3 Blind Mice

The Halloween party was so fun. It was so kind of Anna's parents to invite us...great company, such cute snacks, and fun costumes. Anna's parents dressed up like a sock drawer and a silverware drawer. :) Anna's mom Lee Lee got Noah an adorable pumpkin bib.

Well, we were an hour late, but my mummy pizza's were super cute and they all got eaten up right away. Our 3 Blind Mice costumes turned out cute. We had our tails, and our walking sticks, our lipstick noses and our sunglasses. And our adorable baby. :)

Anna and Robby dressed up like a "bun in the oven" and a chef. They are expecting their first baby in March and we are so excited for them. We just found out that the little bean is going to be a boy!!! Can't wait for Noah to have a little buddy.

Hope everyone had a fun evening...get ready to start shredding off the halloween candy (and the wonderful 1/2 price halloween candy sales too!).

(PS- not the best pictures ever, but we had out hands FULL!!!) :)

5 Months

Haven't done one of these in a while.

Sorry if you are on Noah-overload.

This little dude is the best. I can't get enough of him.

But that doesn't mean that you can't. :)

Love my little 5 month boy (not quite, but we only get cleaned up and spiffy once a week). Getting more and more fun by the day.

Talking, rolling, reaching grabbing, eating, smiling, laughing, napping (finally!!!!), playing peek-a-boo, tickling, splashing, bouncing, swinging....what a joy! How did we get so lucky?

Here is a re-cap of the last 5 months! :)

2 Firsts

The stomach bug (or whatever that was) is gone. Thank goodness. Last night we had one very sad boy. He cried and cried and cried. I thought there was no way he would sleep through the night. So I prepared myself for the worst. And then at 6:50, he woke up. For the first time since we put him down. It was like nothing had ever happened. Yeah for us!

But anyway, he is back to his usual perky and happy self, just in time for a fun weekend. :)

Interestingly though, Noah had two "firsts" this weekend.

For one, he recognized his bottle! He normally doesn't get many bottles...only at daycare. I didn't know that he understood what the bottle was and what it meant for him. But when I pulled out a bottle for him with Pedialyte in it, he got really excited...very clear to me that he understood. So fun to watch him begin to understand and process things. (He very well could have been doing this for weeks, and I just never knew).

Secondly, Noah rolled! From back to front, twice. :) The first time, I missed it. I was busy in the kitchen (probably stealing some Halloween candy), and I turned around and he was on him tummy. So I flipped him over, and sure enough, he did it again! Last week, I bought the "convertible Woombie", because I knew rolling was coming soon. We will have to start weaning Noah from the swaddle soon!

Also, not a first, but still fun to watch...Noah is starting to reach for/bat at toys. It is neat to watch this skill develop. He reaches with slow motion like hands arms. So cool. We love that little guy so much!!!

1-10

ONE: the number of sticks of butter Rio ate while I was at work today.

TWO: the number of times we (me and the daycare) saw Noah's breakfast. And last night's dinner. Yuck. I had to bring Noah home from daycare today because it was coming out of both ends! :( He is my sad little sicko today, but I am enjoying the extra snuggles. (ps- since writing this post this morning, the number has gone up to THREE)

THREE: The number of years I have lived in this house (almost). I'm getting the itch to move. I haven't lived in a house this long since I left NJ. We don't know where we are going, but it will probably be around next summer. I've been voting for Alaska, but the temperature dropped to 50 last week and I had major second thoughts. :)

FOUR: The number of new fruits/veggies that Noah has tried: sweet potato, squash, banana, green beans. He really liked the green beans (see number TWO).

FIVE: The number of times every day that Rio takes medication. He is seizure-free for over two weeks! Also, our pharmacist neighbor hooked us up with cheaper medications, so we are no longer paying an arm and a leg for his HUGE pill box full of meds.

SIX: nothing for 6 :)

SEVEN: the number of healthy jalapeno plants that I have still going strong! My neighbors, friends and the daycare are going to stop accepting them soon!

EIGHT: Number of workouts that I have left on the 30 day shred. I've taken several days off because of a cold, but I am back in action and ready to shred.

NINE: Number of days left until Daylight Savings. Boo to shorter days! :) Alaska is probably not a good idea for me.

TEN: My shoe size. I'm in the market for a new pair of Asics. I am just too cheap to fork over $80-90 for a new pair. If anyone sees a good deal, let me know!!! I love those shoes!

Halloween Sneak Peak

Okay, here is the sneak peak. :)

We were invited to a Halloween party. It is a family sort of party, complete with costumes and theme snacks/dinner.

Normally I'm not big on Halloween. I'm still not, but with a little one, things change a bit.

So we figured out our costumes. And I'm bringing mummy pizzas. I'm pretty excited.

Because we are going to be the Three Blind Mice. I made this costume...out of construction paper, a head band, newspaper and duct tape. I still have to throw in the sunglasses and walking stick, but not bad for free, if I don't say so myself.

No Smiles

Noah got his first "fussy" on his daily report card. :)

He had a sad day yesterday...crying a lot for no reason that I knew of. Something was not right, I just didn't know what. So today, I guess the same thing went on. Poor little fellow.

You can't really see it in these pictures, but my baby's eczema has gotten worse. It is all over his face, and arms and legs. That could be why he is sad.

Or he might just be having a yucky kind of day. I did yesterday. I sprayed and stayed in bed till 11:30. It was really nice. And I'm feeling a bit better today.

My baby doesn't feel good...so he got a lot of extra snuggles today and yesterday!

I am going to call the doctor if it gets worse.

I just love this little guy so much.

I want his smiles back.

