Tot School: Colors Week!

Our theme in tot school last week was colors, and I chose to focus on the primary colors- red, yellow, and blue-to keep it simple.  I have to say...it was a bit of a struggle. The activities were maybe too simple for her, or at least they didn't keep her attention all that well.  

On Monday, we colored with red, blue, and yellow Color Wonder markers. We colored a letter B because that was the letter of the week! Sky definitely favored the red marker, that Cardinal girl that she is. ;) During this activity she started to pick up on the fact that markers are much easier to color with...when the crayons that we had pulled out wouldn't work, (because she wasn't pushing hard enough), she mostly just threw them out of the way and went back to the markers.  I kept showing her though, and we'll keep working on it.

On this day she also pulled out the stackers on her own, (mostly primary colors!),  which was good.

Tuesday we had a tube drop. Skylar liked this, but it didn't keep her attention for very long.  Mostly she enjoyed shaking the bag of pom poms and making them go everywhere. SO fun. 

Why these pictures are blurry, I may never know. They looked fine on my phone. Sigh.

We also played with a red sensory box that I put together from every smallish red toy I could find.  

 Her favorite part about the box was the red bottle, which was no surprise. She carried it around for a long time, and tried putting lots of different things in the bottle, the pom poms, the balls, some stackers. I expected this, and it was pretty cute.  She liked throwing the red toys all over as well!

 On Wednesday, we explored a yellow sensory box. This kept her occupied for all of 2 minutes. We also practiced putting the primary colored pit balls in the muffin tin. She enjoyed dumping the tin more than anything.  We played with the pit balls for quite a while, throwing them around, putting them in buckets and dumping them, and shaking them off the parachute.  We also colored a Bird picture, (bird starts with B!). I may have mentioned my sweet baby has a phobia of birds, so we are working on that. :) (PS this picture came from a coloring book I found at Home Goods of all places. I seriously hit the motherload there last week, and found a TON of stuff for school time at really good prices. Puzzles, coloring books, a neat chalkboard/dry erase board, all kinds of things. It was awesome.  

Mom. I like this red crayon, but this bird is still a little...freaky.  

Our 4th and final day of Tot School last week, (and honestly, I can't remember if it was Thursday or Friday..I blame pregnancy brain.), was probably the least successful day of the week.  Whatever we had going on that day had us doing school at a different time than normal, and this girl is a creature of habit. (Hey, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree..).  She was tired, and by the end she was in a very ornery mood..so school time did not last very long.  We were successful with the lacing beads however, she really enjoyed trying to get the string through the beads, stacking the beads, and just general play with the string.  Her fine motor skills seem pretty decent, here's hoping she got those from her Dad...cuz this Momma is not skilled in that department..

Overall, even though the week was a little difficult and our school times were a bit short, I would call colors week a success! Skylar is absolutely loving school time...when I tell her it's time for school she goes right to the stairs, ready to go! I hope this love of learning stays with her forever!  

The first few weeks of Tot School

Last week I blogged about starting tot school, how we would do it, what the plans were, etc.  So this week I am going to share all about the activities we have done so far!!

The first week we were still at my parents house, and it was really a trial week.  I did a lot of nap-time planning, and a little shopping.  I wanted to test out what all I could get and use at the Dollar Tree, (my parents have a great one in their town), and I wanted to stock up at their store because the DT closest to me is not a place I will go by myself.  Sketch-city.  Now that we are in Indy I will still go to DT, it'll just have to be a bigger trip bc the one I will go to is on the complete opposite side of town.

During this first week, I really just wanted to test out the waters, and learn if Skylar would even sit down and do activities with me.  Good news: she did great! She loved playing with new things she hadn't seen, and she really enjoyed the one on one attention. We didn't have a theme the first week, it was really just a collection of random stuff that I found/came up with.

One activity we did, (on a particularly cold day), was an ice sensory bin.  I gathered up random plastic toys and put them in a bin with a few ice cubes and water.  I had a towel and a plastic tablecloth under her to minimize mess. Overall it was pretty successful, she liked to say "oo, oo" when she felt the cold ice. This activity did not keep her attention for very long though!

During the week at my parents we also did sticker play, (she is still too young to peel them off the page but she enjoyed sticking them, or at least pressing them down after I did the initial stick).  

