The Bailout

The word bailout has recently become a fixture in the vernacular of the American people. This past weekend we got to experience a bailout firsthand. Hopefully the Farley Bailout, as we will call it, will make you laugh. Anyways, here goes...

Friday 3:30 p.m. 

Nathan lets Jake out back to do his "business" in the fenced (see pictures below) in backyard. In the meantime Nate goes inside to check on something he is downloading.

3:37 p.m.

Nate goes to bring Jake back in , and realizes that he is no longer in the backyard. Nathan walks up and down the streets in our neighborhood looking for Jake. 

5:00 p.m.

Nathan gets in the Xterra, and drives around for 30 minutes looking for Jake. We have at this point realized that Jake doesn't have his collar on with his address and phone number.  He even went so far to ask the guy in the wheelchair that goes up and down the street (whom he almost hit a few months back on accident) if he had seen a crazy lab causing trouble on the streets.

7:00 p.m.

We lament Jake's crazy antics, but we're actually really worried about him. In the past when he's run off he was usually gone for about 3 hours. We hope he will find his way home soon.

10:22 p.m.

Lauren gets in the Xterra to look for Jake. I drove all around the neighborhood, and I even stopped 2 teenage boys playing football in the street to ask if they had seen a yellow lab. Once again, no luck.

11:45 p.m.

Nathan and I go to bed worried sick about Jake. Needless to say we really don't sleep all that well.

Saturday 8:00 a.m.

We look up the number for the SPCA, which we find out is still closed. Then we find the number for Animal Control, and they are open! They have Jake in custody! We are SOOOO relieved. Jake's running off was such a negative experience until the animal control officer said, "It will be $17.50 to bail him out, oh and you need proof of his rabies shot." Once the officer said the word bailout, Nathan and I laughed uncontrollably. I mean, how many people have to bail their dog out of "jail"?. Well....now you know someone who has!

Here's what we've been up to...

Well, it has been a really long time since we've updated the blog. As I probably mentioned earlier, I hate blogging without photographs. It does seem quite elementary to have to have pictures to illustrate my words. I guess that's what happens when a majority of the books I read have illustrations. Just don't get too upset if I also start rhyming (just kidding...I will abstain from rhyming)

Anyway, many of these pictures are from our trip to Virginia in September without Nathan. We have A LOT of pictures, so it might take me a few days to catch up on all of the blogs. I've decided to work my way from the oldest pictures to the most recent, so please be patient.

We celebrated when Addie was finally big enough for her exersaucer. Believe me she really is more happy about it than she looks. She is all smiles until Mom breaks out the camera.

Unfortunately Addie loves Jake a lot more than Jake loves Addie. This is a bit odd because Jake has always desired constant undying attention, which I am sure Addie will give him. Who knew Jake would be so selective with his desire for affection? Hopefully he will grow out of his snobbish behavior soon.

Addie and Daddy at the Burville Cider Mill. The Burville Cider Mill definitely has the best apple cider in Northern New York. Nathan and I frequent the mill quite a bit in the Fall. I'm fairly certain that Addie will grow to love the place too.

Addie was lucky enough to be in Virginia for Aunt Heather's confirmation. After the service she went back to Grandma and Grandpa's and got to meet several family members for the first time. She was a trooper even though she didn't take a single nap. This is Addie with her great grandparents.

Addie in church with Grandma

Addie can't decide if she wants her shirt in her mouth or the toy. Oh the dilemmas of a 4 month old

Addie loves spending time with her Nana

They wanted to go on tour with the Dead. Addie cried when I told her she was a little too late for that one.

Halloween

We had a wonderful Halloween! Nathan went hunting with some of his family in West Virginia. Addie and I joined him after her nap to eat lunch and hang out for a while. Addie got to meet some new family members (as did I), which is always fun for her.

Addie loved the new kittens, and she was surprisingly gentle with them.

We couldn't resist this backdrop, black cat and all.

Late in the afternoon I actually headed back to Virginia so that Addie and Ryn could be together on Halloween. Addie was originally going to be a monkey, but Nathan wasn't all that happy with her costume. So I went out and bought her a dalmatian outfit last minute. She was SOO cute. Later that night I was regretting not dressing up. I really wanted to be Cruella De Ville with my little dalmatian, but it was already too late.

