What A Year! One At Last...

Well Jaron is finally one year old. He is right on the verge of walking and I know it won't be long. I took him and Jacob to have their pictures made and I think they turned out WONDERFUL~Enjoy!!!

Swimming!

Someone gave us this pool and Jacob loves it. Just the right size for him and Jaron. We put it on our back deck because our yard is too slanted.











Jaron wasn't quite sure what to think of the pool. He loves taking a bath so once he got used to the water he started splashing like crazy! Maybe now they can get some sun on those white little bodies.

Healing Happily

I took Jaron to Boston yesterday for his post-op visit and Dr. Mulliken was very pleased with Jaron. He said Jaron will have the underbite (normal for bilateral cleft kids) but he should have "the best" results on his nose because his nostrils will not widen at all. We are very pleased with all he has done for us and I thought you all would like to put a face with his name. He is the best!

Teething & Coughing

We have all been sick with cold/congestion. And Jaron is also TEETHING. None have poked through yet but I know it will be anytime now. He cries and yells a lot with pain in his mouth. Mommy is praying for teeth FAST. He is standing up at anything and cruising all over the house holding on to things. I know it won't be long until he takes off with no help at all. I took him to the doctor the other day for the cold and he has gained one pound since surgery May 4th. I was HAPPY. I add things to his bottles to get him all the extra calories we can. Still no success with food. He is gagging on everything but milk. Even that sometimes if I squirt it in the wrong spot. And then I get puked on~about once a day!

Father's Day !!!

Check this out! Jacob wrote this all by himself. I was telling him which letters to write and where but he did them alone. (Oh I forgot I did help with Jaron's name-he was getting tired of writing) Can you believe it! What a Father's Day present!!!

Trip to the Dentist

My handsome boys dressed for church. Jacob loves it when they dress alike. Not quite the same shirt but close enough.












Jacob likes to sit at the coffee table and color with the huge set of crayons, markers & paint that he got for Christmas. He had his first trip to the dentist the other day and did GREAT! They take the kids back by themselves and I was so worried he might pitch a fit. But he held the girls hand and went right back there. She said he didn't even cry. They did x-rays, cleaning and flouride for 1 hour and he was so good. I am glad to report he has no cavities!

Naptime with Mommy

Well Mommy and Jaron took a nap today in the recliner. We were tired. Didn't even know that Daddy took this picture. How peaceful...













What a happy little boy! He still isn't eating food. We are starting Occupational Therapy this week. He still has problems gagging when food sticks to his palate. Pray for his palate to work this week. We need him to eat food. He still only drinks milk. 6oz. every 3 hours. Still a little underweight too.













What a sleepy little guy. He fell asleep shortly after this was taken. Look at those eyes. Isn't he gorgeous! He sure does love that blanket. When we get him out of the bed in the mornings he won't let go of it. I think its precious...

Having a Blast!

Jacob went swimming today at our friends house. He got in this baby float because Chris and I weren't prepared to swim-as you can see Jacob went in fully clothed. He loved. Can't swim on his own yet but sure does love to try!

What a Miracle!

We just can't get over Jaron's new mouth and nose. We are so happy and just want to share pictures with you all. The left one is a few days old and the right one is today just before he got a bath. I know some are so anxious to see under that tape so I have to post pictures without it. Thank you all for your support and prayers. And for any of you who knew Chris was laid off March 31st and has been looking for work since then. He had a interview with Wrigley's 3 weeks ago and they finally called him to come to work!!! PRAISE THE LORD! He starts June 19th and just about what he was making at his other job. Wrigley's-you know the GUM company! They have great benefits and aren't very far from our house. Thank God because we can't afford the gas. Just had to share that great news with everyone. Jaron is starting occupational therapy Thursday to help me and help him learn to eat. He still gags when I try to feed him so we hope that gets better soon. We'll keep you posted.

Jacob sure does love Jaron. I know it will probably change as they get older and start to fight over toys and things. But for now I am enjoying the sweet little hugs and kisses they give each other. Thank God for my handsome boys. Jacob is still learning Bible verses in Sunday school and he's getting better at writing his name too. It won't be long and he will be 4 years old. Man time really does fly!

Getting better all the time

Well Jaron is now 4 weeks post op and seems to be doing good. He still doesn't have any teeth but I think when they do come through it will be all at once. His gums are looking pretty red and swollen. We are so happy to be back to normal here at home and we still can't get over Jaron's new look. Thank you all for your prayers. We want to give God all the glory for taking care of our family through this and meeting all of our needs.

Close up w/o tape

Here is a good close up of his lip without the tape on it. We are taping it for anyone who is wondering. They recommend keeping taped for 6 weeks post op to keep the scar pulled tight. Jaron has just had a runny nose lately and it gets wet and falls off a lot so this was between changing the tape. What a cute little lip!













Jaron has starting eating baby food FINALLY without gagging. I am so happy! Maybe now he might gain some weight. He was enjoying his first jar of carrots here in this picture. What a mess!!! He is doing good and recovering nicely. Not to mention his ear infection and cold/congestion at the moment. But we are so happy to have those surgeries behind us. Now comes the BILLS!!!!!!

Daddy cut Jacob's hair like his. Very short! Mommy isn't so sure that I like it. I don't think we will do this again. I like to part his hair over to the side. He really has none to comb right now.












This is what Jacob did at the hotel with the basket on his head. We were so bored and ready to get home.

Loving that new face!

Thank God for Dr. Mulliken

My New Face!

