The Year in Review -- Year 2

Today is Colin's second birthday! Here's his second year in pictures.

February 2007



















March 2007














April 2007














May 2007 (in Chicago)














June 2007













July 2007














August 2007 (at the Mattie Park)



















September 2007














October 2007 (in the Outer Banks)














November 2007















December 2007



















January 2008














Happy birthday Colin!!

Rora

We've had a roller coaster of a week. Last Tuesday night, Rory (or, as Colin says, "Rora") was really slow coming upstairs at bedtime. He usually tears up the stairs because he gets a treat before he gets in his crate for the night. The next morning, he didn't want to eat his breakfast (which is really strange) and was just lying in his bed, shaking.

We took him to our vet who found he was having pain in his back. We were told to restrict his movement and give him Rimadyl twice a day. The vet thought it might be a bulging disc and the rest and anti-inflammatory could help.

On Thursday, we noticed that he was having trouble walking (his back legs seemed to be giving out on him). He wasn't better by Friday, so we called our vet again. They scheduled us to come in Monday morning. Over the weekend, Rory seemed to be getting a little (but not much) better, but his back legs were still wobbly.

On Monday, our vet took an x-ray and saw what he believed was calcification of one or two of Rory's discs. He recommended that we take him to Bush Veterinary Neurology Service for a CT scan and possible surgery. Dr. Bush confirmed that Rory had a calcified disc and performed a hemilaminectomy on Monday night.

Rory did great and we were able to bring him home today. He ate a little dinner and took his pain medication, but has otherwise just been resting comfortably. He should be fully healed within a month. We're glad to have our dog back, even if we're a little poorer in the process.

Potty Training -- Day 9

Ladies and gentlemen, Colin went pee pee on the potty tonight!!

I was getting him dressed after his bath and he said "potty" (it actually sounds like "baby," but slightly different -- we've ignored it before and he's promptly peed on the floor). So, I took him back in the bathroom and put him on the potty. He sat there for a little while and then starting peeing! Yay!

Potty Training -- Day 1

At the urging of Colin's daycare teachers, we have entered the wild, wonderful world of potty training.

Day 1.

Purchase potty seat.

Put son on potty seat (at his request).

Nothing.

Change poopy diaper.

Put son on potty seat (at his request).

Nothing.

Wash hands (at his request).

Put son on potty seat (at his request).

Nothing.

Give bath and put into bed.

I guess Day 1 went about as well as could be expected. We're going to try to put him on the potty before his bath every night (he's been waking up soaked every morning) and see what happens...

The Home Stretch

The end of teething is in sight (at least for the baby teeth). Last night, we saw the bottom second molars starting to come in. Only two more teeth to go! Woo hoo!

Happy New Year!

All the best for a happy and healthy 2008!

Merry Christmas!

We hope everyone had as nice of a Christmas as we did!

Our holiday didn't start out so great. On Christmas Eve, Colin had to go to the doctor. He had had a fever off and on for a few days and he was just a general fusspot. By the time we brought him in at 3:00, his fever was up to 102 and he was miserable. Turns out he has a sinus infection or bronchitis and he's on antibiotics again. At least it wasn't another ear infection!

Thankfully, Colin was feeling better on Christmas morning. We had the whole family over (Grandma, Grandpa, Grammy, Grandaddy, Nanny, Uncle Mike, Aunt Melissa, Tommy and Matthew) and had a wonderful day. I guess Colin was a very good boy because Santa came and brought him a tricycle! I think everyone took at least one turn pushing Colin around the house. Daddy and I will be happy when he's just a little bit taller and can reach the pedals!

Thanks to everyone for being so generous and for celebrating the day with us.

T.M.Y.K.

Attention toddlers. This is what happens when you don't take a nap at daycare.

The more you know...

Winter Wonderland -- DC Style

Look at what I came home to today:

It's not much, but it's more than the dusting that was forecast (and enough to completely snarl traffic). I'm glad I was able to get the trees out on the front porch yesterday.

Colin "Danger" Brust

We made our first trip to the ER today. I guess it's bound to happen when "Danger" is your middle name. (We should have thought twice before putting that on the birth certificate.)

Colin had a little run-in with the wooden armrest on our mission style sofa (which I bought right after I graduated from law school and wasn't even thinking about child-friendly furniture). We were able to slow down the bleeding, but the wound was pretty deep and we thought a doctor should check him out.

First, we drove to the Nighttime Pediatrics in Rockville (these things always happen on weekends, don't they?). We were trying to find a place to park and saw there were about 30 people in the waiting room. We had driven by Sandy Spring After Hours Pediatrics yesterday and figured we could get there before anyone would see us in Rockville.

As soon as the nurse saw his wound, she told us that we should take him to the ER at Montgomery General Hospital because she wasn't able to do sutures. They took us right into the Pediatric Center. The doctor was able to use Dermabond instead of sutures and she said that there shouldn't be a scar. He cried pretty hard while they were cleaning the wound (which I'm sure hurt a ton), but he was so good when she was closing the wound. We're supposed to keep him from scratching, rubbing or picking at the adhesive. Yeah, that's going to be easy.

Within 5 minutes after the doctor was finished, Colin was climbing on chairs in the ER and we've already had to make him stop standing on the coffee table. Sigh...