2/8 - Ear problems

This is Aiden's new head position. His ear has been bothering him for a while but when I took the boys to the dr on Friday, she said it was just fluid. Eli on the other had a fever that has continued to go up over the week. Eli was trying to eat cheerios with his straw the other day. Needless to say, it didn't work out too well.

Saturday was a horrible day after gymboree. Eli was so needy. He was crying and glued on to me for the rest of the day. I couldn't even change Aiden's diaper without Eli hanging on me. I knew he wasn't feeling well but there was nothing else I could do besides give him Tylenol. On Sunday we still went to church because I saw it as a bonus because I didn't have to keep Eli. The picture of Aiden and I was taken while he was eating dinner before AWANA on Sunday night.

After the boys ate dinner, I let them play outside for about 15 min before we left. Aiden was playing with one of the neighbors toys.

I'm not sure when the next few pictures were taken but I know I haven't been taking many pictures because Eli has been so cranky. He's in a good mood in the picture with the sunglasss though.

Aiden and Eli were playing so well. Aiden was actually letting Eli ride on "his" bus and pushed him around everywhere. I turned the TV on to check the weather and they both stopped and were staring at the TV.
I hadn't taken any recent pictures of Eli sleeping and he's growing so fast. He loves surrounding himself with blankies. On Monday, I had to take Eli in for a follow-up from his ear infection and to do his pre-sedation physical for his MRI. By then, he had a fever for 8 days and and when he checked in his ears, she said they were "very angry and still very infected." She decided 3-day regimen of Rocefin would be the best course of treatment. This involves 2 very thick and painful shots everyday for 3 days.
We went back to the doctor this morning so Dr. Kellogg could see both boys. She wanted to check Aiden's ears because he was still doing his head tilt thing to the left. Eli needed his ears checked and get his second set of shots. She said Aiden still has fluid in his ears but they are not infected. She said Eli's ears were not any better at all and she was hoping for some improvement. She was going to consult with the ENT doctor today and possible have his ears drained and tubes put in very soon. We'll know tomorrow morning when we go back.

Brad pulled in to port in Turkey which means we got to Skype!! The boys enjoyed that today. I also got to go to the airport and pick up Arin and Grace. It's been 8 months since I've been them and it IS SO GREAT to see both of them. My next blog post will be about their visit here. Grace and Aiden had so much fun tonight. Arin has gotten some good pictures already and they've just been here a few hours.

Eli goes back to the doctor tomorrow so we can see if the Rocefin shots are working at all and to figure out what we are going to do next. I'm not sure what we are going to do over the next few days with our company in town. We'll have to see what the doctor says about Eli and what kind of weather we have. Either way, I'm very excited.

2/4 - Park play date

We met Stephanie and her daughter, Kyleigh, at the park the other day. It was pretty nice outside. We had never been to this playground so it was extra fun for Aiden.
Aiden and Kyleigh jumped around on the bridge for a while and Eli explored all around.
Swings are always an instant hit with the boys.
I pushed them really high and Eli thought was a lot of fun even though he made himself a little dizzy trying to keep an eye on Aiden.
Stephanie brought some old bread with her so we got to feed the ducks which the boys LOVED. Aiden started feeding them right away but Eli didn't realize what was going on for a bit.When Eli finally realized what was going on, he wanted some bread too. Oh yeah, moldy bread, which is great for ducks, not so much for Eli. He didn't understand that he couldn't eat it but after about 5 hand slaps (it wasn't really a slap) taking bread out of his mouth, he finally figured out it was for the ducks.
On Wednesday, I took the boys to Bible Study Fellowship with me for the first time. Aiden wanted to dress the same as Eli which always cracks me up. They both did good. I was a little concerned for Eli because he was running a low-grade fever but they said he cried for 2-3 min and was then fine. They said Aiden did a great job and they would have never known it was his first time.
We played outside and in the back of daddy's truck on Wednesday night after dinner. I was playing peek-a-boo with the boys and jumped up and took a picture. It turned out better than any of the "look at mommy" pictures. The love playing in daddy's truck.
Aiden got a monkey shirt from Target the other day. It was on sale and he really like it. Nana sent him a package and she put some toothpicks with flags on them for Valentine's Day. Aiden decided to put them in his pizza (which he refuses to eat).

I was getting the bath ready and went to go get Aiden down from the table and when I came back, this is what I found. Little Eli getting in to trouble!

