Month 1

Dear Sophie,




Today you are one month old. Well, not really. Still playing catch-up here. But we're pretending you're one month old today. Everyone has met you already. Your grandma and grandpa and aunt Ashley from IL just left, and you had two doctor's appointments this month. You weighed 10 pounds at your two-week appointment.




I'm not sure how people were parents before Google. Heck, I'm not sure how anyone survived without the internet. I'm always looking up different things, like 'mustard-colored poop' and 'how long can breastmilk be refridgerated' because nobody thinks to tell you that baby poop is normally the color of dijon mustard and has little oatmeal-looking flakes in it. Because, well, it just doesn't look normal to someone who's never had a baby before. Oh, and some people say 24 hours, others say 8 days, and there's a pretty big difference there, and I still don't know which one is right, so we're just going with 24-ish hours just to be safe. Well, safe-ish.




Several people have told me that all babies do this, but your dad and I are just fascinated by your hands. You have no control over your arms yet, so all of your movements are involuntary. And damn it all if you aren't conducting a little orchestra in your head. Sometimes you put your arm straight up next to your ear, and you look like you're raising your hand. Then we say, 'Sophie has a question' or 'Sophie knows the answer!' Sometimes you hold your arm straight out in front of you, palm out, and we start singing 'Stop! Collaborate and listen, Ice is down with a brand new invention...' which is a song that illustrated our childhoods by a guy named Vanilla Ice that I'm sure we'll humiliate you with when you're older. Sometimes you just put both your hands next to your ears, and then we either say that you're Hearing No Evil, or that Mama's music is too loud. Ah, good times.




Your first trip out in public, besides doctor's visits, was to dinner at Bob Evans. It was around 4:30 for an early dinner, so the only people there besides us were about 105. You were so excited, you slept the whole time.




You started sleeping through the night a week ago. That's really early, in case nobody told you that. The first time you did it, we weren't sure if we should wake you up or not. So, after some debate, we just shrugged our shoulders and let you sleep. And you've been doing it ever since (knock on wood).

Love,
Mama

Month 0

Dear Sophie,

This month, you were born. Well, not really, but I just got this idea that I should write you a letter every month to let you know how much I love you, yada yada, and just let you know in general what's been goin' on, and then publish it in a blog that I used to keep regularly but has been defunct for some time so that all of the internet world could peruse it. Yep, that's about it.

So anyway, this month you were born. Your birth was a pretty huge event, 'cause your Dad and I haven't ever had a baby before (duh). We waited and waited and waited and waited and finally the Dr. said 'Enough already, I'm gonna give you some drugs and we'll MAKE that baby come out!' So, that's what we did.

On Friday, May 30, Carlos and I got up really really early, and went to Bob Evans for a 6am breakfast. They said that after I got to the hospital, I wouldn't be allowed to eat anything, so I felt that a ginormous breakfast was necessary. Then we went to the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington at 7am and awaited the making-the-baby-come Cytotec.

So anyway, I had this lovely idea in my head that I am strong, I am Woman, hear me roar! and that all the breathing and stuff would get me through labor. No epi for me, no way. Women have been doing this for years. Centuries even. Since the beginning of... well... we'll have the creation v. evolution talk later. Carlos was going to be a great supporter and labor coach and we were going to do this together.

That was, until the Dr. broke my water. Then, all bets were off.

Nearing 4am (the next day), the Dr. announced that what she had warned us of all along was now an actuality. You refused to turn over. See, babies are supposed to be facing the mother's spine when they begin to traverse the birth canal. You, however, were stubbornly facing right. And would not budge. Which meant that you were repeatedly banging your poor little head against my pelvis instead of going straight through. You were, in a word, stuck.

So we prepped for a C-Section. I was really really scared of a C-Section. But really, it wasn't as bad as I envisioned.

And at 4:20am on May 31, you finally came into the world.

Love,

Mama

(Sophie Gloria was 8lbs, 6oz, and 21 1/4 inches long.)

a day at the museum

feeding the birds
being fed to the mastadon
eeeew!

when the aliens invaded

king's dominion
middle of the mall
she's so tall... that she can touch the top of the monument!

the best pizza ever

now this is real chicago pizza - from gino's east.

watch out world!

sniffle. baby sis is all grown up.

she wouldn't look at us. not very cooperative for picture-taking.

with her friend.

with our aunt.

chi-town trip

the mini-vacation was good. of course, we couldn't do everything that we wanted in two days, and because of some very bad directions ended up walking about 10 miles to a restaurant (after that, we didn't feel like walking anymore, so didn't get to go to the aquarium. so sad.), which is a very long and probably boring story, so i won't waste your time.

