Friday, December 31, 2010
This is convenient
No more holding the pacifier in Lilly's mouth. She can do it on her own. She prefers the thumb/pacifier combo.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
Santa Came!
I haven't said those words with such enthusiasm in such a long time!! You see, Santa Claus quit visiting me a while ago. But now he's back!! Lilly's been so good that he decided he'd start visiting us again!
Here is what we all woke up to.
Then we went to Mama and Papa's house next door.
And what do you know Santa left some gifts there too! Holy Moly. This is what we found when we walked in.
Cool octopus that says colors in English, Spanish, AND French. Whoa, cool.
The Martins were also visiting Mama's house. So we got to visit with them as well.
Nom nom nom.
Isabel did a great job of handing out presents!
We went to Grandma Jones' house later Christmas afternoon. And again Santa stopped there too! I am a scatter brain and it was a zoo there that I didn't get any pictures there. I'm sure there are some pictures floating around on the other blogs! We had yummy lasagna dinner over there as well.
We had a great first Christmas with Lilly. We look forward to many more!!!
Then the day after Christmas we were surprised to wake up to a couple inches of snow! And it continued to snow throughout the day. I didn't go out to play in it, it was a little too cold. Oh well. Next year. It was very pretty though!
I did let the dogs play a little while I went to feed the horses. Notice you don't see Rocky in these pictures - he's become a party pooper and he just sat at the door the entire time!
Peanut eating the snow.
The horses were frisky and running around. They liked the snow too.
George - not so much a fan of snow. As you can see, I had to literally kick him out.
So pretty.
Here is what we all woke up to.
Then we went to Mama and Papa's house next door.
And what do you know Santa left some gifts there too! Holy Moly. This is what we found when we walked in.
Cool octopus that says colors in English, Spanish, AND French. Whoa, cool.
The Martins were also visiting Mama's house. So we got to visit with them as well.
Nom nom nom.
Isabel did a great job of handing out presents!
We went to Grandma Jones' house later Christmas afternoon. And again Santa stopped there too! I am a scatter brain and it was a zoo there that I didn't get any pictures there. I'm sure there are some pictures floating around on the other blogs! We had yummy lasagna dinner over there as well.
We had a great first Christmas with Lilly. We look forward to many more!!!
Then the day after Christmas we were surprised to wake up to a couple inches of snow! And it continued to snow throughout the day. I didn't go out to play in it, it was a little too cold. Oh well. Next year. It was very pretty though!
I did let the dogs play a little while I went to feed the horses. Notice you don't see Rocky in these pictures - he's become a party pooper and he just sat at the door the entire time!
Peanut eating the snow.
The horses were frisky and running around. They liked the snow too.
George - not so much a fan of snow. As you can see, I had to literally kick him out.
So pretty.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Tiger Lilly
Mari said that I have to stop growling at Lilly because she's been growling at her teachers at school.
PS-I know what you're thinking and yes, that is a halloween outfit.
PS-I know what you're thinking and yes, that is a halloween outfit.
Time already
So our very first cardiology appointment back in August we discussed in length about Lilly's heart and the possibility of surgery. We were "heart broken" about Lilly's broken heart. The thought of needing open heart surgery on a little baby was terrifying as well. The doctor assured us that if it was needed it would be fine. He also mentioned that by the time surgery comes that most parents are ready and are begging to go ahead and get it done.
Well, he was right. After seeing Lilly struggle especially this past month we are MORE (at least I am, I think Eric too) than ready to get this done and over with already!
We had a cardiology check up yesterday. Lilly was 10 pounds 11 ounces. She was 10 pounds 11 ounces 4 weeks ago :( It breaks my heart. She eats as much as she can and gobbles her cereal most of the time just to stay the same weight, poor girl. (If any more strangers ask if she's a premie I'm gonna explode- Yes, I know she's a sprite, a precious one at that! One lady was insisting she was to Eric the other day - uh he's her dad, I think he knows!!) Her Lasix medication is losing it's effectiveness and she is out of breath to drink a bottle or nurse still. We were told to not be surprised if she loses weight between now and her surgery date. Also, the doctor informed us yesterday that her liver is enlarging - yet another side effect of heart failure! Watching her like this I am SO ready to have her fixed and ready to go on being a regular little kid! The good news is that the doctors are happy as clams on how she is doing despite her heart problem and she is going into surgery quite "healthy".
Eli was telling me how her "uncle in law" suffers from congestive heart failure and when he has it under control is a completely new person! I can't wait for Lilly to feel like a completely new person! Well, new baby at least, I don't think she qualifies as a person yet :) One more month exactly and counting down!
On a better note, Lisa (her PT buddy), was SO impressed with Lilly's mad skills yesterday! She is holding her head up great. She can almost roll to her back when on her tummy! Those are just a few of her tricks, she has many more but there's not enough room to write about all her awesomeness.
Oh and sorry no pics. But, eh, it happens.
Well, he was right. After seeing Lilly struggle especially this past month we are MORE (at least I am, I think Eric too) than ready to get this done and over with already!
