Weekend Update :-)

Hey, all!
Just thought I'd post a relatively quick update as to our weekend.
This weekend and next we're dog sitting for Callie, Nichole's dog. She's a pretty easy girl to sit for, all things considered, save she has a penchant for early mornings and is a very slow eater so we have to guard her food so the boys don't make off with it :-)
Saturday we ran some errands and hit Cool Springs and Franklin to look at baby things. Turner has been doing tons of research on strollers and there are a few brands that are hard to come by at Babies R Us (at least IN the store) and so we wanted to see them in person. We went to USA Baby in Franklin which was very high-end (read: Expensive) and we're accosted by this pushy salesperson. We did get to see an entire Combi carseat/stroller set which was of interest to us... (I've started to realize that unless you are pregnant or have recently had a baby, most of this is pretty boring stuff). Then we went to Sears and met our friends Frank and Amber and their baby Corrie at Costco briefly.
Then last night we went to Frank and Amber's for dinner. Alas, shortly after dinner we got a call from our neighbors to tell us that the dogs had broken out a window in the living room and were in danger of cutting themselves to smithereens. The neighbors weren't able to get too close to try to calm them down as they kept sticking their faces out and almost cutting themselves every time someone got close. We rushed home in an absolute panic, calling our vet to get the emergency vet's number en route, but fortunately found that all 3 dogs were unharmed and not particularly upset at all. After some super fun glass clean up and rebuilding the window from cardboard (we're nothing if not classy), we watched the end of a movie and then went to bed.
Today we again did some comparison shopping although along with baby jazz, we added replacement windows into the mix (although we could just replace the broken pane of glass, the windows in our house are the originals from 1940 so it would a. be hard to match the glass and b. we'd run the risk of the same thing happening again.) We have appointments set up with American Home Design and Home Depot to get quotes on Monday and Tuesday and have a few other options we're considering as well... We'll see what happens.
In more exciting news, we went to the one store in Nashville that carries the Mia Moda stroller (though not the one we want) so we went to check it out. The store is called Popo and is in the new Hill Center in Green Hills. We were really impressed with the design and function of the stroller they carried, so we have officially (drum roll please) decided on travel system, the Mia Moda Energi with the Mia Moda Viva car seat.


I really cannot express the amount of research Turner has put into this, so I'm very excited that it has all paid off and we both feel satisfied and happy with what we've chosen. If you want to see more about it, check out their website for demos and such at:
http://www.miamodainc.com/strollers/video-demo_energi.asp

Tonight we met Brandon and Michelle for dinner at Broadway Brewhouse. It was a beautiful night out and so we got to enjoy sitting on the patio. Plus, Turner had been jonesing for Brewhouse food for a few weeks so his wish finally came true.
Finally, I thought I'd include a few updated pix of me pregnant. Not sure how much you can tell from the pix, but I'm really starting to look pregnant.


I'd felt kind of frumpy all day in non-maternity clothes when we went shopping, so I decided to try to dress up a little bit to go to Brewhouse. My theory was that this was kind of a pregnant mod-look. Not sure it quite worked, but I didn't feel so frumpy :-)
Hope all of you had a great weekend and have a good upcoming week.
Love,
Jessica

Week 17 Update....

This may get interrupted as I'm at a staffing to determine if we will prosecute child sex cases, but here's your week 17 update....

Your baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop.

So the Peanut is now a turnip!
Also of interest, in general, I'm suddenly kind of popping out. When I got home last night from painting pottery, two maternity dresses I'd ordered had come in and when I went to try them on, I realized that my belly was really protruding. I swear a didn't notice it that morning, so it kind of freaked me out.

Also of interest in my changes per week 17:
Starting to feel a bit off balance? As your belly grows, your center of gravity changes, so you may begin to occasionally feel a little unsteady on your feet. Try to avoid situations with a high risk of falling.
Great, already clumsy me will soon be more clumsy. We have just gotten the Wii Fit though, and I can tell you it thinks I am HORRIBLE at finding my center of balance. I'm not sure pregnancy is a time to start working on yoga and balance :-)

Got to go as they are reviewing another case,
Love to all,
Jessica

Beware....Attack Plants may be lurking in your home...