Eli has had a low-grade fever for a few days and for the past 1.5 days, he's had a fever in the mid 101. I took him in the morning and they think it's a virus of some kind. He wouldn't even eat last night which is unheard of for him. Aiden been batting at his left ear so I took him in to and our doctor is awesome enough to look in his ear even though he wasn't the patient today. She said he has lots of fluid in his ears too and gave him antibiotics in case he gets a fever this weekend. We have a busy weekend ahead of us. Crystal is coming over tonight, tomorrow we have Gymboree and a baby shower, and on Sunday we have church in the morning and Awana at night.

1/30 - Eli bit again & Skyping with daddy

When I picked Eli up from daycare on Tuesday, I was informed he was bit again at daycare. It was the same little boy. That is two times in about a week! This time he got bit on the nose.

We got out the crayons and were playing with them the other day. Eli goes a little crazy with them so I have to monitor them closely. Aiden just wanted to stack them and put them in a circle.
I showed Eli how he could stack them which was a good move. He tried and did a good job as long as I held them steady. If he doesn't have a job to do like stacking, he just throws them everywhere and makes a huge mess and drives me crazy.

Aiden has a new way of dancing. I have no idea where he got it from and it totally cracks me up. He puts one leg and moves it up and down. I will have to get it on video soon to put on the blog. You can see Eli in the background - hopefully he doesn't learn to dance like this. It's amusing now but if he does these moves on a real dance floor, he's gonna be in trouble.

Eli's nose started to get worse. He had an appointment on Thursday for his pre-sedation physical (for his MRI on his brain). I told the doctor I wasn't sure if he still needed the MRI but that he still wasn't acting right and still off balance. We discussed other options such as a hearing test and seeing a neurologist. She started the physical and didn't get any further than his ears. He has a double ear infection!! She gave him antibiotics (which will also help his nose) and put him on allergy medicine. She also gave him special medicine to put on his nose. We go back in 1.5 weeks to check the ear infection and do the physical for the MRI.
We got to Skype with Brad a few times from Wed night to Fri morning. It was SO GREAT to see his face. I got to Skype with him at night on Wed and Thur! I miss seeing his handsome face. The boys had a great time skyping on Thur. Brad called back on Fri morning to Skype for a few minutes and say bye. Brad did such a great job of getting in touch with us and skyping with me and the boys. I look forward to skyping again on his next port hopefully.
Eli was playing his drums for us earlier in the week.

We went to the park on Friday since the weather was so great. We got to see some ducks close up and Aiden really enjoyed watching them.

Eli had fun at the park too. He has no reservation or understanding of danger at the playground. He is doing much better knowing that he has to sit down rather than go head first down the slide. Unfortunately, he doesn't have the body coordination to always sit on his bottom.
Saturday is Gymboree day. The boys had fun as usual. I took this picture for Brad so I could send it to him. This was towards the end of the class when bubbles were everywhere. They had little cups that they were supposed to catch bubbles in.

Our neighbors bought Aiden a Lego Cars kit. He loves it but wants Sally too. These are the medium size legos which he is ready for according to the ages. He likes these but I think it's impossible to try and keep them away from Eli too.

On Saturday night after dinner, we went outside. Eli played on the bike (which is supposed to be Aidens).

Aiden was very content to push the stroller around and let Eli play on the bike. While we were outside playing, I got a phone call from a woman I had called. She was selling a bike on Craig's list and was telling me it was still available. We immediately jumped in the car and went to check it out since she lived about 10-15 min away from us.
Aiden loved the bike. It's a little big for him because he can barely touch his toes to the ground. It's not the style bike I was looking for but I'm so tired of the boys fighting over a bike that hopefully one of them will like the new one. I told Aiden he can learn how to use the pedals like big boys do and he can ride the bike.
Aiden hasn't really had a chance to play on his bike since we got home at 6:55pm and it was time for both of them to go to bed. Aiden has been bothering me for some Cars pajamas like Eli has (one piece zipper jammy). I finally got him one a couple days ago. He used to really dislike them when he was younger so I didn't think he'd like one. He looks so cute in it. He doesn't like the zipper all the way up and it unzips it for tickles before bedtime.

Ms. Lydia, Eli's daycare provider, sent home a puppet and some food and non-food items. They were using these to show the little boy who keeps biting Eli what goes in the mouth and what doesn't. Aiden thought it was pretty fun and I have no idea if Eli understands.

I had to take this picture tonight because Aiden looked so cute with all his blankets and sitting in his chair. Sunday nights are late nights and both boys go to bed about 30 min later than normal.

Tomorrow we are going to meet a friend at the park for a bit. I promised Aiden he would get a chance to ride his new bike tomorrow. Things are going well. We are re-charged since we got to "see" daddy. It's been a good week and our goal is to get Eli healthy. The boys will also be going to Bible Study Fellowship for the first time this week. We are very excited that next week Arin and her daughter, Grace, are coming down from MD to visit with us!