Jacob was not thrilled; the one exception was with the inventions. He actually knew that a sign with a hand that has a red circle around it with the line through it meant “No touch.” That’s literally what he told me. I was so proud. So he read me every sign, but I did have to explain when the sign changed and he was allowed to touch, which he loved. I only had to tell him once, and he totally knew the difference between both signs.

The rest of the museum wasn’t really impressive. There was Disasterville, and there were just too many loud noises. Jacob did not like it and the earthquake room we took him in made him seriously unhappy. There was an area about the human body, but for Jacob, it was more gross than anything. Plus, we kept finding things broken or just plain lame. Second to last, we watched an IMAX movie called “Under the Sea.” The only problem was that the film kept showing sea animals eating other sea animals in split seconds. It kept causing Jacob to jump and kept scaring him. I ended up holding him and later he sat on my lap, but I liked comforting him. The last thing we did was let Jacob play on a playground set that had numerous slides and he loved it.

Afterward, we went out to lunch and Jacob was actually really good. We took Jacob back to the apartment and then Joel and I went to Publix to buy some steak because Joel was going to cook for us, which he did even though he was starting to feel ill. Unfortunately, that continued and Joel ended up going to bed early and leaving pretty early Monday morning. Fortunately, we had time together before he felt sick. Joel went so far as to wear a duckbill mask around Monday morning because he didn’t want to infect me. It was a sad departure. Jacob kept saying he didn’t want to go, but then he seemed okay. Joel and I teared up, and little Josh has no clue but he sure is cute!

Charlie Brown heads BUT Josh has more hair!

Boo!

Happy 5th Birthday to Jake!

Joel — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:00:18 +0000

Five years ago, Jake entered our world and forever changed our lives. And although it’s only been five years, it’s sometimes hard to remember what our life was like before his arrival. One thing is for sure… there were definitely less toys laying around the house.

I enjoy playing with Jake, but I also enjoy watching him play. It reminds me of what it was like to be a child; the times spent playing with toy cars, or kicking the ball outside, blissfully unaware of the daily stress experienced by parents as they work to provide for their children. I watch him play and I sometimes find myself selfishly wishing he would stay a little boy; spending the rest of his days joyfully playing, completely innocent and unaware of life’s harsh realities.

The truth is he’s growing up, and we’re growing older. Today he’s 5, before we know it he’ll be 10, and soon thereafter he’ll enter the awkward teenage years where the grandparents are finally avenged. Yeah, I’m a bit worried about that.

For my part I plan to do what my father did with me and pass on the experiences he passed down to me, as well as the new ones I’ve obtained through my personal journey. As parents, I feel that’s one of the greatest gifts we can give our children.

Happy birthday Jacob! Mommy and Daddy love you!

Jake under 1 year (2005)

Jake at 1 year old (2006)

Jake at 2 years old (2007)

Jake at 3 years old (2008)

Jake at 4 years old (2009)

Jake and Sophia’s Birthday Party

Joel — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:00:55 +0000

This past Saturday we celebrated Jacob and Sophia’s birthdays (Sophia is Jake’s cousin). They’re birthdays are only one day apart and Jake is just a year older than Sophie, so this one was birthday #5 for Jake and #4 for Sophie.

Continuing with the themed birthday parties we’ve been doing for them, this year the theme was cowboy/cowgirl. The planning for this one goes back to October/November of last year. In fact, Jamie had purchased some western themed items, including a cowboy costume for Jake, prior to her leaving for Tampa. My nieces Amy and Alyssa (Amy is Sophie’s mom) really worked hard and frankly, outdid themselves with this one.

Jake had been counting down the days to this party and I heard some of the boys in his class were doing the same. They all had an absolute BLAST! We invited the boys from his class and Sophie invited the girls from hers. The weather was a little windy, but the sun was shining and the temperature was just right.

The girls had planned some fun activities for the kids with the potato sack race and gold rush being the most popular. Speaking of potato sack races… CHEATERS NEVER WIN! This is a lesson Jake learned when he ran instead of hop during the race. ….and it’s all captured on video for ever more.

After the party, we took turns riding the strangest contraption. Apparently, one of my niece’s coworkers heard we were having a western themed party, and insisted we borrow the…, well for a lack of a better work, horse bike?? Just check out the photos below and you’ll see what I mean. It was an interesting ride and great fun. So much so, we were able to get the grandparents to take it for a spin.

