Jacob Fountain

Kendra tells the story that tonight when she took off your diaper to put you into the bath, you immediately began to pee. You were standing on the rug outside of the bath tub, and she tried to catch it in her hand. Ha - then it came to her to quickly usher you into the tub to finish your performance. Hilarious.

In the past few days your vocabulary has been developing more quickly. You now say "Toot toot" for a train; "Whoof" for a dog; "eye" for eye; "Yeah" for no reason; "Hi" and "bye". Very funny stuff.

Kendra & I are watching Return of the King extended version tonight, but went to bed at 2am instead of flipping the disc over and finishing it...LONG movie - but great. Oh, you just cried out. You do that periodically in the night. They say it's normal - you just go back to sleep after. I'm not really sure that you even woke up to do it. Maybe it's a scary dream.
I love you Jacob.
-Dad

A New World

So N. Korea has a nuclear bomb. The world has taken a turn for the worse IMHO. Americans haven't given the news much life altering thought, but I think we're all a little nervous. I hate that far off threats like that are beyond my control. My desire is to give you the best life. So I do the things like lock the doors at night, wear my seat belt when driving, and keep an eye on strangers around you. I wish I could do more. And when I give it a little thought, I realize that I can. For God doesn't want us to live in fear, in fact he says that fear doesn't come from Him. So I pray for courage and guidance as I lead our family each day. I hope that you will be able to look back on your life when you are my age and see that I have done this. I love you little man! You're getting so big! For the past 2 weeks you and I have been pretty sick (coughing, congestion, etc) but you're looking pretty good now. I still have a throat (that's how your mom says sore throat). You are almost running now, and it's making your mom and I giggle. Also we feel pride, and a lot of other emotions. You're babbling a lot too and trying so hard to communicate. I think words will be right around the next corner. We are all excited about that.
Your Pepe and Nana and Terri came to visit us last week. We had a great time, and Nana had you in her face a lot. She went home with a cold, but she got better quickly. Terri had a birthday while they were here and I took her out for lunch, and then for dinner we brought in a large dinner from Colton's. It was tremendous - I ate too much.
Oh, I should mention that you were vastly affected by the caffeine in the chocolate found in the cookies your mom gave you yesterday. You stayed up an hour past your bedtime - it was crazy!
Going to bed little J. - Love Dad

Wrestlemania 13 - You Turned 13 Months This Week

So each day when I get home from work and you get home from daycare we have a little ritual that involves tumbling all over your parent's bed. It's such great fun - I'm telling you - I'll carry you into our room and pause in front of the bed. Slowly a smile creeps over your face as I say dramatically "uh ohhhhh...". Then you dive right out of my arms into a big pile of bedding (we have a thick comforter) and pillows. Then I chase you down and proceed to tickle you like crazy. You laugh, and then I laugh and then you laugh, and on and on. For wrestling footage, click this link then look for the "Wrestlemania1" link.

Tonight we had a slight mishap and you tried to crawl off the end of the bed. I caught your leg, but not before your head slightly bumped the footboard. Poor baby - by this time you were already really tired, so this just added to the drama. But you made it through.

Tuesday we had to take you to your 3 month visit to the pulmonologist at Arkansas Children's Hospital. He said all was looking well. He wants you to continue the breathing treatments (2 puffs morning and night). You protest each and every single time we do these treatments, but it's worth it to me b/c you haven't been sick as often like you had previously.

Football season has picked back up since my last entry. It's a special time of year - fall chill is coming... UCA went NCAA D1 this year, so the sports venues should become more entertaining than before. The football team got beat bad by Illinois State after winning their opener vs. Henderson State. I'm skeptical that they'll have much of a year this time, but I'll wait and see. I'm pumped about going to the games.

Your mom hosted Jon McLaughlin on campus at lunch today. It was outside in front of the student center and corresponded with something called the RSO fair. He's really good - up and coming. His band did a really amazing version of The Police's "S.O.S.".

I love you litte man. That's all for now.
Love, Dad.

You're 1!

So I'm a heel b/c I haven't posted in over a month! But so much has happened since that post. You can see the pictures on my photojournal - we went to Georgia and spent a week with Kendra's family, and then just last weekend we went to Wichita and celebrated your birthday with my family.

