October 2012

Elephants, Zebras, and Giraffes... OH MY! Haley and I had a great time at the zoo yesterday! I planned on a day trip down to the Houston Children's Musuem then to spend the rest of the day at the zoo, but as we were parking at the museum I saw a sign saying they were closed! Boo!  So we drove around the corner to the zoo and spent the whole day there! The weather was beautiful! Haley loved seeing all the animals, including her newest favorite animal the owl! As soon as she saw it she yelled "hoot hoot"! 

She saw her favorite animals, the elephants, which she calls them "Ci Ci". We then ate lunch and watched the giraffes through the windows.  After that we skipped on over to ride the carousel then over to the splash pad.

This was the first time we went to the zoo without taking the stroller, she walked the whole 4 hours we were there!  She was so worn out that she fell asleep before we even got out of the parking lot.  We had a great day together! 

Haley's 1st Day at Preschool!

I've been talking to Haley for weeks about her starting school and pointing at her school when we would occasionally pass it. We went to meet the teacher last week where she met her teachers Miss Carrie & Miss Lana. When we were waiting to turn into her school this morning she yelled "SCHOOL!!" as loud as she could. She was super excited to go. She did fantastic on her 1st day. Trey and I walked her to class and she didn't even hesitate telling us goodbye and carrying along with her toys in the classroom. Trey and his mom got to pick her up from school today and Haley yelled to her teachers "bye mama!" Her report for the day read that she ate very well and during nap time she was up and down. I think she was confused about nap time because she is so used to sleeping in her own bed. Haley's Grammie got her an adorable nap mat which Haley will get used to using.

I'm so happy she did so great! She goes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I'm excited to see how much she learns. It's going to be so good for here!

Here are 2 pictures we took this morning!

June 2012

Since my last post, Haley bug turned 2! Her party turned out great and we were so glad our family and so many friends could make it! Thank you for all the gifts everyone :)

Haley has been learning new words like crazy and she can almost repeat everything you say! The words she says the most are: hotshot, buckle up, cupcake, cookie, cracker, and she loves saying whoa! She knows hot & cold, up & down, and she even tries to sing her Abc's. She actually sings the tune very well but doesn't quite have the letters down.  She is constantly making me laugh! 

We also got a new puppy since the last post!  His name is Bentley and he is a chihuahua just like Bruiser. He actually has the same colors and markings as Bruiser too. Yes, I realize it will never be the same dog, but I at least feel like I have a piece of him back!

June has been a very busy month for our family. Trey just had a birthday and we just celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary. It was also Father's day this past weekend so to celebrate everything, we went on a mini-vacation to the Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, TX.  It was amazing. The indoor waterpark was much better than expected, our room was awesome, and the best part about it was we never had to leave the resort. They had everything there! Pizza hut, a spa, shopping including Vera Bradley & Croc Store, their own build-a-bear, Starbucks, Arcade and alot more. The waterpark closes at 9 which was great because you could get done with that and still go shopping and hang out because all the shops don't close until 11! Our niece Allie came with us and we had a great time with her. Haley enjoyed her being there too. I took Haley to the story time they had in the lobby on Saturday night and that was pretty cool! 

We ran into a little girl at the pool with the same bathing suit and lady bug life jacket! Thought that was pretty darn cute!

We had such a great time that we are already planning another trip to go back with our friends Jessica, Brandon, and their little boy Parker, the boy who was born on the same day in the same hospital as Haley!

I will update again soon!

~The McDaniel's~

Rest in Peace our sweet Bruiser! 4/23/12

So a few weeks ago we decided that we needed to find a good home for our black & white chihuahua Lexi.  We had several reasons why, one being that it was very expensive for us to have 2 dogs, and another reason was it was too much to have 2 dogs in the house.  We were okay with Bruiser, but Lexi would always have accidents when she got nervous, which was basically anytime someone went to pet her. We found a good home for Lexi and we were so excited to have Bruiser back in the main part of the house! We went out and bought him a new bed, new toy, some more dogfood, a new brush, and a new collar! He was getting spoiled again and he loved it!

Bruiser was fine for a couple days after Lexi leaving.  How could he not be?  He had all this new stuff, we cuddled with him on the couch, and we snuggled with him in bed at night.  We had our baby back in the house!  Well about a week after Lexi left, Bruiser started acting kinda sad, like maybe he was grieving. We took him outside a lot and played with him to keep his mind off of Lexi.  But day after day he just kept looking and feeling worse.  He got to the point that he hadn't eaten anything for days! We decided that we would take him to the vet on Monday to see what's wrong with him. I thought maybe it was because of Lexi and he needed some type of medicine to help with grieving.

