Trial By Fire.

Elliott's sick.
He has RSV.

From kidshealth.org:
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of respiratory illness in young children. RSV causes infection of the lungs and breathing passages. In adults, it may only produce symptoms of a common cold, such as a stuffy or runny nose, sore throat, mild headache, cough, fever, and a general feeling of being ill. But RSV infections can lead to other more serious illnesses in premature babies and kids with diseases that affect the lungs, heart, or immune system.

RSV is highly contagious, and can be spread through droplets containing the virus when a person coughs or sneezes. The virus can also live on surfaces such as countertops or doorknobs, and on hands and clothing. RSV can be easily spread when a person touches an object or surface contaminated with the virus. The infection can spread rapidly through schools and child-care centers. Infants often get it when older kids carry the virus home from school and pass it to them. Almost all kids are infected with RSV at least once by the time they are 2 years old.

So Elliott has a fever, super snotty nose, a barky cough deep in his chest, runny/crusty eyes and is generally not feeling well. He was coughing a bit last week, he got a runny/crusty eye on Friday afternoon and by Friday evening I thought he had his first cold. It progressed into a fountain of snot and a much more severe cough and fever on Sunday. All of the fluids running through his head also gave him an ear infection.

The six-week old at Elliott's daycare, Eric, has RSV and is actually in the hospital. Elliott's case is definitely not that bad. Eric's mother works at a daycare with 3 and 4 year olds, so it's no secret how they both got it. Considering that anything and everything goes into Elliott's mouth right now, it was bound to happen.

Thank goodness for Aunt LaRissa coming to help take care of Elliott. She is skilled with a ball syringe, good at cuddling and makes him smile... pretty much all he wants right now.

It is so odd to see my typically bouncy baby boy lethargic and zoned out. He still has lots of smiles, which is downright heartbreaking considering how sick he must feel.

Last night was rough. He was up many times full-on wailing and the 2am snot evacuation made all three of us cry.

I'm tired and would rather be cuddling Punky, but there is so much work to do here and I have very little sick leave. Elliott goes back to see Dr. Hoop again this afternoon. In the meantime, motrin for his fever, antibiotics for his ear infection, frequent saline drops/suction and cuddling from Aunt LaRissa and Mommy (when possible).

FOUR.

My friend Anne tagged me to do this in her blog. I don't usually comply, but this morning I will...

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Noodles the Clown
2. Cashier at Chamberlin's Hallmark. I'm still bitter.
3. Mowing the lawn for Mr. and Mrs. Hensler down the street. I memorized all of the words to Simon and Garfunkel and James Taylor's Greatest Hits that summer.
4. Midnight to four a.m. desk clerk at Larzelere Hall. I checked in all of the drunkards.

Four movies I would watch over and over (or have watched over and over)
I don't like watching movies, so watching them over and over would be punishment.

Four TV shows that I watch:
1. America's Next Top Model
2. Prison Break (mmm, Michael Skofield...)
3. Paula's Home Cooking
4. Desperate Housewives

Four places I've been:
1. Disneyland (not world, land) in California
2. Temple Square in Salt Lake City
3. Tulum, Mexico (aaaaahhh)
4. Tahquamenon Falls, Paradise, Michigan

Four people who email [or call] me regularly:
1. My Mom
2. Anne
3. Dave (duh)
4. Meredith

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Salad with ranch dressing
2. Tomato sandwich on Spatz bread with my Mom's tomatoes and real Mayo
3. Spinach and Artichoke Dip
4. Tomato Basil soup

Four places I would like to be right now:
1. In bed with Dave.
2. Making Elliott laugh
3. Someplace with ALL of my siblings, my parents, Dave's parents, our grandparents (living and deceased), Elliott and lots of food and fun
4. Getting pedicures with my Mom and my sisters

Four things I am looking forward to this year:
1. March 31, when I get my first paycheck that reflects my raise.
2. Teaching Elliott to say "mama"
3. Riding my bike with Dave and Elliott
4. Paying off our debt to the 4-figure range.

Lots to say, but I'll just post pictures instead. We're doing great. Elliott is sleeping through the night again (thank goodness!) usually from 9pm to 6am. We're looking forward to going to Saginaw for Easter. Elliott is frustrating Brenda with his quirks like NOT napping and only eating enough to tide himself over until he sees me again, but we're dealing. Dave is enjoying working and being challenged and having adult conversation for more than a few hours a day. We're all ready for springtime... but who isn't, right?

Playing with Aunt Jo!

Great Grandma Natali is both comfortable and delicious!

I love my Pap!

I was a hit at Great Grandma Ebig's nursing home.

Why would I play ON the blankie when I can scootchie my way OFF?