This is the last one I will post of him with his cleft lip. He was so cute wearing Daddy's hat.

This was in the hospital same day of surgery very swollen and still had the nasal packing in.

Here is Jaron in the hotel with his stitches still in his lip & nose. He seemed to be alright. Just taking regular tylenol. You might can tell his face is still swollen some.

Here is a good veiw of him laying down. You can see there are still some stitches in his top lip and in the nostrils. They come out or dissolve on their own.

Profile veiw of our handsome little boy's "New Face".

Daddy caught this cute little face. He kinda looks like he has a milk mustache.

His surgery was May 4th for those who didnt' know. He went in at 7:30am and the surgeon made the first incision at 9:30am. He takes all the time necessary to make the markings before starting. I was glad to hear that. What an amazing job he did. We are very pleased. It lasted 10 hours and we went in to see him in recovery. Then we got his room and stayed there 2 nights in the hospital. They removed his stitches on Tues. 9th under quick anesthesia, 30 min. He did great! Jaron has a little cold but other than that he seems pretty well back to normal. Thanks for all your prayers and please check the blog weekly to watch him change and grow. God Bless you all.

picture of mommy

Florida and the beach!!!

We made a trip to FL last week and this is at Jacob's great grandparents house. He loved this little car. He doesn't have one of these at home so he couldn't get enough.
Here is a cute picture of him running from the birds.
This is his first time at the ocean watching the water run over his feet. He didn't take long to get used to it.
Here is is watching the birds eat the chips he threw out for them.
And here is the final result. We were only out there 3 hours and he had on 45 Bullfrog sunblock. This is what happens when you never get in the sun for the first 3 years of life and then you stick them out in the florida sun. He recovered quickly and now he has some good color.

Trip to Florida

Jaron loved this swing. When he would stop swinging he cried. He did not want to get out of it either. We have to get one of these at our house. This was at my grandmothers in Florida. We made a quick trip down there last week.
This is Jaron's first visit to the beach. We brought the play pen and he was under a tent w/ 45 sunscreen on. He didn't get any sun. But Jacob on the other hand. Well you'll have to check his blog to see his beach experience. Click on the link to the right that says "Meet my brother Jacob".

Standing Proud!

Well I put Jaron to bed as usual the other night and went in later to find out what all the banging was about. And this is how I found him. BUSTED! He has evidently learned to stand up in the bed now and was slapping the wall. You might say..."How funny" Well it was for a minute until I figured out that he will no longer be laying in his bed. He stands up right after I lay him down every time. It's a battle of wits now. I lay him down leave the room and back up he goes. Over and over until he is so tired he can't hold his eyes open and he gives up. Mommy wins again.
Well this was just adorable. Jaron is wearing his bathrobe after a fresh bubble bath. My boys are adorable....The girls are gonna be chasing them...I can see it now.
And today was a big day for him too. Not only can he pull up in the bed with rails to help. He pulled up, from sitting down, to the coffee table. I couldn't believe it. He is learning so quickly. He is crawling better and better. I'll get a picture of him soon. Thanks for reading.

Helping Daddy Outside

Well Chris was doing some yard work the other day and Jacob was helping. He asked for the broom and this is what he did while Chris raked. He was so funny! And when Daddy was trimming the bushes he came into the house and went in his room in search of his plyers. He got them (plastic) and proceeded outside as serious as he could and went straight for the bush and trimmed hedges right beside his daddy! So cute! I didn't catch that one. I couldn't leave the window to get the camera I didn't want to miss it. He is growing up so fast! I love my "Big J".

Easter Sunday

Well I tried to get a good picture of the boys together in their matchin easter sunday clothes. As you can tell I couldn't get one with both of them smiling and looking at the camera at the same time. I guess the bottom one is the best of the three. They were so cute Sunday. Jacob got a hair cut as you can tell from the last picture I posted. He does great sitting pretty still for Granna while she cuts his hair. I cannot believe my baby boy is about to be 4 years old in 5 months!!!

Growing so fast!

Wow how time flys!!! I am in shock at how quickly things seem to go as I get older. It seems like just last week I brought Jaron home from the hospital struggling to feed him and getting no sleep. The sleep is a little better and we do still have some feeding difficulty but he is getting so big so fast. I can't believe we are about to go for his next surgery in 17 MORE DAYS!!! He is right on the verge of crawling. I will post pictures when he masters it. Thanks for everyones prayers. Gotta go he's waking up for a bottle.

Ready for Church

Here is a picture of the boys this morning all dressed for church. They have a few matching shirts and we like to dress them the same. Wow Jaron looks so much like Jacob. We are counting down the days until surgery. I know this recovery is going to be harder. He didn't wear the arm restraints as much this time because he kept his fingers out of his mouth and I watched him closely. But the next surgery will be external and I think he is going to want to itch and pull at the tapes he will have to wear. So the arm restraints will most likely be very necessary. We'll see. Jaron is gaining weight good too. He was 18 lbs. about 2 weeks ago. So he is almost average now. He isn't quite used to his palate yet. When something touches it like food or biter biscuit he gags so it will take some time for him to get used to it I guess. Anyway, thanks for reading and keep him in your prayers.

Brother is Catching up!

Well Jaron is growing so big I think he will be catching up with his brother soon. Jacob hasn't gained much weight in the last year. He can't get enough of Jaron. They take a bath together now and Jacob loves to brush Jaron's hair. He is trying to teach him to say stuff like "Uh oh". Some more good news for Jacob, he learned John 3:16. He can quote the whole verse. I love it! He is so smart.