Push Along Buggy

Luke loves to be pushed around the house in his new Push Along Buggy Santa brought him.

CHOMPERS!!!

I finally had the opportunity to get pictures of these teensy-weensy, itty-bitty teefers!!!

Sad News About Brody

Something hasn't been right with our lab/shepherd mix, Brody. About a month ago, he stopped eating his dog food. We took him to the vet after about a week to see if they could find out what was wrong. The vet anticipated he had some sore teeth and recommended we have Brody's teeth cleaned. We did the next day. His eating didn't improve. We wondered if it was behavioral since there is a new baby in the house, but we weren't certain.

I took him in to see the vet again this past Thursday. After a detailed recount of the past month's behavior and a physical exam, the Dr. decided to take an x-ray. The film showed Brody's stomach was being smooshed and it appeared his liver was either enlarged or something else was pushing on his stomach. Further testing by ultrasound was suggested. I had to leave Brody there for a few hours while they did the test during their lunch hour. The Dr. called as soon as he resumed office hours and said Brody had many, many masses in his liver, kidney and spleen and it was cancerous, either lymphoma or carcinoma. The type of cancer was/is unknown but we went in to discuss our options.

We were given 3 options:
1. Do nothing and let nature take it's course. Brody has a prognosis of a few weeks to months to live.

2. Give Brody Prednisone to slow the tumors but it would only be a temporary fix and eventually the cancer will become resistant to the medicine and will resume growing. If we begin giving these steroids, we cannot opt for chemotherapy in the future because the body will be resistant to it. Brody has the same prognosis - a few weeks to months of life.

3. Chemotherapy after a biopsy to determine the exact type of cancer. This would cost a few thousand dollars and at the most, would extend Brody's life a year.

We opted for #2. Brody is almost 9 years old and a year of life, who knows how great the quality would be, just isn't enough to warrant an obscene amount of $ to buy such a little bit of time.

Brody does not appear to be in pain. He is somewhat lethargic, but understandably, given he has hardly eaten in a month. He will eat some things, but not dog food. We found he likes cheese, cat food, hamburgers, sausage biscuits, dog treats and just about any other people food. As long as he continues to be his happy-go-lucky self, we will continue as planned.

This has been extremely hard on Zack and I. We're trying to spoil Brody with our love and affection as much as possible so he can live the rest of his life happy and knowing he was loved and a very important part of our family. He has been the greatest dog - EVER! Luke and Brody are great friends, too.

Brody has always caught the attention of our guests with his ferocious smile, one that will make you jump back from the shiny, pearly whites that chomp at you while his tail wags intently. He's hard not to love. I can promise you, he's probably the only 70 lb. dog you'll ever meet that actually lets you stop him at the door so you can wipe off his paws before he tracks mud and dirt into the house. He's also probably the only dog you'll ever meet that ran away during a hurricane when he was 8 months old and was found 3 weeks later and returned to us.

Brody, keep smiling :)

Pray for his comfort and quality of life, please.

Welcome to Charlotte, Papi and Mimi!!

My dad and his wife, Renee, came to visit us for a few days. They arrived late on 12/26 and we almost immediately sat down to dinner in the dining room, the table set for the first time with my complete set of fine china. My brother, Kyle, his girlfriend, Danielle, and my nephew, Kristian joined us. After dinner, we exchanged gifts. We surprised dad with framed pictures of Luke and Kristian. They were as big of a hit as they were with my mom and grandparents! Something about getting pictures of grandchildren is so special to grandparents. You can't go wrong.

Papi and Luke enjoyed spending these few days together. Luke demaded Papi keep him busy walking, walking, walking, supported by Papi's hands. They played together with all of Luke's new toys and even Papi learned the words to the song on the FP Animal Train and the Leap Frog Alphabet spin wheel.

Papi and Mimi stayed until Friday afternoon, when they left after we had lunch at Panera Bread. Papi got in his car singing the tune, "The animals have something to say...", from the Leap Frog Alphabet spin wheel. I wonder if he sang that the whole way home? Mimi probably went nuts (or at least plugged in her head phones).

Merry Christmas

Oh, what a busy day it was. Luke woke up around 7 a.m. full of curiosity about if Santa ate all of the cookies and drank all the milk we left out and see what kinds of toys he left behind. We came out into the living room and showed Luke that the old man he met last weekend, the one in the red suit with a big long beard, listened very carefully to every wish Luke expressed while sitting on his lap and fufilled it.

