Finally finished some fun Halloween decorations . . .

Daddy's Girl

She refuses to say Mama!!

Another update . . .

We met with an orthopedic surgeon this morning and he confirmed what we suspected.  The two conditions that Rusty have are not going to get better and will probably just continue to get worse - so surgery is in order.  It will take him 3-4 months to recover enough to keep Alaina again so we will have to work out a temporary arrangement.  The surgery involved screwing some bones together, fusing some others together, drilling some out to make more room for nerves and using donated bone.  Sounds fun, huh?  But they said it should only be an overnight stay and has an 85% success rate.  We have scheduled it for December 20, after our cruise, and will rely on epidural steroid injections until then.  Rusty has one tomorrow and it has a 75% chance of drastically relieving the pain.  Cross your fingers for that one.  He can't remember what it feels like to not have pain.

Minute To Win It

Rusty's Priest group was in charge of the youth activity this week so they chose to do a Minute To Win It game.  It was so much fun!!

Friday Fives

1. What's your "comfort food"?
Let's just say that needs to be plural - foods.
Ice cream, chocolate, candy, etc.
2. One thing thats on your mind right now?
My root canal that's scheduled for today and a possible future spinal surgery for Rusty.  My brain is on overload!

3. What's the best advice you've ever received?
From my husband - to not worry about things I can't change.

4.If you found $10 today, what would you do with it?
Go get some ice cream, chocolate, candy, etc.  (see #1)

5. What is your least favorite thing to clean in your house?
Bathrooms - yuck, how do they get so dirty?

Minute To Win It

Junk in the Trunk game. The youth at church are doing these games for their activity. I can't wait to take pictures!!

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An Update on Rusty

Rusty has been struggling for at least a year with hip/back/leg pain.  It has progressively gotten worse - so bad, that if he is standing or walking for more than 15 minutes, he is in extreme pain.  It has really limited what he can do and how active he can be.

A few months ago, he went to my chiropractor that I love and we found out that he has Spondylolisthesis.  (Degenerative Spondylolisthesis (DS) is a disorder that causes the forward motion (slip) of one vertebral body over the one below.)  It is usually rated on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the worst.  Rusty's was rated at a 1 and an aggressive treatment plan was carried out.  For two months he went for treatment 2-3/week but saw little pain relief.  So an MRI was in order.

Rusty had an MRI Monday to try and figure out what else is going on.  The lab and the chiropractor agree that, along with DS, he also has Spinal Stenosis.  Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of areas in the lumbar (back) spine, which causes pressure on the spinal cord or one or more of the spinal nerves.

The two of these conditions combined explain the severity of his pain and why the chiropractic care isn't curing it.  The next step is to meet with an orthopedic doctor to discuss options but it looks like Lumbar Decompression surgery is the best cure.  We are hoping to get some answers soon and will keep you updated.  Please keep Rusty in your thoughts and prayers!

Isn't this the most beautiful sound ever?

First words

Alaina has been babbling for a while now. But we've decided that it's official - Alaina's first word is "DaDa". She's been saying it for a while but we weren't sure if she knew what she was saying. Well tonight we were talking about her saying dada and then she said dada again and crawled to Rusty and said it again. She is totally a daddy's girl and favors him totally! It is so cute!!


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9 Month Checkup

Alaina had her 9 month checkup yesterday and the doctor said she is just perfect.  :)  She is right on track developmentally and has no issues.

Here's her stats:
Height:  28.5 inches  84%
Weight:  21 lbs. 2 oz.  86%
Head Circumference:  44.7  72%

9 months old

Alains is 9 months old now.  She loves to crawl around and pull up on things.  We practice standing up and walking and that is not too far off.  She has the best smile and is such a fun baby!!

Jump Jump - part 2

Practicing her Headstand

Jump Jump

Mom gave Caitlin a jump-jump several years ago.  For awhile we had it set up in the bonus room, but it took up so much room, we took it down.  This weekend was so nice, I brought it out and we blew it up.  I set up Alaina up with some snacks that she could practice feeding to herself and Caitlin and I took turns inflating.

Finally, getting to enjoy the fruits of her labors!!

More from the weekend . . .

Alaina just LOVES her blanket that Nana made her.  When we put her down to sleep, she makes circular motions with her legs.  Then we put the blanket on her, and she just smiles and cuddles with it.  Then she can go to sleep.  I snuck in a few days ago and took this picture.

We went to Publix on Monday to get a few things and Alaina had her first experience in the car buggy.  Caitlin has always enjoyed it and Alaina agreed that it was lots of fun!  She had her hands on the wheels the whole time like she was really driving.

Fun Weekend

We had a fun weekend.  Rusty was out of town so it was just us girls.  We took lots of pictures, played outside, made some crafts and hung out.