December 24, 2010 - The kids woke up to find "Tiny the elf" hiding in his final place before Christmas! It was bittersweet for
MaKayla. She has grown really fond of Tiny. When we explained that Tiny would not be coming back until next year she was really said. We told her that Santa would take Tiny back with him after he left present for her and Noah. That made it a little easier for her. She said good-bye to Tiny and wished him well.
Ike has not been feeling well for about a week now. Under the advisement of our vet we tried different things hoping it was just an upset tummy. Today ended up getting a lot worse. Our vet met Andy first thing in the morning. Ike's stomach was huge and pushed out on the sides. and he had no energy.
Let me back up a minute. In November, Ike had what we think was a stroke which left his left side of his face paralyzed. He could not even blink his eye on the left side. We have been putting drops in his eye every three hours to keep the eye from drying out and creating an ulcer. We knew that his health was deteriorating but he was not in any pain.
Back to the present. An x-ray showed that Ike was in congestive heart failure. The reason his stomach was so big is because of all the fluid. We were given a couple of different options. We chose to have the fluid drained to buy us some time. As soon as the fluid was drained he was back to his old self. We spoiled him with lots of treats and special meals of ground beef, rice and corn. He loved all the extra attention.
We were suppose to go back to Illinois for Christmas Eve with my Dad and Bonnie. Due to the circumstances we canceled and spent a quality time at home. Andy and I took turns going to the Christmas Eve service at church. We didn't want to leave Ike home alone. The diuretic he is on makes him have to go out about every 30 minutes. The picture above is from a couple of weeks ago.
December 28, 2010 - We were headed to the Wolf Pack for breakfast when we spotted two bald eagles sitting in a tree together. One flew off before I was able to get a picture. We decided to come Up North right after putting Ike down yesterday. We thought it would be good for us to try and keep our minds busy. 
Noah with his Mader teeth sucker
MaKayla is getting ready for her first snowmobile ride of the season.
Away they went into the night
December 29, 2010 - We went sledding at Lake Tomahawk. One of our yearly traditions. This was the first year that MaKayla was able to make it up the hill all by herself! Way to go MaKayla!
Daddy and Noah after going down the hill together.
The four of us
My handsome boy!
December 30, 2010 - We took the kids to see there first movie in a theater. We saw Tangled and the kids loved it! They didn't move a stitch except to reach for popcorn or a drink.
MaKayla is striking a pose before the movie started.
At the end of the movie, the kids wanted to see the screen from the front seat. They didn't want to leave. I'd say it was a highlight of our winter trip.
Papa made it up to the cabin in the evening. Unfortunately the rest of the families could not make it this year. Because we were unable to spend Christmas with Papa and Nana we got to open presents at the cabin. MaKayla loves her new sweater.
Noah had a blast with his new firetruck and fire fighter outfit.
I love this picture of Noah.
Snuggle time!
December 31, 2010 - Papa took us to the movies. The kids got to go to the movies two days in a row and were super excited. This time we saw Yogi Bear in 3D. Noah sat at the end of his seat and didn't take his eyes off the screen for the whole movie. It was so cute! He loved the movie!
MaKayla is sporting her 3D glasses.