I forgot to let you all know about the bravery of our dogs. In particular, I am giving credit to Garcia as this recent phenomenon has only begun since he has stopped crating during the day so I can only assume that he is the one who is exhibiting extreme bravery in the face of attack.

Starting on Saturday afternoon, each time we come back to the house after being gone, we have found that our very large and therefore, formidible Peace Lily is missing several leaves which are strewn about the rug in the living room. Often times, the ends of the rug are also rolled up, showing a sign of struggle. Clearly, the boys KNOW better than to eat the plant, so I can only assume that the plant has been attacking them and they have responded in self-defense. That said, yesterday morning I set the Peace Lily up on a table in the living room to try and keep it from getting to the dogs, but when I came home, I found more evidence of a struggle and the Peace Lily was sitting askew on the table as though it had tried to jump off and assault the dogs. Garcia had clearly, very bravely, taken several large bites out of some of its remaining leaves.
Today, we've relocated the Peace Lily to another room and shut the door in the hopes of preventing it from going after the dogs again. I have been talking to Kari about sending it to live with her as she doesn't have dogs, so my hope is that it would be more "peaceful" in her home.... (that and it is GIGANTIC and we're running out of room for it). I just wanted to forewarn any of you that had pets regarding the so-called "Peace" Lily's aggressive and violent tendencies. If there's one in your home, keep a close eye on it. You never know when they'll strike.

Our Weekend....

So, Turner posted a bit, mostly about THE FENCE which we are so excited to get done and which he has had to do almost completely on his own. It looks phenomenal and I'm so glad it is finished. I'll try to remember to take a few pictures of it and post them as it really does look wonderful.
I figured while I was at it, I'd update you as to the rest of the weekend. Friday after work we met at Michelle's house so that one of my work friends, Kristen, could meet the supermodel boy puppy Michelle has been fostering, Katz, as well as a little girl puppy that Brandon had found a few days prior (with an abcess above her eye from where some evil person hit her and a limp). Kristen was interested in getting a second dog as she lost one of her dogs some time ago. In the end, she decided to try the little girl who has been staying with her since Sunday and who they love very much. All in all, a pretty successful Friday night if I do say so myself.

On Saturday, we hit a few garage sales in Inglewood (our part of Nashville) to no avail. Lotso f weird old glassware, old fashioned hats, and weird and ugly floral arrangements. NOT VERY FUN FOR BABIES!
But, our friends Craig and Kari were out garage saling and called us as they'd found a good one with a lot of baby stuff, so we headed to Hendersonville and managed to pick up a Diaper Champ, bath tub and back pack as well as a few stacking toys. Then we went to lunch with Craig, Kari and Corbin (who is 1 1/2) and after that, Turner and I hit World Market, TJ Maxx Home Goods and Sam's with Kari. It was a fun and relaxing day. We got a big pack of Pampers Swaddlers at Sam's (per Amber's recommendation), but I later realized we have no idea what size swaddlers we got. I figured swaddlers only came in one size....I've since found out I'm QUITE wrong!
Sunday is when Turner finished the fence and I vacuumed, steam-cleaned the carpet (thanks, Garcia!!) and then touched up the white woodwork (thanks in part to Darwin and Garcia!). We went to Frank and Amber's on Sunday and had dinner and hung out.
And now, here we are, back in the daily grind....
Hope all is well with you.
Love,
J

The Fence, The Fence...

Many of you have heard me gripe, constantly, for the last month, about staining/waterproofing our fence.

Well, I'm happy to report that the fence is finally finished!!! (Well the inside is anyway)
As I finished that and worked in yard, Jessica steam cleaned carpet (which became an absolute necessity, thanks to Garcia) and touched-up trim where the dogs have managed to scratch it up over the last couple of years with their deadly dog toes.

That said, we're ticking down the project list. I think the next stop is office/guest bedroom/nursery rearranging. We'll keep you posted.

-Turner

Drum roll, please.....Week Sixteen Update

So, seems that the Peanut is now actually an avocado.

Here's what happens in Week 16:

Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.

