Hello Summer

Tomorrow is the last day of school for Jacob. Do you know what that means? Summer begins for us on Thursday. The Past few weeks have been full of activities. Last week was Jacob's end of the year band concert. Jacob Plays the Drums. For 4th and 5th graders, they are actually pretty good!

After about 35 minutes or so, Gabe was tired of the music. He was just ready to go!!

Today was Awards day at school. Jacob ended up with 3 awards: Perfect attendance for the year, Best All Around Boy and The Biggest Heart Award.

He has grown so much this past year in 4th grade. I am so happy with the progress he has made. Alot of the credit goes to his teacher, Ms. Lancaster. Every year we seem to have a teacher that is exactly the kind of teacher Jacob needs. And she was the PERFECT match for his 4th grade year. We only have one more year left at our elementary school. This makes me sad. We honestly have had the best elementary school experience. I could not have asked for more.

We have alot of adventures waiting for us this summer. This weekend is Memorial day weekend which means pool time at NaNa's house. I am sure our Gabe fish will love the pool. He is already practicing in the tub. Next week Jacob will be getting his long awaited braces. And in a few weeks, he will be going to his first day camp. We don't camp, so we did day camp. Bugs are not our Friends!! Here is a piture of all 4 of us today at Awards day. Everyone has a decent look/smile on their face. This does not happen often!!!

Happy Summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jacob is 11!!!

On April 26th our oldest, Jacob, turned 11--WOW---11!! Its hard to imagine that in a few years we will have a teenager. It seems like only yesterday I saw him for the 1st time. I mean REALLY saw him.

Jacob was born at 26 wks. I was quite sick and he was 2 days older before I was allowed to go see him. He was VERY small, had tubes everywhere and looked like an alien. I remember asking the nurse, " Are you sure he's alive?" The last 11 yrs have been filled with ups and downs. I praise God that there has been more ups rather than downs. Jacob has had over 20 surteries in his life. And a few still yet to come. I am thankful for a child who works hard, even though at times he struggles. Those A's, B's & C's are badges of honor. When you are told you preemie has a brain bleed, you wonder and worry about their quality of life. His quality is high (and at times, expensive). Yes, he has a touch of CP. But he practices running, jumping and climbing so that it isn't noticeable in PE, his favorite class.

Eleven years ago we were not given much hope. But God gave us more than hope. He gave us a miracle. Happy Birthday to our JacobJoe--You are My Sunshine!!

Isaiah 43:1 "But now, this is what the LORD says--he who created you , O Jacob, he who formed you, O Isreal: "Fear no, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; YOU ARE MINE."

February 8th

There NEVER seems to be enough time in the day to do all of the things I need, want, and must do. An extra hour or two a day would be nice.
In less than a week, our sweet baby Gabe will be 2! Its seems only yesterday they were putting me into the hospital hoping to keep him inside for a few more weeks. He didn't last those "few" weeks. Not even a week. But today he is a smart, happy, cute, spoiled, and into EVERYTHING little boy.
This weekend, we will be celebrating his birthday party with family at our house. He LOVES Mickey Mouse, so a Mickey Mouse party it is. I have made mouse ears, and mouse buckets for this weekend. Greg will be trying BBQ again. **side note** We have had BBQ already 3 weekends in a row. This weekend will be 4 YES 4 weekends in a row. I am a little tired of BBQ. But we need to make sure we knew what we were doing BEFORE we actually feed it to people.
Here is hoping for a Great Second Birthday for our little surprise!

I love this time of year. Weather the boys can play in for hours. The breeze, the leaves changing and being able to snuggle up with my boys. BUT I DO NOT like the snot that comes with this weather. Gabe has already had an ear infection and a cold. Sometimes the weather is bi-polar. Shorts one day, Jeans and long sleeves the next!


Jacob is now in 4th grade. It seems that he has grown up soooo much since starting school in August. He has also developed quite a smart mouth. He gets is honest from me (and from Greg also). Somedays its worse than other. I hope all make it thru the TEEN years...Lord Help US!!
Jacob is bowling in a bowling league this fall. Its his "sport". He loves it. He gets better and better as the weeks go on. His elementary school offers band starting in the 4th grade. He is now a drummer. "Lazy Bones" is about the only song he knows. Imagine hearing that 15-20 minutes a day...EVERYDAY!!!
Gabe is growing like a weed. He is now 19 months olds and a HANDFUL!!! He weighs 23.8 lbs and ais 31 inches tall. He got his 1st haircut a few weeks ago. He no longer looks like a baby, but a Toddler :(


Gabe is a VERY polite boy. After screaming, yelling and throwing a fit- he says "Thank You" for giving in and giving him whatever he was wanting. I Pick my battles with both of my boys.



The males in this house (Greg & Jacob) are excited about football being back on TV. I am not a fan nor do I pretend to be one. I always try to find soemthing else to do during that block of time on Saturdays. Jacob gets so worked up about Alabama Football. I remind him that its just a game. No matter if your team wins or loses- the earth with continue to rotate and world will survive.
Today I purchased my 1st bag of marshmellow pumpkins...MY FAV!!! And I am already planning how to decorate the house for Halloween. YES......I LOVE this time of year. (But NOT the Snot!)

