Even though the water is cold we really do love the beach. I love water, always have and always will. There is just something about seeing is that makes me feel more at home. I had forgotten how much I missed it.

We have been keeping busy with play dates, Kindermusik, swimming, ice skating, turf 4 tots, etc... Our last day of nursery school this year is next week. We are hoping to make another semester of it and we will be starting up a 16 week Kindermusik class in January (BIG Thanks to Grandpa Rick and Gigi for that!)

Sam has been keeping himself busy. He joined a gun club and is on a trap team for the winter. Smith Equine is slow, but that was expected as equine work is slow everywhere in the winter. Thanksgiving was wonderful. We had a great time with friends and met lots of new great people. Sam's work Christmas party was also a lot of fun. Avery has a growing crush on one of the other Doctors at the practice, "brown Jesse". There are 2 male Jesse's and one is bald and the other has long brown hair. She talks about him often and totally lights up when she sees him. It is pretty funny!

I believe Avery is ready to potty train, so we are going to make a go of it next weekend and the following week. Our normal activities are canceled so we are going to go on lock down and lose the diapers. She has been waking up dry and I have convinced her the past 3 mornings to sit on the potty and she has been successful in peeing in the big toilet each morning. She has started bringing us diapers and wipes to change her when she is wet or poopy. And she is obsessed with a few books that are about potty training and we have really been talking it up.

So Avery's Christmas present to Mommy and Daddy.....NO MORE DIAPERS! I hope it goes as planned ;)

A List of Reasons I Hate the House We are Renting....

1. It grows mold. Now I know this is a common issue of homes in Juneau, but this house has a real talent for this process. The landlord could care less and after 20 calls around the state I gave up because no one knew who could help with "tenant rights and the mold issue".
   
2. The driveway. Steep and long. It is a real bitch to shovel.
3. The leaky roof. The landlord has "fixed" this issue several times and it just keeps leaking.
4. The rock floor entry. I had my first slip today and was lucky I didn't break my wrist.
5. The odd smell that has arisen. I have looked everywhere for a dead shrew or mouse with no luck. It smells like sewage and seems to be getting stronger. We will see what the landlord wants to do about this.
6. No yard. This I could honestly deal with, but just another thing that bothers me.
7. Lack of garage. Well, there is a garage, but it houses the landlords collection of junk. With all the snow we have gotten it would be nice to have some covered parking. I am just whining ;)
8. The neighbors. The must be on stimulant drugs because they just don't sleep.
9. The lack of hot water run to the washer. I miss using cloth diapers and I need to be able to wash with hot water to clean them.
10. The odd placement of light switches.
11. The crazy landlord.
12. The carpet in one of the bedrooms reeks of cat urine.
13. A large number of walls are made of unfinished wood. This makes it really hard to clean.

I could go on and on and on...but those a just a handful of reasons that I am counting down until May 31 when our lease is up.

Ice Skating

I thought it would be fun to give this a shot and see how it went. The Treadwell Ice Arena over on Douglas Island has a "parent tot" skating time with a short lesson and rental for $10. I really had NO expectations, but Avery actually was pretty enthusiastic and I was able to get her on the ice for about 15 minutes and she kept her skates on for a total of about 45 minutes. She was able to walk with her skates on her own, but needed to hold onto something when on the ice. She was able to stand still for about 30 seconds on the ice on her own. They worked on how to fall correctly, how to get up and how to march. She was pretty much only interested in the marching part. As soon as we left she kept talking about how much fun ice skating was. We will definitely make it out there once a month or so until she gets more accustomed to it then we will make it a more regular activity!

Llama Llama

Last weekend the local bookstore, Hearthside Books & Toys, hosted a Llama Llama pajama party. The kids got to listen to the story, Llama Llama Red Pajama, eat cookies, color, get a balloon, get stickers and meet Llama Llama! Avery even entered a drawing to win her very own copy of the book and WON!



