Hailey is 1 Year Old!!

Well, this baby sure keeps us on our toes. She woke up around 4am on Saturday morning crying. If she does that, she usually settles herself back down in a matter of minutes. But not that morning, she kept crying and crying. So, I went in a rocked her for about an hour. She fell back asleep and when I went to put her down again, she started crying again. So, I rocked her for another hour. She fell asleep again, and same thing when I went to put her down.

So, we came downstairs and she drank a bottle. And she slept on and off while I rocked her. Finally at 7am I got Hubby and told him we needed to switch as I needed a little sleep. But the whole time I was trying to sleep, the baby was crying off and on while Hubby rocked her, so I didn’t get much sleep. When I came down around 8am, he said that something was wrong; she was literally writhing in pain. So, we called the Pediatrician, and they have Saturday hours. We got an appointment right away and went in. She has an ear infection, and she looked like she was at the beginning of an eye infection all though it never developed. The doctor said it didn’t look bad in her ear, meaning it wasn’t a horribly bad infection, however, it was obvious the pain was really bothering her. So, he gave us a prescription for antibiotics and some ear drops that numb the ear to ease the pain. Plus we gave her Tylenol to help as well.

After we left the Pediatricians office we drove around and ran errands because the one place the baby seemed comfortable enough to sleep was her car seat. So, we picked up dry cleaning, breakfast, some stuff at the office, and her prescriptions. That gave her a good hour’s nap, all though she was still exhausted when we got home.

She had a miserable morning. She wouldn’t eat breakfast and she would only drink out of a bottle. So, we got formula and Pedilite in her to get as many fluids in as possible. So, we let her rest as much as possible. Finally around noon she started to perk up and play a bit. And we put her down for her nap about 1pm. She slept until a little after 4pm.

It was so difficult to see her in so much pain. It broke my heart knowing it was hurting her, and I couldn’t take it away. I guess that is one of the tough things about being a mom.

That afternoon we had Hailey’s first birthday party to attend. I was so sad that we couldn’t bring Courtney, but since we thought she was getting pink eye, she needed to stay home. My mom came up to stay with her so that Hubby and I could go.

It was cute, the theme was Puppy’s because that is one of Hailey’s favorite things, and one of her favorite words. The cake was adorable with puppies all over it! We took lots of pictures and hope to get them on the picture page soon. Hailey is 13 days older than Courtney, and Hailey walks and talks a bit. She also has a big sister to try to keep up with. Hailey is very social, and loved having all the people around.

The food for the evening was a pasta bar from Jason’s Deli. It was very yummy! There was a chicken alfredo and a meatball marinara. I love pasta, and I love Jason’s Deli!

Hailey got her own little cake to dig into. She preferred the frosting and would spit the cake part out. She was soon covered in frosting, but it was pretty darn cute. So, she went right from her highchair to the tub. After a quick clean up she was ready to party some more!

Hubby and I stayed about 2 hours. When we got home, Nana and Courtney were having a great time playing together. Nana had brought up some new toys and she was teaching Courtney how to work them.

After Nana left, Courtney had a good soak in the tub and then her bottle and then books and then bed. She didn’t make a peep after I put her down; she went out like a light.

About 11pm she woke up crying, so Hubby and I went in and gave her some more ear drops and another dose of Tylenol. That carried her through until 7am this morning! She is a lot perkier today, so hopefully she recovers from this quick.

Well, she is down for her morning nap and I should take advantage of the quiet!!

My how time flies!

Things have been pretty busy around here. I am going to work backwards to see if I can remember everything that has been going on. Today we took Courtney to see her GI specialist. We determined that the next step for her is going to be an upper endoscopy, meaning they are going to sedate her and put a camera down her throat to look at it and see if there is any damage from all the refluxing she is having. We are scheduled to do it September 5^th. I am starting to wonder if it is the right thing to do. It was our choice as to whether or not we had it. But I guess I have 2 weeks to cancel it if I really feel strongly about changing my mind.

