The Cobbs Get a Snow Day

Dallas/Fort Worth area got record snowfall yesterday, which meant a snow day for most. Considering that my car wouldn't get up the incline of our driveway this morning, I figured I might as well take the day off, too.

On the back deck. Several inches of snow.

The boys didn't quite know what to make of it.

Not our snowman, but it's a good one.

If you're in the DFW area, enjoy the snow. I doubt this area will see this again soon, if ever.

Double Vision

Eye surgery went off without a hitch. We have a couple of groggy boys with bloodshot eyes, but all went well as far as we can tell. When they came back from surgery, they were seriously zonked, and stayed that way until...well, they're still that way.

Mom tried to give John-Raven something to eat. Still preferring to sleep, he and his brother wouldn't take anything until early afternoon.

Eventually, we got both of them to wake up and eat a little bit, so we were given the go-ahead to take them home. Recovery shouldn't be too bad - they don't need eye patches (although that could have made for some good pirate jokes...fear the Dread Pirate William! Arrrrrgh!). Once their strabismus is fixed, they'll be seeing more clearly and with any luck, will no longer be seeing double. I can't say the same for their parents, though.

Late Holiday Pics and Upcoming Eye Surgery

Yes, we are woefully behind on blog posts. I'll try to get caught up over the next week and promise to be better in the future. (Also know that Amanda does a good job putting up pics on Facebook, so if you're into that, consider adding her as a friend.)

Last post showed John-Raven after his hernia/hydrocele surgery. Shortly thereafter, his dad (me, of course) had a long overdue shoulder surgery (a story for another time), which was no fun for anyone because it meant I couldn't pick the boys up, cook gourmet French dinners, play Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 14, write the Great American Novel, or help Jack Bauer protect the country from terrorists. It also meant that Amanda had to do some extra work taking care of the boys.

Better late than never, here are some pics from the holiday season '09.

Mom gets some extra help in the kitchen.

Mom does double duty feeding to compensate for one-armed Daddy.

(No, that Christmas tree isn't actually on fire.)

Storytime!

Gigi's gift created quite a buzz. John-Raven looks on in awe, one bumblebee staring at another.

Our ever helpful goddaughter Reese assists William in learning to roll over.

We had some good holiday fun with family this year, complete with a white Christmas and the rather unexpected discovery that William thinks cousin Joey's whoopie cushion is the funniest thing ever.

As you can see, we had a good Christmas, and welcomed the New Year with open arms and the hope that we won't have to spend quite so much time in hospitals and with doctors and whatnot this year. The boys have at least one surgery ahead of them already - this one for their eyes. They have infantile esotropia, which is a form of strabismus. Their eyes cross as they try to process visual information on opposite sides (left eye tries to see stuff on the right side, right eye tries to see stuff on the left).

Many babies start out with some level of strabismus that resolves as their eyes get stronger, but esotropia doesn't go away on its own. It's neurological in nature but it can be fixed - or at least improved - with surgery (or multiple surgeries, as the case may be). So they're scheduled for back-to-back operations at Cook Children's Hospital bright and early the morning of February 4th (that's tomorrow, as I write this). We'll give you an update when we're done.