Another week with Jacob

Here's a few pictures of our precious boy (and the dog). There's not much to report...other than we got great results from his ECHO and everything looks normal. This is great news considering he's been off the oxygen for almost a month. We're very happy about his progress! We haven't done much this week except his therapy appointments. We now have to watch what we put on the kitchen counters, since he can reach them with his finger tips... Ha! We went to the park and discovered that he's not a big fan of the park yet, but I know he will be!

Thanks for checking in with us. Have a wonderful day!

Flying

This past weekend Uncle Biggie came up to visit...and if you know Uncle Biggie then you know airplanes are going to be involved somehow or someway! :) Jeff also has his pilot's license, but wanted to do some "refresher" flying with his brother (the Delta Pilot). So, for his birthday (which was Sunday) he and Uncle Biggie spent all day Saturday and part of Sunday flying around. You can tell by the smile on his face that he was indeed having a WONDERFUL time. On Sunday evening, Jacob and I met them at the airport and went for a flight too! Enjoy the pictures...

Jeff and Jacob at the airplane. Doesn't Jeff look happy? Meanwhile, Jacob is catching flies in his mouth!!!! :)

Jacob pressing the buttons and getting a "feel" for the plane.

"You mean I get to fly this thing? Spins, turns, and flips too?"

The boys getting ready for the flight. How fun!!!!!

Jeff getting Jacob into his seat in the plane.

"Give me that camera, Mama!"

In the back seat of the plane, ready to go!

The pilots are ready too.

Up, Up, and Away! A look at the runway from the sky!

Jacob wasn't too sure about the flying when we were up in the air. Not one tear was shed, but not one smile was given AT ALL either. Trust me, I tried to get one! He couldn't really look around with the headphones on either. I think he was just trying so hard to figure it all out, that he didn't have time to enjoy it. :) We, however, loved it!

Uh-oh! Where'd Jacob go??????

Oh...there he is. With Uncle Biggie in the front of the plane. Jeff was flying while we were taking pictures of this monumental flight! You can see the ground below in the back of the pic. Yes, we're in the air in this pic! :)

Jacob doing some flying and looking out the windows!

Take 1 at a group shot... (while in the air)

Take 2--wait a minute...who's flying the plane???? I believe it was a person by the name of "Auto Pilot!" :)

Jacob did so great during the flight and I was even able to get this half smile after we'd landed and while taxi-ing back to the hangar.Thanks for checking in with us. Thanks to Uncle Biggie for coming up to visit. It was a GREAT time! We hope you all have a wonderful day!

Portland Trip

We recently went to the Portland, OR area -- Jacob's first airplane trip. We were very excited, yet also very nervous to take Jacob somewhere unfamiliar. But, in true Jacob fashion, he did marvelously!!! Despite the lack of routine, he was happy, and slept great during naps, at night , and in the car (when needed). Thank you for all the prayers that went up on our behalf...God was truly with us!





We left for Portland on Thursday morning and got back home on Monday evening. One of my college friends (Ryan) was getting married and my dad (Papa Bear) was doing the ceremony. Also, another great friend of mine (Jenna) lives in Portland, so we were able to spend some quality time with her too. It was great because we got to be with Papa Bear and GJo, and were able to introduce Jacob to two of my friends. Enjoy the pictures of the trip!

Jacob sitting in the seat on Southwest Airlines...by the way...if you have to travel with oxygen, you must have an FAA approved form...since we didn't have one...Jacob went without.

LONG STORY but if you're interested read the bottom of this post

Jeff and Jacob on the plane

Waiting for PB and GJo to arrive in Portland. In this pic, Jeff is carrying our luggage while I push Jacob and our carry-ons in the stroller. I should have made a "Wide Load" sign and hung it on the backpack. Ha! Fun!

Friday afternoon we spent time going along historic route 30 from Portland to Hood River. There are alot of waterfalls right off the road. It was beautiful. This is a great picture of PB and GJo with Jacob. Look at those smiles! How precious!

Jacob and me in front of Wahkeena Falls. Someone looks happy...

Jenna and Jacob...so fun!

Multnomah Falls

If you've read The Shack then you can find the Native American legend of how this waterfall was created. We "hiked" up to the bridge that is in this picture. Jacob loved the sound of the water and feeling the mist on his face!

