December

December has been both a good and bad month. We had to put our St. Bernard Abby down a few weeks ago. She was eleven years old and she lost control of her back legs all of a sudden. She couldn't stand up at all. She wasn't able to get into her dog house or stand up to go the bathroom. I'm not sure if she developed hip dysplasia all of a sudden or if maybe she broke something. She was also breathing heavy. She lived for eleven years which is great for a St. Bernard. It was hard because she's been with us since she was a puppy and Olivia LOVED her. We just explained to her what happened last Sunday. Abby was an outside dog and it's been cold outside so Olivia hadn't been outside to play to see her. Sean told her that Abby had been sick and she went to be with Jesus. It broke my heart because as she was crying she said that she wanted Jesus to bring her back. I still tear up when I think about it. Sean took her out to Abby's kennel and they said a prayer and Olivia turned to Sean and said "it's ok daddy, we'll get a new one". It was cute because she was trying to make him feel better. We probably shouldn't have waited to tell her but it happened before Christmas and then we went home to PA for a week. We leave when it's dark in the morning and get home when it's dark so she hadn't seen Abby recently.

It seems like these things always happen at the worst time. We had to put our other dog Harley down last year the day before we were supposed to leave for vacation in Tennesee. I came home from work and she was suffering. She was dying and I didn't want her to suffer. She was twelve. We are now without any pets and I think we will stay that way for awhile. I think Beau is a little young for a puppy. We talked about getting a smaller dog (Harley was a black lab) and maybe keeping this one in the house when we do. Not too sure about that yet. I always said I would never have a dog in the house again - I can't stand the dog hair.

Christmas was great. Olivia really had fun this year. Both of the kids got a ton of new toys. Our house looks like Toy's R Us. I just finished getting everything put away today. Olivia even got to ride a miniature horse. Our friends Jesse and Shelly and their daughter Alysseia have horses. She had so much fun and it was so nice of them to take her out on Christmas Eve. I missed it because I had to do some last minute shopping. Sean took her but I wish I could have been there after seeing how cute the pictures were.

The week flew by as usual. It's always hard to leave but once we get back to the great weather down here in NC we are fine:)

Baptism

We finally had Beau baptized on Tuesday November 24th. I didn't want to wait until he was 6 months old but we just never had a chance to have it done until now. Beau has gotten so big that the hat that came with his outfit didn't fit. He's already wearing 12 month clothes. He had his 6 month appointment on Monday November 23rd and he weighed 18 lbs. 4 oz. and was 28 inches long which is in the 95th percentile. He got both the seasonal and swine flu shots. He did really well - he only cried for a few seconds.

Thanksgiving was nice. My parents and my brother's family all came down. We had a house full of people. Olivia loved having her cousins here. She doesn't get to see them that often but they always get along really well and she talks about them when we're not together. We all went to Monkey Joe's on Black Friday and then to a park on Saturday.

Beau has had a cold for over two weeks now and he's been sent home from daycare I think three times in that period. He's been throwing up a lot. But he really hasn't been acting "sick". I got a call yesterday that he had puked up his peas everywhere so I took him to the dr. and we are trying baby Zantac for reflux. I've given him three doses now and it seems to be working. He was coughing every few minutes all day long and that has pretty much stopped and he only spit up a little this morning. I just want him to feel better. I probably should have taken him sooner but I hate to be the parent that runs to the dr. for every little thing.

We're going to take Olivia to the Christmas parade on Sunday. They have a school Christmas show on Tuesday night that she's in also. I'm not sure what they are doing but it should be cute.

Halloween at the Campground

We had a great time last weekend at the campground for Halloween. A lot of campers went all out to decorate which I just realized I didn't really get any pictures of for some reason. Olivia ended up wanting to wear her Snow White dress instead of the mermaid one that i had bought her. She was a little scared of the people dressed like witches and one guy that was dressed like a werewolf. The weather ended up nice on Saturday. It was around 70 degrees. Olivia spent probably a total of 3 hours off and on at the jumping pillow. They also did a lot of nice things for the kids. They had a haunted house, a haunted hay ride, pumpkin carving and the trick or treating. We really like it there and that will probably be the place we go to the most since it's only 45 minutes from our house.

The kids daycare also had a party on Friday but Beau wasn't allowed to go in Friday because when I picked him up Thursday he decided to puke EVERYWHERE right in front of the main office. He wasn't sick. I think he just had an upset stomach. They told me that I had to keep him home even though he didn't have a fever. I understand because they are trying to be really careful about the flu. A girl in Olivia's room was sent home this week with the flu. It was nice to spend the day alone with him since I don't get to anymore now that I'm back at work. He was fine.

Sick of being sick

I'm so sick of being sick!! We have all had a cold now for the last month. It seems to go away and then comes right back. I was starting to feel decent again and then I started to get another sore throat last night and now I'm all stuffed up. Seriously... how long can this last??? I guess I shouldn't complain though because it's ONLY a cold. The kids seem to be much better this week too. They still cough every once in awhile but that's about it.

It's also been a week of crappy sleep. Olivia has started to show up in our room between 2-3 am every night. I don't have the energy to fight with her so I've let her get into bed with us which is probably not a good idea. I told her tonight that she needed to stay in her room all night and she said she would so we'll see how that goes. Last night she showed up with just her underwear on. She took off her pj's for some reason.

