15 Months!

I stopped taking "Mr. Elephant" pictures monthly - now that Carson's a "big boy". :-) I figured every 3 months would be good this second year. Here's 15 months. I no longer even have hope for a "good" picture with it - haha.

I think the elephant is shrinking though....... :)

15-mo. checkup

Carson had his 15-mo. checkup today. Dr. says that he looks good and is right-on developmentally. He's definitely a growing boy!

Weight: 29 lbs. 12 oz. (96%)
Height: 33 1/2 in. (97%)
Head: 47.6 cm (18.74 in.) (63%)

Brilliant

I know that every mom thinks that their child is brilliant and wonderful.....but I'm just so amazed by Carson every day! Maybe it's partly that I don't know enough about children yet....I don't know what they typically do when.....so when he does these cute little things, I'm just so amazed and happy. He just brings such joy and happiness to our lives. I knew that I was going to love being a mom, but it's so much more wonderful than I even imagined.

Tonight, I let Carson open a Christmas present from Aunt Julie. Emma, always a good big sister, helped him. It was the coolest Little People tractor. He loved it. As I was getting it out of the box, I noticed that Carson walked off into the kitchen. I didn't give it much thought until he came back and sat down next to me. I went to move the wrapping paper out of the way and I noticed that it was gone. Then I realized - he had wadded up the paper and taken it into the kitchen and thrown it away in the garbage can. I seriously was just so shocked. How does he know how to do that?? I was just so proud of him! It's such a little thing, but I'm just so amazed to watch him turn into this little person! I can't describe it! I just adore him!

Over the last few weeks, I've noticed other little things like that too. He's been going to the sliding glass door to try to let Emma back in from outside. And since we've had snow, he tries to grab the towel to help wipe her feet when she comes in! I guess it just shows that they really are these tiny little sponges, just watching everything we do. :-) He also goes to his room on his own for bed. We ask him if he's ready for night-night and he usually gets up, grabs his blankies, and walks to his room! I just love it. Tonight, he took off and blew kisses to Daddy as he walked down the hall. Adorable! He's been doing the same for baths or when he needs his diaper changed too. We had a LOT of practice with that last week when we had a touch of the flu. Almost every time he pooed, we'd ask him if he did, and he usually nods and/or takes off for his room! It just still shocks me sometimes that he understands what we're saying. :-)

He's the sweetest little boy too. When someone asks for kisses, he goes around the room with them. He almost always starts with Daddy, then comes to me, and then to Emma. He doesn't want to leave anyone out. Such a sweetheart.

I know all of this is probably so silly to other people, but I just find it so absolutely amazing. And I just don't want to forget anything as he grows up! It just makes me smile. :-)

Oh - and he pointed to a ball the other day and, clear as a bell, said "Ball!" I'm telling you - brilliant! Haha. :-)

Emma - Santa 2010

We've been to see Santa quite a bit this year. :-) We went again today so Emma could see Santa at Petsmart. We have our framed (Petsmart) Santa pics displayed for each Christmas we've had with Emma.


We also went to Greenview a couple weeks ago. We tried to do both kids, but, once again, Carson was not crazy about Santa (so I unfortunately ended up in a couple pics).


Proceeds for both went to local shelters. Merry Christmas to all the furry babies out there too!

My favorite things

I need to remember to post all of those little things that Carson does that make me smile. You know, those little things that no one else would ever care about. I wish wish I could videotape everything. I just hope I never forget all of these cute moments that make me laugh. :-)