Addie and cousin Ryn

She didn't particularly like her hood.

Ryn, Baba, Addie, and Good Witch Amber (whom I must say had the best costume of the whole night!)

Silly Girl

These are two pictures taken recently that I couldn't resist taking, and subsequently posting. After coming home one night I was about to carry Addie in the house in her car seat when I found her clutching her bib and her cow. She isn't one for comfort items, so this was particularly amusing.


This next picture was taken one morning before she had awaken. The bumper was only put on her crib when I would come in the nursery and find various body parts sticking out from the slats. Bumpers are SIDS hazards, so I was hesitant to put one on. As it turns out, when Addie wants to stick her limbs out of the crib she will stick them out.

Lake Placid

We recently took a trip to Lake Placid in the Adirondaks. We had so much fun viewing the fall foliage, and taking in the quaint little town. I must say that the fresh mountian air was one of the best parts. Lake Placid is about 2 1/2 hours from our house, and we were gone all day. Needless to say Addie was an angel the whole day!

Daddy and Addie

Now with Mom

The mountain views were absolutely beautiful

Nathan and Addison standing in front of Mirror Lake

This is the 1980 Olympic Stadium. We just had to go inside seeing that this was the site of the famous hockey game in which U.S. beat U.S.S.R. We were really surprised to find that the stadium was hosting a log cabin expo for the weekend. I think it took away a little bit of the awe factor for us, but we were still very excited to be there.

A Few Updates

I have been delaying any blogging due to the fact that I have no new pictures to post. Well, actually I have taken a lot of pictures recently, but my camera cord is somewhere in Virginia. Once it is retrieved I will post more pictures than you can imagine. But for now my words will have to do as far as updates go.

Nathan
As many of you know, Nathan has had a very strenuous work schedule lately. For a while he was logging over 80 hours a week. Luckily we found out a week ago that he is being moved up to brigade. For all of you non-military people, a brigade consists of a few thousand soldiers (as opposed to his platoon, which is 20-30 soldiers). He will officially be the Satellite Communications NCO for the whole brigade during their tour in Afghanistan. This is a very positive advancement for him because he has demonstrated superior knowledge of the satellite over all other soldiers in his brigade. Also this move involves considerably less stress than leading a platoon of young soldiers. The only downside to this move is that Nathan is now scheduled to deploy a month sooner than we expected. We are expecting him to leave sometime around November 20th. As most of you already know, everything with the Army is tentative, so this date is definitely subject to change. We have decided that we will just celebrate both Thanksgiving and Christmas early. This was an important decision for Nathan so that he will not technically miss Addie's first holiday season.

Addie
Addie is such a wonderful, happy baby. Nathan and I always comment on how lucky we are to have such a bubbly baby. She recently had her 4 month checkup, and we are being referred to a Pediatric Orthopedic Specialist in Syracuse for a problem with Addie's hip. We have a lot of questions, but our pediatrician will not answer anything, as he wants us only to talk to the specialist. Addie weighed in at 11 lbs 3.5 oz (20th percentile) and was 24.5 inches (50th percentile). The pediatrician wasn't pleased with her weight gain over the past month, and suggested we supplement her feeding with formula. After much contemplation and a second (and third) opinion we have decided to go against his advice. I truly believe that human milk is the absolute best option for her. Not to mention formula usually exacerbates GERD symptoms, which is the reason she had slow weight gain last month. Needless to say we are in the market for a new pediatrician, as our parenting style/philosophy doesn't quite mesh with the current group we are with. Addie is also rolling over in succession. She log rolled halfway across our living room last week. She really wants to crawl and can get up on her legs, but she lacks the upper body strength to push up. I am willing to bet the farm that she will be crawling in a couple months.

Lauren
I am still working hard to lose this last bit of baby weight. I am getting there slowly but surely. I absolutely love spending my days with Addie. I really feel that I am able to enrich her environment, and provide lots of love for her by staying at home with her. Unfortunately I have struggled with balancing caring for her, and being able to do things for myself. Luckily, Nathan has the day off tomorrow and I am getting my haircut for the first time in 4 months. It's a much needed haircut, and a start to being able to finally do things for myself!

Week in Pictures

Addie and I have a wonderful week in Virginia visiting family. We really miss Nathan, who is working a ton of hours back at Ft. Drum. We can't wait to see him soon. Addie was fortunate to meet many new family members, and she loved hanging out with both sets of grandparents again. Anyways here are some recent pictures.

