Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet, Give Me Something Good To Eat!

Monkey see, monkey do.

This was first Halloween in years I didn't dress myself up for Halloween. It's a little sad thinking about it now...Well anyways, Doug made up for me...

And in a moment you will see why...


Are you ready?

Then keep scrolling down...

My two little monkey's!

The cutest monkey butts I have ever seen!

My three little (or not so little) monkey's!

This evening we trick or treated around our block (Whitney Dog came along disguised as a squirrel)!---Harrison filled more than half his bucket despite us skipping a house or two in between!

All in all tonight was fun, the costumes were great, we even saw Santa Claus! We can't wait for next year! We are already throwing costume ideas around.

Oh---and before I forget---this morning started out pretty awesome as well. I was laying in bed and I could hear Harrison playing with his musical Sea Horse in his crib and patty caking (and I smelt a faint smell of poop)... After I decided to finally drag myself out of bed...I came around the corner and peered into Harrison room and there he was standing up in his crib. Why is this so awesome? This was the first time he pulled himself up himself---and the look on his face was pure enjoyment. Oh--how these little achievements MELT MY HEART! And too top this off? On Friday morning he started jumping! You know how you see babies in Johnny Jump Ups or other jumping toys hopping all around---having the time of their lives...well until Friday---Harrison would just stand up when he was put in his frogs----ABSOLUTELY no hopping. Different story these days! Tonight he actually tried hopping before I could even get him in his Johnny Jump Up.





And...if you are still reading this post---Here are this years pumpkins!

I carved the skull one... It was simplest of the carving kit. Me, and pumpkins don't always get a long during carving sessions--so to spare some choice words and frustration I opted for EASY.

Doug on the other hand has little better luck with pumpkins...He did the Great Pumpkin from Peanuts. It's pretty awesome!

So, now you are probably wondering why there isn't a third pumpkin for Harrison... Well, you are going to have to talk to what ever creature was eating out pumpkins this year...We started out with 4 pumpkins and ended up with 2...

My goodness...Great achievements, great weekend...Not much more than we could ask for.


We hope you had a wonderful Halloween as well. We are going to enjoy the rest of the evening watch the Great Pumpkin.

11 months and a Future Hunk!

Busy can't describe life these days. With our lives moving at such a fast pace I have to (or try) be an organized planner.

Part of this organization is seeing that things actually get done in a timely matter----I give myself kudos for posting Harrison's 11 month update done earlier this week, so be sure to check that post out below.

Tonight Harrison and I were busily working on his 12 month photos... I have to start early because I have about a million ideas. His first birthday is one month from today.

When Harrison was all done posing for his birthday shoot--- I snapped a few more shots just for fun... He is wearing an adorable FUTURE HUNK Peanuts onesie from Old Navy I picked up a few months back. I snagged a couple of other cute ones that day---so stay tuned for their later debut. OLD NAVY, you ROCK!

RING, RING, RING

 Playing it cool while gabbing with the girls...

Where do I begin? So many girls...so little time.

A couple of things I forgot to mention in my earlier post this week is..

One being that Harrison is becoming a bit shy around new people, he constantly turning to see if either Doug or I am around. He also gets furious with me if I don't pick him up immediately when I get to daycare in the afternoons.

Two being he gets in to everything---I may have mentioned that in the previous post, but it's worth saying again.

Three being that this is third consecutive night Harrison has went to bed at 7 PM.

Four being his feet are finally ticklish!

Five being snuggles. What I mean by snuggles is that Harrison is becoming more snugly, especially after his first morning bottle.

Home Again

Whitney Dog came home this afternoon. We just wish she would have come home in better condition than she left us in.


Despite this, Whitney is doing well. Her right front paw is a little raw from her IV and there is also a 12 inch vertical incision to her belly. It looks painful, but doesn't seem to be bothering her.












Here she is showing it off...

She is also a proud owner of one of these...

I felt bad for her--so this cone didn't last long. She was running in to me, the wall and this actually made Harrison cry for some unknown reason.

Here she is taking over the couch...

Whitney Dog hiding...You can't see me!

Playing Peek-A-Boo with Harrison

It feels so much better to have her back at home.

We want to thank everyone for their prayers and positive thoughts. We would like to especially thank

The flowers are absolutely beautiful!

Thank you Ben and Carolyn (& Abby Dog too)!

Here Kitty Kitty

Tough Stuff

Hope faded away today for our Whitney Dog.


