Thankful Thursday: Growing Boys, Giggles & Amish bread

What up everyone?! It's Thankful Thursday again! Another week down, recorded in the history books. Monica like to take the time each week to say a few things we're thankful for! There's always something to be thankful for! This is something I remind myself of often and am reminded daily at work (I work in a hospital). Life is a beautiful gift! Something to be overtly thankful for in and of itself! So let's get to it! Here's our lists!

Monica's List:

I'm thankful for healthy boys! So many of us take our own health and the health of our children for granted. I know for me personally, it never used to cross my mind that I could be anything other than perfectly healthy. The boys had their 4 month check up today and everything is just perfect! The doctor said they look great and very healthy. I'm so very thankful for their health... and my own at that.

I'm thankful for giggles. The boys are really starting to giggle and they are just  the most adorable little things I've ever heard! I'm thankful for happy boys!

I'm thankful for Amish starter bread. I completely forgot about this stuff and how delish it is! I just got some starter two days ago and had some of the bread my aunt made with it.. Oh my, so good!! Too bad it's only day 2 because I am so excited to make mine and try out some new recipes with it! Thanks for the starter Amy! Who wants some when I go to divide mine?! :)

Jeremy's List:

I'm thankful for healthy, growing boys too! This is the first doctor visit I haven't been able to go to :( But I was happy to see the text from Monica with their current weights and heights!

"Wittle" Jace, as I call him, weighed in at a whopping 15 lbs 8 oz! He is 25.5 inches long. That's over 2 feet tall! He was in the 50th percentile for his weight and height! Good job Jace!!

Jeriah weighed in at 13 lbs 9 oz and is 25.75 inches long! He passed his brother by 1/4 of an inch! It's hard to believe they're over 2 feet long/tall. That seems so big, lol! Jeriah was in the 50th percentile for his height and 10th for his weight. He's my "skinny mister."

Being a dad is by far the best thing ever! I haven't hardly seen either of my boys the past two days. Monica has been back to work and so her mom or my mom have them when we both work. The last two days her parents had them. Wednesdays are very busy days to begin with. I only saw them yesterday for maybe 30 minutes when we put them to bed. They were both passed out the entire time. Today when I came home I couldn't wait to see my boys! Jace was and still is asleep but Jeriah was up and giggled the entire time I was holding him and talking to him! He smiles, laughs, giggles and gets so excited he'll let out a squeal! He seemed happy to see me, which is an amazing feeling!

They both are rolling from their back to their tummy's now. Jeriah is a pro at it! Jace is still figuring it out. Jace can roll from his tummy to his back, something Jeriah has yet to figure out, lol. The doctor said we can start introducing fruits and veggies now! I'm excited to get to feed them and see the funny faces they make! Plus it's exciting that they're moving up to real food! I'm excited for them! They get to experience food! It really is the little things in life, lol!

Here's some pics to leave you with!

So what are you thankful for this week?!?!

Somehow got his foot through the toy and stuck

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 



Thankful Thursday: Participation & Music

It's Thankful Thursday ya'all! Get excited, get pumped! We all have had another week alive on this beautiful planet, Earth! I haven't been blogging quite as much lately for several reasons (excuses). I have had a crazy work schedule, caught a cold in the midst of trying to participate in a study for which I could not be sick, and just being slightly busier than usual. All excuses, non valid, so for that I apologize! I intend to get back on the blogging band-wagon. I know that makes all 7 of you that read my blog so incredibly happy! Lol! Anywho, here's our Thankful Thursday lists!

