Hank

Holy smokes, this week is flying by and my blog has taken a backseat! Whoops!

We have been suuuuper busy around here and this week has literally been like an emotional roller coaster.

Many of you know me or have read long enough to know that Hank is not just a dog.  He is a full-fledged member of our family.  He was our "first born" and we are pretty obsessed with this pooch.  My boys love him too...he is VERY much my third son! ha! Many people love their dogs... but Hank isn't one of those dogs who wakes up, and we let him out in our back yard and then put out some food and he spends the day out there all day and then sleeps in the laundry room.  Hank doesn't get off of his fabulous Orvis bed until I do, and then he follows me around ALL day long and goes out for a quick bathroom break, only to sprint back to my side.  He is totally content and happy to rest his head on my leg while I do any and everything. 

On Monday morning, Hank walked into Cal's bedroom and threw up in the corner.  We spent a lot of time outside over the weekend, so we assumed he ate a stick and was just getting it out-- he has done that a time or ten.  However, this throw up smelled AWFUL.  Like feces.  But worse.  So, we automatically assumed that while he was out chewing sticks and pine cones that he got into some doodoo and chowed down.  (bllaaaaahhhhhh.....)

Anyway, after cleaning that goodness up, we headed downstairs where he immediately threw up on the hardwoods twice.

Now, I am not a gagger.  It takes a lot to make my stomach turn.  I did not throw up once during either pregnancy.  Eddie on the other hand has a super weak stomach.  Well, cleaning up these messes had me in full on dry heaving gag mode.  Eddie couldn't even be in the room.  It was bad.

We went to the gym, thinking there couldn't be anything left in his tummy and came home to find he had thrown up on the (pottery barn....!) rug.

Mr. Hank then spent a little time on the screened in porch.  I took him outside to pee and he ate a ton of grass, which is what dogs do when they are trying to throw up to get something out of their system.  He also threw up outside again.  He went back on the porch while I went upstairs to clean.  When I came downstairs, I noticed three new throw up spots on the porch and Hank was panting (it wasn't hot outside...at all).

I called the vet and told them that my dog had been vomiting all day and she said that was super normal since dogs throw up all the time.  I said that I wouldn't think much of it, but he has done it so many times (and the smell is just awful).  Apparently me saying the smell was bad raised all kinds of red flags.  She told me to take him immediately to the animal hospital because it sounded like an obstruction or a blockage of some kind.  It could have been that a pine cone he ate got lodged in his belly the wrong way.

Eddie was still at work so I called him about 84 times while giving the boys the fastest bath they have ever had in their lives.  When Eddie got home, I met him in the driveway with both kids in jammies and Hank in my car.

We got to the hospital and they took him back immediately-- he puked in my car on the way there and then laid down in his own vomit so he was smelling FRESH when we got there!

They immediately wanted to do an x-ray.  After the x-ray didn't give much info, they wanted to do bloodwork.  His bloodwork showed a very elevated level of enzymes in his liver-- normal is between 10 and 100 and Hank's was 835.  The levels were also off with his gallbladder.  They really wouldn't know much until they could perform an ultrasound in the morning, but they wanted to keep him over night with an IV in to get him re-hydrated since he was sick all day long he became crazy dehydrated.

They told me there was nothing left for me to do there and sent me home.

And I lost it.  

I cried like I haven't cried in a looooong time.  Big, loud, heaping, can't catch my breath sobs.  I kept thinking how in the world we were going to explain this to the two boys who adore this dog so much (as I type this, Hank has his head resting on my foot and i am crying...).  How in the world would I be able to handle this-- I love this dog so damn much.  I really and truly LOVE this dog.   You can say, "he's just a dog... it'll be okay..." but that feels like a slap in the face to me because, honestly, Hank is not just a dog to me and he isn't just a dog to Cal and Andy and Eddie.  He is a part of this family.  And when he gets in trouble, just like I say "Cal Williamson you better....." I also say, "Hank Williamson you come right now!"

 

I drove down the road absolutely hysterically crying.  I kept saying over and over again, "he has to be okay.  He just has to be okay.  He HAS to be.  I NEED him to be okay."

