8 Months...and Videos

Happy 8 Month Birthday Jacob! I can't believe that it was 8 months ago today that you were making your stamp on this world and, together with God, showing all of us what it means to be strong in the Lord. God's strength is made perfect when we are weak. You are our miracle!

Here's some videos of Jacob...enjoy!

I have been placing him on his tummy ALL THE TIME to get him to push his chest up with his arms and he finally did it on his own. I know this is a skill that is supposed to be learned at an earlier stage, but Jacob rarely tolerated tummy time, until recently. These arm skills are what we need to get him to roll over, crawl, sit up, etc. So this is HUGE progress. And we were SUPER EXCITED...as you will see in the video. Now that he is bigger, it's getting harder for him to do these things (more weight to control), but we feel like once he "gets it" he will just take off from there. He's so close to rolling over and sitting, he just lacks the arm strength/control. We would love to see him do these things VERY SOON...

Jacob has finally discovered that he can reach for the faucet. He still can't catch the water though...Hee Hee.

We absolutely LOVE hearing Jacob laugh. We try anything and everything to hear it. Jeff is the best at getting laughs out of Jacob simply by moving toys and making silly noises. Here's a video of his precious laughter.

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

PB and GJ

No...that title does not mean Peanut Butter and Grape Jelly...it means....Papa Bear and Gramma Jo. That's right! Jacob had a visit from his Papa Bear and Gramma Jo and fun was had by all. Aside from having doctors appointments and therapy sessions everyday...Jacob got to show off some new skills and entertain his PB and GJ. Here's a few pictures of the week. Enjoy!

This was Jacob's Saturday attire (thanks Gran-Chap Daddy and Gramma Tuley). Whooo...Pig Sooie. Even though the Razorbacks lost the game on Saturday, Jacob had a great time "making touchdowns, passing, and running the ball" with Papa Bear.

PB helping Jacob with his sitting. He's so close. Just a few more weeks of practice. I'm sure of it!



Gramma Jo (don't hate me for posting this pic...) and Jacob in the morning. GJ was singing to Jacob and he fell fast asleep on her shoulder.

Hanging out!

So cute...lunch at Calypso Cafe in Nashville. Yummy! Also, Jacob's first time in a "Restaurant High Chair." Don't worry, it was highly sanitized!

Daddy and Jacob playing on the floor. Jacob just adores his daddy. Anytime Jeff comes home or plays with Jacob, the two of them light up. It's hard to tell, but Jacob is wearing a "Harley Davidson" onsie. Any guess who bought him that????? What a fun time!

"OH............Jacob loves papa bear, Jacob loves Gramma Jo, Jacob loves daddy, and he loves his mommy too." (A Papa Bear original song)

Thanks for checking in with us. Have a blessed day! God is able...

reaching

Jacob's newest skills include REACHING for EVERYTHING! He has finally realized that he can get anything and everything. I was wondering when this would kick in... He has been reaching for things for a while, but not like this... His curiosity has finally peaked and he's interested in everything. Yay! I guess being in the hospital for 3 months will delay alot of things. But now it looks like things are beginning to click in his little mind and he's finding out this world is kinda cool after all.



This isn't a picture of him reaching...but it was a first time in a "high chair" at a restaurant. Before, he just didn't have the trunk strength to hold himself up... What a big guy!

There will be more to come later. I've got pictures from Papa Bear and Gramma Jo's visit...stay tuned!

Thanks for checking in with us. Have a blessed day! God is faithful...

NO MORE SHOTS!

We just wanted to send out a quick post to let you know that we no longer have to give Jacob the Lovenox shots. YAY! Thank you for the prayers.

The ultrasound showed that the clot was still there, in his IVC, but that it had calcified (attached itself to the wall of the vessel and hardened) and is not in danger of breaking off and blocking blood flow. So, they saw no reason to continue the blood thinner.

Needless to say, tonight's bedtime routine was much more pleasant for Jacob (and us) now that we don't have to "shoot him," as GG would say...

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

One Year Ago...

It was one year ago today, that Jeff and I were sitting in the office of a specialist to confirm the CDH diagnosis of our son Jacob, given to us two days earlier. As we watched the screen of the ultrasound this was the first image that we saw. It is Jacob giving us a "thumbs up." We looked at each other and decided in that moment, God was speaking through Jacob and saying that we were going to be okay, regardless of the outcome, that God was in control.

Neither of us ever thought that we would actually get to have Jacob here with us. This picture was not our "sign" that God was going to heal Jacob. It just told us that we were going to make it through this difficult time and that God was going to take care of us and Jacob. In fact, just a week prior to Jacob's birth, we were making plans for his memorial service and picking out the outfit for him to go to Heaven. We just knew in our hearts that we weren't going to get our miracle. We knew and had faith that God could speak the word, and Jacob would be healed. But neither of us thought we'd be that blessed.

God gave us a miracle. How blessed we are! With so much sadness in the world, God chose to shine some light into it, through Jacob. God gave us our "glorious impossible" and we thank God daily for Jacob's life.

Road Trip!

Jacob went on his very FIRST road trip for the Labor Day Weekend. What an adventure for ALL of us! The Tuley Tribe all met in Pigeon Forge in the Great Smoky Mountains on Friday night and spent the weekend hanging out, shopping, eating, and having fun. Who was the center of attention...who else? Jacob! He thought it was quite alot of fun entertaining all the adults.

Here's Jackson and Jacob ready to get in the car and GO!

Here's the car...loaded up with all our stuff. Wow...kids require alot of stuff! Jeff joked that if we'd been hit that the car would explode like a bomb because of all the oxygen tanks we had to travel with...ha! I reminded him of the episode on Mythbusters where they tried to shoot a tank and did not succeed. Pretty funny! Anyways, God kept us safe!

Jackson's favorite traveling spot!

Jacob says, "Hum....I am up to no good!"

Our little family on the porch of the cabin.

Everyone had to get their hands on Jacob at different times of the weekend. It was great for Jacob to be with his Tuley family. What you may not know...is that behind every camera was a group of CRAZY family members doing anything and everything they could to make Jacob smile; Kissing sounds, clapping, smiling, making funny noises, and even flailing arms. Ha!

Gramma Tuley with Jacob at dinner (Mexican, of course)!

Gran-Chap-Daddy with Jacob. Aww... Jacob loves it!

What a special treat for us. Here Jacob sits with his GG. The last time that GG saw Jacob, he was not even a day old and very sick. This was a VERY SPECIAL time for Jacob to be with his only remaining Great Grandmother. Just precious!

Biggie and Jacob...such a great picture of both of them.

Aunt Vonnie and Jacob with "Mr Crazy Legs" the giraffe.

Jon seems to be laughing at all the adults trying to make Jacob smile. It didn't quite work this time.

Jacob fell asleep with his Aunt Jenny. How sweet!

Here's a picture of the Tuley Tribe on the last day of the trip. (Minus Aunt Vonnie). Jacob is staring at the fan...

Of course, did you expect the Tuleys to get together and NOT have Cardinal stuff??? Here's Jacob in his Cardinals outfit. Go Pujols, Go Cardinals!

It was a wonderful weekend. Jacob did great and we had no trouble at all! As nervous as we were about leaving home, it showed us just how strong Jacob really is... We are so blessed!

Thanks for checking in with us. Have a wonderful week! God is faithful...

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!