Thirteen Months (in bullets)...

I'm a few days late with this post, but I still wanted to share it.

Now that Leland is a year old, I am no longer writing monthly letters to him, but I still want to share what he's up to each month. He is growing and changing so fast and I want to be able to look back and see what he was up to at this age. I don't know how long I will do monthly updates - maybe until 18 months or maybe 24. Who knows? But for now, here is an update of Leland at 13 months.

• Loves his blanket! I usually keep it in his crib, but lately he's been trying to grab it out of his crib, so I give it to him. He loves to snuggle it and giggles when I give it to him.
• Plays peek-a-boo with pretty much anything that he hold in front of his face (blanket, sweatshirt, etc.) It's adorable.
• Puts his hands up to his face all the time, especially when he eats. It is adorable.

• "Mama" is still pretty much his only word. He did say "baba" when I gave him his bottle today, but I don't know if that was just a coincidence. 
• Had his first bloody lip a few days ago. :( He fell in the kitchen and landed right on his face. 
• Has never cried when I drop him off at daycare until last week. He's done it twice now. Not major crying, but whining and reaching out for me as I'm leaving. I think it has a lot to do with our crazy amount of snow days lately (four snow days in two weeks!). He stops crying before I even leave, so I know he's not too upset, but it definitely breaks my heart when he does it.
• The kid loves to eat! Mostly the same favorites as always: peas, avocados, any fruit (lately, he's obsessed with blueberries and cherries), and Cheerios. Oh, and he loves peanut butter too! He eats only table food now - no more purees. The only thing we're not giving him is honey. He has had honey (actually, just food that contained honey) twice, and both times he spit up pretty soon after. So we're waiting a bit before we try it again.
• He is mostly wearing 18 month and 18-24 month clothes. He can still wear 12-18 month pants, but they're getting a little snug and short. His 12-18 month shirts are way too short. 
• I need to get the kid some shoes! He has only ever worn soft soled slippers, but it's about time that he gets some real shoes. Eventually, I'll get around to it.
• Everywhere we go, people comment on three things. First, his hair. Oh, how I love his hair. It's sticks up all over, but it's so soft. I love to just touch it all the time. And the color is just gorgeous. In certain light, it looks really blonde, and in others, it is definitely red. Second, they mention his overall adorableness. I can't argue it. He's just so beautiful. Third, his laugh. He has the most adorable laugh and general sense of humor. Everyone loves his giggle.
• He's starting to sleep better. In the last two weeks, he has slept through the night a few times, which he really hasn't done since Christmas, and before that it had been MONTHS! And now, the nights that he doesn't sleep all night, he's only getting up once instead of the 3-4 times he was doing recently.
• The boy loves his daddy. He gets so excited when he sees Dave at night when we get home. He loves to watch him shovel or snow blow the driveway. He gets really excited to see me when I pick him up from daycare, which I love, but it's so fun for me to see his excitement when he sees Dave. It's simply the best way to come home!

I'm sure there is even more that I'm forgetting, but maybe I'll remember next month.

Philly Steak Sandwiches...

A few months ago, I was browsing recipes on Pinterest, in search of something new and different that I had never made before. The catch was that it also had to be simple - not too many ingredients or I wouldn't do it. And, furthermore, the quicker the prep/cook time, the better.

Well, I stumbled upon a recipe for Philly Steak Sandwiches. It had the three things I was looking for: (1) looked/sounded yummy, (2) only a few, normal ingredients - nothing too out there, and (3) seemed like a quick fix meal.

So I decided to try it out, and let me tell you, it was pretty good! I really liked it and Dave did too! That almost never happens; we have different tastes, so we don't usually like the same things. But this...this we both liked. We've had it many times since then, and actually just had a few nights ago, so I thought I'd share the recipe on the ol' blog.

Shopping List:

• Sandwich buns - I buy French Rolls (maybe by Aunt Millie's?). You need kind of a thick, not too soft bun.
• Sliced roast beef
• Provolone cheese
• 1 package Cream cheese
• Beef broth - I just get a regular sized can
• 1 packet onion soup mix
• onions and green peppers - sliced

Directions:

1. Pour beef broth and onion soup mix into medium saucepan. Cook on medium heat.
2. Cut roast beef into strips and place in saucepan. Continue to cook on medium heat a few minutes.
3. In a large skillet, combine onions & green peppers, about half of the cream cheese package and the meat from the saucepan. You can add some of the juice to it, but you won't need much. Cook over med heat until cream cheese is melted and vegetables are cooked.
4. Spread a thin layer of cream cheese on sandwich buns - you can do top and bottom or one or the other.
5. Scoop roast beef/vegetable mixture onto the bottoms of buns. Place provolone cheese slices over the beef and the tops of buns.
6. Broil in oven until cheese is melted.
7. Enjoy!