Well... we were way wrong! I had taken Haley to gymnastics that morning and just met up with Trey to get my oil changed then grab some lunch.  The vet called and gave us the news, Bruiser's kidneys had failed.  He had a low heart rate that never went to normal, and a really low body temp which explained why he was shaking all the time at home. They found out about his kidneys after doing blood work. He also had xrays done and was hooked up to an IV since he hadn't eaten.

I decided that day that I would ride with Trey to do his work so if we got any other news, we could be together. Haley of course went with us that day. Hours went by and Bruiser never improved. Dr. Rogers at the vet told us we need to take him to a 24 hour care facility so he can be monitored over night. Leaving him at the vets office for 3 days was going to cost us $1200 and taking him to the 24 hour facility was going to cost is $1500 or more!  We were going to do whatever it took to have our baby back to normal. Trey told me to ask Dr. Rogers an important question, if we do all of this and he does pull through, will he ever be normal again?  Our answer: There is a slim to none chance for him to pull through, but if he did, there is no telling when he would relapse to this again since he would have kidney disease and his quality of life would not be good and his life span would be shortened.  Our poor baby was suffering. So the next question: Since we know he isn't going to make it long if he does at all, is it wrong to put him down now to keep him from suffering? Our answer: There is no right or wrong answer but putting him down wouldn't be wrong to do at all at this point.

Right then and there I decided and broke the news to Trey that it was time to put our baby Bruiser down.  We were in Katy, and it was an hour drive to the vet. It was horrible traffic and all I wanted to do was get to the vet to hold him.  Dr. Rogers stayed late so we could hold him and spend a little time with him, and of course say our goodbyes. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do. It was so hard knowing that this would be the last time I see him alive. Our 4 years with him were cut too short. After saying goodbye and told him how much we loved him, we watched him fall asleep for the very last time.

My parent's came over and my dad and Trey started digging a grave for Bruiser. We put him under a pretty tree where I can see him from the driveway. My dad made him a temporary cross out of sticks to put on his grave. I am very happy to have spent the 4 years I had with Bruiser. I will never forget my sweet little baby Bruiser.

Rest in Peace Bruiser 1/15/08-4/23/12

The Last Battle

If it should be that I grow frail and weak,

And pain should keep me from my sleep,

Then will you do what must be done,

For this, the last battle, can't be won.

You will be sad I understand,

But don't let grief then stay your hand,

For on this day, more than the rest,

Your love and friendship must stand the test.

We have had so many happy years,

You wouldn't want me to suffer so.

When the time comes, please, let me go.

Take me to where to my needs they'll tend,

Only, stay with me till the end

And hold me firm and speak to me,

Until my eyes no longer see.

I know in time you will agree,

It is a kindness you do to me.

Although my tail its last has waved,

From pain and suffering I have been saved.

Don't grieve that it must be you,

Who has to decide this thing to do;

We've been so close,we two, these years,

Don't let your heart hold any tears.

Author Unknown

This was Bruiser a couple years ago! He was one handsome dog!

This was me & Bruiser not too long after we got him!

This was right before we put him down. He didn't look too good.

Our poor sick baby.

This was our final hug goodbye. I miss him so much!

Happy Easter!

Summer weather is here and that means busy busy for us!  I took Haley today to gymnastics for a trial class and let's just say she loved it so much we just had to sign up! I was actually so suprised how well she did and she made me one proud mama :)  She loved to jump off the rope swing into this big foam block pit and she walked pretty perfectly on the balance beam.  Of course this is all done in the toddler section except the rope swing. She really liked the trampolines there and now thinks our couch is one. Silly girl! She did well when helping her do a front flip because we have been practicing those at home already but she wouldn't even try to do the backflip. The instructor tried to help me lay her down and move her arms into position but she just wasn't having it.  The gymnastics place is pretty cool!

Haley is 22 months and she is such a sponge! She picks up things quickly.  She knows all her body parts: head, shoulders, knees, toes, elbows, fingers, head, eyes, nose, hands, teeth, tatas (which Trey hates I taught her that), and butt.  Haha.  She suprises me so much when I tell her to find something or to go do something and she actually does it.  She also likes helping me sort out Daddy's laundry when we have our laundry day.  She thinks it's something special to put daddy's socks on his side of the bed in a pile.  