Susan and Zak came home from their Honeymoon on Tuesday night. We had them up for dinner last night, and then they left to drive home to PA today.

I have been helping out at WnW. Due to reasons I can not go into, they had to fire the entire management staff (3 people, but that’s a lot in a small store). So, this past weekend, I helped fill in the holes in the schedule. I will do it next week and the week after as well, until they get someone in that they can train to open and close the store. It is only temporary that I am back there. While I do love the job, I don’t want to give up my weekends with Hubby and baby, and I don’t want to spend all my time working. I enjoy spending too much time with the baby!

Speaking of which, she woke up with a runny nose this morning. Running like a faucet! So is her mouth. Her specialist took a listen to her and said it’s tough to determine whether it’s a cold or teething.

We got a smoker! It’s a lot like a BBQ grill, but ours uses wood pellets and causes smoke. You can cook things very slowly and it gives it a nice smoky flavor. We have used it a few times, and things come out pretty tasty every time!

SH has been keeping both Hubby and me pretty busy as well. We have picked up lots of jobs and even a new employee. Kate is our new person in charge of sales. She is actually a friend of ours, so Hubby and I were the ones that told her about the opening. She interviewed with all of us, and everyone unanimously agreed to bring her on board. She started this past Monday. I have been working on training her as much as possible.

Maggie graduated her obedience class. I am not sure how. Yes, I am, she is a performer, and she looks great in class. Then you bring her home, and it’s a whole new story. I hope to move on to the next level. The next level is a drop in class to polish what your dog all ready knows. I may do this until the next beginners agility class starts up.

Bristol is doing awesome at agility. He is starting to be less nervous about everything. We were even able to move the teeter-totter up one notch! He is just doing amazing! And I am having fun also!

Courtney is so close to walking. She is starting to take a step without holding on, and that is just today she started doing that! It should only be a matter of time now! And she loves to feed herself still. She eats just about anything. And her specialist told us to go ahead and start her on whole milk or Pedisure today! Jeez, time flies!

Well, I guess I better go put away laundry. I have to do it all again before Hubby leaves next week.

11 months today

Well, one more month and the baby will be a year old. I am not ready for her to grow up too fast! It has been amazing how fast the year has flown by. Even though there were times in the beginning when I thought the days would never end.

We got our cow and pig for the year today. If you remember, in the past, every year we go to the 4H auction for the purpose of getting a cow and pig. Of course, today it came home in little white packages. I was hoping to go this year for the first time, I had to work up the nerve, but my sister’s Bridal Shower was that day. So, next year I may get the nerve to go.

I say get the nerve because you actually meet the animal you are bidding on. And it belongs to a child under 18 years old, who stands with their animal when it is being auctioned off. And being the animal lover that I am, it would be hard for me to gaze into the big brown eyes of a cow, knowing it will be dinner in a few short weeks.

Anyway, our cow this year is Nebraska. So, we can call people up and say ‘would you like some meat from Nebraska?’ Cute! And the pig’s name is Skittles. I can’t think of any way cute to phrase that question. I guess we could ask people if they would like to come over for some skittles?

So, Hubby and some of the guys who got meat as well, got together to go get the meat and then sort it out. Then Hubby brought our portion home and we fit it in the freezer in our garage. And for dinner tonight we had T-bone steaks and they were very yummy.

When I picked Courtney up from daycare the other day, I noticed on her sheet for the day that she had sunflower butter on toast as part of her lunch. I asked the teacher what sunflower butter is. She said it’s a lot like peanut butter, but made with sunflower seeds instead. Sunflower seeds apparently are low on the allergen list. So, on our trip out today, we stopped at Whole Foods and picked some up. We had to go there anyway for other things. When we got home we opened it up and gave it a try. I have to say, not too shabby! It tastes like a light flavored peanut butter. Supposedly this is much healthier for you as well. In fact for dinner tonight I made her a piece of toast with ‘sunbutter’ on it. She ate it up! (And smeared it all over herself)

Courtney is really into feeding herself. She is really starting to refuse anything on a spoon, especially baby food. So, we are always looking for things we can give her to eat with her fingers that will be a balanced meal. Tonight she ate some wheat noodles and zucchini as well as her toast with sunbutter. When we were at whole foods we picked up some chicken lunch meat from their deli. We also picked up some roast beef and ham. The guy cutting our meat gave up samples of all three. Courtney loved the chicken. The roast beef and ham were just okay, but she couldn’t get enough of the chicken. So, that is a great thing we can feed her. It’s hard to come up with this stuff! My mom suggested getting carrots, green beans, and peas and cooking them to fork tender state. I need to give that a try.