Monica's List:

Monica had just way to much to say for it all to fit, so we'll just say she's very thankful for the life God has given her! Especially her amazing husband! :)

Jeremy's List:

I'm thankful for being able to participate in a "genotype specific clinical trial." That is all I can say about it. :) I may or may not have already said too much in a previous blog, but I was recently informed that I'm not supposed to say anymore than what I stated above, lol. I was really worried I wouldn't make the cut. You cannot be having an exacerbation upon entering the study. I caught a cold 2 weeks before my scheduled start date and it was/is still lingering. However, my PFT's were either close enough/at/or above my baseline. They can't tell me what my specific numbers are. But, I'm in!!!! I took my first dose of study medication yesterday and am beyond words to express how excited I am to be in this study!!! This medication could make a considerable difference in the lives of A LOT of CF patients. As a friend of mine said it's not a "game-changer" kind of medication, but it's definitely heading that way! And that my friends is EXCITING!!! Almost brings tears to the eyes....... The younger CF generation stands to be greatly impacted. That is worth so much more than seeing my own PFT's rise.

I'm thankful for newly found music! I discovered an online Christian radio station based out of Texas. It's called NGEN radio and is found at ngenradio.com. They play a good variety of current Christian music ranging from hip-hop to worship to rock. They pretty much cover it all! It's so awesome to have good Christian music to listen to. It's funny that I was going to post this as I just read my buddy Ronnie's blog and he said he's thankful for new Christian rap. The old stuff had terrible beats (they had no money) and the lyrics were often very cheesy and corny. It didn't have anything on secular rap. I've always been into rap, and like Ronnie quit listening to secular rap because of the explicit lyrics and the content talked mostly about things the Bible teaches against. Not good for the soul. There are artists now like, Thousand Foot Krutch, Family Force 5, Tedashii, Lecrae, Disciple, Pillar, RED, Manafest, KJ52 the list goes on and on. Their music is awesome and most of all glorifies God! Suuuweeeet!!!

Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

What are you thankful for today?!?!?!

P.S. I'm a little on the hyper side if you couldn't tell.... I have no explanation for why. That is all.

HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA

Family Fun

Monday we got to get together with Monica's family. Some of her family from Louisiana was in town to see all the new babies in the family! Monica's cousin had a baby in January, our boys were born in April and Monica's sister had her baby a week ago today!

Happy 1 Week Anniversary Annalee! (it was yesterday)

We got all the babies together for a picture. One I know we'll repeat over and over in the future. On the right is Jaxon (a day shy of being 7 months old), our boys Jace and Jeriah (4 months old that day), and Annalee (6 days old). Four babies within 7 months of each other!!! It's gonna be FUN! Her family is big to begin with and has gotten A LOT bigger this year! We're extremely blessed! Sometimes I honestly feel overwhelmed by how blessed my life is. I'm living the dream for sure!

Four beautiful, good-looking babies!

4 Months Old

The boys turn 4 months old today! It's really hard to believe it has gone by so fast. Monica and I had a niece born this week. She weighs a little over 7 pounds. She seems so tiny. It seems like so long ago that our boys were almost 2 pounds lighter than that. They are growing like crazy and get cuter by the day!

Yesterday Jeriah mastered rolling from his back to his stomach and back again. Sadly I was at work when it happened, but Monica said he would roll onto his stomach, pull his arm out from under him and then roll onto his back again. She said he did it several times! This morning when we walked into the nursery Jeriah was out of his Swaddler. I thought Monica took him out, she thought I took him out. Turns out he must have found a way to free himself, lol. I don't know how he did it. It Velcro's closed and it's some really strong Velcro. It's also so neat to watch him play with toys now. We have a mat with toys that hang from it and they lay underneath it. He will move his arms ever so slowly until he gets his hand behind whatever toy he's going for (usually a stuffed panda) and will slowly pull it towards him and grab hold of it. It's incredible to watch really. He's figuring out his grip and hand eye coordination. He will grab things with his thumb and forefinger a lot too. Last night he pulled his binky out of his mouth with his thumb and forefinger and was just looking at it.

Jace is just as cute as he can be. He's always so happy and will smile at just about anyone who looks at him. He's drooling like crazy and constantly "chews" on his fists. He has laughed a couple times for us. He's gotten to where he kicks his legs in the air a lot too. It almost seems like they each take turns learning new things. For a while it seemed like Jeriah was slightly ahead, then Jace started doing a bunch of new things and sort of passed Jeriah up. Now Jeriah is learning new things. It's funny how it works.

