Trunk or Treat

Sunday night was Trunk or Treat night at church. Jacob dressed up as a Train Engineer. He even had an Engine from J & T Railways to go along with his costume.

Here's the Engineer looking his best!

Daddy and the Engineer

Mommy and the Engineer inside his train. J & T Railways was ready for business! Have I mentioned lately how hard it is to get a picture of him smiling!?!?

Waiting for the parade to start at Trunk or Treat.

Walking in the parade, Mommy telling Jacob to wave to Daddy. It didn't work. :)

Our small group signed up for a spot to decorate. This year we did a Buzz Lightyear/Space theme. Jacob's friend Sam was dressed as Buzz. We had blacklights, shoot the Zurg game, and lots of fluorescent decorations. Fun was had by all!

Here's a picture of the inside...

By the end of the evening Buzz and the Engineer were still running around and enjoying themselves. Here's Buzz shooting his gun. You're welcome Tracy! :)

And here's Jacob chasing after Buzz. Great Picture of Sam, don't you think?

Thanks for checking in with us this week. Stay tuned for more Halloween festivites!

Pumpkin Picking!

Today we went to Walden Farm to find some pumpkins to decorate for Halloween. It was the first time Jacob had been to a pumpkin farm, and he seemed very interested and really tried to "take it all in."

"I think I found the one I want!"
"Why do you have me sitting in a bunch of pumpkins?"

"What do you think? Do you like my pumpkins?" We took home the little one in between his legs and the big one behind him

"How does this thing work?"

After we picked some pumpkins, we looked at the farm animals and Jacob pointed out pigs and sheep. He seemed to really like the cows the best, and ran over to them.

Great picture of Daddy and Jacob!

Jacob saying, "This sun is bright Mom, where's my sunglasses?"

Jacob standing in the corn.

Thanks for checking in with us! Have a great day!

Up and Down

Jacob goes to the park in between therapy sessions on Thursdays. So he's getting really good at going up and down the stairs. He sometimes even takes two at a time. Although, you'll see that sometimes he's successful, and sometimes he needs a little help. Enjoy!

Update on Jacob: We went to the surgeon for Jacob's follow-up appointment on Tuesday. We got an Xray that morning before the appointment. Everything looked great! The surgeon was so pleased with Jacob's progress. He looked for areas of re-herniation, and there were none! So the patch is still holding strong. He did say that there's a chance that the liver will act as a "plug" and even if the patch comes away from the diaphragm, that the liver will likely not allow anything through the hole. But, he'd like to continue to follow Jacob every year until he's 5. He also looked at things like his chest wall and his pectus (the indention between his ribs). Many CDH kids have problems with their heart not having enough room to function fully during exertion. So, he'll keep watching that, but said that he wouldn't even consider surgery for that until Jacob was 8 or 10, if he needs it at all. He'll also keep watching his spine for scoliosis. So far, Jacob has a slight curve (also common with CDH kids). Our physical therapist explained to us that we need to do as much stretching with him as he will allow. His muscles on the right side of his abdomen are tight because of the surgeries, so we'll continue to stretch him and hopefully avoid spine problems. Overall, it was an awesome check-up and we LOVED getting to showcase some of his skills. Developmentally, Jacob is really taking off! He's been talking more than ever! It's great. We haven't officially counted, but we think he has at least 15 words, but he really tries to repeat alot of words we say. It's been really fun for us.

We're thankful to God for all the progress we see in Jacob. Sometimes in quiet moments, I tear up thinking about the blessing that Jacob has been to us. I thank God that he saw it fit to allow us to bring Jacob into this world, to see him through a tough start, and be able to witness the things that we never thought we'd see with Jacob. What a great testimony he has to share!

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

Going Shopping!

Georgia Aquarium--Happy Birthday Chappy!

For Chappy's birthday we spent the day in Downtown Atlanta going to the Georgia Aquarium and Ted's Montana Grill. We only have pictures from the Aquarium because our camera battery died...but there's some cute pictures of part of the birthday celebration. :) It was a great time for us to spend with family and Jacob definitely enjoyed being the entertainment! Happy birthday Chappy!

Here's most of the group (minus Jeff and Uncle Buh) waiting to enter the Aquarium. I tried to get everyone to look at the camera...usually the adults are the ones that pay attention and Jacob is the one looking elsewhere...but it looks like Jacob was actually listening! :) Also, you can see who the grandparents are looking at...hum...how much do they love Jacob????

Inside the aquarium. I didn't plan on the camera making the cool effect in this pic...but it's like the world is moving all around Jacob. He stands out wherever he goes! :)

Jacob trying to touch the Jellyfish. What a face!

Close up of the "Jellies"

Jacob walking around one of the rooms.

This picture was taken inside a "tube" in one of the tanks. There were some extremely large fish, including 3 whale sharks and this HUGE thing behind us.

A picture of one of the whale sharks. The oval shaped thing at the top of the water was an inflated boat where they are dumping food to the fish in the tank. These whale sharks are amazing!

Jacob with Chappy and Gramma at the big tank.

Jacob and the Big Big Tank! I love this picture! Jacob's face is so funny to me.

An attempt at a group shot. Sorry Misty you're covered by Jon!

Here's Jacob about to put his hand in the water at a "petting" station. This is one of my favorite pictures of the day. First, because I am looking super cheesy, and second because Chappy has the least expressive look on his face and his arms are crossed, and Jacob is looking for Jeff and can't find him, but is smiling anyways. So. Funny.

The last picture I will leave you with is of Jacob with his two prized possessions as we are leaving the Aquarium. He picked them out himself! :)

Thanks to the Tuley clan for the great day and wonderful family time.

Until next time....

Whatcha got Jacob?

Jacob recently got some new pants and pajamas that were size 2t. First of all, I can't believe he's actually that big!?!? But onto the real reason for the post. Jeff thought it would be funny to put Jacob's hammer in his "carpenter" jeans. The funniest part about this was that the hammer makes a jingly sound when you shake it, so Jacob was walking up and down the hall just jingling away! He finally figured out that he could reach it and get it out. How funny!

Have a good day! Jingle away!

Matchy Matchy

Aren't we cute in our blue jeans and blue shirts???

"As you know in fashion...one day you're in...and the next day...you're out." According to Project Runway...we're OUT, because things are no longer supposed to be matchy matchy. :)

Jacob doesn't seem to mind that we're not so fashionable! :)

Have a great day!