One Last Summer Outing

Last week we took a family trip to the aquarium we have here in town. It is on the other side of town, but Tessa LOVES ocean animals, so we knew it would be worth it. Recently we were able to go to the Monterey Aquarium. This aquarium wasn't as big as that one, but still fed Tessa's ocean addiction. The sad part was that Tessa did not get to see her most favorite creature, the sea turtle. We waited at the turtle tank for a long time, but the one rescued sea turtle this aquarium has never swam by. 

Fun with Daddy!

Lots of exploring!

Whenever one of us are holding both kids, Tessa always says "two babies!"

Tessa would not even be an appetizer for this big fella!

Throughout the aquarium, there are many places for the children to get in this "bubble" like viewing apparatus and really see the fish up close. Tessa enjoyed these moments.

School will be starting soon. I am not looking forward to leaving my babies again. But I know they are taken good care of by their Grammy. Plus, I will have to figure out where our next family trip will be. 

Nate's First Year

Yesterday was our sweet Baby Nate's 1st Birthday. Unfortunately he had to suffer through his one year appointment with his pediatrician and a few shots. Right now he is currently weighing 16.13 lbs, and he is 28 inches tall. He is still not on "the charts", as they say in baby lingo, for his weight. No blood work was needed this trip, thank God, since he gets it taken so often. Our pediatrician was also able to call the hospital and get some results for us from his ultrasound. We have not heard from his kidney doctor yet so we do not know how to interpret these numbers, so we will have to keep waiting some more. But the pediatrician was hopeful.

It is amazing to watch this video and see how far Nate has come, especially in the last three months. He was evaluated for some physical therapy services a few months ago and did in fact qualify. We were told that his gross motor skills were more around the age of 4 months instead of 9 months. Well, we know how Nate doesn't like to be told he can't do something. So for a baby who could barely sit up on his own at 9 months, Nate can now sit up, crawl, pull to a stand, balance for 3-4 seconds and walk across the room with a supported toy walker. It is so amazing to see him come this far....on his own! (We are still waiting for them to start his physical therapy services. Gotta love our state system!) He is still a picky eater, but we are finding more and more things he likes every day. He is such a wonderful baby....our I guess I should be calling him a toddler now :-)

His personality is blossoming as well. He has a sister that since now has been able to give him a run for his money when it comes to busyness. But Nate is catching up. He loves to crawl around the house and explore whatever he can get into. We call him our little Raccoon because his favorite place to explore is our trashcan or the doggie water dish.


Nate's First Year from rebturley on Vimeo.



We love and adore you sweet baby boy. You are truly our "gift from God"! We couldn't imagine our life without your sweet smile or cuddly personality. Happy birthday Baby Nate! We look forward to many, many more birthdays!

Nate's 1st Birthday...Pirate Party!

This past Saturday we celebrated Nate's 1st Birthday with family and friends. It was pirate themed and everyone seemed to have a lot of fun. It did happen to rain just as people were arriving, so there was no "walking the plank". But Nate didn't seem to mind. He LOVED his chocolate cake! The kids also got to dress up like pirates with bandanas and eye patches!

We have his 1 year appointment with his pediatrician on Friday, so we will get his stats then. Hope you enjoy this video!

Nate's 1st Birthday from rebturley on Vimeo.

Summer Fun!

This summer has been very relaxed for the Turley household. Daddy still has to go to work, but we three (Mommy, Tessa and Nate) get to stay home and enjoy our summertime together. Recently Nate has discovered that we have a doggie door. One of these days I will get a pic of him sticking his head out of it. We caught Tessa doing it when she was Nate's age and it was pretty classic. We have also discovered cabinets. He loves to get into cabinets, even if there is a child lock on them. His favorite cabinet to get into is the one with the pots and pans. Then he smashes them like they were symbols. This makes for a very noisy house!

Part of Tessa's daily routine is pilling all of the couch cushions in a pile and using them like a fort. She likes to hide under them and then ask Mommy to find her. 

Sometimes building forts can be very tiresome. The other day I noticed it was really quiet. I looked over and saw that Tessa had fallen asleep atop her pile of cushions. Silly Tessa!

We are also hard at work with potty training. Tessa has resisted for a while now but has recently picked it up very well. Hopefully we will only be buying one size diapers!

