Sleeping Beauty and COOKIES!

Lily is wrapped up in the blanket that Nana gave us a couple of years ago. It is currently Lily's Favorite Blanket...to the point that we have to hide it sometimes so that she will go to sleep and not be distracted by it hanging on the chair. She loves the fringe!

Lily and her new teething cookies...it looks like she's smoking them.

Our 7th Anniversary...

Seven years ago today we were standing in this same place saying our "I Do's..." Now we're back with a nine month old, only this time, no tacky cake or candles that refuse to burn. Also, today, everyone was sober.

When I told our neighbor that we'd been married 7 years today, he yelled back across his yard, "That's 49 in dog years!" This is the same neighbor whose grandson called 911 last weekend. The four year old had been learning about 911 and emergencies at school and decided to call in his own dire emergency when his dad went into the yard to mow. When his dad came back in, the phone was ringing and when he answered, the local police told him that the 4 year old had called. When asked about this, the 4 year old responded, "I had an emergency. I couldn't find my Pez dispenser and the cops didn't know where it was either." The police, after they finished their cackling laughter, asked that the 4 year old receive some explanation as to what constitutes an actual emergency, and that while Pez dispensers were funny, they were not on that list. The cops also said that they would be telling that story over and over for many months to come...

On the verge of crawling...Liz calls this her "Revenge of the Sith" Anakin crawl. (From the end of the movie just before Anakin becomes Darth Vader, as he's climbing up the side of the lava river.)

We are so proud of our daughter, and her affinity for Dwight Schrute from The Office. What can we say, she's in love...

New November Pics!

Lily loves her toy tent!

Innocent and pensive...or at least that's what she wants us to think as she plots her next move to grab something she knows she's not supposed to have!

Swiper, no swiping! Swiper, no swiping!

Sitting tall...

Lily-o-ween!

Resident Native American Reagan from across the street (Lily's future best friend) came over to see Lily tonight. Lily was intent on trying to eat the fringe.

Candy overload...Lily had one too many Three Musketeers.

In response to the Scully pumpkin carving skills, I tried my hand at it. I was able to carve "Lily" into the pumpkin and only lost my left thumb. I think I'll let the Scully's win this one. To see their blog, CLICK HERE!

Halloween Week Trivia...

"Phasmophobia" is the fear of ghosts.

A cup of candy corn has fewer calories than a cup of raisins.

It's illegal to sell a haunted house in New York without informing the buyer. (We weren't informed?????!!!???)

Eighty-two percent of children take part in Halloween festivities, as do 67 percent of adults.

The first jack-o'-lanterns were made of turnips.

"Samhainophobia" is the morbid fear of Halloween.

Halloween the biggest holiday of the year when it comes to candy sales estimated at $1.93 billion. One quarter of all the candy sold each year is purchased between September 15 and November 10.

The word witch comes from the Saxon word wicca, which means "wise one."

Pumpkins also come in white, blue and green.

In France, more than 30,000 werewolf cases were tried between 1520 and 1630.

Trick-or-treating is an Irish tradition, based on a custom where wealthy landowners would give food to the poor on Halloween night, believing ghosts would look favorably on them for doing so and spare them from mischief.

In Romanian, Dracula means "Son of the Devil."

The Scots believed in "Samhanach," a goblin who came out only on Halloween and stole children.

Halloween costume sales are estimated at $1.5 billion.

Eighty percent of kids say their favorite Halloween candy is either chocolate or gum.

Pumpkins are fruits, not vegetables.

There is a poisonous mushroom called a jack-o'-lantern. These mushrooms are a bright orange-yellow in color and on rainy nights they appears to glow in the dark.

Fifty-one percent of all American adults believe in ghosts. Nine percent of Americans claim to have been in the presence of a ghost during their lifetime.

Americans consume about 20 million pounds of candy corn each year.

Ghoulish Greetings from Lily!

Some Halloween Action...

We went to the Halloween Dance at school Friday night to see the kids. (As I'm back to work on Monday!)

Beowulf audition, or milkmaid in training?

Lily channels the ghost of Buddy Hackett.




Lily and Daddy...

Some New Videos...

The Good:

The Bad:

And The Funny:

Lily has started doing this thing with her tongue now that she has a little tooth in there. It looks as though she tasted something really bad, but it looks hilarious!

Cutesie Tootsie...

Ridin' the range...

Mommy bought me a new hat for our Autumn outings.

Sometimes, backward is better!

Constant Entertainment!

