Nala

Charlie and I got to see E and Mark yesterday afternoon since they were using up a vacation day.  I happened to have my camera with me so I got a few shots of Mark's massive dog Nala.  She is really sweet and actually great around Charlie, but I was definitely intimidated by her size.  I think I am very happy with my small cat.  :)  I forget her breed name but she is purebred. 

Nala plays and plays with Briley, who of course sees no size difference. 

Charlie is really into human or pet brushes... 

And so Winnie girl doesn't feel left out, some pictures from this morning: 

Poor, poor Winnie.  Always being terrorized by Charlie.  She usually sits there and takes it for a while and then relocates. 

But of course CQ comes chasing after.  

She finally retreated to higher ground, out of Charlie's reach.

And speaking of animals (this is a real stretch), I accidentally made Charlie into a mermaid the other day while dressing him in overalls.  I kept wondering why I couldn't get the top straps fastened.  HA!

CQ at dinner last night

Recent Happenings

1.  On Wednesday night E and I met up for a Mexican dinner and a show at Exit/In.  I had seen Dia Frampton preform on the TV Show The Voice last year and thought she had a great voice.  (she was on Blake Shelton's team and he is one of my faves)  Pat and I bought the tickets a while ago and he opted to take it easy at home, so I'm glad my sister was able to join me!  We had a great time.

2.  Pat was awarded his CFA at the Nashville Society's induction ceremony last week at Hillwood Country Club.  He was able to bring a guest and Paul was in town, so proud Paul was able to see Pat presented with this honor.  We need to get that sucker framed for sure! 

3.  Ahh, sometimes the cheapest gift is the one most enjoyed.  My parents got me my first bird feeder (it's a suet holder) for Christmas and Charlie and I love to watch it!  We've had lots of birds attracted to it. 

4.  We always jokingly call Charlie our little swiffer because he is always collecting dust/dirt on his tummy and legs...so here he is after he actually got ahold of a swiffer the other week. 

Dust away my darling! 

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!  We are heading out for sushi soon. :)

Charlie -11 months old

We are counting down to the little guy's FIRST BIRTHDAY now.  He turned 11 months on January 24th.  Charlie has been on medicine for a while because he had a double ear infection around New Year's and then it came back in one ear.  So he was a little under the weather but he seems to be back to himself now and has a great appetite again.  Grandpa Paul left on Tuesday after a week stay with us, so Charlie is back to just hanging out with me during the day.  Charlie keeps crawling (yep, still no walking) into the bathroom and standing up next to the tub, so I think he is letting me know how much he enjoys taking a bath.  He's still putting everything in his mouth, and last week I believe he sampled his first taste of Winnie's cat food.  I am hoping this is his last month on his special Alimentum formula.  Here's to hoping he can drink regular milk soon!  His 11 month pictures:

Of course it can be hard to keep him still.  This guy is on the move!!

 He still has his beautiful eyelashes. 

What a happy little guy!

Put your hands up for my little cutie.  ;-)

A couple videos from this morning

I haven't posted a video in a while, so enjoy!

Pat's birthday

Yesterday was Pat's 31st birthday.  Of course we had no idea if he'd be up for celebrating or not.  But Friday was somewhat anticlimactic, as Pat said.  The procedure took a few hours, where he received ABVD through an IV.  We came home and had chicken sandwiches afterwards and took it easy on the couch.  I was thrilled that Pat had an appetite and was feeling alright.  Saturday Pat felt pretty good and even went to Vandy for a short group meeting.  On Sunday Pat felt a little tired, but not too bad.  Through the IV on Friday he also received some anti-nausea medicine and some steroids which must have helped a lot.  Pat is at class now.  What a relief that we made it through the first weekend! 

On Saturday evening, my parents had a little birthday party for Pat at their house:

 Complete with balloons and streamers!

Kate sent down this bib for Charlie's birthday next month, but I made Pat put it on for a picture. ;-) 

mmmm cherry cobler and ice cream

And last night, my cousins Sarah and Matthew and also Rachel brought over dinner.  Sarah made an Italian Bake, a delicious cheesy pasta dish.  We also had salad and Matthew's garlic bread.  I made Paula Deen's Banana Pudding for dessert. 

I brought out the tri-pod for a group shot.  Then I made Matthew remove his reflective jacket. :) 

We sure appreciate them bringing us dinner and an extra dish to freeze for later.  Pat has joked "my fridge is not big enough for cancer."  We have been very well fed lately.   

I'm so glad Pat was up for celebrating.  We had a great time!

IGBOK

Our new motto is IGBOK for it's gonna be ok.  We have realized lately that things could always be better, things could always be worse.  Within the last couple weeks Pat has had a CT scan, PET scan, needle biopsy, invasive biopsy (surgery), blood work, a bone marrow biopsy and other stuff, all to determine he has Hodgkins Lymphoma.  The prognosis is very good, but Pat does have to undergo six months of Chemo.  Starting tomorrow.  This was all very much a shock to us.  Pat is amazing, as always, and continues to have a positive attitude and even shows his sense of humor.  Our plan is to try and keep things as normal as possible and Pat has notified the Dean and his professors at Vandy about what's going on, but he intends to continue classes like usual.  Some of you  might be wondering where he'll be treated - at Vanderbilt.  I've met his oncologist who seems great.  The chemo will take place every other Friday (works for Pat's schedule since he doesn't have class that day).  My Father-in-Law Paul is in town for a week and we're lucky to have my family so close by us. 

Of course Charlie has  no clue what is going on and he keeps us smiling.

Please keep Pat in your thoughts and prayers.

Recent Happenings

Lots of pictures for you ~ sorry for lack of posts.  I know my fans were disappointed.  ;-)

1.  Celebrating New Years Eve was so fun.  We joined some Vandy friends on a party bus downtown.

My HS bestie Kate joined us.  Here we are with Brent and Lindsay.

 Pat and Tim (the only 2 CFAs in their class)

 We stopped by Love Circle to have a view of the city.

 Lights!

 Love my Pat!

2.  Charlie checking out his new rug.  It's been great and is so soft and thick.  (From Pottery Barn Kids, Rugby Rug)

3.  More Kate time.  She arrived Nashville the day we left for Cape Cod, so we crammed in some fun right at the end of her TN trip.

4. Hanging with Mimi and Papa!

5. Taking down Christmas decorations...I haven't been able to part with the holiday cards yet.

6. Charlie making a complete mess in his "Feed Me" T Rex shirt.  :o)

7. And hamming it up for the camera!

There have been some other recent happenings, but I'll get to those later.  Go Hoosiers!