She was pretty standoffish with Llama Llama, but she did go and get a balloon. She mostly enjoyed looking at Llama Llama and watching the other kids meet him. She saw a few of her friends, Nola and Emberly and she did some coloring. All in all it was a fun outing. There were a ton of people and Avery was totally cool wandering around the store amongst all the other tots and kids. She is now officially obsessed with the Llama Llama character and we will definitely have to invest in other Llama Llama books!

this and that

We have been trying to keep warm and busy the last month or so. The weather has been really rainy and mostly in the 40's. We finally broke down and turned on the heat yesterday. I am surprised Sam held out until now. Sam has been busy at the small animal practice with a horse appointment here and there.

I can't believe it is half way through October and that Halloween is literally right around the corner. Avery is going to be a princess. Nothing fancy, just some random stuff I pulled together. We are probably not going to go trick or treating outdoors, but we will celebrate at nursery school and there is something going on the mall that we will try to hit.

Avery has been keeping busy too.

Mondays: we try to go to SE Gymnastics Academy for toddler open gym. But, not every week.

Tuesdays: we try to go to Turf 4 Tots. It is offered every weekday, Tuesdays is just the day the moms I know chose to make our regular day. This is always LOTS of fun.

Wednesdays: we have Kindermusik class. A friend who is also new to town was an elementary school music teacher and has started up this program. We were lucky enough to be one of her practicum dummies and got about 5 free classes. Avery's first official class will start on November 2. She really seems to enjoy herself. So we are doing the 4 week "ABC Music and Me" class this time and hopefully in January, Jenny will be offering the 16 week "Our Time" class.

Thursdays: she has nursery school, this is by no means preschool. It is really just a playgroup with 6 other kids. We do a snack and an activity and it is parent run. There is not a teacher, just the parents. There is a schedule and 2 parents each week are required to stay and the others can leave. I did leave Avery once and she did great. She could have cared less I was leaving her. She was too busy with the bean table.

Other things we do, but not on as regularly are swimming and the parks. The parks are awesome, but the weather lately has not been so great. Next week we are going to give ice skating a go. We are going with a little girl who is 3 that Avery has befriended. This will be a first for both girls and hopefully both girls like it.

Other than that it is just the daily battle to keep up with the house cleaning, cooking and laundry while managing Avery's social life. I have a book club that I am now a member of and so I have been getting to know few ladies, which is really nice. They all have kids about Avery's age too so we see each often. I also went to AquaZumba last week with a few of Sam's coworkers and that was fun. It is just a juggling act to get alone time with Sam's crazy schedule and Avery. Sam is planning on joining the gun club here in town and will start on a team this winter. It will be good for him to get out on his own and meet some other guys in town.

Happy Birthday, Sonny!

My baby brother is 25 years old today! We wish you a very happy day!

on to the third year...

I just had to share this picture. I am pretty picky about the photo's I post and tend to shy away from the awful ones, but this was just too funny. She was clearly enjoying her delicious cupcake!

Her 2 year well check went fine. Actually, she did better than she has ever done before, but that still is not without some major screaming and breath holding fits. I like the doctor and will be sticking with this one. A huge relief since we have literally been to 7 different doctors in Avery's short 2 years. Avery just had one shot and will need a flu shot in about a month or so. Other than that she is good to go until she is 3 as long as she is between 23 and 24 lbs by 30 months and doesn't get sick enough to warrant a visit to the doctors office. Crazy!

Avery has started nursery school. She has been twice now and really seems to enjoy herself. I am not sure that I will be able to sneak out yet, but may in a couple more weeks. She really likes another girl in her class and will follow her around and call for her. It is really cute to watch them interact. She has even started to attempt to play with other kids instead of just playing side by side and she has also started to get over her "hatred of boys". That was just embarrassing. I would have to go and explain to the other mom's what was going on because they'd think their kid did something mean to Avery.

Next week we are heading north to Haines, AK on the ferry for a few days. Sam will see a handful of horses up there and Avery and I will just hang out. It should be a fun short trip and it will be nice to get out of the house.

Savikko Park aka Sandy Beach

What a busy week and we still have one more day!

Monday: We headed to the gymnastics academy for open gym! Avery loves this place. She loves hanging from the bars, walking on the balance beam and bouncing on the tramp! We met a little friend there too, we will call her "E". She is a sweet almost 3 year old who was awesome enough to share a terrific stash of size 2T jeans that will seriously fit Avery for at least a year and more likely through next winter. Two pairs are even fleece lined for wintertime!

