November 29th - Thankful for Only One More Day

November 29th - Today I'm thankful for only one more day left in November.  That means after tomorrow I don't have to come up with any more thankfuls!  I have to admit that it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be to do it for a month.  But today.... today I have NOTHING.  I'm in a bad, bah humbug mood and I can't think of one thing to be thankful for today that I haven't already mentioned.  I'm just ready for this day to be over and hopefully I can start fresh tomorrow with a better outlook and a better thankful to end the month on a positive note!  But as far as today, it just isn't happening.

November 28th - Thankful for Lyla's good 18 month check up

November 28th - Today I am thankful that Lyla's check up went well at the doctor's this morning! 

She is 32 1/2 inches tall and weighs 26 pounds!  The doctor checked her ears and said that her tubes are still exactly where they should be and are totally clear.  She got a booster shot plus her flu shot and didn't cry with either one.  She screamed for a second with one but that was it.  She is just so darn grown up!

November 24th, 25th, 26th & 27th Thankfuls

November 24th - Thankful for THANKSGIVING!!

I love Thanksgiving!  I love all the food, I love spending time with my family, I love scanning all the Black Friday ads... I just love the whole thing!  Therefore I am just thankful for the entire day!

November 25th - Thankful for Black Friday

I had absolutely no need to go shopping Friday, but I just couldn't help myself!  I didn't go out until around 11:00 and the only thing I bought were some Christmas lights to put outside, but it was fun to be out and about anyways!  I am thankful for a day that its acceptable to go shopping in your bum clothes and buy random things that you wouldn't ever buy if they weren't a "Black Friday Sale"!

November 26th - Thankful for Cousins

We got to spend the whole day at Gary's Aunt & Uncle's house with all of his cousins.  It was so much fun just watching the different generations enjoying spending time together!  We all live in different places and I love seeing them on the holidays and getting to catch up on their lives.  And Lyla was having so much fun playing with her cousins!

November 27th - Thankful for Christmas Trees

We got home today after a busy weekend away.  We attempted to get our Christmas decorations out and put them up when we got home.  Easier said than done!  I think we sometimes forget that we have to take a lot more time doing things now with our special little helper (Miss Lyla Bean)!  She was so excited to help though!  All we accomplished was the tree and now we are all just pooped.  But its so pretty!  And Lyla kept just looking up at it this evening and clapping her hands!  So proud of our hard work!

Lyla's clump of ornaments...  lol  Notice she just set them there, didn't hang them!

November 23rd - Thankful for Coupons for FREE Stuff

November 23rd - Thankful for Coupons to get FREE Stuff!

Last night Gary went to Walmart where he got a haircut for $10.  When standing at the counter paying, the lady gave him two $10 gift cards for Shutterfly.  They certainly won't go to waste, I order stuff on there ALL.THE.TIME! 

So basically, its like he got paid to get his haircut! 
$10 haircut - $20 gift cards = $10 extra!  hehehe

We recently got a bunch of coupons in the mail from Wendys.  This morning I enjoyed a free coffee and bagel with cream cheese for breakfast, for FREE thanks to my coupon! 

Free Stuff makes me happy!

November 22nd - Thankful for Good Health

November 22nd - Thankful for Good Health

A very close friend of mine (who will remain nameless because its not my place to tell the world about her health issues) has cystic fibrosis.  She is one of the strongest women that I know.  She faces her disease head on and doesn't ever let it get her down.  She had a little bit of a setback recently and I was really worried about her.  But yesterday she went to the doctor and had a good report and I am just so relieved!