On Monday Whitney was seen at the University of Minnesota. Doug brought her up there alone yesterday because it was too short of notice for me to take off work. She was seen by a specialist and had an ultra sound done that afternoon. Her doctor felt the infection she had was caused by a sponge that had not been removed during her spaying 5 years ago. This is something they see most frequently with her condition and lab results.


This was good news as opposed to what was originally thought that she could have inhaled a foreign object. Inhaling the object may have complicated surgery. Now, the surgery would be far less invasive and no major blood vessels or arteries would be affected which would also lower the risk of blood loss. Another plus...They also said they could clearly see the infection which looked like it was only partially attached to her stomach, but otherwise the rest was not attached to any other organs. Thank goodness....We thought, some good news.


Surgery was scheduled for first thing today. Just after 9 am the surgeon called Doug during the procedure to discuss options. (Options? This was supposed to be a open and close surgery---nothing more). Shortly after surgery started the surgeon quickly discovered that this infection was definitely something more. Looking closer it was attached to her stomach, spleen and intestines. They came to realize the way the infection was attached meant this was in fact not an infection, but a cancerous as originally thought during her first procedure. The part of the mass left from the from the first surgery can not be removed without removing half of her stomach, part of her spleen and part of her intestines. The surgery would be very invasive and the recovery time would be 2-3 weeks. Multiple surgeries may be needed following this. If the surgery was to be performed it would buy Whitney and addition 2-3 months of life.  The surgeon recommended that we don't proceed with the surgery. Our decision? We choose not to.


Samples were taken during the procedure to determine the kind of cancer she has and to help us determine what kind of time frame we can expect for her life expectancy. They believe this is a very aggressive form of cancer.


The first mass that was removed during her her first procedure was most likely cancerous as well is what we were told.


Then why didn't the lab results match this originally?


Most likely the tissue that was tested early on was not a good enough sample. If the sample taken is not a adequate, it can give you a false negative. Which in this case is what had happened.


We are totally crushed. We are angry, sad, frustrated and there is a certain numbness that comes with this.


The house is so lonely without her here. Last night I scooped Harrison out of his high chair and crumbs fell to the floor. I told Harrison Whitney Dog will get them---and I had to correct myself in saying, "If Whitney Dog was here she would have ate these."  This morning was even more lonely without her running in excitement to her food bowl and then scurrying upstairs to distract Harrison during a diaper change. This evening I can't hear Whitney Dog snores (yes, she snores) and watch her chase squirrels in her dreams.


 It's just the simple things.


Doug will be driving back up tomorrow morning to pick Whitney up. They said she handled the procedure well and she was already back up running around.


That's our Whitney Dog.

My friend Estee!

I was lucky enough to get to watch three year old Miss Estee this past Friday.

Harrison (as Estee would say Baby Karrison) was lucky enough to have a playmate for the day.

We spent the day decorating cookies, drawing with chalk, playing ball and just plain enjoying the day.




What day would be complete without a couple of snap shots?

Both Whitney and Estee spying on some squirrels...

Peek-A-Boo!

Tickling Karrison...Oops I mean Harrison!

As a side note....Did you notice my new photo watermark?

I love it!  A special thanks goes out to Harrison's daddy for all his work on it.

Grandma--let me help you...

Harrison was VERY helpful in the Kitchen with Grandma today.




SEE!

Taking cooking lesson's from Grandma.

 Looks, less enthusiastic about this hat...

Quick---nobody is looking. HMMM---What's over here?

And Grandma---you can thank me for not posting your nun pose photo tonight. It was very tempting!

11 Month Update!

Harrison is still a few days shy of 11 months old...but I thought since time allowed I would update the blog tonight with some of Harrison's newest stuff.


Current stats:

Height- 27 1/2 inches is what we guess.

Weight- about 19 lbs (been fluctuating up and down due to him being sick so frequently). BTW---he has been battling yet another cold and horrendous cough for the past week (oh yeah for germs).

Size Wise- wearing mostly 6-9 month size clothing with his little feet still just a size 2.

Newest Skills:

-CRAWLING: Doug and I were just talking about this tonight...We are both pretty sure crawling is improving hourly. This boy takes off and he's gone without looking back! So, you can probably imagine that we are now in baby proofing mode. The dog food/water is locked behind a safety gate, we have re-arranged practically everything in our living room and the newest purchase was a gigantic area rug for our living room tonight. We have hard wood floors throughout our entire downstairs and I was having visions of Harrison hitting his head of the floor, stitches, and all things of that sort.

