Limps, solid food and bubbles

It's been a while since my last post, and so much has been happening. I'll try to keep it short.

About 2 weeks ago, Cole started mysteriously limping. At first we didn't really worry about it (figured he had stubbed a toe or stepped on it funny), but when it didn't go away in a day, we took him to the doctor. The doctor ordered X-rays of his foot, and when that came up clear, she referred us to an Orthopedist. After having lots and lots of X-rays taken of Cole from the waist on down, they decided that he had an infection that had settled in his hip - causing fluid build-up and basically arthritis. They call it Toxic Synovitis, but apparently it's a lot more harmless than it sounds. There are no long term effects, and his limp slowly went away in about 10 days. For the few days before we were able to get in to see the Orthopedist, I was a wreck. When your kid is limping, and xrays show that there are no fractures, and he doesn't seem to have any outward signs of pain, you tend to think the worst. I googled myself crazy convinced it was neurological. Thank god it wasn't.

Henry is really starting to develop a personality. Every day he's so much more aware of his surroundings than he was the day before. He absolutely adores Cole and tracks him around the room with a huge goofy grin on his face. Cole likes to "drive" Henry around in his walker (note, Henry is so short that his feet don't even touch the floor on the lowest setting :))



Henry is starting to eat "solid" foods. Apples and Pears have been well received. Sweet Potatoes, not so much. Here's a picture of one of his first cereal feedings:



Cole, for as long as I can remember, has always preferred the outdoors to the confinement of walls. He is constantly letting himself out one of the back doors of the house and back in through the other. He does laps. It's really annoying. Over the past year, I've tried to come up with fun outdoor activities that he can handle at his young age. Sidewalk Chalk is fun. For about a minute. Play-doh is great. Until your entire deck is covered with it in every color of the rainbow. Now, he's really into bubbles. We got him one of those really big spill proof buckets with three bubble wands. He loves it!!! No mess to clean up, and it's really cheap! He can actually blow bubbles himself. Pretty smart for not even two!