We had a cardiology check up yesterday. Lilly was 10 pounds 11 ounces. She was 10 pounds 11 ounces 4 weeks ago :( It breaks my heart. She eats as much as she can and gobbles her cereal most of the time just to stay the same weight, poor girl. (If any more strangers ask if she's a premie I'm gonna explode- Yes, I know she's a sprite, a precious one at that! One lady was insisting she was to Eric the other day - uh he's her dad, I think he knows!!) Her Lasix medication is losing it's effectiveness and she is out of breath to drink a bottle or nurse still. We were told to not be surprised if she loses weight between now and her surgery date. Also, the doctor informed us yesterday that her liver is enlarging - yet another side effect of heart failure! Watching her like this I am SO ready to have her fixed and ready to go on being a regular little kid! The good news is that the doctors are happy as clams on how she is doing despite her heart problem and she is going into surgery quite "healthy".
Eli was telling me how her "uncle in law" suffers from congestive heart failure and when he has it under control is a completely new person! I can't wait for Lilly to feel like a completely new person! Well, new baby at least, I don't think she qualifies as a person yet :) One more month exactly and counting down!
On a better note, Lisa (her PT buddy), was SO impressed with Lilly's mad skills yesterday! She is holding her head up great. She can almost roll to her back when on her tummy! Those are just a few of her tricks, she has many more but there's not enough room to write about all her awesomeness.
Oh and sorry no pics. But, eh, it happens.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Rollin
As you can tell we finally figured out how to embed videos. I've been meaning to post this video for a couple weeks! Lilly has been able to roll to her side lately! Here's a short video of it. I apologize for the horrible videoing- it's hard to play with her and video at the same time :)
Friday, December 17, 2010
Archery practice
I was messing around with my bow and my camera today.
This is from 70 yards.
This is from 80 yards.
This is from 70 yards.
This is from 80 yards.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
It's Cold
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Finally
So I finally did it. It's taken a while, but I finally updated the "About Me" to the left of the blog. A - I changed the comment that used to be in the parenthesis about Lilly being the reason we wake up at 12a, 2a, 5a, etc - that's because the kid sleeps almost every night now! Yeah. B - On a sadder note - I finally changed the dogs from four to three :(
And to not leave on such a sad note - I want to apologize to you Charlotte. You were often trouble, especially when it came to trash. I apologize in that we should not have been so quick to blame you on rummaging through the recycling bin. Because unless you came back to visit, someone got through the recycling bin and tore a bunch of stuff up!! And that someone made the mistake of leaving their signature mark - chewed off coke bottle caps. Yes that someone would be YOU Rocky!! So again, Charlotte - I apologize, because I'm afraid Rocky may have been getting you in trouble more often than not! Please forgive us :)
Guilty until proven innocent
And to not leave on such a sad note - I want to apologize to you Charlotte. You were often trouble, especially when it came to trash. I apologize in that we should not have been so quick to blame you on rummaging through the recycling bin. Because unless you came back to visit, someone got through the recycling bin and tore a bunch of stuff up!! And that someone made the mistake of leaving their signature mark - chewed off coke bottle caps. Yes that someone would be YOU Rocky!! So again, Charlotte - I apologize, because I'm afraid Rocky may have been getting you in trouble more often than not! Please forgive us :)
Guilty until proven innocent
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Tests
So we completely forgot to update everyone on Lilly's tests that she had last week!! We went to the Children's hospital to investigate Lilly's UTI a week ago. She did very good! She cried a bunch, but once everything was done she was back to a happy baby. So it didn't stress her too much - I'm soooo relieved. Best of all - she aced her kidney ultrasound, she has NO reflux from her bladder to kidneys, AND her urine culture was clean!! We are soooo happy that all this came back normal - that translates to no need for years of antibiotics! Most of all Lilly is happy, she's not a fan of medicine and can't figure out why we torture her with it twice a day everyday! Next stop MUSC in January.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Dear Lilly
Hi Lilly! Let me tell you I miss you SO much! This is the first time I have left you for more than a few hours! I can't bear to be so far away from you for so long. I'm up here in Baltimore and I think about you every second. I keep thinking of all the fun places I could take you. There's an aquarium here I think you'd love to go to. Also, there's a Science Center that you would love (maybe in a couple years) - if you're anything like you're dad you'd love to explore a place like this!
Oh how I miss you! There's no words to describe. I think for next year's convention I will bring you along with me to San Antonio! And maybe we'll let Dad come along too :) I think he'll have fun too.
I saw a baby today and I was SO jealous - I wish I could have my little baby with me here too!
We'll, I just wanted to let you know I miss you a ton and love you a million. I can't wait to see you Wednesday! (Although, it feels like an eternity from now).
LOVE,
Mommy
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Oh how I miss you! There's no words to describe. I think for next year's convention I will bring you along with me to San Antonio! And maybe we'll let Dad come along too :) I think he'll have fun too.
I saw a baby today and I was SO jealous - I wish I could have my little baby with me here too!
We'll, I just wanted to let you know I miss you a ton and love you a million. I can't wait to see you Wednesday! (Although, it feels like an eternity from now).