In her words "My doctor appointment today was excellent! Praise the Lord! Home for the holidays has a much nicer ring than hospital for the holidays...... Heheh"

This is just her personality in a nutshell!  She has such a positive outlook on her life and her challenges that I feel guilty anytime I am in a bad mood over stupid things.  Or sometimes when I get a cold I think to myself, this is nothing compared to what she deals with on a daily basis.  She chases two kids around all day while keeping a house so clean and tidy that it puts me to shame.  She also cooks three meals for her family on a regular basis, she is not the type to simply order pizza for dinner every night.  She also homeschools her kids.  And in the midst of all of this she does her breathing treatments twice a day, which are pretty time consuming.  And when she wasn't doing well they bumped them up to three times a day.

So today I am thankful for my good health and also thankful for my friend's health that improved yesterday!  I don't so much call hers "good' but I will say I am thankful for her "better" health.

An interesting website on cystic fibrosis if you are interested:  http://www.cff.org/

November 19th, 20th & 21st Thankfuls

November 19th - Thankful for Santa Clause.
We took Lyla to the mall to see Santa arrive.  It was awesome!  First there was the local high school marching band, then Santa came on a fire truck.  We followed him inside where he magically lit the tree in the middle of the little railroad.  Then he danced through the mall with the band playing (imagine a parade inside the mall) and as he went past all the Christmas lights he magically lit them up!  All the way to his seat when he lit that all up and then sat and everyone could sit on his lap.  Gary and I were way in to it, Lyla fell asleep somewhere between the lighting of the first tree and when we got to Santa's set up.  hahaha Too much anticipation I suppose!

November 20th - Thankful for Sweats.
I stayed in my sweatpants and hoodie sweatshirt ALL DAY.  I love being comfy in sweats!  One of the few nice things about the weather turning colder.

November 21st - Thankful for a 3 Day Work Week.
I'm thankful that I only have to get through 3 days this week.  I'm really not motivated today, but knowing we only have 3 days this week definitely helps!

November 18th - Thankful for my video camera on my phone

November 18th - Today I am thankful for the video camera on my phone.  Without it, we would not have this gem from last night!  Enjoy!  The beginning is a little slow and so is the end, but the middle is totally worth it!

November 17th - Thankful that I don't work retail at the moment

November 17th - Today I am thankful that I don't work retail right now and neither does anyone else in my family.  I keep seeing all these signs and ads online about how all the stores are going to be open on Thanksgiving this year.  This just makes me so sad.

Thanksgiving is not a religious holiday.  Its really one of the few holidays that everyone in America agrees on celebrating.  So why can't we just keep it as a holiday?  Instead all the retailers are already focused on Christmas and Christmas shopping and are opening up on Thanksgiving. 

I'm sure that all those employees would much rather be home with their families.  I'm sure they would rather stuff their faces and sit and watch football or play cards or just take a nap!  Thanksgiving is one of my most favorite days of the year and if I had to work I would probably just sit and cry!

November 16th - Thankful for EASY & YUMMY Recipes

November 16th - Today I am thankful for recipes that are easy to make and still taste amazing!

I have two new ones that I made this week for dinner and they are fantastic!  The first is a simple, I mean so so easy crock pot recipe that I found online.  Its so fantastic that I'm sharing it with all of you so you can try it!

Crock Pot Chicken with Black Beans

Ingredients

4-5 boneless chicken breasts
1 15 ounce can black beans
1 15 ounce can corn
1 14-20 ounce jar salsa , any kind
1 8 ounce package cream cheese

Directions

Take 4-5 frozen, yes, frozen, boneless chicken breasts put into crock pot. Add 1 can of black beans, drained, 1 jar of salsa, 1 can of corn drained.  Keep in crock pot on high for about 4-5 hours or until chicken is cooked.

Add 1 package of cream cheese (just throw it on top!) and let sit for about 1/2 hour.

After that I shredded the chicken with a fork and then I served it over rice.  SO GOOD! 

The second recipe one of my best friends, Erin, gave to me.  Its so good that I am going to make it for Christmas dinner this year!

Stuffed Chicken

Ingredients

1 lb of chicken (skinless/boneless)
1 cup of mayo
1 box of chicken stuffing
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
2 cans of cream of chicken soup
1 cup of parm cheese
1 cup of mozzerella cheese
1 box of shells

Directions

Fry up chicken on a skillet. 

