Under the Tuscan Sun....

Hello everyone, I am sorry it has been so long. Our computer has unfortunately died a slow death. The hockey season is over as we lost our last game yesterday. We fly home on Friday morning to Pearson International. We come in at 230 on Air France AND YES I KNOW WHAT HAPPENED ON AIR FRANCE LAST YEAR IN TORONTO! Anyways, Jess and I are touring Italy right now. We are in Tuscany at our hotel as we speak. We were in Pisa this morning for lunch and sightseeing, and have made our way to Florence. The Tower in Pisa is still leaning! We are fueling Josh up, changing his diaper and are getting ready for a nice Italian dinner. I hope everyone is well and I will keep you up to date on this vacation. It is a nice treat and the weather is beautiful!

On the Phone......

Wanted to give you an idea of Josh`s size right now. This is him snoring when Jess was on the phone today.

Josh....

Here are some new pictures of our rapidly growing little man!

Another Hospital Visit....

Well, to complete the Davis family hospital trifecta for 2006, I admitted myself on Friday night. I had a 103 degree fever that ended up being the result of Bronchitis. The system here was amazing, as I received bloodwork, an IV and x-rays within 25 minutes of walking through the front door. If this was Canada, I would now be next in line. I stayed 2 nights and came home today. Anyways, I ended up rooming with 3 German men over 60. HILARIOUS! There was Mr. Felderman, Roger and some guy who looked identical to Mr. Miyaga but wasn`t even Japanese. They would get up at 5:00 each morning after a heavy night of snoring and passing wind in their sleep. They would then shave, put on new underwear and tanktops, and then anticipate what would be for breakfast. When breakfast would come, they would complain and make jokes about it for 10 minutes while finishing every last bite. Then nap time would commence with Roger throwing on his monogrammed track suit and opening the newspaper. I swear these men couldn`t read the paper for more than 8 minutes without falling asleep. The nurse would wake us up an hour later for pills, blood pressure tests, and new IV`s. It really rallied the troops for lunch! Then Rog and Miyaga would begin to stir about what was for lunch. The day continued in this pattern for two days. What a life experience! Anyways, I am home now and will start to add more pictures as I begin to feel better. I think my season is over as we only have 2 games left and are done next Sunday. We will see everyone in two weeks!

SIDENOTE: I learned at the hospital that nobody really cares about me anymore, only Josh. The nurses would come in a oogle him for ages and forget to ask how I was. They really forgot I was there when he came to visit. I guess that is what is in store for when we come home too.

Mom and Dad`s 40th Anniversary.....

Mom and Dad celebrated their 40th Wedding Anniversary last Sunday at Kyle`s house. Thought I would put a picture up.

Friday Night`s Game.....

For those of you who didn`t know, our team had been TERRIBLE lately. We lost 6 straight and the fans were not happy. On Friday they had a kind of Rally the Troops ordeal. 300 fans from the other team came by train and the rink was packed. I thought I would include some highlights from night:

In between periods, the fans from both teams did the caterpillar at centre-ice. Again, I can`t explain it, it just happens over here. The crowd loves it!

This was before the game. Sparklers and small fires are lit for the introductions.
This was after the game in which we WON! It had been a long time since we won and now everyone likes us again. It could have gotten real ugly with a loss.
This was my highlight of the night when I took a high stick to the face. Everything is still in place but I had to show you this so you remembered that I am still WORKING over here! Hockey is a job whether you believe it or not.
These were our fans waiting for the other teams fans to arrive at the Neuwied train station. They waited outside with signs, singing and drinking beer before the game.
If things continue this way we will be done on the 26th of March. Then we will be home by Sunday April the 2nd. We can still make the playoffs and the season is far from over but I thought I would keep you up to date.

Sleeping.....

The Model....

These are some pictures of Josh while we were trying to `Recapture` the moment from my childhood picture. It was not successful and Josh was not cooperative like Daddy was. We think it may be Mommy`s genetic make-up!

Compare Dad and I.....

I thought it would be funny to compare Dad and I as well. Here are some old shots of him. Unbelievable!

Compare the Two......

Josh

Me at the Same Age

Home Sweet Home...

