Megan was off on her honeymoon this week so we had a whole host of people taking turns caring for Steven, Sammy and Amaya. The plan was for a nice, calm week but those plans decided to laugh in our faces.

Monday started off well enough. Stephanie came on Monday morning and spent the first half of the day with the kids. We’re so lucky to have Stephanie in our baby sitting mix! The kids love her and it’s obvious that the gift of caring for kids is strong in Megan & Stephanie’s family.

If you look closely, you might be able to see the flush rising in Amaya’s cheeks just before lunch. By the time they woke from naps I was home and Amaya had a 103.5 fever. I could feel it the minute I took her out of her crib.

Before Tylenol, she was sad little girl. For a little while the Tylenol did it’s work and Amaya was back to her usual self, playing with Grandpa Homey & her brothers.

The love of helping in the kitchen has evolved to a deep interest in watching the kitchen faucet run. They jostle for position and can stand there for a startlingly long time just watching the water. Now that they move their stools around we have to be extra careful about cooking on back burners when they’re awake and continually reinforcing not to touch the stove, ever.

Unfortunately, at bedtime we took Amaya’s temperature and it was up to 106, tested on 2 different thermometers. I called the after hours line and the nurse recommended I take Amaya in that night to be sure there was nothing serious going on. You can see how bad she felt. Poor little thing.

Off to Mott Children’s ER we went. When we put her in the car in the dark with Casey and Bunny, she thought she was going to the airport, lol. The girl knows her routine!

In a rookie move, I showed up with Amaya and a diaper bag but no stroller. I’m so lucky she’s big enough to sit in one of their wheelchairs or I’d have been holding Amaya for a loooooong time. We checked in at 8:45pm and were told it would be a while. Kids were puking everywhere (“pook”, as Amaya says) so we found a back corner to sit for the duration.

After about an hour and a half, the newest dose of Tylenol was really working and Amaya’s fever was down to 102. With that, she was ravenous. I had snacks in the diaper bag and she at them all. A bag of dried apples, a bag of yogurt bites and half a can of peaches. It was incredible. She was also wiiiiiiiiiide awake. Time ticked on and Amaya didn’t fade a bit. In fact, for about an hour and a half, I walked in circles around the the waiting room because she wanted to go, go, go. Around and around and around and around. In the process I managed to see Frozen for the first time. Around and around and around and around.

Dried apples.

Yogurt bites.

Not so excited about the olives.

“Go, go, go, Mommy!” You’d hardly know she’d felt so terrible just a short while prior. Or that a 102 fever could make such a positive change in a girl from where she’d been earlier.

We were finally called back at 12:20am. They did a nasal swab for flu and a cursory exam. The doctors had some concerns about dehydration but we got Amaya to drink and pee and, at 3am, we were finally discharged. The feeling was that it was just a virus that was presenting itself with a high fever. It was a long, long night for both of us. When it was finally time to leave, I’m sure my face looked the same as Amaya’s.

When we got to the ER I thought ahead and did two things:

1. I called Stephanie to see if she could come early the next morning. The plan had been for her to come at her usual time for music but I worried we’d get home late and I’d need to get some extra sleep. The good news was that I already had a vacation day planned to stay home with the kids while Megan was away.
2. I called Jason and asked him to set up a travel crib in a guest bedroom. If we got home late and Amaya needed to sleep in, I didn’t want her in the nursery with the boys.

Thank goodness for planning ahead! I never imagined we’d be getting to bed at 3:45am! Amaya slept for about 3 hours and then came into bed with me for a little while longer. She was a mess all day, though. She still had a fever and the interrupted sleep did not work in her favor. I was very lucky to have Stephanie and Ron around so I could just sit and cuddle Amaya while she slept.

By early afternoon, the boys’ fevers were creeping up, too. We were not in good enough shape to have our snacks at the table so we employed the “special circumstances” rule and sat on the sofa watching fishies during snack time.

You can see we’re not doing so well.

At dinner, a sad Sammy really wanted me to call Daddy. More special circumstances and a call with daddy during the work day. Who can resist this face?

