Haley Update

Haley has had a bit of a rough week...she started having daily seizures Christmas day so after the 4th one Russ and I decided she needed to go to the vet to possibly get a higher dose of her meds. So I took her in Monday morning and the Dr. did decide to up her meds. She has still had a couple seizures since but the vet said within 2 weeks we should see improvement.

The more alarming and more stressful side to this is that while we were at the vet I also had her check her range of motion for her back right knee. For as long as we can remember Haley has had a tendency to limp after a busy day of playing but lately she will limp around the house when she hasn't been exercised at all. After talking with the vet we decided we needed to do some x-rays on her hips and knees to find out what is really going on. This was scheduled for Tuesday.

The good news out of all of this is that her hips are in great shape. However, the x-rays did show that she has most likely torn her cruciate ligaments or what we would call the ACL in humans. Poor girl! She most likely has had a small tear in them for awhile and we think while at Russ's parents a couple weeks ago she tore the ligaments all the way.

So...we take her to an orthopedic vet next Thursday morning. He will look over the x-rays and decide which surgery she needs. It will most likely be a surgery called a TPLO which will replace her ligaments completely. While we have heard positive outcomes for this surgery it still makes me anxious to put her through all of that. She will be on a strict recovery for at least 6-8 weeks but should recover completely and have a much better quality of life once she is healed. The bad side to this is that it likely to happen in her other back leg eventually...so Haley's days of frisbee and ball chasing are most likely over.

Please be praying that Russ and I can make the best decision here...this surgery is very expensive and with the baby being so close the timing of this really isn't great. I would love to see her recovered by the time baby arrives so that she can be a part of the bonding and not feel left out. The surgery could take place as early as next Thursday afternoon after the consultation. Please pray for the vet to take extra good care of her and make her feel comfortable and that the surgery would indeed benefit her long term.

For now Haley is on some pain meds to make her more comfortable. She is feeling pretty good and hasn't been limping so that is good. We will keep you posted.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Well today marks the start of month 7 and the 3rd trimester! Pretty crazy how fast this is all going. Here is an updated belly picture at 28 weeks. Russ and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas! We love you all very much and appreciate your generosity and support in 2009. We are so excited for what is to come in 2010!

Here is the nursery so far....we will post an update as the room gets more finished.

Christmas Date Night

Russ and I celebrated Christmas with a night downtown. We stayed at the Hyatt and had a yummy dinner at Morton's. This is us in front of the Poinsettia tree at the Hyatt before dinner.

We are so full but can't turn down a tasty dessert!

Tree on the circle was very pretty...and busy.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a very yummy Thanksgiving meal at Russ's parents house. My parents were able to come over as well so we had the best from both moms! We had a great time and ate way too much.

Haley is loving the extra attention as usual.

Family picture time...

Whose belly is bigger?

Haley Meets ZHU Hamster

Special Weekend Guests

This weekend Jenny came in from Chicago and Beth and Brad made the long trip from North Carolina. We went up to Purdue on Saturday to enjoy campus and the beautiful day! We ate at Nine Irish and then went walking through campus.

Ashley was also in town so she met up with us for our walk through campus.

New Purdue P outside Stewart Center was a fun climb for all....well except me.

Beth and Brad

The Purdue Band coming through campus after the game. Despite the loss everyone was in good spirits to celebrate the last home game for the season.

Haley and Jenny's dog, Caddy, played their hearts out all weekend.

Happy Birthday Bonnie!

Last night, we got together as a family to celebrate Bonnie's 30th birthday! It was a beautiful night so we were able to hang around the fire pit outside for a bit after cake and ice cream.

Bonnie and David

Bonnie and her friend Jessie

Jessie's daughter Bella

Happy "Belated" Halloween!

Sorry it has taken me awhile to get these pictures up....but we had a great Halloween with Josh, Emily and Penny. Penny was adorable in her Giraffe costume and she enjoyed trick or treating.

Haley and Callie enjoyed keeping us safe from all of the "invaders."Penny goes for a ride...Haley was a good sport. :)

Once trick or treaters slowed down a bit Russ and Josh used their creativity to have some fun with one of our neighbors and create a Ninja pumpkin to take out their "pumpkin army." Russ decided to play headless Ninja before the overtaking.

Lindsay's Baby Shower

Last Saturday, Lindsay's mom and sister had a baby shower for her. It was great to have her home for a few days and to be able to see her progressing in her pregnancy. Here are a few pictures from the event. We can't wait for baby Adie to arrive in January!

It's a.....GIRL!

