Christmas

We had a great Christmas! So great that updating our blog got put on the back burner! I am not sure how people that blog everyday get all of their stuff done. We had a great visit with family and got to see a few friends too. We were thankful that we caught onto Jacob getting sick early in the game. What else did we have to do the Friday before Christmas besides sit in a pediatrician's office for 2 hours (with everyone else in Atl!) and get diagnosed with pneumonia?? So glad it was early, did not get too bad and antibiotics worked quickly!
The picture above is Jacob opening one of the first gifts, when he was still savoring every minute. He quickly moved into "where is the next one?"

Tickle me Elmo cracked us all up! I think it is a rule that every toy given by a grandparent sings, claps, plays music or makes some other very entertaining noise:)

All Jacob asked Santa for was a "piece of gum in a little box." He was thrilled Christmas morning when he opened just that.

Here is Jacob's first piece of gum. Don't worry, he was very supervised!! When asked what he got for Christmas, this is what he tells about. We could stock a toy store but don't forget that piece of gum!
Cousin time! Jacob thinks he is somewhere between 11 and 13 years old. He told me, "Mom we are going to go watch You Tube."

I will update with a couple of other fun Christmas things later. With Jacob getting sick, we did pass on a couple of activities we had planned but had a great Christmas. We have a lot to be thankful for this year.....most of all, a time to reflect on the miracle of God's incredible gift to us, His Son.

No better sound........

Ba dum, badum, badum....No better sound than a baby's heartbeat. We had our 14 week visit yesterday and everything is moving along nicely. I had not blogged that we had run into a few complications several weeks ago (not sure the www needed those kind of details although I have NO modesty left:) but everything is looking up. The baby has been fine the whole time it was my body not sure if it wanted to hold up to it's end of the deal. On our next visit we will have our ultrasound and yes, we will find out what we are having this time. We have not told Jacob that he will have a baby brother or sister yet mainly because he will think that it will be here later this week! We have started talking about "one day when we have a baby." Several people have asked him if would like a brother or sister. His jury is still out, sometimes a boy and sometimes a girl.
Very thankful for that healthy heartbeat........

Christmas fun

A couple of days ago, we made Jacob's ginger bread train. He picked the train over the house. You can tell by the picture that he did most of the decorating himself.

I went back and forth thinking, "what a great little tradition we are starting here," & "what in the world was I thinking that a 2 1/2 year old could do this!" He was most interested in tasting the icing and sampling the candy.

Friday night we went to the mall to see Santa. Jacob enjoyed talking to Santa, a far cry from last year when he screamed and I refused to pay $25 for a picture of him crying. He told Santa he wanted some gum (which he has never even had!) If we had only none the bar was so low before we did our shopping!

At 7:00 every evening, it snows around Santa's village and the train. This is Jacob seeing the snow for the first time. He thought that was really neat and got a kick out of Santa dancing to "let it snow."

Saturday morning we tried again to get a Christmas card pictures. We have tried a couple of times already. Being still was one problem and we have learned the "fake smile" too, making the picture taking even more fun!

Who's big boy is that anyway?

A little Christmas fun from Jacob

Jacob saw a few of these and got a kick out of seeing himself on one. Funny thing is....yesterday I sent it out to about 20 folks and it wasn't Jacob! There was a little glitch and it was the one of Inman and FBNO staff:) Imagine the look of everyone's face! We will send out some other pics soon, say maybe the fun we had last night trying to get a Christmas card picture!


Check it out by clicking the link below. http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1203361306 This elfin' greeting brought to you by OfficeMaxÆ.

Thankful

Thankful for blankie that entertains for the ride to Atl, in more ways than one.

Fun in the mountains. Jacob tagged along for a girls weekend & did pretty good.

Fun with cousins!

Fun with family

We had a great thanksgiving week, good family time in Atlanta. We are also very thankful to be in the 11th week of a so far, healthy pregnancy. We have had a couple of doctor appointments that were good reports and are praying for a healthy baby in June! So needless to say, we have a lot to be thankful for this season. We are looking forward to a fun filled month of December.

Catching Up....Halloween Fun

I am behind on blogging but wanted to start catching up with some more Halloween Fun! Jacob celebrated Halloween this year for days! We went to "Boo at the Zoo" the weekend before Halloween with our friends, the Pryers. (the infamous Lily)
Jacob had fun with games and going from each little house to trick or treat. Good practice for the real thing!

Jacob and Lily stop and pose, and of course to break out the first of the candy!

The little fireman...he picked out his own costume this year. He was set on being a fireman. I figure this is the last year before we move on to power rangers, spider man and all of the big boy costumes!

Next was trunk or treat at church. He also liked going from trunk to trunk. He was not interested in the games or anything just getting right to the candy.

Finally, the real thing! Jacob went trick or treating with two buddies. By the end of the night, they definitely had it down pat! The weather had gotten a little cooler the week before halloween but warmed up for halloween day. We had one sweaty fireman by the end of the night!
He has come a long way since last halloween when he was just starting to talk and said, "go more!" while we trick or treated!