Are these the healthiest meal? Absolutely not. But they are yummy. And that says something, coming from the girl who doesn't really like roast beef.

Happy Birthday, Baby Daddy...

Today is Dave's birthday. He's 32 years old. Thirty-two! I'm only 28. Why didn't anyone tell me I was married to such an old man? Ha ha.

Dave doesn't like to make a big deal out of things, so his birthday is pretty low-key. He's a low-key kinda guy.

Yesterday, I made him Eggs Benedict, because he's been bugging me forever to make them. I've never made them before, but I think they turned out ok. I've also never had them before, so I have nothing to compare it to. But I'm not a big egg fan, so it really wouldn't be amazing to me no matter what.

We also went out to lunch yesterday with his sister, brother-in-law, and their kids. It was nice to just hang out and enjoy a little Chinese buffet together. And Leland loved it. I think he ate more than I did!

This morning, I'm going to make blueberry pancakes {from scratch - not the "just add water" kind}, which are Dave's favorite.

I think I mentioned that we're pretty broke right now {we've harvested our money tree too much and it won't grow anything other than bills lately...damn thing sucks}, so his gifts are pretty simple. He's getting a new phone case, because he likes the one he has, but wants a different color {and it's only $9, so what the heck}.

Since I wasn't spending much, I wanted to get a little creative with his gifts, so I headed over to Pinterest and found a really cute tool kit idea with free printables!

"Ply" a game: We like to play Dominoes, so I attached it to a Dominoes game. But maybe, just maybe, I'll agree to play his boring video game with him.

"Hammer" out the details and eat out: Well, we just ate out yesterday, so it'll be a little while, but I'm thinking more along the lines of a date night than lunch with family and kids.

Does the gift "measure" up?: Besides the phone case, which is on its way, I also got him a way exciting gift - new socks! Ha ha. He's always complaining about his holey socks, but refuses to spend money on them very often because he's a dork. So I attached this to his new socks.

Have you "saw" all the movies?: I hate the grammar of this one, but I get that it's supposed to be a play on words, so I still used it. We'll either rent a movie tonight or just watch one on TV, but at least we'll be together.

And the last printable involved Dave's favorite candy, so I got him a big bag of Peanut m&m's. 

You're supposed to put it all in a tool box, but I just put them in a gift bag. The last thing we need is some random little tool box taking up space in our house! Although I could have used Leland's toy tool box, I suppose.

Kinda lame, maybe, but I thought it was cute. I know Dave will appreciate the thought behind it. :)

Happy Birthday to my baby daddy!

Two Years...

Two years ago today, I got the worst news a mama-to-be can ever hear and became a part of the club that no one wants to join. I shared the events of that day and all the days that followed on my blog. However, since I started this new blog a few months after that, I wanted to share the story on this blog as well.

This is not meant to be a downer post, but just to share a major event in my life. When I started this blog {when I announced my pregnancy with Leland}, I wanted a fresh start. My old blog had become a place filled with sadness and I didn't want to be seen as "the sad girl" anymore. I am not shy or embarrassed about what I have experienced or about my sadness, but I don't want it to define me. At the same time, though, I don't want to ignore or forget about it either.

So anyway...

On January 26th, 2011, Dave and I were filled with excitement as we drove to my OB/GYN for my 11 week ultrasound. I couldn't believe that my dream of becoming a mom was coming true - I had waited for this day forever.

We got to the office and I did the whole pee-in-a-cup, get weighed, talk to the nurse, etc. thing. Then we waited a little while longer for the doctor. Dr. Morreale came in and took down my health history. With each question, she would say, "Oh, good!" or "Great!" This, of course, made me ecstatic that everything sounded great about my pregnancy. She also said that my hCG {pregnancy hormone} levels were right where they should be.

Then came the moment I was waiting for. I was FINALLY going to see my baby on the ultrasound! But we didn't see what we expected. I immediately knew something was wrong. I know what an ultrasound is supposed to look like, thanks to all my mommy friends on facebook, and this wasn't right.

