Happy 1st Birthday Jacob!

We have celebrated a lot this last week! 

• Last Saturday, we finally moved in to our new house!  After 3 months of living among boxes, it really happened.  We had the most beautiful day of the year so far and a great crew of friends who pitched in at the last minute to help us move.  A huge weight has been lifted off us and we can move on with our lives. 
• Easter Sunday--He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!
• Jacob's 1st Birthday on April 27th--we had a low key celebration with our small group friends from church.  We shared lots of memories of Jacob's birth last year and all that has happened for us this year.
• Jacob's Birthday Party today--friends and family joined us for the official birthday celebration.  We got our new house put together pretty well and it felt really good to have a party here.  The first of many more to come!

Thanks to all of our friends and family for your prayers and support.  It really has been an incredible year and we know the best is truly yet to come. 

Opening Night of Tacoma Rainiers

Easter at Trinity Presbyterian Church

Easter Sunday

Daddy and the Birthday Boy

It's my birthday!

Monkey birthday cake, made by Annie

Happy Birthday to Jacob!

Jacob and Great Grandpa Corson

Jacob and Uncle Steve



11 months and counting!

 

My oh my, how the days, weeks, and months fly by.  Jacob is 11 months old today!  Soon we will be celebrating his 1st birthday!

Life has been pretty boring around here, since we are still living amid boxes as we await the finale of our house sale.  That has been a roller coaster, to say the least.  What it means for Jacob is he is stuck playing with the same toys and sleeping in the pack'n'play and outgrowing his clothes as all the extra items are packed away. 

The major excitement of the month came during the week of March 7th.  We all came down with a GI bug, but Jacob got the worst of it.  He was throwing up quite a bit.  We talked to the pediatrician, then the neurologist who advised us to go to the ER.  We had just been there a week and a half prior!  But they take vomiting very seriously in kids who have shunts in their brains, as it can be a sign that it is malfunctioning.  After a few hours in the ER, the doctors agreed it was probably a virus and sent us home with strict instructions to come back if anything got worse.  Well, he kept throwing up, so back we went.  That's TWO trips to the ER in 24 hours!  Not a feat we want to achieve again.  It all resolved on its own with the help of a steady stream of Pedialyte.  Thank goodness! 

Jacob has more appointments than the rest of the family combined.  Matt does a great job of keeping the schedule up to date.  Jacob will be participating in a physical therapy workshop this coming week, which means he'll get an hour of PT every day.  We have also been evaluated by a State program called Birth to Three.  Happily, Jacob tested very well in most areas (fine motor skills, social and cognitive development), but is behind in gross motor skills and communication.  This program will provide free services in the home, which will be nice for us all.  We also found out a couple of weeks ago that Jacob's head shape is coming along very nicely.  He only has to wear his helmet at night now!  We have also decided not to have the second surgery done on his head.  As you can see from these pictures, we think he's perfectly cute the way he is!

Otherwise, Jacob continues to be a happy little guy, especially when Cheerios are in front of him.  He has 3 teeth on the top and the bottom, with two more coming in.  We had fun celebrating Nico's 1st birthday this weekend. They already have fun playing together and I'm sure they will get into much more trouble as they grow up.

And the winner is...

Jacob!

For best smile, best laugh and best all around baby!

In honor of the Oscar's tonight, we thought we would post some video footage of our little guy.    Jacob is 10 months old today!  The time continues to fly by and he is doing so well.  Click on the link above to see the video.

We did have a little scare this week though, which involved our first trip to the Emergency Room.  On Friday morning, Jacob had a small seizure in his right leg.  He was awake and alert through all of it and it didn't really seem to bother him.  But because of his history, we have been told to look out for seizures.  After calls to the pediatrician and the neurologist, we were advised to go to the ER.  They did a CT scan and an EEG, drew some blood work and gave him an IV.  All of these things did not make him very happy or allow for a nap.  After 5 hours, we were discharged home with a prescription for anti-seizure medicine and close follow up from our neurologist.  In the grand scheme of things, it really wasn't that bad, but it was a reminder that Jacob is special and needs some extra help.  

Other than that, Jacob is doing very well.  He continues in physical therapy and is now even able to stand and hold onto the table or couch with support.  We're still working on hand and knees as a precursor to crawling.  He eats everything and loves munching on Cheerios, bananas, and whatever else we put in front of him.  The next step will be more table food so he can eat what mom and dad are eating too.  He is up to 20+ pounds and definitely on the tall end of the growth chart (wonder where that came from).  

We thought we would be able to write this 10 month update from our new house.  Unfortunately, there have been several delays and our closing date has been bumped at least 4 times.  We have been eating off paper plates for the last week and that will continue until at least March 9th.  We are so tired of living among boxes and just want to be in our new house so we can get settled and move on with our life.  

