Scar-Singing-Sitting

Jaron's scar is barely noticeable now. Of course we can tell he had surgery but strangers don't seem to notice. It is so nice to finally go to Wal-mart without all the stares and double-takes. Finally we can have a normal day without all the questions and weird looks. He does have 2 teeth on the bottom barely showing.













Here is one daddy took of him in the carseat the other day. On the way home from church. He loves riding in the car. And he hums and trys to sing with every song we play. I hope he's going to be a singer for the Lord.


We got him ready for church the other night and he just sat in the floor like this. It's NOT normal for Jaron to sit still like this unless he is tired or filling his diaper. Don't let the clothes fool you he is still not gaining very good. Everything is big on him.

My Big "J"

Well we didn't get many smiles out of Jacob this time. Seems the camera has a delay and the kids can only hold their grin for so long. Oh well at least you can see how big he is getting and so handsome too! The boys in their sunglasses was so cute! Jacob told me today that we are going to China. Don't know where he heard that word even. Then the other day in Sunday School he prayed for "Jesus to please save his brother Jaron". That is as precious as it gets! Oh and I can't forget today in church he layed his head on my lap and said "Mommy you are my friend". He is getting so sweet lately. And a few weeks ago he said "Mommy I was your first baby in your belly." Just out of the blue don't know where it came from we weren't even talking about babies that day. I can't believe he is going to be 4 years old in 16 DAYS!

Long time no see...

Well I haven't posted in a while so I made up for it this time with lots of pictures. Hope you enjoy them. Jaron is so smart. And he is growing. Still some feeding issues. He hasn't grasped the concept of sucking a bottle or cup yet but he will one day and I will SCREAM with excitement. There a few of him playing in the floor and a couple different ones where he is dressed for church. And them the one of him in a diaper. Those are Jacob's golf clubs but Jaron will not put them down. He carries them around all day swinging at everything. Reminds me a BAM-BAM! He is trying to talk some more make different noises but can't say more than Uh-oh and Mama.

TRAINS TRAINS TRAINS...

Jacob loves to shoot basketball. And he is really very good at it. Notice his little tan back. Finally getting some color. :-)


Thomas and Friends! He loves his trains. Sets up the track every day differently. This was a pretty cool setup he did all by himself. We were proud had to capture the moment.

Two Troublesome Teeth

Well Jaron has finally managed to cut his first 2 teeth on the bottom. They are barely poking through so I can't get a good picture of them yet. Notice the wet shirt. It is like that every where we go. Lots of slobber...

He thinks he's a big boy when he climbs up onto the treadmill. He is gaining weight and still doing alright with the baby food. We went to the ENT today and one of his tubes is not in place. So if he continues to have fluid build up behind the ear drum they may have to put him to sleep to insert a new tube in that left ear. It doesn't seem to bother him though. He is all over the house. Still only says "Mama". But thats fine with me :-)

Swimming!

Jacob has been getting outside more and you can tell it from his little tan face and arms. We try to get outside about an hour everyday and play in the pool. This was kinda a fake smile for Jacob but at least he did smile.

We went to my mother's boss's house to swim one day last week and Jacob insisted on being in the baby float I brought for Jaron. He stayed in it the entire time. I think he almost fell asleep.

Walking!!!

My handsome little man all dressed for church. He is officially walking. ALL OVER THE HOUSE! He looks so funny because he is walking earlier than Jacob did and it seems strange to us. But we are so glad he is developing normal.






Here's a good close up of Jaron and his handsome little lip and nose. I spiked his hair for fun and he grinned for the camera. He can't seem to get his hands out of mouth though. I noticed yesterday that the skin is breaking where his first tooth will come in. We haven't gotten much sleep either because of it. Tylenol and Orajel just aren't enough. I'll try to get a good picture of the tooth once it comes through. Oh and I can't forget to annouce how well he is doing on baby food. He has gained 2 lbs. in 1 month. I am SO PROUD! I have been feeding him a jar of something -sometimes 1 hour apart from each other just to pack in the calories. And he is on pediasure now for extra calories and nutrional value.

He's growing up!

This is one of his favorite things to do. He loves our mouse. And this particular day we had come home from church and his pants are too big all of them so I took them off so he could run around with his little cart and he went straight to the computer.







Here is my two handsome boys in the Georgia Bulldogs outfits!!!














Jaron was patiently waiting for me to finish unloading the van and he seemed to like being in the driver seat.

Playing in the dirt at the park

We met our Jacob's great grandpa and nana in SC for the day and here is a pic of Jacob playing in the sand, in the shade. It was about 95 that day and you can tell by looking at his red cheeks!

Daddy came home from Washington and brought Jacob this hat. He loves it! What a cutie!

My baby found DIRT!

Well we took Jaron & Jacob to a park to meet their great grandparents and Jaron discovered dirt for the first time. He did not like it on his toes and mommy didn't bring shoes (TOO HOT) so I threw on the socks to put a barrier between his baby soft skin and that yucky stuff!

Here is the picture we took the morning we took daddy to the airport. (just noticed he's wearing the same clothes diff. day) Still handsome...

Growing UP!!!

Here is Jacob loving on daddy before he left the next morning for 3 weeks. What a good picture!

Jacob was so big when I put this shirt on him. He ran straight to the mirror to check out his muscles.

I have been letting him paint a lot lately. He loves it! Makes a big mess but it makes him happy...

First Video Clips

I hope this works...if so I plan to use this a lot more as he learns to walk and talk.

Big J & Little J

Here they are the dynamic duo! What a time we had getting them to pose for these pictures. I can't believe my big boy is about to be 4 years old! WOW-I know I say this a lot but TIME FLYS!!! We are all doing good and Jacob is loving that pool you saw in the previous post.

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.