WNC Parent - Holiday Edition

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Gotta love this face

Shorts in late December!

We just had to get out for an afternoon at the park.

December Travels

I thought I'd have more time as Jacob got a little older to blog, but boy, was I mistaken! My job has taken away much of my spare time to blog and then there was the Christmas shopping and traveling season... I'll try to recap. At least this way, I'll try to hit the highlights.

December was/always is a very busy month for us. We have my birthday, our anniversary and Christmas. Throw in a trip to get the tree and a trip to TN to see family and we're done for! We started out going to Boone the first weekend in Dec. with Marcia, Alan and Breanna. We all fit into Alan and Marcia's truck. We quickly determined we needed 2 vehicles next year. We got a little off track right off the bat with "Gordon", the GPS navigator. Only because the street for getting to the cabin was entered before the street for getting the key for the cabin. That's ok, we forgave Alan for our adventure. It did however, put us at the back of the pack of traffic that was in town for the weekend's App. State game.

The actual trip to get the tree wasn't as good as we had hoped (the tree farm was a bit disorganized), but we did get to see a bit of snow and Jacob got to wear his brand new snow suit. He did a good job of filling an 18mo outfit. We rented us a cabin for the weekend instead of a hotel so we could spread out and cook (it saves $$$). The cabin was really nice. Lots and lots of seating, inside and out. A game room downstairs and we could even pull the truck in the garage. Washer/dryer to clean Jacob's messes. A nice view to watch the snow fall across the mountains. The winds were up around 30-40mph I'd say on Saturday night. It did get a bit cold for us downstairs as the fireplace didn't work and I think that combined with being in a new place made Jacob cry every time we put him down to sleep....so....he slept in bed with us. All in all, a fun adventure, good food and a nice getaway. Jacob squealed with delight for 2 days after arriving home. Who knew how happy home makes him!?!

Bill took us to Bouchon for our anniversary dinner. It's a very nice place to go for such an occasion. We both had different marinades of steak that were both tasty and I even ate a full serving of brussell sprouts!

And then in a blink of an eye, it was Christmas. Jacob didn't know what to think about everything at first - a bit overwhelming. But he quickly discovered his favorite thing was the tissue paper. He did rather well with all the fun, people and excitement. He even showed off a bit for his cousin, Regan, by repeatedly jumping up and down in his exersaucer when she walked over to him during our Christmas dinner. We took a weekend trip to see my grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins in TN. We rented a suite in a hotel so we'd have plenty room to spread out and have enough room for Jacob's scooter and pack-n-play. He did surprisingly well sleeping at night - after Bill improvised by adding foam between his mattress and sheet. He even got to do a little swimming, which he really loved, other than getting a little chilly.

Jacob readily making friends with cousin Riley

Andy & sweet Maddie

Rhonda, Christy, her dad and the kids

Much to my amazement, Jacob has lept through the milestones in a week or so. He pulled himself up in his crib the day after Christmas and has hardly sat down yet. He loves to stand now. He has 5 teeth with 2 more coming in. (By the way, roman chamomile is the bomb! This stuff really works on his gums when he is teething. He even opens his mouth and lets me put it on them). I'm getting more and more into the herbal meds for Jacob. I'd much rather do that than prescription meds.

So back to the story, Jacob is starting to "cruise" around, is getting into at least 50% more trouble than a week ago, and is finally adding new syllables and "words" to his vocabulary. The other day he stood up in his pack-n-play, looked at me, smiled and said hi!

That's it in a nutshell for now. Be sure to check back in the new year for more!

Halloween Costumes

Sorry, but Snapfish doesn't allow us to copy pictures out of albums anymore, so you'll have to click the link below to see Jacob on Snapfish in his costume.

Pumpkin Outfit

Lion Outfit



Here is Jacob in his intended outfit. This was the beginning of Halloween week. Yes, it snowed!

