A half a year old!

Wow!  Jacob is 6 months old!  We can hardly believe how fast the time has gone by.  Six months feels like a major milestone as a family, but we have several other big moments ahead (read on). 

At Jacob's 6 month check up he weighed in at 17 pounds 8 ounces and about 28 inches.  Still tall for his age and average for weight.  He continues in physical therapy and is getting stronger all the time.  Jacob's world seems to be getting bigger too as he's learning to play, grab toys, and look around at everything.  He also has his first cold now, which is making him a bit crankier than usual.  He is sleeping through the night more often though, which is a bonus for mom and dad too.

The big news for this update:  we found out yesterday that Jacob will need more surgery.  In the process of getting him fit for a helmet to reshape his head, he ended up getting a skull X-ray and a CT scan of his head.  These showed that he has "craniosynostosis" which means that some of the skull bones have fused prematurely.  Untreated, this would result in a less than optimal space for his brain to grow, leading to increased risk for developmental delays.  Since he's already delayed a bit, the surgery is even more necessary. 

This surgery will likely take place over the next 1-2 months.  Today, we met with a pediatric plastic surgeon who will also be part of the surgery.  Fortunately, he suggested we do one surgery at at time.  It's called a "barrel stave" procedure, which I thought my dad would appreciate as a winemaker.  But the added challenge is his shunt, which will need to be removed and replaced during the surgery.  We know this is the right thing for Jacob, but it's a big surgery!  He'll be in the ICU for at least 1 day and then in the hospital for several more days. 

We ask for your continued prayers for Jacob and for us.  We are still trying to sell our house and are excited that our offer was accepted on another house here in Tacoma.  In the perfect storm, the house would sell and Jacob would have his surgery all at the same time.  God does have a Master Plan for us and is with us.  One day at a time!

As we are getting ready for surgery, we'll post more updates for sure!  Love to all of you. 

5 months old!

Happy 5 month birthday to Jacob today!  Can you believe it?  Just a few updates for this post as we are very busy this week.  We've put an offer in on a new house, but it's contingent on our house being on the market, so we are feverishly working to get our house ready to sell by this Friday.  It looks like a tornado hit here! 

But this blog is about Jacob's journeys, so here's the scoop:
Weight: 16 lbs 2 oz    Height: ~27 inches
Jacob's newest trick is rolling over, or almost.  He props himself up on his side regularly and kicks his legs enough to wriggle around.  But the other night, we left him on our bed and when we came back into the room, he was on his tummy!  We didn't actually see him do it, but know it's possible.  Look out world! 

He also started Physical Therapy a couple of weeks ago.  Maybe that's what's making the difference.  PT will help strengthen his core and upper body muscles to help support his large head and rolling over.  Overall, Jacob is about 1-2 months behind in his physical development (most babies roll over ~4 months).  But it's been exciting to see how fast he's learning and that he's getting stronger every day. 

It's also been fun to see Jacob's personality come out too.  He's usually a really happy, laid back guy.  And he's got a smile and bright blue eyes that just light up the room.  No matter how stressful the day has been, one look from Jacob melts it all away. 

We'll post more pictures...once we unpack the camera.  Appreciate your prayers for Jacob and for us in the home-buying process.

Take me out to the ball game!

Hello friends!

We have been a busy family in the last few weeks.  Jacob has had several appointments in follow up from the neurologist and pediatrician, all with good news.  He passed his hearing test with flying colors.  The eye doctor said he might be a little far-sighted, but that's normal for his age.  He didn't pick things up in his field of vision right away, but that seems to be improving too. 

Today, Jacob started physical therapy.  The best part is that our friend from church is his therapist.   She had some good exercises for us to work on at home.  He is definitely behind the curve on his physical development.  But we are encouraged by the progress we've seen even in the last month. 

The most fun in the last few weeks has been seeing Jacob's personality begin to come out.  He is usually very happy and smiling.  And the best sound in the world is his laughter.  We're working on a better bedtime routine.  He likes being read to and is learning to play with toys a little bit. 

Last weekend, we went to 4 baseball games in a row!  The Tacoma Rainiers were in the playoffs, but our local Cheney Stadium is under construction, so all 3 games were played at Safeco Field in Seattle.  We had great seats, 2 rows behind home plate.  Then on Monday, Auntie Joy gave us tickets to see the Mariners vs. the Red Sox.  The Rainiers finally won the championship, but the Mariners lost.  We've seen our fill of baseball for the summer now!  On to the wonders of Fall. 

We are excited to celebrate his 5 month birthday soon.  Wow!  Where has the time gone?  Jacob is getting so big!

4 months old (almost)

Found a new blog template, so thought we'd play with that!  What do you think?

Jacob had his 4 month check up this past week.  Wow!  Where has the time gone?  We also had a couple of other appointments with the neurosurgeon and the neurologist.  Here are the details:

Height: 25 3/4 inches  (75th percentile)     Weight:  15lbs 1 oz  (50th percentile) 
Jacob's head is stilll larger than average, but he is getting better at holding it up on his own.  We have been recommended for physical therapy, but are still on the waiting list.  The neurosurgeon was pleased with how things look, particularly some swelling that had been around the shunt site which has gone way down. 

