We Had a Good Run...

We have been very lucky with regards to illnesses in the last 3 years. Other than a few minor colds between Scott and myself, Gavin hasn't really been sick. He had once when he was a bit stuffy but it didn't last more than 2 days and never interrupted his sleep or mood. He had his first incident with vomiting after he turned 2, which thankfully was only 1 night (and it was awful, especially since we had a newborn and I felt so helpless - but I was so glad Scott was here and that ended up who Gavin wanted anyway). Before Gavin's birthday he had his second out of nowhere vomiting episode while I was in Texas visiting Patrice and her sweet little family. All things considered that is pretty darn good considering how often I hear of others dealing with their young children being sick. I knew it wouldn't last forever and I am glad we had three years of nothing too major but that has all come to an end. Last month Scott, then Gavin, then Dane, all ended up with a bad cold (yay for me escaping that!) and then last week Gavin woke up with an awful cough so we had to miss playgroup (just as a precaution) and turned out to be a good thing that we did.

We had a relatively normal day and although Gavin refused to nap, Dane napped fine and Gavin was acting normal and we had a really good day. Gavin went to bed early since he didn't nap but woke up in the middle of the night because he was wet and that led to a coughing fit that led to him vomiting for a while with a really high fever. We made out first after hours call to the doctor to be sure we didn't need to be doing anything other than what we were doing. Thankfully, even though Gavin's temperature started out very high (104.3) it dropped down to 103.5 after not too long and then finally dropped to 102.5 after about 45 minutes of him being up. He starting drifting off in my lap and once we were sure it was safe to move out of the bathroom, I took him to bed while Scott tried to get Dane back down (who thought it was playtime since he was woken up with all the commotion of trying to help Gavin). We switched between the boys trying to contain any potential germs circulating since we didn't know what the cause of the illness was yet. Other than a miserable cough, Gavin didn't seem to have a stomach bug (and I was really hoping for all our sake's that it was some kind of awful fluke), it really seemed like the coughing fit was what caused it, even though the next morning he vomited again (all over my new slippers - boo) because it was after another awful coughing fit. So, I got Gavin all snuggled in on the couch, put a movie on, and then attempted to start stripping beds, disinfecting the bathroom, and containing the germs that insisted on causing Gavin to cough (poor kid). The doctor's office called to check in on Gavin and to see if we wanted to bring him in (love my doctor's office - they called to check in on him before I even had a chance to realized they had opened and I could call to get him an appointment). We quickly got ready to go and headed to the doctor. Unfortunately, our normal Pediatrician was not available (way over booked for the day and we didn't want to wait until Wednesday to see her), so we saw the other doctor in the Poughkeepsie office. She was nice and I am glad we went in, but it also made me realize how lucky we are because I really love our regular doctor. Turned out that Gavin had strep and bronchitis. Awesome. My poor little boy was prescribed his first round of antibiotics ever. So sad! I figured it would happen eventually, but I really wish we could have gone many more years without needing antibiotics.

So we headed home and picked up Gavin's prescription on our way. We settled back in (Gavin requested more Planes), Dane napped, Gavin and I snuggled and he passed out. Despite more whining than usual, Gavin handled it all pretty well. By Wednesday afternoon, Gavin's low fever (dropped to around 100 but was persistent) was down, and he was acting more like himself. I was hoping that he would quickly feel back to normal, the cough would stop, and we would be in the clear.

No such luck. Thursday morning Dane woke up with the same cough that Gavin started with on Monday, then he slowly started getting warmer. Ugh! So, I called the doctors office first thing to see if they wanted to test Dane right away or have us wait it out to see what other symptoms started. They had an opening that morning and suggested we come in to just see where he was at to have a frame of reference in the event any other symptoms arise. So, off we went, hoping it would be a quick in and out with no need to stop for antibiotics on our way home. They checked him out, did a few tests (RSV and Strep) and asked lots of questions. Strep was negative, RSV was positive. Bummer. At least it isn't something that requires antibiotics (since it is a virus), and his breathing was still good, but he needed to be watched closely to be sure that he didn't develop something that would require treatment (breathing trouble, ear infection, bronchitis, strep, etc).

After Dane's appointment, we made a quick trip to Adams because we were out of basically all fruits and vegetables, because we were unable to go Tuesday like we normally would after playgroup, and Gavin fell asleep on our way home. His naps are so hit or miss anymore, it was great that he took at least a short nap (doesn't always transfer well to bed when we get home) and it was so silly because he had crossed one leg over the other. I had to take a quick picture when we got home because it was so cute!

Dane did a lot of snuggling with his blanket! Poor little buddy!

The timing of all this was both good and bad. It was unfortunate because we had just returned to all of our activities after a couple weeks off for the holidays and it was right before a trip Scott was making to Pittsburgh with Gavin. It actually ended up being a good thing because Gavin was feeling better by Thursday (they left Saturday) and although he still had the awful cough and was on antibiotics, it was nothing that would prevent him from going. They had a mostly good trip and Gavin loved being at Pappy Hank's and I was able to give Dane more attention than he would normally get since he was still feeling mostly miserable and was very clingy. I had a long list of things I wanted to do while they were gone (because under normal healthy circumstances I would have totally gotten to do a whole bunch of catch up projects from blogging to things around the house) but I accepted little to none would get done because Dane just wanted to snuggle and be carrying around a lot. It was exhausting but I did enjoy the extra snuggles and sleep.