-STANDING-UP: Harrison has loved to stand up since he was about 3 months old (not kidding). Things haven't changed. If he isn't crawling he is trying to pull himself up to the couch, coffee table, on Whitney, on us...it doesn't really matter, as long as he getting to whatever he wants to get into. 

This DEFIANTLY not the end of baby proofing. And for all you experienced parents, we are willing to take ANY advice.

OTHER STUFF:

-FEAR: Thus far, Harrison hasn't had any separation anxiety, but rather a fear of the dark. The fear is only present when he is moving in the dark. Say, we go for an evening walk (and with MN climate, it gets dark early these days) and we are pushing him in his stroller at dusk/dark---he will whine in protest during the WHOLE entire walk. At first we thought it was a fluke---but over the coarse of the last two weeks, we are pretty sure this is no fluke.  

-NO: Ahhh I would like to say that teaching Harrison the meaning of NO is going well, but like any other male, listening is quite selective. What a positive trait daddy passed down to Harrison.

-COMMUNICATION: Harrison does a super job communicating he is unhappy or hungry by crying/whining. There is a distinct, "I am HUNGRY," cry. There is the, I am hurt/sad cry," and there is the unhappy/bored "Whine." Other than this Harrison does not usually make the traditional ba ba, da da, ma ma sounds that a majority of babies make. This has been a concern of mine for several months until his hearing was re-checked and that appointment checked out well. The doctor just believes that Harrison maybe taking more after his dad who tends not to be "talkative." Just last week I sent back a survey to the Winona County Follow Me Program. The PHN overseeing the surveys we send in, sent us a letter last week in reference to Harrison scoring low in communication and will be contacting us this week to discuss this matter further. For us as parents, we have came to accept what communication he has now, after all, no single baby is the same as the next. He knows his name, he responds to us in appropriate ways, etc. We have no real concerns with this. Harrison is now at the age (corrected) where he can start to understand baby signing. At daycare, signing is something they strive with infants. At home, this is something we will be working on as well.

-PROBLEM SOLVING: Doug and I watch Harrison in aww and he is learning to trouble shoot "problems." A great example is when he is standing, holding on to the coffee table, he is trying to figure out how to get from the coffee table to a new desired destination.

-TEETHING: It's pretty non-existent around here. EVERYONE (even STRANGERS) look at Harrison and say, "with all the drool, he must be teething." I guess maybe he is teething.... it's just taking a REALLY REALLY long time for them to come in. Doug and I are taking bets if Harrison will have at least 1 tooth by his first birthday. I say not, and Doug doesn't think Harrison will ever get tooth.

You know---Doug maybe on to something though.

Just today we were out at Grandma and Grandpa Nelson's. I was sitting on the sofa and Doug and Grandpa were out in the yard shooting a BB gun at beer cans. Exciting stuff right? Well anyways I was looking out the window at them and Harrison was playing on the floor when suddenly I felt chomp and pain throbbing from my pinky toe. That's right, Harrison bite my toe! And with all gums you wouldn't think this would be painful, you are wrong! Seriously---those gums have some serious power. This is maybe why he can chomp down oyster crackers, biscuits, Cheerios, and fruit loops with an ounce of hesitation.

-GOODBYE SWING & BOUNCERS: Now that Harrison is mobile, he has no interest in bouncers or his baby swing. Tonight they were disassembled and boxed up for storage. Lately I have been doing a lot better accepting Harrison is growing up (if you can remember I used to sob putting his clothes in totes as he out grew them). But, something got to me tonight and it was simply hard to put this stuff aside. I am sometimes stuck on wanting to keep Harrison a baby (not forever, but at least a little longer).



-BIRTHDAY PARTY: Oh my goodness...ONE? Really? Really.

Reminder to ALL---Party: November 20th, 1 PM @ Grandma and Grandpa Nelson's. The invites just came in last week!





All of this just skims the surface of changes this month.

Certainly photos will follow as well as updates on accomplishments throughout the month---(Check back for new stuff soon!) 

Vote for Harrison!

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gapcastingcall.com%2F&h=4ef5e

Harrison...star of Baby Gap?

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gapcastingcall.com%2F&h=4ef5e

More than just a dog...

FAMILY.


For those that know Doug and I well, you also know that Whitney Dog is more than just a dog, she is a family member.


