Sickness abounds

So last week 2 out of 4 kids and both parents fell victim to the sickies.  Not a fun week.  It started with me on Wednesday--I woke up with an ache in my stomach that got worse as the day went on.  I was able to take Will to his school and pick him up but nothing more.  I called Shon to come home and he arrived around 3pm.  I don't remember a whole lot because I slept off and on but finally threw up around 8 pm and felt much better.  The next day I went to Bible study and when it was over I had a few messages on my phone saying that Jake had thrown up at school--they were from an hour earlier. I felt like the worst parent ever.  I drove quickly over to the school and picked him up-he proceeded to throw up while we were there and then came home and slept for a few hours. He continued to throw up and not want to drink or use the bathroom, so I took him to the urgent care clinic.  He was diagnosed with strep throat. The next morning Caleb came down and said that his stomach, throat and head hurt, so I let him stay home that day as well--along with Jake and Shon was home too.  I took Caleb to the clinic and he was also diagnosed with strep throat.  Thankfully everyone felt better by Sunday--but it was a chaotic week for sure! 

Fourteen Months Old

Will you are 14 months old today!  You have been sick for the past week with some kind of bug--we have been to the doctor twice and you are still not over it.  You started running fever last Wednesday and continued to run fever until Saturday.  You have had an ear infection and cough and runny nose as well.  You have been sleeping a lot more than normal and your appetite is way down.  You are having trouble drinking your milk and water as well.  Normally you eat very well and are doing a great job drinking from your sippy cup.  You are enjoying school a bunch and have a great time while you are there.  You are wearing size 12-18 month for the most part in clothes. We had to buy you some new sleepers this month since the others were getting too small--they are 18 month size. You are finally getting a few more teeth--one has broken through on top and it looks like 3 more will come in pretty soon.  You are still eating mostly baby food, but have really enjoyed eating deli turkey and square cheese lately.  You also like goldfish, ritz crackers, mini vanilla wafers, and mini club crackers.  You have been standing up on your own but don't like to do it for long. You are very fast at crawling and love to go up the stairs--however you do not like to be up there by yourself. You actually fell down the stairs a few weeks ago--you managed to catch yourself about 3 stairs down but had a huge goose egg knot on your forehead:-( 
You are still receiving speech and physical therapy, and you are doing very well even though you protest at times.  You don't have any new words right now but are doing much better using the sign for more:-)
You had an ENT appointment last week and we started you on Prilosec 5 mg twice a day and also on Flonase, 1 squirt per nostril once a day.
You weighed 22 lbs and 15 oz at the doctor's office on Friday, and your head measurement was 49 cm. 
Since you have been sick you have been letting us snuggle you a bunch, which mommy loves, but wishes that you didn't have to be sick for you to act that way. 
Will, we love you so much!

Thirteen months old

This past Saturday Will turned 13 months old.  So far this month you have had a few milestones.  You have completely stopped breastfeeding.  You are drinking whole milk and water out of you sippy cups (we finally found 1 type you would take--so I bought about 6 of them at Wal Mart).  You still eat baby food but we have introduced quite a few 3rd foods and a lot of table food over the past month.  Your favorite food to eat right now is probably "square" cheese (American). You get so excited whenever you see it and are very impatient for me to get into small enough bites for you to eat.  You also are really enjoying whole bananas.  Another favorite food of your this month has been pumpkin muffins--you can eat a whole one on your own:-)  You are wearing 12-18 month clothing--some of the pants are a little long but most everything else fits you.  You have moved up to a size 4 diaper and are wearing overnight diapers at night. You are still not sleeping through the night--but now you wake up and want to get into bed with daddy and I and then you go right back to sleep. However if we try to move you back to your bed, you immediately wake up and are very unhappy. SO needless to say, mommy is very ready for this phase to stop:-)
Another first for you the past week is that you are standing on your own.  You were so proud of yourself the first time you did it you started clapping and that threw off your balance and you sat back down:-)  You also started going to a Mother's Day Out program last week--and you had such a good time.  There are only 5-6 other kids in the class and there are 3 teachers.  It is at one of the Methodist churches here and you did so well--no crying either day I left you. The school is from 9 until 1. Both days you did not take a nap but fell asleep in the car and stayed asleep--for 2 1/2 hours the first day and for 3 hours the second. 

You still love to play with balls--we bought you a toy that looks like a gumball machine that came with about 8 balls--you LOVE it.  You will play with it on your own for quite a while. You also like to bring the balls into the kitchen and roll them around and chase after them. You are cruising around on all the furniture and think it is really fun to fall into mom or dad when they are at your level.
You are also saying ball, mama, dada, and making motor noises with your mouth. 
We love you Will and can't wait to see what the next month brings!

