Claire Elise

OK, here is some good news. This is our new baby Claire Elise. She was born 29 December 2007. She is 18.5 inches long, and 6lbs 5oz. She wasn't doing very well inside mommy, so she needed to come out about a month early. Because she was born early, her breathing is not as good as the doctors would like on her own, so she is spending a few days in the NICU on O2. Otherwise, she and mommy are doing great, and we hope to bring Claire home soon.

So turning 40 really sucks.

I have spent the last three weeks fighting Mononucleosis. The problem, is that until a week ago, we didn't know that. Between visits to the doctor's office and the ER, it took several procedures to eliminate all of the other possibilities, that included Leukemia, Meningitis, and some other long named virus that could put our unborn baby a risk. Oh yeah, and one of my first lab cultures got contaminated first thing, so they though I may have had a staph infection as well, bring on the antibiotics. The good news is that all I have is Mono. That's all that I ever had. I was presenting classic Flu-like symptoms, except that my fevers had been going on for more than ten days and they were getting worse, in the 102-103F range. The only way to rule out Meningitis, is with a spinal tap. I don't ever want another one. It took two different people five tries to finally get it. The average person requires a 3 1/2 " needle for a spinal tap. They had to get a longer one for me. I had eight chest x-rays, four sinus x-rays, and a CT scan. Even when I left the hospital on Monday night, Mono wasn't guaranteed, it was the only thing left. The University of Michigan is probably the best possible place to be for something like this, but it is a learning institution, and I really hate being a guinea pig.

Update: What I really have is Mono's evil twin: Cytomegalovirus. Just like Mono, only named different. It turns out that I was exposed at some point to mono, but not CMV, and CMV is what I really have. The same syptoms, the same treatment, the same duration, they are even from the same group of virus': Epstein-Barr.

Fever 40

I turned 40 today.

I have been running a low grade fever all day.

Bummer.

I got a remote switch "shutter release" for my camera, the DVD Ratatouille, and a book: The Photographer's Eye, by Michael Freeman.

Now I need to get to bed.

Daddy and Maddie Day

Mommy had to work today, so it was a stay at home, and do nothing kind of day.

Lots of Fall Color

Mostly really busy right now, that's the reason for my lack of kayaking and blogging. I have been able to get away for a couple of hours here and there, and usually just take my camera. This photo was taken on a Photowalk in Northville Michigan on the 28th of October. I met up with five other hobbyist photographers and we walked around a little historical museum, village type of park, taking pictures of whatever we liked. You can see more of those pictures here and here.

Chicken Little

I took this just before we left to go to the grandparents houses for Trick-or-Treat.

Not much kayaking being done.

Claire

It's a girl. We are going to call her Claire Elise when she is born sometime in January.

Dragonfly

Flutterby

Another Zoo pic. Haven't been out paddling in a long while. The baby is keeping me busy.

The Toledo Zoo

Anywhere is better than being at work.

Long Overdue Update

Short list:
New baby on the way.
Just got back from vacation.
Photography is not a substitute for kayaking.
Zooomr rocks.

Details:
Yep, we have a new baby on the way. Due in January.
More details to follow as they become available. I know it is quick after the last baby, but we aren't getting any younger, we want two kids only, and might as well get through the diaper changing stage as quick as possible.

Vacation was a learning experience. We chose to rent a cottage for a week, only a couple of hours drive away, to make it as easy as possible with a little one. The cottage was a quaint little affair.Clean with lots of great amenities, short walk to the beach, access to an association swimming pool, what more could you ask for? How about air conditioning on the hottest week of the year. Temps every day were in the low 90F. This made for a very cranky baby. She did better than we expected at the pool. She didn't freak out, but was still only good for about twenty minutes tops. Probably just as well, we wouldn't want to have to deal with her getting sun-burnt.


I just got a new super-wide lens for my Canon 10D. A Sigma 10-20mm. I have been learning how to take some wide angle shots, and finding it to be a real challenge sometimes.


I did get out an paddle a little bit on vacation as well.


I think that I have made up my mind on the Zooomr vs Flickr debate. I like Zooomr a lot. I have formed a large group of contacts and some of my photos have found a little notoriety.