Cook shells.

Cook stuffing as you are cooking shells and chicken.

Mix stuffing, mayo, diced chicken, 1/2 of parm cheese and 1/2 of mozz cheese in bowl.

After you've mixed it well, stuff into the shells, stuff them full. 

In a large baking dish, pour in cans of soup, you might need to add a 1/2 can of water so it's not so thick.

After stuffing shells, put them in dish. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top of the shells.  Cover the dish with foil and put in oven for 45 min on 350 degrees. 

I highly reccommend making both of these!  Mmmmmm

November 15th - Thankful for Words with Friends

November 15th - Thankful for Words with Friends

Ok, kind of lame, I know.  I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel on thankfuls today!  But let me explain it out and make it worthy of a thankful post!

For anyone who doesn't know Words with Friends is an app you can download on your phone.  Basically its electronic scrabble.  And I'm addicted to it!  It is seriously so much fun!  I have been playing like mad every night when Lyla goes to sleep.

I'm thankful for it because it gives me another way to connect to my friends.  I'm thankful for it because its something I can beat Gary at!  I'm thankful for it because it makes my brain work more than just watching tv in the evenings.

So if you want to play with me, download the app and look me up!  Screenname:  katie burge

November 12th, 13th & 14th Thankfuls

November 12th - I am thankful for a WVU win.  A win puts my husband in a much better mood for the weekend! 

November 13th - I am thankful for do it yourself hair dye and a husband who is willing to dye my hair for me!  It saves me a ton of money!

November 14th - I am thankful for coffee.  Lyla refused to go to sleep in her bed last night.  She ended up sleeping with us which means none of us had a good nights sleep.  So today I am thankful for coffee and lots of it!

Archive of my original blog

The following are all the blog posts from my original blog that I had on another website and began at the beginning of 2011.  I'm just reposting them here so I can keep them and not lose them to the internet blackhole of doom...  :)

Happy New Year
1/6/2011

January 3rd, 2011 - 7 months old and so many changes!

Welcome to 2011!  Lyla is already 7 months old!  I can hardly believe it! 

As most of you know, she has been having trouble with ear infections.  We met with a specialist and she is scheduled to get tubes put in on January 19th. 

In other more fun and exciting news, she crawls now!  She crawls fast and with a purpose!  She couldn't wait to get down the hallway when Gary got home from work yesterday just to say hi to daddy!  She also loves to chase Clarkie around which he isn't such a fan of!  Maybe this will help him lose some weight finally! 

She has a really good appetite now too!  We have been feeding her all kinds of baby food and now she eats yogurt too.  We also like to let her try different foods we are eating.  French fries were a hit... but really who doesn't love a french fry???

Before and After
1/7/2011

Amazing what a difference 6 months make!

Before

After



I just came across these two pictures of Dad and Lyla.  They are sitting in almost the same exact position in both pictures and its fun to see the time lapse!

The first one was taken on Lyla's first trip to the country!  Her first of many visits to Grandma & Pap's house!  I think she was 2 weeks old at the time.

The second was taken Christmas morning.  Obviously opening presents is a lot of hard work and the poor little thing was exhausted!

 ~My Little Monkey~
1/12/2011

Growing up way too fast...

She loves her Pooh!

Hello, I'm just planning my escape!

Totally flat on her feet and peering over the side... The mattress is on the lowest setting!



Miss Lyla had a really rough week last week.  She just wasn't herself at all.  I think the combination of going back to daycare after being home with mom and dad for almost two weeks and working on her third tooth had just really thrown her for a loop.
Well things are totally back to normal!
I took these pictures when I was putting laundry away in her room after work today.  Right before Christmas she figured out how to pull herself up in her crib.  We immediately lowered her mattress to the lowest setting.  And I discovered tonight she can still reach the top!  I'm just hoping she doesn't get super muscles and start catapulting over the top like a gymnast!  She might be moving on to a toddler bed sooner than we had anticipated!
Its really amazing to me how fast she is growing and changing!  Its true that you don't understand it until you have a child of your own.  It always seemed so cliche when people said their kids grew so fast or that time moved faster after having kids, but I get it now!  I really get it now!

