Stones

I could drag this story out and bore you with every fine detail (which I'm more than happy too do) but you probably would quit reading, so I'll keep it short and sweet.

Last week when I took Max for a walk I noticed blood in his urine (yes, I got all up in his business to make sure I did see blood).  I took him to the vet the following day so they could take a sample of his urine and see if he had some sort of infection. They thought it was most likely a urinary tract infection. They did an exam and said everything looked fine and they would get back to me once they got the results back. 

Turns out he had crystals in his urine (???HUH???) and they needed to do an x-ray of his bladder to check for stones as well as check his prostrate. OMG... freaking out!!! Something major could be wrong with my first born!!!

this photo suggests that Max doesn't feel well and is in pain, but he's not. I just thought it was cute that he was all curled up in Taylor's chair

X-ray came back and sure enough he has bladder stones, but everything else is fine! Thank you Thank you Thank you! In the past, the only way to remove large stones (as in Max's case) is through surgery. Fortunately veteranarians have come up with a special dog food that will shrink the stone in 90% of cases and allows the dog to either pass the stone, or they can remain in the bladder. 

Great, easy fix, right?!? The doc said he can't have any treats or food other than this dog food. I immideatly pointed to the little rug rat in the corner and said that's going to be a problem (Taylor loves feeding Max). Doc said that is going to have to stop if we want to help Max. 

So I said ok, lets do this. 

Next question: How long does he need to be on this special diet?

Answer: FOREVER!!!

Really?!?

My dog lives for his treats! If you forget to give him his bone after he comes inside from a potty break he wants back out so he can come back in again so you will realize you forgot his treat!

Needless to say it's been hard watching him run over to the treat cabinet, but in time I know he will learn he's not getting one. Now I have to make sure I really watch Taylor when she has food, which is more of a pain than anything. I'm sure it's ok if he gets a piece here and there, but I'm trying really hard. We go back in 3 months to do another set of x-ray's to see if they have shrunk. I will let you know the results!

Snow Day

We had snow in Austin today! My sister and I bundled up the kids and took them outside for probably less than 5 minutes because it was sooooo cold!

Taylor doesn't have many warm clothes so I basically bundled her up in layers. Socks make good mittens!

Then Taylor took a tumble... oops! And that ended our outdoor fun. She wasn't upset, but the snow quickly absorbed into her clothes making them wet. 

My sisters dog Elvis with snow on his wiskers

Max and Elvis are a little "frisky" from the cold weather

Unfortunately I wasn't able to snap any photos of Jackson (following Taylor around is a full time job!). I'm sure Jamie will post some on her blog!

Signing Off

We are traveling to Houston over the Christmas holidays so I won't be posting for awhile. I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday and that Santa brings you everything you want! For me, Santa is bringing some quality family time and I can't wait to soak it all in!

2010 Christmas Card

The picture that was not

We took probably over 100 pictures on 3 different occasions and finally came up with a photo that was suitable for a family Christmas card. Last year we unfortunately never got around to a Christmas card with a new born so I had big plans for this year. This picture took a close second to the one we actually chose, and now looking back I kind of wish we would have used this. I'll post the actual card later after everyone should have received it. And I would like to say that I had the hardest time getting Paul in this outfit, but I have to say he now wears the outfit all the time! :)

New Toy

When Paul asked me what I wanted for my birthday I said a lulu lemon outfit and a new camera. I got one of the two, and it was the camera! I was super excited to use it... once I could figure out how to use it. It's a fancy DSLR camera (I don't even know what that means) that has a million settings, most of which I have no clue how to operate. I figure I'll use the manual modes until I can find the time to take a photography class and learn how to use the fancy settings. The manual settings are still pretty great. 

These are some photos I took just playing around... I still have lots to learn!

10 Months

Another month has gone by faster than the blink of an eye and Taylor is growing more and more every minute. She now bangs her head on the kitchen table because she is so tall, eats fallen food off her high chair, stands for long periods without holding on, and is in constant pain from teething! She loves her bunny blanket and must have it to fall asleep. If food tastes sweet, she likes it. She screams for more yogurt and cries hysterically when it's all gone. She loves daddy, bites mommy, recently gave herself a black eye and finds joy in playing with empty water bottles. Feeding Max is very entertaining, diaper changes can unleash a tantrum, yo gabba gabba gets a smile every time, and those big blues keep melting my heart.
Another month has gone by and each day I love her more.
Happy 10 months Taylor!!!

9 months

Taylor's 9 month well check went great! She currently weights 21 lbs 7 oz which puts her in the 90th percentile. Her height is now 29 inches which is also in the 90th percentile. I think she is actually taller than that though. They make you hold the baby's head and then they stretch out the legs, but I didn't see her straighten Taylor out all the way, so I think she is taller, but whatever). 

In the past few days Taylor has made a big change in her eating habits. She started to throw a huge fit anytime it was time to eat. Pushing away the spoon, crying, throwing her body. So I decided to put little tiny pieces of food in front of her and what a difference that made. She wants real food, and she wants to feed herself. So far it's been going great! I'm amazed at how fast she is growing and how independent she is. We went to Z Tejas last weekend and Taylor had her first meal off the kids menu! My baby girl is getting so big! 

Happy Birthday Max!

Max turned 5 yesterday and I forgot! So happy birthday to the best doggy in the world. Mommy loves you sooooooo much!!!

8 Months!

Now that we are 8 months old it is harder to get pics in the usual spots. You have to move fast! And it took me two days to get the pictures I wanted. Well.... I thought Taylor was having a bad hair day (see previous post) so I wanted to take some more when her hair was looking better! (this post is late due to computer issues that have now been fixed!)