What I saw was my uterus and a gestational sac. An empty gestational sac. There was no baby. No heartbeat. No nothing. Dave, however, probably didn't know right away that there was something wrong. Dr. Morreale explained it all to us right then while she measured the sac.

Apparently, I had miscarried very early in my pregnancy, and my body absorbed the embryo. My body didn't pick up on the fact that there was no baby and the sac kept growing. That day, it measured as an 11 week sac. I had all the normal pregnancy symptoms and was even showing, which is really pretty crappy. So, I was pregnant still; just without an actual baby.

I somehow managed to hold my composure during most of our talk with Dr. Morreale. Of course, tears were shed, but I was able to listen to her and ask questions. When she left the room, I stood up to get dressed and immediately broke down. I fell to the floor, sobbing - I'm sure the people in the room next door were totally freaked out by the noises coming from our room. Dave picked me up and held me as we both cried. It took us a long time to get ready to leave.

I was instructed to come back the following week to have another ultrasound if I didn't pass the sac on my own.


The rest of that day, Dave and I just laid around the house. We barely said anything. Dave tried to talk to me about it, but I couldn't.

That next week was torture. I still felt pregnant. I had morning sickness, I was exhausted, and none of my clothes fit me. Emotionally, I was a mess. I went to work and was able to get through my days okay. My students were great distractions from my sadness during the day. But at night, I was alone with my thoughts and I pretty much just cried all the time.

At my appoinment, my second ultrasound showed that the sac had continued to grow, and still looked healthy and "perfect" (minus the baby). Dr. Morreale said that eventually my body would pass it, but she wanted to see me every week until it did. I decided to schedule a D&C for that weekend. I would have preferred to pass the sac on my own, but I just needed it to be over. I couldn't handle being in limbo anymore; feeling pregnant, but not actually BEING pregnant.

So I had my D&C, which was more emotional than I expected. When it was over, I just felt empty, physically and emotionally. A few days later, my best friend at the time had her baby boy. In some ways, this was helpful. I was happy for her and it was nice to focus my thoughts on being there for her while her son was in the NICU. But in some ways, this made me feel worse. I needed a friend {besides Dave} to talk to, but didn't feel comfortable talking to her; she had enough on her plate.

For the next few days, weeks, and months, I was not a fun person to be around. I tried to be happy, but my heart was just sad. I didn't know if I would ever be happy again. I think I must have hidden it well, because everyone told me how well I was doing and how I handled everything with such grace. But inside I did not feel like myself; I was a mess.

Then, a few months later, on June 1, 2011, I saw the most beautiful two pink lines ever. I was pregnant again! Then three weeks after that, I was able to see my sweet Leland on that ultrasound screen. And ever since then, my life has been filled with joy and happiness.

Like I said, this post is not meant to be a downer, but even two years and one precious baby boy later, the memories of that day sting as if it happened yesterday. When I think about that day, I still get incredibly sad. I don't think the sadness is even about the loss anymore. It's more like when I think about that day, I relive the emotions of that time, and it's really hard. And sometimes, in order to get through those thoughts, I need to write about them.

26 Acts...

Several weeks ago, I heard of this really cool thing that people were doing to honor the victims of Sandy Hook: twenty-six random acts of kindness.

Twenty-six acts for twenty-six sweet souls. A way to not feel so helpless or so sad. A way for their deaths to turn into something good. I way for them to be remembered, instead of remembering the one responsible for their deaths.

I was immediately inspired to join in and complete my own twenty-six acts of kindness. However, it seemed really overwhelming at first. I had a hard time getting started because I wanted every act to be significant and really impact someone's life. But that's hard to do twenty-six times over, especially without endless supplies of money.

I had to get over that and just decide to try to brighten someone's day {twenty-six times}.

I have now completed twelve acts of kindness. Nothing major, but I hope that they helped twelve people smile. For these acts, I mostly used things that I already had. I used a gift card that was given to me to buy some $5 Target gift cards and baby clothes. I used loose change and few $1 bills from my wallet. I used blankets and toys that were given to me for Leland that we never used. I'm still thinking of what I'm going to do for my next fourteen acts, but here are the ones I've done.

Act #1: I taped some quarters to one of the kiddie rides at the mall.

Act #2: I taped a dollar to the token machine at the mall carousel.