This was our first visit with the neurologist and it was a bit of a reality check for us.  Jacob has been progressing well, but is a bit behind where he should be developmentally.  It is hard to say at this age, but there are some things he was concerned about, particularly his vision and hearing.  When we see Jacob every day, we don't think much of it.  But when the doctor put a red ball in front of him, Jacob didn't seem to notice it at all.  There are some visual defecits that can occur with hydrocephalus, so we have an appt with the eye doctor, as well as another hearing screen.  Jacob will also need an MRI in another couple of months to better evaluate the brain structures.

So we are not out of the woods by any means. It just means we need to keep praying!  We know God is with us still.  We are grateful for all the health care providers who are looking out for us and for our friends and family supporting us. 

Other adventures:  Jacob's first Mariners game!  Shown in the picture below with Grandma Vicki.  Another Rainiers baseball game to celebrate Grandpa Leigh's birthday.  And we are enjoying being at home after all the travelling we have done this summer. 

Annie is back at work full time now and we are all trying to find the balance of work and home life.  It was a bit rough the first week, but we're figuring it out now.  Matt is doing a great job keeping the house liveable and a big thanks to him for getting up in the middle of the night with Jacob so Annie can sleep. 

Thanks for reading and we appreciate your continued prayers and support. 

Pictures, pictures, we want pictures!

We have been to 3 weddings, Port Angeles, Idaho, and California since our last post.  All very good trips, but we are glad to be back at home for awhile to settle down.  Here are some pictures of our recent adventures. 

Helping out at the winery...

Family reunion in Hayden Lake Idaho with Matt's Family. 

Jacob's first boat ride!


Visiting with Aunt Ronnie from New Jersey

Celebrating Great Auntie Joy's 85th birthday and 50 years at their lake cabin. 

Grandma and Grandpa lovin' on Jacob.

First airplane ride...to California.  Jacob did great both ways!! 
Annie was a bridesmaid in her best friend Megan's wedding. 

We've been busy!

Wow, I can't believe it's been almost 2 weeks since our last post.  We have been busy, just nothing too exciting.  Annie has returned to work 2 days a week.  So far, she's a little overwhelmed and already diving into another project (opening another new clinic!).  Leaving Jacob at home has been hard, but he is in good hands with Matt. 

On Annie's off days, we still wanted to make the most of the time together.  Last Tuesday, we spent the whole day in Seattle, starting at Pike Place Market.  Jacob slept through most of it and Matt navigated the market crowds with the stroller with ease. 

Next, we headed to Greenlake for a little walk and then met Matt's parents and Aunt Stephanie at Duke's Chowderhouse for lunch.  Then we all headed up to the Woodland Park Zoo.  This stop was mostly for our benefit, since Jacob can only see about 4 feet in front of him.  We enjoyed seeing penguins, flamingos, monkeys, meer cats, and tigers.  Lots of fun animals!  We'll definitely head back when Jacob is older. 

We finished the day by meeting Annie's brother for dinner nearby.  It was a great fun and family filled day.  And the weather was just perfect for walking around town. 

We'll be heading to Port Angeles next weekend to help "man the store" at the winery.  Annie's parents are enjoying the trip of a lifetime to France and Italy, but someone's still gotta take care of the business.  Many friends and family are stepping in to help and it's our turn to join the fun. 

We hope you are enjoying your summer as much as we are.  When we are home, we love hanging out on our deck and enjoying our beautiful yard.  Our roses are going crazy!

Jacob is getting bigger every day and a having fun too.  He's smiling more and becoming more expressive.  So fun!  And he's been more awake during the day which has made for some longer sleep at night--up to 7 hours!  Hooray!

More celebrations since our last post. 

We had another baby shower and Jacob was the guest of honor!  Jacob attended his third Tacoma Rainiers game and we enjoyed their annual 3rd of July fireworks extravaganza.  On the 4th of July, we celebrated with some friends who live near the waterfront in Tacoma.  We watched the fireworks from their lawn, all bundled up.  Jacob slept through both big bang events. (Look at his chubby cheeks!)

The 5th of July was Matt's birthday.  We had a great party and the sun came out just in time for the "Birthday Olympics" which include events involving stacking ding dongs on your forehead, fishing with gummi worms, a tug o war, and trivia questions.  My favorite event was called "face the cookie" which required players to get an oreo cookie from their forehead to their mouth without using their hands.  We finished off the evening with delicious BBQ chipotle burgers and lemon cream cheese cake.  

Jacob had another follow-up appointment today where they did some developmental screening as well.  He's still very young, so there's not much to look for right now.  They did recommend some physical therapy to help with head control and neck strength.  It's good to know there are so many folks looking out for him.  He's up to 12 lbs 11oz--getting bigger every day!  He's just starting to smile and discover that his hands belong to him.  You have to be quick on the shutter to capture those smiles on camera, but we know that there are many more to come. 

Annie will be going back to work in the next week.  Please pray for her as she returns to the overwhelming mountain of email and catches up with her staff and co-workers. 

We love hearing how many of you are following us on our blog.  We love comments too, so don't be shy. 
Enjoy the sunshine, now that it has finally arrived in Western WA!