Some of my favorites:
- the way he grabs a book and literally just backs up with it until he finds a lap to sit in. I just find it so incredibly cute. He doesn't even look where he's going, he just goes straight back until he hits something/someone, and sits. :-) I LOVE that he likes sitting in my lap. I'm sure there will come a day that he won't, so I'll treasure it now. :-)
- the way he quacks every time he picks up his "animal sounds" book. :-)
- the smile that he gets when he sees his "sister" Emma! He totally adores her. Today, I asked him for a kiss. He shook his head, but walked right over to Emma, patted her on the head, and kissed her on the nose. Adorable! He now (pretty clearly) says "Sissy" whenever he sees her. He points, smiles and yells it.
- the way he still shakes his finger in the air when we read "No more monkeys jumping on the bed" (from Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed).
- his new "language". It sounds like French or something to me, but it's totally precious. He talks and talks and talks. I can't wait until someday I understand it! He is saying more and more (recognizable) words though - "Uh oh" "Daddy/Dad" "Mom/Mama" "Sissy". He tries to say his own name. Doesn't sound anything like Carson of course, but it's consistently the same "babble". He points at himself and says it. Then he'll point at Daddy or Sissy and say that. He's also got a "babble" word for milk too. That's my guess at least because he typically yells it as he hurls his empty sippy cup at me. Haha.
- his laugh. That deep belly laugh. I've tried to videotape it because it's completely infectious. Even when he's laughing because he just threw something at me, it's still so darn cute. I try my hardest not to laugh back.....but.......
there just isn't anything much better than a child's laugh!

Sick again

Seems like I could post that every week. :-( I was hoping that this year would be better than last, but maybe I'll hope for next year. Carson got sent home yesterday with a fever (and possible diarrhea). We didn't have any (diarrhea) issues last night though, so hopefully it's just a fever/virus. His fever broke last night and he seemed fine, but was back this morning so Daddy stayed home with him. Today was Santa's visit at daycare though, so we're bummed that he missed that. But hopefully cuddling time with Daddy will help him feel better today. And interactions so far with Santa haven't been all that great, so I'm sure Carson's not sad to miss it!

Lucas sent me this picture at work last night - poor guy!

Photo Shoot

Normally, when I post about a photo shoot, I'm referring to Carson. But this week, we had a photo shoot w/ Patricia Mingus for the furriest member of the family! :-) We should get the proofs next week. I can't wait to see how they turn out. Patty worked hard - I'm sure it's pretty difficult trying to get a picture of a dog and a toddler! Either one on its own is probably hard! But I'm sure she got some good shots and I can't wait to see.

We also took Emma to see Santa yesterday (at Greenview Nursery). Emma did a wonderful job - she's a pro at getting her picture with Santa. We'll go next week too for our traditional Petsmart photo. We tried Carson again too - no go. Santa is just too scary this year. :-)

I think poor Emma has been suffering a bit since the pictures though which makes me feel like a horrible mom! I think all of the up and down on furniture really bothered her back legs. She's been limping pretty badly since then. :-( I'm hoping that some rest will help her feel better! It's hard work being so beautiful.

My babies on the way home from Emma's photo shoot. They both slept very well that night!

November

I guess I've been slacking on timely posts again.....life gets in the way of blogging. I'm apparently now just going to do monthly updates. ;-)

Let's see if I can remember any highlights......

- We took Carson to the Children's Discovery Museum in Bloomington on 11/13. I think he had a lot of fun! I wish we had something like that in Peoria, but Bloomington's not that far. He's not quite ready for some of the activities, but it will be a blast as he gets older. They do have a toddler room that he really seemed to enjoy. Fun day!
Some of my favorite pics from the day:



- Daddy's birthday! Lucas' birthday was the 15th. Another year older. :-) We didn't do anything terribly exciting to celebrate, but I hope he had a nice birthday anyway!