Exciting, huh? A growth spurt! Guess I'll grow some too. Thank goodness for all the maternity clothes from Joelle and Kari! Right now I'm sort of doing a 50/50 between maternity clothes and my regular clothes. Like today I'm wearing one of Kari's shirts with a regular cami and stretchy capris (don't worry, I brought a "coordinating" jacket to make the ensemble up to dress code!). Truthfully, I don't mind growing, as in general, I'm just so excited about the baby. I'm annoyed that it is another month until the next ultrasound as I really just want to see it again. Supposedly I'll feel it begin to move between now and week 20 or so, so that's something exciting. In the meantime, I'm actually thinking about borrowing Michelle's stethoscope and seeing if we can hear the heart beat! Creepy maybe, but I miss getting to see and hear him/her.

Elsewise, we are going to do some more work around the house this weekend. Hoping to finish painting the inside of the fence (and the rest will wait until fall) and then get to work transferring the office upstairs and touching up the woodwork before beginning to paint the office (now guest room) and baby room (formerly guest room). Alas, there may be some rain in the forecast so that may slow us down.

Anyway, we'll keep you all posted as to how the weekend goes....

Love,

Jess

P.S. Garcia seems to be doing better. He has not gotten sick in 2 days now (knock on wood). And, I've gotten REALLY good at getting him to take his pills. We're also working with the dogs on being more obedient as I finally got in the books I ordered on integrating the dogs and the baby. They now have to sit and stay before going outside or coming in and before getting their food. We have lots of other things to practice with them, too. Eventually we have to teach them to recognize their toys from the baby's toys, but I figure we'll master the sitting and staying first...

Baby Name Poll

Ok, after much debate and heartache, I think we've managed to narrow down the list of baby names.
For girl names, there is one. Only one. That is why you can either choose our name (which is awesome) or choose to be flogged by a goat.
Boy names are a little more complicated. I think that we have a favorite, but we'll let everyone weigh in.

We both look forward to hearing what you think, but make no promises whatsoever to run with the wisdom of the crowd. We reserve the right to give our baby any horrible name that we can come up with (Jess suggested Ferrari Maserati Turner this morning). If for no other reason than pure spite. Have a wonderful day and feel free to leave other ideas for us to ignore in the comments :-)

P.S. Garcia update - he went to the vet AGAIN!! last night. They gave us another medicine and the million-dollar-puppy rolls on. Hopefully, that will be the last trip for a while and this stomach thing will be done with.

Holly Street

So, today we went for our first daycare tour/application at Holly Street in East Nashville. I THINK it is our preference, though I'm not 100% sure yet. We have another appointment tomorrow and then one next week.
Either way, we were impressed with them. We had a very involved tour and were able to see all the levels except the school-age children as they'd gone on a field trip to Cheekwood. They only accept 8 babies at a time, so it may be a bit of a stretch to get Bernie in first thing, but we plan to keep him/her on their list as they seem to have a more diverse and educational philosophy than other daycares we've heard about. They'll keep Bernie on the schedule that we request and seemed very flexible about things of that nature. They also have specialized teachers who work with the kids in art, tumbling, music, etc and a few of the teachers speak Spanish.
Oh, and the woman giving the tour pointed out the child of a woman I work with in the infant room during the tour and he was SUPER adorable. Made me think that maybe I don't care if we have a girl or a boy. He was just super happy and bouncing away in his bouncy seat. Turner thinks I'm a creepy stalker because I was so taken with him...I think it's just my mom hormones kicking in!!!!!

Oh, the woeful life of a Garcia...

So, just thought I'd do a mid-week update. Amazingly enough, since being given the all clear by the veterinarian on his foot last Friday, Garcia has found himself in another rough spot. Starting Sunday evening, he has had a great deal of stomach distress. He normally has a VERY sensitive stomach, but something has particuarly upset it this time. Turner took him to the vet yesterday and he got a shot of an anti-nausea medication and a shot of Pepcid. He is now taking Pepcid and anti-nausea medication twice per day, though he is still having some issues. Needless to say, we have spent way too much time cleaning our carpet of late. It's not particuarly pleasant to say the least. Keep your fingers crossed that his stomach settles down and that Nichole's steam cleaner works wonders in helping us clean up!

Father's Day from T♦

Just wanted to follow-up to Jessica's post and say that my first Father's Day as a dad-of-a-baby-to-be was excellent!