November Pics

Licking & eating the mesh

Proof he actually got apple juice out of that sippy cup!
Whoops! I already opened his first Christmas present - From the Biltmore Estate Christmas party.

He was just running around holding Mickey in his mouth with just his teeth...too cute!

Chillin' while mommy gets ready for work

Some precious time with great grandma

First attempts at crawling

Thanksgiving, Alan & Bill

Wow, Thanksgiving seems like a blur! It went by quick. Be sure to check out Jacob's Room on Snapfish for pics! It's astonishing to see that he and Regan are about the same size, albeit Jacob is much chunkier! Regan is very petite. At least Jacob didn't cry this year when Regan gave kisses and he was a very good boy with Stephanie and all the other aunts and uncles. He was very good all day. I contribute it to the fact that if he wanted someone, all he had to do was turn around and there they all were!

We were very thankful to have Alan home and out of the hospital. He gave us a scare last Saturday, going to the ER for chest pains. They ran all kinds of tests, keeping him until Tuesday, but so far, have found nothing. We're really going to have to stay on him to keep him resting when he needs to be!

Jacob is doing much better these days since starting on his herbal meds. He is almost a new boy! He's starting to take on a new tune with the way he goes down for naps/bedtime, but is still getting up in the middle of the night. And oh, did I forget to mention....he has 3 teeth now! Mamaw gets credit for noticing that one.

We did venture out to the mall today (Saturday after Thanksgiving). We were in search of one thing. Didn't find it, but the overall experience of being out wasn't too bad. We did however sit in the car in the parking garage for about 40 minutes while Jacob took his afternoon nap. We've got a busy weekend coming up next weekend when we go to Boone with Marcia, Alan and Breanna to get our Christmas trees. Just hope they can fit with all the stuff we have to take up for Jacob! I am looking forward to the trip. The memories, the local, and the cabin we'll be staying in.

Finally, we have some exciting news!!!
Bill received a promotion at work, proclaiming him Landscape Manager starting December 1st! This is a much awaited and well deserved position and also helps ease the budget burden with a little extra $$$! :) Much to his chagrin, his days will start a little later than he would like, but I suppose the pros outweigh the cons. There are still some changes shaking out, but we'll give you more details as they become available.

Congrats Bill!

Snapfish pics have been updated 11/28/08

November News

There are many things that I think about through the day/week that I'd like to post to the blog, but just don't have time for and then the thought slips my mind! So much is going on right now, let me try to recap. Maybe some pics by the weekend.

We went Trick-or-Treating 2 weeks late since Jacob had his first illness - upper respiratory. It was pretty bad and we all had it, so we just didn't think it important to get out. We finally made it to each grandparent's house in 2 costumes. One was partial since he got sick on the bottom half at a restaurant. Only the grandparents took pics, so we'll have to wait for them to hand over the goods! :)

Jacob now has this super sensitive gag reflex going on. So we have to be very careful to pay attention to everything that goes in his mouth (i.e. thumb, blanket, bottle, food textures). If he gags, he throws up everywhere. One was really bad since it came out his nose, he sneezed about 30 times after it happened...and then there is the nasal aspirator. :( He's still on very pureed foods until we feel he is ready for more texture.

He is just now making some of his first real crawling moves. We have some video and will upload soon. He has made some major transformations in the last couple of months; developing more personality, noticing more, and verbalizing more. He has become a little person already and not just a crying baby! He spends most of his day in his "scooters" and the rest, pulling and chewing on his left sock. He's starting to stay up a bit later and gets up at a reasonable 6:30am for the morning. He's still getting up 1-2 times a night. He'd probably last longer if he'd stay under the blankets and not pee so much! (Yes, we're using overnight diapers).

