Monday, October 12, 2009

6-Month Well Baby Check

Noah went for his 6-month check-up with Dr. Evans today. Yes, I know he is almost 8 months old, but he couldn't get shots while he was sick and on antibiotics. We got one of four 6-month shots today. Last time we did all of the shots at once, Noah got EXTREMELY sick. Since there are no immunizations required at 9 months, we will take one shot per month between now and January...just in time for him to get his one-year immunizations started in February. Noah weighed 17.5 pounds today and is 25 inches long. Dr.Evans expressed some concern over this as these numbers put Noah in the 3rd percentile as far as height/weight for babies his age. Dr. Evans wants us to keep Noah on a regular feeding schedule and just see what happens. Chances are he will eventually catch up. There is also a strong possibility he just inherited the short gene...just take a look at Jacob and myself! Anyways, the only other news is that we have to find a pediatric dentist. Because of all of the antibiotics Noah has been on recently, it looks like he has developed a fluoride deficiency causing discoloration of the teeth/gums. If anyone knows of a pediatric dentist in the area, please let me know! We're also dealing with some gastro- issues. We are going to keep a detailed record of Noah's stomch issues over the course of the next month and go from there. We will most likely be referred to a pediatric gastrointerologist at that time.

We had a busy weekend beginning with Jacob's surgery on Friday. The pins have finally been removed from his foot and he seems to be on the road to recovery. Aunt Nina brought dinner on Friday night, so we enjoyed spending some time with her, Grandaddy, and my parents. On Saturday, Jacob and I attended a new member get-together in our pastor's home. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and getting to know some other new members. We are now "officially" members of Byne. Noah enjoyed spending the afternoon with my parents. Yesterday, we went to the pumpkin patch. We wanted to go and get some good fall pictures, but it was HOT! We got a few pics, but we are hoping to get a few more as it begins to cool off.

More to come soon!

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Newlyweds

I don't know who all reads this, but I want to go ahead and warn you that this blog is an expression of my feelings about a certain situation. I will be the first to admit that I am bitter about what has happened. I desire to exhibit the love of Christ with a humble heart and a spirit of forgiveness.

As I sit here writing this, my brother-in-law is getting married in Atlanta. Why, you may ask, am I not attending the ceremony? The answer is simple: I don't know. I don't vent very often, but I'm having a very difficult time dealing with this situation.

Jon and Marla got engaged a few weeks after Noah's birth. Jacob and I were ecstatic when they announced their engagement and were excited about participating in the wedding festivities. The wedding date was announced in late June: October 3. The problem? Jacob has Reserve drill the first weekend of every month. Jake has been in the Army for 7 years, and he has had drill the same weekend for each of those 7 years. Scheduling the wedding for the same weekend as Jake's drill hurt deeply, but what made the situation worse for Jacob and myself is that my mother-in-law demanded that we change our wedding date until we found a date to accommodate Jon and Marla. No one ever asked us if we would be able to make it today. We feel like our presence at the wedding wasn't important to Jacob's family. We are hurt and it's going to take time to get over it. I've been physically ill over the entire situation today. Noah and I could have made the trip to Atlanta ourselves, but I knew I couldn't handle Noah on a 3-hour ride alone (especially as sick as he has been). I also had to take Jacob to Tallahassee yesterday and will have to pick him up tomorrow. Two trips to Tallahassee and a trip to Atlanta would have been a lot for my little man (and me!) to handle in three days. I guess I would feel better if someone had offered to help me so that Noah and I could have attended the wedding.

I guess I'm finished venting...and I guess Jon and Marla are almost married.

Newlywed Prayer (for Jon and Marla)

Lord watch over us as we
venture into uncharted seas.

Protect and guide us to live in Your glory
and be an example of Your love.

Watch over our families that have become one through our union.
Give us the patience and understanding to weather the storms that test every alliance.

Be our shelter when we are homeless
and our compass when we have lost our way.

Lord let us always be forever grateful
for the gifts You have bestowed upon us.

So that never a day goes by that we take for granted the love we share now.
And let the everlasting love we will share together always fill our hearts.

by Fred Cuellar

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

GREAT News!

We got some great news today! Jacob was supposed to start at Lee State Prison on November 1. That would have meant driving from Lee County to Valdosta for almost two weeks. Lee State called today to let him know that his transfer date has been moved back to October 1. That means Jacob will begin work at Lee State Prison as soon as Dr. Stanich releases him! PRAISE THE LORD! On another note, Jacob's foot has been giving him fits for the last couple of days. We are going to the doctor in the morning...we are praying everything is okay and still healing appropriately.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Reunions and Birthdays

Today has been incredibly busy. We went to the Hatcher family reunion early today. We don't normally go, but Papa always went, so it was important to my dad that we be there. Noah was still throwing up and had diarrhea this morning, so Mom kept him at her house. Noah always enjoys spending time with his Dondi! After the reunion, we went and picked up Noah and Mom and headed to Natalie's birthday party. We all had a good time fellowshipping with family and friends. Natalie spend the majority of the time opening gifts...

