Neurologist follow-up

Wow, it's hard to believe that just six months ago we were taking Erin to the neurologist, Dr. Ghodsi, for the first time to make sure there was not some hidden cause for her torticolis.

Was it really just before Christmas that we worried about anesthesia, MRIs, abnormal findings, and referrals to neurosurgeons? It seems so strange to think that just a few short months ago that was our reality. However, a lot can change in six months. Since then, Erin was cleared by the neurosurgeon, met all of her age-appropriate developmental milestones, and her torticolis continues to improve with weekly physical therapy.

So, it came as a little bit of a shock to flip the calendar to May and see a six month follow-up appointment with Dr. Ghodsi on the page in front of me. With everything seemingly going so well for Erin, I really debated whether or not we even needed to keep the appointment. However, in the end, I knew that I could never live with myself if something is actually wrong with Erin and we didn't find out.

So, this morning we got in the car and headed to the neurologist's office. Of course they did the standard checks for height, weight, head circumference (Erin is still in the 95th percentile), lung sounds, heart sounds, and pulse, as well as more specific neurological tests. And, I must say, it was really nice to have Dr. Ghodsi confirm what every mother thinks of her child (at least until the terrible twos hit!) - he said she's perfect. I can't tell you how relieved I am to know that Erin does not have any neurological problems. I feel so blessed for us and for Erin.

The last thing Dr. Ghodsi said was that we could follow-up "as needed". That's one follow-up we won't ever plan on needing!

A mouthful

Erin is now getting her 9th tooth - a molar! It started to break through the surface of her gum line earlier this week - with the accompanying pain, fussiness, and crying in the middle of the night. Luckily, all of it is short-term (I've been told the temper tantrums resolve when they go to college!). However, I think my favorite part of Erin's teething is the excessive drool. Just in time for Erin to learn how to "kiss" us - which entails opening her mouth wide, sticking out her tongue, and then leaning in to our faces. I think she learned this technique from Shadow!

Dress Up

When Kurt and I talked about having children, and even after Erin was born, I prided myself in knowing that I was going to treat my child as a person, not as a doll or an accessory. So many parents I know buy matching parent and child outfits or really fancy clothes so their children look more like mini adults. I just KNEW that would not be me.

Sure, I like Erin to look cute - what mother wouldn't want that for her daughter? However, I'm rather practical. I believe in buying clothes that are cute, but comfortable and functional. Sure, for special occasions we'll go with the fancy stuff and if someone buys her an adorable outfit, we'll definitely put her in it and be very appreciative. But, no, I don't buy matching mommy/daughter outfits or clothes that make her look like an adult. We're trying not to raise another Jon Benet Ramsey.

So, it came as a shock to me when I was looking at my daughter's photos that I am just like those "other" moms. The only difference is that Kurt and I play "dress up" with Erin by making her wear (or not wear) really embarrassing clothes. All you have to do is look through her websites to see what I mean.

Sure there are minor things like socks that look like shoes, shamrock bibs, hooded bear towels, mouse hats, jester hats, bike helmets, and funny hooded jackets. Sure she's had chips and salsa on her lap, and even the traditional naked bath tub, or bear skin rug photos. And yes, we did get a bit into the holidays with her sweat pea Halloween costume and her snowman outfit for Christmas. However, all of that was pretty understandable.

I think it may have started to go a little awry with the photo of Erin in her oxygen mask that I refer to as "Luke I am Your Father". However, it really didn't dawn on me until I saw the picture of Erin wearing my lunch bag on her head like a robot, and then realized that earlier today her Daddy put a box on her head to show me how Erin could look like Frankenstein.

So, I confess, I didn't have a child so I could play "dress up" with her, but I guess that is just one of those parenting skills you develop over time. For some reason, I get the feeling the fun has just started. Be on the look out for more embarrassing photos. Sorry Erin!

Adventures in Swim Land

Erin's swim class ended today, and I must say I'm a little sad to be done with the lessons. I really enjoyed our time together in the pool. Erin and I loved her teacher, Ms. Becky, and I just can't say enough about all of the staff and the heated, indoor pool at Tom's Dive and Scuba here in Austin.

Considering that Erin had never been in the pool before, we were worried that she wouldn't enjoy swimming. Luckily, that was a needless concern. Erin continued to enjoy the water and the pool. The only time she didn't enjoy it was when she developed a yeast infection from the antibiotics she'd been on. I think the chlorine stung on her raw bottom. Luckily it cleared up very quickly with an anti-fungal diaper cream.

