Where do I start?

Hmmm...It's catch up time!


I promised you an update on Jake's 9 month appointment, so let's start there. He got a break this time from shots. Only a "toe prick" (as opposed to "finger prick") to test his iron levels. Amber, Dr. Moss's nurse, said "I'll prick his toe instead of his finger so he won't get the band-aid in his mouth in the car." I told her it was worth a try, but just because the band-aid is on his toe (instead of finger) didn't mean it wouldn't end up in his mouth. And how right I was! We weren't even out of the parking lot before I had to get out of the car and fish the band-aid out of his mouth! Oh...and when the test results came back, his iron was low! We have to start him on iron vitamin drops and they will recheck it at his 12 month appointment. Everything esle was great, though! He is 29.75" long (90%) and 21 lb 10oz (60%). I have his 9month pictures schedule for this week, so I'll post those as soon as I get them! For now, though, here is one of his newest trick...climbing stairs! So far he only makes it to the first one.



Jake has gotten three of his top teeth in the last week. The funniest thing is that he didn't get either one of his front teeth first! It was one to the left...look at the picture, the arrow is pointing to it. I tried to get a good picture to show you all, but I'm just not that good! You need one person to hold him down and one to take the picture...he is quite the little wiggle worm!

Jack and Alex started back to school a little over a week ago (notice the uniform). Jack is not very happy about having to cut his hair for school, and we are seeing a lot of this "look" in the last week! :) But...he's still a great big brother! Check him out sharing his I-Pod! The scary thing is, he's probably teaching Mitch another completely inappropriate song! Oh...and yes...that is one of my new cabinets in the background. :)

Here is what my days typically look like lately! I am going to be in so much trouble when they get bigger...they love to gang up on me! Mitch likes to "hug" me, but he really knocks me over. Then Jake piles on! Jack thought it was photo worthy and grabbed the camera instead of helping me out. I guess I can just be thankful that he didn't pile on too! :

Last weekend, Gary took Mitch and Jack to ride go-carts. I didn't get to go because Jake was sleeping, but I heard he had a great time! If I had any doubts, though, this put them aside! Mitch has started turning his little "saucer chair" upside down and "driving" it. He says it is his go-cart. By the way...don't you just love the Lightning McQueen socks with his Crocs?

This past Friday, a couple of us went to Pump It Up to let the kids run off some energy...always a great idea! Lindsay dropped Gabe off with me to play while she did some much needed retail therapy with her Mom. The kids had an absolute blast, and I got to know one of my new neighbors who joined in on the fun! After about an hour and a half of solid running, jumping, and sliding, the kids landed for a juice break. I just love these two guys! My friend, Cynthia, grabbed the camera took the very rare photo opp of them sitting still with me! Thanks Cynthia! I love this picture! :)

Okay...that's all I can manage for now. I'll update later (hopefully tomorrow) on the athletes in the Roberts household! :)

When it rains, it pours!

I have so much to catch up on, but today won't be the day it happens! It has been one of those weeks... Last Tuesday, on the way to Chattanooga, Gary's transmission blew! He had to rent a car to get back home while he had his transmission replaced! Then, Friday morning, I got up and tried to get on the computer...CRASHED! Saturday, Gary had his District Managers in town, and they all went out on the lake, and SUNK the Jet Ski! The made it back to the dock, but we don't know what damage was done. And....finally....Yesterday, as Gary was pulling the Jet Ski trailer out of the garage, he hit the garage door rails and broke the track. AAARRRGGH! So, today, I have Gary's laptop, but none of my pictures or anything that I want to post on here, so my updates will have to wait for another day. Unfortunately, in the last week, the only thing that DIDN'T break was my stupid determined washer and dryer! I want a new one, and my cheap ones that I have had for 10 years just keep hanging on!

Okay, so I am off to play outside with Mitch and his friend, Gabe, who is spending the day and night with us! I promised I would take them outside while Jake napped, and it's that time!

Jake is 9 Months

...and 3 days old! He is such a handful these days! I find myself constantly saying, "Mitch didn't do that" or "Mitch was easier than this" or "Mitch spoiled me"! I know I have to stop doing that or poor Jake is going to have a serious complex! But...Mitch was so much easier! Don't get me wrong, compared to a lot of moms, I have it made! Jake is a good sleeper, a good eater, and has the sweetest little personality...but he is into EVERYTHING!

At 9 months, Jake is still "army crawling". I've decided that he will never crawl on hands and knees...seriously! Gary's mom (Gran'ma Judy) says Gary never did, he went straight from army crawling to walking. It's amazing how fast the child can move, though! I blink and he's gone! The other day, I walked out of the room to put my shoes in the closet, and when I came back in he was eating our plant!

One thing he is better about than Mitch was, though, is listening when I say "no". He is really good to leave things alone when I tell him no (most of the time, anyway). He'll just look at me and smile that sweet smile...and go get into something else!

Jake is pulling up and standing in his crib, but nowhere else yet. I don't imagine it will be too much longer, though. He "jabbers" all the time. He loves to talk to himself in the mirror in his car seat. I love listening to his sweet little voice. I'm sorry...did I say "little voice"? There is nothing "little" about it! He is soooo loud! I say "He has his Daddy's volume control issues!"

He is totally a Mommy's boys, too! He has a complete fit if I walk by him without picking him up, and it's insane how loud he can scream if I walk out of the room. The same goes for if Mitch leaves a room. Mitch can calm him like noone else, just by singing ABCs. He loves his big brother!

