Playing Catch Up

So today I am playing blog catch up, since I haven't written a good blog post in a while.  Try to keep up! :)

LEDGER:
     Ledger continues to grow and change every day.  He is proficient at crawling and pulling himself up on any semi-stable surface (including dogs).  He is even learning to let go and stand unsupported.  Last night he amazed us by standing and balancing by himself for about 5 seconds!  He has been teething again over the last few weeks -- the gums around his upper incisors are very swollen and the white teeth are visible beneath the gingiva.  This time around, the teething has been harder on him.  He cries more frequently and prefers to be constantly chewing on something.  We are all very anxious for that darn tooth to cut through so he will feel better!!  In the meantime, we have had even more difficulty with sleeping during the nights.  I would like to attribute it to the teething, but I feel like he is just developing a bad habit of needing Mommy to get to sleep.  Once his tooth cuts through, we are going to start sleep training again and maybe even give the "cry it out" method another shot.

 

MOMMY & DADDY:
     First, at the end 2009, I became a part owner of our veterinary clinic.  This was the first step in a 5 year plan to buy the practice from Dr. Ewy.  Yay!  For now, there really won't be any major changes in day-to-day operations around here... but it means that I am more involved in the decision making process around here and that over time I will be taking on more responsibility and Dr. Ewy will be phasing himself out of the workload.  The current plan is to keep him on as a part time doctor after we complete the buy-out... we are doing too much business for me to handle by myself!
     Chris has restarted school this semester and they are already revving up for the first round of state testing.  Testing time is a really stressful time for all of the teachers.  Each year, the "standard" continues to rise and it is becoming very hard for schools to meet these goals.  The teachers, principals, and schools are evaluated on the test scores -- making the scores even more important.  So the spring semester looks to be as busy as ever for Chris at work.
     For Christmas, we both upgraded our phones to the new Motorola Droid smart phones.  So far, we both really like the cool features that our new phones allow.  Chris really loves playing games on his and I am using mine to keep myself more organized and in touch.  Our emails go straight to our phones now, so if you need us, we are a little easier to get ahold of.  And, just for fun, my droid has a purple sequined cover -- very blingy.
     As I have already said, our whole family has been sick with the respiratory crap since just before Christmas.  Just to add a little fun to the mix, we picked up the stomach flu last weekend.  And today I had an optometrist appointment because I am having pain in my right eye... and I have a developing stye!  Geez!  We just can't catch a break.

FAMILY & FRIENDS:
     Since Grandpa Young passed away at the beginning of December, Grandma Young's health has deteriorated.  Pam and Steve have been spending a lot of time visiting Gma in the hospital at Lindsborg.  She is having a lot of abdominal pain that appears to be due to the narrowing of some of her intestinal arteries.  The doctors are recommending a risky surgical procedure to correct the problem... but we have run into a few obstacles and have not yet decided how things are going to proceed.  Please keep grandma in your prayers.  She is having a rough time right now.
     My sister, Brandy, has just found out that she lost a recent pregnancy.  They are grieving the loss, but rebounding well.  As always, I am wishing that we lived a little closer to the Guy family so that I could be more supportive during this time.
     My best friend Ann has just announced that she is 9 weeks pregnant with her second child.  I am looking forward to meeting the next Buchanan baby and seeing her son Brody become a big brother.

Phew!!  That was quite a post.  I promise I will try to be a better blogger in the coming weeks!