Last night I gave her a bowl of yogurt all to herself, and a spoon to try feeding. I was able to get a few spoonfuls of yogurt in when she was messing with her own yogurt. She would take a handful of yogurt and try to put it in her mouth. She was covered with yogurt. Then she put the bowl on her head! I took pictures; hopefully Hubby gets them up soon!

Today while we were out and about we also went to the mall. It has been in the 90’s here the last few days, so we figured a good outing would be an air conditioned mall. We stopped in the bookstore to do some birthday shopping for another baby about to turn 1. I found the line of books that Courtney loves. Her favorite book is “That’s not my puppy”. It’s a touchy feely book about dogs and she could feel the ears and tails for hours. Well, they make a whole line of books. Today we picked up, ‘That’s not my Lion’ and ‘That’s not my pirate’, since Hubby is a pirate fan. They also had several other books. I read her the Lion one tonight and she loved it! We had to read it twice before she would let me put it away. She was feeling paws and ears. So, anyone looking for birthday gift ideas, the books are by Usborne, and I found them at Boarders. I can’t get over how much those are her favorite books. Today, I was doing something in her room, I put her down, and she crawled over to her book pile and picked out the ‘That’s not my Puppy’ book!

Tonight, after I had de-sunbuttered Courtney in the tub, we went for a nice walk. The temperature had finally cooled down to the low 80’s so it wasn’t too bad being outside. We decided to take Buddy. We hadn’t taken him for a walk since the surgery because we didn’t know how it would go. The first 50 yards he was timid and dragging behind, but then somehow he got his confidence back and it was like we were with a normal dog! You couldn’t tell that he was blind! His tail was wagging, he was sniffing everything. We were amazed at how well he did! Good to know we can walk him easily.

Susan and Zak got on the boat today for their 7 day cruise. They have stops in Cozumel, Nassau, and a few other places. I am so jealous. I bet they will have a wonderful time!

Tomorrow is supposed to be super hot again, so I think we plan on staying in the basement all day! That will keep us cool!

My little sister is now a Mrs.

Sorry it has been so long since I posted. But as you can imagine, life out here in CO has been busy!

Hubby’s mom arrived safe and sound Wednesday afternoon. After picking her up at the airport we went and got the baby from day care and then had a nice big lunch at Mimi’s Café.

That night I ended up going out with Susan and two of her friends for her bachelorette party. We went to Mr. Bigg’s which is an indoor amusement type place. We ate their pizza buffet which turned out to be pretty tasty. Then we rode go carts, played mini-golf, then played a virtual reality type game, and finished up with a game of laser tag. I had a GREAT time, but then again, I love that kind of thing. We stayed there until closing at 10pm. I needed to head for home to get some sleep. The rest of the girls went out for some adult beverages. I hear they caught up with the guys and stayed out until 2am. Ugh, I just can’t do that anymore, especially when I have to work the next day.

But the nice thing was that I didn’t have to worry about the baby too much since my MIL (mother-in-law) was here. She spent the whole time with Courtney; we didn’t take her to daycare once while ‘Grammy’ was here. So, Thursday I went to work, and then ran some errands and then that evening we went to my parents’ house to celebrate my mom’s birthday.

Friday was a super busy day. I got up, got ready, took all 4 dogs off to the kennel, came home and packed like a mad woman. We finally hit the road about 11:45am. My parents had left earlier than us. Which worked out great for us, since they called and said there had been a hazardous chemical spill on the highway and it was basically shut down. So, before we hit the traffic jam, I jumped off the highway and headed over to another road that parallels the highway, but it is a 2 lane road. We bypassed all the traffic and got back on the highway in Castle Rock. That put us way ahead of my parents.