Jake is just starting to eat some table food. He is still on baby food (and lots of it), but I give him little bits of mine sometimes. Last night he had lasagna and loved it!

His 9 month appointment isn't until the 19th, so I won't know for sure how much he weighs and how long he is until then, but I'll update when I do!

5 Kids? What's the big deal?

I had Lindsay's boys, Sam (5 1/2), Gabe (3), and Luke (6 mo.) on Monday for a few hours. Yep...with my two, that makes 5 kids ages 5 and under... Oh yeah! Jack was here, too, and he is always a huge help with the little guys! I was only worried about how I would care for Jake and Luke both at the same time (the older ones are no problem), but that turned out not to be a concern. Lindsay put Luke down for a nap before she left, and when she got back 3 hours later, he was still asleep! I can handle 5 kids! :)


Mitch and Gabe are so funny together. They have been buddies since they were not much older than Jake, and they crack me up sometimes! While both Jake and Luke were napping, Jack and I took Sam, Gabe, and Mitch outside to play. Mitch and Gabe did not want to share the 4-Wheeler (which is almost too small for either of them anyway), so they came up with a solution!

This worked for a little while...then Gabe decided he was done driving Mitch around, and tried to scoot far enough back on the seat that Mitch couldn't get on. Mitch, being Mitch, was determined to get on it anyway...and CRASH! The 4-Wheeler did a wheely and they both landed on the ground! Gotta love those boys! :)

When Lindsay (aka "Cee Cee") got there to pick up the boys, they all piled on her! I walked into the living room, and this is what I found...so of course, I had to get the camera! I love this picture!

A Teenage Boys Birthday Party!

Jack had his birthday party last Saturday, and it was great! He had 4 of his friends spend the day on the lake with us, and then they spent the night. I have never seen a better group of boys! They were all very polite and wonderfully patient with Mitch. (Oh yeah, Mitch was invited to attend the party also!)

We spent the whole day on the lake. The guys swam, rode the jet ski, and went tubing. Mitch and I went in earlier than Gary and the boys did, and I think the real rowdiness started when I left. I know, you're all really surprised, aren't you?

Here are pictures from the great day! The action shots aren't very good. We don't take our good camera out on the lake, so we had to make do with the old one.

Jack, Trevor, Joe, Jacob, and Zach hanging out on the boat

It's the Birthday Boy!

Mitch riding the Jet Ski and Megan tubing (Yes, they were tied up the anchored boat!)

Jack taking Zach for a ride on the Jet Ski

The guys were double tubing behind the boat, and one would try to "catch" the other tube, and then jump on it! Here are Zach and Trevor trying it!

The guys once we got back home....eating of course!

Here they are eating again on Sunday morning. This time, Mitch and Jake got to join them. Do you think there were enough guys in my house?

More Playdates

Jake had a playdate last week with his friend, Cooper. Cooper is about 3 weeks younger than Jake, and I'm sure they are going to grow up being big buddies! We've been to lunch with Cooper and his mommy, Ann, several times, but this was the first time they have been able to get down and play together. Here's a great picture of Cooper playing with Mitch's tools and Jake posing for camera!

By the way, for those of you have seen our playroom, you know how crazy it is! I cleared it out! I put away 3 FULL boxes of toys (we'll rotate them in an out from now on), and now the boys actually play in there! What a concept, huh? Isn't funny how they always want to play with things that aren't theirs? Jake usually ends up playing with Mitch's toys and Mitch plays with Jake's. Go figure...

Time to lower the crib...again

This past Saturday, while Gary and I were the bathroom getting ready to go to a friend's, Mitch and Jake were in Jake's room playing. Jake was in his crib and Mitch was playing in the floor, and had shut Jake's door. All of sudden, Mitch says, "Mommy...Jake's standing up!" I opened the door, and this is what I found...

Happy Birthday Jack!

Okay...so I'm a little behind... Jack officially became a teenager on July 22, and I'm just now getting the post up. Sorry! Yep, hard to believe, but he is 13. Really, it wasn't THAT long ago that I was 13 (at least that's the way it is my mind)!

Starting on his 10th birthday, Jack started requesting The Melting Pot for his birthday dinner. Literally, we went to Burger King one year and the next it was The Melting Pot... big jump, huh? This year we even took Mitch with us (Mimi kept Jake). It was so yummy, and Mitch did pretty good, especially considering we were there for 3 hours, and our reservations weren't until 7:30pm. It just so happened to be "Girls Night" at the The Melting Pot, so it was a little unexpected "gift" for Jack. :)

Jack wanted a new Ipod for his birthday, so that's what we got him. He got the Ipod Touch, and he loves it! I also made him a scrapbook of his and Gary's trip to Green Bay last fall, and we got him a Packers book. Mitch made him a suncatcher and "bought" him lots of candy (which Mitch ate all of - Jack said he could).

Check out the difference just one year makes! Here's pics of Jack on his 12th birthday and his 13th birthday! I'm amazed every time I look at it!

12 year old

13 years old

(hmm...I'm seeing a pattern in Jack's shirt color preference...)

I seem to have a hard time getting a picture of all 5 of my guys, but here's a great one of 4 of them!

Jack is having his official "party" this weekend. He has invited several of his friends out on the boat for the day on Saturday, and they are spending the night Saturday night. Like there wasn't already enough testosterone in this house, huh? :)