Overall, a very enjoyable day. Many thanks to Amy, Alyssa, and the entire Borges clan for putting it together. Alyssa was kind enough to record the event with my video camera so Jamie wouldn’t miss out. You can find the 25 minute video from the party below.

[See post to watch Flash video]

Jake and Daddy go to the Fair

Joel — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 03:31:15 +0000

We usually try to get out to the fair when it’s in town each year. I can’t say it’s a favorite outing of ours, but it generally gives us an excuse to go out. Every year we go, and after an hour or two, we’re sort of ready to leave. There’s usually one or two things of interest to see or do (the Chinese acrobats come to mind), but beyond that it’s pretty much the same stuff every year.

With Jamie away this year, I contemplated skipping the fair altogether. However, I’ve been so busy working and taking care of the boys and our home lately, I haven’t really had a chance to go out and do something fun with Jacob (Joshua is way to young for the redneck Disneyland as Jamie refers to it). So, as with years past, I purchased an advance ticket for the fair late last year and decided to venture out today with Jake.

Soon after we arrived, I realized what a HUGE mistake I had made deciding to visit the fair on a Saturday. There were lines EVERYWHERE! Certain areas were so cluttered with people, it was difficult to get through. Kind of reminded me of Disney World during the summer months, except the fair is no where near as as clean, organized, or fun.

We arrived later in the afternoon and only had a few hours of daylight left, so I decided to start by taking Jake through the livestock tents. Cows, rabbits, chickens, the petting zoo… things you would think any kid would totally be into. Not Jake, no sir. We were in the cow tent for maybe a minute and he tells me he’s ready to go. “Do you want to see the chickens?” I asked. “No”, he replies. “Do you want to see the rabbits?” “Nope.” “What about feeding the llamas in the petting zoo?” “No, I don’t wanna do that.” he tells me while furling his brow.

O…..K….?

I took him into the petting zoo area anyway and sprung the buck for a cup of carrots (clearly marked for *animal consumption only!*). Perhaps if he saw me feeding the animals, he may want to give it try as well. It seemed like a good strategy and after all, I am a ninja master with this parenting stuff.

Well, I had fun feeding the animals. He basically hid behind me the entire time I worked my way around the petting zoo feeding goats and sheep. “Do you want to feed the goat?” “NO!”, he says peaking out from behind me.

Well that didn’t work. But it’s okay, there’s plenty of other stuff to do. The fair is full of all sorts of junk food and kids just adore junk food. Even Jake, who we call picky pants for his stubborn aversion to trying new things, couldn’t possibly resist the allure of all the fried, sugary, teeth rotting, goodness that is fair food.

EPIC FAIL

During the course of the evening I had a pork shiskabob, jumbo corndog, and the classic funnel cake. He refused to try any of those, including the corn dog which is one of the few things he eats at home. I offered to buy him cotton candy, which he’s never tried, but he passed on that as well. Cotton freakin’ Candy!!! A food that is just one notch below eating pure sugar. Nope, picky pants wanted no part of it. I kept him hydrated with lemonade, but even that required me to offer him a prize if he tried it. He relented, tried it, liked it, and proceeded to finish it. He didn’t leave me any… guess he was thirsty.

So by now you’re probably thinking in a VERY sarcastic tone. Boy Joel, your fair trip sure seemed like fun. Yes, it was kind of frustrating and felt a bit how I would imagine it is hanging out with Debbie Downer from SNL, but I never once got mad or annoyeed and actually found the entire thing rather humorous.

It wasn’t a total wash of a trip for Jake, though. He did have fun.

The model trains. Jake was REALLY into the model train display they had in one of the exhibit halls. Like everything else, it had a super long line which was moving VERY slowly. The track itself is well over Jake’s eye level so I had to carry him through it. He’s a light 36lbs at first, but after the 15 minutes it took to walk through, I was hurting. The reason I capitalized and bolded “REALLY” is because once we exited, he was ready to go again. I was not, but you could tell he really enjoyed watching those trains and the little city lights, so after what was probably a very long 3 minute wait for him (and conversely a very short 3 minutes for me), I picked him up and we walked back through. Thankfully, this time there were less people and line moved through much quicker.

The cowboy hat. Jake turns five in a few weeks and to celebrate, we’re throwing him a cowboy themed birthday party with his cousin who turns four the day before. I found him the perfect little cowboy hat to wear for his birthday and to my surprise, he liked it and actually wore it around the fair.

