Communicating Hydroseal

So, some not so awesome news in this post. Asher is going in for a surgical procedure Monday morning. Evidently, it is a fairly common, easy procedure, but I'm still a bit nervous about it. Anyway, here is what is going on:

When Asher was born his Doc said something about a communicating hydroseal, but said they usually fix themselves over time and not to worry about it. Well, when Asher had the flu last week I noticed his little sac was strangely lopsided. I got online to WebMD (NEVER do this!), and started freaking out as I read about hernias, etc. We called the doc and made an appointment.

Evidently, when little boys are forming their testicles actually come out of the abdomen. And their little sacs have a sleeve-like structure that they slide down until they get to their permanent spot. That sleeve is supposed to close off. Asher's didn't. Currently there is fluid going in and out of that sleeve, which isn't life threatening. However, eventually some of the intestines could find their way into his sac and that could cause some major problems. Therefore, Monday morning we are going in to get him drained and sewn up so he doesn't get a hernia playing T-ball when he's 8 years old or something.

Durrant keeps telling me that it is a common procedure and not to worry about it. But, I confess, I am worried. I know it doesn't make any sense, but I don't like the fact that my child who is less than 18 mo. old is going under the knife - I just can't be comfortable with that. I called my bro-in-law, who is going to be a nurse anesthetist, and told him he had to make me feel better. I called my bro, who is going to be a urologist, and asked him if we really needed to do this. If I had a phone number for God, I think I would call him and ask Him a few other questions (hope that isn't too sacrilegious).

However, as much as I'm not looking forward to this, I realize it is a small "trial" in order to prevent a bigger one in the future. I'm sure everything will go fine and Asher won't even notice the difference (it's same-day surgery, and he should be back to normal Mon afternoon). And then I can go on and worry about how to pay for all this!!! :)

Ah, life, aren't you grand.

Anyway, along with my goal of keeping everyone updated I have shared the latest. And if I'm brave I will try and bring the camera so I can adequately document my son's first surgery for all of you who are so far away. :)

Goin' on a walk!

Okay, so I'm trying harder to keep you up to date, so here goes:

Asher LOVES to go on walks. Really, he just loves being outside. So, the first thing he says every morning when he wakes up is "wok" (pointing to the door just in case I missed it). These are a few of the pictures I took this morning as we walked to the store. I think he looks pretty cute in his shades. :)



Until next time... :)

Catch Up Time...

Wow, has it really been since Christmas since I last posted pics of Asher??? Okay, I am a slacker. Well, here is a bunch we have taken since then:

Here is The Christmas Story snowsuit all over again except in baby blue. I loved it, Asher didn't so much.

I have to time my dish-doing for when Asher is either with Dad or asleep. If not, I have discovered through examples like below one of the lessons you learn when you are a parent: dishwashers are FREE GAME.


Cousin Hope was here for a few hours and we played ourselves silly during that time. Here is some of the evidence:

And last but not least, tub shot. Great times were had by all.

Asher wearing Mom's shoes (he does this a lot, he really likes the heels...) during our first picnic of the year.

Before and after of Asher's first ever haircut. It was a little complicated, but we got 'er done. :)

Playin' with the dog at Grampa Hunter's house (May 2010). Don't know exactly what is so cool over there but it's pretty awesome, let me tell you!

That's all for now. Hopefully I will do a better job of keeping you up to date. Until then, we love ya! :)

Webcam Available!

Hey All!

So, unfortunately our old laptop died. (sob, sob...) As a result, we had to get a new one for me to take to work. Bonus: the new laptop has an installed webcam! So, all of you who have this capability we have a skype account. Search for us: durrant.and.jill.pettey and we can visit! :) 20th century - here we come!!!!!

Kitchen Before and After

Thanks to the desperate need to provide the illusion of having a clean house, we decided to clean the house for the Superbowl party we hosted. As a nice side-note we had to clean the kitchen as well. Yes - I finally took some pictures. And, miracle of miracles, I finally remembered that I have pictures while Asher is taking his nap. As a result, I am fulfilling my promise to post pics of our house. Cross your fingers that I can get this done before naptime is over... :)


Okay, it looks like I only took one photo of the kitchen before we tore everything apart. In the bottom left hand corner you can see what looks like a counter. That is actually a portable dishwasher, and was what I had as a counter for about 6-8 weeks. Those pictures are below.




Doesn't even look like the same room, does it? We decided to go to Lowe's and do the prefab counters. We were on a bit of a budget, so we did the unfinished oak stuff. We did all the sanding, staining and sealing. It took a while, but we got her there and we are proud of it.

Don't mind the mess - it was simply always that way. I figured I might as well give you a realistic version of our life for almost 2 months. The reason for the delay is the counter-top. We initially thought we could do a patch job on the stuff you can get at Lowe's. Then, we realized that wouldn't work because of the splash guard against the wall. Anyway, long story short, we decided to have a professional come in and do a custom counter for us. This worked out pretty well for us and the pics below are the final result.

Hark, what is that I hear? Alas, nap-time is now over. Till next time, my friends!

Updated Photos

I'm stealing a moment at the In-Laws to download some of our favorite pics of Asher. It has been an eventful few weeks for our little man, and I wanted to post the evidence. Anyway, here is his first Christmas, first Birthday (Part 1) and first Birthday (Part 2).



This table was a fabulous find from the DI. We decided to do most of Asher's Christmas shopping at the DI this year, and we got this for 5 bucks! Yeah, it was probably the best find ever, he LOVES it.


Durrant took the 28th off for Asher's Birthday, and fortunately we were able to spend part of the day in So. Utah with my Mom. So, Asher had two birthday parties. One in St. George, the other in Bountiful. I don't have a lot of time to elaborate, but the pics are pretty darn cute.

Quick, Dad, before it gets away!!!

A willing accomplice.

Not bad, not bad at all. I think I could try that again.


Needed a little help from the cousins. Thanks, guys. :)

One year old! (About three weeks ago)

It's hard to believe that our little one is a year old. In many ways it feels like we just left the hospital a few days ago, but our sweet boy has been with us for a full year now.

His first birthday was spent in southern and northern Utah so family on both sides could join us in celebrating his first year. Unfortunately it also included about a four hour car ride - he didn't like that part very much. He did a fine job smashing his cake, and he has a real knack for shoving frosting into his mouth by the handful. (We do have some photos of his assault on baked goods which we will probably post sometime around Halloween given how infrequently we update this blog).

Asher is a happy little boy who loves to give us hugs and always greets me with a smile when I come home from work. He loves to read, play in the bathtub, make a mess of his room and his meals, and takes special pleasure in helping unload any basket full of laundry he can get his hands on. He also loves to be around his cousins and friends, our friends love him as well - can you blame them? He has a cute laugh, the Parrish family gap between the front teeth, and another trait that Jill assures me is pure Pugmire.

For me it has been wonderful to take him to football games (see the photo above), watch him grow and progress, read stories to him, listen to him sing himself to sleep, watch him grow into his mischievous personality (he's going to give us headaches and belly-laughs aplenty), and to see how happy he is when he is with his mother. He's a great kid and I'm grateful to have the chance to be his dad. I don't always get a lot of time with him, but I treasure every moment we do share.

Happy Birthday, Stink-O-Potamus! I love you!