Emilee Turns 1

Emilee had a great time being the center of attention on her birthday. Can't believe that a year has gone by since we got that life changing phone call. Enjoy the pictures...





Cupcakes that I actually made. My family was shocked!!









Emilee getting an early start on her cupcake



Surrounded by family and more importantly - presents!!



Surrounded by presents - one of which plays 3 Blind Mice and Old MacDonald constantly.


Hanging with Papa John


I'm allowed to do this???


Happy Birthday Em!!!

Ding Dong the Picc is Gone!!

The people at David's infusion center love to see him...(insert sarcasm here). Although I'm sure they like him as a person, he is their problem patient. The skin where his picc line was inserted had an allergic reaction to the plastic bandaging, and turned into a red rash that started oozing grossness. His surgeon was worried that infection might set in, so two weeks ago he got his picc line pulled - 2 weeks eary. David was so excited!! So we are now picc free and lovin' it.

What's Your True Color?

My Result: Brown

You're brown, a credible, stable color that's reminiscent of fine wood, rich leather, and wistful melancholy. Most likely, you're a logical, practical person ruled more by your head than your heart. With your inquisitive mind and insatiable curiosity, you're probably a great problem solver. And you always gather all of the facts before coming to a timely, informed decision. Easily intrigued, you're constantly finding new ways to challenge your mind, whether it's by reading the newspaper, playing a trivia game, or composing a piece of music. Brown is an impartial, neutral color, which means you tend to see the difference between fact and opinion easily and are open to many points of view. Trustworthy and steady, you really are a brown at heart.

Take this test >

Happy New Year!!

We had the Fisher Fam and my brother and his wife over for New Year's Eve. It was great to hang out with everyone and eat the cheesy velveeta dip that I only allow myself to have once a year. I could eat the whole thing and I can just feel it clogging up my arteries!! Yummie!!





That boy loves his wings. A tribute to our nephew Michael out on a mission in D.C.




This is only half of the food...



We got a Wii in October and put it to good use with 4 player tennis.



Wii like to play tennis!!

Pretty Things in Pretty Packages

Emille is spoiled, and she likes it that way. Everyone waited so long for her to arrive that we just can't help ourselves. One of my favorites is the fabulous dress that her cousin Steph got for her. Love it!!!

Trying to open it...

Look - it's my best friend. Emilee loves her reflection and thinks it is a new friend to play with.

Too cute!!

Soon it will be...Christmas Dave

David was born on Christmas, so ever year after the Christmas carnage in the morning, we do Christmas Dave in the evening. This year he got lots of great gifts - the majority of them for Emilee!! Notice how she claps for the tickle me Elmo...

Christmas

We had a fabulous Christmas this year. Emilee had more fun with the wrapping paper than new toys, but hopefully she'l be a little more into it next year. Her favorite present is the little rolly ball that David got her. She will roll that thing for at least thrity minutes all over the living room. She also clapped for the first time on Christmas at the Fisher farm. I guess being surrounded by 25 people all clapping for Emilee inspired her.













Oh wait!! Let me stop opening my present to pick my nose









All wrapped up in wrapping paper







Her new favorite toy.







Baring her teeth at the camera and laying claim to her present.






Showing cousin Steph her cool binky tricks





Letting Uncle Chuck know that she is not really that interested in walking.



Reading NO DAVID in spanish with cousin Steph

Advent Calendar from the Mother Land

When we were little we lived in Germany for a couple of years and every year my parents got each of us these advent calendars full of little chocolate windows. You couldn't find them here , so imagine my delight when I saw them in the aisle at Market Street. Yipppeee!!





Straight from the Mother Land...via Jersey?



Emilee with her first advent calendar. Too bad she can't eat the chocolate yet :)

Christmas Decorating - All Done!

This is a lovely Christmas arrangement that David's work sent us after he got out of the hospital. It was great except for the large pine branch that was shoved in the middle. David is allergic to pine and when my house started to smell so nice, I found the culprit and had to unfortunately toss it out.






Took me a while, but the Christmas decorations are finally up. Yea!!

There's no place like home...

especially when the alternative is Presby Hospital in Dallas. David's surgery went really well last week. I was shocked - I had grown accustomed to him being a problem child for the surgeons, so when he was an A+ kid who actually had less surgery time than they anticipated, I was thrown for a very nice loop. Another plus is that they pulled his gross drain (it was draining out the extra fluid his body produced at the surgery site) so I didn't have to deal with it at home. I was not excited about measuring and emptying out his liquid goo.

And if Christopher is reading this blog, I'm sure I just totally grossed him out right now. Sorry :) Here are some new photos from hopefully our last medical crisis - or at least until the next major holiday rolls around.

Before the unveiling...

This is after he had 1/2 his staples removed at the surgeon's office. Congratulations to incision #3. It wins the prize with a record 42 staples!! By the way - totally love the L that it makes. Yeah - I paid the surgeons a little extra to forever mark my man with my initial. That's right ladies - L is for the lovely Liesl - don't touch he's mine!!

Here is a nice shot of what I refer to as the home health care hole. I was tired of his infusion stuff not having a home, so I put it in this lovely basket to make it look a little nicer on the counter. Don't think it really worked, but at least this helps to maintain it all in one place. Dr has him on a new drug for 6 weeks - one that they have to monitor closely because it can inflame all the muscles in your body and require re-hospitalization. Hmmmm...I asked the Dr. if we wanted to tempt fate with this medication - David's history would indicate that he will get this side effect. We're just lucky like that I guess.




And lastly, just wanted to send a very thankful shout out to the wonderful family and friends that have helped us. We couldn't have done it without you...