My job is going well so far. It's very different than anything I've done and it is non stop from the minute I begin until I walk out the door. I'm lucky to get a minute to use the bathroom or shove down a cracker. It's all good though. It's nice that it's a Christian atmosphere. We pray each morning before seeing patients and the general, overall attitude of everyone is much different than the typical workplace. I think I'll get a better handle on things when the girl I'm replacing leaves the beginning of December. Then the real test begins! My job functions include checking patients in and out, booking appointments, answering phones, filing charts, pulling charts, entering in payment information, insurance info, keeping up with a diabetes database, keeping forms stocked, waiting room presentable and don't forget...other duties as assigned. I'll also take on more as time goes on. It is very convenient for Jacob though. Just less 5-10 minutes to Bill's parents. Marcia gets him in the mornings and I pick him up in the afternoon with the exception of my mom coming up to watch him on Tuesdays. I'd say that's my least favorite day as every other Tuesday, I work 1 - 6:30 or 7:30pm. The rest are mornings.

Bill just bought a new used 88 Jeep Comanche. It's 4 wheel drive and has a camper top. A good work truck and good for snow. He'll still keep his Mazda truck for now. It will be handy if we ever need a spare vehicle or when he want A/C in the summer! He has been eyeing this truck for a while as it was his dear friend Harry's truck which recently passed away with cancer. It was an affordable purchase and it works well into our overall vehicle plan for the next 5-10 years.

We're still shopping for a church. We haven't been in about a month, so it's still hard to get a handle on that aspect of our lives. Jacob generally takes his morning nap right in between a 9/10:30/11:00 start for a church service. We'll figure something out soon though. We have it narrowed down to probably 2 with a 3rd last minute consideration slipping in recently.

We've got some hectic schedules coming up with Thanksgiving around the corner with a whopping 16 at our house this year! Yikes! We may have to move it to the Biltmore House to hold us all! Just kidding. A trip to Boone 2 weekends after to get our Christmas trees, 2 company Christmas parties, Christmas and a trip to Chattanooga the weekend after to go to the aquarium (free tickets).

Whew! All that typing wore me out! I'm going to bed since everyone else is already asleep at 8:30pm.

First Sign

Sign language that is. I may get a little carried away with the details, so bear with me.

Jacob finally was struck with his first illness. Actually, he's been throwing up periodically for about a month now and all the sudden, it started getting more frequent. On top of that, he caught this cold/sore throat bug I probably brought home to all of us (thanks to the runny nosed kids at Head Start). We do have to be very thankful that he hasn't gotten sick before now though.

Anyway, Marcia and I took him to the dr. yesterday morning to see what may be going on and why he's on strike with solids. He does have a viral infection, a runny nose, sneezing and raw looking throat. He also has some more pronounced reflux going on. Can't do anything about the viral infection - has to run its course. He got some new meds to try for reflux that speeds foods through his stomach and on into his intestines. The dr. didn't seem to think it was an allergy like milk, lactose or soy.

Last night got much worse. He threw up twice in a short time frame. He was even considerate enough to wait until after I had just given him a bath before the 2nd one. :) He proceeded to scream for about 30 min. straight and was snotting everywhere and gurgling with all the stuff in his throat from the cold. We couldn't even get him dressed again, so just wrapped him up in blankets.

I ended up bringing him to bed with me while Bill slept in the spare bed - he had to work this weekend. The after hours nurse said to keep him propped up and to only give him clear liquids like Pedialyte. I was rocking him around 3a.m. and had given him a sip of the juice, which he's not keen on large amounts of, and he pulled off and looked at it like "that's not what I want." He seemed to concentrate for a second and gave me the sign for milk! He wasn't crying or protesting. He was able to tell me what he wanted at a time when he was feeling his worst! How wonderful! I got up and carried him to the kitchen and made just a little bit, not wanting to give him too much. He took it and went back to sleep.

Thanks Leslie! And to everyone else in our class, be patient, because this works and they'll get better at it as they get older. It was a great feeling. I just wanted to pick him up and squeeze him for communicating.