This week was St. Patrick's Day, so I brought out gold coins that we played with along with some play-doh.  At first, Sky was very  unsure about the texture of play-doh, and really just liked playing with the spoon and cup.  Eventually she did get used to it, and now LOVES play-doh time.  As far as the gold coins, they basically failed bc she wanted to eat them.  Put those with the "maybe another time" pile!

Kato really enjoyed getting in on the play-doh action each day.

Puzzles at Grandmas! She enjoyed putting the pieces back in the box and then dumping them out. Very age appropriate! 

We took a week off from school time the week we moved, ain't nobody got time for that! That week was serious chaos.  That brings us to last week...our first full week in the house, our first full week of school with an actual theme. (Okay so honestly, we only had actual school time 3 days out of 5. But, I consider that a success. We had a lot of other things going on, appointments, meetings, I had a wedding, etc. But, that's the beauty of this whole thing...no big deal to miss a few days. We accomplished 95% of things I had planned!) The theme was Spring/Rainbows, and the letter was S. (Looking back, not sure we actually did my S activity.)  

We started pretty early the first day, I was having trouble keeping my eyes open while we were eating breakfast, so we decided to get to work.  I had laundry and a few afternoon things to prepare, so Skylar played with play food while I did what I needed to do.  We talked about the foods she was playing with, and their colors.  She also wanted to play with the pit balls, (rainbow colors), and being that this is play-based/self exploration learning, and it was our first real day, I let her take the lead with what she wanted to do. I pulled out some stuffed toys in rainbow colors as well. She did lots of exploring of the school shelf too.  (Picture of this coming soon, when I get it organized the way I want!)

She liked dropping the food through the rails. Sigh.

Who knew, plastic spoons are one of her favorite things to play with.  Spoon starts with S right? Letter of the week activity..check.

On another day, we played with this spring squishy bag.  I used fake flowers, (I cut the petals from the stem), and hair gel, (both from the ole DT), and put them in a ziploc bag. I taped the bag closed to keep little missy from opening it, cuz this girl LOVES to open ziplocs.  She really liked this bag, she squished it some, and carried it around a LOT.  

This might have been the most successful activity of the entire week.  I made a sticky wall, (thank you pinterest) from contact paper.  I drew a rainbow on the non-sticky side, (to go with the theme), and attached it to the wall with painters tape.  The sticky side is out, and I cut up rainbow construction paper to stick on. Skylar absolutely loved this activity, and was very proud of her work! 

We went outside on this day to play with a rainbow sensory bin, (DT Fruit Loops!).  She liked eating these, but was mostly distracted by scary flying things, like birds and leaves.  (We are learning that Skylar is NOT a nature lover).

Rainbow ziploc painting. 5 seconds and she was done. Fail.

Magnetic letters (rainbow colors!), fun until she eats them.  

My 1 year old is a little obsessed with coloring, which is awesome!

More fun with play-doh, and by play-doh I mean the cup and spoon. She really likes cups and spoons.

Rainbow pom poms! We practiced sorting these into ice cube trays.  Well, I sorted and talked to her about the colors, she mostly just dumped.  

Our first weeks of tot school were really successful in my opinion, and I am really looking forward to the themes we have coming up. I am also looking forward to warmer weather, (someday), so we can do more activities outside!! This week our theme is colors, specifically red, yellow, and blue. Next week I will share how it goes! 

Tot School!

Now that we are FINALLY settled (ish) into our new Indiana home, I feel like I can really buckle down and get Skylar started on Tot School!

What is Tot School exactly? To me, based on the research I've done, and what I already know, it's pre-preschool, at home.  "School" is a very loose term. She is only 14 months old, so there won't be much reading, writing, or arithmetic. (Well, there will be a lot of reading!). Basically, it's structured activities, disguised as play time, that foster learning.

Why Tot School? She's still so young! Honestly, I've kind of always had a homeschool pipe dream.  I'm fascinated by homeschool, and really would like to try it. At least for a little while, to see how she does, and if it's even something the 2 of us (and her sister in the future!), can handle.  Also, we are in desperate need of some structured activities during the times we aren't going somewhere.  Just hanging out, watching tv, isn't really my style, and Sky seems to get bored, (read: in trouble), when she doesn't have something specific to do. It helps pass the time during these long days of staying home.  (See previous post). Plus, she just might learn something!