Quick Update!
1/16/2011

Highlights of the last few days: It snowed & the Steelers beat the Ravens!

Daddy's Girl - On their way to daycare in the snow on Wednesday.

:)

Lazy Saturday Morning with Mommy

Loving on our friends dog Maize!

Mom never gets out the right toys... haha



Surgery being postponed

1/17/2011



Sooo... The site doesn't allow me to do a blog entry without any pictures. Therefore, some oldies for your viewing pleasure!! hahaha

I just wanted to let everyone know that Lyla's surgery that was scheduled for this Wednesday is going to be rescheduled.  She came down with a cold and we had her at her pediatrician's office this morning and its a viral infection.  Therefore we can't do the surgery until she is feeling better.  I called to get it rescheduled and the ENT office is closed due to it being Martin Luther King Day today.  I will have to call again tomorrow and I will let everyone know the update as soon as I can.

In the meantime, sleep is nonexistent in the Burge household!  So if you talk to Gary or myself and we seem a little, how do I put this, cranky, don't take it personally!  We are barely hanging on this morning! 

A Day Full of Highs & Lows
1/19/2011

Surgery Rescheduled for January 31st

Bath time! I hope those big blue eyes stay big blue eyes!

My supposed to be really good turned totally disgusting dinner.

So sleepy last night passed out on Daddy.



Let's start with today's highs:

• I was able to get Lyla's surgery for her tubes rescheduled for Monday, January 31st.  And now the surgery will be at Children's hospital which is actually closer to where we live!
• I was able to get her earplugs in easily and they stayed in the whole length of her bath! I doubt anyone but Gary understands what a triumph that is!
• It's 7:30 in the evening and she is asleep IN HER CRIB!  This is huge!  The last few days she hasn't been able to sleep unless somebody is holding her.
• I got an unexpected - absolutely chaotic - WONDERFUL - phone call from Karla today!  I miss her and can't wait to see her in a couple of weeks!

And now the lows:

• I started dinner in the crock pot this morning.  I HATE to cook.  And when I came home at lunchtime it was completely ruined.  Blah.
• Well now that I'm trying to list them that's my only low.... SO I guess it wasn't such a bad day after all! 

Wedding Dress Rejects
1/23/2011

I went dress shopping with Em yesterday! So much fun! This is the reject pile!

Reject #1

Reject #2



Its been such a crazy, exhausting, not always good kind of week.  But it was so great to start the weekend with wedding dress shopping for Em!  These are two of the reject dresses and she looks beautiful in both!  You can all only imagine how great the dress she picked looks!  Obviously I'm not posting pictures of that one, it has to be saved for the big reveal!  hahaha
We also picked out our bridesmaid dresses.  I'm REALLY excited about mine!  And it has pockets!  What a fun feature!  I told Em I can hold Gerald's ring in one pocket and tissues for when I start crying in the other.  She doesn't understand why I would cry.  She didn't cry when I got married.  I told her being a big sister is just a little different!  I'm so proud of her and it just gets me a little choked up when I think about her being a wife.  Being a wife gives the impression that she is all grown up.  Its hard for me to accept that!  Heck its hard for me to accept that she can drive!  When I moved out, I think she had just got her permit.  So in my head she is still that teenager that has no idea what she is doing behind the wheel!  I tend to forget that while I was off getting married myself and starting my own family that she was growing up too.  Sorry, I'm getting all sentimental here!  I will save all this up for my toast at the reception!  haha

Sleeping Beauty
1/27/2011

Sometimes you just need some sleep... no matter where or when!