As for Halloween, we took a rain check. We may go to our trick-or-treating destinations next weekend. Poor fellow, sick on his first Halloween. He's doing better today.

New pics

There's some new pics in Jacob's Room on Snapfish too! Check out the link on the right side of the page.

Baby Sign Language/Play Date Class

Jacob and Finn

Jacob & Carter Playing

Jacob's such a loving friend

Some recent videos

Pappaw reading Jacob a bedtime story

Jacob giggling @ Nana & Pops over spinners on his scooter.
He was in his silly, tired stage.

Jacob splashing in the tub and trying to catch water

My 1st Pumpkin Hunt

Cute photo opportunity

WNC Parent Magazine - October Issue

Get your own - Open publication

New Job

I'll be starting with Three Streams Family Health Center the beginning of November! I also got the green light to begin volunteering with the different classrooms and centers of the Head Start program. I know God has specifically and purposefully opened up these doors for me. I am excited about the new opportunities and look forward to what lies ahead.

Thanks Heather, Doug and Marcia!

High maintenance kiddo

Jacob at the fair Family Night - Library Story Time
Eating spinach
New scooter!

....And there was a tooth! Anyone who has parented or taken care of a small child knows what we've been dealing with lately! Fussy, screaming, squealing, climbing, inconsolable, whiny, clingy - that pretty much describes how Jacob has been for the past few weeks. He finally cut his first tooth (lower, central, left incisor) on 9/28. Like when his Uncle Doug was a baby, we put him down late afternoon for a nap and he didn't wake up until the next morning around 6 or 7:00. But at least one is finally through. The other lower incisor isn't far behind. Twice this week, he began crying uncontrollably around lunch and didn't stop for another 30-40 minutes. He would finally pass out from exhaustion into sleep, but would only stay that way if I or someone was holding him. I hope all teeth don't present problems like this!

We've been getting in bed around 8:15 lately. I've been pooped from taking care of him a lot more since quitting my job mid-September and staying in more due to the gas crisis. I'm much happier not working there and am looking to change my career to become a teacher's assistant with an elementary school. Since I don't have any previous child care experience, I will more than likely have to volunteer first and will be working with the Head Start program at Leicester Elementary. I can then hopefully work my way into a paid position once my foot is in the door. I am looking forward to getting away from administrative work in the long run and at this stage in life, it's not feasible to do web or graphic design work in a manner in which I can keep up with the latest changing technologies and softwares. In becoming a teacher's assistant, I will also gain extensive knowledge on early childhood development and the schedule would follow the school system, allowing me more time with my little boy!

In conjuntion with saying all of that, I may have landed a front desk position at a medical office. The opportunity presented itself just this week. It's part time with a non-profit Christian organization called Three Streams Family Health Center. They are a really good group of people, the work would be part time and could eventually lead into more work that I'm interested in including some website work and office administration, but that would be quite a ways down the road. I'm just keeping all options open so that it suits our needs for now. I'll probably try to work the two in together somehow. I need to think about it all over the weekend.

To recap on Jacob's progress as of late, he's rolling over tummy to back and back to tummy; sitting up pretty well; reaching for things, helping with feeding time and diaper changes (oh what fun!).


Bill started steaming veggies and fruits and sticking them in a blender for all of Jacob's baby food. From there, he puts the pureed food into ice cube trays. We then thaw what we need ahead of time in the fridge. Jacob seems to like it. It's healthier and cheaper!


Of couse he's went through almost all of his 6 month shots. He started exhibiting listlessness and rash after the Hib shot, but the nurses assured us it is just excema. It hasn't gotten better, so today, I started applying hydrocortizone to the affected areas.

Keep me (and Bill) in your thoughts next week as both sets of grandparents will be out of town on vacations!

And the winner is...

Thanks for all of your votes!!! Unfornately, Jacob didn't win this time. But our good friend, Carter did! Congrats Carter! Looks like you're destined for fame!

