Cats use phones too, right?

If we humans are inconvenienced when we miss a call while otherwise occupied, why then should we think cats feel any differently?
Obviously, logically, I was just trying to help.

Nebulization

I know I said I was getting better, but as soon as I went off my medicine, I crashed again. I was up probably about 4-5 times Sunday night coughing and wheezing, so Mommy and Daddy took me back to the doctor's office first thing Monday morning. Turns out one of my ear infections hasn't gone away yet, and my lungs still aren't healed completely from when I had RSV and pneumonia. The nice doctor put me back on the oral steroids, this time weaning gradually over two weeks instead of stopping after five days, and a stronger antibiotic for my ear infection. He also explained to Mommy and Daddy the difference between the two types of nebulizer medicines I have: the controller (Pulmicort) prevents symptoms, and the relievers (Xopenex/Albuterol) relieve symptoms.

For the next two-three months, at least, I have to have the controller twice a day and a reliever when necessary. Yuck! I don't mind the nebulizer when I'm sleepy, but when I'm awake I fight it as much as I can. Yuck yuck yuck!

Tantrum rate

This weekend, I averaged a tantrum about every twenty minutes.

Some causes:

• not being able to play in the refrigerator
• not crawling over to the refrigerator fast enough when it was opened
• not being able to play in the dishwasher
• not being picked up enough
• not being put down fast enough
• being nebulized
• dropping pans on the floor which resulted in a loud noise
• running out of things to drop on the floor which would result in a loud noise
• running out of things to drop on the floor at all
• pinching my fingers in drawers and cabinets
• not being able to play with light switches as often as I wanted
• being offered milk instead of juice
• being offered juice instead of milk
• having food fed to me instead of doing it myself
• running out of food I wanted to eat
• being offered food after I was done eating
• being in the car
• being taken out of the car and sat on the couch (this one also happens everyday when I get home from daycare)
• shutting the gates on the stairs, only to realize I was on the wrong side
• having the gates shut so I couldn't shut them myself
• shutting the bathroom door, then being stuck in the dark unable to get out
• having the bathroom door shut before I could get in to shut myself in
• making me crawl to another room
• any attempts to make me walk
• not being able to climb over the couch
• being yelled at for playing with the DVDs
• not being allowed to play with Mommy's and Daddy's cellphones while they were talking on them
• being allowed to play with Mommy's and Daddy's cellphones when they were done talking on them
• not being the center of attention
• being the center of attention when I wanted to play by myself.

I think that's most of it. Life would be so much easier if only Mommy and Daddy could read my mind. Being a toddler* is tough!

_______________________________

* If you go by age, I'm technically a toddler. If you go by my ability to toddle, I'm not, because I still stubbornly refuse to walk.

All better, thanks to my drugs

You know that cold and roseola I had a couple weeks ago? Well, Mommy and Daddy took me to the doctor on Monday because the cough wasn't getting better, and it turned out I had a double ear infection! The nurse was surprised that my ears looked as bad as they did; she said I was in an incredibly good mood considering how I must have felt, and she couldn't quite believe that I didn't have a fever. She was also concerned that I was wheezing, so we came home with a bag of goodies - amoxicillin (antibiotic) for my ears and orapred (steroid) for my breathing - as well as instructions that I be nebulized twice a day for a week or so (with pulmicort or xopenex or albuterol; whichever we happened to grab).

Today Daddy and I went back to the doctor so she could check how I was doing, and my wheezing is almost all gone, as is my cold! That's good, because if I was still wheezing, I might have had to be put on a daily inhaler-type medication. Yuck!

Cinderjaxster, Cinderjaxster

Mommy and Daddy seem to have this weird, old-fashioned notion that people have kids to do chores, as if we're mini indentured servants. To illustrate my point, here's an average afternoon at my house.

Mommy: "Jax, do you want to vacuum, or cook dinner?"
Me: "Hmm, I think I'll vacuum."

Mommy told Aunt Donna how I like to push around our dustbuster, and how I'm not really earning my keep yet, so when we were up visiting her this weekend, Aunt Donna got me a really cool vacuum for Christmas. It really works!
Mommy: "I'm tired from working all day. Cook us dinner."
Me: "But I'm a cute little boy! Why do I have to do it? Fine, but it's not going to taste very good!"

My life is so hard.

