Nine Month Surprises

A lot of you know that I had a baby shower this last Sunday...a surprise baby shower. It appears my life is full of sneaky friends and family members. I was honestly surprised and overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and generosity from everyone.

I did know leading up to it that David was keeping a secret, but I wasn't sure about what. I thought because of David's insistence that we have lunch at Brittany and Ian's (our lovely hosts) instead of at our house that there had to be a special reason to go there. Then, when he was pushing me out of the bathroom so that we wouldn't be late in getting there (Note: never rush a pregnant woman in the bathroom), I was convinced that I was going to spend the day watching football. I thought for sure that we needed to go over there because they have an HDTV and we don't and David didn't want to miss kick-off.

The shower was definitely a pleasant surprise, and the fact that I didn't have to watch football was just icing on the cake. Other than a shower thrown for my brother Dillon in 1991, I have never attended a baby shower, and I had a wonderful time. Big thanks go out to everyone who was a part of the surprise and especially to Brittany who put so much hard work and creativity into making it special. David and I were both very happy to get the opportunity to celebrate our little one. As soon as I get copies of the photos from Brittany I will post them on the blog. (The above photo is just one marking nine months.)

Other happy news: Mabel had her surgery on Wednesday and wound up having five teeth extracted. The reason behind the surgery was that she has a genetic disorder that attacks the tendons and roots in her mouth, making her teeth loose, which can lead to severe infection. We knew that she had some sort of problem, because even at under 2 months old, she didn't have a full mouth of teeth. However, infection wasn't really a problem until she hit 2 years old. She may need to have more work done in the future, but currently she has a clean bill of health. Because of the modern cat diet, which doesn't include a lot of tearing and shredding, Mabel doesn't need a full mouth of teeth to be healthy. (You can see in this ferocious photo taken by Brett before Mabel's surgery that she already didn't have a complete bottom row of teeth between her lower canines.)

Her surgery went really well and she's recovering nicely, but she did look pitiful when we brought her home. She's now back up to full activity and eating soft food regularly for the next few days. David has been really wonderful with her, especially in administering her medicine. She hates it so much that I cry every time she needs it, and so David has to do it by himself.

Other sad news: Our television died this morning. It was a sad death preceded by a pop, fizzle, and then what sounded like the death cry of a wounded cricket that persisted until it was unplugged. Considering what I paid for the TV in 2003 and what it would cost to repair it, it is totalled. So today has been spent reading electronic reviews online, and tomorrow morning will be spent at Best Buy. I'm sure this is good news for Best Buy, as I can't imagine very many people are rushing out to buy TVs during a major recession. If it weren't for football season, David might have tried to push the purchase back a while, as Desperate Housewives and Oprah wouldn't be enough of a motivator. Thus, I can't believe I'm saying it, but thank goodness for televised football!