Mrs Kitty

We have been off the radar for a few days. We went to Atlanta to celebrate the life of a very special lady, Kitty Ragsdale. Mrs Kitty's story www.caringbridge.org/ga/kittyragsdale is one of courage, strength and faith. She was an amazing lady who fought lung cancer for 6 years. She did not receive the earthly healing that many of us hoped for but she did live out a testimony of miracles and God's faithfulness. She lived much longer than an initial grim prognosis and really LIVED! Please continue to pray for this sweet family as they face the days ahead.

Caleb &Jacob at the pumpkin patch

We had a great time with David, Heather & Caleb last weekend. The boys loved going to the pumpkin patch!

They got to pick out pumpkins, see the animals in the petting zoo, go on a hayride, and lots of other fun fall things.
The Dads weren't so sure at first but ended up having a great time too!

We had a great time with the Platts, a very special weekend. The next time we are all together, Joshua Platt will be along for the ride! 3 boys, I wonder if we will be able to keep up:)

promised pics

Pictures to go with the entry below. Jacob had a great time having Aunt Steph chase him at the park. The other parents at the park with laughing and saying, "you can tell how much he loves his aunt!"

Jamming with Aunt Steph

A nightly tradition at the Houston house is "being a baby" after bath time. Jacob wanted to be Aunt Steph's baby after his bath.

One of my favorite times while she was here...a tied game of scrabble!! We love playing scrabble together. Stephanie always wins! A tie was a victory!

We had a great weekend this past weekend too. We are a little under the weather but I will post pictures of our visit with the Platts in the next couple of days.

Aunt Steph in N.O

I am trying to keep my word & keep this blog updated. I tried to update with some new pictures from our weekend but blogspot is having some tech problems. Will try again in a bit.....
We had a great weekend! Aunt Steph came to town and Jacob was sure she was there for his sole entertainment. Still today he was telling people, "Aunt Steph came & she plays soccer with me." The weather was perfect and we had a great time outside and basically eating our way through New Orleans! Jacob was not the only one happy, I was happy to have some sister time!

We are pretty sure there will be no cousins for Jacob coming from Stephanie & Troy. After Aunt Steph witnessed a couple of true 2 year old temper tantrums, the deal for cousins may be over!

We are also glad Daddy is home! Last week I didn't post that Inman was out of town, something seemed not safe about posting on the internet that my husband was out of town for the whole week:) But he was gone and both Jacob and I were glad to see him. Unfortunately, he came home under the weather and even though he is "here," he has been sick and Momma is ready for things to be back to normal with both hands on deck!
I will try and post some pictures from our weekend soon!

Houston, we have.......

Pee! Jacob's first time (finally) peeing in the potty had to be recorded!

Ok, I know kids everywhere are doing this but Jacob has been a little resistent. I have tried to keep this low key so it doesn't turn into a battle of the wills (his & mine!) but he has had little to no interest. He has all the "signs" that he was ready but when going to the potty was suggested he would say, "No, I will go in my diaper" or "I not try today."

We had recently started encouraging with M & Ms. This kid loves candy but still no takers. Until today, and 3 M & Ms were the big reward! I felt like pouring the whole bag in his mouth. I couldn't though because I was cleaning up urine all the other places it ended up besides the potty:)

The "must-haves"

Jacob has turned into quite a big boy lately but pictures like these remind me that he is still our baby too!

These are the "must haves," the blankie and pillow are the most favorite. These two solve most major problems.

But when it is time to go to bed, we need 2 blankets (the one covering him & a navy one that matches the pillow), plus the stuffed dog under his elbow and another little "row row" that is hidden in this picture AND the pillow. Quite a crew!

My Favorite Porch

My favorite porch is my Grandmomma & Granddaddy's. We have taken TONS of pictures there over the years!

You feel like you are in another room of the house. Ferns enclose the porch to make a little outside room. Depending on the season, there is always something different in bloom. The best time is when you walk up and smell gardenia. I was so excited when we moved into our new house and there was a gardenia by my front door just like theirs!

Their thumbs are as green as they get! I should have taken a picture of it but last week there was a flower that bloomed. It is rare that it blooms and theirs had 5 blooms! The plant is over 20 years old. I told you... green thumbs!!

Best of all, great memories!

We are back!!!!

Picking up from the last post....We made it back and Jacob (and I) did fine.
Jacob loved being with grandparents, who wouldn't? Ice cream cone anyone? Jacob asked every few minutes where we were but I tried to convince my mom that I start my day with, "My daddy is at work today?" and "when will Daddy be home?" Inman says that when I am gone that Jacob asks several times an hour where I am....all while having fun but just wanting to keep tabs on everyone's where abouts. I KNOW that he had fun because after being back a few minutes Jacob wanted to be with Mema alone and told me to "go into the den but not on a trip," at Dadoh and Nana Jeanne's house the next day.
We had a great time away. Grown up time and having a NOLA break (good for the mental health) but I was personally ready to be with Jacob again after 2 nights. (We were there for 3)

We spent last week with family in Atl. Jacob has all of his grandparents and 5 great grandparents! It always goes too fast but we are looking forward to the upcoming holidays too.