Jess made a delicious breakfast and all I did was sit down and eat it! I smoked pork most of the day (which is a lot of fun!) and got to eat that last night with our friends Craig and Kari. Jess, and the boys and Berniw got me some great gifts. I'm especially excited about the diaper bag. I was a little worried that I was going to have to carry around something that looked like an overgrown Steeplechase purse:



Fortunately, I'll be spared that embarrassment. Thanks Bernie!! Also, thanks to my boys (Darwin and Garcia) for the chocolates and the toys and for "helping" mom to cook breakfast!

Finally, Happy belated Father's Day to those of you who read this.

--Turner

Happy Father's Day!!!

Hey, all!
Just thought I'd update with a Father's Day post. Turner will have to update you all as to his experience. Before I get rolling, Happy Father's Day to everyone!
I can't really say that this was Turner's first Father's Day, per se, as the boys (Darwin and Garcia) are always very generous and give us gifts for Mother's and Father's Day. But, I'm guessing, this one was maybe a little different than the rest.
Turner actually got up before I did (not surprising these days) and started smoking a pork butt. We're going to our friends Craig and Kari's for a Father's Day dinner, and we're supplying the meat. The dogs and I got up a little later, though, and made him a big Father's Day breakfast. I'd hoped to surprise him with it, but he had noticed the eggs and such the other day in the fridge, so I think he kind of expected it.
Then, we did presents. First the dogs gave him their cards and presents.... (See pix)



The boys tend to be very generous and pick gifts for us that we would like to share with them. They did get Turner some Pretzel Flips and chocolate, but the part of the gift they were most excited about was the Hartz Squirrel and Bunny. Turner pretended to be very excited about the toys and acted like he thought they were for him which almost made the boys spontaneously combust with excitement. That said, when he finally let them have the toys, there was a great deal of doggie joy. Darwin immediately began working on giving the squirrel a "haircut" (a process in which he pulls off tiny pieces of stuffed animal hair).
Then, on to the main event.


I'd picked these up primarily because I thought they were cute AND I was pretty sure Turner would like them. You'll note, Joelle, that it's a big bib, not a tiny drool bit. That's because I learned from the Baby Bargain book you loaned me that the little bity ones are not very useful. Look how prepared I'm getting! Plus, then Turner can make the baby wear the bib that says he's cute even longer :-)
I think he was actually surprised by the last gift, a diaper bag.

He'd mentioned several times wanting a "masculine" one and I did some research on-line and got this one from Babies R Us. It's a backpack style (which supposedly is good as it doesn't fall off your shoulder while you're trying to carry the baby) and has a bottle cooler, changing pad, etc. Either way, since I decided to get it, I've been admiring all kinds of flowery, pink-striped, girly diaper bags to freak him out. I think I might have had him convinced I was going to make him carry some hot pink floral monstrosity with ribbons all over it, so I'm pretty sure that he was relieved to see this version. Oh, and it's made by Columbia which also made him happy. And, if you wonder why Turner looks so odd in this picture, that's his "fierce" supermodel look. Tyra Banks, watch out!
Well, that's all I've got for now. Turner's pulling the pork off of the smoker and I have to run and showever before we head to Craig and Kari's.
Love to all and HAPPY FATHER'S DAY again!
Jessica

I forgot!!!!

Garcia got a clean bill of health and no longer has to wear his hat as of our vet appointment yesterday!!! We're so happy (me in particular as he kept "scooping" me with his hat from behind). Throughout the process, we actually got 2 visits at no charge, which we thought was pretty awesome to!
Anyway, had to share Garcia's big news!

Now, an update from Jessica

First of all, sorry I haven't been better about updating this week. For some reason, I've been hit with a round of tiredness. Maybe my body is making up for not making it too hard on me in the first trimester :-) All said, it hasn't been too bad, but I have been sleepier than normal and my legs and hips have been sore and tired. I figure I'm just stretching or something to accomodate Bernie. I have started wearing some maternity clothes, in particular, the Bella bands Joelle introduced me to... they are possibly the greatest invention known to pregnant woman, so thanks, Joelle.

I'm including a picture of me in a sort of maternity outfit. I wore some preggo capris (more thanks to Joelle!) and a shirt I got at the Gap for pregnancy(albeit, it isn't a maternity shirt) to go to our friends Frank and Amber's the other night. I must say, the maternity pants are much more comfortable than most of my normal pants now.