September 11,2001

Ten years ago I was working as a pediatric nurse in Fort Smith, AR.  I had arrived at work around 7:45 and remember doing my normal morning routine to get ready for the day ahead.  Dr. Whitaker had a tv in his office and we were in there watching the news and they were showing the first tower smoking.  We were speculating that an airplane must have been way off course when the 2nd tower was hit.  I remember being shocked and upset--I wanted to run and get Caleb from daycare and just head home. He was only 4 months old at that time.  Shon and I talked about whether or not we needed to get gas and keep things stocked up at home--we remember a lot of lines at the gas stations that day, even in our small town of Lavaca outside Fort Smith.  We kept watching tv and saw the towers collapse--such disbelief.  I don't remember much else about that day--I think we were all in a daze.  I can hardly believe that it has been 10 years--every image of that day brings tears to my eyes. I am thankful they have completed the memorial in New York and really want to go and visit that someday.  I hope we never take our freedom for granted--I can remember thinking that I would really like to go and help somehow in New York but that I couldn't leave Caleb.  I just wanted to post my memories as hazy as they are about that awful day.

Quick update

I just wanted to mark this occasion--Will has decided he is done breast-feeding:-) I am mostly relieved and a little sad as this is definitely the last baby I will do this with:-( He is doing pretty well with a sippy cup of whole milk. He also started school on Wednesday this week--can I even tell you how nice it was to run errands ALL BY MYSELF? He goes from 9am until 1pm Wednesday and Friday--I think it will be great for both of us--he came home and took a 2 1/2 hour nap afterwards:-) We are in the busy season with football practice 3 nights a week and ballet twice a week (and they are on the same days of course). There is also school and doctor's appointments and I have started a Bible study at church on Thursday mornings. It is a good but busy time for us--more later!

What a week!

I just wanted to write down everything that has happened over the past few days--I hope this doesn't come across as complaining--we have just had a bunch of stuff happen to us in the last 1 1/2 weeks. So here goes:

Tuesday (16th): Emma gets stung by a wasp/bee/something after going across the neighborhood to the park (where she is not supposed to go by herself). It was also open house for Caleb and Emma (Jake's was the night before). They found out who their teachers were. Caleb also had football practice.

Wednesday (17th): Will runs 101.4 temp off and on all day and is really fussy. Caleb has football practice.

Thursday(18th): First day of school for Caleb, Emma and Jake. Will is breaking out into clusters of spots all over both arms and is still fussy. Washing machine locks and will not unlock while I have Caleb's football clothes in it. I have to take off the bottom panel and manually unlock the door, then hand wash football clothes. Kids arrive home from their first bus ride with good reports on the first day of school. Caleb has football practice.

Friday (19th): Washing machine repair man is supposed to come between 12-5pm today. Will and I make a quick run to the grocery store since we are out of diapers, milk and bread. Will is breaking out even more in spots--they are now on his legs, bottom, and around his mouth and on his wrists and fingers. I debate whether or not to take him to the doctor but ultimately decide to wait. Kids have a great 2nd day of school. Washing machine repair guy arrives at 4:53pm. Says we need a new control unit board. It will cost $600--we opt to get a new washer instead as this problem has been ongoing for over 2 years.

Saturday (20th): We decide to go look for a washer today at Sears. Since Will was up a ton last night, we get a late start to the day and have to wait until Will wakes up from his nap to leave. While waiting after lunch, Jake rolls off the couch and starts crying about his arm hurting. He cries for 15 minutes straight and asks to go to the walk-in clinic. Emma decides to go with me. Caleb is playing at his friend Christopher's house, and Will is asleep at home with Shon. We get to the urgent care clinic and there is a bit of a wait. Once back in the room we wait even longer. They take us for an xray and we wait some more. The doctor comes in and to my shock says the elbow is broken and that we need to go over to the Women's and Children's hospital to await the ortho guys there. We receive a copy of our xrays and they put a fiberglass splint on Jake. I take Emma back home and Will is still asleep (3:30 pm at this point). I get Jake a stuffed animal to take with him and grab my ipad for some entertainment. We head to the ER at the hospital. There we wait some more and are taken back to a room. We have more xrays done. Jake is examined by the ER doctor, a peds resident and a peds med student. He is then examined by 2 orthopedic residents. After much discussion they finally decide to send us home after re splinting his arm. We are told they will call on Sunday about his surgery appointment for Monday. Jake is given pain meds (Fentanyl) via his nose before they splint him. He is very happy after this:-) We arrive home around 8 pm after getting McDonald's to eat.