On Saturday their daycare had a consignment sale and I stopped by with Olivia after her dance class. I was able to get Beau a high chair for $45 - it's a Chico and it's in excellent condition. I also got them a Step 2 car for $25 that looks brand new. Olivia scored a bag of "bling" for $1. It had a bunch of necklaces, bracelets and sunglasses in it. It's the best $1 I've ever spent!! She even shared with Beau - LOVE LOVE LOVE the picture of him in the pink glasses. It makes me laugh every time I look at it.

Beau also started on solid food this week for the first time. He did great. I had daycare start him on cereal yesterday and he loved it and at all of it. I tried peas and applesauce last night. He liked the peas but the applesauce not so much.

He's also getting good with the hand eye control. Can't you tell from where he dropped his binky?

They are having a Halloween party on Friday. Beau is going to be a monster and Olivia is going to be The Little Mermaid. We're also going camping this weekend and they are having trick or treat there too. I'll put up some pictures this weekend.

Swine Flu Shot

Well we have all been sick for like the past three weeks. Luckily it's just been a bad cold with sore throat and cough and not the flu. I have been really worried about the swine flu since both of the kids are in daycare. It hasn't hit their school yet but it's probably just a matter of time before it does. I read the news every day and sometimes I think I shouldn't because it makes me worry. I've just read a lot of stories lately about children dying from the flu or becoming very sick. This story on msnbc was one of them:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33243690/ns/health-swine_flu/

I did take Olivia to get her H1N1 vaccine this week. There's currently only one place in the area that offers it. She does have to go back for a second dose in one month. She hasn't had any side effects and I feel a little better now that she has had it. I'm just nervous about having to wait for Beau but I will be taking him as soon as he turns 6 months. In my opinion the risk of not getting it far outweighs the risks of getting the vaccine. I think I mentioned it in an earlier post but there was also a colleague from the UK whose healthy 14 year old son died from it last month.

Before she had the vaccine, Olivia was sent home twice in the last two weeks with a fever and I did take her to the doctor the second time to make sure she was ok. She had to put on a mask in the waiting room - it was a little big but looked cute.

Beau has been doing great. He is getting so big. He was almost 17 lbs. when I took him for his 4 month visit a couple of weeks ago. I bought him new pajamas yesterday in 12 month size and they fit! He's started to roll over and he loves to suck his thumb while he's sleeping. It's so cute. He's a really good baby. We are very lucky. He sleeps through the night most of the time now so I can't complain. He seems to really like school too. He's just a very happy baby - especially in the morning. He wakes up every day smiling in his hammock. He LOVES Olivia. He'll just stare at her and smile. She's really good with him too and loves to lay in our bed with him every morning while we're getting ready.

Olivia is going to be a mermaid for Halloween. Beau is going to be a monster. We're going to the campground for Halloween. They are doing a lot of activities for the kids and have trick or treating. It should be a lot of fun. We're also going camping tomorrow for the second time. Hopefully the weather is good!

Monkey Joe's

We took Olivia to Monkey Joe's today for the first time. It was a pretty cool place. Same concept as Chuck E. Cheese but with big bouncing playgrounds. Sean, Olivia, Beau and my dad were all wearing their Steeler clothes and the guy at the entrance let us in for free because of that. We spent almost two and a half hours there and didn't spend a cent!

Beau had his 4 month appointment this past week too. He's now 16 lbs. 7 ounces. He is a BIG boy!! He got some shots too which was hard. One minute he was smiling and laughing at the nurses and then they shove the needles in both of his legs and he started screaming. It made me tear up a little. I forgot how hard that was to watch. It didn't take him long to recover though.

I don't have too much to write about today but I just wanted to put up some new pictures because I got some goods ones this weekend. Oh - and I think Beau is going to be a thumbsucker. Just like Uncle Scot:)

September

I haven't posted since August so I thought I would just call this one September. I can't think of a good title tonight for some reason. I just noticed on Facebook that Caity was wondering why it's been so long since I posted some pictures so I thought I should maybe add some recent ones. Sorry!!

Olivia started at her new dance place last Saturday. It's a really nice place - a little more formal than her other one. I didn't get any pictures of her in her class but I took some in the changing room. They turned out kind of neat with the mirrors.

Beau will be 4 months old on Tuesday and he also has his dr. appt. that day also. I think he has to get some more shots. I'm not looking forward to that. He's talking A LOT and he also can roll over now. He's also been drooling like a fiend so I'm pretty sure he'll be getting some teeth any day now.

I never did post about Labor Day weekend but we took our first camping trip with my in-laws then. We bought a camper in July and that was the first time we got to use it. Weekends over the summer were busy with Olivia's dance and I think I was a little hesitant to take Beau while he was so young. They both did great though. My parents are coming down this weekend and we are going to go again. We found a really nice family oriented campground in Asheboro. It takes about 45 minutes to get there which isn't too bad. They have a swimming pool and lots of activities for the kids. They are open year round too.

By the way, the picture of Olivia in the "blue shorts" is actually her wearing Beau's 0-3 month pants. She came out of the room wearing them yesterday saying "look mommy I'm wearing Beau's pants!". She's silly. They actually look like they could be her shorts!