Act #3: Left a $5 gift card in a basket at Target.

Act #4 & #5: Bought two newborn sleepers (on clearance and purchased with my Target gift card) - one for a boy and one for a girl - and delivered them to two random NICU parents. I know how sad the days in the NICU can be, so I wanted to bring some sunshine to their days.

Act #6: Donated unused baby blankets to families in need.

Act #7: Left a children's book in the maternity waiting room at the hospital for a new brother or sister.

Act #8: Donated new and slightly used baby toys/clothes/gear to the Goodwill Inn. I wanted to donate there because families in need can have them for free, whereas at the Goodwill store, people have to buy them.

Act #9: $5 gift card taped to a package of diapers at Target.

Act #10: $1 taped to a vending machine.

Act #11: Left quarters at the car wash for someone.

Act #12: Brought cupcakes to the NICU staff. {Again, the NICU has a special place in my heart.}

It felt good to complete these gestures for others. I keep thinking I would love to see their faces when they receive them and read my note about what the acts of kindness are all about, but that kind of defeats the purpose of a "random" act.

I have a few ideas for acts 13-26, and I'll let you all know when I complete some more. I also post pictures of them on instagram (ID: rcnowak), so if you follow me on there, you'll see them.

Random Thoughts...

So, I haven't been blogging very regularly recently. I have had great intentions to blog, but really not much has been going on; at least nothing worthy of a full post.

So, for now, you'll have to settle for a bunch of random small somethings.

*Today was a snow day. Well, actually a cold/icy roads day. The temperature this morning was 1 degree, but the windchill was -23. So, no school for us today. Leland and I enjoyed just hanging out at home in our jammies all day. It was just what this mama needed.

*Leland is still not sleeping through the night most nights. He was doing really well with it over Christmas break, and then he got that second ear infection and he went right back to getting up a couple times a night. When he wasn't feeling well, it wasn't a big deal, but it would be really nice if he would go back to sleeping again.

*This week, Dave and I each got some sweet treats when we went grocery shopping. We don't often do this, so I am all excited about mine. I got Reese's Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cups! They are oh-so-yummy. Dave got Mint Chip Klondike Bars. I haven't tried his yet.

*Leland is super clingy these days. Not all the time though. He's pretty content by himself many times, but as soon as I have to cook something or go to the bathroom, all hell breaks loose. The bathroom part is because he loves to play in the bathroom, but when I'm only in there for a minute, I don't let him go in, because he'll pull everything out of the drawers and I don't feel like dealing with it. The cooking thing...I don't know. Basically, I can't ever be in the kitchen without him pulling on my pant legs. Oh, how I miss carrying him in the Moby.

*I don't know if I've mentioned it on my blog or not but I am signed up to run a 10k {6.2 miles} in May. The most I have ever run is a 5k, so I'm a little nervous. Especially since I don't have much time to run and train lately. Thankfully, I have about 4 months from now to prepare. My goal is to run the whole thing. I don't have a time goal, but I would really like to not come in last. A couple of Dave's siblings are running it with me. Considering I have always been more athletic than them until recently, I would really like to run it in the same time as them. But they've actually been hitting the gym and working with trainers, so it may not work out that way.

*I've mentioned this on the blog a few times, but I don't think I ever gave the whole story. Back in November, Leland got his first ear infection. He took a 10-day oral antibiotic, but it didn't clear it up, so he went on another 10-day oral antibiotic. Well, that still didn't work, so he had to get shots of Rocephin. He had to get one shot in each leg, and then had to go back to checked a few days later. He ended up needing three sets of shots to get rid of that ear infection. It was horrible. Then at his one year well check, his ears looked perfect. A week later, I took him back to the doctor to find that he had another ear infection, and needed shots again! This time, he got the shots twice.

Since then, we have been going to the chiropractor quite a bit, even though we can't really afford it. He is also on some supplements that will help boost his immune system and promote drainage, so he hopefully won't get fluid in his ears. So far, he's doing really well with it all. I don't notice any signs of ear infections, and I'm hoping it stays that way! The doctor said that if he gets more this winter, they are going to refer him to an ENT to talk about tubes. I really don't want to do that if we can help it!

*Last week, one of my students told me she would give me a dollar for a picture of Leland. She said he was so cute and she wanted his picture {the one on my desk}. I told her I could print her one for free and she was so excited. Ha ha. My students are the best!