I have no pictures to post tonight because I am still getting our house back together and the camera cord is yet to show up. Inman took a chance to poke fun at me because I always misplace that thing! I promise to post some this week......

"It's good for him...."

"It's good for him." Inman has said that several times, many times the last couple of days as we prepare for this weekend.
We are finishing up a whirlwind week and are leaving today to head to Atl. We are leaving Jacob in the care of eager grandparents and heading to Ohio. No, not the bahamas but some time together, grown ups, talking about grown up things. Hey! Talking, getting to see each other besides passing like ships in the night, handing off the baton, I mean Jacob. Inman has several speaking engagements on behalf of Baptist Crossroads www.baptistcrossroads.com
We knew this would be a great opportunity for us. So, I agreed to 2 nights and it turned into 3. I was doing fine and check the weather a possible tropical storm or more headed our way! My imagined first evacuation of NOLA post-K did not involve me being across the country, my child being in another city & needing to pack up my house in N.O! I have prayed through all the "anxiety" verses and am putting one foot in front of the other. I am alternating between complete denial of a storm and totally freaking out and making Inman promise me if a major storm develops that I could return and pack up what survived before that I vowed I would protect with my life....baby, wedding pictures etc.
So, "It is good for him." Our child that is, if his parents have some grown up time together. That is what THEY all say. Spending time together, you come back stronger for your kid, right? Yeah, unless there is a hurricane and your mother has to be put in a mental hospital:)

A New Friend

Maybe he is here?

Or maybe in the tent?

In the chair?

Sleeping in Jacob's bed?

Sometime he eats breakfast with Jacob and of course, reads the football highlights.

Our new friend, Ki (not sure how to spell but rhymes with Sigh). K lives in our house, unless he stays at church which he did the other day. He is small, according to Jacob. He does eat, brush his teeth (in fact he shares a toothbrush with Jacob), he likes to go to church and mother's morning out. Sometimes he does cry for his momma. He sleeps in Jacob's bed and sometimes Jacob holds him in his lap. Sometimes he wakes Jacob up and wants to play. A lot of times he is in the other room when we are all in the den but Jacob always knows where he is. I asked the preschool director if there is anyone named Kai, Ki, Kei anything sounding like Sigh but with a K. No, no one by that name. What an imagination!

Childhood Cancer month

September is Childhood Cancer awareness month. I know there are so many great causes out there. Every time I turn around, there is a walk, marathon or campaign to raise money for some type of medical research and they are all great causes. Childhood Cancer has been one that has touched me. Several years ago, a very special little boy began the battle of his life. His entire family rallied around him for what turned into a battle FOR his life. Carter was healed, the ultimate healing and is walking in heaven. The three year anniversary of Carter's passing was last week. You can read about his journey at www.caringbridge.org/ga/cartermartin but what I would really like you to do is go to www.choa.org/cartermartin and give. Give so that the many children fighting cancer will have a chance for a cure. The Martin family wants to live out Carter's dream that no other child will have to suffer. Through Carter's journey and website, I have followed many more children. I have been touched by each of their stories. As a mom and a nurse, I have cried and can't begin to imagine what these families are facing.
Did you know?
*Every year almost 3,000 children die of cancer. *The national government recently cut the budget for funding of pediatric cancer research.*Currently there are 30,000-40,000 children being treated for cancer in the US.*As a nation, each year we spend 14 billion dollars per year on the space program and only 35 million on childhood cancer.

I plan to leave this link on the blog. Please consider giving and hug your children tightly!

What would have been & playing in the rain........

Jacob chases his friend Jack while they play in the rain

This week would have been the due date for the little one we lost in February. At the time, September seemed so long to wait while I had thoughts of,..."I would have been 4 months pregnant"......"By now, we would have found out if we were having a boy or a girl"....."We would be setting up a nursery by now"....in these last couple of weeks,..."We would be about to bring our baby home." Now I know that just because the due date is passed, those thoughts don't end. Now they are,..."How would Jacob have been adjusting?"...."Would the baby have been early like Jacob?"....."I would be juggling two right now."

I am thankful the Lord has given me a verse to remind me of His compassion for me, "The righteous cry out and the Lord hears them; He delivers them from their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:17-18

A couple of weeks ago thinking of the days that were ahead, I wanted to wake up and it magically be the end of September. I realize that if I had done what I wanted to do a couple of weeks ago, I would have missed many moments of blessings. Jacob is at a very special age (aren't they all?) He is learning so much and constantly amazes me and cracks me up! On Sunday, he played in the rain for the first time. I would not have missed that for the world. Today, I am thankful for simple moments like this:

Inman's birthday

Jacob had a great time "helping" make Inman's b-day cake.
He loved sprinkling the chocolate on the top.
Inman's favorite part of the day was the Georgia Tech score
Jacob was actually able to sing some of Happy Birthday, still a 2 person chorus was weak!

This was the view from our front porch about mid-day. It rained really hard and the drains could not keep up. Luckily, we were not flooded for long. A good day for staying in and kicking off college football season. A perfect day for Inman!