- Surgery. :-( Lucas had surgery on the 19th to repair an umbilical hernia. I tried not to think about it until the day arrived, but I was pretty nervous the day of. I know that it's a routine procedure, but any surgery/anesthesia makes me worry. He did just fine though and came home that night. He was in some decent pain that weekend and couldn't pick up Carson for several days. I think that was the hardest on him. He seems to be doing well now though - thank goodness! I won't embarrass him and post the picture of him in his cap and gown......he owes me one. ;)

- Carson had a rough month at daycare. Cut on the forehead and numerous bites. Good thing he's so tough! The teachers do all they can - it's tough to keep your eye on so many toddlers at once! :-)
Here's Carson showing off his forehead (and new haircut):
By the way, this, I believe, makes our third official haircut (not including the cutting of the "tail" at 5 weeks)! His hair grows so fast! Aunt Mandy did a great job as usual. I couldn't help but feel a little sad though as I took my little boy home. He looks so much older! I've gotten used to it though and I think he's pretty adorable. :-) Here's a before shot - so much hair!
And here's one of many bites that he got in November. :-(

- More teeth! I posted previously that Carson (finally) had a new tooth coming in. Well, there are 4 new ones coming in altogether now. Three molars (including the one in the earlier post) and one in front. The front one is taking the lead and is about halfway through. Those molars are taking their time though and just barely poking through. Hopefully, they'll all pop up soon and put an end (temporarily) to all the drool! :-)

- Also in November, Mr. Independent began feeding himself with a spoon (around 11/20 - 14 mos.). He's always trying to do things on his own lately - walk vs. be carried, put on his shoes and coat - so I wasn't surprised. It definitely makes for a messier meal-time, but he's got to learn somehow I guess. :-) He's so proud of himself when he gets it to his mouth! It's so much fun to watch him learn new things.
He also loves to go outside. Like I said, he's always grabbing his coat and shoes, like we're going somewhere. He's always trying to take big sister with him too. :-)


- Emma had her second full chemo treatment on the 23rd. They told us that she's responding very well to the treatments so far and, for now, she's considered to be in remission! Woo hoo! That doesn't necessarily mean that her time with us will be extended from their original prognosis, but it's still very good news. It also means that they could decide to give her a different kind of chemo next time (and save the current "tough stuff" for when it comes back again full-force). We we very happy for the news. She's seems to be feeling pretty good too. She finished with the steroids which were making her VERY hungry/thirsty and HOT. She seems to be over the side-effects from that now. She is having trouble with her knees, which makes us very sad. We'd hoped to have surgery to help with her pain, but that was off the table once we were given her diagnosis. She'd been doing well and not limping much. But this week has been pretty bad. I'm not sure if it's all the activity (we had a photo shoot and we went to see Santa) or the cold weather.....or the weight gain (due to the aforementioned HUNGER)! :) Hopefully, rest will help! We're grateful for every moment we have with her. :-)
- Thanksgiving! We celebrated our 2nd Thanksgiving with the little man. My sister and family came home for the holiday. They haven't been home since last Thanksgiving, so it was wonderful to see them all and I was excited for them to see how much Carson has changed. The visit was cut short though due to illness. Carson started running a fever on Thanksgiving day. Then, my nephew Jake ended up with a stomach bug. :-( Carson's fever continued until Sunday morning - staying between 102 and 103 for four days. Two doctors' visits later, they agreed it was just a virus and would need to run its course. Thankfully, it broke Sunday morning after reaching 103.4. I hate it when he gets fevers like that. He's just so miserable! He just wants to cuddle, which is nice, don't get me wrong. But I hate to get my cuddles that way. I guess it worked out that I was off work already for the holiday and he was better just in time to go back to school. It kind of stinks that all of our time off of work goes to surgery, chemo treatments and illness. But I know that it could be worse!

Carson playing with his cousins - Samantha and Jacob


- "Uh - Oh!" Carson seems to have developed his own little language lately and continually chatters. I can't understand 99% of it....but it's pretty cute. The clearest new "word" is "uh-oh!" That's pretty much his response to everything lately. :-) At least I can understand that one!

That brings us to December....we'll see if I can keep up better this month.

Nose!

We were reading a book tonight - it has flaps that you flip down to see the baby's different body parts. We got to the page w/ "nose" and all of a sudden, Carson pointed to his nose and smiled! So cute! Mommy was so proud!

New tooth!