They're growing up too fast!

Here's some new pics from recently. Mommy took them to the zoo for the first time last week! They rode in their stroller like big boys. Jeriah had his raccoon outfit on and Jace had a giraffe outfit on. Fitting for the zoo right?

 

Jeriah looks thrilled

Happy boy

watching something

Can I help you?

say what?!

Sitting on Aunt Maranda's lap

Hanging out with Uncle Adam

Riding on grandpa's shoulders

Jace the Giraffe in front of the giraffes making a funny face

worn out

My favorite two pics of them



Thankful Thursday: Niece, Laughter & Cameras

Hey everyone! It's Thankful Thursday time! This week I didn't let my days get mixed up and remembered! Thankful Thursday is something Monica and I really enjoy doing. We take time out each week to think of things in our lives we are blessed to have and thankful for. Often they are small, seemingly insignificant things that we take for granted. Big or small, there's always something we can be thankful for. Here's our lists for the week:

Monica's List:



Jeremy's List:

I'm thankful for the birth of my niece! She is absolutely adorable! Her name is Annalee Rose. The name is just as beautiful as she is! She was born perfectly healthy and came out quick. It's exciting to have yet another baby in the family. She makes the fourth baby under the age of 9 months in Monica's extended family. One of her cousins has a son who is 3-4 months older than the boys. Little Annalee is going to have 3 boys looking out for her as she grows up. I can't wait to watch another little miracle grow and develop! Which leads me to my next topic.

I'm thankful for laughter! The boys have been really close to laughing for quite some time now. They squeal and smile really big. At times it seems like they are trying hard to laugh but just haven't figured it out yet. This week Jace figured it out! I had just given him his nightly bath, put lotion on him and was covering him in baby powder when he laughed! I like bath time because they generally don't get distracted by too much around them and will look at us the whole time. I was talking to him and making silly noises like I always do. At the time, I wasn't trying to make him laugh. I was more focusing on the task at hand, getting them ready for bed. I couldn't tell you exactly what sound I was making or what face I was making, but something was SO funny that it made him laugh! It was AWESOME! It makes me want to hear it more and more now! I can't wait til I can have them both laughing hysterically!

I'm thankful for cameras. Especially cameras on our phones. It makes it so convenient to snap photos of cute moments or shoot videos when they're doing something cute. We try to use the digital camera and video camera when possible but most the time they doing something cute and spontaneous and we have our phone right there ready to go. If you really stop and think about it, technology is awesome and has come  long way! I remember having my little 110 camera that took those film cartridges that were shaped funny. Almost looked like a dumbbell. Anybody else remember those? We have taken so many photos and video, that soon we'll need an external hard drive. It's a bit ridiculous, but you're gonna have that on these big jobs! Know what I'm saying?! :)

So what are you thankful for this week?!

Thankful Thursday: Birthday Money, Growth & Nearby Family

Hey everybody! It was Thankful Thursday yesterday! Haha! I have gotten my days completely mixed up and turned around. I worked 7 days in a row, had a day off and worked another 3. I completely didn't realize it was Thursday yesterday. So, I'll do my Thankful Thursday today! Every week, Monica and I like to take time to acknowledge things we're thankful for in our lives. We all have so much we can be thankful for! Here's our lists! What are you thankful for today?!

Monica's List:

I'm thankful for a lot of spending money! I got a lot of money for my birthday and have been a shopping maniac lately! It's so nice to have money to spend on myself. I don't shop for myself much so it's been nice. I've found a lot of really good deals at Express and have all kinds of new clothes to wear!

I'm thankful I have a friend who is an awesome hair stylist! She has been cutting and styling my hair for years now. She did my hair for my wedding, my sister's wedding and has been cutting it for years. She is great at it! I love that I have someone I can completely trust with my hair and who always knows what I like and makes my hair look great!