You have been pulling yourself up with ease, and you're even cruising around on furniture, toys or anything else you can use to steady yourself. I love holding your hands and helping you walk around. Last night we walked from the living room to the front door. Tonight we walked from the living room to the bathroom for your bathy-bathtime. In the past 3 weeks, we have had a little ritual. When I see you after coming home from work, I whoosh you away to our bedroom and flop you down on your back on the bed. And then we "wrestle". It pretty much consists of me tickling you until you laugh so hard you choke (not really). It's great fun, and we do that for about 5 minutes. It's best when you haven't just eaten...I found that out the hard way. LOL

Another thing of wonder since my last post is the spiritual focus your mom and I have turned onto. We've been drawn by the Lord in an amazing way. It's something that I have seen personally in my life and your mom's life. In addition, it's something that is happening in Kendra's family too - it's fascinating to observe. And it's something I cherish. There is a closeness that comes automatically between Christ's Believers, and even moreso is the feeling felt for family that is drawn close to the Lord. My parents turned us onto EMIC.org's Sunday morning worship service that is live on the internet. We passed along the info to Kendra's parents and they have watched it also. That Sunday was pretty neat because even though we were all separated by 8 hours of travel or more, we each got to attend the same service.

On our trip back from Wichita, we stopped in at our friend's house: Todd, Brook, Ava, and Asher Grieco. Asher is 6 months and it was our first face to face introduction. Ava was a little shy at first, but warmed up to us. You had a fun time playing with Ava and Asher's toys, and being passed around. At one point, Todd was holding you and you had become really comfortable. You started looking around and saw me, and I think it dawned on you that it wasn't me who was holding you. All of a sudden you looked up at Todd's face and confirmed that I wasn't in two places at once. And then came the water works... :) You were so cute, but I picked you up "rescuing" you from your captivity. It's funny b/c I sorta remember when I was a kid feeling what you (prolly) felt. On one hand I want you to be comfortable with other people, but on the other hand I want you to know that I'm always here for you. It is a delicate balance like so many other things.

Well, I have put a LOT of text here so I hope it helps fill in the gap since my last post. I love you and I'm looking forward to sharing football season with you this year. It's going to be fun - I hope the Chiefs kick some bootie this year with their new head coach (Herm Edwards). You're a great little man, and I love you with all my heart.
~Dad

Happy Birthday America

July 4th was on a Tuesday this year. It's awful being in the middle of the week! I would much rather it always be a Monday or a Friday - long wkd! You have really started crawling a lot this past week, and you're pulling yourself upright like a real pro. We began feeding you little puffy cereal like snacks to give you something to practice chewing on. You stumbled a little the first few days, but you have gotten the hang of it now. Once in awhile we attempt to let you feed yourself, but the pieces often get stuck in your big paws and then you give up. It's pretty cute.

I think this week, you started a new level of thinking. I'm not sure what to call it, but it just looks like you have a new understanding when we speak to you. It shows up in little things like when we talk, you respond vocally (now we just need to learn your language!). Oh, you also began an infatuation with the refrigerator. We have 3 chip-clips with magnets and we keep them on the fridge when not in use. You LOVE these, and we keep them low enough so that you can crawl over to the kitchen and pull them down. Unfortunately, we have a busted junk fridge that has a piece of it's trim molding loose on the front. You love pulling on this too, so we're often forced to distract you from ripping it completely off. I don't know what we're going to do about that...

Another thing I'm doing is continuing to introduce you to different sports by having you play with a basketball, football, soccer ball and volleyball. You seem to like these a lot, and I think that's fun.

Tonight at Wal-Mart, you smiled big every time I threw the package of swim diapers in the air. Then I tossed them to you, and you would "catch" them in your lap. Seeing you smile and laugh makes me feel great.

I love you little buddy.
Dad

Better teeth than Ronaldinho

This is the best soccer player in the world, and he has been a real pleasure to watch during the world cup this summer. He has been voted the best in the world 2 years in a row by soccer's governing body FIFA. I believe you are taking after him a little in the teeth area.

