In Case They Ever Wonder

I am hoping that our family is "on the mend." This has been the sickest winter/early spring that I can remember having. Matt and I both had a terrible case of the flu in late January. The kids made it through the winter months, only to get sick in March! Will had his first fever followed by an allergic reaction, and last week, Sophie experienced her first "sick appointment" in three years!  We are about to enter one of the busiest seasons of our lives, so I hope that everyone is going to get and stay well! In the next few weeks, we have...  three wedding parties for Aunt Tori and Uncle Derek  a busy week in Tennessee including my best friend, Ash's surgery on her hand (She has a brand new baby, so I am hoping to be able to help her since she will be minus a hand for a while...) an Easter egg hunt in Tennessee  an Easter egg hunt and spring festival in our neighborhood (which we will leave TN at the crack of dawn to make it home for!) Easter   Wedding Weekend - a...

Well, Will's fever came down Wednesday evening, and I thought we were home free, with no fever on Thursday and a little less crankiness. On Thursday afternoon, I noticed a diaper rash, and then he didn't sleep well on Thursday night. Today, we found what we thought was diaper rash had spread all the way up to his neck! Will also began grabbing his hair with both of his hands and pulling and pulling, not to mention he was as cranky as he was during the peak of his fever!  Needless to say, I was concerned and frustrated. Never was I so thankful to talk to Will's doctor as I was this afternoon. He assured me Will was having an allergic reaction and gave us the appropriate medications to give Will some relief. He told me that Will is itching, and isn't old enough to know how to scratch, thus the constant hair pulling! It has been the most pitiful thing to watch. On top of everything else, Will apparently fell yesterday (actually, he falls about 20 times a day), and one of h...

As I mentioned, Will is sick with his first fever and after playing with Matt or Sophie for a few minutes, he is tuckered out and ready to be with mama. I've held him and rocked him around the clock this week. While putting him to bed (the first time) last night, I began my usual song He's Got the Whole World in His Hands . I love to sing this to Will as I did (and sometimes still do) to Sophie, to keep the little ones hearing the names of our family members and close friends. I also use this time to offer prayers for our extended family and friends. I guess I must have spaced out because I didn't finish the song, and I wound up just rocking Will quietly when he began softly singing "Ta-to, Ta-to, Ta-to." I was shocked, but I sang the verse about the Lord having Patti-Grams and Tato (my parents) in His hands. Then, I waited quietly to see what Will would do next. After a few moments, he began quietly singing, "Pa-pa, Pa-pa Pa-pa." I then sang the verse...

I am sorry to say that I have been taking care of a sick boy this week. We returned from Franklin on Sunday, and even before we arrived home, Will wasn't eating normally. Of course, Will "normally" eats so much that the average observer might not have realized he wasn't eating much, but my big boy was definitely not keeping up his usual pace. He was also unusually cranky for a couple of days, which I wrote off to the explosion of new teeth that have come or are coming in.  But by Monday afternoon, Will had a fever of 102 degrees, and by Tuesday night, we were talking to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta about his 104 degree temperature. After a very rough night and early morning, we scheduled a doctor's appointment, only to find out that Will has a very slight ear infection which the doctor doesn't think is probably causing the fever. In the next 48 hours, we will watch him closely and give him fever reducer and antibiotics. If he gets any worse or doesn...

This is sooo very late, but I actually started it months ago, and just realized I never posted it! I'm planning on printing the blog into memory books for the kids, so I wanted to be sure I included Will's first birthday! Will celebrated his first birthday on February 6, and we spent a special day as a family at the aquarium and then the playground at Centennial Olympic Park. We waited to have his party in Franklin on February 20. I wanted to record the details of his first birthday party, as I did for Sophie, though hers was in the form of a letter not on a blog. I love that our family loves to celebrate, and Will's "Big Top Birthday Party" was perfect for our big boy! Will's First Birthday Party Theme: Circus, including Patti-Grams as the "ringmaster," Aunt Tori as the "popcorn lady,"(complete with real popcorn maker) and Aunt Hope as "Hopey-the-Clown." Decorations: Circus banner, home-made "Big Top" crafted by Aunt ...

I thought of several others I want to include in our family dictionary... shaushage - sausage Used in expressions like  "This shaushage is so spicy!" messhage - message Used in expressions like "You've called Matt. Please leave a messhage!" shunshine - sunshine Used in expressions like "Our favorite song is "You Are my Shunshine" (OK, is this turning out to be me making fun of my daughter's speech?)   Thain-Choo - Thank You Used in expressions like "Thain-Choo for my new paper dolls!" Mudder - Mother Used in expressions like "You are the best mudder in the whole world!"

Sophie and I were talking about her daddy today as we were loading in the car. I was saying what a rascal he is, and she said, "No, mama, he is a tomten !" I thought about how funny that would sound to anyone who overheard our conversation, and I thought about how our family has its own language that I never want to forget. So, because I don't remember what I ate for breakfast, and I am quite sure I will forget much of our "family words" as we outgrow them, I want to record them and remember. tomten - From Jan Brett's book ( Hedgie's Surprise) , someone who slyly takes things such as pillows, the last piece of turkey, etc. usually a male, particularly Daddy or Tato . Used in expressions like "Daddy, you are such a tomten !" crowns - crayons Used in expressions like, "Will's got my crowns!" mornging - (formerly morgan ) - morning Used in expressions like, "I can't believe it's mornging !" ourt - (actually we d...