(Not sure why I'm making the weird looking face in the picture...)
The rest of the week was a bit of a blur. I had a training at the Child Advocacy Center on Tuesday. Wednesday night, Carolyn came over and we grilled out. She got Bernie a lamb blanket and the softest blanket ever. Thanks, Auntie Carolyn! We had a nice visit, but again, I was worn out. Thursday, we had Cause for the Paws (the committee we're on to benefit Metro Animal Control). Last night, we ended up going to see The Happening and then grabbing some dinner. I didn't actually like the movie as much as I'd hoped, though Turner said he enjoyed it. And now, here we are and it's Saturday. Alas, it's raining, so Turner is not getting to work on the fence.
One other bit of baby news, we got the Rainforest Bouncer that we wanted this week. I was particuarly interested in this one as Lyla and Pressley seem to enjoy it so much. Anyway, when we brought it home, Darwin got very excited about it (especially when it was vibrating!). He actually nibbled on it (he doesn't actually bite it) just like he does the bed. Anyway, we thought it was funny, so here's a picture of that...

That's all for now, but we'll keep you posted should anything particuarly interesting come up.
Love to all,
Jessica

Week 15 Update

So, this week, Bernie has reached the size of an apple....

Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! (Don't be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby's sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby's position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to "hide the goods.")
Alas, as you all know, our next ultrasound is July 17th, so even though we MIGHT be able to find out Bernie's sex, we won't have an opportunity.

Bedding Pix

So, as I said, the one set of bedding that both Turner and I liked was on clearance at Babies R Us today, so to ensure we could get it (and at a slightly reduced price) we went ahead and got it. We like it for either a boy or a girl.... But, in case we change our minds, we are keeping the receipt :-)


Love to all,
Jessica

Bernie's Benefactor, Auntie Michelle :-)

Michelle and I went shopping today and she very patiently trooped around and looked at all sorts of maternity clothes and baby items with me. Granted, she did find a few things for herself. On the maternity clothing front, I found a great sale at Kohls and got 2 pairs of black dress pants, 1 pair of grey work pants, a pair of maternity jeans and a short sleeved maternity sweater, all for under $12 each (some were quite a bit less than that). Alas, not too many tops were on clearance and I wasn't too excited about what they had in general shirt-wise, but I feel a little more prepared for my expanding waistline, so that's exciting! Not to mention, they are ridiculously comfy. I'm not sure why we can't wear maternity clothes all the time.
After that, we looked at baby stuff at Kohl's and Michelle got the baby it's first puppy gear (See picture).

We figured whether it's a girl or a boy, it will be a fan of puppies what with its two brothers, and a little blue never hurts. Plus all of the onesies have puppies on them and though they are blue, they aren't particuarly boyish. And, in case you are looking for an untapped market, apparently there is very sexist marketing in terms of baby clothing with puppies on it. There just wasn't anything that was either more gender neutral or for girls which is silly as clearly girls like puppies, too!
Afterwards, we hit Babies R Us and I discovered that they are discontinuing the bedding set that Turner and I liked. Bad news as we weren't really ready to buy it yet, but good news as it was a little cheaper. So I called Turner and we decided to go ahead and get the bedding and keep the receipt as if we change our minds, we can always return it. I'll upload pix of that later, but meanwhile, Michelle got the Peanut an extra crib sheet and it's first organic crib sheet :-) (If you know Michelle, this won't surprise you).

Either way, it was a great day (though a LOT of walking) and I'm pretty sure I had a much better run of it than Turner who stayed home (after golfing so don't feel TOO sorry for him) and painted the fence. It looks great, though and I'll post pix of it soon.
All that said, thanks for a great day of shopping and for Bernie's presents, Auntie Michelle!

Our Appointment Today & Week 14 Update

So, I'm going ahead and give you the scoop on our appointment today and post the Week 14 info as we start week fourteen tomorrow. The doctor's appointment went well. All of the blood work and ultrasound shots to see if the baby was progressing normally came back perfectly. Our Peanut rocks! We got to hear the heart beat for the first time and that was pretty rockin' too! Our next appointment is on July 17th and we'll get an ultrasound and check up and MOST IMPORTANTLY, we'll determine the baby's gender! So, though he/she may still be a peanut, we may ditch Bernie as a nickname (assuming we have names picked by then, I think you all might get to vote on boy names as we just can't settle on one).
In other exciting baby news, I came out of the "pregnancy closet" today and told my boss about Bernie. All went well and I am so happy to no longer worry about whether or not my belly is sticking out a little bit making me LOOK pregnant. I AM PREGNANT, by gosh! That said, all you Nashvillians who have been amazing support and secret keepers, tell whoever you want... And enjoy!