After what seems like months of teething, we finally have a new tooth! But it's in a totally random location. Or at least I think so......I don't know much about baby teeth!
Ok - I actually just looked up a diagram - haha. Apparently, it's his first molar. Upper right side. Just seems weird to me - this random little tooth barely poking through. He's very fussy though....hope it feels better once it's through. I wonder if more are going to follow... This only makes his fifth! He just has the four in front still! (Which, according to my new-found baby teeth knowledge, are his central incisors. :-) ). I guess most babies get their lateral incisors next, but he still doesn't have his. Most of the babies in his class have a full mouth of chompers! Guess he's just a little slow. :-)

Santa

Carson met Santa for the first time last Friday (11/5). He was not a fan........haha. Maybe next year. :-)

Updates

Quick update on Emma - she did get sick yesterday (in Carson's room - yuck!). :-( Poor baby. Hopefully it passes. We gave her rice and cottage cheese for dinner so hopefully the carbs helped settle her stomach a bit. She also woke up in the middle of the night, panting heavily. I don't know if that means she's in pain or just hot. :-( I let her out and she didn't want to come back in. I think she was enjoying the cool air. She went back to sleep right away though. Hopefully, she doesn't have any other side effects. Aside from those, she seems to have a lot of energy. I think the steroids make her feel pretty good overall.

Update on Carson - I realized I haven't posted anything on what he's been up to lately -
- He is definitely Mr. Independent. He wants to walk everywhere. And he's not into holding hands. He just wants to take off on his own. :-)
- He has a security blanket. :-) Or several actually. He all of a sudden became attached to the cloth diapers that we had as burp rags. He now carries one with him almost constantly.
- We finally turned his carseat around. He loves it! I feel kind of bad that we didn't do it sooner. I've seen so much on how it's safer to have it backwards, but he's so tall! His legs were always up on the backseat. He did not look comfortable at all. He seems to enjoy the new view!
- Carson is officially off bottles! His last one was last Friday. He only got one at bedtime - he's been off the rest since his birthday. But we were nervous to pull that final one. There always seemed to be something going on (illness, etc.) that prevented us from doing it. He seemed so attached to that at bedtime. We were nervous that he wouldn't go to sleep without it, and selfishly, we didn't want to mess with sleeping! I think it was more for our security than his. But we finally just did it, and like most other things with him, I don't know what we were so worried about! He threw a mini-fit at first, but it didn't last long at all. He is still a champ at going to bed. We're lucky he's so easy. He just needs a book and then he goes down without a problem! He's been going to bed earlier and earlier though lately. I think he wears himself out at school. :-)
- Carson loves dancing. He and his buddy Max apparently have dance parties at school. I have got to get it on video sometime! He cracks me up! It's the cutest thing to see.
- Carson is getting close to moving up at school! Yikes! I sometimes wish I could slow him down. He actually won't be moving up until January, but he and Max have gone up to the toddler room a couple of times in the last week! They even ate lunch there yesterday. They don't have sippy cups in that room, so I guess we need to start practicing with real cups. He still seems so young though........They definitely grow up too fast!

Emma

I changed the title of our blog....until now I've focused on the newest member of the Bland family - Mr. C. But now we need to focus on the heart of the family, our beloved Emma. Anyone who knows us knows that Emma is our first "baby". She is so much more than "just a dog" to us and I shudder when people say that. They just won't ever understand. I know that some people think that we're crazy for the way we dote on her and how we talk about her (like she's a person). But I don't really care what people think. And there are some people who probably do get it. But she's our heart and we simply adore her.

Emma will be seven in January. She's had problems on and off with her hips. She got diagnosed with hip dysplasia last summer and we did a round of shots to rebuild cartilage. She did better for a bit. She basically had good days and not so good days. Then, late this spring, it got pretty dramatically worse. We tried all kinds of medicines, foods, etc. Ran x-rays, tests. Our vet said that there really was no change from her x-rays last year, and not a dramatic change from those when she was a puppy. Certainly nothing to explain her symptoms. At times, she has been unable to stand or walk. She walks with a noticeable limp and at times, won't put any weight down at all on her rear left leg. Our vet tried everything that he knew and then referred us to U of I. He told us that we may be looking at a full hip replacement. We were of course nervous about the cost and the recovery for her, but we planned on getting a loan or whatever it took to get her feeling better. We couldn't watch her be in pain. So, our appointment was last Wednesday - October 27th.