*I am still doing The Love Dare, and I will post about it soon. I just haven't been able to do it on schedule.

*Leland is walking all the time now. I am amazed at how quick he is.

*Leland {who is not even 13 months old yet} is currently wearing 18-24 month clothes. What the heck happened to my teeny tiny preemie baby?!

*It seems that everyone at my school is pregnant right now. There are four teachers that I am pretty close with that are pregnant right now! It makes me excited to have another, because I loved being pregnant, but I think I'm okay waiting for a little while longer. I'm thinking once Leland is around two, we may start trying again. We shall see.

*Have you ever seen the show Betty White's Off Their Rockers? It's about old people playing pranks on young people. Best show ever. Seriously, I can't get enough.

*Sunday is Dave's birthday. I am having a super hard time thinking of something to get him. We have, like, no money, so I'm trying to think of a creative, yet special gift. Any suggestions?

I think that is all for now. Hope you enjoyed my ramblings. I promise I'll be back with a real post soon.

Milk Decisions...

Ugh...milk. The transition from breast milk is a pain in my ass. I kind of wish I hadn't stopped pumping so I could just stick with that and not have to deal with anything else.

Back in November, I started transitioning Leland to almond milk. I had decided that I wanted an alternative to cow's milk, because they have more nutritional value and almond milk seemed like the best choice to me. I started by putting one ounce in Leland's bottles. He would not drink it. Not at all. Not even a little bit. As soon as he tasted it, he would turn away and not even try to drink anymore. I don't blame him. I tried it myself and it was pretty gross {though we were trying the original, unsweetened version - I'm sure a sweetened version would taste better}.

When almond milk didn't work, I decided to just go to cow's milk. I didn't think Leland would want to try anything else. And even if he did, the other milk options I had considered had less fat and calcium than cow's milk, and I wanted Leland to have the fat for brain development.

Leland transitioned to whole cow's milk very easily. I added an ounce of milk to his bottles each week until he was finally at six ounces. He drank it just fine and I was pretty content with my choice. However, during this time, Leland struggled with recurrent ear infections. He really only had two, but they lasted forever and were hard to clear up with antibiotics.

I have read, and been told, that dairy causes mucous and inflammation, which wouldn't be helpful in preventing or treating ear infections. And, well, I would really like for my baby to be ear infection free for a while. And I especially want to avoid any more Rocephin shots!!!

So, I have now decided to try rice milk. I have to say I'm a little concerned though. I'm sure he'll like it just fine. I tasted it tonight and it has a mild, sweet flavor - not as strong {or disgusting} as the almond milk. But, nutritionally, it doesn't contain much. I bought one that is enriched with Vitamins A, D, B12, and calcium, but it isn't easing my mind. I guess it's a good thing Leland loves avocados - I'm definitely going to pump him with those for fats! I'm also going to look into some supplements for calcium and such to make sure he's getting all he needs.

I just feel like I don't have any good options for us, and it's frustrating. He won't drink almond milk; cow's milk might be making his ear infections worse, and rice milk doesn't have enough nutrients. I think if I could go back a month, I would have never cut back on my pumping and just kept doing breast milk for now. But I did cut back, and now we don't have any frozen and I don't make enough to pump that much every day. At least I'm still nursing at night and in the mornings, so I know he's getting those nutrients still.

I'm sure I will look back at this time in my life and think that I was way over-thinking and being a freak, but right now, I feel like this is a huge decision. I just want to do what's best for Leland, and I don't know what that is right now.

First Birthday...

So, I realized that I shared about Leland's birthday party, but not about his actual birthday.

Leland's birthday was the day before his party. We had his doctor's appointment early in the morning, and then we took a little trip to the cupcake shop {for treats to be eaten after dinner}. Leland and I mostly spent the day playing and cuddling, and during naps, I prepared things for the party.

Dave's brother and his fiance were in town, so after dinner, they came over with Dave's parents for a mini Birthday celebration. We had cupcakes and Leland opened a few gifts and then he and Kennedi played together. It was a fun, low-key celebration.

Enjoy just some of the eight million pictures I took...

What the heck am I supposed to do with this, Mom?

Ugh...seriously?

Maybe I'm supposed to eat it...

Kennedi says "Can I have some?"

Come on, cuz!

Present time!

Mmmm...I'll just...eat this...paper...nom nom.