Now, for your stimulating Week 14 information....

WHAT HAPPENS AT WEEK 14:
This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.

In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

So, apparently at week 14, the baby is now the size of a lemon.... What exciting fruit will the baby become next, stay tuned to find out!!!!

The Peanut is a Shrimp???

Ok, this is predominantly for S to tha G who asked, but according to one of the websites someone recommended (Kari or Tracey I think), the Peanut is now the size of a shrimp (which does not explain why my waistline is rapidly expanding....) Bernie is also doing lots of other exciting things, like moving her legs and getting fingerprints. More info below:
13 Weeks-How your baby's growing:
Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce.
On the other hand (literally), another thing I read said he/she was the size of my palm at this point (which is bigger than a shrimp!) so I'm not 100% sure what that means. Meanwhile, we hit 14 weeks tomorrow so maybe they'll compare Bernie to another interesting food item. Glad she hasn't been a brussel sprout! Yuck!

Poor Buckethead (The Peanut's Brother)

Poor Garcia. So, to update everyone as to his progress, on Tuesday he went to the vet and was sedated and had surgery. They first xrayed his foot and found that he did not have any broken bones. From what they could figure out, either he punctured his foot with something or was bit by something and it got infected or he sprained it and then bothered it so much that it got infected.
Either way, within 30 minutes of waking up from anesthesia, he had completely dismantled his entire cast-like bandage (that's our boy!) so he earned himself a cone hat to keep him from getting to it. He was a pretty pathetic picture running around for a bit as with his foot wrapped he wasn't putting in weight on it, so he basically was hopping on 3 legs with his bucket bobbing all around.
The cone worked for two days, but today when I got home from work to take him to the doctor, he had managed to undo his cone (pretty impressive, apparently it involved the living room rug, which he had rolled up) and had chewed off his bandage. The doctor said it looks better so he is leaving it uncovered, but Cia still has to wear a bucket on his head. And now, his bucket is taped, to prevent him from unhooking it again.
As a side note, Darwin, who normally has a great deal of disdain for his "little" brother has been particuarly sweet to him. He hasn't shown him his teeth or growled at him once, which is pretty impressive as Garcia smashes into him with his bucket at least once an hour. He even lays close to him to comfort him, which frankly, isn't Darwin's style :-)

For the weak stomached, sorry, but I thought I'd post a picture of his poor, shaved foot. Though it looks 100% better than it did as it was about double the size it is now. He goes back to the doctor again on Monday (our $75 rescue has gotten MUCH more expensive!) for another check up.
Meanwhile, I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, so we'll try to update you about the Peanut after that.

Garcia Update

Hey, all....
Just realized no good update on Garcia yet. He is doing allright, but it will take more time than I have right now to update you as I have to leave to get him to the vet and it is CMA/Fanfair this week which means I have to fight some nasty traffic to get out of here.
I'll do my best to post an update tonight.
Jess

Countdown!

Thanks to my brother David for supplying us with a countdown! It's currently set for the December 7th expected due date, we'll change it if that changes.

-Turner

Non-Informative Update

Hey all,
Just wanted to post a reasonably quick note to say that we have nothing to relay re:The Peanut.

We've had a busy weekend and are both looking forward to taking tonight off. We started staining/weatherproofing the back fence. I like to believe that this helps Bernie in so much as we're using 8-10 year stain, so he/she will be at least that old before he/she has to talk his/her friends into coming over and re-staining the fence (Tom Sawyer style!).

In Peanut Brother news, Garcia hurt his foot (god knows how) Saturday morning. We took him to the vet and they gave us some anti-inflammatory pills. It kept swelling and started looking infected last night. I dropped him off this morning at the vet and they are going to sedate him and take x-rays and clean up the wound. It was no fun to drop him off this morning, but I'm sure that he'll be fine. I should have good news to post this evening.

That's all for now. More to come.

-Turner