Other than that classes went very smoothly. I'm amazed at how much Erin learned in just four weeks, especially given how young she is. She became really comfortable in the pool. By the last class, she was floating on her front or back (with help to support her), and had learned how to splash, hold her breath under water, blow bubbles, and kick her feet. She never really got the hang of scooping her arms, but she would occasionally scoop the right one.

On the last class, she even was comfortable enough to play in an inflatable raft, put on a pair of goggles, and use a life vest! She grew so much in such a short time she even had to get a bigger swim suit!


One of the things that really impressed me was that Erin learned how to sit and wait for me so we both could get safely in and out of the pool! Needless to say the commands "wait for Mommy" and "1,2,3, go" have come in very handy in the bathtub and when getting out of the stroller, and I plan to continue to use them.

I think Erin's favorite parts of swim class were playing with the cup of water, being dunked, and gliding back and forth between me and Ms. Becky. If you asked Erin, she might say the best part was watching all the other kids or waving "bye, bye" at the end. We met some really neat people in the class and look forward to more water adventures with Erin.

True Daddy

Kurt said he wouldn't really feel like a Dad until Erin was old enough to ride on his shoulders. Well, here's proof that he's a real Daddy now. :-)

Easter Egg Hunt

Growing up, Easter was full of traditions such as dying eggs on Saturday, waiting for the Easter bunny, getting candy, eating good food, being surrounded by my immediate family, and going to church. So, even though Erin is really too young for many of those traditions, I still did not want her first Easter to go unrecognized.

Easter Sunday was pretty low-key. We went to church with Heidi, Larry, and Lauren and later had a nice dinner with a few close friends. The eggs weren't dyed, there was no pastel Easter basket with funny colored "grass", and there was no candy. However, even if Erin couldn't have it, I still made my favorite - poppy seed cake.

So, when I heard that the local park was having a pancake breakfast and Easter egg hunt that Saturday, complete with a visit from the Easter bunny, I just knew we had to take Erin. Sure, she's too young to have eggs, pancakes, sausage, or orange juice, but we never pass up a cheap breakfast and Shadow was more than happy to eat her share. :-)

Now, I've never actually hunted eggs, but I thought it would be fun for Erin. What I failed to realize is that Erin wouldn't be interested in crawling around looking for bright colored plastic eggs. You see, once I got there and put her on the grass, I realized that Erin had never actually felt grass or been on it before. So, she was much more interested in the texture, looking at the individual blades of grass, and trying to eat the leaves and plastic candy wrappers. I even got her to hold onto my hands and "walk" a few steps in the grass (not bad for someone who is just learning to cruise!).

Of course, it was also funny to watch her reaction to the Easter Bunny - who I must admit was rather creepy looking. She really wasn't sure what to make of it at first. She seemed scared when he held her, but once we started laughing and pointing to his teeth, ears, and eyes, she seemed to take it all in and warm up to him.

It was a lot of fun watching her process this new experience and I think it's definitely one tradition we plan to keep.

Happy Hunting.

Shuffled Pictures

An apology is in order.  I suggested to Christine the other day that we might want to sort the images on Erin’s Photobucket site such that the most recent is at the top.  Since this blog presents the latest update at the top, a similar sort order for the photos made sense. 

I should have known better.  Since I work with computers, I know that nothing involving a computer is ever as simple as it seems.  And that’s definitely the case here. 

• Complication 1: Photobucket will let you sort by date added (newest or oldest first), by original filename (A-Z only), or by title (A-Z only). 
• Complication 2: A number of cameras were used to take the pictures, and each one uses its own naming convention. 
• Complication 3: Christine and I both use Canon cameras, which use the same naming convention, so her IMG_150 and my IMG_150 might be taken six months apart.
• Complication 4: Photobucket doesn’t have an “undo” function. 
• Complication 5: All new uploaded images go to the back of the line, so we’d have to re-sort everything every time we added new images.

I’m sure you can see where this is going.  After an hour or so of frustration, we gave up on getting it right.  We undid what damage we could, but we had to create a couple of additional folders to sort things out.  You can access them from the links on the left side of the main page, under KurtsCamera and other.  Over the next week or so, we’ll be re-sorting Erin’s pictures, but for now, things are a bit messy.

As I said, an apology is in order. 

PS If anyone has a better idea for a photo site, please let us know by email or in the comments below.