You and I went out and played in the grass for a minute today in the backyard. You haven't been in the grass yet, so this was perplexing for you. Afterward, we sat in the glider on the back porch and just rocked back and forth for awhile. You are very clingy lately, and I like holding you. Sometimes, you don't want to be held or messed with in any way, so I like the clingy times somewhat.
~Dad

We have communications!

You have started something that I think is really cool. You wave your right hand/arm up and down voraciously anytime you want to say "Yes" to us. For instance, "Jacob, do you want me to pick you up?". Your arm starts flailing to indicate "yes". And other times, you just keep playing, indicating "no way". :) It's really cool because we are able to understand what you want more clearly than just a cry, you know? Only when you have your own children will you truly understand. It's great!

Your mom and I started reading this book called "The Final Quest" by Rick Joyner. It's about the last battle between the hordes of hell and the followers of God. It tells the story of Rick's vision that God gave him. It lays out the various traits of the enemy as well as the traits of the Lord's forces. It has given me a renewal of spirit, and drawn me closer to God. It's really interesting because I had been feeling very nervous for the past few weeks. I couldn't put my finger on what was causing it. Feelings of dread and doom were over me almost nonstop. I prayed that God would help me, but I wasn't hearing anything back. In fact, it wasn't until last night when your mom said the words "Remember, you have to use the tools God has given us. You have the power to bind up the devil and his demons." And it clicked with me. It was almost like I had completely forgotten that God had bestowed that to his children. How could this have happened with such totality? But I know that the devil is here to destroy the children of God, and he'll use any and every tactic at his disposal. He had blinded me to the truth on 2 accounts: 1) that I could bind him, releasing myself from his oppression, and 2) that the in Christ I am more than a conqueror (not subject to these feelings of dread and personal doom). At that moment, I did just as Kendra said. I declared to the devil that he was bound from my life, and that he has no power of me, God's child. I bound him in the name of Jesus. Instantly, and I mean instantly the nervousness was gone, and I was left with the feelings of a prisoner set free. In fact, it felt as though I had stepped into freedom and I had been holding the keys to my freedom all along. The blinders were removed, and I was FREE. I started weeping with joy and praise to the Lord. I cried out to him thanking Him for setting me free, and for the tools to live in victory over the devil. It was an awesome moment. You were there, but of course you didn't have any clue what was happening. The Lord is doing a work in me and your mother that we haven't yet experienced as a couple. His grace is awesome...just awesome.

I love you little man!
~Dad

The Crawly Jumpy Bug

Dear Jacob,

Oh my little man! You are crawling and jumping (in your jumpy seat) and smiling and laughing and doing it all like a little pro! It's been a little longer since my last entry, so let's review. A few weeks ago your Nana and Terri came for a week long visit. A week before that, we went to Wichita for a 4 day visit. Both were memorable trips, but in between the two you learned to crawl. Oh it was great. You found a new skill and you began practicing it non-stop. So during the week Nana was here, your mom remembered that we borrowed a jumpy seat that hangs in a doorway and lets you practice your jumping skills. You took to it instantly, and now you can't go a single day w/o getting your jump on. It's crazy and I love watching you in it. It's like a trip to Six Flags for you. Along with your newfound skills have come some extra bumps, scrapes and bruises. I hate it when you fall, but I know that you're learning with each contusion the value of balance, weighing risks vs rewards and listening to your mommy and daddy. We have introduced a new word to you recently - "No". And you're starting to catch on to the meaning. Thankfully, you're still in the stage where that is something you respond too. :)
You're going through a clingy stage where you just want to be held. And I'm finding out that you want to be held a specific way - and I get to guess each time what way that is. Inevitably, I fall back on trickery to make you smile or laugh whenever you aren't too happy. Currently, the Ace up my sleeve is singing the alphabet song. Specifically, you grin whenever we get to the "W, X" part. It's funny because I have resorted to shrinking the song down to just those 2 letters now, and it still works. Ha! Anyhow, I'm loving being a dad...your dad.
Love, Denton

Trip to Wichita to see the fam

It's been a LONG time since we've seen your grandpa and grandma, so we packed up the trusty Ford Escape and got on the highway for the 7 hour trip. You did GREAT, and I hope it's a sign that you like to travel. We left on a Thursday and came back on a Monday, so we were able to spend 3 solid days with your Grandpa, Grandma, Aunt Kim, Uncle Phil and your cousins Kaitlyn and Olivia.

