Berkley Tate update!

Well Valentine's Day came and went with no avail at our house! Berk and I went to visit our dear friend and photographer, Pamra, to get some pictures ordered, caught lunch with one of my girlfriends that I played softball with at Vernon, went on a formula and diaper run and then hit up Target before heading back to the house. Thad luckily was feeling much better and was actually up and around, but still no contact with Berk. So needless to say, Thad still slept in the isolation room and our Valentine's Day was spent pretty much as singles rather than as a pair! :( But he did promise to make it up to me; you just have to understand that everytime we plan something whether it be to go out on a date or just go out of town, something always comes up and this time he happened to have the flu! (I'm totally used to it and Valentine's Day is overrated anyway!) Well Nana and Papa (my parents) came out and visited that Sunday and babysat on Monday for us since we both had to go to work and Gran and Pops were not yet back from San Antonio! I know they enjoyed themselves so much and I just wish that we didn't live so far away. (The last time they saw her was Christmas) Berkley wasn't quite sure about Papa at first but she warmed up to him by the time they left! (Oh yea and Thad did get to hold Berk on Sunday; he was dying not having held her since that previous Wednesday!) This past week was kind of one of those weeks with no real excitement; oh yes, wait a minute, our dish did stop working on Thursday and we have been without TV since then and we have been watching movies nonstop! The dish technician is supposed to come out today and they better hope they show up or I will be one hot momma on the telephone again!! (I don't understand how hard it is to make sure that people get the quality of service they are paying for without them having to call and chew on someone's hind end!! My soap box!) But Berk is doing great, growing and changing all the time! She is now rolling all over the floor and we are just holding our breath until she starts crawling! She will get up on all fours and rock but still hasn't figured out how the whole thing goes together! Yesterday was the first day since she has had RSV that we did not give her ONE breathing treatment ALL DAY!! YAY!!! She didn't cough all day and it is nice to know that she is finally getting over that junk for good! (Hopefully anyway!) Today she started with no breathing treatments and as of 10:15 this morning she still had not had one! She got some of her spring wardrobe this past weekend and there is more to come from Old Navy! I love it when seasons change and you start buying all the goods!! (Especially for Berk because they are relatively cheap!) Can you believe that Berk will be 6 months old on the 5th of March?! I don't know where the time has gone but I am sure enjoying this wonderful ride! We go to the doctor on the 9th for 6-month shots (only Berk and mom though because Thad can't handle that sort of thing) and we will see where our little "turkey" falls on the scales! (We have another nickname for her- Berky Turkey, which is fitting since she is becoming quite a chunk!) We had good family time this past weekend when Derrick and Mandy and Sara all came in town and we also got to see Rachel and Dustin on Sunday which was a great treat! Rachel couldn't believe how much Berk had grown and changed! Well I think that is about it! Nothing too exciting happening just wanting to get everyone caught up! Oh yeah, good news on the house, we will hopefully get moved in sometime around Spring Break if all goes well! Dusty and Bekah are about 3 weeks out from their house being finished so we are on the home stretch! Oh and we made our first MORTGAGE payment yesterday; makes us feel real grown up to say that! Here are few pictures; hope everyone enjoys!

Meadows

2/14/09...Berk's first Valentine's Day-she wasn't too happy that I wanted to get a picture of her in her "My First Valentine's Day" outfit!

2/15/09...This is Berkley's latest saga-rolling over enough until her entire body is under her bouncy seat; she just hung out like this once she got under there!


2/15/09...Playing with ducky!


2/23/09...Last night before she went to bed. She has gotten into this routine lately where she will roll all around until she finally gets settled down! She had her blankie at a perfect place so I coulnd't resist the photo op!

As Promised...

So, I posted yesterday and said that Thad THOUGHT he had the flu; well he received confirmation on that yesterday when he went to the doctor, running 102 degree fever! (They also tested him and it came back positive for flu!) So he was again in isolation and I know that it is killing him to not be able to hold or even touch Berk but the doctor emphasized the NO CONTACT with your 5-month old! They gave him Tamaflu that he will take for 5 days and I could already tell that he was feeling much better this morning! His fever did finally break, which I noticed when I went into the "isolation room" and he was sweating like a pig! But me and Berk are getting some good bonding time going on and she is coming up to the school this afternoon to attend our Valentine's Day party! (Should be an interesting dynamic-4 & 5 year olds with a 5 month old!) But here are some videos I took last night of her putting her pacifier in her mouth! Hope you enjoy and hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's Day and I will post pictures next week of our weekend with the grandparents and of course our low-key Valentine's celebration!
Meadows

Our Sick Household!