Nate update!

Last week we had our check up with Nate's kidney doctor. He is slightly still concerned with our little guy's weight (which is now 16.2lbs) and his height. Overall he is very pleased with most of his blood work numbers. He has ordered us to increase his medication dosage by another milliliter. This may not seem like a lot to most people, but it takes us a few weeks to get to that increase due to us having to increase it so slowly. The increase typically causes some vomiting if we go too quickly. 

On Friday we go for Nate's ultrasound. The last time he was ultra sounded, he was 2 days old so we are anxiously awaiting the results to see if Nate's kidneys have in fact grown, even if the doctors say it is almost impossible. The doctor said he has only seen it happen once before....maybe Nate will be #2 for him. 

Thanks for your continued prayers. We can't even begin to believe that he is almost one. Where does the time go?? Grow baby grow!

Bring Brock Home - Vacation Giveaway!

We are wanting to help the Mulkey family raise some money to bring their little boy home! Please help if you can. Here is all the info from their blog about their giveaway to help them raise the funds they need!!

http://throwingastarfish.blogspot.com/

How would you like to have your next summer vacation all planned out!?!?

In order to raise the funds necessary to get our boy home as soon as possible, we have been so generously donated this wonderful vacation to giveaway! 


For a tax deductible donation to our grant fund through Reece's Rainbow you can be entered for a 7 night stay in a two bedroom suite that sleeps 6 and has a full kitchen at the 4 star rated Silverleaf's Seaside Resort on Galveston Island in Texas!!!!  

I am so excited about this fundraiser; it is a place that would be fun for families or couples or anyone who likes the beach! Galveston has a lot of fun things to do! We are running this giveaway until midnight central time on August 15th. Winner will be announced August 16 on this blog and Facebook. Vacation is booked for Saturday, June 8, to Saturday June 15th of NEXT summer (2013), to allow the winner plenty of time to plot and plan!!!!

So here are the "RULES"

1. $10 donation- 1 entry
    $25 donation-3 entries
    $50 donation-10 entries
    Share this post on Facebook or Twitter-1 entry (you must comment on this blog, email, or Facebook to let me know this!)
     

2. Here is how to donate: 

• You can make a tax deductible donation to our fund by clicking on the DONATE button on the RIGHT of the page. You must leave your name so I can assign a number to you!
• OR you can mail a check (also tax deductible) to Reece’s Rainbow; just make sure to put Mulkey Family in the Memo and mail to Reece's Rainbow, PO Box 4024, Gaithersburg, MD 20885.*Pawnee people you can drop check off with my mom, Doris, at Armstrong Bank! *Stroud People, you can drop off check with my sister, Carissa! 

IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR IF YOU PREFER TO DONATE WITH A CHECK, PLEASE EMAIL ME ATLMBUTTERFLYLORI@GMAIL.COM  OR PRIVATE MESSAGE ME IF WE ARE FACEBOOK FRIENDS!


I WILL BE USING A RANDOM NUMBER GENERATOR AT RANDOM.ORG TO ENSURE THE WINNER IS IN FACT CHOSEN RANDOMLY!!!


THANK YOU FOR HELPING US BRING BROCK HOME AND GIVING HIM A CHANCE TO THRIVE IN A LOVING FAMILY!

California 2012

This past week we were able to spend the week on the beach in beautiful Monterey, CA. Adam's parents rented a house there for the family to enjoy. Tessa and Nate both loved playing in the sand and in the water. We even roasted marshmallows over a fire on the beach!

We also enjoyed a trip to the Monterey Aquarium where Tessa got to see turtles, which happens to be her favorite! Tessa even left her mark on the aquarium. In the video you will see a slab of cement sectioned off. That slab was drying, but Tessa didn't realize it and walked on it. Luckily it wasn't too wet, but she did leave some small markings to remember her by.


California 2012 from rebturley on Vimeo.

Spending a week right on the ocean was wonderful! We especially loved going to sleep and waking up to the sound of the ocean. When Tessa got her first glimpse of the beach, her response was "that's MY beach" .

Thank you so much Bruce and Lee for a very memorable and enjoyable vacation. Plus, we loved letting you guys get to spend time with Tessa and Nate!