The whole gang after lunch in Hood River: GJo, Jenna, Julie, Jeff, PB, and Jacob

The wedding was in The Dalles, OR. This is a picture of Jacob in front of the hotel where we stayed and doing his latest trick. He lifts up his hands and we all yell, "Yay!" He does it over and over and just smiles so big. You can see GJo gets so excited about this! :)

Precious! Jacob at the wedding. What a sweet smile!

Papa Bear and Jacob at the wedding

A Family Portrait

The Tuley family with the bride (Ryan) and the Groom (Jeremy). Congrats to the happy couple! It was a beautiful wedding and a wonderful day!

PB and GJo with Jacob in Hood River

Mt. Hood

This mountain has snow on it year round and can be seen all around the Portland Area. Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens are also visible too. Amazingly beautiful!

Jacob on the plane ride home after we'd landed. He was glad to be done with the flight and we were so happy with how well he had done. In fact, as we were exiting the plane, a woman in the row next to us said, "Your baby is the best behaved baby I have ever seen on a plane." Wow! Awesome!

So...here's the oxygen story...

Our pulmonologist wanted Jacob to travel with oxygen, just to be on the safe side. Since he had recently come off oxygen, we thought it would be best too. So, a month or two before the trip, we contacted our oxygen supplier and through lots of research and communication with the doctor and supplier, got a portable oxygen concentrator for Jacob. When we arrived to check our bags, the Southwest agent was not going to let us board the plane without an FAA approved form from the doctor on letterhead explaining why Jacob needed oxygen and how much, etc. Our flight was leaving at 9 and it was 8:20. We asked them if that was on their website and they explained that it was. We hadn't seen that. So, she gets online and looks for it. She couldn't find it. Hum. Then she gets her supervisor, and she couldn't find it either. Hum. Another person comes over and finally finds the special note that you're supposed to have in order to fly with oxygen. Amazing that something SO IMPORTANT is SO DIFFICULT to find. :) Can you tell we were frustrated! Anyways, once they printed it off we had to scramble....we did not want to get on the later flight... SO...we were able to get our pulmonologist's cell number and called him. He was in New Orleans for a conference and unable to fax in a letter for us...GREAT! After some discussion with him, he gave us the clear to fly without oxygen. Awesome! By this time it was 8:40, and we still hadn't gone through security. Instead of saying anything to the Southwest Agent, we just left with our boarding passes in hand hoping to get on the plane. So we're running, with Jacob and concentrator to security. We finally get through security and RUN to the gate as fast as we can. We arrive at the gate at 8:58. Nobody is there to check us in. We wait, we can still see the plane, we try to go to the next gate counter, a flight attendant calls down to our station, nobody picks up...So Jeff yells down the tarmac..."Hey...You've got passengers here!" I yell, "Don't close the plane doors!" I promise you, we looked like a scene from a comedy movie. Then we hear a glorious sound...the flight attendant says to come on down. We get on the plane (only 3 seats remained and they weren't together), and start our journey into Portland. It wasn't the easiest start to a trip, but in the end, we made it safe and sound, and that's all that matters!

Thanks for checking in with us. Have a wonderful day!!!

Mother's Day

It was a beautiful day. We celebrated with the Tuley family (minus Biggie) and GJo (my Mom-who surprised me by coming from CA). What a wonderful weekend!!! Sunday was also New Arrivals Day for our church and we celebrated all the children that were born in 2009, so it was a special day for Jacob too. Enjoy the pictures!


This is how Jacob felt by the end of the photoshoot. He was tired and hungry. Oh Uncle Buh being so silly with Jacob... :)

One Year Ago...

...we were bringing Jacob home. Remember this post?

Outdoor Photoshoot

These are some pictures from a few days ago. They're really cute, although I had a really hard time getting Jacob to smile. He was too interested in the wind blowing through the trees and watching Jackson run around.

So far, Jacob has been doing really well without his oxygen. He's been satting well at night and his average sat is 97. Sometimes he's higher and sometimes he's lower, and he rarely falls below 94, except if he's crying. This is great! We've got a few more weeks before he goes in for an ECHO, and that will be the true test, to see if his pulmonary pressures are still normal without oxygen.

On another note, please keep us in your prayers. We will be taking Jacob to the Portland, OR area from May 13-17. I have a friend getting married, and my dad will be officiating the wedding. We're super excited to introduce Jacob to our friends and see PB and GJo, but we're also apprehensive about taking Jacob out of OUR comfort zone, so please be praying that Jacob stays healthy, happy, and does well during the trip. Thanks so much!

Have a blessed day!