On the brink

I am such a sucker for yogurt faces.

I'm going on a trip, and I'm going to bring...

A walk in the park

Exploring the kitchen

Phin likes to get up early from naps so he has a grownup all to himself... which also means he gets to explore a little more than usual.

Funny boys

AZ Visitor!

Sad to have missed Karilee myself, but looks like they had fun.

On the road

Susanne finally found a local Bobby Car which she suprised us with last weekend- the boys love it even though they haven't yet figured out riding it. It's a toy that apparently all children in Germany have. 

All better and Chipotle

The boys got blood taken last week to check for causes of Phin's sickness and also because that's what you're supposed to do between 12 and 15 month appointments. They were total champs so we treated them to Chipotle afterward, but they weren't in the mood for rice and beans apparently because most ended up on the floor!

Micah's first word(?)

I haven't heard it yet, but Susanne and Andrew are in agreement that Micah's first word was, "meow".

Susanne got some fun german kids' books, one of which has animal noises, and he was identifying the sound with the picture of the cat. Cute.

Story time and tired

Phin Update

So Phin is doing okay. No more seizures, and we're keeping him on a steady alternating dosage of acetaminophen and ibuprofen for the fever- cutting back some during the day as he's dropping to a normal temperature then. Saw the pediatrician yesterday, did a swab to rule things out, going for bloodwork today. He is crying often, likes to be held constantly, and sleeps a lot. We're ready for this to be over:-).

Overall Boys

Future pianist

Febrile Seizures.

We are now know what febrile seizures are, unfortunately. Basically it's a reaction young children have to sudden spikes in their temperature- more here. Here's the play by play.

Friday night I went to bed early, and was woken around 10 by Phin making a noise- I thought he was either dreaming or about to wake up. Went over to his crib and his little body was jerking convulsively in place- I went to pick him up and his eyes were rolled back and he was foaming at the mouth. Yelled for Andrew, running downstairs, and we held him still and sideways to keep him from choking. When it was over, we noticed he was burning up- had a temperature of 104. He had no indication of less than perfect health two hours before. We gave him some motrin and called 911. Phin spent a few minutes frighteningly limp, then moved on to pitiful wailing. When the squad got to the house (I had to run out to the street barefoot because they passed us), they asked what his temperature was, said, "Oh, that was probably a febrile seizure. He should go to the hospital" and just stood there. Five guys, an ambulance and firetruck. Jeez. I figured the ambulance was quicker so Phin and I went on a ride, him in a diaper and me in smelly old pj's. For the record, when you have an infant in an ambulance, they just strap YOU on the gurney and have you hold onto the baby for dear life. Once there, everyone was nice but disappointingly uninterested in the terrifying event we had just experienced. "1 in 25 babies has one of these seizures." "They aren't hurt by it" "Usually they only have this once". They gave him a dose of tylenol and we waited around to make sure his temp went down. Even when he was feeling better, it was extremely late and he was tired- not fun. Andrew had to get Micah up to come get us around 1:30. Not fun.

So we spent today alternating acetaminophen and ibuprofen as told, loooong naps, and quiet indoor play for both boys. Toward the end of the afternoon nap, Micah woke up first and I brought him down. Then I heard Phin and went up to get him- he was having ANOTHER seizure and was burning up. This time it was 104.6. Andrew was at the grocery and had to race home so I could go back to the ER with him. Checked in this time with a reception area nurse who was very suspicious that we were not giving big enough doses, impatient as I texted Andrew about it, and when she turned out to be right was downright punitive in her response [to us not reading papers thoroughly that we had been given at 1:30am less than half a day ago]. Thanks, nurse. That's just what I needed at that moment.

So a much bigger dose of motrin and more observation; Phin tried his first popsicle and was getting into everything by the end of it. The doctor said it was fairly unusual to have two seizures so close together but with his relatively normal behavior while awake, didn't think any tests were necessary. We have a follow up with our pediatrician on Monday. Meanwhile, Andrew and I are fairly complete wrecks. Should turn out fine, but it is truly frightening how quickly his temp has been spiking.

Waiting for mom and dad

Bathtime storytime

Phin: "AND then, the two ducks FLEW through the air toward each other" [Micah glassy eyed and in complete suspense] "and CRASHED in mid air! Ahhhhhhh!"

Ramen feet

Double dog dare

Susanne didn't think I would post this unfortunate video, but here it is. Just as some background, the boys like going through tunnels. Adults on their hands and knees with a blanket make a good tunnel. But you have to improvise some when they're both coming at you from different directions.

Helping with the diapers

It's only fair if you make a diaper dirty you help to get it clean.

Camping fun (! or ?)

So Friday night we camped in the backyard with friends- the Robins from church, and Becki and co, on their way to NC. It was quite fun, but we may need a few more sessions before we feel convinced we can take the show on the road.

Friday evening we set up the tents, and had dinner of hotdogs, brats, and salad. S'mores, pastries, and cookies followed. There were three babies between 12 and 14 months, and a three and four year old- perfect playmate pairings! Adults all chipped in with childcare, cooking and cleaning.

The boys thought sleeping in a tent was hysterical- we put them down later hoping they'd be so tired they'd fall right asleep, but instead a good hour was spent giggling, crawling around, and swiping at the tent walls. Micah got up at 5 the next morning, too... blerg.

I think the biggest problem with camping at this age is that they need a vast amount of relatively safe/clean play space. They had lawn and a brick patio in our backyard, but the amount of dirt they accumulated was unbelievable. Trying to translate that in my head to a multi-day stay in a mostly dirt ground campsite? We'll have mud puppies for children. Which isn't so bad... I suppose the other part is the lack of boundaries and difficulty of cleaning a campsite of all small, mouth-size stones, plants, and insects.

So we'll see. But we had fun and there's some proof in the album.

Bahnaanahhhhhhhhh

Carrot on the run

We've decided to switch rooms around, which means the boys will have their own room... complete with dinosaur vegetable paintings, if I have my way.

Yogi Micah

In which Phin tries on some sun protection

Nope.

Nope.

Mirror, mirror

Awesome Con pics

Poached eggs and mekheleme

Sweet potato pancakes for breakfast. Poets and Busboys

Awesome Con

Part of the line to see William Shatner

Stuffed animal taxidermy. Need.

Album update and misc

Good weekend. Had co-workers over for a happy hour after work Friday. Susanne and friend Deborah allowed Andrew and I out on a date day Saturday- we hit up Awesome Con downtown, had dinner and saw a movie. The boys have been pretty fussy (for them) this weekend which makes it especially good of those two to be willing to take them Saturday. Sunday Deborah and Tony came over for lunch, strawberry jam making and a book discussion- hot but good fun. We canned 33 jars of strawberry jam, the boys got pool time and the older boys played some ultimate frisbee at a nearby park.

Added lots of pics to the album.

Heads up that Andrew is wanting me to add more security to the blog; I'll give you advanced warning/instructions when we proceed.