LOVE,
Mommy
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Friday, December 3, 2010
Not Just a Smile
A girl smiled at me on the bus. I didn’t know her but that didn’t stop her.
I had climbed onto the city bus after another long and exhausting day. It wasn’t until after my aged legs dropped me into an empty seat that I noticed her. If I had seen her sooner I probably would have kept walking just to avoid the inevitable uncomfortable bus ride. We were sitting in the center section of the bus. The seats there were backed against the windows forcing the passengers to face each other. I sat across from the young girl and tried to avoid eye contact with her.
Her uniqueness became more apparent from my fleeting glances. I made sure not to stare at her. Her life must have been hard enough already without some strange man staring at her on the bus. Besides, I feared she might start talking to me if we made eye contact and I didn’t know what to say to her. Her height was below average and that allowed her to swing her legs forwards and back without touching the floor. Her eyelids were narrowed as if she were squinting at the sun and her lower eyelids looked slightly puffy. She wore a heavy jacket to keep out the biting cold weather and rubber boots with cartoon characters on them. Her boots seemed out of place on a girl who must be old enough to vote.
I did my best to take my mind away from the uncommon individual in front of me. I ended up focusing my attention on an adolescent boy farther back in the bus who was receiving a talking-to by what appeared to be his mother. He slouched in his seat and carried a despondent, disconnected look on his face as he stared blankly at the seatback in front of him. As he received his mother’s lecture he tossed a soccer ball from hand to hand. When the bus hit a large pothole he dropped the ball. It bounced down the aisle toward us and the girl sitting across from me giggled and caught the ball as if we were in an impromptu soccer match. As the boy retrieved the ball he glanced at her as if to say thanks. He hesitated when he began to take in her countenance and she smiled bashfully back at him. I willed him to return to his seat to not make the girl feel uncomfortable. He managed to express his gratitude and the girl said, ‘You’re welcome,’ with a slight lisp. I watched the boy return to his seat and, remarkably, he now wore a smile and sat upright as his mother lectured him on why he shouldn’t toss his ball on the bus.
Mercifully we eventually reached my destination. I tried not to seem too eager to leave as the doors opened and the cold night air spilled in. My body protested as I made my way towards the source of the frigid air that was lapping at my ankles and quickly moving higher. I considered the girl as I waited my turn to exit and was grateful I had managed to avoid an awkward conversation. Just as soon as the double doors swung shut behind me I heard them reopen and the young girl called to me from the steps.
When I turned to her I noticed she was holding out my briefcase. In my hurry to vacate the bus I had forgotten it. As my hand closed around the handle I let my guard down and looked directly at her for the first time. It was then that I noticed the girl’s dark hair which fell pleasantly on her shoulders before cascading down her back. When I noticed she was smiling at me I froze with my arm outstretched. Her smile began at her mouth and I followed it up her cheeks and ultimately to her eyes. She smiled with her entire face and wore it proudly. I smiled awkwardly back at her and she amped up her smile in return. I tried to thank her but the words got caught in my throat. She said to me, ‘You’re welcome. But, next time you see me on the bus will you talk to me? I get lonely on the bus and sometimes people won’t talk to me.’
I responded with something inappropriate like, ‘uh sure.’ As the bus drove off I reevaluated my perception of the girl and wondered who wouldn’t want to talk to such a pleasant person as her. As I left the bus stop I didn’t notice the frigid air or my aching bones any more. I only thought about the girl that smiled at me on the bus and for the first time that day I was wearing a smile too.
**I wrote this story for my creative writing class. It was inspired by my Lilly Pad. Every one of her smiles puts a smile on my face.
I had climbed onto the city bus after another long and exhausting day. It wasn’t until after my aged legs dropped me into an empty seat that I noticed her. If I had seen her sooner I probably would have kept walking just to avoid the inevitable uncomfortable bus ride. We were sitting in the center section of the bus. The seats there were backed against the windows forcing the passengers to face each other. I sat across from the young girl and tried to avoid eye contact with her.
Her uniqueness became more apparent from my fleeting glances. I made sure not to stare at her. Her life must have been hard enough already without some strange man staring at her on the bus. Besides, I feared she might start talking to me if we made eye contact and I didn’t know what to say to her. Her height was below average and that allowed her to swing her legs forwards and back without touching the floor. Her eyelids were narrowed as if she were squinting at the sun and her lower eyelids looked slightly puffy. She wore a heavy jacket to keep out the biting cold weather and rubber boots with cartoon characters on them. Her boots seemed out of place on a girl who must be old enough to vote.
I did my best to take my mind away from the uncommon individual in front of me. I ended up focusing my attention on an adolescent boy farther back in the bus who was receiving a talking-to by what appeared to be his mother. He slouched in his seat and carried a despondent, disconnected look on his face as he stared blankly at the seatback in front of him. As he received his mother’s lecture he tossed a soccer ball from hand to hand. When the bus hit a large pothole he dropped the ball. It bounced down the aisle toward us and the girl sitting across from me giggled and caught the ball as if we were in an impromptu soccer match. As the boy retrieved the ball he glanced at her as if to say thanks. He hesitated when he began to take in her countenance and she smiled bashfully back at him. I willed him to return to his seat to not make the girl feel uncomfortable. He managed to express his gratitude and the girl said, ‘You’re welcome,’ with a slight lisp. I watched the boy return to his seat and, remarkably, he now wore a smile and sat upright as his mother lectured him on why he shouldn’t toss his ball on the bus.