How are we going to do this?  I have been working hard the last month to plan out activities, mostly during nap time.  (Pinterest is an AMAZING tool for ideas.) Our new house has the perfect spot for setting things up, so this weekend I set up the shelf, and a table with a play mat underneath.  The actual activities are theme based, but that's mostly for me to stay organized.  I think she may be too young to actually pick up on the fact that there's a theme going on each week, but it helps me to plan if I have a theme.  The activities are very simple, play-based, fun things for Skylar to do.  Think play-doh, coloring, lots of sensory activities, and lots of books. While unpacking the new house, I was able to organize all the toys and books into "just for fun, downtime, living room or her bedroom" toys, as well as "tot school, somewhat educational, tot school space" toys.  The toys and books we have organized for school are not things she will play with all the time, just during "school" time.  In my next post I'll share a picture of my set up, as well as some of the activities we've already done.  I've really enjoyed the planning and set up so far, (it's the preschool teacher in me, it's just something I love doing!), and I am so excited to really get going!

My hope with Tot School is that our girl will learn something and have fun. I am trying hard to be as relaxed and simple as possible.  There are going to be days we aren't going to get to the activities. There are going to be activities that fail. There are going to be moments when Sky just can't deal with whatever it is we are doing. There are going to be times when we want to get out and do something instead of staying home. I have a loose plan of doing "school" after her afternoon nap every day, but even today we did some things early this morning because we had time and I needed to keep her awake.  All of that is totally fine. If there's one thing I learned while teaching preschool, it's FLEXIBILITY in learning.  That's the beauty of home learning/homeschool in my opinion, the ability to be completely flexible and do whatever works for us.  Obviously if we are successful and want to continue this beyond preschool things will have to get more structured and school-like, but for now, it's all about the play and fun! She is only 1 after all. :)

I am looking forward to sharing this journey with all of you, and hope to do weekly posts on this, (I 've said this before, lets hope I can actually do it this time) so stay tuned!

Skylar Madison-The First Year

New Year's Resolution 2017: Blog more!

It's HARD to find time to blog at this point in my life, but I have so many things I want to say and write about, so it's a goal of mine this year to make it more of a priority! (Honestly I need to do less Facebook scrolling, and more blog writing...)

Alright, here is a reflection on my first year as a mom...what a year it was!


Mommyhood-1 Year in: A reflection

The days are long, but the years are short.  That's the only thing that runs through my mind today, on Sky's first birthday.

Being a stay at home mom is tough, and the days are so very long.  Mealtimes, nap times, diaper changes, errands, play dates, dinner planning, making, and cleaning, bath times, bed times. Each day is very full, and very very long. And yet, the year went by so fast.

Each stage of the past year has seemed, at the time, to take FOREVER.  It felt like Skylar would always be a newborn that I couldn't take in public (uh hello cold and flu season). I was convinced at the time that I absolutely couldn't take her out of the house for 6 weeks.  It seemed like that 6 week mark would never get here, that we would never be able to leave the house again.  Thankfully, Grandma has always been a source of wisdom and confidence, and saved us on that one. On her urging we went out, into the cold! When she was like 3 weeks old! Everyone survived, and we had a good time too!  But the days are long.

Breastfeeding-ugh. What a stage that was. Again, seemed to take forever.  It felt like I would be nursing forever and ever.  I hated every minute of breastfeeding, (this is my personal issue, if you want to breastfeed you absolutely should and I will support you and give you advice if you want it. It's really just a problem in my own head with my own experience. Sky never had any issues with it, the issue and stress was really all in my head.) It seemed never ending, like I would never figure out a balance, never figure out how not to be embarrassed in public (even with a cover), like Sky would never be old enough to eat food and not nurse.  The days are long.

I started our girl on purees at 4 months (the horror, I know.  See above.). She loved baby food, but it seemed like she would never eat anything that wasn't pureed.  Even at 7 months old she was spitting out or barfing up anything with texture.  The puree days were so very long.

Skylar took forever to sit up, and then crawl, or so it seemed.  She took forever to get teeth.  It took many, many months to get her to sleep through the night.  I could go on, but the point is, the days are long.

But here's the thing about the long days. The years are so short.  Through each stage we'd trudge, put our heads down and move through.  And when I would look up, that stage had passed and we'd be on to the next.  The days are long, but the years are so very short.

I had a LOT of support during these long days.  I couldn't have made it without the advice from my mom, mother-in-law, and many other seasoned moms.  I have to give a specific nod to my cousin Desi though, she was SO helpful.  In every stage I would ask her advice, and she always told me her experiences, and gave me confidence that I was doing the right thing.  So thanks Dez, I hope I can repay you for this one of these days, because you were paramount in my success during the first year of mommy hood!

Not every day is a struggle, and not every stage is awful.  The stage of being able to take her places while she would just sleep in the carseat was awesome.  The time from 1 month-5 months when she actually slept through the night was awesome.  The first time she said Dada, we thought we might just melt into a puddle.  We taught her to say woof woof when she sees a dog, and it's so adorable. Right now is a really fun stage too, she is like a sponge and learns many new things every day.  She's got a dimple on one side when she smiles really big, and is very very smart!

The point of this post is this: The days of this year have been so long. Some days I wasn't sure I would make it through. But I did.  And the year itself has gone by so quickly.  New Mommas, know that you won't enjoy every day, some days you just have to get through.  But once you do, 1 year will pass before you know it.

Now it's on to the next stage for Sky, toddlerhood.  I'm slightly terrified, but also really, really excited to see her personality develop further, to hear her talk in sentences, and see how she shines as a big sister!

Momma loves you so very much Skylar, we'll get through these long days together!

Skylar's Birth Story: Part 1

Our sweet Skylar Madison was born January 15th, 2016! We are absolutely smitten with this child. I've decided to share her birth story here in a few different posts...and I'll share some of the fun we've been having since she came home in a couple of posts.  Let's start at the beginning!

(Side note: I've sat down to write this post at least 3 times, and every time Sky has woken up and needed something...we'll see how far we get today!)


I woke up at 4 am on Thursday morning (the 14th) with contractions.  I had Braxton Hicks contractions for months leading up to this, but they had definitely intensified during this particular week.  This was the first time contractions had woken me out of a sleep, so I thought this might actually be it.  I tried not to get too excited, because I had mentally prepared myself every day for about a month and it was never time, so I didn't want to be disappointed another day! By 5:30 when Ben's alarm went off, I knew these contractions were different. I told Ben about them, and he agreed to work from home, just in case.  I spent the day resting, watching tv, making myself a new planner for 2016 (yes, I am a nerd. I love planners and I live by lists.), and timing contractions on my Pregnancy Plus app.  They started out at 20 minutes apart.  By 4:00 in the afternoon they were down to about 8 minutes apart, but definitely still manageable.  I called the midwife somewhere in there, just to let them know what was going on.  They suggested staying home, just because the contractions were still inconsistent and I could talk and walk just fine.  We had to make a decision at that point, whether we were going to send Kato to the kennel, or keep him home in case this baby wasn't actually coming.  Ultimately, my contractions had stalled somewhat, so we decided to keep him home. In the evening, we took Kato on a long walk.  We had Sheetz for dinner, and walked again, this time to Walmart to get some supplies for Labor-Ade. (This is a hydrating beverage that the midwife suggested....fresh lemon juice, honey, lots of water, and crushed tablets of calcium).  After eating and drinking the labor-ade, I took a shower.  (At least the 2nd of the day...). I stayed in the shower until the water went cold, because my contractions had REALLY ramped up by then and the warm water helped.  When I got out of the shower we attempted to watch the Republican Debate, but I have no idea how that went, because by that time I had to get up and move during each contraction.  I was able to eat a snack, which I knew I would need if I was going to the hospital.  We tried to go to bed around 11.  Ben was able to sleep some but I kept having to get up and move and breathe with each contraction.  I tried about a million different positions, sitting in a chair, sitting on a ball, sitting on Ben's drum stool, laying down, I really tried it all! But the only way I could be comfortable in our room was standing and leaning over the bed when the contractions came. I woke Ben around 1 am. We called the midwife and she was headed in to the hospital anyways, so she suggested to come on in, but take our time.  I called my Mom and the doula, and I was able to get in a shower before we left.  The doula got to our apartment as we were leaving, and agreed to follow us to the hospital.  I was really afraid to get in the car because I felt like sitting and not being able to move was going to be bad.  I only had 1 contraction on the way, which really felt like a movie scene. It was the middle of the night, Ben was flying down the highway, and I was trying to breathe...yeah, like a movie. :)

When we got to the hospital, we got into triage right away, and I was 3 cm dilated.  The midwife was able to get us into a room really quickly.  Thank goodness, because I was in some serious pain.  Once we were settled in a room, I sat on a birthing ball, I think for several hours.  We got my labor playlist playing which was nice.  My doula was great about coaching me through each contraction, and I was SO glad she was there.  By about 5 am, my contractions were really, really painful. I held Ben's hand or leaned on him, and tried to make low sounds like they were telling me to, but man, that was ROUGH. The only way to describe it is like my back was arching and I couldn't make it stop.  The people around me were a great support though, reminding me how much progress I was making, and how close I was to having this baby.  Eventually the midwife suggested I get in the shower.  During and after the shower things just got worse.  I started saying things like "I can't do this", or worse, "I'm gonna die".  It sounds ridiculous now, but in the moment I really thought I was going to die from pain.  They decided to go ahead and check me....and after all that I was only 5 cm. 5! It was time for an epidural.  I just couldn't deal anymore.  I hadn't slept in about 25 hours by this point, so it was time.  I was SO afraid to get the epidural though...I knew I wouldn't be able to sit still...I kept telling Ben I didn't want to be paralyzed. (I watch too much tv and read way too many stories).   He reassured me that it would be fine, and if it wasn't he would get me the most badass wheelchair ever. Love him. :)

I made it through the epidural just fine! And as it turned out, the anesthesiologist went to UofL Med School and even lived in the same apartment complex as my dear friend Melissa and I! Small world. Anyways, that guy was my BEST friend.  I felt AMAZING after the epidural....

That's probably good for today...stay tuned for part 2, coming soon. :)

2015-A Reflection

The past few years I have done a reflection on this blog on what has happened over the past year, usually by month.  This year was kind of a weird one, so I am going to do my 2015 reflection a little differently.  I found this article on BuzzFeed, and it got me thinking, so I chose 10 of them to help me reflect on the year 2015.

1. What did you do this year that you are proud of?
     I cooked a LOT of meals for our little family.  I tried a lot of new meals and succeeded at most of them, which is a success in my book! 

2. What were some of your favorite movies?
     We saw a ton of movies this year.  I really liked Inside Out & The Intern.

3.  What were some of the fears you had at the beginning of the year that you overcame?
      I was afraid our house would never sell. (It did). I was afraid we wouldn't be able to get what we wanted in a new house. (We are).  I was afraid of how long it would take to get pregnant. (About 4 months).  

4.  What are the most important things you learned this year?
    I learn this every year, but nothing happens the way we imagine it will.  We can lay out plans and be prepared, but rarely does something happen in this life the way I think it will.  We are actually calling this chapter of our life, "Things that didn't go according to plan."  I learned that it's okay if things aren't the way you thought they would be, sometimes they even work out better!

5. What is your favorite photo from this year?
       I could never choose just one, so here are some highlights. :) 
 

 Kato, as silly as ever.

My birthday at the vineyard

 Easter, just a really great photo

  My favorite photo from the epic journey across the country with my biffle 

Epcot fireworks while visiting my sister at Disney

 Visiting a North Carolina beach for the first time this summer.  

A highlight of my entire life so far. (And we haven't even met her!)

And our new house, which is coming right along!  












6. What are 5 things you want to say to the people you love?
  A) I love you, more than you will ever know.  B) Thank you for always loving me, even if I act like a crazy person. C) If I don't see you that often, know that you are on my mind always.  D) I don't know what I did to deserve such amazing people in my life, but I am very thankful for you! 

7.  Where do you feel most yourself?
  Alone with my hubby, or at the beach.  Or both at the same time. 

8. What are five things that you were hard on yourself about but would never have been hard on a friend if they were experiencing it?
   Weight gain in pregnancy.  I've felt super out of control with this.  I can't wait for this girl to get here so I can run and feel more like myself.  My major 2016 resolution is to run at least 1 competitive race each month.   (Starting in March obviously.)

9.  What are some things you'd like to focus on and work on in the next year?
   Running.  Being a good Mommy to our little one.  Being a better wife. 

10.  What are you excited about in 2016? (This wasn't a question on the article, but I want to talk about it anyways. :)  )
 Our growing family-both our immediate and extended-, moving into our new house, my sister's wedding and all the festivities, and the fresh starts that a new year always brings! 


Happy New Year friends and family, I hope 2016 is your best year yet! 
   