Under the tree was a big ride on Tonka Truck, a Laugh and Learn Puppy, and some smaller Tonka trucks.

We played a little while, only after we filled Luke's belly with some milk of his own. Then, we had to get ready for Christmas at the Folnsbee's. We got there around 9:30 a.m. and Grammy had prepared a hearty breakfast with my favorite sausage and egg caserole, monkey bread, fruit, and bacon.
Luke went down for a nap while we opened gifts, setting his aside so we could enjoy watching him open them later. His nap was quite short-lived and he woke to see what the excitement was all about. The gifts kept coming. Everything Luke opened had to get his seal of approval, which meant it got an immediate taste test.

A few of Luke's favorite gifts were the Radio Flyer wagon, the fire hydrant shape sorter, a push along Safari Hauler, and his big boy plate. After a few hours of playing, we packed it up and headed home for another nap.

While Luke napped, daddy went to the golf course to play a few holes so he could use his new golf club. I organized the gifts under the tree and put some things away. We met up with daddy at my grandparents house for dinner. On the menu was pork tenderloin, manicotti, salad, and more dessert. D-E-L-I-S-H!

It was a long, but enjoyable day. Everything we could have asked for and more.

Christmas Eve 2007

Christmas Eve, we went to my grandparents to celebrate the birth of Christ with my side of the family. We had a delicious pot luck dinner after a wrench was thrown into my grandma's plan to cook her traditionally gigantic Christmas dinner. She was stricken with a bad case of shingles about 3 weeks ago and has thankfully almost fully recovered now. We enjoyed a spiral ham, potato salad, veggies with dip, and plenty of desserts...my favorite being the snickerdoodles my Aunt Esther made. After dinner, we opened gifts. As always, we were all extremely spoiled by each other. Luke loved the books Mima got him and had a great time getting to know Uncle Kyle.

Christmas in Fort Mill

On December 23, Zack, Luke, and I celebrated Christmas with Zack's uncle, aunt, and cousins in Fort Mill, SC. Aunt Lexi, Uncle Chris, Grammy and Grampy were there, too. We sat down for a fantastic chicken dinner (well, Luke enjoyed his favorite mixed veggie Gerber and a bowl of rice cereal) and later opened gifts. Aunt Clara and Uncle Dick gave Luke his very own set of keys. (see pic below) These things are awesome! It's a keychain with buttons that make sounds of a truck starting, beep beep, home doorbell chime, and door unlock and it also has a button that turns on a light, just like mommy's keychain. The keys are made of stainless steel so they're nice and cool on his gums. By far, a favorite of Lukes.

Luke and Kristian

Danielle, Zack, and I took the boys to have their pictures taken together so we could surprise our family with pictures as gifts. They never would have suspected we got the boys together for pictures with such a short amount of time between Danielle, Kyle, and Kristian arriving in NC from MD. Well, we managed!

All Luke Wants for Christmas...

...are his 2 front teeth! It is about time we have something to blame for the incessant amount of drool that has been dripping from Luke's bottom lip since July. Seriously! On Monday, I felt a little popcorn kernel-type bump on the left side of Luke's bottom gumline. Today, I feel and see an actual white baby tooth coming through and a little popcorn kernel-type bump right next to it. So, yes, my friends, both of his bottom 2 teeth are coming in...just in time for Christmas. I'll update with a picture as soon as I get the opportunity to get an open mouth shot...

Brunch With Santa

Today, Zack and I took Luke to meet our parents for Brunch with Santa at Pine Lake Country Club. There was no line to meet Santa when we got there (bonus!!) and Luke liked Santa more than we anticipated. All of us were there to cheer him on as he "told" Santa what he wanted him to bring for Christmas and we even got a few smiles out of him.

Leap Frog Learn N Groove Table

I couldn't wait until Christmas to give Luke his Leap Frog Learn and Groove Table. He was ready for a new toy. We set him in front of it on his knees and he was obviously perfectly content. He's still trying to figure out how all the different activities work.

Paper, Paper, and More Paper!

This is Luke's new obsession. Anything to do with paper, he's there. Gotta keep a good eye on him, though. Paper gets wet very quickly and starts to tear apart (insert choking hazard here).

Boing, Boing

Luke got a soft baseball and he's very easily amused when we bounce it around him. His giggle is contagious :)

Christmas Card

Luke and I spent some time over the course of a few days and got dressed up, set up a little photo shoot background, and I started snapping pictures. Some moments were fun, some were full out meltdown material. I got a few that were just too irresistable not to use for our holiday cards, though...which was the point in taking the pictures in the first place. An extremely generous and creative mommy from one of my mommy chat boards volunteered to design the card for us.