I look like a little boy these days...
Tongue out means I'm excited and happy!

Long time no see.

Warning: TMI post for those of you who don't care about my girly health and well-being.


It's been more than a year since I've had a period. Let me tell you, I didn't miss it. Never once did I think, "Boy, I wish my abdomen would cramp up painfully and I could live with various forms of cotton between my legs to catch a tidal wave of messy bloody fun. And the moods! Oh, how I wish I could get mad at Dave for no reason and think all glasses are half empty and should be smashed into little bits."

This morning I got my period. Shit.

Another benefit of exclusively breastfeeding is that you don't have periods for several months. It gives your body time to heal and keeps your iron levels up after the blood loss that comes along with giving birth. Pretty cool, but my body is ready to have another baby and it just wanted to let me know that it's ready whenever I am.

I AM NOT.

In other news, it was FINALLY warm enough to take Elliott for the after-dinner walk I've been daydreaming about all winter. He is adorable in the outdoors; taking everything in like a little sponge and sitting so still you wonder if he is sleeping! He just clutched his stuffed football and stared at his surroundings and smiled at me whenever I stopped to check and make sure he was with us. He also wanted nothing to do with reclining in any way, shape or form. He wanted to "sit 'em up like a big boy" (as we say) and once he was up and strapped in, he was all about it. The walk gave both of us rosy cheeks and chilly hands, but it was SO worth it.

I'm also excited for the rest of the snow to melt away so we can install Elliott's seat on my new bike and take longer adventures. So much to look forward to.

Elliott did great at Brenda's yesterday. He took two naps for her (more than he ever takes for us!) and ate well and played hard. I'm already ready to pick him up this afternoon and take him to Saginaw to play with Pap and Gram and Uncle Nate and Aunt Larry and Auntie Josephine and Great Grandma Ebig and Great Grandma Natali.

Dave is really excited about this weekend, but was also rather forlorn when I left this morning. It's hard to be away from us, I understand. I miss him already, too.

Ok, ok, I can't give you NOTHING to look at other than words, so here are some videos. Again, I refuse to apologize for my crazy "momspeak," but it also doesn't mean I'm not slightly embarrassed by it. :) ENJOY!

I'm a weiner, no, I'm a winner, no wait, I'm both!

The newsletter that I write, publish and manage at work won the newsletter category of my local Public Relations Society of America chapter's annual awards. I am thrilled.

I am also thrilled to report that Elliott is doing great. I can't decide whether to call him "Scootchy Scootcherton" or "Grabby McGraberson." David and I are also trying hard to call him Elliott (I know, what a concept!) because he is learning his name more and more and right now he is more likely to respond to "Punky" than "Elliott." Oops. :)


Hey Punky! I mean, Elliott.


Elliott's latest tricks are getting up on his hands and knees and rocking back and forth. It provides hours of enjoyment for Dave and me. He was fun to play with before, but watching him work SO hard to get his toys and grab our hands (to stick them in his mouth) is so fabulous. I have some video of him being Scootchy, but next time.
We went to the beautiful town of South Haven a couple weekends ago to help celebrate Tayden's first birthday. Tayden is David's cousin's son. I'm not sure what that makes Elliott to Tayden, but we'll call them cousins. Anyway, we had fun. Elliott wore a birthday hat, Tayden enjoyed all of the clothes we bought him, but was much more excited about his miniature vacuum cleaner, David and I got to catch up with his family and his aunts' enjoyed taunting Carolyn about getting to see her adorable grandson. Overall, a good time was had by all. :)

Tayden was kind enough to lend Elliott his johnny jump up.

Grandma Boosia, Michelle, Tayden and Elliott.
Glad to see that Tayden is comfortable with Elliott... or on Elliott. Whatever. We are all excited for the Wiacek family reunion in September when all four boys can play together.
Aunt Patti loves me!

My friend Laura had the most gorgeous baby girl in January and Elliott and I went to meet little Lila Jean and visit with Laura last Sunday. It was very fun. Elliott was a good boy and let Laura's dog, Gus, lick his head. Laura and I were very "mommy chic" and nursed our babies on the same schedule and talked about breastpumping and being a working mom and the wife/mother balance and the joy of watching our parents become grandparents. Laura also made delicious salads with chicken, blue cheese, pears and other gourmet ingredients. Delish! I ate a lot of hot dogs when I was on leave, so seeing Laura successfully eat healthfully and manage a 7-week-old was pretty cool.

Elliott a.k.a. Grabby McGrabberson, was grabbing Laura's face.
And then was too good to pay attention.

