Poodle Surgeries and Birthdays

January has proven to be an extremely busy month in the Porter household! I can't believe that today is the last day of the month. It seems like we just got 2012 started! Oh well. Bring on February!

To recap what we've been up to, this post will serve as an all-in-one type thing.

We started the year off with a bang. Literally. On December 30, our sweet little poodle, Bella, had to have knee surgery on a torn ACL. Pitiful, right? She tore it at Mom and Dad's house a few days before and after getting her checked out, we were told that they'd have to fix it or she wouldn't be able to use her leg anymore. So awful!



So she had her surgery and we brought her home the same night. This is not something that I would recommend doing. She was still under anesthesia when we picked her up, and she slept for a solid 2-3 hours after we got home. When she woke up, she was in pain...big time. Poor thing. She and I were up most of the night trying to make her comfortable in her cast. It was awful. This picture is from the morning after her surgery...New Year's Eve. We snuggled on the couch all day and tried to make her as comfortable as possible.

Since then, she's recovered pretty well. She got her cast off 2 weeks after surgery and has seemed to get along fine. She's not nearly as active as she used to be, but then again, I wouldn't be either.

On a better note...January is full of birthdays for us! Papa Dude celebrated his birthday on the 14th, Ryan turned 32 on the 19th, and Dad wrapped up the month with his birthday on the 23rd. To celebrate, we invited Papa Dude, Mom, and Dad over to have some of the red fish that we caught on our trip. They were so awesome! I am blessed to have married such a great cook! I made a big strawberry cake for the birthday boys and Mom and I serenaded them with "Happy Birthday!" Ha!

Dad decided that he wanted to eat at his favorite restaurant for his family birthday dinner and I am so glad he did! We ate at L' Italiano in Bossier and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, but we missed Rudi being there!

To celebrate Ryan's big day, I tried my best to surprise him first thing in the morning. I woke up bright and early to decorate the area that separates our bedroom from the bathroom and the rest of the house. I blew up balloons, hung banners, and everything! Haha! I think he was so sleepy that it kinda confused him.

I made him his favorite Lemon Poppyseed muffins for breakfast and had to make him blow out candles!

When he got home that night, we pan seared some redfish and had some sauteed green beans to go with it. We always make each other a birthday cake each year, and this year he requested a "yellow cake with your homemade chocolate icing." It's the little things...

Happy Birthday to three of the most wonderful, loving, and supportive men that I know! I enjoyed celebrating with you and hope that each of you have a year full of happiness!

So....that's it for now. Tomorrow's post is about a birthday, too!