Family Bowling

Jay helping Milan.
Milan in her bowling shoes.

Mommy helping Milan.

Milan watching the ball after Callan helped her.

Baby Dean watching the fun.

Cousin Callan having fun:)

Cutie Milan:)

Cousins!

Go Callan!

Milan and Dean:)

Sister and brother hanging out.
Dean asleep in the pack and play.

Milan showing her nails in her big girl bed.

Baby Dean awake.

Brother and sister:)

Introducing Dean:)

As some of you may have read, Jay and I went to the hospital around 7 am on Monday, March 15, 2010 to prepare for the birth of our son, Dean. I had not slept at all the night before. The preparation for the c-section took approximately 2 hours. I was monitored, asked questions, and told about the spinal.

Just before 9, Jay went to the room where Dean and I would recover to put on scrubs. Meanwhile, I was in the operating room getting my spinal. I was so nervous that sweat was dripping down my body. Finally, they laid me down and did a couple "tests" to see if I was numb. Guess what people, I WAS:)

As the Ob's started the c-section, Jay came in and everything was under way. The Anesthesiologist had warned me that the hardest part was 2-3 manual pushes on the top of my stomach to get him out. Well, after much grunting and complaining (and about 20 pushes on my stomach) from the Obs, a very huge Dean was born. They could not believe that that much baby was in my stomach! He was 10 lbs, 12 ounces!!!

All in all, it was a great experience and it is too bad I was so nervous for it. So without further ado, here are some pics of the little (I mean - big;) guy!

It's That Time

Jay and I are off to the hospital. As my friend Nicole said, "Baby Dean is a good baby, waiting for his scheduled time to be born!" Truthfully, I am so nervous, I did not sleep a second last night. I am excited too! Oh well, one way or another, Dean will be here by the day's end and we will be home in a few days. I will try to post pics as soon as I can when I get home. Wish us luck!!!

Our First Baby Girl- Alley is Very Sick:(

I am very sad to say that we have some sad news about Alley. Last night, after Jay got home, I commented about how weird it was that she did not move to greet him when he came in. About an hour after that while he was vacuuming, she came off her pillow because she is scared of the vacuum. Sadly, we both laughed because she was scooting around on her butt only using her front legs. I tried to put her on her back legs, but she would just fall back onto her butt.




Jay said that she was not in pain and that I should just take her to the vet in the morning. I insisted on taking her to emergency. While there, the vet told me that it was severe and that she likely had a herniated disk in her spine. She is paralyzed from the waist down. We had Paula come and watch Milan while Jay and I went to a neurologist to talk about surgery.




We found out how expensive it would be and what the recovery would be like. After a hard decision, we decided to try a cortizone injection and see how she responded to that. It does not look good though. I am hopeful, but realistic. Within the next week, we may need to make a really tough decision.




Today the vet says she is not better, but not worse (which is good). He wants to keep her in the hospital again tonight and give her another shot. We will know more within the next 3-4 days.




As you know, we like to joke around about how much out pets are jerks, but they do mean so much to us. Please keep us in your thoughts this week.




Here are some pictures of Alley and Milan over the last couple of years. She is a wonderful companion to us and has always been very tolerant of Milan.

Great News!!!

Okay, so some of you may think I am crazy trying to potty train Milan right before Dean comes. Maybe I am???

But, tonight we had TWO successes! We started round three of training on Friday. Our nanny, Ofie, did not have any luck. She said that she thinks Milan is ready, but that she would probably be stubborn about it.

Friday night we went to Tanya's house and her very accommodating 3 year old daughter, Ava was very willing to show Milan the ropes. Since then, Milan has been much more willing to sit on the potty, but still no successes.

So, tonight, I asked Tanya if we could hang out again to see if it would help the process. Again, Milan sat, but nothing came of it. UNTIL, we came home tonight, and she went "pee pee" in the toilet.

We celebrated with the pancakes she has been asking for all day! Then, to our surprise, she went "poo poo" in the potty right before bed!

Sorry if this story is too graphic for some, but I am sure any parent can understand the joy of this breakthrough. Now, if it only keeps going:) Thanks Ava for your help! Yay Milan - we are so proud of you:)

Progress at My Gym

Some of you may be so tired of hearing my My Gym stories. Well, at least my tune is changing. Over the last few weeks, Milan has made a lot of progress with her listening and following directions. It has taken a lot of effort from Jay, myself, and the teachers at My Gym. Before we go, we remind Milan that she is going to sit during "circle time". She knows that if she does not, she will not get stamps at the end of class. She has been getting her stamps for Circle time!!!

Now that she has moved up in classes, she also has to wait her turn during gymnastics. Again, she has been told if she does not listen, no stamps. Last week, she did not get stamps. She did a pretty good job, but I felt I needed to follow through on the consequence I told her about. She asked for stamps about 4 times, and I had to talk to her about why she did not get them. She seemed to understand and we left with no complaints. We will see how she does this week:)


Here is Milan participating in gymnastics - walking on the balance beam.She really does like to play!



Here she is participating in circle time.
Little Monkey:)
She is listening to story time.