Gotcha!

Nap times at the Tuley house can be pretty silly sometimes. We have been putting Jacob in his crib and letting him fall asleep/wake-up on his own. Not that we don't "LOVE" to rock him to sleep...but whenever we do rock him now, he will fall asleep and as soon as we put him in the crib he wakes up, without fail. Anyhow...when we put J down for a nap we put him on a monitor that checks his saturation levels (the amount of 02 in his blood). We attach it to his foot. He usually falls asleep pretty quickly. But, once he wakes up, J has been into kicking his feet non-stop. He has realized that if he kicks his feet enough, the sat monitor will alarm and send us scrambling into the room. We will come into the room and find his legs still and him looking up at the monitor. Ha, what a character!

Here are a few pictures of Jacob as I found him this week after he'd woken up from his naps. In the first picture he was pulling on the cord to the sat. monitor, and in the second pic he had scooted himself off the boppy completely and was so proud. (Yes we let him fall asleep in the boppy sometimes, only because we have the sat monitor and it will tell us if something goes wrong...)





Lastly, I will leave you with this picture taken of Jacob on his 7 month birthday (August 26th). Yes, he's already 7 months, WOW! He is able to roll himself up on his side...but just won't go the last little bit and roll over onto his tummy. What a stinker! But...do you see who's holding the pacifier???? :)


Our preacher did a great sermon this morning. He reminded us that in the storms of our lives that God has, and always will be, fighting through those for us. We need only to be still. This brought back so many memories, good and bad, of Jacob's fight for his life and how much we relied on God in that time. Tears came easily for me this morning as I was reminded of how Great our God was to us. May we always Praise God for what was done in Jacob!

Thanks for checking in with us. Hope you have a blessed week.

Beautiful...Something to Pray for...

The weather in Nashville was SO BEAUTIFUL today that we decided to take the "kids" outside while we washed the cars. As you can see from the pictures, they had a great time!Jacob loved feeling the breeze on his face, looking at the tree above him, and watching his toys swing as he hit them over and over. Jackson seemed to really enjoy eating the grass and watching us as we cleaned the cars.

You can see Jackson eating grass and Jacob kicking his feet.

This is Jacob's face when he hits his hanging toys. He's so proud of himself.

Cheese!


Too Cool...

Just hangin' out...

Thanks for checking in with us. Have a blessed week!

Something to pray for...We have to give Jacob two shots every day. One in the morning and one at night. When he was in the NICU he had a central line (most babies do) and because of that line, Jacob formed a clot in a major vein. We have been on Lovenox, a blood thinner, since they found the clots in the NICU and have had to continue giving these to him daily. It's not fun for Jacob (or us, since we are the ones administering the shot). We go back to the doctor on September 16th to do an ultrasound to find out if the clot is still there. If the clot is still there, then we have to continue the shots for 3 more months. If the clot is gone, then we can stop giving him the shots. PLEASE pray that Jacob's vein is CLOT FREE so that he doesn't have to continue this medication. Thanks so much!

Blessed...

So far, it's been a pretty good week for Jacob. He's learning to do lots of things! He is beginning to push his chest up with his arms, definately kicking around his legs ALOT more (which means more strength...), and starting to eat some baby food too. He's such a champ! His physical therapy sessions are going great, and each time we go, we learn more things that we can do with Jacob to help him strengthen his arms, legs, and core. I'll try to get some more pictures this week and show you what he's doing...

Some of our favorite moments this week have been when he wakes up from naps...he just smiles and makes loud screeching noises. It's so funny. He's beginning to imitate us alot more and just laughs when he does something we do.

He's growing so much! He is already 19 pounds and 28 1/2 inches tall. He is wearing size 3 diapers already, and in 9 month clothing. The 6 month stuff is just too short and tight. We've already cleared out the closet a couple of times with the clothes that he doesn't fit into anymore...sniff sniff.

Here's a few more pictures of Jacob. He's wearing a bib from our friend Anne...it says, "Bless, Blessed, Blessing." I don't think it needs any more explanation.

God is SO good to us. We continue to thank God daily for our miracle...each day with him is such a blessing, and we will NEVER ever take that for granted...even on days that don't go our way. God is faithful.

Thanks for checking in on us. May you have a blessed week!

Elbows and Mohawks...

Jacob did pretty good yesterday afternoon when I put him up to rest on his elbows and forearms. He played with the blanket and held his head up pretty good. We need him to lift his chest with his arms and bear weight on his arms. This will help him to roll over and sit up. Enjoy the pics!

I added this picture of Jacob and his Mohawk. He's got enough hair to do a few styles here and there. Hee Hee.

A Great Week...

This week was GREAT for Jacob. Everyday we witness a new skill that he has mastered and we're so thankful. Jacob is bringing his hands together to grab his Frog Paci, or hold a toy. He has begun using the "raking" grasp to grab items (even small ones like Cheerios) that are in front of him. He is reaching out for toys and bringing more to his mouth. We even witnessed him trying to put the paci back in his mouth. What a sight! He is so close to sitting on his own, and we have seen him get up onto his side all on his own, this means he's close to rolling over. He still needs some leg and upper arm strength in order to "fully" do these things, but he's working on that! YAY Jacob!

Many of you have asked, and YES, we are getting out of the house! We are pretty busy during the week. We have been attending church on Sundays for the past few weeks, and that has been great! Also, Jacob has various therapy sessions on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and sometimes other doctors appointments on either Tuesdays or Fridays. We get visited every other week by a nurse from the program Nurses for Newborns. She weighs and measures Jacob, then listens to his heart and lungs and checks on his developmental progress. I have been taking him on a morning walk (about an hour) every day with a neighbor and her son. Occasionally, we are able to get out for dinner or run errands. Jacob handles all of this SO well.

This week we were visited by Jeff's Aunt Vonnie from Little Rock, Arkansas. She had a great time holding Jacob and watching him play with his toys. Here's a few pictures of them together.

I was able to catch these photos of Jacob and Jackson this week. In the first picture, I am not sure what they both are looking at...but apparently, it was interesting enough to keep their attention for a while. I was making all kinds of sounds and noises to get their attention for a picture. Finally it worked, thus the second picture in this group...

This picture just shows how Jacob is using both of his hands to grab a toy.

There are a couple of CDH babies that have been fighting hard for their lives, or about to be fighting. Please keep them and their families in your prayers this week. Please pray for Baby Jackson, who lost his battle with CDH. Pray for peace to surround his family. Also, Baby Max and Baby Ireland will be born some time next week, and will begin their CDH journey. Thanks so much.

Thanks for checking in with us. Have a blessed week!

When I grow up...

When I grow up I want to be just like my Uncle Biggie.

I want to be a pilot for Delta (don't I look cute in my hat?) ...

...and I want to eat Mexican Food ALL the time! Yummy!

Thanks Uncle Biggie for spending your layover with me. I had fun when you made silly faces at me, and when you tickled my toes, and when you laughed with me. I love all the airplane stuff you got me too. I Love you Uncle Biggie!

Love,

Jacob