Christmas Tree

Well Harper has discovered the Christmas Tree and the presents underneath it. She has already unwrapped a few. Oh and we had our first sonogram of the baby this afternoon. Everything looks great! Baby was moving around a lot and posed perfectly for the camera for pictures. The doctor gave us some great 3D pictures. Our expected due date is July 8, 2009. It will be here before we know it! Harper is already pointing to my belly. HAHA!

Harper hoping that I'm not looking...

Turkey Day 2008

This Thanksgiving we went down to Corpus to visit my parents, sisters and brother's-in-law and all my nieces and nephews. We had a blast. Harper love all the attention and had fun playing with the Christmas Tree.

News...

Well Cody and I are expecting a new little addition to the household. We are very excited! Expected Due Date is July 10, 2009.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!!! Harper had so much fun dressing up as one of her favorite characters, Minnie Mouse. We took Harper and her friend, Ashytn (the lion) down the street in Ashytn's wagon for some trick-or-treating! They both had a blast! After the fun of that was over we sat down and ate some candy, Harper did choke on something that night, scary but she was okay. I found an almond joy candy wrapper in her diaper the next afternoon. I don't think she will eat any more candy wrappers.

Texas Vs. Missouri

To end our fabulous vacation we made a stop to Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium to see the Longhorns in action! We had a blast! Go Longhorns!

Harper's Knee (Update)

Nothing has improved over the past couple of weeks with Harper's Knee. We returned to the Dr. and he put her on penicillin. The swelling seemed to go down but the pain seemed to increase. We thought that she got a crick in her neck from sleeping because she was starting to have pain in her neck as well. So back to the doctor. He immediately admitted us to the OR at Cook's last Wed. They did a couple more sets of x-rays, and wanted to have an MRI on her knee and total spine. They had her scheduled for her MRI on Thursday at 10:00am. Nothing to eat or drink after 4am that morning. Well 10:00 came and went, so did 1:00pm. Harper has not had anything to eat or drink since 7:00pm the night before. Finally at 2:00pm on Thursday they came in to take her down for her MRI. They put her under anesthesia in case they were going to have to operate. So we wait again.

6:00pm Cody and I were able to go to recovery to see her. We stayed down there for about an hour before the Dr came in to see us. All results say negative to an infection. Which is great, but what is wrong? Pretty much the Dr stands there scratching his head. So what he tells us is that she could have a case of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (which is not his area and is going to have a specialist come and see us). He did say that it is unheard of in a child so young. We go back up to the room and she gets to eat dinner. She was quite cranky but was so excited to eat. She soon cheered up and was the Harper we all know. She was laughing and playing. Cody and I slept pretty good and so did Harper.

The next morning a specialist from Infectious Disease came in, took some notes, and drew some more blood for testing. The ortho came back in and said that they are going to send us to Scottish Rite Hospital to see a specialist there.

Harper was released from the Hospital on Saturday afternoon. I take her to have more lab work done this Friday and then follow up with the Infectious Disease Specialist on Monday morning. In the meantime, we are waiting to hear back from Scottish Rite Hospital to get in there. There is a long waiting list to get in.

Harper is doing okay now. She goes up and down. Mom came in yesterday afternoon to stay with Harper all week so I don't have to put her in daycare.

Other than that we are doing fine. Thanks for everyone's support and prayers. We will keep you posted!

Harper's Knee Nightmare

Well Harper is now 17 months and for those of you who keep up with me, you all know that she is not walking yet. We started physical therapy when she was about 12 months and I got tired of being on a waiting list so I quit. She started to crawl at about 13 months so we thought she was picking it up. Last weekend Cody and I noticed that her left knee was slightly larger than her right knee. She started to limp and soon would not put any pressure on her right leg at all. Without panicking I made her an appointment for Tuesday with her new pediatrician (the last one pissed me off) and he took some x-rays of her knee. The nurse called me back about two hours later and told me I needed to take the x-rays to Cooks Children Hospital downtown now! I freaked out! She told me that they think she might have a "Septic Knee", which is an infection in the joint. So I rush her down there to spend the next 7 hours in the emergency room. They drew blood, set her up for an IV, and stuck a needle about 2 inches long into her knee to take fluid samples. I felt so helpless as she screamed and screamed. Luckily the results came back negative and they sent us home without any diagnosis whatsoever. The orthopedic told us to come back on Friday for a check up. So I take her back to the doctor (the swelling has not subsided at all) and he takes more x-rays and come to the conclusion that she might have had strep throat and the infection went to her knee. Makes no sense to me (She never acted sick, and I think I would have known if she had strep). So we are now on penicillin for the next 10 days and I will take her back in 10 days for another check up. I have not slept very well the last couple of days and I feel like throwing up everywhere. To add to the matter we leave for Corpus on Sunday for a week vacation. Great! Just Great!

Too cute

Our visit to San Antonio

I had a blast in San Antonio! I got to see Nana, Papaw, Aunt Kelly, Uncle Andy and Baby Drew. I gave them lots of kisses! I went shopping Saturday and Papaw walked down the street with me. When we got back to the house I played with Drew and went outside and threw the ball to Degan. He gave me lots of kisses! We all went to church on Sunday for Drew's Baby Dedication. His picture was on the big screen TV! I danced to the music and had a great time. I can't wait for next month when I get to stay with Nana and Papaw and go to the beach!

My First Hair Cut

I took Harper to have her first hair cut last night. Boy did she have a good time. She really thought she was cool sitting in that chair. No more wild hair for now.

Texas Football

It's that time of year again for some Good 'Ole Fashion Longhorn Football! Here is Harper sporting her new jersey. Enjoy!

It's about time...

Well Harper decided to start taking her first steps last night by herself. She looked at the both of us like "I could do this the whole time, I just don't want to." HAHA! We are very excited and can't wait to see what else she will surprise us with!

Austin Trip

We had a great trip to Austin last weekend as we celebrated Uncle Stan's 60th birthday. We got the entire Shook family together! Harper had a great time playing with Old Nanny and got to see some really BIG dogs. On our way back to Fort Worth we stopped at the outlet mall to shop. Harper picked out some really cute outfits and Dad got some new shorts and jeans as well. When we got home we all crashed! What a great weekend!

New Floors

The start of remodeling our house has begun.... 1st step was our floors. We took all the carpet and put wood laminate down. They look so much better now. I think this will help Harper with all her allergies. I will add some before and after pictures. Next we are going to repaint the kitchen and do something with the cabinets. (Cody might not know about this yet....)
BEFORE

AFTER

The Sell Family River Trip '08

We spent last weekend on the river with the Sell Family! We had a blast! Harper went swimming in the cold water and took a nap under the tree. She got to see all her cousins and did not do so well sharing. We took the train ride at Landa Park and played at the playground (I did this with my sisters when I was little).

Harper and I relaxing!

Cody getting ready to dive with a cigar in his mouth. So cool..... :)

Harper and Cody swimming.

Cody is not spoiled....

Singing Happy Birthday to Nana!!!!

Every last one of us!