Well, we were finally given the go ahead to bring the little guy home today! This is the first chance that I`ve had (it`s Jess writing...and for the first time!) to check the blog and read what Justin has updated you with so far. We must have been in many of your prayers because things are really looking up. Josh is doing very well (missing his roomie, Marvin, but Marv gets to go home later today, so that`s good news!). We`ve been trying to prolong his feedings a little more--the little gorger!--so that he`s not so full all of the time and can digest a little easier. We got a few more great tips from the doctor this morning (the same doctor that did the ultrasound yesterday) and as Justin already wrote, we will have a follow-up appointment and ultrasound sometime next week. Mom is certainly happy to be home and in her own bed! (Three nights of sleeping on a cot--that had to be packed up at 7 am--in the hospital`s play room with six other women was beginning to take it`s toll!). Joshua is currently down for a nap, so once I`m finished here, I will definitely be joining him. Again, thank you, Friends and Family...It is so reassuring to know that we are in your thoughts and prayers.

Saturday in Neuwied.....

Well, prayers were answered today as Josh finally saw a good doctor. She took her time with an Ultrasound and actually watched the food go into his stomach and progress from there. She was very friendly and apologized for the doctor the night before (36 hour shift). Anyways, she believes that surgery is not necessary and that they will observe him for one more day. If he is fine tomorrow he can come home with Jess. We will then see a doctor in 1 week for a follow-up appointment and another Ultrasound. I hope things continue to go well as Joshua had a pretty good day today. It has been a long 3 days but we have learned some valuable things:

1) You can save a ton of money on the free diapers the hospital supplies.
2) Service improves in Europe when they find out you are not American and indeed Canadian
3) After being married for 4 years and having a small child you wake up one night on a ¼ of the bed, unable to sleep because of the silence due to the absence of your wife and son. (I remember when I used the whole bed and didn`t expect to wake up at 3am to change a diaper)

Thanks for everyone`s prayers and phone calls. We do read the comments on the blog daily, so continue to write what you want. We love to check it in the morning.

Josh...

Sorry I haven`t called anyone but I didn`t get in until 3am last night and I just went ot bed. I am on my way back now (9am) to find out what`s new. Josh was taken off the IV to see his reaction yesterday. Within hours he started to fuss and refused to sleep. After feeding he threw up 6 to 7 times with a projectile vomit mixed in there. He has not been happy since the IV was taken out so the nurses say they will do a new ultrasound this morning. Basically, we are at the beginning again and they now believe us that his stomach is not right. Jess is worn down and has spent 3 days and 2 nights without much sleep. She does not have a room so she just stays beside Junior. She has been amazing but is starting to reach a boiling point with this whole thing. I will keep you up to date as we go along. He is staying again tonight and maybe tomorrow for observation.

Update.....

Just came back quick to get some food and clothes for Jess, so I thought I would write a quick update. They are still keeping Josh for observation today and tonight. The one doctor doesn`t believe that he has pyloric stenosis while the other one does. It is very frustrating because Josh has been perfect and has not puked much. Jess is telling them that this is because he isn`t feeding very much due to the IV. We know if they send him home tomorrow, the same patterns will resume. The language barrier doesn`t make it much easier but we are getting by with our German. We just want Josh to start feeling better and not to be in pain all of the time. I will keep you up to date whenever I come home. This is not life or death and we know that other people are in worse situations (just look around Josh`s little dorm). It is just frustrating for us. The good news is that Josh is getting along real well with his roomie Marvin Jung. Marv cries a lot but he`s not a bad guy.

Joshua......

Young Josh has had a rough couple of days. He was admitted to the hospital tonight and he will undergo surgery tomorrow for PYLORIC STENOSIS (easier for you to search for it than me to explain). Basically, he cannot get any food to his stomach and is projectile vomiting after each meal. It is supposed to be a minor surgery and we were told not to worry. 3 out of every 1000 infants have this condition. BUT surgery is surgery and Mom and Dad are doing OK. Mom has had some rough spots (IV in the head, bloodwork and temperature in the rear) but is getting better and will be spending the night with him in the hospital. Please pray for the little one tomorrow. This is a lot for new parents to take!Some might think that the picture is too much but we wanted to show you that Josh is OK (Iv in head and all)

Late Night Shenanigans......

Ok, where to begin. Last night we were putting Junior to sleep and it took FOREVER! We finally got him down at 12:30 and shut the lights off. Within minutes we heard singing and chanting outside. I asked Jess if she wanted to see what was going on. She said no, so I got up. What I saw was the picture above. There were 30 adults holding hands around the circle outside of our house. They were singing and swaying together. After that the man in the middle, in the nightgown, started handing out shots of alcohol. They all did a shot together and threw the glass over their shoulder. Next they handed out sparklers and lit them in unison. That is the point where I said Jess, you might want to see this. I took the picture at this point but the night function on my camera is not great. They remained at the circle for another hour and kept singing and dancing. Remember the 2 key parts to this story:

1. They were adults

2. It was a Tuesday night at 12:30