LONG LONG OVER DUE

I am LONG over due for an update. Gabe is now 14 months old and in 2 weeks Jacob will be 10 years old.
Jacob update 1st.... He is now in a bowling league for kids. It is a work/learning experience. Jacob enjoys it and that is really all that matters. This past grading period, he was awarded the Perfect attendance award AND the Good Citizen Award.

Not a great picture of him. He was worried that his class would be leaving him, hence the BAD smile.
We are working to plan his Birthday Parties. For the last couple of years we have bribed him with big presents so that we would not have to do a birthday party (I know, we are awful!) His Family/Friend party will be a St Louis Baseball theme party. We are also doing a bowling party with school friends. He is saving his money up to buy himself a bowling ball.

Gabe update...He turned 1 in February. He is not walking yet, but he is starting to stand independent. And he is crawling, pulling up, and getting into EVERYTHING. I have realized he is ALOT OF WORK!!! I guess I forgot from Jacob how much work he can be.
Gabe has a nice little vocabulary. Its werid that he is already talking. Since Jacob had a trach, he had no spoken words/language until he was over 3 yrs old. So, it amazes me that Gabe "talks".
I will TRY to update more often. We are having Family pictures taken next weekend. I am looking forward to it. They are being taken at Centennial Park in Nasvhille. Hoping EVERYONE cooperates well with the Photo Shot!!! And I am praying for BEAUTIFUL weather.

Merry Christmas To All!!

Wow! Where has this year gone!! I can not believe that in 3 days it will be Christmas. This year has really flown by.
Jacob is out of school for Christmas Break. That means he is bored from the time he get up until the time he goes to sleep. And for some reason he thinks that I was put on this earth to "find" his things. If only he would clean his room, I am sure the things he can't find would be found.
Gabe is 10 months old. He is getting to sooo big! At the last Drs. visit he was 16lbs 8 ozs. The boy can put some food away. I just wish Jacob would do that.

A week ago we had snow. In the South, snow doesn't usually happen until January or later. It is rarely found in December. Everyone in the house was sick, expect for Jacob. He did make it out side to play in it while the rest of us watched from the living room window. The bad mother that I am DID take Gabe out in his reindeer outfit for pictures.

Where has the time gone!!!

WOW! Its been a long time since I have updated my blog. Gabe is now almost 8 months old. WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE!!!

I am not sure of Gabe's weight. Since he is so healthy, we do not have to go to the dr every month like we did with Jacob. BUT we did put him on the home scales and it looks like he is around the 14 1/2 pounds mark. To say that he eats well, is a BIG understatement.
In August, He had a hernia repair. He did great except for the fact, he does not like to miss a meal. We went back for the follow up visit, and the dr even commented on how he looks as if he gets ALL of his meals and then some.
Gabe is now eating cereal, fruits and veggies. He likes his cereal with a little fruit mixed in. He loves pears, apples and bananas. He HATES peaches!!! And he doesn't know why I continue to give them to him. He loves carrots, squash and sweet potatoes. We have not tried anything green yet. They just look nasty to me!!! He wishes he could eat sweet potatoes all of the time!!!

Gabe has started to roll over to his tummy. He would like to know what the big deal is. He can't see much on his tummy, so he prefers to be on his back or sides. He is now sitting unsupported for 10-15 seconds at a time. He is right on track with his development with his due date. And you can get him to do almost ANYTHING if food is involved.

Jacob has now finished up the 1st 9 weeks of school. At the beginning I didn't think we would see 4th grade. BUT as the weeks went on, we got into a rountine and it looks like we just might survive 3rd grade.
Jacob has had his 2nd set of tubes put in his ears. Jacob has some hearing loss. Hearing loss that does require a hearing aide. He does not like his hearing aide. He complaines and says it makes everyone loud. Of course, he picked out a red hearing aide that has a red ear piece. It looks like Big Red chewing gum is stuck in his ear. He has yet to wear it to school this year. We are hoping that the tubes will help his hearing improve.
I did not go back to work this fall. I am again a stay at home mom. It seems busier this time around. I guess with an older school age child it would be. My day is planned around Gabe's eating and Jacob's school times. I really do miss my co-workers, BUT I could not imagine not being at home with Gabe like I was with Jacob. I still do get to see some of my former co-workers. I just don't have to be there at 645 in the morning to see them :)

This summer we made a family trip to St. Louis. Greg took Jacob to his 1st Major League Ballgame. HE LOVED IT!! The game had a 3 hour rain delay and went into several overtimes. They did not make it back to our hotel room until 1am. Both said it was fun and worth it.


We went to the zoo, the Arch, Budweiser, Grant's Farm and to the City Museum. The City Museum has a Wonderful playground on top of the building...aka the roof!!! It was cool and I think Greg had as much fun there as Jacob did ;)

My favorite time of the year is upon us. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Halloween. Its the only day of the year when you can be whatever you want to be, and its OK. Jacob plans on being an Alabama Football player (no surprise) and Gabe will be a little Monkey since he is our Monkey Boy!!
I will try harder to update more often.......