We arrived at U of I. We chatted with the parents of some other goldens in the waiting room. There were a couple dogs there that had ACL surgery and a few that had cancer. My heart went out to them as they teared up in the waiting room. Lucas and I actually discussed at lunch that day how sad it was and how lucky we were to be there only for a surgical consult. We got called back for the exam and the surgeon fairly quickly told us that she suspected a torn cruciate ligament in her rear left knee and a possible tear in her right. No wonder she couldn't walk at times! We felt relieved to have an answer. We left for lunch as they did x-rays to confirm. We got a call about a half hour before our appointment. It was the vet asking us if they could run some additional tests on Emma. As she was under sedation, they performed a more in-depth physical exam. They found a few swollen lymph nodes. She said that it could be due to her allergies, but she wanted to rule out lymphoma. I grabbed Lucas' arm at hearing that but quickly erased it from my mind. We'd just had blood tests run on Emma in September to rule out illness. (She's lost almost 15 lbs. in 3 mos without much of a change in diet). They came back normal. Nothing to worry about.

We got back to U of I and waited and waited. Finally, she called us back in the room and told us that Emma did, in fact, have a torn CCL (cranial cruciate ligament) in the left and partially torn CCL in her right leg. And....."unfortunately, we ran some additional tests and it is lymphoma". I instantly burst into tears. Lucas looked as if someone had punched him. I tried to listen to her go on and on as I cried. All I really focused on was "no cure" and "one to two months". I just couldn't believe it. We thought our biggest worry was how we were going to pay for surgery. I never in a million years would've guessed she was sick. And ONE MONTH left?? How is that even possible? The oncologist came in to talk to us after that. She explained that we would've started to see signs within the next week or so. Unbelievable.

We spent the next couple (very long) hours discussing treatment options, response rates and survival estimates. Lymphoma is a systemic cancer so it affects everywhere all at once. Surgery is not an option. But it is also one that responds well to treatment. It's just not long-term. She also went through the two types of lymphoma - B-cell and T-cell. B-cell is most common and has a higher chemo response rate and greater survival times. We discussed if chemo is even a fair choice for her, especially with her legs. She assured us that dogs can maintain a normal and happy quality of life with chemotherapy. It doesn't affect them like it does humans. There are minimal side affects. But, as shocked as we were, we still recognize(d) that her happiness and how she felt was most important. I would never want to keep her around if she was in pain. As much as I want to have her here forever, I wouldn't want to be that selfish. She reassured us and gave Emma a "chemo-bandaid" shot to buy us a few days to discuss options.

Needless to say, we went home in shock and in tears. I know some people will think we're being overly dramatic or whatever, but again, I really don't care what anyone thinks. :-) She's our baby. She loves us unconditionally. And we love her. I honestly feel like part of my heart is broken. Today is the first day that I haven't cried.....and I'm on my way as I type this. And I know that I'm being overly detailed here, but don't want to forget anything later......

Thursday afternoon, we got got the call with the results of the B vs. T-cell test. She has T-cell. I guess we shouldn't have been surprised. But I still was. It's considered a "negative prognostic factor". And it dropped her "median survival time" from 6-9 mos. to 4-6. I thought I'd have six more YEARS with her, not six MONTHS. I still can't believe it.

