Memories

Today I had a great day. Alex and I woke up and got a slow start. We had our breakfast and then played for a little while. He then took a nap. I had planned on going to get his 6 month vaccinations. When we went for his 6 month check up they wanted to give him his two vaccinations and his flu shot AND his H1N1 shot. I felt like 4 shots were to many for his little body to handle so I decided to get him both flu shots and to bring him back for his vaccinations. That was two weeks ago and I still have not made it. I really intended on going today but when I drove by the parking lot on the way to have lunch with my grandpa the parking lot was packed and I did not want to sit and wait forever in a germ infested dr office. So I drove on, but I really plan on taking him in the morning. I had wanted to take him on a day that I didn't work in case he was fussy but I know GJ and Kyle can handle it.
So I went and had lunch with my grandpa. For those of you that don't know he is 83 years old and lives here in the winter and in Tennessee in the summer. It is always so nice to spend time with him and to hear his stories ( even though sometimes I have heard them 100 times :)) We went to ditto's, it really makes his day that we go spend time with him so I really am going to try and have lunch with hi
at least once a week. He said something to me today that really made me think. He said that if Kyle and I have 4 or 5 kids he won't live to see them all. This broke my heart because he is an amazing man who I pray all my children will get to meet. After we had lunch we went back to his condo and sat together and talked. I really cherish our time together. And I know he does to.
On my way home I called my mom. She shared with me that one of her friends had lost her grandbaby today. He was stillborn when she went in for her scheduled c-section. This absolutely broke my heart. It made me remember that to be thankful for all that I have been blessed with. Please keep them in your prayers as they face this tragedy in their life.
I am working all wekend as we prepare for kyle's sisters wedding next Saturday. I am looking forward to spending some quality time with lots of family this week. Don't forget to tell everyone you love that you love them, you never know what tomorrow will bring.

Halloween and a trip to the 80's

Here is a picture of Alex in his Halloween outfit. We had a very low key Halloween. I was supposed to work all weekend but was sick with the flu. Kyle had to work during the day on Saturday so I went over to my mom and dads house so that they could watch Alex while I rested. At about 6pm I started to feel better and decided to come home, Kyle was off work and at the house. We waited for trick-or-treaters but we only had two (Karen and Norb stopped by for a visit) and they brought us candy! :-)




The real fun began when we went to kyle's sister Brittni's 80's wedding couples shower. We decided to go all out and dress up as the ghost busters. Kyle was one of the ghost busters, I was Janine and Alex was slimer. Our costumes came out great and we actually won best family costume! Kyle's sister dressed up as Madonna from the like a virgin video and her fiance was Michael Jackson. Everyone really went all out and dressed up. We all had a great time but Alex was exhausted by the time we got home and he had a hard time going to sleep in his crib. But he finally gave up the fight and slept in his crib.

Haley

As most of you know about 6 months ago when I took Haley in for her yearly shots thye diagnosed her in renal failure. Although I was shocked, I was not that surprised. She has always been OBSESSED with water and I always just thought that it was the fact that she was deprived water when she was a puppy before I got her. She has also always had a bedwetting problem. She would have accidents while she was sound asleep. They contributed it to her being fixed and the muscles not being strong enught to hold the urine in when she is relaxed and asleep. So she was on medicine to help make those muscles stronger.
Well 6 months ago when I took her for her shots she had lost some weight. Alex was about three weeks old and so I contributed it to that (her weight has always fluctuated, especially at stressfull times like after Kyle and I got married) I reluctantly agreed to run the bloodwork. The vet called me that evening and told me I needed to bring her back for fluids because she was in renal failure. I took her back and they gave her the fluids with no improvement. An ultrasound of her kidnes was done and the vet discovered that she basically had empty kidneys. The midle of the kidney is where all the filtering happens and hers had no filtration system. The vet told us the IV fluids would not help and that we could spend thousands of dollars to keep her alive for about a year or she would have 3-6 months to live, but that thye were surprised she had lived this long with as bad as her kidneys were. So we decided to bring her home, love on her and pray. And that we did.
We started her on special kidney food that broke the bank. Offered her as much water as she wanted and she seemed to improve, she put on some weight and seemed to have more energy. This went on for about 5 months and then she took a turn down hill. SHe started losing weight and had no energy. SHe celebrated her 4th birthday on the 27th with a chicken and rice dinner (her favorite) and lots of loving. The next day she was having a hard time walking and was not eating or drinking. I made the decision last night that it was time because she couldn't get up so that I could change out the blanket on her bed.
So this morning my mom came over and watched Alex while Kyle and I took her to the vet. They had a hard time getting an IV because she was so dehydrated. After that it was quick. The vet came in and gave her the medicine and she went to sleep, I felt her heart stop beating and knew she was gone. The vet listened to confirm. We kissed her and told her we loved her and left.
Kyle is off tomorrow so he is going to go pick her up and take her to the lake and bury her there. This was one of her favorite places and I know she will rest peacefully there.
This was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make but I know she is better off, I told her to go find Oliver (my dog that I had for 16 years before haley) and I am sure they are up there playing together!
Hope everyone is having a good week.
Katie

Here goes nothing!

Here it goes, I have been wanting to start a blog for a long time now, I had originally wanted to start one when Kyle and I were engaged, to keep friends and family updated about our wedding planning process.....needless to say that didn't happen. Then while I was pregnant I wanted to start one to keep everyone updated on the progress of schnicklefritz aka Alex. Well now he is 6 month old and I am finally getting around to it. I not only want to do this for friends and family, but also for us. So that in 10, 15, or 20 years we can look back and see what was going on in our live at this time, and since I think my memory is failing me at the rightful age of 25 this is the only way I am ever going to remember anything.
I don't think I will blog every day, maybe just once a week or whenever we do something fun and exciting. Sometimes it may not be very interesting to most but, like I said I want this so be something we can look back on and life is not always that interesting.
For now I need to get to bed because Alex is already asleep.
More to come later.
Sleep tight friends.