Hapy St. Patrick's Day

Fresh Air

The weather has been a bit chilly, but clear and sunny, so we have been taking the kids outside as much as possible. They are entertained just being outside and wear themselves out in the fresh air. We found a new, huge park near our house that the kids love. It has a small kid section that they can actually play on (sort of) so they don't have to stay on a blanket. There are chimes and tunnels to crawl through as well as small slides that Laney can do on her own (Dellan lays down when he goes down on his own, so he bonks his head). There is a huge sand pit which we have stayed away from :0) and then a whole western town for older kids with swaying ships and roller slides!

Cuteness

Laney learned to squint recently and does it throughout the day. Her glare is actually her squinting, not giving you the stink eye! We have construction workers and gardeners outside this week fixing up the back yard, so the kids have been at the backdoor checking out their progress.

Mischevious

The kids like to follow me around the house. If I am in the kitchen, they are in the kitchen, etc. They have learned how to open cupboards and drawers. I have locked all cupboards with the exception of the Tupperware and the pantry (since I am in it a million times a day). There is nothing the kids can't get into on the bottom shelf of the pantry, but the middle shelf has all the soup cans, pastas, etc. Apparently Dellan is getting taller (and smarter) and when I turned around from cooking at the stove this is what I got. Bread crumbs anyone? As I was cleaning it up he was frantically eating what he could of them!

poop, vomit, poop, poop, vomit, and more poop

Our poor Deemie Guy got hit hard with what we thought was the flu this week. He was just not himself last Sunday, and shocked us when he threw up 3 times during his bottle right before bed. Neither of them has ever thrown up before so I was a little panicked. We cleaned him up, made sure he was okay, and put him to bed. I fully planned on being up with a sick kid all night, but he slept right through. He continued to have horrible diarrhea for several more days, several times a day. Tuesday morning he got a horrible full body rash, so we rushed to the doctor where he was diagnosed with roseola (baby measles) that would be gone by Thursday. Roseola starts with a fever for 3-4 days, ends suddenly, and is followed in a day by a rash. This added up, but didn't explain vomiting or diarrhea, so we assumed that was a flu. The doctor said to go back to normal food since he seemed better that day. This was a big mistake! By Wednesday night the poor little guy's bottom was raw. He was having diarrhea every 15 minutes or so and threw up again that night. Thursday morning was the worst... he couldn't even drink 2 ounces of pedialyte without going potty. So we headed back to the doctor Thursday morning. He was diagnosed with rotavirus. Although he was fully vaccinated against this by 6 months, it is only 75% effective the first year after given. It is a horrible intestinal virus that causes initial vomiting followed by 10 days of diarrhea. It actually causes their body to act lactose intolerant while they have the virus. There is no way to stop the diarrhea, but you can limit the times per day by sticking to the BRAT diet and bland foods. So Dellan has been eating Puffs and crackers for days. The poor guy's high chair tray is every color of yellow/white you can imagine... plain pasta, crackers, bananas, puffs, applesauce. He is eating ok, but doesn't like Pedialyte. Most kids with this virus end up in the hospital due to dehydration, so I have been forcing it down him. Other than his diaper rash, which is now gone, he really has been in good spirits through all of this and although he is eating what I am giving him, he is wasting away! He has lost at least 2 pounds in the last 6 days. He can't have any bottles until he is back to normal, so we have a skinny little man. You can't really tell from the pictures, but his legs are so thin. It feels weird to pick up such a skinny baby. I am used to chubbos! We're hoping the end of this is in sight. We got the clear from the doctor Friday morning to take the kids in public since it is no longer contagious, which the kids appreciated. They were getting cabin fever I think!Laney seems good so far, let's hope her vaccination is holding strong!