Well as you know our family has been battling RSV and all the other lovely things that come with this season in West Texas and just yesterday Thad came home and said he thought he had the flu! He said that he had run fever and that his body ached all over! So I went on "single mom" duty last night taking care of a sick husband and a baby who is trying to go everywhere these days and then pulled another "single mom" chore this morning when I got up an hour and half earlier than normal to get myself ready, then Berk, then drive her to town and then back to school, all by 7:45 AM! Thad is going to the doctor this afternoon and hopefully they will say that it is just a cold but I have a sinking feeling that he will be in "isolation" (our guest bedroom with no human contact) again tonight! (And I will be on Lysol duty whenever he leaves "his" room!) And then to add fuel to the fire, Gran calls this morning and says that the nebulizer isn't working!!! (When it rains, it pours!) Of course it did work this morning when I gave her her first treatment but would of course stop working during the day when she gets most of her treatments! So, Pops is picking one up in Lubbock today (not a cute little penguin) and we will hope that she does OK through the day. She has been just a little stuffy here lately, which around here at this time of year is totally normal and with how much the weather changes, I am sure she will have that probably until the summer!
But enough about all the troublesome things! Berkley is becoming quite the little go-getter! We think she will be crawling by the beginning of next week! She is getting good at getting her legs under her, now all she needs to do is figure out how the arm part works! She is such a roller too! Last night I was folding clothes and I would look at her one minute and she would be one way and then look back and she would be the other way and vice versa! I know that once she starts crawling she will be hard to stop! She is also cutting teeth and is quite the little toot when those teeth are hurting her! The two teeth that seem to have the biggest "bump" on them are her bottom fang teeth; we will be the people whose child looks like a werewolf for the first few months of teething!! :) She is still eating like a pig and has gotten in a routine and knows when YOU are not sticking to HER routine! As a matter of fact, I have a funny story: when we took pictures on Sunday, I took bottles and formula thinking that that would hold her over! Well she was quick to let me know that that was not the time for a bottle but rather her normal morning food! She was horribly cranky and Thad had to go to Wal-Mart and purchase food just to suffice the baby! But she definitely holds you accountable! She is also getting really good at her hand-eye coordination; she can take her pacifier and stick it in her mouth! Most of the time she just likes putting it in there and pulling it out so she can do it again; plus I think it feels good on her gums! I am going to try to get a video of her doing it so I can post it on here! But anyway just keep us in your thoughts as we are battling this horrible health season! Check back for that video; oh and definitely check out her pictures at www.rollsoffun.photoreflect.com! Pamra did such a great job and we can't wait to get some ordered for the new house!
Meadows

RSV Update!

Well the doctor's visit went really well and she was happy with Berk's progress! (Thank goodness!) We now only have to do breathing treatments when needed instead of every 4 hours. She said that we would probably need to do them in the morning and then before sleep but that she probably won't need them during the day! Her cough is not "chesty" at all anymore which is such a great thing! She did say that her left ear was still a little pink but said she was not prescribing anything else just for us to finish the Amoxicillin. She said that she might just be a slow healer with things like that and not to worry about it unless she becomes agitated and acts like it is hurting her. (Which we all know that she probably won't because that isn't her "style!") She now weighs in at a hefty 15 lbs. 14 oz. which means she gained 13 ounces in 8 DAYS! But Dr. Landry was also happy that she had gained weight being sick because most babies will fall off a little bit; but then again that isn't Berk's "style" either! She is now eating carrots and loves them except that she is "spitting" when she eats (doing like raspberries) and it gets all over mom! She only has one more vegetable to do (green peas) and she will have tried all of them and one more fruit which we will do on Sunday (peaches). She is a little connoisseur of food and will not let you miss a feeding! Well I think that is about it for this update! No new pictures but we are taking 6 month pictures early on Sunday with the same photographer that did our wedding photos, so we are SUPER EXCITED! I know she did a great job on our wedding photos and also on Rance's senior photos last week!! You should check her out at www.rollsoffun.photoreflect.com! She will probably post Berk's pictures on Tuesday or so, so be sure to check on her website and look at her "early 6 month pictures!" Hope everyone has a great weekend and can't wait to get some great pictures of our little girl who is growing so fast (too fast if you ask me)!
Meadows

Valentine's Day Sneak Peak!

I just thought I would upload this picture because Valentine's Day is right around the corner and this should get you in the "love mood!" So I hope you enjoy the picture! Look for an update tomorrow about her RSV!! Oh yeah and did I mention that she will be 5 MONTHS OLD TOMORROW!! Time flies when you are having fun! :)

Meadows

New Pictures and RSV Update

Well Berkley is doing great with her breathing treatments and her medicine and really doesn't even act like she is sick! I know that her appetite has not failed her while she has been sick; yesterday evening she ate a whole thing of green beans, a whole thing of prunes AND 2 ounces of formula! She is becomine quite the heavyweight and I am anxious to see how much weight she has gained in a week and a day. We go back to the doctor on Thursday for a follow-up and hopefully they will say that that she is doing much better! No matter what they say, we know that she is doing much better as she doesn't cough as much and when she does, it isn't as "chesty." Her nose is also not running 24/7 but does still run after a breathing treatment which is normal. One thing I do know is that we are so grateful that we have good insurance as a the 4 boxes of her breathing treatment medicine only cost us $10 but without insurance it is $371.99!!! She is still quite the personality around the house and there really isn't a time when we aren't cracking up about something she is doing or a face she has made. I think Webster (the cat) knows that it won't be long until she is crawling and chasing him because everytime we put her near him, he just looks at us like "ARE YOU CRAZY!" Last night I put her near him to see what she would and I swear she lifted her whole body up and then just fell back down! Of course Thad wasn't paying attention so I just seem like the delirious one, but I know she did it! We know it won't be long before she is crawling everywhere and then of course walking! We think that she won't be in the crawling phase long and will probably be walking a lot sooner than we hope! Well that is about it, I just thought I would post some new pictures and give a quick update about how she was doing with her "condition!" I will post again on Thursday for sure!!

Meadows

1/27/09...I just thought this was a cute little outfit to lounge in

1/29/09...Thursday we stayed home; she was napping and had her blankie over her face! Don't worry I periodically made sure that she was breathing!

1/29/09...Same day we stayed home; she doesn't look sick does she?! And of course we are gearing up for NASCAR to start this weekend! Go Dale Jr.!

1/31/09...Well she has finally gotten big enough to wear the robe and slippers that Nicole and Levi got her. I think she loved something other than a towel to be wrapped in!

2/2/09...She got this cute outfit and I wanted to get a good picture for the Valentine's Day special in the newspaper but I failed. But of course I got plenty others!

2/2/09...After finishing off her prunes! Looks more like chocolate pudding to us!!

2/2/09...Webster wants nothing to do with her right now!

2/2/09...And then he just teases her because he knows that she can't get him! Boy is he going to be sorry here pretty soon!