Whitney will be undergoing surgery at the U of M hopefully fairly soon.  If you have been keeping up with the blog, I had mentioned this about a week ago when we got her lab results back diagnosing her mass as a severe infection. We have an appt. scheduled for Monday for her first initial exam and surgery will follow next week or the following week most likely.


I can now clarify a little more about her condition since more lab testing came in late last week. If you feel like googling it, the technical name is peritonitis. This infection Whitney has most likely been caused by her inhaling a burr, or a twig of some type or another foreign object. Once this object got inhaled into her lungs it was released into her body. Her body sees this object as a foreign invader and an infection grows and spreads at a rapid rate. There is a chance in Whitney's first surgery that object may have been removed, but there is still infection present in her abdomen and chest cavity. If this infection isn't removed, she would only have months to live.


As your probably know, this surgery will not be inexpensive. It's in the thousands of dollar range. The veterinarian asked us if we would like to go a head and begin treatment at the U of M. It took Doug and I, no more than a minute to say---absolutely. Some people have questioned our decision which saddens me, because they will never understand the impact Whitney has has on our life, she is a part of our family. I could say this a million times, SHE IS MORE THAN JUST A DOG.


Maybe this isn't the best time for this to all to happen, if there is ever a right time. But we are going to do what we have done all along... Take life as it is given to us and do the best we can do.


Whitney has been a part of our family for more than 5 years and a lot has changed in 5 years. The stuff that hasn't changed is our love for her. Every morning is like Christmas for Whitney---she runs down the stairs wags her tail, spins in circles all to just go outside and go potty. In the mean time, her food bowl magically fills up with food. She spends endless hours trying to rip the fur off of her squeaker tennis balls and chasing Sammy kitty around the house.


Something that I should have blogged about long ago was how Whitney was a comfort for both Doug and I when Harrison was born. She was someone we could talk when we both didn't know what to say. All we had to do is cuddle up to Whitney and for a moment there was a sense of calmness.


Now for the past 9 months, she has been the kindest, gentlest companion for Harrison.


The future is always unknown. We just hope and pray that Whitney can be a part of our lives for the years to come.


Please keep Whitney and Our Family in your prayers.

Naked Pumpkins

Did you ever notice that pumpkins never wear any clothes? Nope, they don't and thousands of people walk right by them and never give it a second thought.


So if pumpkins can freely lounge in their birthday suits, so can Harrison.

Escaping from the photo shoot!

This is all I can get posted for the night. So much changes daily or even hourly.

Be sure to check back for an 11 month update next week--- (YIKES that means 1month shy of 1).

 I am heading to bed for a decent night sleep. 3 year old Estee is coming over to spend the day with Harrison and I tomorrow, while her mom suffers shopping in the Dells! We will be having fun, we hope you will be too!

A Typical Wednesday Night...

I am officially typing this blog entry from our brand new lap top, which will be getting serviced for it's first time in the next couple of days. The CD/DVD drive won't read CDs.  Ummmm...This is very important for getting my editing software on the new lap top. I guess we just can't win with technology.

Now back to Harrison!

Last night I captured some pretty cute photos of him during dinner. He is in love with baked beans (he ate a half can). It can get pretty messy, but that's not why he is only in a diaper in these photos---they was a explosion prior to dinner that I don't need to go into detail about.

Baked BEANS!!!!

 Sipping like a pro, one handed.

.
Since Harrison was already a complete mess from the beans, I decided to give Harrison the spoon for the first time.

Do you think anything made it in his mouth?

Not too much...:)

You can only imagine the mess after this photo was taken. I would have tried to snap more, but my own hands were covered in baked beans, cereal and pears.

Next stop?

BATH TUB!

This expression is SERIOUSLY cute!

Your not planning on anymore naked shots of me are you?

Take a look at the tuff of hair! It's growing over his ear, but just on one side.

Drying off! This is right before mommy puts lotion on my tummy and I belly laugh all through her rubbing it in!

 Next--- it's off to find the kitty!

 Sammy Kitty are you under there? This is a every night occrance at our house following  pajamas.

The other day I was putting laundry a way in the next room when I heard Harrison whining. I stepped back in the room and all I saw was a little hand peeking out from undernealth his crib, that was it. I have to admit that was pretty darn CUTE!

 Got her tail!!!


And, yes I still love my feet!

Harrison sure loves his puppy dog!




Here is the proof!