In mom & dad's bed

On the way home from daycare

On dad's lap in the recliner



So we were always very stern about not bringing Lyla in to bed with us.  Not that there is anything wrong with it, it works great for lots of families, it just wasn't for us.  One of the main reasons being we have a full size bed, there is hardly enough room for Gary and I!  Then when you throw in Lyla, well we are scared of crushing her!

So last week when her cold got worse and she just wasn't sleeping at night, we gave up!  Lyla ended up in our bed with me and Gary went to the floor.  What a good daddy!  And of course she slept great then!  I on the other hand did not, she was beating me up every night! And my arms were actually sore in the morning from holding on to her!  She moves so much in her sleep I had terrible fears of her falling out of our bed!
This story does have a happy ending, Tuesday night we were able to get her back to sleeping in her crib!  YAY!  Not gonna lie, I missed cuddling my hubby all night! 

A Very Fun / Very Busy Saturday!
1/30/2011

Lyla and I had an amazing day full of friends! Poor Gary had to work all day...

Ashley the lifesaver!

Stef with Lyla

This just cracks me up!

Karla must be saying something VERY important! Lyla is paying very close attention!

One picture of three kids = impossible!

Lyla and Nathan (future married couple)!



So just a little rundown of how my day went yesterday!  Lyla and I got up at 4:30 (her idea, NOT mine).  Gary had to be at work at 7:00 for the day.  I had a dentist appointment in the morning so my friend Ashley came and stayed with Lyla for me.  What a lifesaver!  I'm really not sure how I would have taken her with me!  Then I stopped and bought groceries on my way home.  Ashley left and I made some chili.  Then Jim, Karla, Naomi and Nathan got here for a long overdue visit!  It was so much fun getting to see them!  Then I talked to Stef and she just so happen to be in the neighborhood so I told her and Phil and Dylan that they should come and join the party!  So they did!  That was a wonderful surprise to see them yesterday!  By about 5:00 everyone had gone home and Gary didn't get home until around 8:00. So he literally missed it all!  It was such a fun day though!  We needed a fun day filled with friends!
For anyone I haven't had a chance to talk to everything is still on for Lyla's surgery tomorrow.  I took her to the pediatrician Friday just to get checked and make sure she was healthy enough and she is.  We are to arrive at Childrens at 7:30 Monday morning and the tubes should be put in around 9:00.  I'm told its a very routine and quick procedure.  Still if you have some extra thoughts and prayers it couldn't hurt to send them her way!  ;)
I will try to do another blog post tomorrow post surgery to let everyone know how it went.  If I don't get to, watch your email, it might be simpler for me to send a mass email to everyone.

Good As New
1/31/2011

Surgery went wonderfully! She did GREAT! And of course all the nurses were fighting over her!

In her little hospital gown

She was going crazy trying to get the bracelet off!

Rotten! :-P

Daddy's little girl

So tough

Little butt hanging out!

Acting Crazy!

Back home - good as new!

You really would never even know she had anything done this morning!

We could not have asked for things to go any smoother!  We got up this morning and the three of us got ready without any issues.  Lyla didn't even mind that she wasn't allowed to eat anything.  We didn't hit any traffic getting to the hospital and got there with plenty of time to spare.

We got her all checked in.  Then they took her back to get weighed and measured and all that.  The nurse was really sweet when measuring her head circumference she said she was just fitting her for her princess crown!  haha

Then they took us back to her little room where they gave her a hospital bracelet that she was going crazy trying to get off! And we changed her in to her little hospital gown.  So cute!  And Lyla acted like a crazy person climbing all over the crib and jumping up and down!  The doctors and nurses met with us to explain everything that was going to happen.  I guess the first patient canceled so she got taken back earlier than they thought she would. 

When we were in the room the anesthesiologist nurse was holding her and Lyla was ok with that.  So we all just walked down the hall together and the nurse carried her.  So when we got to the point of separating ways it was really smooth.  She just went with the nurse and we went to the waiting room.

