Fridays with the Tuley's

Jacob turned 9 months on Monday. We can't believe it! Jacob has had a great week...he's showing off some new skills that he's mastered, such as sitting without support and saying his first word. You'll have to watch the video to see what it was!!! He's growing so fast right before our eyes and we are relishing every second that we can with this little miracle. Things are so special for us, and we applaud EVERY milestone that he achieves. We are so proud of him and look forward to all that God has in store for this little one.

Hope you enjoy the pictures this week. We had a good time taking them! :)

Here we are at our church's Trunk or Treat. Jacob is sporting his Tiger Costume for all to see! When Jacob was in the NICU and had his surgeries, Jeff liked to call his scars his Tiger Stripes. So I thought it was fitting that Jacob sport his Tiger stripes in a Tiger costume. Grrrrrr! What a tough Tiger! You can see by the look on his face that he's not thrilled about his hat...we however, are totally elated! :) You can kind of see our "Jungle" in the background. Our small group pulled together and helped out with this one...thank goodness...I wasn't sure what I'd gotten us into by signing up for a "SPOT" at the Trunk or Treat. But it proved to be a really great time!

Let's try for a smile without the tiger hat????

No???

At least Mommy's happy!

One more try with Daddy and the tiger hat???

Well, maybe a partial smile???

But not really.

On Wednesday we had another Jacob Photoshoot in his usual chair. He looked so cute in his Glow in the Dark skeleton shirt. Can you see the candy that is going down into the belly? So cute!

Of course, Jackson had to get in on the photoshoot. They really do "LOVE" each other. Sometimes Jackson loves (licks) on Jacob a little too much. But Jacob just laughs and takes it!

Jeff and Jacob play with this music/educational toy alot in the evenings. It's so cute hearing Jeff sing along with the toy as it sings its numbers and letters. He always adds his own little variations, which is pretty funny to hear. Jacob is so proud of himself when he makes it/daddy sing.

This is the NEW SKILLS section of the blog...haha!

Here's Jacob about to play with the hungry caterpillar rings...doesn't he look thrilled... hee hee.

But, you can see how straight his back is...this has been alot of work to get him to sit up so straight.

Then, when I was snapping pictures he decided to try out lifting his hands...he looks like he's concentrating so hard. Don't mind the messy mirror. Somebody, not saying who, touches it with slobbery hands and I haven't cleaned it yet.

That same somebody, with the slobbery hands that touches the mirror, was now confident enough to lift the ring to his mouth WITH BOTH HANDS while sitting. YAY!!!!!!!! Way to go Jacob. We're so proud of you!

Then of course, Jacob is showing off his speaking skills in this video. See if you can tell what he's saying??? Needless to say, there have been some tears shed over this word...sniff sniff. :)

As always, thanks for checking in with us today. So many of you that follow this blog have been witnesses of one of the many miracles that God is a part of. We are always grateful for the continued support and prayers that are still being lifted up for Jacob. May you have a blessed day!

I know it's Saturday...

...and I said that I would post on Friday...so for all the Jacob fans that were expecting something yesterday...SORRY! Here's the skinny on the big guy! (ha...get it)

This is one of the semi-good family photos we've had in the past few months and we're all looking at the camera. Looks like Jacob is close to smiling or just finishing one. Either way, we're just happy to have a family photo with him in it! :)

Uncle Buh and Aunt Benny (Jon and Jenny) came to visit for the weekend. They were in Nashville to attend a wedding and got to stay with us. What fun we all had...they loved watching Jacob bounce up and down in his jumper, on their lap, when he sits...you get the point. He loves to just bob up and down...maybe we can catch it on video for you. Why couldn't he have smiled like this in the family pic???? Hee hee.

Jacob has his photoshoots every now and then when he seems particularly happy...and this day was no exception. I love the socks that GJ and PB got him from Yosemite...they say, "a bear says, Grrrrr." Plus, he's wearing a onesie (size 18 months...what a big guy) from Aunt Vonnie with bear paw prints all over it. The bear theme was in full swing that day...

On that same day Jacob didn't have any appointments, so we went out for some fun. While we were out, we ran into some our very best friends, Jackie and Mike. We went to lunch at a little deli close by and enjoyed some fun company. They have a blog about their adoption journey and are hoping to be bringing home a child from Nepal in the near future. They are a special couple! And in pure Jacob fashion...he's not looking at the camera... :)

I caught this picture of Jacob soon after laying him down on the floor. He's watching a Baby Einstein video and totally enthralled. Usually he will not hold his head in this position for very long....but I'm not kidding...this kid was watching the screen for about 20 minutes before he put his head down for a short rest. But, he was back up in a flash when something ran across the screen. So he can do it...he just needs the motivation. Me and Toys just don't cut it I guess.