We went to an Easter egg hunt yesterday. Everyone brought 6 filled eggs so when we did the egg hunt, you only got to pick 6.  Haley got the concept of finding the eggs but she sure didn't understand why she could only have 6 in her big bucket.  Everytime she would keep adding to her 6, I was taking them out and throwing them in a bush haha. Unlike Santa Clause, she sure loved the Easter bunny. 

It's been a long day and we just got Haley to bed.  She snuck out of bed to play with her blocks, we thought she was sleeping this whole time. She also has this new thing that she has to sleep with every pillow and stuffed animal she has that she hardly has any room to sleep. I will distract her at bed time so Trey can sneak some out lol.

Oh before I forget, I went to the doctor today because I got my new test results in.  Apparently I have this weird thing called Yeast Syndrome. I have to change and cut out alot from my diet. Most of the things I eat, which aren't all bad, have to be cut out. I can't even have eggs, milk, cereal, peanuts, or bread! And sugar is basically the "fuel" to the Yeast I have to get rid of! Which means no sodas! Yuck! I also found out why I haven't been able to lose any weight! I haven't gained any since I've had Haley, but haven't been able to lose it either.  It's my thyroid, it's barely working!  So I will be starting my thyroid medication tomorrow. I will go back to see the doctor in a month to make sure everything is going okay.   

Anyway,  I hope everyone has a Happy Easter!!

March 2012

I haven't blogged in forever!  Haley turned 22 months old this month and I'm really looking forward to her 2nd Birthday!  Next week I am going to Hobby Lobby to get all the scrapbook paper since it will be on sale and I will begin making her birthday banner!  I'm still undecided on where I should have her birthday party but will need to figure it out soon!!  She is growing up so fast and I love hearing her talk and learn new words! She surprised me big time when my mom and I went to the zoo yesterday and took a ride of the train, Haley moved her arm up and down and said "choo choo"!  She said bear, squirrel, bird, and even squeaked like a monkey and roared like a lion! She loves it at the zoo!  She loves to see the moon at night as she points up and says "moon" and she also loves to watch the planes in the sky and yell "plane"!  She tells me "milk" in the morning to remind me she needs a big glass and she has even started saying "breakfast"!  She makes me one happy Mama!

Since my last blog post, I had been super busy working.  I started working one more day at Dr. Collier's office so that makes it all day Tuesday and Friday mornings. I was still working at Planet Beach at night time and had just cut back when I started not feeling good.  This was just a few weeks ago, my stomach started hurting and my legs were sore out of no where and my wrists felt like they had arthritis. I went to the doctor and had some blood tests done and he ordered some tests to check my gallbladder. It was going to cost quite a bit of money so I decided against the test since I started to feel a little better.  My legs no longer hurt nor did my wrists.  I just got my blood test back on Thursday and it showed I was positive for ANA in my blood which normally means an Autoimmune Disease.  Kinda scary! My initial symptoms were of lupus but it is not confirmed. I am going to see a Rheaumatologist in April to figure out the problem.  That may explain why I'm so dead tired of the time.  Sadly, I am no longer working at PB. I think the night time hours started catching up with me and I missed spending time with both Trey and Haley as a family in the evenings. I also missed a home cooked dinner too lol!  Trey has also been super busy working, especially since the office has moved and there is a lot of new work to be done. Which is really good!

Anyway, last month I was talking with my friend Rhiannon who was asking me about what day school Haley will be going to.  I had honestly not even thought about it! Her son is a little younger than Haley.  So I went to a church where my friend Megan is a teacher and signed Haley up.  She will start school in September and so far will be going to school Mon & Wed. I am next on a wait list for a Tues & Thur class so I don't have to be away from her as much.  I think this will be so good for her so she can be around other kids and have someone to play with. 

Well it's a beautiful Saturday and I'm about to go out and enjoy it! We had an interesting morning! I was was getting in the shower and there was a huge spider on the shower curtain, it scared me so bad that I shrieked and was starting to gasp for air lol. Bugs seem so much scarier when your naked haha.  Then Trey had to run to the auto parts store after the spider, and he opened the front door to leave and there was a snake in the chair! I went outside the backdoor and ran around front to see it and it was huge! That's one bad thing about having this nice of weather,all the critters come out! Ahh!

Hope everyone has a great weekend and I will blog again soon!!