Toddler Fractures and UTIs (or How Not to Spend Your Vacation)

Want to know a great way not to spend your vacation? At the hospital. After noticing several of Toto's pee diapers (I know, we plan to start potty training as soon as the potty arrives in the mail!) smelled strange and googling "weird urine smell toddler" I was convinced she had a UTI. So we headed to Munson Urgent Care in Traverse City. Warning: do not take your children there if you value their life. First they gave her a toy fan to distract her, which promptly began smoking. Then they took a non-sterile urine sample and spent the next week calling me to change her antibiotics as the culture results came in. That was awesome. After talking to our real pediatrician, it turns out most of the bacteria in the culture are normally found on the skin and she may not have had a UTI at all. But so glad we got to dose her with tons of antibiotics. The smell is gone, although it may have something to do with the new Seventh Generation diapers - they get super bunchy and maybe give off a strange smell??

Then a couple days later Toto tripped over a cord and cried harder than usual. Clearly something was up when she wouldn't walk on her left foot. So, we packed up the Green Lake cottage and headed back South to see her pediatrician. After an x-ray showed a minor fracture, we headed to the ER for a splint. Despite the fact that she couldn't bear weight on the leg, Toto was a champ and spent lots of time crawling wildly with my parents, sister, and brother-in-law. After five days, we saw a pediatric orthopedist who took the splint off and said that the fracture was so minor that if Toto would walk on the foot she was free to go. Did I mention she is a bit stubborn? No matter what I promised her - ice cream (at 8am), a bike, watching movies - that child refused to walk on her foot. Probably because she was freaked out to be at the doctor's AGAIN and have everyone staring at her begging her to walk. In the end they sent us off with a removable walking boot, which she seemed to love.

We made the long drive back up North to The Shark's childhood home where Toto immediately ripped off her boot in order to ride the new bike from Grams. And that's the end of that story.

Despite the medical drama, we managed to squeeze in lots of fun.

The Henry Ford Museum. Lots for Toto to look at while sitting in her stroller wearing a splint.

Cranbrook's science museum. 

Birthday breakfast at the Original House of Pancakes - oven baked omelette. You need extra protein at 33.

Birthday dessert - lemon meringue pie. Delic.

Lots of butter at The Shark's family reunion.

Back in Manila. And happy to be here.

The Last Two Months

So, I guess I disappeared for a while. But I have good reasons. Namely getting pregnant while on vacation in Japan and the ensuing 16 weeks of brutal morning sickness. That was awesome. There was lots of crying and eating of Cheerios.

Then Toto, Yaya, and I packed our bags and flew to Washington DC for 6 weeks of training. Toto had a blast doing American things like playing on grass and going to the library. She also had lots of first tastes like raspberries, blackberries, peaches, and nectarines. She loved visiting the zoo, Lincoln Memorial, Botanic Gardens, riding the metro and bus, and eating her weight in gelato.

Her grandma and grandpa and two titas (aunts) came to visit, we spent every Saturday morning at Eastern Market eating pancakes, I caught up with old friends, found a prenatal yoga class, and we all had fun despite the dry heaving in the shower (water was a major trigger). But we missed The Shark.

After six weeks in DC, Yaya headed back to Manila (hard for both Toto and I) and we (with Tita A's help) flew to Detroit. I won't get into how badly Delta botched that short flight because, well, it's to be expected on Delta. The Shark flew in the next day and we were so happy to have him back!

We spent a week in Brighton swimming and running. Oh, that's another story. After running hard the first four weeks of pregnancy, I ran a total of .5 miles the next 12 weeks. Granted I did lots of walking and yoga, but I missed running terribly. In Brighton, I got in three runs--2 miles, 2 miles, and 3.4 miles. I was real slow and had to take several pee breaks (reminder: do those Kegels), but it felt awesome. And while I am ranting about pregnancy, what the hell second pregnancy? Why did I start wearing maternity clothes at three months instead of six, and feeling like my hips were breaking at 16 weeks instead of 30? The first pregnancy was awesome, this one, well not quite as easy. December 2 seems like a long way away.

Where was I? Oh yes, Michigan. Toto had lots of fun at the beaches near my parents' house. We caught up with lots of good friends and spent dinners chasing kids around while sneaking in sips of wine and reminiscing about the past. We celebrated the 4th with a BBQ and some grocery store fireworks. Just like my childhood.

Also got to see lots of doctors. Toto weighs 25 pounds and is 3 feet tall, putting her at 50% for weight and 97% for height! We also got to see Baby Genkee (did I mention that's what Toto named her unborn sibling?) who is growing along.

After a week of doting by the grandparents, we headed up to East Lansing to remind Toto of where she will go to college. Despite the Africanized mosquitoes (I made that up, but it might be real. I don't have time to do the research), we had fun seeing Sparty, the stadium which Toto deemed "too loud," the Red Cedar River, and the gardens where we got married 10 YEARS AGO.

Now we are lounging on Green Lake in Interlochen. More to come.