Elliott starts daycare tomorrow. He is going a half day tomorrow and Friday and starting full time on Monday when Dave returns to Pearson. Dave and I are both feeling apprehensive about it, but we recognize that it's about us, not Elliott. We both know he is going to have a lot of fun with Brenda and the other kids. Dave visited Brenda yesterday to drop off paperwork and payment and had nothing but good things to report. Brenda's house feels like our house, Brenda and her daughter happily played with Elliott while Dave filled things out, Elliott smiled up a storm at Brenda and seemed happy there. We'll all be fine. And Dave took a two-week project to just test the waters and see how being a daycare family feels to us. I'm sure ya'll will hear more about the adventure as it happens.

It seems like everyone that I talk to ask if Elliott is eating solid foods yet. He's not, everyone! I think I am outraging my grandmothers with every passing day by not giving him rice cereal, but:

1. He doesn't appear hungry in any way, shape or form.
2. The research shows that exclusively breastfeeding for the first six months provides maximum health benefits to your child.
3. Babies' digestive systems don't properly synthesize food until they are nine months old, so the time before that is just about teaching them to eat.
4. Breastfeeding is free, portable and convenient.
5. We will start him soon, I promise.



In the meantime, Grabby McGrabberson really enjoys joining us at the dining room table at his high chair. We give him baby bowls, spoons and cups and he happily gums them all. He is fascinated by watching us eat and it makes him apart of the mealtime, which is a lot of fun and very rewarding for all three of us.








Elliott is also warming up his skills to be a giggler as well. I have been reading to him more and more and trying to work storytime into his bedtime routine. Lately, we have been reading "Falling Up" poems by Shel Silverstein. If I read them with expression and noises, he giggles away in his crib while I read. It is a magical sound, and makes my heart happy right before I put him down for the night. Plus babies that are read to have something ridiculous like 1,000 extra words in their vocabulary when they start talking. Don't quote me, but reading=good.

Speaking of bedtime, the time change really has us screwed up. Elliott was going down for the night between 8 and 9, closer to 8 most nights. Now it is well after 9 usually, which means he sleeps later in the morning which means I don't get to see him in the morning after his 6am feeding. BOO. We will be attempting to change that soon....

It was warm enough today for Dave to take the boy for a walk. I am eager to go home and hear about it. I'm eager to go home, period. Tonight is the ONLY night this week that all three of us will be home. Dave worked Monday and Tuesday and is spending Thursday night and Friday through Sunday with his other family, the Michigan High School Athletic Association.

It's cool because Elliott and I are going to roadtrip in our new red minivan to see Grandma Ebig in her rehab center and visit Pap and Gram and see Grandma Carolyn on Sunday. Hooray!

Delicious!

If you're happy and you know it...

We're here, I promise.

All is well.

The best word to describe Elliott right now is BUSY. He is grabbing everything. Sucking on everything. Bouncing, bouncing, bouncing. Talking, babbling, oooh aaah'ing. Doing his best to get Dave's glasses off his face and doing all he can to grab my braces. This is especially fun when I'm trying to feed him. He spends a lot more time grabbing than eating, which is definitely frustrating.

It is a lot easier to make him laugh. The trick is to tickle his armpits and rub your face on his belly. I'll do whatever it takes to make him laugh. It is a magical sound.

The van is surprisingly fun to drive, and it has amazing features like:

• Windows that roll down (my car's haven't for more than a year)
• A functioning gas gauge (again, broken on Belinda the Bonneville)
• Volume and radio station control on the steering wheel.

AND

• This amazing little keychain that allows you to open up the sliding doors on your way out to the car while carrying a car seat, a diaper bag, and various other items.

I totally see why people buy minivans.

Anyway, things are busy at work. Perhaps most amusing is that a committee of my coworkers spent several hours meeting and putting together a proposal for space changes. They're logical. They make sense. They all require me to move. But really, I'm over it. Several of my coworkers are NOT over it and continue to obsess over it and spend their working hours complaining and suggesting illogical options and in general NOT getting their work done. It's equally amusing and annoying.

Dave has been busy with work and keeping our house in order and our baby entertained. It's March, so ya'll know what that means. BASKETBALL. He is going to a regional final tonight and anxiously counting down the days until the boys' state finals on the 14/15/16/17 weekend.

Elliott will be going to Brenda the delightful daycare lady starting on March 14 and for a couple of weeks while Dave supervises a Pearson project. It will be a nice way to get our feet wet and see how we function as a daycare family.

My Grandma was discharged from the hospital yesterday to a rehab facility and is as sassy and bossy as ever. Thank goodness! And thanks for all of your prayers.

I get my braces tightened today. BOO. I have a board meeting for my PR group. YEA!

This is my new favorite picture of Elliott. You know how pictures don't always look JUST like you see someone. This picture is very close to how I see Elliott right now in person.