Sugar Bowl

With all the Christmas, snow and Charlie cuteness, I completely forgot to blog about my Christmas present to Marc. He went to the Sugar Bowl! Ohio State was playing Arkansas, and I was able to get him tickets (albeit in the nosebleed section) and a room at a bed and breakfast not too far from Bourbon Street. And I got him an Ohio State win.  (I'm a pretty good wife.)

So Marc and his friend Tom went to New Orleans and had a BLAST. 

Baby Situps

Marc and Charlie have this cute little bit where Marc does an Arnold Schwarzenegger voice and they do "situps."  Charlie will grin and grin at his silly daddy.

The Worst Thing About an Afternoon Nap?

When someone takes your picture!



Playing with Toys

Lullabelle in a Daze

UPDATE:  We heard from the vet, and it wasn't the news we hoped to receive.  The lab found mast cells at the edge of the tissue margins. Our vet was very upset because she took deep margins and was so sure that they would be clean.  And this is the first time she has had a grade 2 tumor not have clean margins. The good news is that the micotic (sp?) rate was 0 - meaning that the cells were not growing at all.  So we will wait about a month, let her incision completely heal, and then do this all over again. The vet will take more tissue and hope that we can get all the cancerous cells out.

ORIGINAL POST: When Marc brought Lullabelle home from her surgery, she was definitely not herself.  She was still feeling the effects of the anesthesia and pain killers.

She was so tired that she dropped before she got her whole body on the bed.

And here's from where the lump and tissue were removed.  It took two days for her to return to her old, spastic, affectionate self.

Look Ma - No Hands!

On January 7**, Charlie sat up with out assistance.  It was only for two or three seconds, but he still sat without Marc holding on. 

**Yes, I know that was three weeks ago.  I am a little behind.  But I wanted you to see!

Where Charlie Talks and Kicks

What We Ate Last Week

Green Beans!

Charlie wasn't a big fan.  Of all the food he has had thus far, this was his least favorite.

But being a hungry boy, he ate the green beans anyway.

And was happy with a full belly.

P.S.  Today Charlie is 5 months old.  How did that happen??  It's all going by too fast.

Charlie's Angels

Jumpin' John

 One of Charlie's Christmas presents was a Johnny Jump Up.  He hasn't quite mastered the jumping part, but he does like to twirl around and swing!

Where Charlie Chatters Away

Sorry these are so dark - I've got to remember to turn on the overhead light when taking video.  But maybe with the darkness you won't notice the piles of laundry.

A Boy and His Dog

 

Update: I talked with the vet, and Lullabelle came trough her surgery today with flying colors.  The vet got good margins to send off for testing and feels good about LB's prognosis. We will get her this afternoon to rest and recover.

While they had Lullabelle under, the vet also cleaned her teeth.  While there was very little plaque and while most everything looked good, her incisors were a little diseased and they had to be removed. 

Good News and Bad News

First the good news.  After trying and trying. . .

On Thursday, January 13, Charlie rolled over!

(This is actually the third time. I missed getting the first two on camera.)

And the bad news - on New Year's Eve, Marc found a lump on Lullabelle's belly during a belly rub.  We took her to the vet that day and they removed it and sent it for testing.  (The vet thought LB was fabulous - she just did a local and took out the lump while petting her.  She joked that hey probably could have done anything as long as Lullabelle was getting a belly rub!)

We got the results on Friday the 14th, and the lump was cancerous.  It is the same type that Sandy had in 2003 - a grade 2 mast cell tumor.  We will take LB back to the vet tomorrow where they will put her under, take more tissue out and check the margins. Hopefully the margins will be clean, the cancer will not have spread, and LB can continue to be our care-free, loving dog.

Good News McCrea Ladies

Charlie loves flamingos!

Opening Presents!

Let me tell you, folks made out like bandits this year!  We were all very blessed.

The action is just beginning.

Posing in the new, fun outerwear!

The aftermath

The loot!

Ewwwwwww!

Charlie's cousins were facinated with the diaper change.  They thought it was gross and hilarious at the same time and couldn't tear themselves away.

Hudson running out after he saw the poopy diaper

 

Look at the poop!  Look!!

Watching the re-dressing

Making sure Charlie is okay

Charlie laughed at his cousins' reaction  to the poop

And was happy to have a clean bottom.  Thanks Grandma!

Christmas in Hampton

Ah - finally!  After all the snow delays, let me tell you about  the rest of our Christmas.  After we celebrated Christmas Eve, Marc and I again drove through the night to Hampton so we could celebrate the holiday with the McDonalds.  And again, it was great for the little man and the dogs but tiring for the adults. But it did mean Charlie was able to spend lots of quality time with Grandma Dot, Papa Kirby and his cousins!