We were seriously only in there 15 minutes max before the doctor came in and said she was doing great.  And they would come get us when we could come to the recovery room to see her!

When we got to the room she wasn't awake yet but woke up a few minutes after we got there.  She just popped right up like she always does!  They needed her to drink some clear fluids and keep it down before we were allowed to leave.  Sounds easier than it is!  She is only used to drinking formula.  So first we tried watered down apple juice - no go.  Then pedialyte - she didn't want that either.  Then sugar water - and again she wouldn't drink it.  At that point the nurse asked the doctor if we could go home because she was acting totally fine, just didn't want to drink those things.  Luckily they said yes that we could go home!

So we left here about 7:00 this morning and were home by about 10:00!  Pretty smooth!

8 Months Old!
2/4/2011

On Lyla's birthday each month I take a picture of her in the rocker with a sign saying how old she is. Its getting nearly impossible to do! Here is a rundown of the good, the bad and the crazy!

First one I took, she has already destroyed my sign!

Now she tries eating it.

Crumbling it....

Daddy comes in as backup.... You can see how helpful that was!

Hey at least you can see her face and the sign!

She isn't smiling, but she just looks so pretty in this picture! Oh and you can't see the sign either!

Ornery!

Trying to escape...

So I had a great idea after work - tape the sign to the chair... that will help!

Maybe not....

Too cute!

I haven't decided yet which one to keep for the album!  haha

Hair Cuts
2/6/2011

Lets keep it short, Gary got his hair cut yesterday and I'm OBSESSED!!! He looks great!

Before

After

Here We Go Steelers! Here We Go!

2/6/2011

Pittsburghs going to the Super Bowl!

 Waiting on Grandma to give her something to eat!

Helping daddy put things away!

My friend Maria got Lyla the CUTEST little Steelers jersey!  I let her wear it all weekend and you better believe when we win tonight she will be wearing it to daycare tomorrow!

Happy Valentines Day!
2/15/2011

Lyla's special Valentines Day outfit. She almost outgrew it before Valentines Day got here!

Gary got me a dozen roses!

Totally unexpected!

I'm back!
2/15/2011

Sorry for the week long hiatus!

Lyla helping me do her laundry

Hairbrush or oversized toothbrush? You decide!

If this doesn't prove she is Gary's daughter, I don't know what does! Playing with the Wii remote at 8 months old...

Eating, scratch that, PLAYING with raviolis

It was a crazy week and I apologize for not putting up any new pictures!

It started Sunday with the Steelers losing the Super Bowl.  Just a bad way to start the week!  Then Monday night Gary got the flu.  By Thursday I had it.  I was sick all weekend and I'm just now starting to feel human again.

Lyla is doing great though!  The tubes seemed to do the trick and she is really a whole new kid since getting them!  I think she can hear a lot better now.  She has been talking up a storm lately!  Lots of "dadadas" But some other things tossed in every now and then, although hardly ever a "mamamama". 

We are working on starting the transition to more finger foods and less pureed food.  She does really well, I'm mega stressed though!  I'm always convinced she is going to choke and die!  Really positive right??  haha

Well, I'm on my lunch (the only time I could find to fit this in) so I need to wrap this up!  But since we are all starting to feel healthy again, hopefully I can get another post up sooner this time!

Epic Fail....
2/24/2011

So I promised to try and do another post sooner this time and it took me even longer....

Admiring my roses

Both of her grandmas sent her Valentines Day cards. Mom told me I had to let her open them and she ate them and almost paper cut her face! Not the best move I ever made! Auntie Em claims she sent her a card too, but we haven't seen it yet... haha

Diana came to visit over the weekend.

So, here is a little Burge family update:

Last week seems like a complete blur!  I'm trying to remember why I was so busy I couldn't post and I can't even come up with anything!