Mr. Potatohead

Recently, as a way to exert my growing sense of independence, I haven't been eating my dinner. Sometimes I push it away and say, "Pphhbbbtttt!" But other times, I stick it in my mouth and then decide I don't want it. At that point, I have two options: take it out and hand it to Mommy or Daddy, or smush it in my hair. Can you figure out which one I did here?

Visting Aunt Donna and Uncle Mark

This past weekend Mommy, Daddy, and I went to Manassas, VA, to visit Aunt Donna and Uncle Mark. Daddy was a little upset to go because on Saturday it was going to snow in Durham, something it hasn't done for a couple years.

We spent the weekend shopping, waiting in restaurants to eat, and eating. While at the hotel I ordered room service, or at least tried to - they never came!

On the way home, Mommy and Daddy worked out a system that kept me from crying the whole time. It was actually pretty simple - have the person who's not driving sit in the back next to me and keep me company! And give me plenty of chances to stretch my legs.We stopped at a McDonald's and I pretended to be a hamster. Mommy and Daddy were a little worried about me being in there, since I don't always listen to what they say, and they were afraid they'd have to come in after me when it was time to leave, but I came out no problem.This trip wore me out - I passed out on the couch as soon as we got home.

Mommy's coworkers killed my fish!

Mommy works downtown, so she tries to stay abreast of what restaurants are opening up there. Therefore she was really excited when she read in the paper that Toast would be open in mid-December. She told her coworkers that, and a couple weeks ago they decided, on the coldest day of the season, to walk over there for lunch (about 4 blocks). Well, Toast wasn't open yet and they were really cold, and so they all yelled, a pox on her house! Innocent venting, right?

Well, not really. Mommy was home with a stomach bug that day, which over the weekend turned into a light case of the flu (aches, fever, sore throat, etc). Now, two weeks later, that flu is a nasty cold that Daddy and I have also since gotten. I've been coughing a lot lately, and one night it turned into croup and I had to be nebulized. I also had roseola.

Last night the pox returned. When we got home yesterday we found poor Robin dead at the bottom of the fishtank. Marion was really lethargic, although we weren't sure if it was depression from spending time with her dead companion's corpse, or because she was dying too. Daddy cleaned the tank really well and she perked up. Until this morning, when we found her dead too.

Mommy demanded retribution from her coworkers in the form of $4 to cover the cost of the fish. Her office secretary said she'll work to find a way to remove the pox. Let's hope so!

Enough is enough!

I stayed home from daycare on Monday because I had a high fever, as well as a cold and congestion and cough. Tuesday I went back because the fever was gone. And yesterday, when Mommy picked me up from daycare, Ms. Maria showed her my belly, which was covered with - you guessed it - red spots! This is now the FOURTH time I've had roseola! Enough already!

Hat

My head is too big to fit into baby hats, so Mommy made me one to wear this winter when it's cold out. It's a little big right now, but Mommy doesn't mind because this way she won't have to make me one next year too. I'm not too sure about this whole head-covering thing. I immediately take the hat off whenever you put it on, so Mommy and Daddy pull my hood over it so I can't get it off. Once I get used to it on, though, I guess it's not so bad.

Playtime

This weekend I got lots of playtime in. On Saturday it was really nice, so we played outside.

Mommy and I picked flowers - our yard has tons of dandelions in it right now.

I also tried to climb Daddy.

On Sunday we played with some of my baby friends at the museum.

I painted a lovely picture, then tried to eat the paintbrush.

I also spent some time at my favorite part of the museum: the fiber optic cables maze. You have to put the ends of the cables in the little holes to make the color come out the other end. It's hard work!

We'll have a rockin' good time

I love to rock in chairs - the big rocking chair and recliner in my room, the rocking chair at daycare, random chairs in furniture stores and at Cracker Barrel - so as a birthday/Christmas present Grandpa got me my very own little chair! Mommy finally got around to picking it up this week.

I like to sit in it and rock and make faces.

Babies!

Some of my little friends came over on Saturday to play.

Jaekob, Dylan, and I had never met Lucas before, and we were all slightly intrigued by his "Yay!"

New tricks

My New Year's resolution is to walk, so here I go. Yay me!

Fish!!

Santa brought me a fishtank for Christmas, so today we went to get some goldfish to live in it.

Marian (the orange and white one on the right) and Robin (the speckled one on the left) seem to be enjoying their new home.