The waterworks kept up the rest of that night-- and going to bed, I looked over at his little bed right next to my side of the bed and my heart hurt for him.  I know he was scared and not feeling well...poor pup.

Tuesday, I took Cal to school and Andy and I ran a few errands. I took some cookies to a friend of mine who is pregnant and terribly ill with all day sickness.  As I was pulling out of her driveway, I looked down at my phone and I had a text message, but my phone didn't make any noises...it has done this before and I just had to restart it.  I quick restarted it and when it came back on, I had a voicemail (in the 15 seconds it took to restart it!) from the vet saying that the ultrasound was clear and everything was okay with Hank!!!!!

I started crying again--because that's what I do when it comes to him, apparently.... then I called the entire family... because they were slightly concerned about my sanity.  I called my poor sister in law CB absolutely HYSTERICAL.  I am sure she was ready to have me committed to the loony bin.

They wanted to monitor Hank the rest of the day, but thought he would be go to be picked up at 5 (if he made it through the day without tossing his cookies....which he did!).  I showed up right at 5 and the technician had to walk me through everything... the doctor from Monday night filled in a whole form and under "initial diagnosis" he had written, "it appears as though patient has liver disease, but will need ultrasound to confirm." THANK GOD he didn't tell me that the night before! I would have been (even more of) a disaster! And also, thank GOD it wasn't actually liver disease-- that can't be a good thing!

I brought Hank home with the promise of a follow up vet visit in two weeks to monitor his levels and I kissed that dog so many times on the way home.  I think he was exhausted and so thankful to be home.  Surprisingly, Cal didn't seem too fazed by the whole thing.  Hank jumped out of the car and Cal didn't think much of it.  Andy, on the other hand, was SCREAMING "ank! ank!!!!!!" and chasing him around laughing and squealing.  These boys love this pup too. 

This whole experience has made us appreciate Hank even more (I have always been overly obsessed with him, but this has taken it to a whole different level....). Also, I do realize that Hank won't be around forever...and lord help this family when that time comes! haha!

I went over board on the pictures on this post.... I wanted to include all of my favorite of him... and I didn't even get to most of his puppy ones... he was such a cute puppy.  Enjoy the rest of these...they are totally out of order...

Hank was there to help Cal stand up for the first time...

Hank was seriously never far from Cal as a baby.  Always suuuuper close to him!

Even as a toddler, Hank stayed nearby...

Christmas card attempt...

TCU season opener 2012...

The day we brought Andy home from the hospital... Cal played with his other brother.  He thought it was hilarious that Hank got into this pool too...

Hank and Cal around 2 weeks old...

Hank slept next to the crib....

Cal surfing made Hank very nervous....he followed him closely...

Salty dog...

Salty puppy...

Hank slept at the foot of my side of the bed until I was about 8 months pregnant and couldn't fit any more... then he moved the a bed at my side...

We were putting Cal's nursery together and Hank was found in there napping daily...

He loved to rest his head on my pregnant tummy....

Napping with momma...

cleaning cal...

cal's first stomach bug-- hank stayed next to him in bed the entire day...

tummy time helper

andy also started to pull up on hank

i mean.... how stinking cute is he? he sliced his foot on a walk and had to have it wrapped...

protecting andy...

We are sooooo lucky Hank was okay and was able to come home after only one night.  We love this puppy and are going to appreciate all the time we get to spend with him!



 

Sweet Brothers

Cal and Andy really are best friends. No one can make the other one laugh quite like they can.  They play together, they laugh together, and ohhhhhh BUDDY, they FIGHT together.  It's what siblings do, I know.  A friend came over the other day and was shocked at how rough these boys are together.  Actually, I think she might have been appalled.  Andy grabbed two handfuls of Cal's hair while trying to bite him and Cal shoved Andy down as hard as he could-- right into the corner of the banister...
So most days I feel like a referee.  I am breaking up one fight after the other; kissing booboos and coaching apologies (maybe I should rename this blog....??).