Addie's goal is to have all 8 fingers in here mouth at once. She didn't quite get them all in in this picture, but she sure was trying. We believe that she is in the process of teething. Of course Nathan said she does everything well before the suggested age markers, and why would this be any different.

Nana insisted that Addie get her picture taken in the begonia bed. Unfortunately Addie wanted to eat the begonias.

Addie's favorite new toy

She loves Aunt Heather and Grandma
Sporting the "Pebbles" look

Fence Pictures

Nate and Ben mixing cement

My (almost) Before The gate
Everyone loves a power tool
After

Thanks so much team Council/Farley! I also want to say thanks to my mom for cleaning out my attic. I thought I might get in trouble if I posted the pics I have of that though ;) Everyone's help is greatly appreciated. I will be especially thankful when it is below freezing and I am NOT chasing after a curious Jake!!

GERD

I have been a bad blogger as of late due to the fact that I have been dealing with Addie's first illness. Well, it's actually more of a condition than an illness. That's right, Addie has a condition called GERD (gastro-esophageal reflux disease).

I noticed a couple of weeks ago that she was becoming fussy at meal time. But the real problem started late last Tuesday night when she absolutely refused to nurse. She was arching her back and screaming every time she came close to the breast. Anyone who has spent much time around Addie knows she is very content, which was why this was disheartening. Luckily we had an appointment scheduled Wednesday morning at the pediatrician's office for another round of shots. At the appointment the pediatrician suggested that I give Addie a bottle of expressed milk, and that this was probably just a phase. Needless to say we didn't get any shots that day, and we had another appointment scheduled 2 days later (Friday).

By the time Friday rolled around Addie had not voluntarily nursed in 3 days. I say voluntarily because I was able to get her to latch on when she was really sleepy, and wasn't quite aware of what she was doing. She also snubbed the bottle, which makes perfect sense because she's only taken an ounce from a bottle when she was 8 weeks. At one point I did resort to feeding her from a medicine dropper. I fed her approximately 2 ounces from a 2 milliliter medicine dropper. For all you math whizzes, that equals a really long time to get 2 ounces down the hatch.

At the appointment on Friday morning the pediatrician told me much of the same (i.e., just a phase, try the bottle). Addie dropped half an ounce between Wednesday and Friday. This was not enough to worry about from a medical standpoint, but as a mother I was definitely concerned. I was also told that Addie would be put in the hospital for observation on Monday if she was still not eating or gaining weight. At this point I was desperate to get her nursing and feeling better. My motherly instincts told me there was more to this than Addie being stubborn.

I knew the best place to go right after the appointment was to see my favorite lactation consultant at the hospital. Sure enough, after 5 minutes of observing me trying to nurse Addie she informed me that Addie had reflux. That's right folks, the lactation figured the problem out in 5 minutes. In the meantime she gave me some suggestions on easing Addie's pain. She also wrote me a note and told me to drive right back to the pediatrician. Approximately 30 minutes later Addie had her first prescription.

The Zantac seems make Addie feel better, but she still has a slight aversion to eating. Luckily for Addie the best treatment for GERD is breastmilk. It is very easily digested, and it has anti-inflamatory properties. I am confident that things will be much better for her in the coming weeks.

Lessons learned from this experience:

• Lactation consultants are a godsend. What a priceless resource!
• Doctors don't know everything
• A mother will truly do anything to ease their child's pain.
• Nothing hurts a mother more than to not be able to ease their child's discomfort.
• I truly cherish the nursing relationship I have with my daughter.

Labor Day Weekend

Well, our weekend task of installing a fence in our backyard is complete, thanks to the tremendous help from my mom, dad, and Ben. I will post more pictures at a later date as my camera battery died, and most of the pictures are on my parent's camera. We are so thankful for their help.

Also, Addie turned 3 months old on Saturday. I can't believe she has been with us for 3 months. She is such a wonderful baby. Her coordination is developing rapidly. She is now able to grasp toys with both hands. She can also roll from her back to her side (not quite to the tummy). As you remember she could get from her tummy to her back weeks ago. I believe its not too long before the roll is a full 360 degrees. I look forward to posting our fence pictures soon.

Addie's 3 month picture