Thursday, July 19, 2007

What happens when it gets quiet at our house


I was on the phone in the kitchen and it got all quiet in the living room. This is what I found when I peeped around the corner.

Best $2.49 we've spent


Griff got himself stuck in the (cheap) tupperware dish, but wasn't unhappy about it. He did need a little help getting free.

Griffith - Home Uniform


Griff in his Cardinals home uniform.

Road trip


Allan on Monday (pre-surgery) in his Cardinals road uniform.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

The follow up

Allan did well last night. He was worn completely out and slept like a log until about 8:15. We went back to the doctor and she was pleased with how his eye looked. The pupil has stayed open and is much more rounded and centered. We go back Friday for another check. For now, he is wearing a clear shield to keep him from rubbing his eye and he finds it to be very irritating. He's gotten pretty slick, though. He knows we won't let him mess with the shield so he acts like he is going to rub his nose and then grabs for the shield real quick. Allan is sneaky.

Griffith has now figured out how to climb up on the couch. He's a regular little mountain goat. We thought that his little legs were too short, but he figured out that he needs to get his foot between the base of the couch and the cushion. That way he can boost himself up. Unfortunately, he has not quite mastered the graceful dismount. One thing at a time, I suppose. The doctor says that it is time (past actually) to wean him from the bottle. With everything going on with Allan this week, we just haven't had the stomach for it, but I suppose we'll start this weekend. He isn't going to like this. We aren't either.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Big Al did fine and we are home. Griff has been snoozing while we watched tv but it is definitely time to put him down. Of course relocating just roused the beast and so here I am, typing one-handed, all out of wine and hostage to my 15-month old.

Our day started earlier than we planned. Griff passed out early but woke up about 4:30. We were planning on getting up at 5 anyway but somehow losing that 30 minutes just seemed cruel. So we got up, wrestled him in to a clean diaper, plopped a bottle in to his mouth and prepared to face the day. In fairness, Grif had two immunizations yesterday and wasn't feeling quite himself. Apparently after we passed him off to Flora and headed out the door, he threw up all over her. He was a little out of sorts all day and only recovered his usual high spirits late this afternoon. (Just when Daddy and I were feeling at our least able to deal with a full-force Hurricane Griffith.)

We got to the hospital by 6 and got all signed in and ready to hurry up and wait. Allan's surgery went very well, though. They removed the membrane (scar tissue) that had formed behind the eye as a result of removing the cataract and also cut little divots in to the iris from around the pupil to try to open it back up some more. When they got in there, they realized that he had calcium deposits (band keratopathy) and that one of them was right in his field of vision. So, after a little discussion, we decided to have them go ahead and scrape the surface of his eye and apply a chemical that dissolves the calcium. They also checked the pressure in his eye (which was good, for him) and tried to free the iris from the cornea (it has some adhesions). It is hard to tell right now just what the results will be. We'll go back tomorrow for the ophthamologist to look at her handiwork, but we apparently achieved what we set out to do. Allan came through the surgery very well. Some of the eye drops have a "systemic effect" which meant that he felt flushed and his heart rate was up. Poor little lamb has a big plastic cover over his eye, too, and he isn't one bit happy about that either. He has spent most of the day being held and jostled by someone - Mom, Dad, Flora. Snuggling seems to help. We got home a little before 3 and thank goodness for Flora. Mom and Dad got Big Al settled with her and took a nap. It was a long day all around.

Anyway, we go back tomorrow morning for a check on the eye and then we are back (we hope) to our usual routine.

Monday, July 16, 2007

Allan's bum


hanging out of his Cardinals outfit.
The boys had their 15 month check-ups today.
Griffith is 29 inches tall and weighs 22.5 pounds. His head is 19 1/8 inches in circumference. That makes his less than the 5th percentile on height, the 25th percentile on weight and the 75-90th percentile in head size. (Think Charlie Brown.)
Allan is 27 3/4 inches tall, 19 pounds 10 ounces and his head is 18 inches around. He is less than the 5th percentile in height and weight (although he's getting close) and he is the 10-25th percentile in head size.
Griff got a couple of shots today, but we held off on Allan since he is having surgery tomorrow. We are supposed to be there at 5:45 and are the "first case" which should mean that we start about 7. The procedure itself shouldn't take more than 45 minutes or so. We are supposed to be discharged tomorrow, provided everything goes smoothly. The boys helped me straighten up the back bedroom for Miss Flora and she is going to spend the night so that Griff doesn't have to get up early.
We will report in as soon as we can.