But then, one afternoon, after dinner, we went for a wagon ride, at the boys' request.  I heard Cal giggling as I walked along and finally turned around to see what was so funny.  And this is what I saw...

I swear to you, I had no part in this.  I was honestly, blown away by the sweetness.  Cal was looking the other way and had both arms around his brother, who was resting his head on his big brother's belly while happily sucking his fingers and holding a car.  Is this not the sweetest thing you've ever seen?

I love Cal's hands rubbing Andy's back and his head and how he pulls Andy's fingers out of his mouth so he can answer me...

At the end of the video, you can see Andy get up.  I thought he was just over the snuggle time and was ready to bolt, but he actually turned himself around to sit down in Cal's lap.  And Cal let him! And Cal wrapped his arms around his waist for the remainder of the ride!

That night at bath time, they were wild and messy (and filthy!), but they were such....brothers.  They were cracking each other up and talking in a language that only they could understand. It made my heart so happy to see these two being best friends. 

These two are going to fight a LOT more, of course, but I also know they will just get closer and closer as they grow up. And that makes me sooooooooooo happy.  I am a lucky momma, that is for sure!




 

One more car video

Just because y'all seemed to enjoy the last video so much....here is one more of my sweet nugget having a blast in the car.  Bless his heart.  Thank God he is so dang cute. 

 

quick beach trip

Despite what i wrote in my last post, I decided to be brave and take the boys to the beach-- by myself-- for the weekend.  I mean, I wasn't by myself when I got down there....my mom and dad were there and my brother and his kids were there.  I was just by myself in the car.  Which, seriously, shouldn't be a big deal.  It really shouldn't.  I have friends who do loooong road trips with their kids solo ALL the time.  But when you have a kid like Andy who just loves being in the car, it makes it challenging!

We had a soccer game on Saturday, which was going to be canceled due to Friday's rains (which were looming), and Eddie had golf plans on Sunday, so it would be just me and the boys on Sunday.  The pollen here has been just awful so our time outside is rather limited... so, I decided very last minute to just hit the road.  I threw a few things in bags and loaded up the kids and left....with tornado warnings directly behind me.  My parents have moved into the new house down there and I was itching to see it!

For the first hour of the drive, Andy did not scream once.  This was nothing short of a miracle.  I was kind of stunned, actually. 

The 3 hr, 15 min drive took just over 4 hours. We had to stop for dinner (some nutritious Happy Meals!) and then Cal said he had to peepee (thank GOD for little boys! We pulled over in a gas station and he peed in some grass so I didn't have to lug everyone in the place!).  About 45 minutes before we got to the beach, I was smacked in the head with a hamburger-- it felt great.

We arrived right about 7:00 and the kids were sooooo happy to be there with their cousins! Andy and Cal had some serious energy to burn when I let them out of the car! My dad, who called me while I was on the road and heard Andy in the background "talking", met me at my car with a big ol' glass of wine.  Daddy's know.  

We took the kids down in the basement and they rode on some toys-- just burning energy!

After the kids went down, Chris and I took the golf cart out exploring.  We had the best time together this weekend.  We never just get to hang out together and we had a ton of fun being stupid and immature while we were down. 

Golf carting...

We woke up early Saturday morning and the weather was less than desirable-- it was chilly and raining, but honestly, no one cared! Jackson and Cal did some major puddle jumping and the boys rode the plasma cars down the driveway a million times.  

Miss Catherine and RooRoo...

After the puddle jumping, everyone was wet and cold so we did a bath and got everyone in dry clothes.  The decided to get in this chest to play- ha!

Then we attempted rest time.  Jackson and Cal will eventually share a room, but for now, they are sleeping in separate rooms.  I gave Cal the iPad to help him rest.  I came up the stairs to check on him and this is what I saw.... Jackson snuck in to play on the iPad with him...

Andy took a good nap and when he woke up, everyone was enjoying a little ice cream.  Grandpa helped him...

Then we were back outside and we took the kids for a golf cart ride... Catherine and I wore our TCU together...

Me and Chris looking at the beach...

Chris and the kids, all ready to go!