We took a couple of new pictures in the last few days featuring our little ham:

Crawling? No. Scooting? Absolutely, but only backwards. She's a lot like a crayfish now and scoots herself into spots like the one above, and then is pretty proud of herself.

We were going for a sweet, precious Halloween picture, but a little certain someone took umbridge with her costume and the scratchy leaves. So, we stuck the dummy in, decided the red eyes weren't too bad, and took the picture anyway. Parenting is so much more difficult when your child will not pose appropriately for pictures.

Did you see this?

I feel so sorry for Ellen today...I can't believe the shelter folks repossessed her dog. What a world we live in!

First Tooth!

After a couple of months of crying and waking up again in the night, we finally have confirmation of an actual tooth pushing through:

Just kidding, here's the real picture...if you look closely beside the arrow, you can see the little toothette popping through!

New Tricks from the Baby...

Rolling around on the floor.

Still playing around.

After the bath with Mommy.

Getting some love from Mommy.

Just lookin' cute.

Reading Daddy's Get Well card from the kids at school. (Just after this picture was taken, she also licked the card.) Anna, if you are reading this, Lily is starting to lick stuff almost as much as you used to, but we're not going to punish her just yet.

Lily has started shaking her head in a negative, but funny, manner.

8 Months Old!

Guess who's 8 Months Old?
(Hint: it's not the one on the left.)

Disappearing Act...

Well, I went to the doctor on Thursday for my post-op appointment. Everything so far is going pretty well. I'm on the pureed stage of the diet and have been able to have things like mashed potatoes, refried beans, and chicken salad (in the blender.) I lost quite a bit of weight the first week and half and since my initial appointment in June with the doctor, I've lost a total of 36 pounds.

I'm still a little sore, and sleeping on my side is tricky, but things are getting slowly better. I appreciate all the cards and emails from everyone, they've been very uplifting. (Including the CD I got from Debby and Andrew Smith in Kannapolis...it's awesome!)

I hope everyone is well, and I'll update again soon!

Take care,

-Mike

New Pics and Video

Lily and her grandfather have a conversation.

*

Happy Birthday!

My sister Liz is 41 I mean 31 today.

Here is a list of famous people who share her big day:

1921 Deborah Kerr
1931 Angie Dickinson
1937 Johnny Mathis
1950 Victoria Tennant
1961 Eric Stolz
1971 Jenna Elfman
1982 Kieran Culkin

*Also, she is 11,322 days old.
*On this date in 1955, James Dean died.
*On this date in 1982, Cyanide laced Tylenol killed the seventh and final victim, resulting in a nationwide Tylenol recall and the eventual creation of Tamper Proof packaging.
*In 1868, Little Women is published.

There, now you know.

Happy Birthday!

Our Little Hyena...

Check out our new toy--"Lily Laughs A Lot."

Girl With Clip On Earring...

Someone's grandmother has gotten Lily confused with Dress Up Barbie.



***

Update!

Well, day by day, things are getting slowly better. (I know it's only been two days.) I'm still very sore, and my back is killing me, I guess from being in one position for several days. I had some more blood work done this morning and I have my post op appointment next Thursday. I did lose 9 pounds in the hospital, and I'll find out next Thursday if I've lost any additional weight. I'm on a clear liquid diet right now and through Monday. I haven't been hungry at all, but I've wanted to taste every food that I've seen on TV since the surgery. I know the commercials were there before, but I never realized the quantity of commercials that are food related. (And toy related, for that matter.) I've been having coffee, chicken broth, water, Crystal Light, Sugar Free Jello, apple juice, and popsicles, and I've been doing pretty well with it. I "graduate" to what are called "FULL" liquids next week, so I'll be able to have creamy soups, milk, and the protein shakes I was drinking before the surgery. That will last a couple of weeks and then I can have some soft foods, pureed stuff, mashed potatotes, etc.

Since the surgery, I've gone down to one diabetes pill a day rather than two, and no pill for blood pressure. My blood sugar has been dead on perfect since Monday every time I test it. I'm looking forward to seeing my bloodwork results next week and see what my overall prognosis will be as far as continuing ANY diabetes medicine. If nothing else, getting rid of the diabetes and blood pressure medications will have made the surgery well worth it.

Oh, and if you're up to it, here's a picture of the incision, just CLICK HERE. The spot on the left is where they placed an anesthetic pump, the middle is the surgical incision, and on the right is where the doctor placed the drain, which was removed at the hospital. Yes, I've taken a bath, that's just what it looks like. The rest of the picture is just my normal attractiveness, try not to be overwhelmed by the Greek-like beauty.