Mercifully we eventually reached my destination. I tried not to seem too eager to leave as the doors opened and the cold night air spilled in. My body protested as I made my way towards the source of the frigid air that was lapping at my ankles and quickly moving higher. I considered the girl as I waited my turn to exit and was grateful I had managed to avoid an awkward conversation. Just as soon as the double doors swung shut behind me I heard them reopen and the young girl called to me from the steps.
When I turned to her I noticed she was holding out my briefcase. In my hurry to vacate the bus I had forgotten it. As my hand closed around the handle I let my guard down and looked directly at her for the first time. It was then that I noticed the girl’s dark hair which fell pleasantly on her shoulders before cascading down her back. When I noticed she was smiling at me I froze with my arm outstretched. Her smile began at her mouth and I followed it up her cheeks and ultimately to her eyes. She smiled with her entire face and wore it proudly. I smiled awkwardly back at her and she amped up her smile in return. I tried to thank her but the words got caught in my throat. She said to me, ‘You’re welcome. But, next time you see me on the bus will you talk to me? I get lonely on the bus and sometimes people won’t talk to me.’
I responded with something inappropriate like, ‘uh sure.’ As the bus drove off I reevaluated my perception of the girl and wondered who wouldn’t want to talk to such a pleasant person as her. As I left the bus stop I didn’t notice the frigid air or my aching bones any more. I only thought about the girl that smiled at me on the bus and for the first time that day I was wearing a smile too.
**I wrote this story for my creative writing class. It was inspired by my Lilly Pad. Every one of her smiles puts a smile on my face.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Thanksgiving Weekend
First let me apologize, there are no actual "thanksgiving" pictures. I guess we were too busy eating to take proper pictures!!!
Well, Thanksgiving weekend started last Sunday for us. We celebrated the Jones Thanksgiving over at Rachel and Doug's house last Sunday. It was potluck and all the food was delicious! We had ham and turkey and all the wonderful sides and deserts. MMMMMmmmmm.
We also raided Katie's drawer for some cute christmas-y clothes. We happened to find these cute socks with drawn on shoes. They remind me of the tuxedo shirts! The colors are all totally clashing, but hey Lilly can pull it off!
Here she looks all Rastafari'd out.
Then Thursday, actual Thanksgiving day, we celebrated the Muniz Thanksgiving. This dinner was small but just as tasty! I got a chance to spend some good time with Isabel and Olivia. They are getting sooo BIG! Olivia just started crawling, and she is barely 6 months old!! She's way too advanced!
Also, I didn't want Lilly to miss out on the one day everyone is allowed to stuff their face so we introduced oatmeal cereal for the first time!! She did GREAT! She ate a few spoonfuls. We've been feeding her once a day since. She makes funny faces at us (she thinks we're crazy) but she eats a little bit every day now. So much fun!
Saturday was Lilly's 4 month birthday! Hurray! She has changed so much in the last couple of weeks. She is very good at holding her head now. She rolls onto her side all the time now. She blows raspberries all the time. She is eating baby cereal now. And best of all, Saturday she got her very FIRST christmas tree!!!
Christmas tree, oh christmas tree...
Gymnastics
Yum yum
Overall, the weekend was wonderful and quite relaxing. I loooooved having a long weekend, it was just great! Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Oh wait, we did get one picture of someone else during turkey day......
Well, Thanksgiving weekend started last Sunday for us. We celebrated the Jones Thanksgiving over at Rachel and Doug's house last Sunday. It was potluck and all the food was delicious! We had ham and turkey and all the wonderful sides and deserts. MMMMMmmmmm.
We also raided Katie's drawer for some cute christmas-y clothes. We happened to find these cute socks with drawn on shoes. They remind me of the tuxedo shirts! The colors are all totally clashing, but hey Lilly can pull it off!
Here she looks all Rastafari'd out.
Then Thursday, actual Thanksgiving day, we celebrated the Muniz Thanksgiving. This dinner was small but just as tasty! I got a chance to spend some good time with Isabel and Olivia. They are getting sooo BIG! Olivia just started crawling, and she is barely 6 months old!! She's way too advanced!
Also, I didn't want Lilly to miss out on the one day everyone is allowed to stuff their face so we introduced oatmeal cereal for the first time!! She did GREAT! She ate a few spoonfuls. We've been feeding her once a day since. She makes funny faces at us (she thinks we're crazy) but she eats a little bit every day now. So much fun!
Saturday was Lilly's 4 month birthday! Hurray! She has changed so much in the last couple of weeks. She is very good at holding her head now. She rolls onto her side all the time now. She blows raspberries all the time. She is eating baby cereal now. And best of all, Saturday she got her very FIRST christmas tree!!!
Christmas tree, oh christmas tree...