WNC Parent Magazine

Get your own - Open publication

I posted this magazine primarily for my own needs - to be able to access it quickly and to remember to look at it each month. Funny thing is, I didn't know it at the time because I hadn't taken the time to look through the entire magazine, but our good friends, Leslie & Dave's son, Carter, is featured in it! I believe I saw it on page 33 online, but it may be page 31 in hard copy. He's the baby looking in the mirror.

Looks like he's destined to become famous!

Final Voting: Sept 8th-12th

We still need your vote! 

Be sure to go to Star 104.3 to vote for our favorite little man in the final round of voting. Votes should be tallied up this weekend and the winner announced next week. 

Thanks for all your love and support!

Round Two Voting Begins Monday!

Jacob has made top ten and entered into round 2 of Baby Star Idol!

Thanks for all your votes to get him into the top ten!

Stay tuned for additional instructions Monday on the next round of voting.

Trip to great grandma's

Here are a few pics of our recent visit to TN. The back of the Explorer was packed full of everything we took for Jacob! Who would have guessed it would have taken that long to pack just to go over for a few hours! Whew! Jacob's great grandmother, Little Mammie, enjoyed getting to see him again.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

We took Jacob to his first baseball game on Labor Day. Bill got some tickets through work to go see the Asheville Tourists. Jacob seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself even if he didn't fully understand what he was there for. He was mesmerized by watching all of the people around him and even fell asleep during the game...too much excitement! He danced to all the song clips and only stirred a little when the girls behind us let out their ear piercing screams. Sorry, no pictures of his dance efforts. What happens at McCormick Field stays at McCormick Field! :) I'm sure it won't be long before we're watching him play ball! Bill and Alan capped off the week by going back for Friday's playoff game. Mom and baby stayed home for this one.

Shopping

Jacob took his first ride in a shopping cart this evening. Did I hear someone guess where....Lowe's ?!? You bet! He seemed to really enjoy being up and able to see things. His eyes were worn out trying to look at everything as we passed through the isles. Makes for a very tired boy! He's also been sitting for periods of time in the high chairs at restaurants and does quite well unless he's hungry or tired.

Bill is just about to complete yet another week of vacation and what has he been doing in his spare time? Painting! This time it's the front porch rails and spindles. Gradually, the place is starting to take shape here once again. Of course he's stayed busy with lots of other odd jobs around the house and me, well, I do good just to do what has to be done, tend to Jacob and get enough shut eye to do it all over again! One of these days, I'll see if I can't bribe Bill to share some of his own thoughts on here.

We've got the Mountain State Fair in town and plan on taking Jacob to see the sights and animals. He's really noticing things now and will probably enjoy it.

Recast your vote

It seems our local radio station hit a snag and needs to re-do the votes. They are aiming to do this in the most even and fairest way possible. Please go to site by the link below and cycle through the pictures. Remember Jacob's number (Baby #38, even though it's 39 in the overall order of slides) and choose it at the end. Enter your email address and verify your vote from that address. You may vote from as many email addresses you have, just be sure to clear your browser cookies each time. 

http://www.star1043.com/cc-common/globalcontestfinder.html?contest=24928

Time's a wasting! First round of voting ends Friday, September 5th! I'll keep you posted on round two. 

Stay tuned for the next article...Take me out to the ball game! 

Let The Voting Begin!!!

One of our local radio stations is having their annual Baby Idol contest and you guessed it... Jacob is entered!

http://www.star1043.com/cc-common/globalcontestfinder.html?contest=24928

We need your vote!

Click on the link above from each computer you use. They have a way of tracking multiple entries from one computer, so don't even try, but do be sure to vote from each computer you use -- work, home, PDA, etc.

The way they have it set up, you have to vote for each baby before you get to the one you want. After you have cycled through them, the rotation begins again. You only need to go through it once. There are roughly 40 babies in the set.