We're working on strengthening Jacob's oral motor skills by playing little games with him during feeding times. He was holding this carrot stick in his mouth for quite a while. It looked funny, so we caught a picture. What a ham!

This last picture is of Jacob from today. He's such a cute growing kid! Each day he's getting stronger and stronger. I love seeing the joy in his face when he discovers a new talent he has...

Thanks for checking in with us this week. Have a wonderful day! Stay tuned cause next week is HALLOWEEN....that means that Jacob will be sporting all kinds of cuteness!

Another Friday Post

I am finding less and less time in the week to post about Jacob's activities. Maybe I should just make it a plan to post on Fridays...

This is the drooly Jacob picture...because he's getting 4 more teeth...YES 4 MORE! He's getting the top four middle teeth. The two in the center have already broken through the skin, but the other two beside each of those is just about to come through, you can see the spongy skin ready to show some more pearly whites. When they grow a little more, maybe I can snap some pics. For now, you'll just have to believe me by seeing the drool!

Jacob had his very first trip to Walmart, that's right, FIRST trip! I was so proud of the little guy sitting up so well in the shopping cart. I had been putting this off because I just didn't think he was strong enough to hold himself, but there's a harnace that clips him into the seat cover...so I could have taken him a LONG time ago! :) He is so cute playing with his little ball. Don't worry, nobody touched him and I sanitized EVERYTHING before and after getting into it!

Jacob had a couple of appointments at VCH this week and so did his friend Sam. This is a pic of us playing in the garden while waiting for his buddy Sam to finish his procedure. Jacob had the best time feeling the breeze on his face and playing with his keys. He's getting strong enough to pull himself forward in the stroller to grasp at unreachable things in front of him. This is great, because his abdominal muscles were sliced a couple of times for surgeries and it means that he's beginning to strengthen those up! Go, Jacob Go!

Sorry about this video being sideways. I thought I would be able to rotate it, but alas, you can't do that...so you'll have to live sideways with Jacob for a minute or so. Jacob has been loving Jackson lately, and he loves Jackson's toys, especially the ones that make noise. I love how he pulls his hands up off his legs when he laughs hard! He just keeps laughing when Jackson squeezes his toy and makes noise with it. Precious!

Just a precious picture of our little one. Although, he's not so little. We had an appointment this week and Jacob is over 30 and a half inches. Way above the 95% for length. He's also weighing in at 22 pounds 4 ounces. Way to go! Our appointment was a follow up with the surgeon that did Jacob's surgeries, and when he came in he said, "Wow, I wouldn't even have recognized him!" Jacob has come such a long way!

And the last picture I leave you with is of our new patio! Jeff did this!!! He's so good at projects. It took him a couple of weeks, only because of rain stopping his progress, but nevertheless, it is done. Doesn't it look great! You can also see the top parts of the retaining walls that Jeff did a couple of summers ago. What a lot of work!

Thanks for checking in with us. Hope you have a blessed day today. God is still working miracles...share that with someone today!

Socks...Jacob's new love

Jacob is beginning to really show us his personality lately. He's quite the smart little fella! And apparently, pretty flexible too! Here's the pictures of how I found him after his nap. So funny! By the way, don't you just love the roll of fat around his wrist...how cute is that!

Thought this video was so funny that we had to post it. Yes, that's a sock in his hand, and yes he did pull it off, despite what he says in the video.

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

Sitting, Pushing Up, and Satting 97...

Hello to all the Jacob followers out there. It's been a fun week with the "Big Guy" and lots of things are beginning to click in his little brain (and muscles). Jacob has been sitting with support and very steady for about a week. He could sit with support at the beginning of September, but would topple over if you left him for even a second. Now, he can sit and "catch" himself with his arms, except when he falls backwards. :) He loves this skill and even attempts to let go and lifts his arms occasionally. We're so proud of his progress. He works so hard!

In the last post we had a video of Jacob pushing up and wow...that skill has gotten better and better. He is lasting anywhere from one or two minutes up and playing with items in front of him. It's kinda cute how hard he has to work just to do this...you can hear him make little grunting noises as he is "working" and then when he lays back down he kinda catches his breath. Silly right lung...let's show it who's boss!!!

The last picture I will leave you with is this one from today... During naps Jacob is put on the sat monitor just to make sure his O2 is good while we're not around. It's set to alarm when he goes below 93 or 94. Well....this is how I found Jacob when he woke up from his nap...

Can you see his face???? Who knows how long the oxygen was off his nose...but obviously it wasn't a problem. The sat monitor never went off... and he was satting 97! :)

Oxygen Schmoxygen...Psssshhhhaaaa!

Thanks for checking in with us. Have a blessed day! So glad God has a sense of humor....