Gymnastics
Yum yum
Overall, the weekend was wonderful and quite relaxing. I loooooved having a long weekend, it was just great! Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Oh wait, we did get one picture of someone else during turkey day......
Sunday, November 28, 2010
What a year it has been.
I came home from work one day in November 2009 to find a fleece baby blanket waiting for me. It was my wife’s way of telling me that our lives had changed forever. Neither one of us had a clue just how much our lives were going to change nor what was in store for us in the coming year. Let’s see, it went something like this: Mari gets pregnant, I quit my job and go back to school, my parents separate, an ultrasound reveals a spot on our unborn child’s heart which we’re later told is nothing to be concerned about, our daughter is born, we find out the spot is something to be concerned about, we find out she has Down syndrome, my dad is diagnosed with cancer, the cancer is removed with surgery, Lilly gets a urinary tract infection, we lose one of our dogs, and soon Lilly will be having open heart surgery. I’m sure I’ve left out a few things but that’s what comes to mind.
I have never had a more emotional year in all my life, none even come close. Tears of joy have flowed the same day as tears of hurt and fear of the unknown. I was so scared and worried when Lilly was born I feel like I never got to enjoy being a new Dad. I watch Lilly get out of breath when she drinks out of her bottle and it kills me knowing I can’t make her better. I imagine seeing her just after surgery with tubes and wires attached to her. I imagine watching over her as the anesthesia wears off and she is able to feel the pain of her fresh incision. I can feel her pain as she begins to cry but I can’t hold her because that might cause her more pain. As I imagine that moment, when she needs me more than ever but I can’t help her, I begin to lose it. I am not looking forward to that moment at all.
I just finished watching an episode of MacGyver. It was the final episode. In it, MacGyver finds out he has a son. He told his best friend Pete that he didn’t think he was ready to be a father. Pete let him in on the fact that no one is ever fully prepared. Those words have proven to be so true. I’ve been looking forward to having kids for a very long time. In fact I always thought I’d have several by now. But, I’ve learned that I wasn’t quite as ready as I thought I was. It’s much harder than I anticipated. I love playing with my nieces and nephews but playing with toddlers for an hour or two can be misleading. It’s very taxing when you’re home alone and your own child is screaming until her face turns purple and there’s nothing you can figure out to do other than cry yourself. And what’s worse is Mari says I have to be very gentle with Lilly because she’s more fragile than the other kids so no throwing her around or swinging her around in circles by her ankles. What else is there to do?
With all the ups and downs over the past year Lilly has reassured me that it will all be worth it. A few days ago, Lilly gave out a big chuckle as I was tickling her. I was so caught off guard I wasn’t sure if I’d actually heard right so I tickled her some more and got rewarded with an even bigger laugh. Mari heard it so I know I wasn’t imagining things. Thanks Lilly for making it all worth while and letting me know that as soon as your surgery is over it will be all uphill.
I have never had a more emotional year in all my life, none even come close. Tears of joy have flowed the same day as tears of hurt and fear of the unknown. I was so scared and worried when Lilly was born I feel like I never got to enjoy being a new Dad. I watch Lilly get out of breath when she drinks out of her bottle and it kills me knowing I can’t make her better. I imagine seeing her just after surgery with tubes and wires attached to her. I imagine watching over her as the anesthesia wears off and she is able to feel the pain of her fresh incision. I can feel her pain as she begins to cry but I can’t hold her because that might cause her more pain. As I imagine that moment, when she needs me more than ever but I can’t help her, I begin to lose it. I am not looking forward to that moment at all.
I just finished watching an episode of MacGyver. It was the final episode. In it, MacGyver finds out he has a son. He told his best friend Pete that he didn’t think he was ready to be a father. Pete let him in on the fact that no one is ever fully prepared. Those words have proven to be so true. I’ve been looking forward to having kids for a very long time. In fact I always thought I’d have several by now. But, I’ve learned that I wasn’t quite as ready as I thought I was. It’s much harder than I anticipated. I love playing with my nieces and nephews but playing with toddlers for an hour or two can be misleading. It’s very taxing when you’re home alone and your own child is screaming until her face turns purple and there’s nothing you can figure out to do other than cry yourself. And what’s worse is Mari says I have to be very gentle with Lilly because she’s more fragile than the other kids so no throwing her around or swinging her around in circles by her ankles. What else is there to do?
With all the ups and downs over the past year Lilly has reassured me that it will all be worth it. A few days ago, Lilly gave out a big chuckle as I was tickling her. I was so caught off guard I wasn’t sure if I’d actually heard right so I tickled her some more and got rewarded with an even bigger laugh. Mari heard it so I know I wasn’t imagining things. Thanks Lilly for making it all worth while and letting me know that as soon as your surgery is over it will be all uphill.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Stuff Only I Find Funny
Okay so I was watching Scrubs reruns today. Nobody is going to find these clips as entertaining as I do, but I love it so am gonna share it. The first Scrubs clip also reminded me of one of my favorite clips from the Office. Enjoy.