from the signature room (bar and lounge, 96th floor) in the hancock building

being in chicago makes dc look so... short.

yes, the midwest has beaches! here are are looking at lake michigan, for as far as the eye can see.

this is why everyone loves rome...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070531/ap_on_fe_st/odd_italy_drugs_in_air;_ylt=As8oxLzPOFrwkjETvcO93F2hOrgF

year old wedding cake

happy anniversary to us!!!

tree's bridal shower

good times had by all.

today, we are all hokies.

water aerobics

top of the line doggie rehab.

by the way, she's a boxador shephard.

soapbox

okay, about the following story. i honestly don't get it. if these 'designer breeds' are not listed with the akc, they are mutts.
which means that people are breeding mutts on purpose.

according to a 1997 survey, there were 2,329,978 dogs in animal shelters, 27% of which were taken there by their owners.

56.4% of these dogs were euthanized.

please tell me, why are you adding to the problem by breeding mutts on purpose?

http://www.petpopulation.org/statsurvey.html

give a mutt a home

Want a designer dog? Check the pound
Puggles, maltipoos are pricey — and essentially mixed-breed mutts

By Kim Campbell Thornton
MSNBC contributor

Ever hear of a floppy-faced Jujitsu? How about a King Daley shepherd? A Germox retriever? Those are just a few of the creative monikers that clever dog owners have come up with to label their all-American dogs — mutts, to people with less imagination.
Why can’t a mutt be just a mutt?
Everybody wants something unique, says Stanley Coren, a professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia and author of "Why Do Dogs Have Wet Noses?"
People who seek out the dog du jour — which these days is a crossbreed such as a maltipoo (Maltese/poodle) or goldendoodle (golden retriever/poodle) — like the idea of having a dog that not very many people have. And don't mind paying $1,000 to $2,500 or more for one.
Best of each breed?Pet lovers are also attracted by claims that hybrids are hypoallergenic or have fewer health problems or will carry the best traits of each breed.
“The argument people make is that by crossing a purebred Labrador and a purebred poodle, it’s going to be nonshedding and intelligent because poodles are nonshedding and intelligent, and it’s going to have the work ethic and playfulness of the Lab, making it the perfect family dog,” Coren says. “It’s a nice story, but when you tell it, geneticists laugh.”
Genetic characteristics sort out randomly. So no matter what its breed or mix, an individual dog may be more or less allergenic, intelligent or healthy than another.
“When you cross two things it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to optimize what you’re trying to achieve,” says veterinarian Patricia Olson, president and CEO of Morris Animal Foundation, a group in Englewood, Colo., that funds research on pet-health issues.
“You can’t just say if I take this and this I’m sure I’m going to have a healthier dog; it doesn’t work that way. That’s why a lot of these crosses become fads and then go by the wayside, because people have experimented with them in the past and it hasn’t always been what they had hoped for.”
Biniok says the mutts she has adopted from the shelter have never had the hereditary health problems that affected her two purebreds, a Great Dane and a Boston terrier.
While mixed breeds as a class have more variety of inherited diseases than any single pure breed because of their broader gene pool, the frequency of any given disease among mixed breeds is likely to be lower because the population is more diverse.
But because designer dogs are purposely bred from dogs of specific types or breeds, they may have a higher incidence of certain diseases, such as breathing difficulties, cancer or hip dysplasia, depending on the breeds used to create them. The Xolo (or Mexican Hairless) mixes have as many if not more health problems as the purebreds, says Amy Fernandez of Forest Hills, N.Y., who is president of the Xoloitzcuintli Club of America, for people with this scrawny, hairless breed.
Not always a glamorous picturePlenty of hybrids are well-loved pets, but the ones that outgrow the “cute” stage can face an uncertain future.
“Right now we are dealing with Xolo/Jack Russell mixes, Xolo/pit bull mixes, Xolo/Chihuahua mixes that we cannot find homes for,” Fernandez says.
“People are happy to fork over big bucks to buy these dogs as puppies, but once buyers realize that what they have is a complicated, demanding dog, many of these hairless wonders end up in shelters or worse," she says. "At least once every winter we hear of hairless dogs intentionally abandoned outdoors to freeze.”
When you want a dog that’s one of a kind, there’s no need to spend big bucks to get it. Visit your local shelter instead and come home with your very own roughcoated Malibu griffon, Golden Gate Chiwienie dog or North American mottled shepherd.
Whatever you choose, and whatever you call it, the dog will be just as unique and special as a pricier pup.