You warmed up to everyone pretty quickly and the trip went by too fast. Here are some of the highlights, or otherwise uninteresting events of the trip:
-you sat up all by yourself for the first time! we discovered this in the middle of the night when you were upright in the crib when you were supposed to be sleeping.
-we watched at least one NBA playoff game - the boys all love basketball but these days we watch more than we play
-grandpa's back was feeling pretty good, or at least better than it has been
-we saw your Great Grandpa and Great Grandma, as well as your Great Aunt Tammy and 2nd cousins Amanda, Katrina and Bethany - all at Grandma and Grandpa's new home
-you are on the cusp of starting to crawl
-you pulled yourself up to the standing position for .5 seconds one time during the trip while I was watching you
-the night before we came back, I only got 4 hours of sleep - weird
-we got Kim and Phil's webcam going
-we got a webcam for Grandma and Grandpa; coupled with their high speed internet access that they are getting this coming Friday, we will be able to keep them up to date with your growing up
-we watched a couple of movies on the trip there and back
-Kaitlyn and Olivia are a LOT of fun and have grown up quite a bit
-Kaitlyn busted out with a phrase from a popular song one night "You've got to move it, move it", and we all got a great laugh.
-your cousins couldn't get enough of you, kissing you and hugging you... and you loved it.

We had a great time and everyone was sad to see the trip end. We had a last meal at the Cracker Barrell restaurant in Park City with your Grandpa and Grandma and you had a fun time playing in your momma's water - dipping your hands in until they got too cold then you'd push the glass away, then you'd grab for the glass again...over and over. It was hilarious. Your momma loves you!
And so do I! Good night.
~Dad

April Showers Bring May...Showers?

May has started off really wet. The city of Conway got hit pretty hard by rain last week. It didn't cause any serious damage that I have heard, but it did create a stir amongst the citizens who had to walk in drain water downtown because the drainage systems are antiquated. I worked from home that day, so I never left the house during the rains. Lucky me. Actually, I was watching you while working. You were sick all last week and still are now as we're heading into this week. Kendra took you in to see Dr. Champlin and he put you on steroids again. They're not having much affect. We have seen improvement now that we've started the cool mist treatments several times each day. Kendra put the humidifier in your room tonight for the first time, so we'll see how that works out. Hopefully you'll be all better tomorrow.


We made plans today to go see your grandma and grandpa Regehr and Aunt Kim, Uncle Phil and your cousins Kaitlyn and Olivia. We're going May 18 - 22. Then we'll be gifted with the welcome visit of your Nana & Pepere and Auntie Terri over Memorial Day week. I love being with family, and it's been TOO long since we've seen anyone in person.

I talked to mom & dad today and they're planning on having broadband internet access by the time we go visit them. I have been hoping for this for years now, so I'm really excited to see them doing this. This means that we'll finally be able to do live video chats with them, just like we already do with Kendra's parents. This will certainly take some of the pain away that distance causes. I'm really happy to be getting it. I also think it will encourage dad and mom to get on the internet more often, if nothing else to see pictures and video footage of you.

I'm carpooling to Little Rock tomorrow with my long time friend and colleague Tim Pickard. I really wish we worked together. We almost had it worked out where we'd be doing our jobs side by side, but then came the curve ball. I have a really good position, and Tim is stuck wanting to join me but not able to. It makes me sad and angry, but mostly sad. These days I save my emotion (anger) for the battles that are truly the most important. Mostly I find my focus shifting from work oriented thoughts to family.

The NBA playoffs have reached round 2, and Phoenix overcame bad breaks to win out over the Lakers to continue on. Ha! Kobe Bryant is a punk; Steve Nash is 2 time MVP (2 consecutive years). I want to see the Suns do well, and the Nets.