Horse Hospital
Horse Doctor
And cool side note - Dr. Cox on Scrubs in real life has a son, Max, with Down syndrome.
Horse Hospital
Horse Doctor
And cool side note - Dr. Cox on Scrubs in real life has a son, Max, with Down syndrome.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Accomplishments
So Lilly always steals all the glory. As she should. But I completely forgot to blog about ERIC!
He has been accepted to USC's engineering program!! Hurrahh. He will start this January and hopefully should be done in a year or so!
Okay now time for Lilly to steal back her glory. She can now roll from her back to her side!! She doesn't roll all the way, but hey who wants to be on their stomach anyway? AND, drum roll please..... She laughed for the first time tonight!!!! It was a few giggles, but it was unmistakable!!!! Music to our ears is what it was!
Congrats to Eric and Lilly!
He has been accepted to USC's engineering program!! Hurrahh. He will start this January and hopefully should be done in a year or so!
Okay now time for Lilly to steal back her glory. She can now roll from her back to her side!! She doesn't roll all the way, but hey who wants to be on their stomach anyway? AND, drum roll please..... She laughed for the first time tonight!!!! It was a few giggles, but it was unmistakable!!!! Music to our ears is what it was!
Congrats to Eric and Lilly!
Smile.....
School pictures finally came in!! Place your orders grandmas and grandpas. I have the CD and can make whichever size your heart desires.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
This is new
Check out Lilly's new trick. She's communicating with us but I'm not sure what she's trying to tell us.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
When it rains, it pours...
It has been a whirlwind of a week. It all started Friday night.
Friday night Lilly woke me up around 11:30pm, not crying just very restless. I got her out of bed and tried to feed her. She wasn't very hungry but just a little fussy. I took her temperature. It was 98. She usually sits around 97 - 97.5 in her underarm. So I layed her in bed with us. For the next couple hours she stayed very restless and kept me awake. Around 1:30 am she felt a little warm so I took her temperature again, this time 99. So I went for the Tylenol in hopes of stopping this. She slept for about 30 minutes. Then we went and rocked in the chair. By 3am or so her temperature had climbed to 102! She was on fire and she was panting like a puppy. So around 5am I finally bugged my dad on what I should do. Of course the answer was more Tylenol! That's always been the answer growing up! So I waited until it was 4 hours apart and gave her more.
Around 8 am (now Saturday) I then call our pediatrics urgent care. By this time her temperature had finally come down. They told us to hang tight unless the temperature came back up. She was fussy all day and I was exhausted from no sleep. Eric did take her for a couple hours in the morning to let me sleep.
Then 2 pm her temperature is creeping up again. I go ahead and give her MORE Tylenol. I texted my dad and he told me to go to the ER. Seeing my dad would never take us to the doctor unless we were dying or had lost a limb when we were kids, I figured that we REALLY needed to go (plus he is an ER doctor himself). At that time her pediatrician had called us back and recommended the same. So we pack up her bag and head down to the Children's ER in Columbia.
We get there and I was surprised at how quickly we were triaged and how quickly they took us in! Her age coupled with her heart condition I think they were eager to rule anything serious out. So we get into the back, and then the torture began. From a medical point of view I completely understand everything they did absolutely had to be done. But from a mom point of view it was really hard. They placed an IV catheter in her hand, passed a urinary catheter, and took some chest x-rays. This took a major toll on her. She had never cried so hard in her entire life. During the IV her lips started turning blue, it was all I could do to hold it together :( The x-rays looked fine and the blood work only showed an elevation in white blood cells. The urine labs were pending. They diagnosed most likely a virus. So we were sent home.
My poor baby was sooo exhausted and her breathing was labored from her poor heart being overworked. I let her sleep in the bed with me all night Saturday and she did okay. Sunday she barely ate anything. She was awake for less than 2 hours and slept the rest of the day.
Monday we headed down to the pediatrician office for a recheck. She was still getting low grade fevers by this point. She had also lost a few ounces over the weekend and was back to her weight from two weeks ago. The urine culture had come back in by Monday and poor thing has a urinary tract infection! They were also concerned about her breathing, so her meds were bumped up.
Now the bad part of this all. Apparantly in children less than 2 years old UTI's are uncommon enough that you have to find a reason for it other than sitting in a sitnky diaper. SOOOO once this infection clears up we have to go back to the Children's Hospital to the radiology department. They will ultrasound and xray her kidneys and bladder to see if there are any problems. The worst part of this visit is she has to get a catheter passed again! I feel soooo bad for her because she did not appreciate it at all the first time around.
Oh it's life I guess.... Currently she is feeling better. Still very tired from the weekend. She got to skip Monday and Tuesday from school. We'll just take it one day at a time I suppose.
For now our happy baby is starting to show her face again!
Friday night Lilly woke me up around 11:30pm, not crying just very restless. I got her out of bed and tried to feed her. She wasn't very hungry but just a little fussy. I took her temperature. It was 98. She usually sits around 97 - 97.5 in her underarm. So I layed her in bed with us. For the next couple hours she stayed very restless and kept me awake. Around 1:30 am she felt a little warm so I took her temperature again, this time 99. So I went for the Tylenol in hopes of stopping this. She slept for about 30 minutes. Then we went and rocked in the chair. By 3am or so her temperature had climbed to 102! She was on fire and she was panting like a puppy. So around 5am I finally bugged my dad on what I should do. Of course the answer was more Tylenol! That's always been the answer growing up! So I waited until it was 4 hours apart and gave her more.