I'm trying to suck it up and accept it. We want to make the most of the time we have left with her. But every time I think about it, or think that this is the last "something" (i.e. Halloween) or every time I see Carson go up and give her the biggest hug......I just can't help but tear up. Again, she's just so NOT "just a dog" to us. I wanted so badly for Carson to grow up with her. But we're going to do everything we can to prolong a happy life for her. And I'm just going to have to remind myself that, rather that the "last" of something with her, we get "one more" something. Hopefully one more Christmas and one more birthday. :-)

This is terribly long and rambling.....I realize that. Bear with me. :-)

Anyway, we chose a chemo treatment that will be every 3 weeks for 5 total treatments. Hopefully it will induce remission, and hopefully that remission will last as long as possible. We'll take one day at a time.

Today was our first treatment. And Emma was very brave! The doctor said that she did very well today. She also reported that, despite her T-cell diagnosis, the chemo shot that she received last week had decreased her lymph nodes in size. So hopefully, she responds well to today's treatment. She shouldn't have too many side affects. If any, we'll see them around 3-5 days after treatment, so that will be this weekend. Fingers crossed that it's minimal. They will monitor her with blood-work 1 week after each treatment. Then they will also re-evaluate her lymph nodes, etc. at each treatment.

Last week after diagnosis

Today, after treatment. Still looking beautiful with her bandage! :-)

October

Well, it's been a while since my last post. It's been hectic lately. I'd really like to erase October 2010 and pretend that it never happened. All in all, it was a pretty crappy month. But, there were some good moments. So I will start with those.

With work being as crazy as it's been lately, there wasn't a whole lot of time in October for fun. But we managed to sneak in a few things - we had a visit w/ out-of-town family, a trip to Fired Up to make his handprint, a visit to the zoo, a trip to Apple Blossom far (to late to see any pumpkins :-( ), and Halloween! Guess we did manage to have some fun after all. :-)

Carson was only a month old last year, so Halloween events were non-existent. I was too scared to take him out of the house at that point! Well, that's an exaggeration, but only slight. :-) But this year, we decided to try the Witches Walk at the Farm Park in EP. We went on the first night, and a little late. We arrived (w/ a grumpy boy) to see a very long line. It moved fairly quickly though and we made it in. Carson is very independent these days and wants to walk everywhere. That was the case that night. He wanted to walk. And he only wanted to walk w/ DADDY. He wanted nothing to do w/ me. We had that for a few weeks. I think it was due to me working so late and not seeing him in the evenings. That was an extra little stab in the heart - on top of the stress and guilt I already felt - haha. But he's finally starting to warm back up to mommy. Maybe someday I'll figure out this work-life balance thing. But anyway....Halloween. :-) So we made it almost halfway through the park and then major meltdown. We exited as quickly as we could (searching through the diaper bag for our new BFF - "blankie" - w/ no luck). He screamed all the way to the car (where, by the way, I found blankie on the ground). I strapped him into his carseat and handed him blankie, and he instantly (seriously) stopped crying and fell asleep. I guess we learned the limitations of a very tired little boy. But Lucas said that we should still count it as a "success". Ha ha. We at least know what to expect next year.

Our little giraffe at the Witches Walk

And then on Halloween, we took Carson and Emma around to a few houses. He wouldn't get out of his wagon for the first two, but finally did at the third. It was so cute having him waddle up to the door. :-) He waved and waved at them. But, apparently, that was enough for him. He quickly dissolved into tears at the next house. I guess three was our limit. He loved watching us pass out candy though. He ran up to the door every time someone came up. It was pretty cute.

Sneak peeks!

We got the sneak peeks of Carson's photo shoot today! We had his one-year pictures done on the 24th with Patricia Mingus. We were at ICC - the horticulture area. It usually takes a while for Carson to warm up, so I was worried that he wouldn't cooperate, but Patty was great with him! He totally loved her! He was waving at her, giving her high-fives.....she definitely won him over! Here are the sneak peeks. Can't wait to see the rest!

Mr. Elephant

12 months of Mr. Elephant!

1 mo
2 mos.
3mos.4 mos.
5 mos.
6 mos.
7 mos.
8 mos.
9 mos.
10 mos.
11 mos.
and the latest - 12 mos.