Finally, bedtime. By bedtime, Amaya’s fever was mostly down and it was Steven and Sammy who needed a little extra tlc.

On Wednesday, Jason held down the fort. It was a mixed bag of moods but definitely a trend in the right diretion.

During naps, Nana arrived to take over for Thursday and Friday. She knocked at the door and Steven alerted Jason, “Lady. Front door.” That’s not a lady, that’s Nana!

Grandpa Homey left that morning so, with Nana’s arrival, it meant that we could maintain a 1:1 ratio once I was home from work.

By Thursday morning, the tide had really turned. Thank goodness! What probably helped was an incredible night’s sleep. My 7am wakers slept until almost 9am!

Amaya was ready to start the day… in her brother’s pants.

Nana was a huge help on Thursday. SSA had their 2 year well-check scheduled for Friday and there were still a few items left to cross off on their ages & stages questionnaire. A big one was determining whether or not the kids could string objects. A new game!

We also had to see if the kids could mimic drawing a line on paper. Check. Check. Check.

Friday, we all headed over for the big appointment.

We had a good two year appointment and NO shots!

Here are the stats!

Steven:
24lbs (6th percentile), up from 21lbs 13oz (17th percentile) at 18 months
32.5″ (10th percentile), up from 32″ (33rd percentile)

Steven was a tough one to measure. We do measurements standing now and he wasn’t having it. I had to hold him to get a weight. When we later tried it on the baby scale he was just 23lbs. His height was equally difficult to get but I think it’s in a good range. I was told that standing heights are often shorter than lying down heights so it’s not surprising that the change isn’t much. He’s fallen off his growth curve a bit, though, so we’re going to add more healthy fats to his diet and go for a weight check in 3 months.

Sammy:
26lbs 8oz (33rd percentile), up from 23lbs 5oz (36th percentile)
34.5″ (58th percentile), up from 33.25″ (76th percentile)

Amaya:
25lbs 6oz (33rd percentile), up from 23lbs 14oz (66th percentile)
34.5″ (72nd percentile), 33.5″ (92nd percentile)

Amaya has really thinned out as she’s grown and gotten more active. My fluffy little infant isn’t such a fluffy toddler. Amaya and Sammy measured the same height and Amaya is a little taller than Sammy when they’re standing next to each other so, while I’m not sure which one is off, take those heights with a grain of salt.

Just a few more fun photos from the week.

The kids enjoyed some deconstructed tacos. Steven is a master of the MESS.

Amaya loves her “dippy”. (Sour cream.)

Sammy loves his chips!

Cowboy Sam-Man!

Saying “cheese” for the camera.

Amaya loves playing dress-up with her fun hats.

Her baby doll is walking. 🙂

Before Nana left on Saturday, she had a chance to get in a bit more quality time with Steven, Sammy and Amaya. We played a game where the kids knocked on the french doors to the playroom and we invited them in to play. It went on for a long, long time. “Who’s there? Oh, Sammy!! Come on in!” It’s amazing what can entertain 2 year olds.

Nana’s phone has an app where they can push the buttons for animal and vehicle sounds. It’s endless entertainment.

Watching Daddy watch basketball. Sally is getting more and more comfortable with the kids. She used to keep her distance but, more and more, is navigating in the same space. It’s nice to see.

We were blessed with a lot of great birthday presents for SSA. To help them enjoy the gifts, we decided to give them to the kids a few at a time. Yesterday we opened gifts from the Karsch family. So much fun! Some books from Usborn, one of our favorites, and a really cool Melissa & Doug color matching game.

Amaya got in some great snuggle time with Daddy.

To wrap up a long week. the whole family went out for brunch today. Sweetener and creamer to keep us busy while we wait for our food.

Jason and I had the “great” idea of trying to let SSA stay up later to watch the Super Bowl with us, or at least a little bit more than bedtime would normally allow. It was nice for a hot second but I think the takeaway is that regular bedtimes are a good thing for two year olds.

Have a great week!