Around 8 am (now Saturday) I then call our pediatrics urgent care. By this time her temperature had finally come down. They told us to hang tight unless the temperature came back up. She was fussy all day and I was exhausted from no sleep. Eric did take her for a couple hours in the morning to let me sleep.
Then 2 pm her temperature is creeping up again. I go ahead and give her MORE Tylenol. I texted my dad and he told me to go to the ER. Seeing my dad would never take us to the doctor unless we were dying or had lost a limb when we were kids, I figured that we REALLY needed to go (plus he is an ER doctor himself). At that time her pediatrician had called us back and recommended the same. So we pack up her bag and head down to the Children's ER in Columbia.
We get there and I was surprised at how quickly we were triaged and how quickly they took us in! Her age coupled with her heart condition I think they were eager to rule anything serious out. So we get into the back, and then the torture began. From a medical point of view I completely understand everything they did absolutely had to be done. But from a mom point of view it was really hard. They placed an IV catheter in her hand, passed a urinary catheter, and took some chest x-rays. This took a major toll on her. She had never cried so hard in her entire life. During the IV her lips started turning blue, it was all I could do to hold it together :( The x-rays looked fine and the blood work only showed an elevation in white blood cells. The urine labs were pending. They diagnosed most likely a virus. So we were sent home.
My poor baby was sooo exhausted and her breathing was labored from her poor heart being overworked. I let her sleep in the bed with me all night Saturday and she did okay. Sunday she barely ate anything. She was awake for less than 2 hours and slept the rest of the day.
Monday we headed down to the pediatrician office for a recheck. She was still getting low grade fevers by this point. She had also lost a few ounces over the weekend and was back to her weight from two weeks ago. The urine culture had come back in by Monday and poor thing has a urinary tract infection! They were also concerned about her breathing, so her meds were bumped up.
Now the bad part of this all. Apparantly in children less than 2 years old UTI's are uncommon enough that you have to find a reason for it other than sitting in a sitnky diaper. SOOOO once this infection clears up we have to go back to the Children's Hospital to the radiology department. They will ultrasound and xray her kidneys and bladder to see if there are any problems. The worst part of this visit is she has to get a catheter passed again! I feel soooo bad for her because she did not appreciate it at all the first time around.
Oh it's life I guess.... Currently she is feeling better. Still very tired from the weekend. She got to skip Monday and Tuesday from school. We'll just take it one day at a time I suppose.
For now our happy baby is starting to show her face again!
Monday, November 15, 2010
My Friend
I first laid eyes on her when she was just 2 months old. She was sitting in a crate at the airport and looked frightened. I had wanted a bearded collie for so long and finally I was meeting my puppy! We got her outside and let her out of the crate. She was so outgoing, friendly and sweet; I was instantly in love. Her name was Charlotte and it was the end of my 9th grade year.
Michael was only 6 months old when I got my precious puppy. My parents were smart getting her that summer. Every morning she woke me up around 5:30 am for her breakfast and to go out. Like clockwork Michael would always wake up about a half hour later. I would go fetch him out of his crib, change his diaper and feed him a bottle. That is how the rest of my summer went and that is how my mom got to sleep in every day!
Charlotte was great with Michael. She shared her chew toys with him and was happy to let him share her cage.
Over the next year she grew into a gangly shaggy dog. It took a couple years for her full coat to come in. When it did she was quite beautiful.
She also grew up to be one of the most mischievous dogs known to mankind. She could raid a trash can in record shattering speeds. She would steal food right off the counter too. I have lost count how many breakfasts were lost to her.
She was a smart dog too. Too smart was the problem. She learned all sorts of tricks- good and bad. She learned her commands but those were too boring so I taught her to do them using sign language. Sign language that I made up that is. She could sit, stay, come, lay down, and speak without me ever uttering a word! Oh and that speak command. She taught me to never ever teach that to another dog! She would speak at any given moment in hopes of getting a treat, oh what a pain.
Although she was too smart for her own good and naughty as can be, she was a good dog. She was always at my heels. If I left the room she followed; she was my dog.
She was kind. Especially with children. She was so soft and gentle around babies and little kids. The little baby next door would crawl to her, grab her hair, and pull himself to the standing position. I know it hurt to have her hair yanked like that, but she watched him like an old grandmother and helped him stand.
I always referred to her as a sorority type girl. So social and outgoing. She was everyones friend. Charlotte never knew a stranger. I always joked that she would let the burglars in, if given the chance, and help them carry the stereo out.
Eventually I had to go to college. My first year I had to stay in the dorm, so I had to leave my dog at home. It was a long year. She had a bit of separation anxiety. When I was gone she would chew things up and misbehave. My second year I moved into an apartment and from then on she was forever by my side. She watched me graduate high school and go to Clemson. She was there when I got my acceptance letter to Georgia. She was dragged along with me to vet school. Not once did she complain about the irregularity in her life; she just followed along happily and wagged her tail.
