Our life in a little nut shell!

Wow, December already. I can't believe that Ali's first birthday is going to be around the corner before I know it. We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving. We went up to Tim's parents house for dinner. It was so great to see everyone, eat good food, and have great conversations with people we love so much. Also, it gives Mommy and Daddy a break with Ali. Then we put Ali in her pj's and boarded the train to Wenatchee. I thought it would be the easiest train ride ever, but Ali was tired and cranky. Tim and I took turns walking up and down the aisle until she finally fell asleep. Ali had her first taste of shopping all day. We got up at 5:30 and were out the door by 6:00 a.m. Ali shopped all day with us. It was so great to see Great Grandma and Grandpa.
Ali is learning all sorts of new tricks. Over the past week and 1/2 she can now clap, wave, high five, say "Momma", points to everything, and is getting close to walking. I hope everyone is having a great Holiday season.
Love ya ALL!!!

We have been back from our trip from Montana for a couple of weeks now. Time has seem to fly by. Ali is doing great! Her bowels are finally back to normal and she is eating more food than she ever has. Her new favorite food is blueberries and of course cheerios. Ali is crawling up and down the stairs now. I am glad she learned how, but now she thinks it is a fun game and when we are up stairs she tries to crawl as fast as she can to go down the stairs, we don't have a gate at the top.
Tim is very excited that Husky basketball started. He has been to two games this week already, he bought season tickets. Ali and I are invited to two games only, one this week and on Valentines Day. How romantic!! This is his escape from the family, can't blame him for that.
I have been getting very excited about the holiday season starting. I can't wait to eat lots of good food, drink lots, and see friends and family. I am a little bummed about the Christmas tree issue. I really want to put one up, but I can envision it now, I sit down to use the bathroom and I hear a loud bang from the other room and when I come rushing out with my pants down ALi is trapped underneath the tree or I just have to keep telling her NO don't touch the tree every 5 seconds, either way it sounds like too much work. We are praying that we have some good snow fall when we head back to Montana for Christmas. Ali and I want to roll around in it and make naked snow angels, well....maybe just snow angels since my Dad hasn't got the hot tub up and running. HOpe everyone is doing well....until next time!!!

Montana

So far we have been here for 4 days...Tim and my Dad went hunting twice and came back with nothing for us to eat!! Tim enjoyed being out in the middle of nowhere with nothing around except animals, trees, and peace and quiet. I am not sure he enjoyed getting up at 4 a.m. to go shoot stuff, but that is all part of the hunting experience. I think they drank enough beer to make up for not bringing anything back.
Ali is still pooping, the story of our life!! We have started some probiotics and some antibiotics. I think they are probably counteracting each other, but we have one more day of the antibiotics. When we get back we are going to get her blood taken and go see a stomach doctor. Hopefully Grandma didn't give her and her Uncle J.T. her bad stomach problems. Ali has enjoyed being in Montana and has put down more crackers then anyone I have seen.

Recession

Though it hasn't been officially declared, because the data takes a while to measure, our country is in a recession that started in December of 2007. I see the effects of it every day as an increase in overdraft charges, maxed out credit cards, and businesses failing. I predict that the recession will last 17 months until May 2009. I was doing some research today on what the stock market did during the last two comparable recessions from July 1981 to November 1982 and November 1973 to March 1975. Since Wall Street tends to predict the health of the economy 6 months ahead of time on average, US companies stock prices started recovering in share price in July of 1982 and October of 1974. What does that tell us? It tells me that if my prediction of the time the recession ends is right that the best time to invest will be November to December of this year. That is if anyone can find enough cash to invest in these tough times. For those that do, it is not unlikely to expect 2 year returns of 30 to 50%. Reference this post in 6 months to see if i was right.

Sleep Walking and Broken Noses

Last night at 2:00 am I was startingly awakened by the sound of Karly's face impacting our dresser. She was confused, she said she was dizzy, and then her nose started bleeding.....and then Ali woke up. It is crazy how lack of sleep can make your mind decide to keep your body walking, even knowing that you are going to eventually crash into something. Here i thought i was the only one in the house we had to worry about sleep walking and smashing my nose into objects.

Ali is feeling much better today! Thank goodness. Her momma was really worried about her on Monday. She still isn't 100%, but she has some life in her today. I even got her to eat pureed food by bribing her with a cheerio on top. We are all getting very excited about our trip to Montana. The candy is much better in Montana. Ali and I bought a ticket today to go back to Montana for Christmas. We are really excited about being home with friends and family, but wish Tim could be with us. He has to work and only has Christmas day off, so we decided that this year we could celebrate it apart. Look out Mom and Dad you get us for 2 weeks.

Information about the Rotavirus

Ali went to the doctor today after three days of crying, diarrhea, and limited sleeping. It looks like she has a common bug called the rotavirus. The symptoms can last for up to 10 days, and the main concern is keeping her hydrated. Please keep her in your prayers that she gets through this as soon as possible. There is nothing that makes a Mom and Dad feel worse than not being able to help their screaming baby feel better.

For some more info on the Rotavirus you can visit the following site:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotavirus