Christmas!

I know I am really bad about posting. We got busy with work and Mikey and time snuck up on me. We had a great Christmas with Mike's stepmom Karen in central Florida. It's on a rural river so it is super relaxing and a much needed break from all our stress. Mikey got a few fun toys and we got a short vacation (present enough for us). As I'm sure is no surprise to anyone, Mikey is super active and constantly on the go. He loves to go places and wants to walk all over (still needs help with that from us). He is really working on crawling but gets mad when he can't get places fast enough. He has a walker that he loves and he runs after Tibo all over the house. Giggling all the way :)
As an update on the rest of us, I am no longer working at the emergency clinic. There was a whole variety of reasons for me quitting there but the most pressing was that it simply wasn't a happy place to work anymore. I'm going to be working part time at a regular family clinic after the holidays with occasional relief days for the humane society. Hopefully I will be back to full time in March but for now I am loving the extra time with Mikey and the break from the recent stress.
This next month (February), we are finally going to visit the family. We will be spending a few days in Logan and then a few days in Palm Springs. We are looking forward to meeting my sis-in-law Jamie and nephew Austin and introducing Mikey to everyone :)

Teeth!

I would love to get a picture of them but it's hard just to get a glimpe of them! In the past week Mikey has had two new teeth come in. They are the two bottom teeth and boy are they sharp! That kid loves to chew on everyone's fingers. We were hoping to go to a Halloween party on Friday night but Mikey got sick with an ear infection. I didn't realize they could actualy have goo pour out of their ears like dogs! Luckily he was already on the antibiotic before that started or I would really feel like a neglectful parent. Luckily he's such a happy kid that you can tell when something is bothering him pretty fast and get it dealt with. In the past 10 days he's had a stomach virus, two teeth and an ear infection. And when he doesn't have a fever he is still happy and giggling. I think he definitely got his daddy's happy, easy going personality. I'm much more of a grumbler. I'm sorry if all my blog entries are about Mikey but he and work are my life right now and since I can't really post some of the stuff happening at work (grumble, grumble) I stick with Mikey :) Oh! And as you can see from the picture I decided to go blonde again. It's been about 6 weeks so it's almost time for a touchup already.

Learning to crawl

Mikey is trying hard to learn to crawl. He hasn't had a ton of success yet but he's working on it. I can tell he's going to be as impatient as me (dad) because he gets so frustrated after about 2 minutes of trying.

Vasco Died

Unfortunately we had to put Vasco to sleep on Sunday night. He had been having a really hard time for almost a year with congnitive dysfunction, arthritis and nerve degeneration. On Sunday he was finally at the point that he could only walk 2 steps at a time and turned down his dinner. He was a very proud dog who wouldn't let you help him up and he had never turned down food in his life. It was so hard to watch him get old and not be able to do the things he enjoyed. Mike has had him since he was 18 months old in 1998. Our house won't be the same without him :(

Time Getting Away From Me...

I know I've become really bad about blogging. I work 48 hours a week and have an incredibly active baby so any other activities just don't happen :) This weekend Mikey started rolling over. He now thinks it's great fun and does it on a regular basis. The only problem is how frustrated he gets when he can't make it across the room on his own. He really wants to be into everything. I think I'm in trouble once he can walk. Karen came to visit us while Mike was working a lot so we would be able to get a little sleep and not have to worry about a sitter on days both of us were working. She helped out so much and I think she was excited to see how active he is.

Day At The Lake

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. I've been back to work full time plus a couple of extra days so all my spare moments are spent sleeping or watching the baby while Mike sleeps. Little Mikey still doesn't sleep for very long stretches at a time. Today we packed up the dogs and the baby and walked down to the lake (about 5 houses away). The dogs had a great swim. Vasco has been having a hard time getting around and he was able to swim the same as ever so that was really good for him. Tibo did a little wading and swimming and Mikey and me did a little wading. Mikey is such a water boy. He feel asleep in my arms with his legs hanging in the water :)

OOPS....

Just noticed that (in the mist of all thats going on at the moment) we didn't have any pictures of one of the grand mothers! Grandma Jane was actually there when Mikey was born but some how we didn't include any of her pictures. So without further adoo, Grandma Jane and baby Mikey! All we need now are the Grandpa's and then the uncles and aunts and great grand partent and cousins and...

Legend Award

On June 23 Mike's dad, Mike, recieved a legends award from florida film. Mike's stepmom, Karen, came down for the week to go to the award ceremony. We all went and it was a great tribute to Mike McGowan and all the great film work he did. We even took little Mikey and he was a perfect angel. I don't currently have the pictures from it but I will post them if can get them from Mike's friend. We also really enjoyed having Karen stay with us and got her used to little Mikey :)


Mikey at the award ceremony


Karen and Mikey


Mikey in his Osh Kosh overalls


Big smile first thing this morning :)

More Mikey Pictures

My little karate champ in training

Mikey's first bath


Snuggle time with Grandma Geri

Mikey's First Doctor Visit

Today was Mikey's first doctor visit and vaccine. He is up to 7 lb 4 oz. The doctor and nurse were very impressed that he was up from his birth weight after losing 8 oz. We're doing really well and he's a very good baby. He sleeps and eats well and pretty consistently. He is a bit stubborn so we will have lots of battles ahead but couldn't be happier :) I'm feeling good and am up and around the house pretty much how I normally am. I'm not yet vacuuming or lifting things as per the doctor. I'm ready to start making small outings now that bedrest and initial healing are over.

Michael Patrick McGowan 3 (or MP3) if you like...

Mike (new dad) blogging for Jill................................

Today was the day! Little Mikey came out at 8:42am literally kicking and screaming. He was delivered via C-section and both he and Jill did fantastic! He has all his fingers and toes (sorry Jon, no extra toes) and he seems to be in perfect working order.

He came out at 7lbs, 2oz and was 20 and 3/4 inches long. He has some dark brown hair and one heck of a set of lungs. I'm on my way back to the hospital (I had to come home to let out the dogs) so I'll keep the post short and the pictures long.

More to come on the C-section and all the other news fit to print about MP3.

mm (new dad)...........

Goodbye Grandpa and Baby Shower

Last Monday my Grandpa Campbell passed away. He had been battling pneumonia on and off these past few months so it wasn't really unexpected but still hard for the whole family. My Grandma Campbell passed away a couple of years ago so now they are, sadly, both gone. I'll always remember how close I was to both of them as I was growing up. My Grandpa always had a smile for everyone and loved a good visit. Grandma would sit and color with me for hours (unfortunately I didn't get her artisitc talent) and always had her lipstick handy to touch up for company. They had a wide variety of different houses and each had unique attributes. One had "reindeer" (elk or deer) that we would watch on christmas eve, one was next to shopping at the Layton mall and also where I found my cat, one was on my aunt and uncle's dairy farm and there was always lots to do there. I didn't get to see either of them after I moved to Florida so I did miss out on their later years. I know it's selfish but it was hard to see them decline from the healthy, lively, active grandparents I knew. But they provided me with a lifetime of memories.

On a more cheerful note, my boss and a few coworkers came to my house on Sunday to give me my baby shower. We had intended to have it that day at a restaurant but since I was placed on bedrest we had a few of them come to me. It was really nice of them and I was so excited that they cared so much! They gave me 2 diaper cakes (diapers arranged to look like a wedding cake) that were so incredible! I'd never seen one before and was impressed with their skill! I also recieved lots of clothes and blankets. I wasn't expecting so much stuff! Thanks guys!!!

Bed Rest :(

Well, my posts are about to get a lot less exciting. On Sunday night I had some light spotting so I went to see my doctor on Monday. She sent me to the hospital for monitoring. There was mild contractions but nothing big, my cervix is still closed and baby Mikey looks great. Unfortunately my placenta now covers MORE of my cervix (not supposed to happen that way). So now I'm on complete bed rest (up to go to the bathroom only) and we will for sure be getting a c-section. On Tuesday my doctor admitted me to the hospital for about 36 hours to get steroid injections so if I do have a major bleed and have to have an emergency c-section little Mikey's lungs will be more developed. It has not been a fun week so far, but we keep telling Mikey he has to cook for 6-7 more weeks. On a fun note, every time they hooked the monitors over my belly to check for Mikey's heartbeat and uterine contrations Mikey kept kicking at the monitor the whole time (right at it with perfect aim).

Latest Ultrasound Pictures

This last week we went in for our latest ultrasound. Unfortunately my placenta hasn't moved so unless it does by next month (doubtful) I'll be having a c-section. The scan was early in the morning so little Mikey was very sleepy. We even got to see him yawn :)

Pet Dilemma

I know I haven't posted in a while but all I do is go to work and plant myself on the couch at home. But here is something that I've been trying to decide on and would love people's opinions.