Kennedi: "No, no, no! This is how you do it! Amateur!"

Kennedi did a great job opening gifts.

This car sings "Pump up the Jam" :)

Hits and Misses...

When buying gifts for your one year old, you're usually just guessing about whether or not they will like something.

I shared what Leland was getting for his birthday and Christmas here, and I was absolutely certain that everything we bought him would be a hit.

As it turns out, most of them were, but some were not.

The remote control? Big hit. HUGE! This is awesome and a perfect replacement for our TV remote that Leland always wants to play with, but can't have. Leland loves it. There are plenty of buttons to push, a light that blinks when you push the buttons, and lots of different sounds. It's the bomb, basically.

The phone? Eh. It's cool looking. The "screen" slides to use three different activities {phone, piano, and shapes/colors}. It makes cool sounds. And even has three different language settings! But it's really quiet. I know this is probably every parent's dream to have a quiet toy, but it really doesn't pique Leland's interest because you can only hear it when it's RIGHT by your ear. I have contacted the company because I feel like mine might be defective. Hopefully I can get a new one that is a little louder.

Ball and gear center? Decent hit. He doesn't play with it all the time, but he enjoys it. He dances when the music comes on, and he likes to chew on the gears.

Little People Airplane? Hit. I knew he would like this because he has it at daycare. He likes the Little People because they're so chewable. ;)

Shape shell turtle bath toys? Decent hit. Leland loves them in the tub. He likes to take off their shells and chew on them.

Turtle shape sorter? Hit. Sort of. Mostly, Leland just likes to take the shapes out and shake them {they rattle and one has a little mirror}. But he has fun with it.

Leland got some other toys for Christmas/Birthday from other people that he loves too. One of them is an elephant ball popper from VTech. Leland likes to drop the balls down the hole and wait for them pop up. The funny thing is though that he puts his face right up to the hole and he ends up getting popped in the forehead. It's hilarious and he loves it.

He also got one of those little cars that plays a song when you push a button. Simple toy, but so much fun! His plays "Pump up the Jam," which this mommy loves. He hits the button and watches me dance and smiles. Ha ha. He's starting to dance to it, too, but I think he mostly gets his entertainment from watching me dance.

So these are some of our hits and misses. What did your child love to get for Christmas this year? Or...last year, I guess...

I can't win...

This morning, after a few days of Leland not sleeping well {at night or nap time} and pulling at his ears a lot, I decided to go to the doctor to get his ears checked. Part of me thought it was just teething - he appears to be getting two bottom teeth and maybe a molar or two - but another part of me said we should probably check just to make sure before school starts again on Monday.

I told Dave this which immediately led to an argument. Dave thinks I just make things up in my head to be worse than they are {could be true, but at the same time, I'm the one who has been up in the middle of the night and knows exactly how different he's been acting}. And he was not looking forward to yet another $30 co-pay, as those are getting way old and adding up quickly. {His last ear infection, when all was said and done, ended up costing around $200. Ugh!} With anything we {I} do, Dave just sees the dollar signs and starts stressing out and getting cranky.

What Dave doesn't see is that I am stressed about it, too, but I have stress from several areas. First of all, there is something wrong with my baby, and I don't like it! I want him happy and well, and I hate that he can't tell me what's wrong. Second, I am TIRED! I have been up with him for several nights, losing lots of sleep, and I desperately want my sleep back. Third, I don't like spending the money either. And fourth, I have Dave all mad at me about it. So it's not like this is all a piece of cake for me either.

Whelp, I went with my gut, against my husband's judgement, and took Leland to the doctor. And it turns out Little Man has another ear infection.

So I was right. I win. Only this is one argument I wouldn't have minded losing. With this argument, I was right in taking Leland to the doctor, but there is no winner when an ear infection is involved. {Not that we "win" or "lose" in our arguments anyway, but you get what I mean.}

We opted to start with the Rocephin shot this time, since the two rounds of oral antibiotics didn't touch his last ear infection. We have to go back for a re-check in a few days. Hopefully, this can be taken care of with one or two shots, because these shots are THE WORST! They are thick and they sting and he cries and cries until we leave the office. At this point, Leland starts tensing up the second he lays down in the office because he knows what's coming. And the tears start once the nurse preps his leg with a cotton ball. It is a horrible experience to say the least.

So, yes, I was right. But who ever said I wanted to be right this morning?! In this situation, I just can't win. :(