12/25/08 - I'M DREAMING OF A WHITE CHRISTMAS!

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It happened! There is actually and truly snow on the ground on Christmas day. A white Christmas!!! Of course, it's left over snow from earlier in the week and it's slowly melting away. The igloos in our front yard are hangin' on but most other things, including the 2 snow men we made have melted. Still, it's neat to look out and see snow on Christmas day. That hasn't happened in these parts for 18 years!

The good news is that it wasn't so snowy that family couldn't make it out to our house. Grandpa Jim, Grandma, and Aunt Kathy ventured out and arrived this morning to celebrate with us. We had a fake fire crackling on the HDTV and a holiday ham ready to eat.

Before family arrived we brought the boys down stairs and they started in on some gifts and stockings. Ollie ran to the biggest gift in the room and just started tearing at the wrapping paper. Good thing it was a gift for him!

It was a nice, laid back Christmas and the good news is that there's lots of holiday ham leftovers. Yum! Happy Birthday Jesus!!! We love you.
(note - there are no pics of the family visit 'cause it was chaos as usual. Oh well. I think we have video of it somewhere)

12/19/08 - HIVES, HIVES, EVERYWHERE!!!

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Poor little Ollie has been very ill since Thanksgiving. He came down with double ear infections, double pink eye, a fever, and a bad cold.

So the Dr. put him on antibiotics. But, after 2 weeks he still wasn't better. So they put him on stronger antibiotics. A week later, and a day after his birthday, he woke up with hives all over him. It was so scary looking. We thought he had the measles or fifth's disease. But, we rushed him to the Dr. and they just told us it was hives. It's possible that it's a reaction to the antibiotics. But, it's also possible that it's totally non-related. They just couldn't tell us.

The poor boy was miserable and itchy. And his fever came back in a big way. He couldn't sleep so Daddy and I took turns rocking him and trying to soothe him. No fun at all. But, after some Benadryl, he is slowly looking better.

12/18/08 - OLIVER TURNS 2!

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My baby boy is 2 today. How did this happen? It seems like yesterday he was just a newborn baby. Time flies.

Oliver loves rocket ships so John made him a rocket ship cake. It was a nice surprise for him. But the biggest birthday surprise was the many more inches of snow we got. Oliver went out in it briefly with Daddy in the morning but then spent the rest of the day playing inside.

Due to the snow, we had no guests at his party except us. But he's too young to know that he missed out on having folks there.

He loved the piggy bank he got and the new stool with his name on it. Thanks Mary Ann and David for the stool! We are told to expect more packages soon after the snow lets up. It will be an extended birthday for Ollie!

12/17/08 - SNOW ADVENTURES

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Today there was snow and lots of it. Ollie is more reluctant in the snow than his bigger brother these days and is particularly hesitant around the scary snowman in the front yard.

But, he agreed to suit up and play in the backyard. He looked like the "I can't put my arms down" kid in "A Christmas Story" and actually toppled over a few times and was unable to get up without assistance. But, he still enjoyed trying to put snow in a bucket and kick a big beach ball around the back yard. Today is his last day of being a 1 year old! My little boy is growing up!!!