And the Rocking Improves...

He's getting better and better at this...

Striped Like a Candy Cane

Our cuteness in his First Christmas outfits.

Kentucky Blue Santa Hat

Last December, Zack, Marilyn, Craig, and I went to Kentucky to see UK play basketball against Indiana. We got this fabulous blue santa hat at the game. Luke had to try it on with his UK gear so he could showing his school spirit during the game yesterday. It's a little big but he'll grow into it. It's the color that counts!

Family Picture

We don't have many pictures of the 3 of us together but this one was post-worthy. It was taken the night we had family over to celebrate my birthday.

Sleeping Arrangements

It seems that Luke always finds a funny position to fall asleep in. Some are too cute not to capture on film.

Rockin' Robin

Luke was sitting on the floor and I saw him topple over but he didn't make a peep so I left him. The next thing I know, I see something moving out of the corner of my eye. I look up and Luke is on all 4's rocking, rocking, rocking...getting frustrated with his toy. I grabbed my camera and got a short video before gave up and collapsed. It's only a matter of time before he starts crawling.

Luke Mozart

Who knew a 6 month old little boy could strum a 4-key piano like a classic composer?

Happy Half Birthday, Luke!!!

There is a lot to report this month! Luke has reached several notable milestones such as GENTLY (for the time being) petting Brody and Ariel, holding his bottle some of the time, rubbing his eyes when tired, sticking out his tongue, sitting up unassisted, mouthing and reaching for our food/drink, he had his first cold and ear infection, and cutest (I say that now) of all...he's reaching out to be picked up!!! He weighed in at 16 lbs. 13 oz. and was 28.25 inches long.

Big Boy Cup

Luke is learning how to use a sippy cup like a big boy. We figured since he's been reaching for our drinks, he deserves a shot at his own cup.

Ba La La La La

This is Luke's new trick! It's the cutest thing...the way he pulls my hand to his mouth so we can work together to make the BA LA LA LA LA noise and the way he stops making noise when I move my hand. Silly goose.

Buddies

Luke and Brody, BFF's!

What Else is on the Menu?

We're continuing to introduce Luke to new tastes and textures every 3-4 days. So far, he has enjoyed home made baked sweet potatoes, raw mashed bananas, baked pears, steamed carrots, and Gerber peaches. Just like Zack and I, he turned up his nose at home made yellow squash---or should I admit he gagged and threw it all up? Bananas also made him gag but he was able to embrace the texture once he got used to their stringy sliminess. By far, pears have been his favorite.

In the next few weeks, we will be introducing an array of home made goodness that has invaded our freezer. I spent most of yesterday evening preparing steamed apples, baked pumpkin, mashed peas, and ripe mango. If I had money on it, I would guess the peas are going to go over like a lead balloon. The smell alone is enough to gag a maggot.

5 Months Old

Luke is growing up! He's 16 lbs. now and just got his first ear infection. We took a trip to the pediatrician because he's been battling a cold for a week and I was about to jump out a window, he was SO cranky. Turns out, his right ear is full of icky wax and he needs a 10-day dose of Amoxicillin. I get to Walgreens, anticipating a quick fill of pink bubble gum delight and the pharmacy tech asks what flavor I want. Huh? I thought bubble gum was the flavor of choice but I was terribly mistaken. She shows me a list of 10-15 different flavors...watermelon, licorice, cherry, grape, apple, banana, etc. This baby has only tasted sweet potatoes, banana, and squash...you want me to pick a flavor? I went with traditional bubble gum. If I liked it, he should, and he did.

Things he is doing now: giving baby kisses, sitting tripod, holding his bottle for parts of his feedings, grabbing at the spoon when we feed him solids, watching us like a hawk while we eat...mouth wide open, rake-like grasping at things, attempting to get out of his bouncy seat, his hair is growing in more, and he's staying awake much longer between naps.

Luke Meets Mr. Jack O. Lantern

After Luke drifted off into dreamland on Hallow Eve, mommy and daddy had a spontaneous wild hair and decided carving a jack-o-lantern was a must. The snaggletoothed orange-head made Luke smile when they met for the first time the next morning.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Luke's first Halloween!!! He's dressed up as a little puppy dog and we even managed to carve a pumpkin last night on the spur of the moment. Enjoy this spooky day!!!