Friday night we went and looked at a house and really liked it.  Sunday we went to look at it again and decided we wanted to place an offer.  We did that last night and they countered today with a response that we didn't appreciate so we just stuck with our original offer.  We haven't heard anything back yet but I'm assuming its not what they wanted to hear.  But I'm glad that we didn't go along with something that we aren't comfortable with even though it means we are still stuck in this stupid apartment.  I will keep you all posted if there are any changes.

Diana came up last weekend and we had a nice visit.  We hadn't got to see her since Christmas so she was really surprised at how much Lyla has changed since then!

This weekend is going to be really busy starting with Lyla's follow up visit with her ear doctor Friday afternoon.  I am pretty sure that it will all go smoothly.  I think they will look in her ears and also do a hearing test.  I will update you all on how that goes as well.

I wish I were in a better mood with a more upbeat post but I'm just not feeling it tonight.  I did want to make sure I put up some new pictures though while I had a couple minutes.

P.S:  We took some super cute naked baby pictures that I would love to post but the internet police will come after me and take them down...  :-(   Therefore everyone will just have to come visit and see the naked baby for yourself!  haha

Oh Auntie Em... You are such a silly goose!
2/26/2011

So Em sent Lyla a Valentines Day card. After a week and a half we still hadn't received it. She swears she put the right address and postage. She even used a freedom (forever) stamp! Then she said she didn't put a return address on it.

I get this card in my mailbox Wednesday. Geee, I wonder what they could be holding for me at the post office that needs 20 cents?!?!?!

So I think I'm a genius and tape two dimes to the card and sign the back!

I put it up with the outgoing mail at the apartment hoping the mailman would take it and bring me the card. No luck! He just put the card, with the dimes, back in my mailbox!

So let the adventure begin! I had to google directions to the post office! I've only lived here 5 years and never had to find the post office! I found it all right... totally ghetto!

But luckily I made it out successfully with card in hand and without getting shot!

I waited for Lyla to get home so she could open it on her own!

She was very excited!

A special card all her own!

It tasted great!

And made a wonderful hat!

Thank you so much Auntie Em and Uncle G for the special Valentines Day card!  Love, Lylabean!

WE GOT THE HOUSE!!
2/27/2011

We upped our offer a little bit and the Sellers accepted it!

These are some of the pictures from the realtors website!

We got a call yesterday morning from our realtor that the sellers would accept our new offer!  Now we need to do our loan application and get it inspected in the next 10 days!  After that all goes through we will be packing and closing is scheduled for April 21st!

Needless to say we are SOOOO excited!!! 

 9 Months Old!
3/9/2011

29 1/2 inches long ~ 21.2 pounds

I'm sorry for the delay between posts!  I have been trying to get this post up for almost a week now and my computer and this website are not getting along very well!

St. Patty's! The Best Day of the YEAR!!
3/13/2011

Saturday was the St. Patrick's Day celebration in Pittsburgh!

Gary and I and all our friends LOVE St. Patricks Day even though not a single one of us are Irish!  It is really our most favorite day of the year!  A big thanks to Auntie M and Uncle G for coming to babysit Lyla so we could go out this year! 

Boxes Boxes and More Boxes!
3/23/2011

Our lives right now basically consist of working during the day and packing at night!  Less than a month until the big move!  As you can see, Lyla is always willing to give us a helping hand! 

10 Months Old
4/6/2011

Lots of updates, some good, some not so good, but we are hanging in there and looking forward like always!