Please pray for us as we continue to wait on our house and for Jacob's health.  

Happy Valentine's Day!

9 Month Update

Jacob is 9 months old already! 

Since we last posted, a lot has been going on in the Lambert household.  We celebrated Christmas with Matt's family and more of Annie's family.  Jacob came away with quite a haul of toys from his first Christmas! We went to Zoolights at the Point Defiance Zoo.  It was a very cold night, but Jacob enjoyed seeing all the pretty lights and animals.  Annie opened a new cancer clinic on January 10th and Matt has started teaching Sunday School to 1st and 2nd graders at our church. 

Jacob is now wearing his helmet all day, every day.  He gets to have it off for an hour a day, which usually happens when we are changing his clothes or giving him a bath.  He doesn't seem to mind it too much.  We can definitely see the improvements in the shape of his head already.  We are hopeful he will be done with it by his birthday in April, but only time will tell. 

Jacob is still going to physical therapy once a week and making great progress.  He can sit up on his own for a long time now.  His fine motor skills are improving too as he's learning to pick things up off his high-chair tray to put them in his mouth.  Jacob is also eating a variety of foods including bananas, kiwi, pancakes and his favorite little "puffies" (like cheerios), on top of the standard baby food menu.  He has two bottom teeth and two on the top coming in.  We would post more pictures, but our other computer is in the shop. 

Our other big news is that we sold our house!  And we have found a new house that we just love!  So in the midst of everything else that keeps our daily lives busy (work, appointments, volunteering, church), we are packing and preparing to move.  Our closing date is Feb. 22nd and we plan to move over President's Day weekend.  If you are available to help, we would be most grateful!  

Next months update will have more pictures of our new place and Jacob's toothy smile.  

Our New House!

Merry Christmas! and Happy 8 month birthday!

At this time last year, we had just found out that our baby was a boy, but also about his hydrocephalus.  We had lots of questions and Christmas just didn't sparkle very much last year.  But this year was much more fun for all, including the beautiful and happy little boy that turned out to be Jacob.  God is good!

We traveled to Annie's parents in Port Angeles again for the holidays, joined by Great Grandpa Corson and Uncle Steve.  The three of us opted for the family focused Christmas Eve service at 5:30pm, instead of the late-night candlelight service.   Santa left lots of gifts for us all, but especially Jacob, including some new clothes, toys, and eating utensils.  Our Christmas meal was delicious, as usual (Annie's favorite meal of the whole year).  The pork roast was literally as big and long as Jacob!  We will celebrate with Matt's family on the 30th where I'm sure Jacob will be spoiled again.



Jacob loves to read! And Grandma is happy to help.

On the development front, Jacob continues to progress with the help of physical therapist, Laura.  He's sitting up more and getting much stronger.  Now we are working on him getting used to being on his tummy and his knees.  Jacob is also eating lots of new foods, from peas and carrots to apples and pears.  His favorite is sweet potatoes and prunes.  He is now just over 28" and 19lbs 5oz--a hefty load for Dad to carry him in the car seat carrier. 

Today, Jacob received his helmet.  This will help continue shaping his head and provide the best space for his brain to grow.  Fortunately, the surgery corrected a large portion of his head shape, so he will hopefully only have to wear the helmet for a few months.  He looks like a little race car driver!  He'll start wearing it for just a few hours a day, but will be up to 23 hours/day within a week. 

Still no news on selling our house.  We had an offer in early December, but they withdrew after we countered the offer.  God knows the best time and place for us and will make it happen. 

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  We count you, our friends and family, among our many blessings this year. 

We are Thankful for...7 months!

We hope all of you had a warm and wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!

We ventured over the river and through the snow to Grandmother's house (Annie's parents) on Thursday morning.  They had about a foot of snow at their house in Port Angeles, but the worst part of the drive was going into their driveway.  We made it with no problems and got right to cooking once we arrived.  This year was a smaller group and we only had 2 turkeys, instead of the usual 3.  Jacob joined us at the table, sitting in his new high chair and even tried some mashed potatoes.  He really did not like them and spit them out right away.  Annie's dad got him a new teething "toy" though--a silicone barrel stopper (aka bung).  Jacob did enjoy that and it must feel good on his new teeth coming in.

Jacob is 7 months old today!  He's doing so well after his surgery and now seems pretty much back to normal.  He's getting stronger and able to sit up with minimal support.  And he's just the happiest little guy we know.

We have so much to be thankful for this year!  Here are just a few...

• Wonderful support from friends and family through prayer, provision of meals, babysitting, etc.
• An amazing little boy who has come through two major surgeries with flying colors
• A warm & dry house to live in
• A good job that keeps Annie busy
• A great church