On the way to crawling...and walking...

Hadley is trying really hard at crawling...she rocks back and forth all the time and she just has to figure out to put her hands forward and she'll be off!  She kind of actually went through the crawling motion this night....the 16th.  Here is a little video of her doing what she was doing.

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She also likes to stand up a lot and will "walk" towards you when you hold her hands. Here is a video of that...

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She did pretty well at day care this week. She seems to be adjusting to it. Although she still has the cold she got there while there for a day and a half the previous week. So she has had it for a week now. She is all stuffed up and her nose is always running. She HATES the nasal aspirator bulb...she didn't mind it to much at first but now she turns her head and throws her hands in the way to try and stop you from doing it. I wouldn't want it shoved up my nose either though. Hopefully she gets over it very soon.

We leave for our midwest tour this week for Christmas. Getting very excited. We are going to Iowa first and then to Wisconsin. We'll have from Christmas Eve until the following weekend so that will be really nice. Looking forward to seeing everyone!!!

7 Months old today!

Can't believe it but our baby is 7 months old today!!!!

I start work tomorrow, I was supposed to start last week but the computer wasn't in yet so they had called the week before I was supposed to start and asked if I could wait until the 15th instead.  So that gave me another week with Hadley and we also took her to day care for a 1/2 day this past Thursday and a fuller day on Friday.  She did good...she'll just have to adjust to more noise when she is taking a nap.  Hopefully she will adjust quickly.  Also, she was only there for a day and a half and already came home with a cold!!!  The past few days she has kind of been crabby pants because she is all stuffed up and her nose keeps running, and she already doesn't like it when you wipe her nose!  Other than that she is doing good.  She'll have her 2nd part of her H1N1 shot and influenza shot this Thursday so hopefully she won't have any issues with that.

Only 11 days till Christmas!!! We have figured out that we'll be traveling to IA first, leaving after work on Wednesday - to maybe stay somewhere along the way or on Christmas Eve to head to Ames.  We'll be there for a few days and then head to WI probably on Tuesday until that following weekend.  It will be nice because we will have more time than we usually do for both places.  Hopefully Hadley does well on the road trips.

Well, I just wanted to give a quick update.  Hopefully work goes good for me and Hadley takes to day care full time well again.  She'll be there for just over a week and then traveling for over a week and then back to day care, so she'll have to probably adjust again.  Hopefully she'll do great!

I know she is very excited to see her Tar Tar...since it has been since the weekend after Thanksgiving.  Mom and Dad are excited too. 

Baby Nickie/Baby Hadley

Yesterday I scanned in some more photos I got while home the last time of me as a baby.  After I got Hadley up from her nap today she was just as happy as can be as usual. I got the camera out and took these pictures and I tried to position her in the pose that I am in in this picture from when I was a baby (not sure on the age but around the same age Hadley is now...maybe a little older?)  So here are the pics of me and the ones I took today of Hadley.  I think we look pretty similar!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you click on the picture below...you can see her two bottom teeth...

 

 

 

 

 

 

And some more of me...

 

 

 

 

And a cute video of Hadley from today...

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Hadley Feeding herself puffs

Well...Hadley finally got that she can use her hands to feed herself the other day.  She has been eating puffs for a little bit now and she started to use her fingers to eat them.  I got the camera out and this is what I got...

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Tar Update

Well Tar had his appt with Iowa State Vet Clinic yesterday and the good news is that he does not have a tumor like was thought - that it had came back.  But his ear is pretty messed up.  In fact, the vet who specializes in ears in animals said that Tar's ears are some the strangest ears he has ever seen - meaning the way they are laid out and the placement of ear parts etc.  His bad ear - his right one, his eardrum is gone -- which we probably figured from his past ear issues and surgery.  The vet says he can hear maybe 25% out of that ear.  Also, many of the bones from that ear are missing which could be from the surgery and just all the trauma he has had with that ear.  

From the Vet Report:  The findings show that ear drum was ruptured.  It is not likely to heal over and Tar will be susceptible to further infections of the external and internal ear.  Swimming, especially in pond water, will probably result in increased numbers (and worse) infections.  A total ear canal ablation (to excise ear canal and close the communication of the ear cavity) is the only procedure that is likely to provide long term control.  Estimated cost for this procedure is $2000.

Therefore, the bad news is that Tar should not go swimming again - especially in marsh/pond water, which means no duck hunting which is his favorite.  But we have to remember all the good times that Tar has had duck hunting so far.  And he can still go pheasant hunting and field hunting for waterfowl.  

We are sad that this is the result but at least there is nothing major wrong with him and he'll survive...we'll just lose a hunting buddy in certain situations, but the good thing is he is only 5 and has a lot of years to come.  We have also decided that with this and his allergy issues that it's probably not a good thing to breed him in the future which is what we always wanted to do b/c he is such a pretty and good dog, but we don't want to pass that on to other puppies.  The vet did say that we could do the procedure anytime, so if we are able to save up money maybe one day we'll think about it.

Here's our pretty boy... (Picture taken back in 2005 when Geno came to SD from MO to duck hunt)

More Thankgiving weekend...

Here are some more pictures from the weekend.

Geno's parents also took Tar back to Iowa with them because he has an appointment at the Iowa State Vet clinic to look at his ear.  We have been having non stop issues with that same right ear he has always had problems with.  After they removed the tumor in it last year he was better for a while but lately it is bothering him again and our vet here thinks that that tumor might be coming back which is why it wont go away with medicines etc.  He has the appt on the 7th.  So we'll see what they find in regards to if he will need surgery again or not.  

Also, I accepted a job last week with PerGroup here in Pierre.  I'll start out in the medical billing part of it all and work on getting certified for medical coding.  Once I get that certification then my title will be medical coder.  I hope I like it...I'm sure it will be better than the hotel business though!!!  I start on Monday and I'm not looking forward to leaving Hadley again, especially since she is changing almost everyday now, but we need the money!  And it will probably be good for her to play with other kids again.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a video of Hadley eating puffs for the first time...she isn't sure what to think!

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Christmas Trees at the Capitol

We also went to the Capitol to view the Christmas trees that they have on display.  It's pretty neat, any business can decorate a tree if they want and put it up.  Hadley enjoyed all the Christmas lights!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had to take a baby feeding break to feed Hadley her favorite - Carrots!

 

Thanksgiving

Geno's parents came up from Iowa for the Thanksgiving Holiday.  They came on Wednesday and left on Sunday.  It was nice to spend some time with them and we even made a trip to the Badlands on Friday and we saw lots of neat wildlife including big horn sheep scaling one of the Badland peaks (not sure what you call them exactly).  Also, Friday morning Hadley had woken up earlier than usual - 5am!  She was pretty fussy so I decided to feed her and put her back to bed.  She eventually fell back asleep but while in the badlands I felt and looked at her gums -- she cut her first tooth!!!  That is probably why she woke early and all.  Today (Tuesday) she has even begun to cut her 2nd right next to the other one.  The past few days she has been  pretty irritable from teething...poor lil thing.  

Bath time with Grandma...

  

 

 

 

 

Ready for her trip to the Badlands...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Bighorn Sheep

 

 

It's amazing that they can walk on these ledges....and not stumble or fall!

Prairie Dogs