Gesundheit!

Such is life for the men in the Rutledge household this week. Let me just say that before having children, I was never sick -- I had missed two days of work in eight years. As with so many other things when you have children, life changes to say the least. The cold bug is ransacking its way through our house for the second time in a month. Owen sniffles, Gus coughs and wheezes, and I sneeze -- we're like a bad chorus on a NyQuil commercial. The one to feel sorry for is probably Amy, who feels a little under the weather but not too bad (yet) and has to put up with a sick husband and two sick boys. Bless you, dear.

We took the boys to the doctor for their nine-month checkup on Monday. Gus weighed in at 17 lbs 2 oz while Owen was 17 lbs even. Both boys were on the growth curve for the first time, which is encouraging since they were seven weeks premature.

The doctor did a pretty thorough examination on Owen after we had to take him to a pediatric radiologist for an ultrasound last week. She felt the same little knot in Owen's abdomen and said she would have ordered the same test last week as the doctor who examined him then. She echoed the fact that since the ultrasound came back negative that there wasn't anything to worry about.

So other than the nagging colds the report is good. Spirits were a bit higher last night as Kentucky leapt out of its funk with a convincing win at Georgia to stop a three-game losing streak. Our beloved Carolina Hurricanes won their eighth straight game in a shootout. And Amy & I were finally successful at winning the camera we've been looking for on eBay, sneaking in like vultures with 10 seconds left in the auction and getting the one we wanted. So keep an eye out for more detailed picutres -- why we could even get up close and show the boys' nasal congestion for everyone. Ok, maybe not.

Cheers!