Springtime Birdies

A few weeks ago my computer crashed.  Thankfully the nice guys at Computer Helpers were able to save all my documents, especially photographs.  Since I don't want to lose all my pictures and memories {I'm pretty sure I'd forget a lot without pictures to remind me of precious times}, I started backing up all my pictures on discs.

While going through my old photograps, I ran across these pictures of some baby birds we found out in the yard this past spring.  Brazos was very excited to see baby birds up close.  We didn't touch the birds.  After bird watching for a few minutes, we placed the birds in a tree hoping their mommy would find them.

 

Releasing Scoot

Remember this cute little fella we found out in our yard and decided to keep as a pet....

Scoot the Turtle

Well he has caused us a bit of trouble lately.  He really didn't mean to cause any harm, but unfortunately he did.

Last Saturday my sweet baby girl Sandy started having diarrhea.  This was really strange for her because her normal is to only go every other day.  Her diarrhea continued on for three days and I began to notice some blood in her stool along with lots of tiny white fluffy chunks.

Monday during the night Sandy began throwing up in bed.  This scared me and I couldn't go back to sleep the rest of the night, so Tuesday morning I decided to go to the clinic as soon as it opened.  Little Miss Sandy was seen quickly and Brazos was a champ keeping himself occupied with a coloring book {his normal behavior at the clinic is to get into as much mischeif as possible}.

The doctor checked her over for dehydration, but she was okay there because I had been stuffing her with Pedialyte and formula.  His initial diagnoses was that she had a virus and it was pass, but he was concerned that it had lasted for three days.  Then he became more concerned when I told him about the blood in her stool.  He ordered a stool sample to be taken to the lab, so we went home and waited for Sandy to do her thing.  Once the sample was ready, we went back to the clinic and dropped it off and waited patiently....for THREE days!  It takes 72 hours to get results back!

I finally called back on Friday at 2:00 because I hadn't heard back from the doctor.  The nurse had told me that her results had come back and that the doctor was planning on calling me after his next appointment.  Well, I knew something had to be up since the doctor wanted to call me personally because usually a nurse just calls to say everything is okay.

When he called back he told us that her sample tested positive for salmonella.  I really wasn't afraid or upset, I was just happy to finally know what was causing her diarrhea.  {I had searched on the internet for what could be causing the white lumpy chunks and found all kinds of things which would have been scarier than salmonella.}

The doctor said that normally medicine isn't given for salmonella, but he wanted to know her condition and I told him that it hadn't improved.  He decided it was best that she be given an antibiotic to help kick out the bacteria.  He also said that the white lumpy chunks were the dead cells from the lining of her intestines, because salmonella attacks your intestines.  {I also think some of the chunks were fat cells from her food that she was unable to digest, which is part of what I found during my internet search.}

She has now been on her antibiotic for three days and her symptoms are improving somewhat.  There is no more blood in her stool, but she is still shooting stuff out the wahzoo.  Occasionally there is still white chunks, but at least it's not with every passing now.  The diaper rash she acquired from the diarrhea has healed and she is as happy as can be.

I had asked the doctor what could have caused the salmonella and he named all the different foods that it could have come from.  Well, Sandy only eats baby food and formula so I didn't think it could have come from any of the foods he listed.  He also said she could have touched the bacteria somewhere and then put her hands in her mouth, because the bacteria has to be ingested, entered through the mouth.

When I got home I pulled out my handy computer to do some research on salmonella.  It said that only 40,000 cases are reported each year, which is a really small number if you think of all the people in the USA.  It also said that it can be severe and potentially fatal in infants, which made me stop that research; otherwise I would be scared out of my wits.

So I researched causes of salmonella instead.  It listed all of the foods the doctor listed.  But a lightbulb went off when it said that most reptiles carry salmonella.  I think the statistics were that 70% of all lizards, 85% of all turtles, and 90% of all snakes have salmonella.  It also specifically listed that small red eared slider hatchlings under four inches in length have salmonella.  This pointed directly at Scoot!

I knew turtles carried salmonella because when I was at Texas A&M a friend of mine wanted a pet turtle.  So we went to the pet store and they wouldn't sell her a turtle unless she had a permit from a university that stated the turtle was for research purposes only.  This law was passed back in 1975 banning pet stores from selling turtles.