   

Blog About a Dog-Kato's Tumors

My poor Kato-Potato, or Tater Bug as we've been calling him lately, has had a really, really hard 2 weeks. I was going to wait until tomorrow to blog, after we go the vet for the millionth time, but I just want to get this out now.


The whole ordeal began back in early October when we picked him up from a few days at the kennel. We noticed he had a spot on his back right leg, that looked like maybe he had been nicked or bit by another dog.  It didn't bother him, and life went on as normal.  Within a month, the spot developed into this:

And I think it was even bigger than that by the time we got into the vet.  

My internet research told me it was a histiocytoma, a benign tumor.  We went ahead and made an appointment at a vet's office down by our new house, which is an hour from where we live right now. We also wanted to get his vaccinations updated, as he was due for some in January, and well...we've got other fish to fry in January. ;).  We took him in 2 weeks ago, Monday, Nov. 16.  I say we, but Ben couldn't get out of work so I took him by myself.  (Maybe mistake #1 looking back on it.)  Kato was given his vaccinations with no issues, and was his usual bouncy, excited, loving, Boxer self, even though they were poking him all over.  The vet was really concerned about the spot, especially because it had grown quickly.  She wanted to take it off right away.  So he was scheduled for surgery on Thursday, Nov. 19, first thing in the morning.

Silly pup did get tired at one point during the visit, and laid down. Just for a moment, until he heard someone outside the door, and then he was on full alert! 

I didn't sleep at all the night before the surgery, perhaps I had a premonition, but I was just really nervous about it, and nervous about the logistics.  Again, Ben couldn't miss work, and I was taking him by myself. I knew he would have to be lifted in and out after the surgery, and I knew he would probably not be as calm as he was supposed to be, because that's our Kato. He's a wild man, even after anesthesia. (Or at least he was the last time he was put under). At 7.5 months pregnant, there was just no way I was going to be lifting this 75 lb. dog in and out of the car by myself, so I was stressed about that.  I was stressed about everything going okay, and stressed about what they would find.  

Ben put the crate in the car in the morning before he left for work, and helped me put him in there when we were leaving.  (My kangaroo/dog mix can jump up 4 feet off all fours when he's excited, but refuses to jump in the car. Yeah. He's special.)  I dropped him off for surgery with no problem, other than his typical refusal to get on the scale, (again, special, special puppy dog), and then I wandered around for a few hours until I got the call from the vet's office.  I had been to our house, Starbucks, and Target when I got the first call, about 2 hours after I dropped him off.  They said Kato was under anesthesia and doing well, but they had found another spot, this one on a toe on his left front paw.  We had no idea this was there, but gave permission for them to cut that one out too.

An hour or so later, when I had just sat down for lunch, they called and said Kato was ready to go home.  I wolfed down the rest of my lunch and headed back.  When I walked in to the office I could hear his typical "I'm sooo alooooonnneeee" cry from where they had him in the back.  He does this cry when he's sad or lonely, and we know it immediately.  They gave me post-op instructions for his leg, (keep him calm and try to keep him from moving as much as possible. Ha.), and toe, (it was wrapped up and we were given a plastic bag thing to put over it to keep it dry), and brought him back in.  Thankfully they helped me get him in the car.  Poor boy had a cone of shame, that was flexible so he could get in the crate. He slept the whole way home. 

 When we got home, I backed in to a spot so it was just a step down to the grass.  I opened the crate door and Kato just stared at me. It took me a few minutes to convince him to step down from the car.  Once he did, more staring and not moving.  I coaxed him gently, and after about 10 minutes of "C'mon baby.  Kato! C'mon sweetie, let's go inside. Come! Kato Come!", the zombie was finally in the apartment. Completely zonked out.  

Just pitiful.

The rest of the evening went alright.  We attempted to put him in the crate for bedtime, but the first thing he did was take off his cone.  So we let him sleep in our room on that green bed in the picture.  (Maybe mistake #2). He was up and down a few times during the night, mostly wanting to get on the bed with us.  Sorry Potato, there's no room! And you are not allowed to jump! Eventually the night was over, and Friday morning I went to a baby appointment while Ben stayed home with Kato.  We didn't trust him to stay by himself and leave his wounds alone.  Friday night we took the wrap off of his foot and the incision looked great.  It has looked fine and done fine ever since.  The leg on the other hand.....

I took these 2 pictures a couple hours before the drama started.   

