Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve at my work is absolutely insane! Our facility is the largest in the state (388 beds) and each Resident is given a bag full of gifts on Christmas Eve morning. Activity Staff is in charge of each of our floors and we have our volunteer troops to help us. For the last several years, Mom and Meredith have volunteered on my floor so as part of a standing tradition, they graciously decided to help again this year. One difference-Blake! Yes, they brought Blake with them dressed in his Santa outfit which my Residents absolutely loved. Meredith has traditionally come dressed as an elf so they looked really cute together. The gift giving starts around 9:30 a.m. and ends sometime around lunch. I'm telling you, it's crazy but the Resident's look forward to it as it's the only Christmas some of them get. We even have Santa visit each floor and wish the Residents Merry Christmas.

After lunch, Mom took Blake back home and I finished out the work day. I managed to come home with an awful migraine and had to lay on the couch with my eyes covered while mom watched Blake. I've been having a lot of trouble with migraines here lately and were are currently trying to find the cause. Margi, Brent's mom, got to our house around 4:45 or so and she started my mac n cheese for me so I could rest and take my meds for my migraine. Christmas with my dad's side of the family started at 6:30 at my cousin Wes' house so we packed up and headed that way. 

The kids loved Blake and invited him into their playroom to watch Baby Einstein which he thinks is the most interesting thing ever. Dinner was great and it's always nice to see family. After finishing up, we headed to church for our 10p.m. candlelight service. The guitar teacher at the Music Vault where I teach piano lessons agreed to meet me and we sang a Silent Night duet accompanied by guitar which I thought was really pretty considering we practiced twice! The service was nice and is always a favorite of mine. After the service we went home to get ready for bed and Santa!

Teefers!!!!

Blake is getting his two front bottom teeth! The one started coming up about two weeks ago and now the one next to it is coming through the skin as well. Two little white teeth! So cute! He woke up about three times last night crying really bad so I gave him some Tylenol but that didn't last long. Think I'll give him some baby Orajel tonight when I put him down to sleep. Poor little guy :(

Baby Jesus

Our church had it's annual Christmas pageant on Sunday, December 14th. With Blake being the littlest baby at the church, he was cast as Baby Jesus! It was so cute! Meredith got cast as Mary because the director knew that she could handle him and he is familiar with her. We had our pageant in the sanctuary and I was playing the piano. At one point, I sang and played "What Child is This?" and Brent walked Blake down the aisle and handed him to "Mary." I bout lost it while I was playing but I managed to make it through. It was so cute and I was glad that Brent could be a part of it as well. Blake did good and we made it through without incident. Whew!

Rusty

Most of you already know that our dog Rusty has been diagnosed with Leukemia. It's really chance that we discovered it and I am so thankful that we caught it when we did. Those of you who know me well know that my animals are also my children, they just have fur instead of hair and four legs instead of two. 

     I have always heard (as weird as it may sound to some of you) that if you notice a change in your dogs breath, it could be cancer. So in February I was at home one day and was thinking about how Rusty's breath had gotten worse. I thought yes, a bit eccentric but I would take him to the vet just to have it checked out. Turns out, I was right and wrong. His bad breath was mainly due to built up plaque on his back teeth, but when the blood panel results came back, his white cell count was high. This of course can mean many different things including infections, etc. So, we tried a few different meds for different possible things but to no avail. We went to the vet the month after and had another panel run. His white count was higher. Boo! Then we had another blood panel run and the sample sent to Colorado University. They specialize in veterinary cases.

When the tests came back from that, he had high lymphocyte counts and white blood cell counts. After we got these results we were referred to a veterinary internal specialist in Columbia. We met with the doctors there back in July and had Rusty's blood panel run AGAIN. His CBC count was 18,000 and his Lymphocyte count was 13,000. It was concluded that he did in fact have Leukemia and so we started him on chemotherapy (I can see some of you rolling your eyes but that's okay!). Since we caught it so early, we are able to put him on a pill form of chemo which he now takes every other day. He doesn't show that he feels any different than before. Chemo from my understanding rarely shows side effects in animals and nothing like it does in humans. 

I took Rusty back to the specialist right after Thanksgiving to have another blood panel run since he's been on chemo for 3 months. GREAT NEWS! When the results came back, his CBC count was down to 6,700 from 18,000, and his Lymphocyte count was down to 2,300 from 13,000!!!! Please continue to keep him in your prayers! We go back at the beginning of March to have another panel run and I will keep you updated! Thanks for all the prayers you have already said and please continue to do so!

