You Call This Music?!

Those Old Familiar Places

Seems like we've been to Sick Kids Hospital so often lately I think it's about time we were granted our own special reserved parking spot.

This afternoon, Nathaniel had an appointment to followup on his kidney exam from last November, which had us frantically ping-ponging across various levels until the whole thing eventually worked its way out.

Our little man was the no-fuss, free-spirited trooper as ever, as he suffered through bloodwork with nary a whimper, a looooong second ultrasound with some much understood discomfort (that gel is cold), and a final checkup with the very friendly Nephrology doc, who blew some bubbles to make the ordeal a bit more fun as it entered its third hour.
Thankfully, the results show that everything is looking a-okay--a few minor concerns have been red-flagged but we'll just have to closely monitor them as the years roll along. Soon enough, Nathaniel was back home for a long-overdue snack and a nap...

Dr. P Visit

An early morning appointment with the pediatrician found us cramped into a busier-than-expected waiting room. It's certainly getting tougher to keep the boys still while enduring the wait--it's now seems like a lot more than a year ago when they'd just sit there dutifully in their car seats like baby burritos.

Eventually, our number was up and the ever-too-the-point Dr. P administered some unwelcome (but necessary) meningitis doses, after the weigh-in, which has Carter at approx. 19.5 lbs and Nathaniel still leading almost 21 lbs. Interesting--they certainly seem a lot heavier...then again, it's a year later for all of us(funny how that goes)...

Nathaniel's Backup Playmate

Nathaniel vs. The Shoe Bandit

Carter's Curtain Call

One Room Cannot Contain Them!

Growing Gourmands...

That's Darn Good Toast!

Happy 14 Months, Boys!

"Okay, we've been here for 14 months and between the two of us we're crawling, standing, walking, dancing, talking, eating, sleeping, looking at books, petting the cats (gently), and one of us just had major surgery. What else do you want?!"

Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

Slowly Getting A Grasp On The "Sharing" Concept...(slowly)

Snack On The Run

Bouncing Back!

Toronto Terrorized By Giant, Falling Baby...

Splish Splash

After 10 days of sponge-baths, Nathaniel enjoyed his long-waited return to the tub! He was excited to find all of his favorite bath-buddies waiting-- Winnie and Piglet, Mr. Turtle, Mr. Crab, Mr. Jellyfish, Mr. Porpoise, Mr. Pelican--and seemed content to splash about all night until we had to literally pull the plug...

Yeah, It's Time For Gates...

Loving The Alien...

Vegan-Free Zone!

Back off--those are rib-bones, Bub...

Following Up...

In what hopefully will prove to be the final chapter in Nathaniel's recent trials and tribulations, this morning found us back at Sick Kids Hospital for a followup appointment with Dr. Salle in Urology. Since the appointment wasn't until 9am, we didn't have to leave at the crack of dawn like the last time. Although given the day's weather condition--the first day this January that actually felt like January--we probably should've departed a bit earlier.
No matter: we were seen promptly around 9:30am by the always-cheery doctor and he was pleased with the progress of Nathaniel's war wound. The catheter was removed with a few snips without a flinch from our little trooper. No more double diapers!
Another appointment was arranged for May and after a frustrating exit from the underground parking garage we were on our way back home through downtown's newly moist, always treacherous streets (as of this writing, 13 pedestrians have been killed since the year began).

Throughout this entire ordeal, Nathaniel has been an absolute joy. He required not a drop of the heavy-duty painkillers prescribed, didn't pull-and-pry at his dressings, and soldiered on with standing exercises and round-the-clock play whereas many of us several times his age would've crawled into the fetal position and inhaled Tylenols like they were breath mints. He's clearly up for any challenge but I think we've all had enough drama to last us through the winter. With both boys starting to figure out the whole walking-thing, Pops needs to conserve his strength for the thaw, when those painkillers just might come in handy...

Take A Message...

Grandma and Grandpa call from Pembroke...of course, the first button Carter figures out is the one that disconnects...

Shoe Shopping

A trip to the Mississauga Wal-Mart for winter boots wasn't a complete waste--while we came up empty on the footwear front, we managed to score a sweet deal on a very cool Lightning McQueen toybox/bench, which Pops assembled the next day with a minimum of bloodshed...

Speechifying...

Well, apparently, we're doing everything right, which is a relief. Today, Kathy came by for a session with a guest, speech therapist Chris Guest (not the film director or co-star of "This Is Spinal Tap"). Chris works for Surrey and wanted to evaluate Nathaniel as a possible candidate for speech therapy. She didn't need much convincing: upon arrival, Nathaniel was at the kitchen gate, waving them to come over and chatting away. They were very impressed with his range of silly noises, interactive nature, and cheery demeanour. Upon conclusion, we were told to continue on with pretty much what we've been going all along!



Here's a shot of Nathaniel from a previous day, but obviously with a lot on his mind...