The incisions were looking pretty good.

On Sunday night, Ben was at work, and I was making dinner for myself when Kato came running in the kitchen with blood running down his leg.  There was blood all over the carpet where he'd been laying, all over the kitchen floor, and all over him.  I freaked out, and ended up taking him to an emergency vet. (Yes, by myself again.) Because of course this is Sunday night and the regular vet is closed.  I managed to keep the mess contained in car with lots of towels. At the ER they assured me that it was just fluid leaking from the incision, and not really anything to be concerned about. I just needed to keep him calm. This is laughable really, and even with sedatives, keeping him still is 100% impossible.  The worst thing, they said, was keeping it off of everything. A task that has also proved totally impossible btw.

By Monday afternoon, the leaking was no better, and I had a a horrible day of cleaning up after him, so it was back to the regular vet.  Kato was a good boy all day, (as he usually is, and has been every day), and just laid around.  At the vet, they confirmed it was just fluid and there was nothing we could do.  We could try to keep it covered, but it is a VERY hard spot to wrap or cover. Everything we do just falls off.  They did give him a laser treatment, and instructed us to do warm compresses. These seem to help quite a bit. It's also a tough spot to have an incision, because it gets pulled every time he sits, walks, squats to potty, or wiggles.  Which brings me to this past Friday.

*Side note*-On Tuesday, I got a voicemail about the pathology on the tumors.  The big one, causing all the problems, was a histiocytoma, like I thought. Completely benign.  However, the mass on his toe had come back as a Mast Cell Tumor, which is a malignant skin cancer type of tumor.  Not good, but they were adamant on the voicemail that they had gotten the entire thing. I'll be asking lots more about this tomorrow.  We have to be very vigilant now about any bumps or lumps we find. If we see anything, it has to be looked at right away. 

Back to Friday.  We had gone home for Thanksgiving, and Kato was a really good boy, the whole trip he was calm, and he was mostly calm at my parents as well.  In fact, the incision was looking great by Friday morning and had scabbed over.  It didn't leak at all on Thursday, so we thought a visit to Ben's mom at the pet store she works at would be fun (Mistake #3? But he loves his Nana so much and she was very happy to see him. And he was happy to see her!).  We aren't sure when the scab tore, or when he popped the stitch, (maybe jumping out of the car? Maybe wiggling in the store? We will never know), but he ended up leaking all over the store. Taaaaater.  He leaked the rest of the day Friday, and Saturday while my parents watched him while we were at Siegel Thanksgiving.  

The frustrating thing is, he wasn't even crazy! All he has done for 2 weeks is lay on his bed. He gets up now and then to stretch, see what Momma is doing, go to the bathroom, or eat.  Sure, he got wiggly on Thursday when all the people were at my parents, and walked around all day with his 2 year old (human) friend Zander, but other than that, he has been totally calm. By Sunday, the incision had completely torn open and we could see inside his leg. Back to the vet, this time in Georgetown. This proved to be worthless, they said again, it's just fluid. We don't want to close it, the fluid will build up underneath.  Ben asked what we could see in there, and the response was, "Oh, that's his calf muscle." And that's how it remains today, Wednesday.  The incision is torn open at the top, and we can see his calf muscle.  The vet in Georgetown assured us that he would be fine until our regular vet visit Thursday, when he is scheduled to have the stitches removed.  He is still on antibiotics and I think that is the only reason it's not infected.

Kato's life for the past 2 weeks. 

This has been the most frustrating, expensive, and stressful ordeal with Kato so far.  I feel so very sorry for this fur baby, and I feel like I can't help him.  The good thing is, none of this seems to cause him any pain.  It only bothers him when fluid leaks down his leg, or on to whatever blanket he is laying on. He doesn't like to lay back down on a blanket when it's been leaked on. And I don't blame him. I wash blankets and sheets 700 times a day, but that's okay. Anything for my baby to be comfortable. 

  Say a prayer for us tomorrow, hopefully we can get some answers about what to do. Kato needs to get better, we've got lots of exciting things coming up this month. We are going to a cabin for Christmas, that has a fenced yard where he can run and play, and we are REALLY hoping he is better by then.  Plus, his little sister is going to arrive sometime in the next 6 weeks or so, (!!) and he needs to be great by then! 

Sweet Kato, snuggling his sister in my belly.  We love this big bouncy Boxer dog so much!