CDH Awareness Day!

Today is Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness day and we are wearing turquoise today to honor the many families that have been and are being diagnosed. We are wearing turquiose for families that have spent time in the hospital and families that will spend time in the hospital. We are wearing turquoise for families that have lost babies and for families that have taken babies home and for the family members that remember how this birth defect changed their lives forever. Today our family will make people aware, but every day we remember.

Time in Texas

Our main reason for going to Texas last weekend was so that we could speak about our experience with one of God's miraculous gifts, Jacob. We were asked to speak at Murray Street Church of Christ (click on the link to go to their site) and what a blessing it was for us to be there, worshiping with people that have been praying for Jacob for 2 & 1/2 years. These people are some of our biggest prayer warriors, and it was such a pleasure to meet them and thank them in person for their prayers. What a blessing to us. God is working in that church and we are honored to be a part of that. God is at work all around us, in our circumstances whether good or bad, and it is our joy to be able to see God and join in His work. If you are looking for God, you will find Him.

While we were there, we got to see family and celebrate my niece's 3rd Birthday too. Papa Bear and GJo were there too, and it was a wonderful time together! Enjoy the pictures...

Here's Jacob on the plane getting ready to take off! All buckled in!

We attended Uncle Josh's first Basketball game for a church league on Friday night. Jacob LOVES basketball and watched most of the game just like this...

Then, after the game Jacob played around with Papa Bear on the court. :)
Jacob loved being outside on Uncle Josh and Aunt Jamie's porch swing... So sweet!
Here's the cousins enjoying some time on the swing!

Saturday was Audrey's 3rd Birthday party. She LOVES princesses, so of course she had a princess themed birthday party, complete with a Cinderella Cake!

At the party, the kids decorated little crowns with a picture to go inside, and also colored from Disney's coloring books. This is such a sweet picture of Jacob and Audrey coloring together.

This is the birthday girl!!! So sweet!

For her birthday she got a princess tea set table and a pony to ride, among other princess like things. She loved it!

On her horse!

After the party Jacob and Audrey were playing with their characters from the show "Super Why," a favorite show around our house and apparently there too. Jacob has Wyatt and Audrey has Princess Pea. So cute!

Audrey was constantly bringing her Tea set chairs out into the living room for her and Jacob to sit next to each other. It was so sweet to watch them together. She would maneuver the chair so he could sit...so cute!

They spent some time outside before church on Sunday night...this is how they entertained themselves. Audrey easily ran circles around Jacob, but she would just grab his hand and walk with him everywhere. Precious. LOVE. THOSE. BOOTS!

Jacob laughing at Audrey...she had just climbed through the "V" in the tree.

Here we are all together. What special memories!

Weekend Trip to Atlanta

This past weekend we traveled to Atlanta to be with family. Jacob was, as usual, the center of attention. He stole the show and entertained us all. Here's some pictures from the time in Atlanta. Here's Jacob and his sidekick Deon in the car...can you find him? I love how sleepy Jacob looks...he got maybe 30 minutes of naptime that day! Ha!

Gramma and Jacob went to the lake to feed the geese. Jacob tore up the bread all by himself and placed it in the ziploc bag. How sweet.

The geese came so close that they were eating out of Gramma's hands.

I stole away from the family to see my good friend and her new baby. We spent nearly 3 hours just catching up and holding her wee-one. Precious!

Saturday morning was spent at the Southern Museum. Jacob learned all about how the locomotive "The General" was taken by a band of Union Soldiers and one man's mission to stop them from completely destroying the rail lines and cutting off resources for the Confederate Army. Very informative!

Here's Gramma and Chappy walking into the museum with Jacob.

Chappy, Jeff and Jacob...not sure about this one... Ha!

Jacob had a good time waiting for the "movie" to start by running back and forth on the "dinah." Otherwise known as Diamonds. :) In case you didn't know already, they are "bap" and "ite."

"The General"

Being with family is very special, and we love and appreciate them so much. It's great to be able to share Jacob and all the normal, ordinary, and wonderful things he can do, with a family that loves him and gives him so much attention! What a blessing God has given us.

Double Whammy!

Yep, you've got that right...stitches! Agh! We've had quite the week around here! We went to our two year check-up appointment on Thursday last week, and Jacob decided to fall and split his chin open while walking down the hall to see the doctor. So...not only did we have that check-up appointment, but we also got 7 stitches! Then, to top it off, Jacob got a stomach bug and we had bad diapers and fever all weekend. Talk about a double whammy! Hopefully Jacob is on the mend, but it just seems like he's been through the ringer lately.

This is what we've been doing alot of lately... Laying down everywhere...wherever we can find...

However, despite all that he's been going through this weekend...he's still in good enough spirits to smile for the camera. What a big boy!

Maybe we'll be able to get over this stomach bug and off to doing better things than laying around, feeling bad, and watching Mickey Mouse, Super Why, and Team UmiZoomi. Thanks for checking in with us!

Sing!

In case you didn't know it already, Jacob is very muscial. He LOVES singing and listening to music. One thing I realized recently, is that all the songs that I sang to him as a baby while in the hospital and when we were home were ingrained in his little brain and heart. I realized this when I was giving Jacob a bath and started singing a song to him that he had heard all his life, but he had never sang along with me before. I stopped in the song, not purposefully, but he filled in the word for me. It was so sweet.

Here's us singing that song at breakfast the other day...