We got up to Estes Park right about 4pm. Long enough to unload the car and head over to the rehearsal. I was in the rehearsal while Grammy and Courtney walked around downtown and shopped.

After I was done, we all went up to the rehearsal dinner which was at a park. I am not sure if it was in Rocky Mountain National Forrest or just really close. Either way it was gorgeous! The food was catered by an old friend of my mother who happens to now own a café in Estes Park! The food was so fabulous!

Finally it was time to take the baby back to the cabin for bed. I say cabin, but more like brand new condo describes it better. It was just built in the last few months, had a full kitchen, dining room, living room, huge deck with a great view and a hot tub. Plus there were 2 bedrooms, the master bedroom and a large master bath with Jacuzzi tub, and the other bathroom had private access to the second bathroom. It was gorgeous!

Hubby finally arrived about 9:30pm from his trip to Vegas. We all crashed but for some reason both Hubby and I had a really hard time sleeping. Morning came early!

Next morning was the day of the wedding! I met the rest of the bridesmaids and the bride in the hair salon at 8:30am. We got our hair done while drinking mimosas. After we were done there, we grabbed a bite to eat in the tavern. While the girls were finishing lunch, I popped over to help my mom, Hubby and our cousin decorate the reception room. When Susan was ready to head upstairs, she came and got me. So then all us girls went and got dress and then outside for a few pictures.

Meanwhile the guys were basically kicked out off the lodge property so that the groom would not see the bride. So, Zak’s brothers and friends took him boating on Lake Estes. Well, they got to the middle of the lake and shut off the engine as to enjoy the view in peace. When they went to start the engine again, it wouldn’t start. They had to call the photographer who called the marina who sent someone out to fix the boat. They finally made it back to shore.

Everyone arrived at the ceremony on time and Susan hid in the antique car that brought her and my dad over until just before she had to walk down the isle. As soon as Zak went down the isle, she got out of the car and came in, by that time it was her turn.

She looked so beautiful coming down the isle. I didn’t make it five seconds until I had tears in my eyes. She looked radiant.

It was a short and simple ceremony and after we went to the park across the street from the famous Stanley Hotel to take pictures. Rain was moving in, so we all moved fast. We got back into the cars just as the rain was starting.

Then we traveled over to the reception. It was pouring when the Bride and Groom arrived, but while we were waiting to get into the reception hall, the sun started to shine and a beautiful triple rainbow appeared! They got some great pictures with that!

Finally the reception began. The food was amazing! And the cake was so yummy as well! Susan and Zak danced the night away. I remember very clearly at the end of the night that Zak’s shirt was SOAKED from sweat. They looked like they had a great time.

We finally all went to bed, which for some reason Hubby and I didn’t sleep well again. The next morning we met up with the new Mr. and Mrs. for breakfast. From there we all went our seperate ways. My mom and dad headed home, Susan and Zak stuck around for a while to do more photos in their bridal attire, with Phoebe their dog. Hubby, Grammy, Courtney and I all went into the downtown area to look around and shop. Then we finally headed for home.

After getting home and unloading the car, no one felt like cooking. So we called up our friends Tony and Kelly and said ‘let’s go out to dinner’. Plus Grammy wanted to see their girls. So, we went to Olive Garden. I got spaghetti and I gave Courtney a small bowl full. She ate it like she hadn’t eaten in 100 years. She was very into it. She even would slurp in the noodles! She is now very into feeding herself and it’s becoming harder and harder to get her to eat off the spoon when you are trying to feed her.

Monday she figured out how to stand up and walk behind the little push toy we have for her. She is great at it, except she doesn’t know how to steer yet, so we have to steer for her. She also learned a new word this weekend, ‘uh-oh’. She is so funny, she sits in her crib and says ‘uh-oh’ over and over and over. It’s very cute. She also tries to say ball which comes out ‘ba’ and thank you which I can’t even describe how that comes out, but you know what she is saying.