I'm thankful for family that lives near-by with schedules that allow them to come by at the drop of a hat! This week I had a day where the boys were extremely fussy and I couldn't make either of them happy. They kept going and going and going. At one point I went in the kitchen and poured myself a glass of tea while they screamed away in the nursery. I was texting Jeremy at the time and he got ahold of his dad who came over to help. He's come over a lot during the day to watch the boys (and sometimes nap with the boys :) ) while I get stuff around the house done. It's really nice having my in-laws close enough that they can be here pretty quick and are able to help out at almost any time. I'm very thankful for them!

Jeremy's List:

I'm thankful for a growing youth group! I was a youth leader (I prefer not to use the word pastor as I am not formally educated and have no degree or papers) at our church for several years, 4 or 5 if my memory serves me correct. I stepped down for a couple years and took back over the youth group at our church again a year and a half ago. We actually had no youth when I took over and didn't for quite a while. The church decided to change the age of the youth group to start at 11 years old instead of 13. Which has posed it's own challenge. I'm used to dealing with high school kids, not 6th graders. Completely different maturity level and attention span, lol! The first time I was the leader of the youth group we had close to 20 teens at times and would get close to 30 at special events. Any who, we had two and have gradually grown over the past 7 months. I had 10 kids there on Wednesday night! It's very exciting (although slightly nerve-racking) and I'm thankful for it!

I'm thankful for full paychecks again! I have been back to work long enough to have gotten a full 80 hour paycheck. It's nice seeing money in our bank account! I only got paid for 3 weeks of the 10 I took off for paternity leave. Money was beginning to get tight, lol. We're back on track now and can get back to our Debt Snowball again in full force!!

So what are you thankful for?!

Screening Visit and More Pics

I had my screening visit on Tuesday. Everything went great! I was actually done over an hour early. I found several new parts of the hospital I have never been to before, which is rare considering I've worked there 8 years. The research nurse is awesome! She's really nice and very easy to talk to. I was a little concerned about what she would be like since I'll be seeing her every time I go. Everybody was super friendly and it went well.

It's quite a bit different than I expected. I have to technically get "admitted" every time I go. I have to be checked into the system and have a patient ID band. I had to have an ECG (never had one before), and an eye exam along with vitals, blood draws and PFT's. I think one of the hardest parts about this study will be that I can't see my PFT results! It was killing me! I'm so used to watching the screen while I do them and I see what my results were after each attempt. The nurse told me I'm not allowed to see them at all throughout the study. That will be difficult. I WANT TO KNOW! Haha!

I'm really excited about starting the study! Hopefully everything comes back good from the blood results and I will officially be in the study! My tentative start date is August 21st!

I guess that's about it. It was a pretty routine, boring visit. I thought it was exciting, but to most it would probably classify as boring.

The boys get cuter and cuter every day and do new things all the time! Yesterday while Monica was at the library having some quite, alone time (the boys were being bad and crying a lot all day long) Jeriah rolled from his back to his stomach and then to his back again! I didn't actually get to watch it though. I went to the kitchen to get my treatment stuff, and when I came back in he was on his stomach! I put my stuff down in the office and grabbed my phone to video him, and he was on his back again. I couldn't believe it! I think he had help by using the thing they lay under to pull himself over but he still did it! Crazy boys! Jace has been very talkative lately. He will lay wherever he is and just "talk." He'll make all sorts of sounds. He likes to get loud. He likes to say "AAAAAAAAA" a lot. He changes the pitch of his cute, little voice and gets louder and softer as he does it. It's hilarious! Monica and I just laugh and laugh at him.

Here's some pictures of they're hoodie outfits and some I took yesterday of them playing under they're "thing" (I have no idea what the technical term for it is so we'll go with "thing").

Jeriah's hand tastes good

They started out next to each other directly under the X

Trying to eat his bubby's head

What? We didn't do it...

Kicking those feet up high

They're both masters at finding their hands now

He rolls onto his side all the time. This time he found something to play with when he did.