Fun Weekend With Friends!

We went up to Detroit this weekend to see some friends and had a great time. Emily was very flexible with her schedule and didn't go to sleep until after 9pm the whole weekend -- and she was just as happy as ever -- what an amazing little girl! :)

Yesterday we went over to Ben's new house and he made us a delicious breakfast! We had a blast with his PlayStation and Pinball machine and, the guys relinquished the controls long enough for Laura and I to race a little -- it was quite sad to watch and it must have been the longest race in history! And for one of Emily's "firsts" -- she got to sit in a bean-bag! It was a tad big for her but she seemed to enjoy herself! Overall it was a great time! :)

Information about Nora

As some of you know, we've been having some problems with Nora. She's been acting aggressively towards Nelson and me, but never towards Emily. We've been trying to figure out what to do about her and what we can do to correct the problem. We took her to Dr. Wade, our vet, and had him check her out. He said that some dogs develop epilepsy at this age (she's 3.5 yrs old) and that we should try giving her some daily B6 wth her food, and this might help. (She has had some times in the past where she might have had a seizure -- but nothing consistent that stood out in our memory.) We've been trying the B6 for about 2-3 weeks and we haven't seen any changes in her behavior. So, we took her in on Monday to get some blood drawn and tests done.

Well, I just got off the phone with Dr. Wade. Nora's blood work from Monday came back and it doesn't look good. Dr. Wade said that it doesn't look like Nora has epilepsy (which was a good thing) but she does have some very elevated levels that are concerning in her kidneys, liver and pancreas (bilirubin, protein, magnesium, cholesterol, amulese, etc.). He thinks that this could be caused by two different things: Portal-Systemic Shunts or a Liver-Shut-Down Problem. If it's the Shunts, it's a congenital problem where the food's nutrients go straight to the blood instead of the liver. To determine if this is the problem, we would need to do much more blood work and tests and he did warn me that they are very expensive. If this is the problem, we might have to put her down. If her liver is shutting down, there are a few things we might be able to do. He said we can put her on a Senior Diet (the food is more easily digestible) and supplement her food with children's Flinstone's vitamins (full of B6). If she starts to improve with this new diet, he wants us to repeat the blood work in 3-4 months. If her aggressive behavior doesn't improve or worsens, he recommends that we put her down.

So, overall, not good news but hopefully this new diet will be able to help her. Only time will tell. Obviously I'm feeling pretty down today but am hoping that this diet change will do the trick! No matter how much we gripe and complain about her, Nora is my baby and I can't quite imagine her not being with us!

We'll keep you posted . . .

9 Month Check-Up and Pictures!

We had Emily's 9 Month Check-Up yesterday. She got one shot and did very well through and after it! She is still as tiny as tiny can be! She weighs 14 lbs 15 ozs and is 27 1/4" long. The pediatrician doesn't think she's quite developing as quickly as she should be, so she has referred us to a developmental specialist in Akron. They'll be able to tell us for sure if she's a little behind and what to do about it. Dr. Joyce said there's nothing to be concerned about, but wants to get her checked out just to be sure. Just like her heart murmur.

Here are some of Emily's 9 Month pictures -- what a cutie, huh?! :)

Just a Little Playdate Fun!

9 Months Old

I am 9 months old today. Some of my favorite things to do are play with my dog, eat cheerios, play peek-a-boo with Mom and Dad, and play in the church nursery with my new friends.

Mom says I am definitely a girl with how much I talk. I mostly say kha-kha, ba-ba, yee-yee, gaw-gaw, and ma-ma & da-da (but I don't know what they mean). I laugh all the time and am very ticklish! Nothing makes me laugh more than seeing my dog after I wake up in the morning or after a nap. I can barely stay on the changing table, I'm laughing and wiggling so much!

I can sit up very well on my own now, but still can't sit back up after falling over. I really want to crawl but just haven't figured out how. Mom says I could learn if I would ever stay on my belly for more than 30 seconds before flipping onto my back -- but I just don't like tummy time. I'll learn to crawl and walk someday -- but so far I'm having a blast just doing what I'm doing.

I'm eating a bunch of new foods now that I have 5 teeth. I have 4 on the bottom and 1 on top -- and a few more coming in too. This is really making my nose run and I am drooling all the time. Some of my favorite foods, besides Cheerios, are peaches, bananas, broccoli, sweet potatoes and turkey. It's been hard for me to drink from the bottle because of my ear infection but, I'm starting to feel better and am almost back to normal.

Dad says he loves this phase and how much fun I am, but he isn't really thrilled with my new game -- it's called, "I drop the toys and Dad picks them up". I don't know why he doesn't like this but I think it's the funnest thing I've ever done! I also like to put everything in my mouth and taste it. This has made for a bit more cleaning/sterilizing for my parents but I know they don't mind. :)

Well, that's about it for me. Every day is new and I'm always doing neat things -- so keep posted and I'm sure Mom will update you!

Happy Valentine's Day, Everyone!

Some Of My First Piano Lessons

Dad was teaching me how to play piano and I was singing along.

Our Little Escape Artist

Story Time Is Great!

Health Update

Well, here's the update. Nelson is almost back to normal. He had a cold for about a week and a voice about an octive lower than usual. He's still pretty tired but feeling much better. Emily and I however are not improving. We're both still coughing and having runny noses and not sleeping well. So, yesterday, I took us to our respective doctors. Lo and behold it turns out Emily has her very first ear infection and I have bronchitis! Neat, huh?! But we were both given antibiotics and are hoping to start feeling better soon. The good thing is that we were diagnosed and now we're on the road to recovery! :)

As far as our houses go -- we are packing up our house and anxiously awaiting the move into our new home. I think we've set a moving date for March 10th and are trying to get everything in order for the next month. Pretty exciting but fairly overwhelming as well! Man have we accumulated the stuff since moving here 3 1/2 yrs ago!

Other than that, not much has changed around here. We're still lacking on pictures due to our illnesses but I'll work on that this weekend! :) Hope you all have a great day!

I love my stuffed animals!

More Adorable Pictures!

Life Is Fun When I'm Around!