We did some serious playing outside when we got back.  Chris and I raced each other down the main driveway while the kids sat on the wall observing.  Chris hooked up his computer to a speaker so we had music playing for us...

Andy and I rode the helicopter car together too-- he was in heaven with his curly hair...

Sunday we woke up to the bright sunshine! The sun was shining, but the wind was BLOWING! And it was cooooold wind! We didn't care though! We had a blast playing outside! Mom brought out a bunch of beach toys and we dug around on the driveway in the sand.  Cal built quite the castle...

Andy was showing grandpa a few things on the iPad and the other kids all gathered around to see... I love how Andy's and my dad's arms are both up.... 

It was SUCH a fun weekend at the beach and it got me so excited for this summer down there.  My mom rode home with me and helped with the boys a ton.  It didn't take as long going, thankfully...

 

ANDY: the terrible twos.

Andy turns two next month (sob, sob...), and with that age comes the terrible twos.  Both of my boys entered the "terrible twos" before they turned two.  My only hope it that Andy will pass through this phase as quickly as Cal did.

When Andy is happy, he is sooooo happy.  He is funny and laughs and is just awesome to be around! 

But, Mr. Andy has a mind of his own, and when he is mad, he is MAD.  And let me tell you, this little guy is STRONG.  Getting him into a carseat when he doesn't want to be in a carseat is close to impossible.  Literally, it is incredibly challenging to strap him in.  I have mastered the karate chop to the belly to make him bend so I can snap him in  It's not pretty.  But it is effective....for now.  

Speaking of cars....we have some serious (SERIOUS) issues in the car.  It doesn't matter if we are going 30 seconds up the road to the gym or 300 miles up the road to the beach-- Andy is screaming bloody murder the ENTIRE time.  I think (and hope and pray) that this will be resolved when he learns more words and can tell me what he wants.  Often, he doesn't know what he wants, he just wants to scream (and throw stuff).  Or, he wants something that he threw on the floor that is now out of my reach.

It makes it VERY hard to run errands or to do anything, really.  I thought maybe he didn't like his carseat, so I switched him over to Cal's.  That wasn't it.  He won't watch the DVD player and literally nothing makes him happy in the car.  It is a challenge, that is for sure.

The car is where we see the terrible two fits the most.  It is very VERY hard to stay calm when driving down the road in traffic with Andy screaming.  He actually goes through phases of fits in the car: phase one-- screaming (it's not crying-- it is flat out screaming), phase two-- screaming and hitting himself (he usually removes shoes/socks here and throws them {usually at me} and hits himself with his feet), and phase three-- screaming, hitting himself, and spitting.  Annnnnd, then we arrive at our destination-- me a flustered hot mess, Andy, covered in spit, shoeless and beet red from the tantrum he just threw.  

I always feel like people don't believe me when I tell them this, so here is a video of him, mid-fit.  If you are at work, you aren't going to want to have the volume on....

 Andy is still obsessed with his lovie, Lala.  I try to get him to leave Lala in the crib, but some mornings, there's just no prying that thing from his hand.  A friend of mine saw his lala at the gym (with him, of course) and she commented that it was the most pathetic looking thing she's ever seen.  We've tried to replace it and can't find a match! CB found one close to it and I tried to sell it as Lala, but he just laughs (with his fat little hand over this mouth) and says, "no, momma.  'snot lala!" hahaha He is a mess.

He also is still sucking his fingers.  I might have to do a whole different post on the finger sucking... not sure when we try to break that.  We tell him every time we see him doing it to take his fingers out, and he always does-- but they just wind up back in there a few minutes later.  I will ask his pediatrician at his 2 year check up her thoughts.... if y'all know of any ways to break him of this, let me know.  But part of me wants him to keep on sucking them....at least when he's in the car!

This little sweet potato has it out for his momma.... he doesn't fuss in other cars-- just mine when I am driving.... but good gracious, he is so dang sweet...so what if he wants to scream in the car?? I could eat this kid up with a spoon.

me=smitten.

(however, the terrible twos are welcome to leave at any point now...)