Sunday (21st): Shon stays home with Jake and Will (who had a 3 1/2 hour nap total on Saturday and has no more spots thankfully but the ones he does have are more red/blistery). Emma, Caleb and I go to church. We drop off Jake's prescription for Tylenol #3 and go get some lunch. We pick up the prescription and head back home. After lunch everyone rests and then we decide to grill out steaks for supper. I head back to the store. We get a call that Jake has surgery scheduled for Monday. We need to be at the hospital between 6:30 and 7 am. Everyone goes to be early. My cell phone decides today is a great day to completely quit working.

Monday (22nd): Jake and I leave the house around 6:25. We arrive at the hospital and after a few minutes are told the right area to go to. We get him signed in and get back in a room around 7:30am. He gets into his hospital pjs and settles into the bed in the room. We watch tv and watch tv and watch tv. The anesthesiologist arrives to talk about what he will be doing. We watch a lot more tv (Phineas and Ferb). Finally around 10:15 they arrive to take him back to surgery. The peds ortho doctor says they will try and do a closed reduction (meaning no surgery necessary) but if they can't then he will have 2 pins put in his arm. I head out to the waiting area. Around 11am they call me back to the consultation room and let me know the doctor will be there in a minute to talk to me. Shon's cell phone, although fully charged when I left the house, is now almost dead so I cannot update that way anymore. The doctor says they were able to do a closed reduction. He is in recovery and I will be able to see him soon. About 20 minutes later they let me back into a different room while I wait for Jake. He starts crying as soon as he sees me:-( He is most upset about the fact that he has an IV in his foot. He is able to eat a popsicle (orange) and drink some Sprite and they take out the IV. We leave the hospital around 1pm. Jake falls asleep in the car after receiving morphine immediately after the reduction and then oxycodone before we left the hospital. He sleeps at home while I run to the store (Shon is home with Will after taking the older 2 to school). I get soup, Jello, and Sprite at the store, along with a few other items. Jake does well most of the afternoon. He falls back asleep around 4:30. When he wakes up at 6 he just wants to go back to bed. I feel his forehead and he is really warm. Temp is 101.6. I give him Tylenol along with some sips of his Sonic orange slush. About 10 minutes later after refusing supper I help him sit up and then go grab his pjs. He stands up for me to help him and immediately throws up everywhere. I hustle him to the bathroom where he throws up again. We get his clothes off and get him into the bath after wrapping his cast in a Walmart bag. After the bath I help him into pjs and then off to bed. He does well for most of the night--no more throwing up.

Tuesday (22nd): Jake is staying home today. He continues to run fever off and on. I call the ortho office and they say to let them know if it gets over 101 again. So far so good. He has a great day for the most part and is able to keep down everything. No complaints of pain. Emma and Caleb have a good day at school. Emma starts ballet today and Caleb has football. Shon and I divide and conquer:-) Emma wakes me up in the middle of the night saying she feels sick to her stomach:-( Hopefully things will get back to normal soon! Jake is going to school on Wednesday and Emma is probably staying home since she felt pretty warm to me.

I am impressed if anyone other than my mom is still reading after all of this:-)

1 year old!

Will you are 1! Mommy cannot believe how fast this year has flown by. You have been doing so much over the past few months (mommy missed posting your 11 month old post--oops!) You are rolling over from your back to your stomach both ways and love sleeping on your tummy now--you are sleeping without anything covering you other than a blanket. However, your sleep has not been great--you are only taking 1 nap and we have been struggling at night to get you to sleep for more than 4 hours at a time. You are crawling everywhere and are pulling up on everything. You also will cruise along the couch (just to the left) and love banging on the windows in the kitchen and the sliding glass door. You are eating about the same but we have introduced more crackers, american cheese, turkey from the deli, biscuits, and chocolate/whole milk. You are not too sure about the sippy cup with milk in it and absolutely do not understand the bottle concept.

You are wearing size 3 diapers and are wearing Huggies overnight diapers in size 4 at night. You are wearing 12-18 month clothing. You still love going to the pool and splashing. The last time we went, you tried to crawl into the deeper water and got a faceful before mommy rescued you. You like going into the deep end with mommy holding you but you try to get me to let go:-) You enjoyed going to Meme's for the 4th of July--mommy almost wanted to leave you there because you slept so well--you took 2 five hour naps and slept most of the night because we stayed in the safe room there, which has no windows:-) You still take a pacifier a lot of the time. You have been to the doctor a few times--once for an ear infection and once for croupy cough. You also started therapy this past month after your evaluation for the early childhood program through the state, which you did qualify for. You are receiving physical therapy once a week and speech therapy as well. You also are wearing orthotics in your shoes to strengthen your ankles, which you really don't like. Both therapists come to the house so that is very nice for mommy.

You are growing and learning new things almost everyday. We are so proud to call you ours and love you so much Will! Happy Birthday!