Tuesday: Turf for Tots is actually every week day from 9:30 AM to 1:00 PM, but the mom's I have met in the area have made Tuesdays the regular day we go and try to meet up. It is an awesome indoor soccer field and they have tons of toys for the toddlers to play with! Avery had a ball!

Wednesday: The weather was terrific so we went for a walk on The Airport Dike Trail. It runs behind the airport and onto the flats. We got to see some giant heavy equipment in action and a bunch of planes land and take off. Avery slipped in the mud and we had to turn back, but we are glad we finally got out to this trail.

Thursday: We went over to Douglas Island and had a play date @ Sandy Beach. We played at the park, in the sand and even let the kids wander the trails a bit. All 3 of the kids seemed to enjoy the driftwood and quarreled over sticks.

Today: We went to the pool! The Dimond (this is spelled correctly) Park Aquatic Center just opened in June and it is an awesome facility. They have a "Lunch Bunch" for an hour every week day. I wasn't sure how Avery was going to do, but she had a FABULOUS time! She even went under at one point (she tripped) and she didn't even react. She even did some swimming in the deeper water moving both her arms and kicking her legs. I am so proud!

Tomorrow: We have birthday party for a little guy we have hung out with a few times, we will call him "H". Pizza and cupcakes is on the menu and depending on the weather we could be headed to our favorite park or Bullwinkles Pizza...I guess we will know in the morning.

Next week we will defiantly head back to the Turf for Tots, maybe the gym and we get to see Kooka and Grandpa next Friday! They will be here Friday through Monday and I am hoping Sam and I can catch a date or two while they are staying! Next weekend will be a fun packed birthday weekend for our big 2 year old!

Vascular Ring Anomaly

Rachelle has been asking me to blog since she started blogging and I've yet to do so. So for the 7 of you out there who might read this, here it is: a post about a case I saw today, structured in the way I try to think when I approach a "work up". It's a very interesting case and an easy diagnosis to make if you know to look for it. It is also rare, I may never see one of these again in my career. My boss has been practicing for 40 years and has never diagnosed one. The owners sound like they will perform the surgical correction, they are taking some time to think about it. I hope they choose to do the surgery, I am very excited to cut this one if they'll let me.

Patient: 8 week old male sled dog pup

Chief Complaint: Since weaning he can't hold any food down. He eats vigorously and almost immediately afterward the food passively comes back up, which he then eats again, and the process repeats itself.

Physical exam: BAR, temp. 100.1, pulse 100 bpm, no murmurs, regular rhythm, lungs auscult clear, mm pink, body condition score 3/9, both testes descended, no abdominal hernias palpable, normal bite occlusion, oral palate normal.

Problem list: Regurgitation (this is not the same as vomiting), thin body condition.

Specific rule outs: Congenital megaesophagus, congenital esophageal stricture, vascular ring anomaly, hiatal hernia, pericardio-peritoneal diaphragmatic hernia, dysphagia, achalasia, gastrointestinal parasites.

First line diagnostics: Offer food and observe.

Assessment: Pup eats ravenously, swallows fine, immediately seems uncomfortable, within 1 minute regurgitates all food.

Second line diagnostics: Radiographs, contrast esophagram with barium.

Assessment of radiographs: Esophageal stricture at heart base, dilated esophagus cranial to stricture, cardiac silhouette wnl, lung fields clear, no evidence of aspiration pneumonia.

Diagnosis: Vascular Ring Anomaly. There are multiple types of vascular ring anomalies described, by far the most common is a persistent 4th right aortic arch.

Plan: Preanesthetic bloodwork and surgery, left 4th intercostal thoracotomy, ligation and transection of the ligamentum arteriosum. Feed high calorie gruel while holding pup upright until day of surgery.

Prognosis: Good to excellent given that there don't appear to be any other congenital defects or secondary aspiration pneumonia.

So there it is, a blog. If interested in pictures and a description of the condition, see this link.

Hope you found this interesting,

Sam Smith, DVM