Swine Flu - Really?

So the first case of the swine flu has been confirmed in the county we live...Lake County, IL. A six year old girl has been tested and confirmed.

"Tests by the Illinois Department of Public Health found people who likely fell ill from the new flu virus in suburbs and city neighborhoods, including five in Chicago, one in DuPage County, two in Kane County and one in Lake County, ranging in age from 6 to 57."

It's incredibly strange to me that something we were probably exposed to everyday growing up on a farm is creating such havoc! Cameron and I were talking about it last night. A year ago this situation would never have freaked me out or even had me giving it a second thought, but now I'm a parent and I understand that need to protect your child from anything...therefore it freaks me out just a bit. Not so much for Cameron or I but for the little man. No worries, I'm not going to go all crazy and make us all wear surgical masks but it definitely has me paying attention much more to the news than I would have last year at this time. So hopefully they get this situation under control soon so I don't have to worry about it anymore!

3 Amigos

On Saturday we went to visit new little Rocco Mertens. Dane, Rocco & Owen were all born within 10 weeks of each other. So excited to see these 3 grow up together...a bit afraid of what trouble they will cause as teenagers!

Our Little Chatterbox

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5 Generations

When we were back in Indiana last week Dane had the opportunity to meet his great grandparents and his great great grandfather! I always took for granted that I had 3 great grandparents surviving until about 5 years ago when I lost 2 great grandmothers in the same summer. I know that is incredibly rare, especially when I think about Cameron who doesn't have any surviving grandparents. Here are pictures of Dane, 5th generation:

With Great Grandma Shirley:With Great Great Grandpa Gene:

Welcome Rocco!

Our dear friends Luke & Nicole just had their 2nd child this morning...Reese became a big sister to Rocco Anthony weighing in at 7 pounds, 10 oz and 20.5 inches! Congratulations Mertens family, we can't wait to meet the little man. Many fun play dates are in our future!

Two Months Old (Really 2 months, one week)!

Dane had his two month checkup on Monday and he's grown quite a bit! He measured in at 24 inches long (75-90th percentile) and 13 lbs (75th percentile). His dome is a little on the small side only being in the 50th percentile. Maybe that's because he doesn't have any hair to add some bulk to it! It is starting to grow in now and he's looking a bit like a military man with his "buzz" cut. He smiles a lot now, coos and giggles. Unfortunately he had 3 vaccines to get at this appointment - one shot in each thigh and an oral...he wasn't very happy about the shots and he spit out most of the oral but at least it's over with. I think he gets the same 3 vaccines at his 4 month check up...not really looking forward to doing that again! He didn't seem to have any reaction to the vaccinations, so thankfully he was his happy little self all day! We even took him to a dinner party last evening at Cameron's VP's house!

A Week's "Vacation"

Our trip to IN was a huge success...Dane is a great traveller. He slept the entire way to Leesburg and the entire way back to O'Hare airport to pick up Daddy! He met lots of family and friends - it was quite a busy week! He played with cousins Andon & Presley every day, got in lots of quality time with Grandma Pam, Grandpa Dennis, Uncle Brian, Aunt Janel, Uncle Jeff & Aunt Christy! Dane also met extended family...many great aunts and second cousins. Zehring family - thanks for putting up with us for so many days, it was great to be back for a while!

With Andon & Presley:With Sweet little "Miss Priss":What are they doing?

And We're Off!

Dane and I are taking our first road trip back to Leesburg to visit the family! Cameron has his annual incentive trip and I opted out this year because I just can't stand the thought of leaving the little man for 4 days. So, we're dropping Cameron off at the airport this morning for a fun filled, sun filled trip to Cabo San Lucas Mexico and Dane and I are heading to tropical Leesburg, IN for our vacation! Have fun, Daddy! We will miss you!

Happy Easter!

Luke 24:46-47:
and (Jesus) said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem."

Dane's First "Play" Date & Easter

On Friday Dane had his first play date with Owen who is 10 days younger. Nicole - thank you for hosting...looking forward to many more play dates with Owen and your little guy once he gets here!

And of course Dane's first Easter...

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Daddy & Dane

I wanted to say a huge "thank you" to everyone who has sent cards and gifts for Dane. I have tried to make sure I send personalized thank you cards to everyone, but if you didn't get one - please forgive me. Most recent days I can't remember if I brushed my teeth...anyway back to my reason for this post!

Tim & Teresa gave us some pictures of Cameron when he was around Dane's age and it is now obvious to me who Dane looks most like. I'm sure there are some small resemblences to me (although I don't see those either), but look at the comparison between him and his daddy. Aside from the shape of the head, I think Dane is a dead ringer for Cameron:

Dane at six weeks:Cameron at six weeks:

Rock night

Cameron went to a concert on Tuesday with Luke, Scott, and John. They happened to run into Chris and Keenan at the show - Chris & Keenan were 2 of the people we spent New Years with. Trapt, Red and Since October were the main acts at the concert. He thought Red was the best of the three.