I took a couple of pictures when it was just Dane and me... unfortunately he was mostly unhappy except for the picture in the middle.

Thankfully, they are both on their way to being over all the sickness so we can try to resume our regular activities again next week. It is also a great thing that Scott and I didn't get sick, YAY! I hope it is a very long time before either one has to be sick again. Well, really, I hope they never have to be sick again, but since that is highly unlikely, I just hope we have a good long run of no sickness!

Happy Early Valentine's Day...

Gavin spied me looking at a new recipe posted to one of the food blogs I like and it happened to be something he was immediately interested in - Heart shaped cookies. He immediately wanted to help make some. I glanced at the recipe and since we had everything to make it I agreed we could do it when Dane took his morning nap.

As soon as Dane was down, Gavin was immediately ready to put on an apron and help. He had to put on the red and pink heart apron. Scott is so proud when he picks out things like this (said with major sarcasm - he doesn't really appreciate the girly things Gavin sometimes wants to take part in like dressing up in my clothes and aprons).

Anyway, Gavin got suited up and was ready to help. He helped with the dough and then with the cookie cutter and rolling long snakes of dough. It was a lot of fun. Then the waiting began because they had to chill in the fridge so you could cut them without smooshing the hearts. So, we wrapped them up and pulled them out when Dane took his afternoon nap (so convenient he still does two naps).

We cut them (some a bit too thick - oh well) and placed them on cookie sheets to bake!

Gavin was so excited and ready to immediately taste test one when they were out of the oven.

They were really good, basically a fun shaped and colored sugar cookie, but they have good flavor and texture. We will likely make these again, we all really enjoyed them. Maybe we will even try another shape and color next time!

Ho, Ho, Ho!

Just a quick, silly, and fun story about Gavin. I find him sitting on an empty popcorn tin with some stuffing out of my old stocking that was hanging on the wall (part of our Christmas decorations) pretending to be Santa. He had the stuffing up to his chin for a beard and he was saying, "Ho, Ho, Ho, come sit on my knee. What do you want for Christmas?" It was so cute, hilarious, and awesome at the same time. Thankfully he stayed put long enough to not only let me enjoy the cuteness but to get a few pictures as well!

He may make me crazy at times, but he is totally awesome (as is his outfit that he picked out himself)!

Crazy Boys!

A favorite pastime of both boys...

A bit blurry because they never stop moving and I couldn't manage to get the settings on the camera right to capture it properly. Oh well. It gives me a bit of stress when Dane is doing it too. They usually play so nicely together when climbing around the couch and cushions. Gavin tries to look out for Dane since he knows that Dane isn't as agile. Dane does pretty well maneuvering and knowing his limits but he gets so excited doing it with Gavin that you have to be on the lookout for him to be sure he always has a cushion to land on. Dane also loves to sneak behind the TV and thinks it is the best game to be chased out.

I imagine there are many, many years ahead of me with the boys making me nervous with their craziness!

Donuts!

Gavin has been insisting on us trying out my new donut pan that I got for Christmas from my parents. So this morning when Dane went down for a nap, I asked Gavin if he wanted to help try out a recipe I had come across for chocolate glazed donuts. He was immediately on board and super excited.

The recipe was simple enough. Gavin helped measure out a few ingredients, stir, then I had to figure out how much each space should get, and bake. The smelled awesome. The looked interesting (especially since the first batch had too much batter in the mold - lesson learned). They tasted great, even though they really just tasted like a glazed cupcake in donut form. Gavin didn't mind and was happy to taste test as many as he could get his hands on.

While they didn't really have a donut texture (I was expecting them to be more like the  heavier cake-ish donuts but they were really light and fluffy like a cupcake), they were delicious and a lot of fun to make. We look forward to making more when I find another recipe that looks good to try that everyone will enjoy!

Happy New Year!

Well, another year has gone by and as I think about all the changes it has brought us, I am both excited and sad because while we have had a lot of fun and I have enjoyed being home another year with Gavin and Dane, it just goes by too quickly. It seems like it is over before I really get a chance to enjoy anything and as they get older, we get busier, and the time passes more quickly.

I tend to avoid New Years Resolutions because generally I think they are silly and rarely kept. However, this year there are a few items I know I need to work on to be a better person and mother. They have become more and more apparently and now that we are home, recovering from Christmas and travelling, it is time. I need to work on myself to be healthier (and to pass that on to Scott, Gavin, and Dane), more patient, take a little more down time for myself and with Scott, make a serious push to catch up with all of the blog posts I have waiting to be finished, and have far less TV on in our life. Some are certainly easier than others but they are all important for myself and my family to be happier, healthier, and for us to better enjoy our time together. Happy New Year!

(Random Pictures with silly faces because I have yet to be able to get a good one of the boys since New Years day... figures!)