Max's Belly Button, Part II

After Max's bloody belly button experience last year, we went through some testing to make sure there wasn't anything too funky going on between his bladder and his belly button.  The contrast xray didn't show anything too out of the ordinary, but the surgeon did say that Max's bladder is placed right up against the belly button, so what ends up happening is that as his bladder fills it pushes his belly button out and when his bladder empties, it pops back in.

We had a follow-up phone call from the surgeon's PA and in chatting with her I mentioned that Max still had his "pee pee predictor" - it was, incidentally, spectacular for potty training as I could ask him if he had to go, then lift up his shirt and show him that he did - was still functioning.  She seemed to not remember that we had discussed this phenomenon when we came in and after a brief check with the surgeon,  we were given a consultation to pediatric surgery to investigate the hernia.

When it came time for the appointment, Max decided he wanted "a grown up boy" to go with him and he asked for Boppy, who was in town for the holidays.  So we swung by the house to grab him and headed out to cross the Bay Bridge.  In rush hour.

Needless to say, we missed our appointment.  But Max was in good spirits and he got to have juice and chips while we waited for the doctor, who'd had to step out when we weren't there.  As annoying and time-consuming as the delay was, it ended up being quite serendipitous because when we finally went back to meet with the surgeon, Max's bladder was full and his belly button was out.  She examined it and agreed that the hernia should be repaired.  While she was poking around, Max squirmed and whispered that he needed to go to the bathroom, so Boppy took him and when they returned, Max's belly button was back "in".  When the doctor saw this, her eyes got big and she said that in addition to the hernia repair, they would take the opportunity to "explore" and see what's happening.

And so that is being scheduled for June when school is out.

Gymnastics Camp and Pizza Party

This year the kids got to go down to Gold Star again for Gymnastics camp after Christmas.  Daniel was a little nervous about going, but we got him down and involved and he ended up, of course, having a great time.

Handstands

Back walkovers

Max flips over

Vault!

Caroline vaults

Afterwards, the kids asked to go get smoothies and pizza, so we headed to the little stripmall that boasts both a Jamba Juice and a Pizza My Heart.  After we ordered, I noticed that it was "make your own pizza" night for kids, so we cancelled our order and switched.  We were given three rounds of dough, squeezy bottles of sauce, and some cups of cheese and pepperoni.  Caroline went for just cheese, while Daniel decided to make a happy face out of his pizza.

(note the cheese eye lashes)

(that is really a smile)

She is saying, "Aww yeah"

And so ended a totally fun day!

Playing with the Cousins

We got together with the Abcarians for a little post-Christmas revelry (and gift exchange).  The cousins enjoyed playing with each other, especially playing bubbles and rolling around on Anahita's various vehicles.

A Day Playing Tourist

Max has been eager to go on a boat trip for quite a while and we finally made it happen this week, meeting Sam and Lilly at Fisherman's Wharf and then going on a bay cruise on the Lovely Martha.  While we waited for the cruise, we wandered down the wharf to Pier 39, vising the sea lions and then climbing on their statue counterparts.

Then back down the wharf to get some sourdough bread and snacks and then it was time to load onto the boat!

It was super windy and a little choppy before we got out on the Bay and then it was, literally, smooth sailing.  Well, not literally, because it's not a sail boat, but you see what I was going for.

The kids were beyond excited, though the boys were a little scared when the boat got going fast.  As you might imagine, Caroline did not get scared by much of anything and she stared over the edge as we cruised out and under the Golden Gate Bridge and back around Alcatraz and home.

(And as a side note, I think these pictures could easily be sub-titled "Caroline's incredibly expressive face".)

PELICAN!