Thanksgiving

Tootsie gives Blake a good sniff!

Blake and Daddy!

Thanksgiving was wonderful! We had lots of good food and it's always wonderful to be with family. Generally we do a traditional lunch with Brent's family and then we eat spaghetti or something different for dinner at mom and dad's. Blake was good all day and I was really excited for the family to see him and how much he's grown over the past few weeks. He really enjoyed seeing his cousin Collin and it was really funny to watch them together. They kept looking at each other and smiling. Then Janet (yaya) held them both on her lap for a little while. Collin wanted to "pet" Blake which Blake didn't mind until he pulled his hair. I hope they get to know each other and play together. All in all it was a wonderful day and we are looking forward to Christmas! Blake is going to be baby Jesus in the Christmas play at our church so he will be making his first big theatrical debut. Stay tuned for pics. He is also cutting his first razor-sharp tooth on the bottom so stay tuned for pics of that as well!

Wedding Weekend

One of my very first childhood friends got married this past weekend. We met at Ms. Donna's daycare in 1981, and went to school together for years. We were separated when our family moved out to Gilbert and then we met up again in college and actually roomed/suited together for most of our college career. When she got engaged last December, she asked me to be her Matron of Honor. I was thrilled and glad to do it. Their wedding was this past weekend and it was GORGEOUS! After the wedding, they had arranged for a Hummer stretch limo to take the wedding party to the reception at the Country Club of Lexington. Food was everywhere and the DJ was going strong. The cake was one of the prettiest i've ever seen and it was delicious! Meredith kept Blake so that Mom, Dad, Brent and I could have a little fun with a little less responsibility! Don't worry, she did fine! 

Hanging out with Daddy

I spend all this time with Blake and do so much for him and I know he loves me. However, when he hears his daddy's voice, he could care less about me! As most of you know, Brent has a really deep voice and Blake will flip over and backwards and whichever way he can so he can see his daddy. He always gets a really big smile on his face and gets so excited. I'm not complaining, cause I'm glad he loves Brent so much. I have a feeling he's gonna be following Brent around for a long time to come!

Halloween

After the ghoulfriends party, there wasn't really too much going on for Halloween around our way. Since we live out in the sticks we really don't have any trick-or-treaters so we took Blake to mom and dad's house and then to a friends party. A friend of mine let me borrow a pirate costume for him but the hat and boots kept falling off. I am also including a picture of me dressed up at work. I am the "evil jester." Halloween is a really big holiday at my job and we all try to dress up for the Residents. They really enjoy it and a get a good laugh out of us!

Green Peas and Carrots

We started Blake on some solid foods besides rice cereal over the past two weeks. They say since babies will have a natural tendency to like fruits, you should start them on vegetables. We chose to give him green peas the first week and carrots this week. He really liked both of them which was exciting. He got mad when we ran out of carrots and started making a motor sound with his mouth which usually let me know that he is not happy with me! 

"Ghoulfriends" Party

Some of our friends from church decided to throw a "ghoulfriends" party in celebration of Halloween. They had decorated everything so cute and had even made food celebrating the holiday. Blake was the only boy there but he was having a blast. I pretty much just handed him over once I got there and let him socialize, hehehe! My friend's daughter Bella is only 16 months and she wanted to "hold" Blake and give him kisses. It was so cute!

Mountain Trip

We went to Asheville this past weekend for our annual "birthday" trip. Since Mom, Mouse and I all have birthdays within a week, we try to do a weekend trip once a year. This year we went to Lutheridge and stayed in the Doyle Beam Retreat House which belongs to Cedar Grove Lutheran Church , Vale, NC. It was a really neat cottage and was perfect for all of us. Brent and I stayed upstairs and Mom, Dad, Blake and Meredith stayed downstairs. They were nice enough to keep Blake downstairs so Brent and I could get some sleep! 

It was a little cool but really nice while we were there. We visited Sky Top apple orchard and had some really awesome apple doughnuts! I love doughnuts and these were GOOD! Brent and I pushed Blake a while but the stroller is not really an ATV so we were bouncing him a good bit. We headed back up to the main building and let mom, dad and Mouse pick apples. 

Lutheridge is one of my most favorite places in the world and I have a lot of fond memories there. I went with Alisa (my cousin) and my parents for years and then got to be a counselor the summer of 99. I guess you can say it runs in the family :) I'm glad we got to take Blake and I know it will be a place he will come to love as well. 

