Tuesday evening seemed to be a normal evening around our house. We had Candace and Chad and Emma come over for dinner, we watched a little t.v. and got Bay ready for bed as usual. Less than an hour after Bay fell asleep and we had gone to bed he woke up crying really really hard. I went in tried to comfort him thinking he was having bad dreams and struggled to get him back to sleep. I returned back to our bedroom only to have the same experience another three times. The fourth time Jeff went in, this time Bay was hysterical and would not settle down. I went in and Jeff had me turn on the light. We tried to figured out what was wrong, we checked his diaper, his face, and his tummy all of which got us no where. We noticed he winced when we touched his right leg, and he refused to walk or put pressure on that leg. We knew something was really not right. Jeff tried to examine it and found nothing. By this point Bay was thrashing and screaming at the top of his lungs. We thought he may have a broken foot. We were unable to calm him down and at that point decided we needed to take him to the ER.
We arrived at the ER around 12:30, they triaged him, no fever, no apparent broken bones. They did a full X-ray series from his hip to his foot. Let me tell you holding him down for that was loads of fun. Still nothing. The doctor finally gave us a diagnosis....transient synovitis. The Er doctor we had was terrible. Horrible bedside manner, didn't seem to examine Bay really at all, and seemed irritated with our questions. We were very frustrated with the diagnosis and the lack of compassion and caring. He gave us some info to read rather than wanting to explain the condition to us. We left upset and worried. From the info that we were given what bay has is a strange condition where fluid and swelling occur in joints (usually in the hip socket). It is similar to arthritis and the pain can be excruciating. Often this condition follows upper respiratory or ear infections and is much more common in boys than girls. The only treatment is rest and OTC motrin round the clock. The doctor in the ER wanted us to follow up with an orthopedist in the afternoon. We got home from the ER at around 2:30 in the morning. Bay went right to sleep and woke up frequently crying out in pain.
In the morning he refused to sit up,and could not stand for me to touch his legs move his body at all. When I went to change his diaper he screamed and winced in pain. After giving him motrin he seemed slightly better. We saw the orthopedist and he confirmed the previous diagnosis. He was great with Bay and answering my questions. While Bay was being examined, Bay seemed to have a much greater range of motion in his hip, and he even put pressure and stood up for a second. I was so relieved. Treatment for bay now includes motrin and just watching for any relapse in pain or any development of fever.
On our way home Bay zonked out in the car. He napped for 3 hours. He still didn't appear to want to sit up on his own or walk or move much. I sat him on the couch and fed him dinner. To my surprise at about 7:30 or so he crawled over to my lap and slid off the couch. He put pressure on his feet and began to walk. He is a little unsteady as he walks and kinds walks bow legged but seems to not be hurting much now. I feel really blessed that he is recovering so quickly. Usually they say it can take a full week before he would be walking again...yikes!
After we made the mask we took a walk outside on their nature trail and checked out their new bronze and mosaic sculpture...it was beautiful... 
I hope to someday put all my scrap glass to use this gives me some great ideas...maybe my dad and I can make a bronze mosaic collaboration piece of artwork together.
I just discovered that we live near a place that periodically has free fun activities for kids...the only drawback is its near the waste water treatment facility so outside has a less than pleasant aroma depending on how the wind is blowing. This week they had a "green Christmas" event going where you could go and make winter crafts from recycled materials. Since free is a good price and its close to home we decided to check it out...unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of the ornaments Bay made before packing them away. I did however snap a picture of the neat elephant sculpture made out of mud recycled rope and wire....so cool.
Watching the ladder truck bring Santa down
Enjoying a cookie while they bring Santa down.
Family picture
Bays hand print
I love this picture. Its fun to watch your kids wearing your clothes and shoes as if they are trying to be big just like you
Red Tailed Hawk. This Particular one is the western variety. Also known in the west as the chicken hawk. They are easily spotted along roadsides in the western us. 
Americal Kestrel one of the most common small falcons. These are slightly larger than a Robin and you can see them most anywhere along roadsides. 
Gyr falcon. I don't know much about this bird but it was so beautiful. 
Great Horned Owl. One of my favorites. My parents have these in their back yard. I love going home and opening the window and hearing them screech and hoot all night when we are there. 
Bay holding a preserved eagle foot with talons intact. The talons are so sharp. I guess that foot alone has 1700 pounds of crushing pressure. 
Bay and daddy checking out the eagle wings. They are so lightweight.
Last but not least the hybrid bird. This bird is half Peregrine falcon half Gyr falcon. The peregrine is the fasted species on earth. When they dive for their prey they have been clocked at flight speeds over over 200 miles an hour. The Peregrine falcon is also Idaho's state bird.
We had a blast at the game! Again our seats were right above the goal line so we got to see lots of action during the game. The only sad part was that they lost in the last few seconds, luckily there are four or five more games that will determine the final winner...Here are some pictures from Friday's game.
The game was really fun. We ended up sitting next to one of Jeff's co-workers and his family. Bay thought the little boy sitting next to him was great. It is not the first time we have gone to see a "Steelies" game but it was fun to teach Bay how to say hockey this time and watch him just take it all in.
We arrived at the ER around 12:30, they triaged him, no fever, no apparent broken bones. They did a full X-ray series from his hip to his foot. Let me tell you holding him down for that was loads of fun. Still nothing. The doctor finally gave us a diagnosis....transient synovitis. The Er doctor we had was terrible. Horrible bedside manner, didn't seem to examine Bay really at all, and seemed irritated with our questions. We were very frustrated with the diagnosis and the lack of compassion and caring. He gave us some info to read rather than wanting to explain the condition to us. We left upset and worried. From the info that we were given what bay has is a strange condition where fluid and swelling occur in joints (usually in the hip socket). It is similar to arthritis and the pain can be excruciating. Often this condition follows upper respiratory or ear infections and is much more common in boys than girls. The only treatment is rest and OTC motrin round the clock. The doctor in the ER wanted us to follow up with an orthopedist in the afternoon. We got home from the ER at around 2:30 in the morning. Bay went right to sleep and woke up frequently crying out in pain.
At the end of the hike we sat down to relax and Jeff spotted some blue bellied skink lizards. He pointed them out to bay who thought they were hilarious. He even learned to say lizard.On the second photo if you look at the rocks where there is a sun spot you can probably see the lizard. 
Bay also loved showing us all the rocks and dirt. He had learned those words a few days earlier while playing at the park with Jeff while I helped set up for my grandparents anniversary reception. Its so amazing to see how fast they learn and understand words.
While we were exploring the grounds at the condo we came across a clubhouse that had an arcade. If you know bay you know exactly what he went right to...yep you guessed it the video game that you drove cars on. It was really funny to hear him tell jeff about the game as he sat on his lap and "drove the car"
Can you believe how big he has gotten? He is almost two!