The Prize. But, I think my favorite part of this year’s fair trip, and the memory I will carry with me going forward came right before we left the park. We were walking down the midway section where the carnival games were and I noticed this little fishing game for kids where you win a prize by hooking a fish. You play until you hook something, so EVERYONE IS A WINNER!, as the sign says. He looked kind of interested, so I asked if he wanted to play, to which he replied No, all the while staring at the game, like you would stare a freshly baked chocolate chip cooking cooling on a counter. I figured that was it, there’s nothing left for us to do here but fight through the crowd as we move towards our exit.

And that’s when a voice called over to us.

“Hey…” he said in a very non-carnie, I don’t smoke too much, voice. “I’ll let your son play and win a prize regardless”. The offer was coming from the operator of the infamous “throw darts at balloons” game. I thought, there’s no way Jake would want to do this, and in a moment of 100% confidence that I know my son, I asked him somewhat smugly. “Jake, do you want to play this game?” His response: a very low “Yeah”.

“Alright let’s do this”, I tell the guy giving him some of my hard earned cash which I seem to be freely handing out since we got out of our car. The guy counts out 10 darts and lays them up on the counter. These were real darts. Like the kind with sharp pointy metal tips that will “poke your eye out”. Jake can barely throw a baseball, let alone be expected to throw a dart through a confined space and at a specific target. To his credit, the carnie was actually pretty nice and gave Jake some instruction on how to properly hold and throw the darts.

and HE ACTUALLY HIT AND POPPED A FEW BALLOONS! I should also mention he hit the guy a couple of times. The carnie was kind of funny to watch. After the first near stick, he kept flinching back every time Jake threw a dart. I kept thinking to myself, why doesn’t this guy just move back a little? I moved Jake away from him a few times, but it’s like he had a strong magnet under his shirt attracted to the dart tips and he would slowly move back towards us.

I wasn’t sure what kind of liability I had should Jake injure him with a dart, so I was kind of relieved when the darts ran out and the game was over. Jake got to bring home a “large” prize which basically means I paid 3x what this prize is worth so he could play. It was worth it, though. He seemed genuinely thrilled to bring home a prize he had won, a trophy if you will, and that’s really what matters… even if the toy is stuffed with what feels like packing peanuts.

“So Jake, did you have fun today?”

“yeah”

“Are you hungry?”

“yeah”

“What do you want to eat?”

“I don’t know.”

Vampire needs Braces

Joel — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:00:38 +0000

Back in December, Jake and I went to see our family dentist. Jamie and I have been going to Dr. Denton for at least ten years now. He has got to be the nicest dentist ever and his staff is superb! I can honestly say I have ZERO fear whenever I go in for a visit.

I’d been bringing Jake with me for my past few cleanings so he could get acquainted with the office and learn that it doesn’t hurt to have your teeth cleaned. Ok, so sometimes it does, but I did my best to not show it!

During our previous visits he had been okay just hanging out and watching them clean my teeth. However, when it came time to get in the chair he would start heading for the door…. that is until this last time.

I was in total SHOCK when he climbed right into the chair and opened his mouth. They took some x-rays and Jake showed off his “vampire teeth”. Dr. Denton said they were actually more like werewolf teeth since they’re on the bottom, but I don’t think Jake knows what a werewolf is, so they’re still vampire teeth to him.

He was such a little man while Zody, our hygienist cleaned his teeth. I have to say that I was one proud daddy!

At the end of our visit, Dr. Denton showed up and exclaimed “Looks like the vampire is going to need braises braces!” As it turns out, some of Jake’s permanent teeth are coming in crooked. I was shown his x-ray where you can clearly see one of his front teeth coming in severely crooked! Dr. Denton says it’s not uncommon since Jake has such a good set of teeth right now. This limits the amount of space the permanent teeth have to grow and as a result they twist and turn and generally take the path of least resistance. Oddly enough, it’s better for kids to have lots of space between their teeth so permanent teeth room to grow.

The good news is we’re still a good 2 or 3 years away from having to get the braises braces, but I can’t help but feel a bit sad that our little guy with the big teethy smile is going to have to get metal.

Guess we better start saving now.

Jake’s Vampire Teeth (AKA Werewolf Teeth)

Jake’s “Perfect” baby teeth

Hope you have good dental insurance!

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