My mom and I took Noah to Grandaddy's house one day last week so that he could see all of the animals. While we were there, we found a little push-around car that belonged to Noatalie when she was younger. We put Noah in it and he FELL IN LOVE! Mom thought it would be a good idea to get a similar car to keep at her house, so I went on a mission to Toys-R-Us on Thursday. I found the car just like Natalie's, but I also found the most adorable convertible tricycle. I ended up getting both. The tricycle is for our house, and the car is for my parent's house.


I'm BACK!

A synopsis of our life in the last 2 months:
  • We moved from Tifton to Lee County. The move was sudden, but we are thrilled to be back in our hometown and so close to family and friends.
  • Jacob completed a month of Annual Training at Ft. McCoy in Wisconsin. I think I need to add in here that the move occurred while Jacob was gone to AT.
  • Jacob returned from AT, dropped a 20-pound dumbbell on his foot, and had to have surgery. He now has two 6-inch titanium rods protruding from his big toe. The rods are scheduled to come out in 2 weeks, and he is supposed to return to work on October 19th...God-willing!
  • We joined Byne Memorial Baptist Church in Albany. We are sooo excited about getting to know and becoming involved with our new church family!
Now that you have an idea of what's happening in our lives, I can brag on my baby boy! I am blessed to have one of the most adorable, well-behaved, well-adjusted, and happy babies I have ever met! Okay, I may be a little partial... Anyways, Noah has absolutely amazed me over the course of the last 2 months. He has kept ear infections, sinus infections, and has been treated for the flu two times. No matter what, though, that child ALWAYS has a smile on his face! Even when he has a miserable night and can't sleep, he is wide awake at 6:45AM and looking up at me with the biggest grin imaginable. I see Jacob's personality in him more and more each day. My mom (Grandma Dondi) and dad (Papa Juddie) also have a lot to do with Noah's incredible disposition.

Noah is ALL OVER THE PLACE! He is sitting up and scooting around. If he wants to go somewhere, he just rolls. He has the crawling motion down and almost has his tummy completely off the ground. It's amazing to see how much he is learning every day. If he hears someone cough, he now imitates them. He will also imitate laughing and, unfortunately for us, any high pitched yelp or scream.

Anyways, it's Army Wives night, so I am going to watch with my incredible hubby!

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Lots of Updates

Noah's being entertained by Sesame Street at the moment, so I have a few minutes to update.

Noah had his four-month vaccinations on Thursday. I knew he didn't feel well on Thursday night, but I attributed it to four shots, gave him Tylenol, and put him to bed. He didn't sleep AT ALL Thursday night. He was restless and just acted like he couldn't get comfortable. When I got him up yesterday (Friday), he was burning up. I took his temperature was 102. I was told that vaccines can cause a low-grade fever, but I knew 102 was pushing it. I called our pediatrician in Macon and he said Noah needed to see someone closer to us. To make a long story (including a VERY frustrating morning at the hospital) short, Stacy Evans was willing to see Noah at his office in Albany yesterday afternoon. Noah has rosiola, a highly contagious high-fever virus. His temp has been fluctuating between 101 ans 104. All we can do is keep pumping Tylenol and Motrin in him... We are, prayerfully, now on the road to recovery.

VACATION
We got back from our trip to Orlando and Crescent City on Tuesday. Jacob and I had an absolutely incredible time at the Army marriage retreat in Orlando. We had the chance to participate in some amazing classes, stay at the Ritz Carlton (for free), eat at Rainforest Cafe (Jake was amazed!), and visit Downtown Disney. I would definitely recommend the retreat to any Army couple eligible to participate. The program is sponsored through Army chaplains and couples are eligible to go to one retreat each year...DEFINITELY WORTH IT!

Noah had a great time staying with my parents and Maegan. He was sick with rotavirus the entire time we were gone, but that didn't stop him from cutting the fool with Maegan and putting on a show for Debbie, Larry, and Uncle Robert. My mom knows me too well because she didn't tell me how sick Noah was; she knew I would leave the retreat to go back to him. They called the pediatrician and did everything they could...and it worked. Mom always knows best. THANK GOD FOR AN AMAZING FAMILY AND WONDERFUL FRIENDS!

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Photo-sharing Site

Because I was have sooo many pictures I want to share, we have a new photo-sharing site. You can find our family pictures at http://jlnfallin.shutterfly.com. This site is incredibly easy to use and is an amazing tool for sharing pictures with family and friends who may not do the social networking thing...