Here's another couple of songs we've been singing lately too...I think you'll recognize these!!!

Jacob also sings along in the car with some silly vegetables (some veggies named Bob and Larry), and he knows many of the words to the songs already. It makes me smile and almost tear up when I hear him in the car singing "God is so Good," because God is good. So. Good. I believe that deep down in his heart he KNOWS this, he may not remember all the poking and prodding that happened to him as a baby, but I choose to believe that it formed and shaped him in ways that are Good and True, and only from God. He and God have a special connection already!

Thanks for checking in with us today. I hope your day is filled with seeing God's goodness, even through the tough stuff. Because while the tough stuff may not be fun now, one day you will see God's hand in it, and you will sing "God is so Good" and KNOW that He is.

Playing at the Park and Videos

The weather has been so great the past week, that Jacob has gotten to play at the park almost every day. He's getting better and better at climbing, sliding, running, stepping, and sometimes falling. Here's some pictures from yesterday at the park. As you will see, I couldn't get him to look at me and smile...he was TOO busy playing. :)

I love this picture.

Of course, he had to point out the letters! :)

Coming down the stairs!!!

We got to enjoy a snack in the middle of play time. Re-fueling is important you know!

Here's a couple of videos we took yesterday of Jacob. This first one is Jacob spelling his name. He likes to add some extra "B's" to it every now and then. So cute!

This video is Jacob and Mommy singing "This is the Day." I love when he says, "rejoice" because it sounds more like "juice." Next time I'll try to sing softer so you can actually hear Jacob sing. Don't mind me...

Thanks for checking in with us this week.

Ten Tiny Tadpoles

One of Jacob's favorite books these days! Enjoy the video!

The only thing I regret about this video is that we should have recorded it sooner. When we first started reading it, the page with the number 9 was a much more excited "P," which I thought was the most precious thing I'd ever heard. By the time we recorded this, he had heard us tell him it was a nine and the "p" was not as sure. Oh well, you get the idea!

Did you Miss Us?

We're back!!!

Not for the everyday blogging like in January, but we're back to give Jacob's fans some more of "his royal cuteness" and his adventures this week.

On Friday night Jacob had his first experience with Hibachi style Japanese food. We had a great time! Jacob watched the cook very intently, and when the fire and heat came bursting into the air he nearly jumped into Jeff's arms. However, he did think it was pretty cool at the other tables! :) Here's some pictures of the evening!

After the meal, Jacob and Daddy were still all smiles! Jacob LOVED the food. He munched on the Ginger salad and had some soup, and he ate an entire adult portion of rice! By the time the veggies and chicken came, he was so full. Oh well. He did still manage to eat some of the zucchini and broccoli and a few bites of chicken. He also enjoyed the fortune cookie quite a bit as well. That was a little surprising.

Here's a picture of his plate at the end of the meal. Mostly chicken and a few veggies left.

The next BIG and EXCITING thing Jacob did this weekend was switch from a crib to a BIG BOY BED. Yay! This was something Jeff and I talked about doing once Jacob turned two and could climb a little better. So on Saturday we took off the front of the crib and put the toddler rail on the front. Here's some pictures of Jacob's reactions...

Of course, Jackson is monitoring the situation as well...I guess he likes it!

The first night, Mommy and Daddy weren't so sure this was such a good idea. Ha! We put him in bed and 30 seconds later he'd be out in the living room with his hands in his mouth and a little smile on his face. It was hard to get mad at him for how proud he was of himself. This charade continued for quite a while. After about an hour and 20+ trips back to bed, Jacob finally stayed put long enough to fell asleep. Sunday afternoon nap time was a little better, about 20 min and 10 or so trips back to bed. Sunday night was good, about 25 minutes and about 7 times back to bed. But today, for nap was the best so far...10 minutes and only 5 trips back to bed. Maybe he's getting the hang of this whole BIG BOY BED thing. :)

Thanks for checking in with us today. God is so good and has blessed us SO richly!

The end has come........

Yes, its true. The January Journals are ending today...I know you all have been enjoying my daily updates about the Amazing Jacob...and I know you all would LOVE for me to continue this forever...but alas, all good things must come to an end. You'll have to survive without your daily dose of Jacob until I get the CRAZY idea to do this again. :) Until then, here's a video I have been working on. Hope you enjoy!

P.S. If you are just now getting this and it's the first day of Feb...well...I can only say that it's because of technical difficulties and definately NOT because I was too tired last night to finish and post this video. HA!

January Journals: Day 31

More pictures from the day of the party...

Jacob's cake with lions, elephants, monkeys, and tigers...in case you can't tell! :)

Cupcakes for the guests!

Just before the party started someone clipped this balloon to Jacob's pants. It was SOOOO funny! When he ran down the hallway, you would see the balloon bouncing along in the air. If you ever needed to find Jacob, just look for the moving, floating, bouncing balloon. hilarious!

Where's Jacob? Follow the balloon string...

The work going on in the kitchen to get ready for the party...couldn't have done it without you all!!!

Decorations on the mantle...pictures from the past year were attached to the strings on the signs.

Jacob reading a book that Gi Gi recorded. What a cute gift! Thank you Gi Gi!

Here's a video of Jacob playing with his balloons at dinner time after the party on Saturday night. He was laughing alot until we got the camera out...what a goofball!

Thanks for checking in with us today. I plan on doing one last EXTRA post this evening to finish out the month of January. Stay tuned!