All right, I'm signing off to go get some shut eye. I love you man! I am just crazy about you. :)
~Dad

Easter pics

Your first easter has come and gone and we celebrated the Lord's ascension on Sunday and then we took some photos and video of you. You are talking a lot these days...it's great. Your favorite sentences are "golly golly golly golly golly..." and "da..da..duh..da..da..da..eeeeeeah!" You are definitely going through a mommy phase right now - she can do no wrong. However, you take a few minutes to warm up to me when we play. The other night I gave you a bath b/c your mom was working late. I think I scared you a little at rinsing time - I don't think you're quite used to having water dumped on your head yet. Sorry - we'll have to work on that. Momma usually does the bath, so I feel a little unsure sometimes. But as long as you get clean, that's what counts. After the bath, I usually dry you off on your changing table. Lately you get really fussy about it. So I started doing the tickle technique where I tickle you under your arms with my mouth and once you get to laughing I start drying you off with my free hands. This continues until your dry pretty much. It's so much fun. Your little giggle is priceless. I'm going to have to get some of it on film so you can see it when you're older. Who knows...maybe you'll even be able to share it with your children.
Love Dad.

Toys, and Toys, and more Toys!

You can't get enough of your toys right now, and your mom is more than happy to oblige you. She surrounds you with toys as you sit on your blanket in the living room. There are about 20 toys of all kinds and you randomly go from one to the next putting each in your mouth. It stays there until your eyes catch another toy at which time you abandon the current object for the next. It's quite a scramble.
You have been healthy for the past few weeks and it has been refreshing. We continue to give you the flovent breathing treatments in the morning and evening, and it seems to be keeping your lungs clear. We're grateful for this because it's tragic watching you wheeze.
Last night we saw our favorite TV show of the moment "The Office". I wonder if you'll think it's funny when you grow up and it's playing on reruns. I also saw part of a show called "Top 10 Survival Stories of the Year". It featured a few people who despite the odds overcame great adversity to survive spectacular situations. One story was about a 12 year old boy who couldn't swim but survived the floods in New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina. This boy watched his mother sink into the water as her strength gave out...down to a watery grave. He was so depressed that he decided to just "let go" and also sink into the water so he could die. All this time they are trapped inside their house - yes, the water was that high in their own house! As he sank, something came over him that he needed to survive and that he just might be able to make it if he tried to find a broken window to escape from. Keep in mind that he CANNOT swim. Yet he made his way (swam) to a window, slipped out of it and up to the surface of the waters where he found a door floating by that he could cling to. Eventually he made his way to safety but it wasn't easy. The trauma that he faced watching his mother die; the trauma of fending for himself against other needy, sometimes hostile New Orleanians. Two weeks later he had made it to a refuge center in Houston...and friends. It was touching, as I imagined you going through something...I can't really imagine that. Anyhow, that's why it's important to learn how to swim.
Okay, good night son!
Love, ~Dad

March Madness to Erupt

Hi little man. We are enjoying the days of basketball mayhem known as March Madness. This weekend all of the big conferences are wrapping up their tournaments. Kansas is playing Texas tomorrow for the big 12 championship. Last week, ORU won the Mid Con tourney, so they're going to the big dance for the first time in 22 years. That's so cool for me, and for ORU of course.
Today, I noticed a new thing that you are doing. You're banging on one of the cause/effect toys on your exer-saucer. It was cool to see you making the connection that if you bang on the toy, the balls will bounce up in the air. You are such a smart little man.
My good friend Dave Gregory is staying with us this weekend. He flew in from Ohio to meet a girl, and it didn't go well. We had a good time catching up, and playing with you.
Oh another new thing that you're doing now is eating vegetables! Kendra is feeding you squash, carrots and sweet potatoes and you love them all. It is much fun watching you enjoy them.
Love you Jacob
~Dad

New trick / First day of work

My first day of work at Acxiom was today. It was an interesting day. I started out by going to Little Rock for the brief orientation in the morning, then came back to Conway and had lunch with Tim Pickard at Holly's. Then I met with James Mooney (my Community Leader) for an hour. Then Tim walked me around the campus and showed me the different buildings that I need to know about. They have a couple of food kiosks, and a workout facility - nice.
When I got home, Kendra had a new trick to show me. She would lay under the toys in your play gym while Nana helped you sit in front of her. Then you would lean forward and hug her and kiss her face. You did it over and over... I got a little video footage, so hopefully it makes it onto a dvd for preserving. You're so beautiful.
Nana and Terri came to visit for a week, and are having tons of fun with you already.
~Dad