Most likely Sandy acquired the salmonella from my hands. :(
I probably fed Scoot and touch his water or him.  The bacteria was on my hands when I made her a bottle to drink.

We called several vets to see if they would test Scoot for salmonella, but they told us that most turtles have salmonella and they knew the test would come back positive.  They also recommended that turtles not be kept in a home with children under the age of five.  So this meant that Scoot had to go.

We debated on if Scoot should just disappear or if Brazos should be part of the process.  I won the debate and decided it should be a teachable moment for Brazos.  He should know that animals thrive best in their natural habitat, and that Scoot was ready for a big pond.

So today we released Scoot into Nana's pond.  We made sure we took all the precautions of washing our hands thoroughly every time Scoot was handled and we made sure Brazos and Sandy DID NOT touch Scoot.  Brazos handled it very well and was excited to watch Scoot jump in the pond.

Scoot in a container Brazos
is unable to open.  Matt even put a
ziptie around it to make sure.





Brazos watching Scoot jump in the pond.



 

Farewell, Scoot.  It was fun while it lasted.











Seven Months

Dear Sandy,

Today you are seven months old!  That means your first birthday is only five months away!  I am super excited about your first birthday party and now the countdown is on.

At seven months you love to roll across the floor and play with any toy that comes into your path. 

You enjoy standing in the ExerSaucer and chewing on the pieces. 

After six months of bathing on the counter by the sink, you've graduated to the baby bath tub. 

At the beginning of the month, Mommy took you to Water Babies swim class.  You loved to kick and splash in the water, and you were so brave when you jumped into the pool and went under the water.

Brazos is your best friend.  You love to watch him play and giggle with him.  In the evenings you enjoy going on strolls with him.  Mommy pushes you in your stroller and Brazos drives his car to lead the way.

You are a messy eater.  You eat two containers of baby food each day.  When Mommy brings the spoon to your mouth, you grab it and wave it up and down.  You also make all kind of moaning noises when you eat.  I definitely know when you don't want any more because you will cry or push the spoon away with an angry look on your face.

You're up to 15 pounds.  Everyone says you're "petite."

Your hair is slowly growing and it looks like it may be blonde and straight.

When you babble you say, "dadadada."

You can almost sit up on your own.

You don't have any teeth.

You had your first mud bath outside and loved every minute of it.

You enjoy sitting in the garage and watching your daddy work on his tractors.

Mommy painted your toes for the first time.  Actually, it was only each big toe because you kicked and kicked and kicked.

Here you are at seven months....still beautiful as ever.

 

What a wonderful month you had and I can't wait to see what the next month holds in store for you. 

Love,
Mommy

Muddy Waters

Brazos' favorite outdoor activity these days is playing with the water hose and making mud holes in the yard.  Actually, our dog, Sadie is the one who makes the holes for him, but Brazos is the one filling them in with water.

 He can play in those puddles for hours.  Of course I prefer this to be his last activity of the day, so we don't have to take multiple baths, but that's not always the case.  I think one day we had to take three baths!  Oh well, as long as he's having fun, we're all happy.

Yes, his whole face is in the water!

Swim Lessons

This summer Brazos and Sandy both took swim lessons.  Brazos took them in June and Sandy had to wait until August because she had to turn 6 months old to be in the class.  So as soon as she could start swimming, she was at the pool!

It was so much fun to sit on the side of the pool and watch Brazos swim with his teachers.  I've been waiting for that day when I could sit back and watch my kids do something on their own.  When Brazos was born I was one of those naive parents that took him home and was saying, "What do you mean he can't play baseball yet?  He doesn't even move!  When can we throw a ball back and forth?!"

He had two awesome teachers that did a terrific job with the kids.  There were five little kids in his class with him.  They learned how to blow bubbles, jump in the water, reach under the water to pick up toys, float, kick, and move their arms in the water.  He was the youngest in his class, but of course you would have thought he was one of the oldest because he's so tall.

The teachers knelt down to be level with the kids,
so all the kids thought they had to kneel down, too.

During Sandy's swim lessons I was in the pool with her; therefore, I do not have any photos of her swimming.  Luckily, a local photographer was at the pool one day taking photos of all the kids swimming, so I can order her picture.  I wish you could have seen her.  She was so darn cute in her pink swim suit with white polka dots and a pink tutu.  She enjoyed the water for about the first 20 minutes, but last ten minutes of class she would wine.  And of course it was when the teacher was ready to sing "If You're Happy and You Know It."  By the last day the teacher decided to sing that song first.