Looking back I realize that Charlotte was my home away from home all that time. My life was always changing but at the end of the day there was always the same old Charlotte waiting for me.
I eventually started dating Eric and she happily accepted him. She and Eric knew who came first! Eric quickly learned that Charlotte was part of the package; it was all or nothing. He even nicknamed her Charlittle. It was through Charlittle that Eric learned about the bond between a person and their dog. My first year in vet school he looked at me one day and told me he wanted a dog. He knew Charlotte would never be 'his' dog. He wanted a dog that would be 'his' dog - what he wanted was the bond that we shared. Because of that Rocky came into our lives and quickly became 'his' dog. Eric then learned what it is like to have a dog. Thank you Charlotte for showing him that.
The years have flown by. My Charlotte has gotten old. She's been like a cat with nine lives. She's been kicked by a horse, she gone through two surgeries to remove inedible objects from her stomach, and she's even had a couple knee surgeries. In the end its taken a toll on her. She's spent the last couple years just sleeping her days away. She quit chasing Rocky long ago and has no longer been able to go on walks with us. Her body has gotten old and painful. It has pained me terribly to see her go through this over the last year especially. It has been incredibly hard to make the decision as to when enough is enough. I will never know if my decision was right for her and that is what hurts me the most. Was it too soon, was it too late, was it even the right decision? Only God knows the answer I suppose. I have spent many a time advising other people on making this decision- it's always so easy to help someone else make that decision, but having to ask myself I am filled with incredible doubt. And the answer is - I don't know. I just pray it is right.
Today I layed my beloved friend to rest. All I ask is that God please take care of my friend. Also, God don't turn your back on your breakfast for it will quickly be gone!
April 26, 1997 - November 15, 2010
"I think I could turn and live my life with animals, they are so placid and self contained, I stand and look at them long and long, they do not sweat and whine about their condition, they do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins, they do not make me sick discussing their duty to God, not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the mania of owning things. Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that liveth thousands of years ago, not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole world."
-Walt Whitman
Friday, November 12, 2010
Art Project
So Lilly came home with her very FIRST art project! How exciting! (It's a tree if you can't tell. Her arm is the trunk and her fingers prints are the leaves). I'm so proud of my artist. (ok so maybe it's more like Ms. Chrissy using babies as paintbrushes...)
Nothing as refreshing as a good shower for mom and a bath for baby :) OMG, I think she kinda looks like her dad there!
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
Ready for School
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Just going about our days...
Again, we are slacker bloggers. The Jones Farm has been busy with everyday life.
1. Lilly has finally hit the double digits - she was 10 pounds even at her cardiology appointment last week. What a pip squeek. We are fitting in 0 - 3 month clothes fairly consistently now! The clothes labeled 3 months are still a little big, but we'll get there.
2. We scheduled the appointment with MUSC for Lilly's heart surgery. It is set for Friday, January 21st. We will drive down to Charleston Wednesday night, then show up bright and early for what I hear is 8 hours full of presurgery stuff on Thursday. Cross your fingers we are only there for a week and no longer.
3. Lilly started with her physical therapy 2 weeks ago. She has been having her early intervention appointments, but this is the official PT now. Her physical therapist is great. And she just happens to be one of our clients at the clinic! Small world huh. She is holding her head up pretty good now after just one week of PT! Amazing what happens if someone helps you and tells you what to do! For now she will be getting her PT once a week.
4. We ordered our VERY first "school pictures"!!! How freaking cute! I ordered the CD so I will post up her picture, it's really precious!
5. Work is work. A pain in my butt.
6. I'm officially at my prepregnancy weight and can fit in all my pants. Yeah!
7. Eric is doing his school thing day in day out. I think his grades are pretty good this semester. He got another Deans list for his summer semester.
8. Eric killed a BIG 8 point deer this year with his bow. We have lots of meat in the freezer if anybody is hungry! Big deer = more venison than you ever wanted to eat.
9. Lilly is a thumb and finger sucking fool now. Even though it's early in the morning, it's pure joy to hear her smacking on her hands at 2 am! Also, she bats at her toys now, hurrahhh, major milestone.
That's about it for the Jones Farm. As you can see just about everything revolves around precious little Lilly - just how she likes it.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Amazing Feat of the Week
I just have to share. Lilly has discovered her hands! Which is quite helpful in the car, since she does not enjoy it. It seems to entertain her at least for a little while during the car ride - she just turns her hands over and over and stares at them!
And then now that she has discovered her hands, she has discovered the toys that she has been grabbing onto! I put rings or whatever in her hands and she just thinks it extraordinary!! Here are some pictures, they are fuzzy and dark because they came from my phone, but I just can't help it!
And then now that she has discovered her hands, she has discovered the toys that she has been grabbing onto! I put rings or whatever in her hands and she just thinks it extraordinary!! Here are some pictures, they are fuzzy and dark because they came from my phone, but I just can't help it!
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