Grand prize baby idol winner receives a $500 shopping spree at a local boutique: Bon Bebe. I've never shopped there, probably for good reason - couldn't afford it.

Thanks for your votes and support!

August Travels

Seems like this has been a busy month for us. Jacob tends to take more and more of our time instead of less. But we're not compalining. We thoroughly enjoy every minute of it. Even more so when he does new and surprising things. More on that in a minute.

Bill and I took a much needed mini-vacation to Knoxville and Pigeon Forge last weekend. Yep, it was just the two of us. Jacob got some spoiling from Nana & Pops Quade while we were gone. Mammaw & Pappaw Ball got some spoilin' in too as well as some more pics and video. We stopped off in Knoxville first and saw Christy & Andy's new baby girl, Madison Emma. She is precious as can be and so light compared to Jacob! Her brother, Riley, was very well behaved for having company over and treats his new sister with lots of love and care. Madison came in weighing 9.3lbs and Christy went all natural childbirth!

A visit to my soap box
We had a very nice view from our room at the Music Road Hotel in PF, but that was the only outstanding thing of our stay there. The room was a bit musty, the hot tub was no where near hot and my biggest pet peeve - we couldn't seem to get away from smokers anywhere we went. Now if you are one of those considerate smokers who doesn't stand right outside the door of a building and chooses not to blow smoke in the face of other patrons and children at a crowded pool or small town sidewalk, then this isn't directed at you. It just seems like we can't escape it from all of the other inconsiderates and Gatlinburg has become notorious for it. There was even a man in his 50's smoking in the stairwell at our stay in Knoxville. Not cool when it's a non-smoking facility. We drove into Gatlinburg thinking we'd visit just a couple of specific shops, but with the crowds and parking at $10 a pop, we turned around and headed back to PF.

...now back to the regular scheduled blog.

We ate well at Bullfish Restaurant, Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant, Johnny Carinos and Bob Evans. Bill couldn't pass up the opportunity to eat at Mimi's Cafe in Knoxville either. We caught some bargains at Tanger Outlet, mainly buying and stocking up for Jacob which means someone is going to be busy with cutting lots of price tags soon! We missed little man, especially when we saw other babies his age. But I must say, it was nice to be able to sleep through the night uninterrupted! Yeah, he's still getting up a couple times a night.

Jacob has been doing some traveling of his own lately. Just this week, we put him down in his crib for an afternoon nap and knew he wasn't sleeping yet, but was very quiet (always something that worries a parent when their kid is too quiet). Bill went back to check on him and motioned for me to come take a look. I must say I was completely shocked since he was facing completely the other direction than what I laid him down. He was pushing up with his arms and looking around at everything, but very content. Guess we have to keep a closer eye on him now!

It's also official -- he has rolled over 4 or 5 times for us now! I don't think he has quite mastered going either direction yet, but he seems to think it's a pretty cool trick until he can't keep coordinated enough to do it over and over.

We have been trying several times now to get Jacob to take a dip with us in a nearby lake or pool, but it has never worked out until now. We just up and decided yesterday to go to the Y since we still have free guest passes from our childbirth class. Yup, Jacob's first time in the water other than the bathtub. He seemed scared and overwhelmed at first, but never cried and I think he even enjoyed it. Getting those swimmer diapers on is a bit of a challenge though!

Little man finally outgrew his car seat, so we had to go shopping for another. We thought we were going to get one similar to his where we could easily carry him and trade him from one car to the next, but those only go up to 30lbs, so we'd only be buying a few month's time with one. So we ended up getting the bigger, toddler kind that stays put in the vehicle, meaning we have to carry him to the car and take him out of the car seat when trading cars or going shopping. We got a basic one for Marcia & Alan's car to get him from point A to B. Now, we just have to be a little more careful in planning for who picks him up or takes him somewhere.

We've submitted Jacob's picture to a local radio station for a Baby Idol contest, so stay tuned for the details to vote!