We had our ultrasound last Thursday and were able to find out that we are expecting a little girl! We are very excited, but were surprised because most everyone was convinced it was going to be boy. Thanks to all who voted! As you can see she has developed quite a bit since the last ultrasound 10 weeks ago. The Dr. said everything looks great so far! :)

Boiler Up!! Purdue 28 - OSU 16

Yesterday Jennifer and I went to the Purdue game to meet up with some college friends. Our expectations for the game were low but we just decided to go up and enjoy the day. Little did we know what was in store for us.

We met up with Ross, Josh, Sally and crew. It was great to see Joe who I hadn't seen in quite some time. Pam and Patty made their way over for the tailgate so it was time for brats, beers, chili, and snacks! Tons of fun hanging out pre-game. Around 11:30 we made our way over to the stadium.

Once there we quickly made our way to our seats. Section 148 row 41. Nervously awaiting kickoff we watched as the ball sailed through the air. OSU began the drive from about their 20 yard line. First play of the game OSU fumbled the ball and I immediately knew that this game could be special. From there forward OSU could not hang with Purdue. We ended up taking the lead with seconds to go before half time and we didn't look back.

At half time, we met up with Barry and his girl friend. It was great to see them both. Also ran into some other old friends from Lafayette. By the time we were done chatting the third quarter was 1/2 way over and Purdue had score two more touchdowns!! Deciding that we might actually win we ran back to our seats (now upgraded to Sec 127, row 12) to watch the remainder of the game.

Purdue couldn't be stopped and their defense got the job done. What a great game. As you can see from the photo above once the final seconds ticked off the clock the entire student section flooded the field. Not to be outdone, Jenn and I made our way past the whordes of alumni walking out of the stadium and rushed the field with a number of others on the press box side of the stadium. It was fun congratulating players and bringing back memories of rushing the field three times in the same season back in 2000 when Drew Brees was quarterbacking.

In any event, Jenn and I had a blast and were fortunate to have been a part of such a great game. Now looking forward to this week when we find out what we're having on Thursday!!!

Play time at Grandmas

Haley and Wilson playing at Grandma's.

Haley deciding if she is going to ignore us and run down to the creek to swim or come get some cheese....very tough call.
Lucky for us she opted for the cheese.

I'm tired momma!

An updated belly picture...week 17!

Well, sorry for the delay in updates from the Cate household but I guess our life the last few weeks has been so boring there is not too much to post! :) Russ's parents moved into their new house and Haley loves the freedom to run around free in such a wooded area. I meant to get some pictures of her and Wilson playing last weekend and forgot the camera. Speaking of forgetting....I am seriously experiencing some "pregnancy brain" these days. I am spacing things that I would never have before....kinda crazy. I joke with my kids at school that the baby is stealing all of my brain cells. They get a kick out of this and now remind me of this every time they catch me miss anything. On a good note...I think I am feeling the baby move! I have been feeling it for about 2 weeks and it is the coolest thing. I can't wait until Russ can feel it move too. We find out the sex of the baby on October 22nd. :)

Russ started a new job about 2 weeks ago and he is really enjoying it! He has enjoyed getting to know his new colleagues and seeing the "other side" to things. He has already had the opportunity to experience various legal areas.

We were supposed to go to Chicago this weekend, but Russ and I came down with bad colds last Sunday and have been fighting them all week. We are both starting to feel better today. To celebrate we broke down and bought a tv for the living room! :) It was driving me nuts! I never realized how much I enjoyed the background noise while cooking dinner and just being around the house. Don't get me wrong... I love the basement too but it is nice to have a tv back on the main floor.

October is looking to be a little more exciting so hopefully we will have more to share as the month unfolds.

Baby Bump

Well at 13 weeks today my baby bump is growing. Here are a couple pics for those of you that can't witness it in person.

Baby on Board!

As many of you have heard we are expecting a little one! I am 10 weeks along. We had the first ultrasound last Friday(9weeks) and it was amazing. We heard a strong heartbeat and even saw it move. Pretty crazy! Here are a couple pictures...the one with red on it is the thermal view where you can see the blood flow. Enjoy!

Las Vegas!

Last week My mom, sister and I went to Las Vegas to celebrate my sister turing 21 this summer. We had a great time! I have been trying to attach an album all day but can't get it to work. Here are a few pictures. Hopefully there will be more to come.

Ashley and I in front of a fountain in front of Caesers. Mom and Ashley just before the Bellagio light and fountain show.

Ashley and I in front the the Arch De Triumph next to the Paris Hotel.

The Bellagio garden had a Midwestern State Fair Theme with a ferris wheel, beautiful flowers, and hot air balloons.

Update on Honey...she has been adopted to a wonderful home. She is now a "region girl" living up in Goshen, IN. Haley missed her a lot the first day but has since settled back into her routine. We have finally found a frisbee that she can't destroy so we have been playing frisbee with her nonstop!