Sick Baby

(he isn't actually sick in this pic, but it was closest

I could find to him looking sick)

So last night we got a babysitter, and Ethan had been a little cranky before we left, so we figured he was tired and told her to just put him straight to bed. When we got home she said he went to bed no problem, and just fussed a little. Well I always check on him before I go to bed so I went to do that and noticed his cheeks were burning hot, but thought it might be because he always lies on his stomache with his face in his blanket. Well at 6:00 am, he woke up crying so I went to give him his bottle and noticed that his whole head felt like it was on fire, so I gave him some Tylenol and he fell back asleep.

Well he seemed to be doing ok this morning, a little cranky, but I figured he was just teething. I also noticed a very large "blister thing" on his tongue. It's about the circumference of a pencil eraser, maybe a tad smaller, but pretty big for his little tongue. I gave him some more Tylenol at 10:00, just to manage the fever. Well at around 2:00 pm he started getting VERY fussy and was crying quite hard, wouldn't drink water or his bottle, and wouldn't eat. My mom said the sore might be a fever blister and we figured it was affecting his eating, so I went and got some Orajel and gave him some more Tylenol. He was SO sad and wouldn't stop crying for about an hour, so we decided we needed to take him to the Emergency.

The whole time we were waiting at the hospital, Ethan lay against my chest with his head on my shoulder and wouldn't move. I knew I had a very sick baby on my hands. He won't even do that when he's tired, normally! If I would move him in any way, he would cry SO hard and was very hard to calm down. Finally the doctor came and checked him out, and told us he had pus on the back of his throat and has a throat infection. Poor baby. I've never, ever seen him like this. The rest of the day has been pretty rough; he's shivering a lot, but feels so hot to the touch, he wants to be held, but doesn't want to be held at the same time, he cries when we put him down, he cries when we pick him up. We crushed ice cubes for him this evening and he liked those, I'm sure they felt nice on his throat and tongue. Thankfully, he's had 4 bottles today which makes me feel good because I know he's getting some nutrients at least. I made them really cold, which seemed to help. He also drank 1/2 a cup of cold water this evening and has gone down for naps and the night with no problems, thank the Lord!!

I'm hoping he has a good night and wakes up feeling a bit better (he sure has a lot of medicine flowing through him!). I'll keep you posted, and in the meantime, say a little prayer for our sick baby. Thanks :o)

Funny Pics I Found

The one where he looks like he's floating is me

standing behind him, first thing in the morning,

so I was avoiding getting in the picture. We put

the nightie on him that I wore as a babe.

I love his expression, priceless

He HATES wearing this snowsuit!

I think Ethan was just 3 months old in this one

I'm at my parent's house for the weekend and my mom has like, a hundred more pictures of Ethan that I do, and these were some funny ones I found. Hope you enjoyed them!

ONE YEAR OLD!!!

WOW, one year has come and gone! I can't believe it!

I bought the pregnancy test because my cycle was one week late and I had "cried wolf" so many times, I didn't even believe myself when I thought I might be pregnant. If I had actually thought I was pregnant, I first of all would have told Chris, then would have taken the test at home with him waiting outside the door. Instead, I was going to my grandma's house that day after work with my mom and took it in her bathroom. I screamed "it says yes" and before I could even do my pants up (slight exaggeration), my mom and grandma came bursting into the bathroom, my mom instantly cupping her hands and talking to my stomache and my grandma exclaiming "I'm going to be a great-grandma, I'm going to be a great-grandma!" My grandpa was also home, laying in bed because he had just had day surgery. He was yelling from his room "what's going on?" (he's hard of hearing) so we all took his room by storm to tell him the news. Well his reaction was to instantly pray a blessing on the baby within me.

As I'm writing this, it brings tears to my eyes because Ethan is so blessed to have a family that has covered him in so much prayer. What a great start to his life! The other reason this memory draws emotion in me is because this past September my grandma passed away, but she was so in love with Ethan that even when she could barely speak anymore and was in the hospital, I would bring Ethan to her and she'd always smile and manage to say hi to him even if she didn't talk to anyone else that day. Before those rough days, she would say "he's the most beautiful baby in the whole world" every time she saw him. I am thankful beyond words that she got to meet him and that he got to meet her.

Well, that was then, and this is now! My little newborn baby with curled feet and a bald head has grown into a mischevious little boy who makes strangers smile, lights up our lives, and loves to entertain. Adapting to life with a baby was a little rough in the beginning and definitely caused some strain on our relationship, but that only lasted a short time and since then it has brought us together in a way that only someone who has a baby can understand. The love that God gives a parent for their child is indescribable and it's so cool to share that with your spouse. I am thankful beyond words for the incredible blessing Ethan is in our lives and I have thanked God numerous times over because I'm just so overwhelmed that He would bless us with such an incredible gift. It gives me a glimpse of how much God loves us and I'm humbled.

This is getting long, so I'll bring this to a close I promise! We celebrated Ethan's birthday last weekend and I've attached some of the pictures. Thanks to everyone who came and made it so enjoyable. We love you and are thankful to have you in our lives! (and those of you who weren't able to come were greatly missed)

YAY!!

Here's a picture of Ethan cheering and he has his eyes open!

Blanket Fun

Some of you have heard about Ethan's love for our feather duvet, so here is a little video showing you just how happy being in the blanket makes him.
(sorry 'bout the poor quality)

So Much To Catch Up On!!

Finally! I found the cord that connects my camera to the computer! Go figure, it was in my purse of all places...it just shows you how often I use my purse now that I lug around a big diaper bag with me everywhere. (It's been almost 2 months!)

So, where do I begin? Seeing as I have pictures, I'll tell you about the phase Ethan went through where he had to put his fingers in his mouth after every bite of food he took (glad that phase is over), then he would smear the food all over his face...in his eyes, eyebrows, ears, etc. Needless to say, he had a lot more baths during those days...

The next new learned activity was raising his hands above his head when we said "yay." It sounds simple, but for some reason, it is just SO cute! I think it's because his short little arms just barely reach above his head, and it kind of throws him off balance. I have a picture, but it's hard to catch the moment with a delay on the camera. This was the best shot.

So, this brings us to today. Ethan just learned how to clap and I'm going to try to get a video of it, because it is also just SO cute. I love his pudgy little fingers! Well, this is short and sweet, but hopefully it will get me back in the routine of blogging!