Progress

Things have been mostly quiet around here lately, as we adjust to our new routines. I must say that I am enjoying my time at home. I was somewhat prepared for this, but it IS surprising how much I don't get done that I think I should, even on days when we don't even leave the house except for our morning run. I've been trying to focus on keeping my to-do list simple: playing with Tobin, making food, exercising (a little), and cleaning (even less!). Tobin likes to help, so he helps me with things like making bread, granola, cookies (for Aunt Ashley's visit this past weekend), and dinner. I could write a whole post on how he "helps," so I'll save those details for later . . . except to note that T loves to eat bread dough, and would do so by the fistful if I let him. Tobin does not seem to enjoy vacuuming or otherwise cleaning floors, so I figure that suffices as my reason why those items are well past due. Nonetheless, I do feel a sense of order in our home that I haven't felt in a really long time.

We also have taken steps toward a certain toddler milestone. Yesterday, we bought Tobin a training potty. He had previously expressed some interest in trying to use the toilet, but sitting him on there was awkward, of course. For months now, he's shown some signs of physiological readiness. He rarely wets his diaper overnight. And he, quite hilariously, seeks privacy when having a BM. In fact, if Matt or I walk into our bedroom, his usual place of retreat, while he's in progress, he'll tell us to "go away." Tobin thinks his potty is quite neat. We spent a good deal of the morning returning to the bathroom to see it, sit on it, and sometimes try to take it apart. (I'm realizing in retrospect that it was probably not a good idea to assemble the potty in front of T, since now he knows that various parts lift and pull apart. Which could be problematic once it's actually being used.) Tobin's timing when trying to use the potty seems a bit off. For example, after he pooped today, he protested as I directed him to the changing table, telling me he wanted to poop on his potty. I let him sit on the potty after I'd cleaned him up, and he was happy with that, proudly announcing that he was "all done," even returning for a "little bit more" and even though the only poop that was deposited was in his diaper. I know he'll figure this out eventually, and we're not going to rush it. For now, we're focusing on praising him whenever he expresses interest, and trying not to laugh at his inevitable potty antics.

On the Hannah front, we are seeing small signs of progress. We hope. Matt reminded me of how her surgeon explained the important of the "two's." Surgery for this type of disc injury should be performed within two days. Within two weeks, you look for signs of improved mobility. In two months, you hope that the dog will be walking again. Hannah was in surgery within eight hours of her injury, so we feel good about the first indicator. Yesterday marked two weeks. Well, over the weekend, Hannah first delighted everyone by wagging her tail for Ashley, who was visiting. We hadn't seen her do this up to that point, even when Matt comes home in the afternoons. And then also on Saturday, she appeared to start bearing some weight on her right hind leg. By the end of the weekend, she seemed to have some control, however slight, of both legs. Today, we went to our local vet (remember, Hannah had surgery in Louisville, so this is not the same vet) for a two-week follow-up, and while he didn't seem impressed with her progress, he at least didn't tell us that she was hopeless. It appears that we're still waiting for the two-month marker, when we'll have a better indication of her long-term outlook. For now, we're happy that she's showing some improved mobility, has her full appetite back, and is otherwise her old self.