So our city and local veterinary organization give awards every year to special people and pets that have made a diffference in the lives of animals. I have one client and her dog that I would love to nominate but here is my dilemma- the dog is at least half pitbull and pitbulls are illegal in Miami and are confiscated and killed. Obviously I would love to be able to highlight this wonderful dog but don't want to put him at risk. Here's his story, tell me what you think. "Puppy" was found by his owners by the side of the road when he was 6 months old. He had 2 broken legs and his first response was to vigorously wag his tail. They brought him in and he was hospitalized for about a week and had 2 orthopedic surgeries and numerous other procedures. His response was still to wag his tail and give people kisses. As he grew he became a very large (approx 80 lbs) dog with a great friendly disposition. We are always asking the owners of young, large healthy dogs if they would consider them for blood donors. His owners happily agreed and said that would be a wonderful way for him to give back for all the help he initially recieved. In the past 2 years he has donated about 6 times with 4 of those recipients living because of him. His owners will bring him in any time day or night and he sits quietly for his donation. I don't have any other donors with this dispostion or high level of health. Because of their huge sacrifice I would love to be able to honor this family. What do you think?

More belly and baby's room

I am finally 6 months pregnant (yeah third trimester) and have gained 20 lbs so far. Mike's step-mom Karen sent us these wonderful vinyl wall stickers for Mikey's room. They are reusable and seem pretty sturdy. They look great! Thanks Karen!!!

Baby Mikey's Room

This week we got most of Mikey's furniture and set up the baby room.

Solar Panels

This past week we finally got our solar panels. We've been in the process since last March. As the first people to get them in our community (sub city of Miami) it took a lot to coordinate the permits. The instillation went very smoothly and the company was so nice. On cool, sunny days like we've been having lately we produce far more evergy than we use. On hot, cloudy days we use some from the power company. Each year we should break about even! At some point we'll get our state and federal rebates for a good size chunk of the cost. Yeah for going green!!!
On a side note we spent last night at the ER when I started having bleeding and cramping. My placenta is still sitting on my cervix and decided to bleed for no apparent reason. I still get to do my normal activites just the more relaxed version and if I start bleeding again I have to lay down for that whole day. I feel like I'm turning into a lump on the couch :( I don't think it's a good sign that Mikey is already making things difficult.

Belly Update

Just a quick update on my belly. I'm now 22 weeks (5 months). I've gained about 15 lbs and the little guy kicks me pretty hard every day. As you can see from the picture there is no mistaking I'm pregnant now so I do get a lot of comments from my clients at work :) I've been feeling a little better lately. The Braxton Hicks contractions (practice contractions) have slowed down to a few a day and I can eat most of the foods I want. I've been having horrible gastric reflux and heartburn in the evenings and that probably won't change until the baby comes. And I still have no energy so Mike does most of the housework. It's been fun to start getting things for little Mikey. So far we've found a bathtub and towels on clearance, shelves for his room, and a few clothes at outlet stores. This month we should be able to get the crib and stroller. I don't feel very prepared yet.

Vet Conference

I just spent this past week in Orlando at a veterinary conference. It is the second largest each year in the whole country. It's hosted at the Gaylord Palms which, you can tell from the picture, is just massive. There are also two other hotels that have lectures, labs and exhibits and several hotels that offer rooms. Mike didn't come with me this year because we thought he'd be bored not going to the amusement parks. Both of us love roller coasters so the parks are just torture for me right now since I can't ride them.
I did learn a lot of new and interesting things that I think I can use on my patients as well as picked up some free samples. Normally I replenish my pens for the year but there wasn't many given out this year :( I attended a total of 22 hours of lecture. Unfortunately I got sick from the lunch on Saturday and spent Sunday throwing up. After that I ate lunch each day at the other hotels. By yesterday I was tired of lectures so I went to the outlet mall. They had both a Carter's and an Osh Kosh outlet so I had too much fun! I got the cutest little striped overall shorts! (Yes mom, I still remember ours!) Last night I had the good luck of being at the right place at the right time and got a free buffet dinner and games at Sea World. They had a Shamu show scheduled for later but it was too cold (really, we've been having a cold snap). Today I drove back home and I'm happy to be back with Mike and the dogs :)