Mommy's New Do and Claire's Hot Mess

I had some much-needed alone time today at the hair salon! Here's the new do!

When Claire woke up from her nap, she had the worst bed-head I've ever seen and Daddy told her it looked a hot mess!

For Better or for Worse

I'm happy to report that we are all officially healthy!! (Knock on wood!)

My mom left this at my house today for me to see...thought it was quite appropriate!

The Bug that Bit the Barnes House

Today Claire is on Day 7 of the stomach bug and I thought I'd write down a few notes on the past week so that maybe one day I can look back and laugh at all this?!?

It all started last Wednesday when Claire threw up on her breakfast. Oh boy, I knew I was in for it. At first she acted totally normal, but by Friday I decided to call the Dr.'s office for some advice. They gave me a list of things to try and wished me luck. Unfortunately, no amount of luck (or hand washing or crossing fingers or knocking on wood) helped Rob and me from catching this nasty bug!

By 5pm Friday I was sick as a dog and by 7pm Rob was too! Since we could barely make it to a standing position, we had my mom come pick Claire up at 6am Saturday morning. We rested all weekend and I decided it was time to pick her up Sunday afternoon. Well guess what happens next in this lovely story? Yep, my mom had it by Sunday evening!

While we all have recovered by now (for the most part) Claire's symptoms are still going strong. Yesterday I called the Dr.'s office again and was told to bring her in. After an hour wait, we were sent home with some more ideas to try and told to just keep her hydrated. Since we were having no luck getting her to drink anything, I had the Dr. paged last night and was told we were "borderline" of needing an IV. Luckily by the morning I was able to get some fluids in her and we avoided the IV, but still needed another trip to the Dr. just to be safe.

This afternoon, she seems to be improving but still having symptoms. I even got her to eat a few bites of banana and some toast! (Who knew this kind of thing could drag on for SO long?!) So hopefully in the next couple days everything will clear up. Otherwise, it's back to the Dr's office! I'm keeping all fingers and toes crossed that we can all sleep through the night tonight without any "incidents" involving changing of the diaper, pajamas, and sheets!!!

Just for kicks, here's all the things that I have purchased (or sent my Dad/Rob's Dad out to purchase for us) in the hopes of kicking this darn bug:

• gatorade, in every flavor imaginable
• pedialtye
• white grape juice
• soy milk (notice the theme....anything to get her to DRINK!)
• canned peaches, specifically in heavy syrup
• Lotrimin AF (a foot bacteria cream....I know it's weird, but they said to try it for diaper rash!)
• Prescription cream for diaper rash
• baked potato
• rice
• chicken and rice soup
• jello
• popsicles
• extra waterproof mattress pad
• lotion for her super-dried out skin/rash
• powdered Probiotics to add to her drink or food (sounded interesting today, will see if it helps)
• Gingerale
• More soup!

O-Baby, It's Inauguration Day!

It's one of those days you will always remember where you were and who you were with....the day our 44th President, Barack Obama was sworn into office. Claire and I were home watching all the excitement on TV. Papa Jim came over and brought us lunch. (Claire's first McDonalds chicken nuggets! YUM!) Since the "main event" was during lunchtime, we had a picnic in front of the TV! Whenever the crowd cheered, Claire cheered along!
(Yes, I know the bow looks silly, but the top of her head is the only place I could put it that she wouldn't rip it right out!! Anyways, it doesn't look nearly as silly as the bow hat Aretha was rockin!)

Here's the moment when Obama was sworn in. Such an exciting moment in history!

Monument Avenue, Here We Come!

10K training started this weekend for us! Rob says he's running it with me this year, so we laced up our running shoes on a very cold morning and headed out for our first run. Claire was snug as a bug and could barely move with all the warm clothes I put on her! :-) We weren't so good this morning and instead of going out to excersize, we went to IHOP! Hey, you gotta enjoy yourself too right? Claire was really good in the restaurant and we had a fun breakfast out!

And this picture is "just because!" Isn't she cute?! (16 months old today!!) One of MANY new outfits from Abu and PoPa for Christmas.

Crib Time

Every morning after a diaper change and milk, Claire plays in her crib for a while. She likes her "alone time" I guess and so do I! I am always curious what exactly she does in there for so long and sometimes spy on her. This morning, Rob went up to say goodbye before leaving for work and yells for me to come up. He said "you GOTTA come see this".....and this is what I found:

Not sure how long she was like that because she never cried or anything, but was definitely stuck! Pretty funny!

For Hokie Eyes ONLY...

Warning: I do not have permission from my husband to post this. It very well could be deleted at any time. :-)

For Aunt Alison, Uncle Andy, and all the other Hokies out there...Claire's ready for the Orange Bowl!

*As I said to resolve a Hokies vs. Hoos debate amongst Rob and Brooke: It doesn't matter anyway, Claire's gonna be a Duke Dog!!

A Rockin New Year's Eve!

Yes, I know it's hard to believe, but here's a post that does NOT include pictures of Claire!! She was staying at Grammy and Papa Jim's house for a couple nights (I NEVER turn down a chance to sleep in!) and we invited Jake, Alison, and Matt over to ring in the New Year. We were a pretty sad group....Matt had to work at 7am this morning so they left around 10 and the rest of us all fell asleep before midnight. I guess you could say we dropped the ball on the ball dropping. Ha ha.

Anyway, our entertainment for the evening was Jake's Rock Band game he got for Christmas. I laughed so hard watching the boys play! They were actually pretty good :-)

"Straight thuggin" as Jake would say!!

Happy 2009 everyone! It's gonna be a great year!!

Christmas with the Masons

While Christmas was winding down for most people, ours was just beginning! Christmas with the Masons this year was on Sunday after Andy and Tara returned from Danville. Claire showed up in her Christmas attire...here she is strutting her stuff.

Claire and Aunt Tara. Tara's brother shared one of his (gag) gifts with Claire. She loved it and maybe it will teach her a couple of words en espanol!Claire opening her presents...In one of her new outfits...Entertainment thanks to Andy and Tara's Christmas gift to each other - the Wii! Here's Mom bowling. (It really upset my super-competitive Dad that I beat him! Dare to try a rematch?)

Mom's Christmas Menu - yes, you are reading that correctly "Beef Tenderloin a la Styrofoam"And here's the styrofoam to prove it. It actually worked and was delicious!!Claire went to bed and we all enjoyed a wonderful meal together.
For those of you who think Charlie is totally neglected, here's proof that he got presents too! Christmas continued Tuesday night with the Hulchers. Claire wore her Christmas dress that Grammy made. She LOVED her dog book from the Hulchers.
Claire in her sweater from Mexico! Clay and Patti bought it on their honeymoon!! We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday with their loved ones! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

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