SC State Fair

I LOVE the fair and when it comes around once a year, I'm ready! Dad doesn't really care for the fair but he joined us this year and I even caught him drinking a chocolate milk while watching a cooking show! I decided to take Blake this year and he did really well. I didn't eat as much as I usually do, but I guess I'm getting slightly more cost conscious because I just could make myself pay $4 for a corndog when I know I can get one from the Wal-Mart deli for $.78! I did break down and found a corndog for $2 and some fiske fries (fries with vinegar). We looked in all the buildings at the crafts and displays. Two of my residents won first and second place prizes. You would be amazed at the work my ladies did. I was so proud. 

Blake absolutely loved the flashing lights and noises. He was chilling out with Brent's mom for a good part of the trip and then snoozed in his stroller the other part. She was holding him up to the flowers in the garden part and even sat him up on a John Deere tractor which was really funny. I dressed him in his little ghost onesie so he could be extra spooky! I guess I have another year to wait and see how expensive my corndogs get! 

Watching Cars

When you have a fussy baby you try anything to get them quiet. After walking around and various "tricks" I decided to prop Blake up on the back of the couch to look out the window. After a few minutes, I realized that he was watching the cars go by on our road. It was really funny cause it takes his little eyes a few seconds to track the movement but he was following them from side to side. I had been wondering how far he can see and now I know he can at least recognize movement as far as the street which is a good little ways. So, if you drive by our house, check the widow cause we might be watching!

4 month shots!!

Blake turned 4 months on Monday so you know what that means...4 month shots! Mom and I took him to the doctor today. At two months, they had to give him 5 shots and one oral vaccine but now they've combined several of them and he only had to get two shots and one oral vaccine. He weighed in at a "hefty" 12 pounds 6 ounces and was 24 inches long. He was 10th% in weight. I have no idea how this happens because I feed this child and he eats. Maybe he's just genetically lucky and is able to eat without plumping up. The doctor said there are just some babies that are going to be skinny. Guess he gets that from Brent's side! He was 39th% in length and 50% with his head. The doctor said he is doing fine and that he is following his growing curve perfectly. He sucked down the oral vaccine within about 15 seconds and was happy go lucky. The nurse stuck his one leg quickly and he got that "what the heck" look on his face then let it go. She got the other leg quickly and it was done. After I picked him up he quit crying but just whimpered for a few minutes. Shortly after he was smiling and we were good people again. Hopefully we can stay well until our 6 month shots in December!

Rice Cereal

WooHoo! Tonight Blake got to try rice cereal for the first time. We were all wondering how he would like it. To start with, it looks like mashed potato flakes that you mix with water. Turns out about the consistency of algae water. Gross! Well, gross for me but Blake LOVED it! He sucked down that first spoonful and it was on after that! I couldn't get it in his mouth quick enough. Mom was holding his hands down so he didn't grab anything, Brent was taking pictures and I was feeding him. He was given a red and blue bowl so we used that tonight. After he figured out the rice cereal was coming from the bowl, he followed it with his eyes like you would not believe. Tomorrow he goes to the doctor for his 4 month shots so say a prayer for him. He did really well last time and I'm hoping he does just as well this time. We will be starting vegetables soon! Yum!

Blessing of the Animals

Saturday, October 4th, we had the "Blessing of the Animals" at church. Everybody was encouraged to bring their pets and have them blessed. We had a short little service in the church yard complete with scripture and hymn and then everybody sniffed each other, haha! Blake attended in his sunglasses. I laugh so hard when I see him in them. We took him for a walk the other night and he was holding on to the straps of his stroller and had his feet propped up with his glasses on just chillin. It was so cute! He loves to go for walks in his stroller. 

Camp Kinard

Camp Kinard is a Lutheran camp located about 5 miles from our church. It's a really nice camp with a campground, cabins, conference facilities, lake, paddle boats, kayaks, playground and a swimming pool. Our church has our 11am service out there once a year. It was really warm that day so we decided to put Blake in the pool. It was his first time in the pool and he was a little funny about it. A friend of mine bought him some little swimming trunks, but he is so skinny, they fell off of him so I just stripped him down to his diaper and a little "safari" hat that I bought him. At first he drew his legs up and whined a little. Then, he got braver and put his legs in one at a time and started to like it. We didn't keep him in but about 5 minutes because it was really sunny and we were afraid he would get sunburned. Hopefully next summer he will be swimming around like a fish!