Lyla is 10 months old!  There have been lots of things going on lately and I apologize for not having the time to do a proper update.  So let me go thru a quick rundown:

• On Saturday March 26, Lyla was wheezing and coughing and having a hard time breathing.  We took her to the pediatrician and they did 2 breathing treatments at the office and sent us for a chest x-ray.  They diagnosed her with bronchiolitis which is bronchitis in babies.  They put her on an oral medication and gave us an inhaler to use.
• On Tuesday, March 29th, we finally got her in for her hearing test after getting her tubes put in.  The left ear was great but they couldn't get a result for the right ear.  They said the tube may be blocked.  So we scheduled an appointment with her ENT.
• On Thursday, March 31st, Lyla took her first official steps!  We were so excited!  She has been trying to walk for a really long time now and has finally got brave enough to do it without holding on to anything!  Its so much fun, she giggles and squeals, she is just so excited!
• Friday, April 1st, Lyla and I went away with my mom and sister for a girls weekend away while Gary spent the weekend visiting friends in West Virginia.  We had a ton of fun aside from the fact that Lyla started to get really congested again and was having trouble sleeping.
• Monday morning I took her to her appointment with the ENT.  He determined that in her right ear some tissue has grown to the back of the tube, blocking it.  We have scheduled surgery for May 18th to have the tube taken out and a new one put in.  We also have an appointment scheduled with him 2 days before the surgery.  If she doesn't get any infections between now and then we might postpone it a little longer.  I of course will keep everyone updated.
• While we were there I had him listen to her chest and he said she definitely still has something going on with her lungs.  So I was able to get us an appointment with her pediatrician that day.
• Her pediatrician said she is still battling the bronchiolitis and put us on a breathing treatment regimen.  They sent us home with a little machine called a nebulizer.  Its sort of like a little air compressor and we attached a tube to it and a mouthpiece that we put medicine in.  When you turn it on it turns the medicine in to a vapor and she has to breath it in.  We have to do this every 4 hours for two days then it bumps to every 6 hours for a few more days.  We are scheduled to go back in on Monday to see how she is doing.

So that is a not so quick update on all that we have been dealing with.  Also everything is still moving forward on the house and we are supposed to close two weeks from tomorrow.  I dare anyone to ask me if we are done packing yet.... hahahaha

Update
4/11/2011

Its been about a year ago now that I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes.  I was pretty positive that was the end of the world!  I couldn't imagine how I was going to **** my finger and check my sugar multiple times a day.  On top of that eating a special diet right in the middle of all my pregnancy cravings.  I really didn't know how I would be able to push thru it.  But I did.  And in the end it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.  By getting diabetes during my pregnancy it helped keep my from gaining unnecessary weight and it taught me how to eat healthier to lose the weight after the baby came. 

Gary took Lyla to her follow up visit with her pediatrician today.  Good news and bad news.  Her lungs are great!  The breathing treatments worked really well for her and the bronchialitis seems to be gone.  The bad news is her right ear (the one that the tube is messed up in) has an ear infection.  So back on the antibiotics.  And this means that surgery in May will be a go to replace the tube.  We were hoping maybe she had outgrown it and wouldn't get anymore infections but I guess that's not the case.

With her getting sick so much I often feel like I don't know how I am going to get thru it all.  But I know we will and I know that in the end, maybe this too will be a blessing in disguise.  I keep hoping that she is getting it all out now and will be the healthiest kid in her kindergarten class!

So keep the little stinker in your thoughts and I will keep you all updated. 

For the next couple weeks pictures are either going to be from my phone or old pictures from my archives.  The camera stuff got packed away in a box yesterday!  haha  So ignore the terrible quality!

2 More Days!
4/19/2011

The countdown is on! Closing is 2 days away!

 

This move has been tough on everyone, including poor Clarkie!

Our weak attempt at dying Easter eggs....

Just a super quick update and I wanted to share these two pictures I took on my phone!  We are pretty much all packed up and our apartment is starting to feel like a box fort!  Lyla even learned how to climb up on the boxes over the weekend!  haha  I did get some good pictures of that so once my computer is hooked back up I will share those!

Goodbye - Farewell
5/3/2011

Hey Everyone!  I have moved on to a different blog site, so this will be my final post here.  If you want to know the new address, just send me an email!  Thanks, Kate