Monday night we went down to my parents’ house to celebrate Zak’s birthday. It officially in a few weeks, but since he will be on a boat in the middle of the ocean, this seemed like an appropriate time. Plus his parents and one of his brothers were still in town to celebrate with us. We had a BBQ; Hubby did the grilling, and later was cake, yum!

Tuesday morning, Hubby and I had to go and look at 2 properties for possible office space. Grammy stayed home with Courtney. We returned about 10:30am and I headed off to work while Hubby took Grammy to the airport. We were sad to see her go. I know Courtney and I sure enjoyed having her around. I don’t know what we would have done without her this past weekend! Thanks Grammy, we really appreciated it!!!!

Tuesday night of course is agility night. Bristol did awesome again! He did the dog walk this time. It took him a couple tries, but once he got it, he was a pro!

Tonight the Curless’ came to town. They are life long friends of ours and they were in town for the wedding. They took an extra few days to do the tourist thing and ended tonight at my parents’ house. So, we went down and had dinner with them. They head up to Denver tomorrow to the airport to head for home.

So now life should start getting back to normal. The kids should be back from the honeymoon in 2-3 weeks. They are here for a day and then they head home to PA.

Well, I am still exhausted from all the excitement. I can’t imagine how Zak and Susan feel. And they are off to Disney World tomorrow!

Good Night!

Wedding's Almost here!

Well, life has been keeping us busy here. Hubby left Friday, and then Saturday was Susan’s Bridal Shower. We held it on my parents’ patio. We strung lots of lights, and set up our canopy tent. Jason’s Deli arrived with food trays about 5:15pm and guests arrived about 6pm. We sat at the new table that Zak and Susan made for my parents, which thankfully has an umbrella because it sprinkled while we were eating. Then Susan started opening gifts. It started to rain hard, so we all moved under the canopy and it was nice.

Susan had a great time and got some great stuff. I think I embarrassed her with the glow in the dark massage lotion, edible thong panties, and a negligee. About 9pm things wrapped up. The baby went down to sleep about 8:15pm during the party. She did really well moving into the car and then into her crib when we got home.

I took all 3 dogs to the vet Monday. They were all due for some shots, and they all needed the kennel cough shot since they are getting boarded this weekend. Taking 3 dogs to the vet is a challenge when you do it by yourself. Bristol weighed in at 51 lbs. Maggie was 41 lbs and Buddy was 31 lbs. Stair steps!

Courtney and I have been going for an evening walk every night after dinner. There is a house we pass that has 3 rabbits in the yard almost every night. We stop and look at them, and she smiles. We also stop to check the mail on the way back to the house. Courtney holds the key to the mailbox the whole walk. She is so funny about it. She doesn’t put it down at all!

The other night when we went for a walk there were storm clouds around but I figured we could get our walk in before it started to rain. It sprinkled a little on us while we made our loop. When we got back to the house, just as we got in the garage, it started to rain a little harder. By the time I closed the garage door, got Courtney out of the stroller and got inside, I hear a roaring noise. I looked out the window and saw that there was such a downpour that you couldn’t past 3 houses! It kept up like that for a good 15 minutes. We made it back just in the nick of time!

Last night Susan and Zak came up to babysit Courtney while I went to Agility class with Bristol. My mom is currently suffering from a sever sinus infection and bronchitis. So, the kids were kind enough to come and stay with the baby.

Bristol did SO GOOD last night! He did the full scale A frame, and he did the teeter-totter! These two items in the past have been a weakness for him, as he was scared of them. He is still a bit scared of the teeter-totter, but he was doing it last night! Of course he did it on level 1 which is the lowest, but still! I was so proud of him! I was just bursting with pride. The trainer asked what happened to my dog?!

Hubby’s mom flies in today. In fact right now she is on a plane from Atlanta to here! I am excited to have her here!

Just 3 more days until the wedding!

Well, I must get back to work!