She even met her birthday twin!  He was in her class and they were born on the same day.  I find it very exciting when you meet someone born on the exact same day as you.  You both have walked the earth the same amount of time. I met my birthday twin while in college at Texas A&M.  We had a class together and we had to find the person whose birthday was closest to our own.  Needless to say...he was the closest!

Sandy's Half Birthday!

To the most adorable little girl in "Our Little Piece of the World,"

Today is your half birthday!  That means that you are six months old!  My how the first half of the year flew by.  I love you in so many ways.

I love how you stare at me from across the room.
I love the moments we share lying in my bed, just the two of us in the middle of the day with the sun shining through the window.
I love that you have discovered how to hold your own bottle.
I love it when you fall asleep in my arms.
I love how you are curious and wanting to grab at everything.
I love that you inspire me to sew.
I love to have you model all the baby clothes that I create.
I love to take your picture.
I love all the squeaks and squeals you make.
I love to watch you roll from your back to your tummy.
I love to watch you sleep in your bed.  You look so tiny curled up in your big bed.
I love that you have an amazing big brother who loves you unconditionally.
I love it when you reach your tiny little fingers to touch my face.
I love to watch you smile at your daddy when he comes home from work.
I love how you stick out your tongue and make funny faces.
I love the sandy blonde hair on the top of your head.  It's beautiful in the sunlight.
I love your bright blue eyes.
I love all fourteen pounds of you.
I love to anticipate all the fun things we will do together as you grow.
I love how you stop crying and look up and smile at me when I begin to sing to you at night.

I could go on and on about all the ways I love you.  But most of all I just love the fact that YOU are my daughter.  Happy Half Birthday, Sandy!

                                                                                       Love,
                                                                                       Mommy

The Most Adorable Six Month Old in "Our Little Piece of the World"

The Amazing Big Brother

Scoot the Turtle

About a month ago while Matt was mowing the yard, he found a small turtle.  He came inside to tell everyone and wanted us to go outside to see it.  So Mommy, Brazos and Sandy all headed outside to see the little fella. 

When Matt had said "little" I hadn't imagined it to be as little as it actually was.  It could fit in the palm of my hand!  I made the suggestion that we keep it as a pet for Brazos, and Matt must have agreed with me because before I knew it, he dashed into the attic to pull down an empty aquarium.  We filled it with some small rocks and a lid with water.

The next day we searched on the internet what kind of turtle it could be and we discovered that it was an aquatic turtle.  So we dumped out all the tiny rocks and filled the aquarium with water and large rocks for him to crawl onto. 

I'm a name fanatic so of course I couldn't wait to name the turtle.  I tried teaching Brazos to say "Indiana" but that was a bit hard for him.  Daddy blurted out "Scoot," and Brazos shouted "Scoot" with ease, so Scoot it was.

Turtles aren't so slow you know.  Scoot can be standing on his rock sunbathing in the lights, and as soon as I walk into Brazos's room, that little turtle scurries and dives into the water as fast as he can.

We feed Scoot every night and it's pretty amazing to watch the little guy eat.  He'll swim right up to the pellets and eat them right out of your fingers.  Also, if a pellet is too big for his mouth, he'll grab it with his mouth and then push the rest of it off with his little feet, just to make the perfect little piece for him to swallow.

When we clean Scoots water every now and then, he gets the thrill of his life.  We put Scoot in a box for safe keeping {not sure how safe it is...} and Brazos shakes the box like an earthquake.  

Another thrill came from being chased by a flyswatter.  One afternoon I found Brazos standing on a stool with Scoot's aquarium top open and a little boy with a flyswatter dipped in the water and waving it around like crazy.  Never a dull moment!

About a week after we had Scoot, Daddy forgot to put Scoot's food up, so in the middle of the night Brazos decided Scoot was hungry.  The next morning I looked at Scoot's tank and thought, "Wow, Scoot must of had diarreah."  The water was green and I couldn't even see Scoot.  As I got closer I noticed a few pellets still floating in the water and lying on the floor of the aquarium.  Brazos fed Scoot the entire bottle!

I'm hoping Brazos has great memories of his childhood pet, Scoot the Turtle.  I'm thinking he will.