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!
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.
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.
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
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