:)

Another Diaper Deal

I was starting to get nervous. I could see the wall behind my stash of size three diapers. Yikes! :)

I was out and about getting a "mommy break", and I happened to go into Fred's Discount store in search of a few new books for Noah. I was getting ready to check out, when I noticed these jeans diapers on clearance...$4 a package!!! I was so excited, I could hardly believe my luck. :)

I bought 10 packages...these jeans diapers just look so cute on Noah's booty!!! Yeah for another great diaper deal.

Shred Update

Day was Day 19 of the 30 Day Shred. I will confess to not doing it 30 days straight (or I would probably be done by now), but life, sickness, a big comfy couch and Blue Bell tend to get in the way. Oh well.

Here are a few facts:

Fact 1. I am no longer miserably sore every day. A little, but not too bad.

Fact 2. I still like to eat...a lot. I'm going to have to nurse Noah forever to keep up with my eating.

Fact 3. I'm significantly stronger.

Fact 4. My endurance is much better.

Fact 5. This workout fits into my life perfectly.

Fact 6. Technically, I don't think I lost any weight, but I feel a lot better.

Fact 7. We opened a 1/2 gallon of blue bell mint chocolate chip. oh. my. gosh. :)

Fact 8. I dread starting lesson 3. Lesson 2 was bad enough.

Fact 9. I'm not entirely committed to exercising after I finish this workout.

Fact 10. I feel like I would like to, but I'm not really into commitment at this time.

Fact 11. I really actually enjoy this workout. I really recommend it.

Fact 12. Speaking of cookies...

Rio: What's Going On

Okay, here is the skinny on Rio...if you care. :)

An entire day at the veterinary neurologist and a lot of money later...we ruled out pretty much everything else but 1. brain tumor and 2. the slim chance that the cause of Rio's seizures might be some type of infection in the brain.

We were "fortunate" (although that is kind of crazy to say) that Rio actually had a seizure on the way to the vet, so she was able to see first hand what was happening. We were also fortunate that he was somewhat mellow from the seizure, so they were able to poke and prod him, which is something he would never have allowed before. The people at the vet's office were very kind and spent a ton of time with Rio. They kept commenting on how sweet and great he was. That is kind of funny to us since his chart has "caution" all over it. :) Normally at the vet he stands the corner and growls at people. :) Anyway, the people there knew that any change in behavior (even for the better) is a sign of a problem, but they were nice to love on him anyway.

Unrelated to Rio's brain tumor, he also has a heart condition. Basically one of the valves in his heart is non-functioning. We have no idea how long it has been like this, but it is serious enough to eliminate his ability to undergo testing to rule in/out the brain tumor. All this to say, the vet believes that he has a tumor in the right frontal area of his brain, and the heart condition is serious, but unrelated.

The brain tumor is untreatable, so Rio is on some sort of doggie hospice. He takes medication five times a day (designed to slow the activity of the brain to slow down the seizures). He has quite the pill box. Our job is to keep him comfortable and allow for the best quality to life.

The good news is that Rio has been seizure free for a whole week!!! He is running around the back yard, barking at our neighbor's tractor, and otherwise terrorizing the neighborhood like usual. He is also very much enjoying his "pill delivery program", also known as cheese, sour cream, peanut butter, M&M's, and pretty much any kind of people food which was previously off limits.

Rio's medication also increases appetite, and he bangs (rather loudly) on his food bowl on average of 5 times a day. He has gained 3 pounds in 2 weeks, and is now sporting new love handles. The down side of this is that the medication has also makea him thirsty, and drinking water is his new favorite thing. He has to go to the bathroom all day (and night), and it is making me a little crazy.

We are feeling very positive about Rio's diagnosis and treatment plan. We know he won't be around forever (none of us will!), so we will do our best to take care of him while he is here. We are dedicated to that little pain-in-the-behind (Rio)!

Thanks for all of your thoughts...its is so crazy how much your pets become part of the family! We will keep you posted on Rio.

Christa and Beagle

We had two very exciting events this weekend!

1. My sister Christa came to visit us on her fall break. It was so nice to have her...Noah got to meet her for the first time! We were pretty lazy (and I discovered that I am so jealous of how much sleep she gets!!!), but did a few fun things...we went to the pumpkin patch, to church, out to eat, went for a walk, went shooting, exercised...:) it was really nice to spend time with her. Here are a few pictures of her this weekend!

2. Our wonderful Beagle turned 10!!! That is a big milestone, and we celebrated with a small steak dinner. :) Congratulations Mr. Beagle. We love you.

What a great weekend! Thanks for spending your fall break with us Christa. :)

Pumpkin Patch

This afternoon, we went to the Pumpkin Patch. I am SO super excited about the pile of awesome pictures that we got. We also got 1 pumpkin and 4 little gourds (the gourds are for shooting). :) What a fun way to spend the afternoon.





We love that little munchkin. :)

Welcome!

Hi Aunt Christa! We are so glad you are here!!!

Learning to Eat

Yesterday, Jeremy took Rio to the veterinary neurologist. He was there ALL day, and the vet took great care of Rio and Jeremy. More updates on our vet visit to come, but for now...something a little lighter.

My baby is learning how to eat.

I thought he would love it. Seriously, milk is one of his favorite things ever. In my efforts to make sure my baby is not 6 years old and still breast feeding, I started rice cereal this week. Also, he is not really napping well, so I thought maybe he was hungry.

He may be hungry, but learning to eat has not been as smooth as I pictured in my head. I fed him rice cereal (using "fed" very loosely, since the majority of it ran down his chin). He didn't like it. We did that for the recommended three days, and today, we started oatmeal. Not too much of a oatmeal fan either.

He is getting the hang of it. Once he learns how wonderful real food makes his belly feel, he will gobble it right up.

But for now, we will keep the bibs handy!

A Funny Beagle Story