River - tplo rehab.

Rehab at the holistic vet. She's on a treadmill, using water as resistance. Sigh. The things we do for our babies.

tplo - day 12

river had her staples taken out yesterday. everthing looks really good, the swelling has gone down and the bruising is almost completely gone. we also had a rehab session yesterday, where river walked over some poles that were about a foot off of the ground (think obstacle course), stood on a moving seesaw and flat out refused to walk on a treadmill. oh well.

no more staples!

sitting on the couch.

getting ready to go outside with her towel sling.

tplo - day 4

yesterday was day 4 after river's knee surgery. we took her for a rehab consultation at the veterinary holistic and rehabilitation center (http://vetrehab.org/) with dr. danoff. she seemed impressed with river's progress, especially because she puts weight on her bad leg. she showed us how to do some exercises with her to get flexibility back in her knee. she also gave river a shot of what is basically liquid glucosamine.
we are still walking with the towel sling, especially up and down the steps (there is 1 step in our condo, 2 steps to get outside). this morning she seemed a little sore, but that's probably from all of the excitement yesterday. it snowed about an inch last night, and this morning she didn't want to put her foot down in the snow.
river gets her staples out next tuesday.

bday pics

last saturday was my birthday. i'm 25, i swear.

tlpo - day 1

we picked river up from the vet this morning. she is alert, and seems to be as good as can be expected. she cried for a little while after we brought her home, but after an ice pack seemed to settle more comfortably.

she is supposed to be under strict confinement for 4 weeks, walking only to go outside to the bathroom.

river resting.

her leg is swollen, with a little bruising and you can see the sutures.

naked butt!

tplo - day 0

we dropped river off at the vet surgery center this morning at 7:30am. she is scheduled to have surgery in the late morning, with dr. nicholson. i'm so nervous for her, i almost started crying when we drove away.
the ironic thing is that she wasn't limping at all this morning.

our vet: http://www.vet-vsc.com/

my poor baby

we got river when she was about three months old. that was november, 2001. a little over five years ago. she began getting arthritic last march. we started giving her a glucosamine/chondroitin supplement, and the limping stopped.
about a month ago, i took river and her older sister janka to the dog park. we were the only ones there, and they didn't run around much. we left after about 20 minutes. that evening, the limp was back with a vengeance. river wouldn't move, and snapped at us when we tried to touch her. for river, this is not only abnormal, it has never happened before. this is the dog who would lick a burglar to death.
the next morning, she was fine. no limping, no pain. we didn't know what had happened, but we thought it had passed.
two weeks later, we were out for a walk when she began the slight 'swagger' that usually means she's had about enough. then carlos looked at me and asked, "what's that noise?"
it was a clicking noise, like snapping fingers.
"i think it's river" he said.
i stopped walking, janka stopped walking. carlos and river went a few steps further, listening.
the clicking came from her left rear leg.
over the next few days, the clicking continued. it sounded like when you crack your knuckles. i took both dogs to petco to update their yearly vaccinations that saturday, and river went to the vet on monday.
after x-rays, the vet said she had torn her cranial cruciate ligament, an injury pretty similar to a person who tears their ACL in a sports injury. she gave us the number of a surgeon.
the surgeon recommended TPLO surgery. Click below to find out more about the surgery.
http://vetsurgerycentral.com/tplo.htm

we have an appointment on friday. keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

more info:
http://www.lauriebryce.com/tplo/index.html
http://petsurgeonla.com/ntplo.html
http://www.knowlesanimalclinics.com/miami/tplo_info.htm

a 400 hp hybrid?

toyota just came out with one. hm. but why do they have to make it look like a spaceship? honestly, people aren't going to be too interested in driving a hybrid that's ugly. although the added power does help. why can't hybrids look like other hot cars?

like these.

the new jaguar c-xf concept car. has a 4.2 liter supercharged v8 capable of over 420 hp.

the new maserati quattroporte with a 6-speed hydrolic automatic transmission (although i consider it cheating - cars like this need to be manual), also has 400 hp 4.2 liter double overhead cam v8.

sigh.

pics are from the detroit 07 auto show, and more info's http://autoshow.autos.msn.com/autoshow/detroit2007/default.aspx

bp on the town

saturday was the bachelorette of a good friend. we hit the spa, a tapas place, then went on our own little crawl through arlington.
and i forgot my camera.
sorry, guys. i'll post a couple if someone e-mails them to me.

new year's madness

belated christmas pics