This was Gracie’s first year playing basketball. She LOVES it! She’s the Mark Eaton of 3rd grade girls basketball. She was at LEAST a foot taller than every girl on her team. She grew so fast, she still hasn’t quite lived up to her name! This was the only team they played against with girls as tall as her!
We don’t know where he got this from, but Murphy loves to do it to makes the kids laugh!
Lost his tooth AT school on the 100th Day!
Why is it that a baby’s first word is usually dada?!?! I’ve never understood it. Baby’s first face they see and voice they hear/recognize are that of his moms. Mom and baby share the first bond. So what’s the deal?!?! Well, it’s taken a while, but the reward was well worth it!!! It came after ball, num num, hot, bath, [ba]nana, dog, and down, but my little Murph is FINALLY saying “Mmmomma.”
My sister gave me a hard time about why I hadn’t blogged about my dog yet. (I’ve only been blogging for 3 days!) I guess she’s just got more of the animal-loving gene in her than I do. So here it is!
Dustin and I had been talking about getting a dog for a while. We wanted the kids to be able to care for it. We wanted a dog that would be of course great with kids. Dustin wanted something small but I think “yippy.” I wanted a bigger dog. One that I could take jogging…if I ever started. He thought “anoying & hard to manage.” We started researching… labradoodles, all sorts of spaniels…Then we were waiting for right time. A house with a bigger backyard, etc. One day while out-of-town, I got a call from my dad. “I found the right dog.” ………………”a what?” It was a Great Dane. After some discussion and persuasion, we gave my dad the go-ahead to buy her. She was home waiting for us and the kids had no idea. We’d kept it a secret. I just don’t know how something so little can grow so fast!
Daisy was about 9 weeks old when we got her. She’s now 6 1/2 months old. She is so clumsy, sweet & lovable. Between the floppy jowls, weird sleeping positions, and extreme fear of the vacuum (which she tries to hide from but for obvious reasons can’t) she’s brought much laughter to our house, that’s for sure!
But with a name like GREAT, I guess we shouldn’t expect any less!
Have you ever seen that movie the Ugly Dachshund? There was a scene from that movie that I walked into after snow-blowing my ginormous driveway this morning. Dustin was at physical therapy, Gracie and Gehrig were at school, and I started a show for Nolan and Murph…but something else got into their little minds…
Just like the movie…our dog was not to blame. I have two ‘ugly dachshunds’ named Nolan and Murphy. Yes, it’s my fault…I left them alone. But at least this incident gave me a good laugh.
 “I didn’t do it.” |
 The guilty ones. |
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To give everyone an update on Dustin and Gracie’s health…
Dustin has been cancer-free since his tumor was removed in the Fall of 2010. He’s been seeing his oncologist about every three months and just made an appointment for six months out! He has CT scans about every six months to check for new tumors (which will soon be yearly), but all have looked great. He continues his once-a-day ‘chemo’ pill that is specific for fighting his type of cancer cells. He’ll continue to take these for the next two years…at least. (Every time we go, they change the duration. 1 year, 2 years, now 3). He feels great and is able to do everything a dad his age should be doing, (with exception to the extreme herniated disc in his low back that happened on 12/31/11, but lets not open that can of worms!!!) 😉 We’re hoping therapy will help and he won’t have to have surgery. He say’s he’d rather have cancer…no more jumping sports (basketball and ultimate Frisbee) upsets him.
Dustin doing one of his favorite things...holding a sleepy baby.
Gracie is doing remarkably well after being diagnosed with diabetes last February. She’s very smart, and knows her body well enough to know when her blood sugars are getting low. She can even give herself her own shots when she doesn’t have help at school. It’s been and continues to be an adjustment with our eating/snacking habits at home – especially with three ‘starving’ (growing) boys! She hopes to get on a pump this year to help out with ‘snacking’ and less shots, especially at school.
Brielle & Gracie
We’re hoping for a better year concerning our health, but if not, we know that the Lord loves us, knows us, and will help us through anything.
I’ve been nagging begging Dustin for years to make our blog “pretty” enough to blog on. I was so tired of his ugly ‘tech’ themes. So we’ve spent some good quality time together as he’s been walking me through Photoshop and WordPress. The house was destroyed, the dog ate most of the dessert, our children were neglected and a glass cup full of milk was shattered but our blog makeover is complete! We celebrated with the surviving cookies and ice cream! Even better, we put them together to make…..
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwiches!
Gracie had her first piano recital since starting lessons in July. We asked her if she was nervous and she said, “no.” I asked her if her fingers were shaking. She again said, “no.” Her lack of nervousness is something she obviously doesn’t get from either me or Dustin. She played Fur Elise, and did a great job!
Again…this post is to help update family and friends. It’s just too hard to talk with everyone personally. Gracie hasn’t been feeling so great this past month. First she had an awful flu, and last Thursday she was diagnosed with strep throat. She’s been in and out of school so much. She’s been so lethargic. Her eyes have looked so blood-shot and she just hasn’t been herself. Monday night she was so tired I was helping her get her p.j.’s on. I’ve never been so shocked. She looked like a skeleton. She had been on an anti-biotic for a few days and didn’t seems to be improving. The next morning at her dr apt, to my complete shock and dis-belief, her Dr. told me she had type 1 diabetes. We were sent to primary children’s and have been in the process of regaining her strength, stabilizing her blood sugar levels, and learning, learning, learning. She looks so much better just 24 hours after her first insulin shot. Yes, she’s insulin dependent. Thankfully, this type of diabetes doesn’t limit what she can/can’t eat. Everything just has to be ‘helped’ with insulin. We’ll be going home tomorrow after a couple more classes. Thanks to everyone for your help and concerns. We’re so blessed to have a wonderful support group. Fabulous Grandparents taking care of the 3 bears, fun neighbor visits and phone calls, visits from family, and prayers from family near and far. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You