Author: Pam

RSV has decided to pay L a visit, bringing along bilateral ear infection just for kicks.

Yesterday we had a regular day, happily enjoying the warm sunshine while we waited for Daddy to get home. Then at bedtime I noticed that L’s voice was getting hoarser as he chatted himself to sleep, followed by a few episodes of coughing after he was asleep. Two hours later as we were getting ready for bed Dad found L struggling for breath. His colour was good and he recovered after a minute or so, but remained wheezy. I may be a nurse, but I am not a pediatric nurse, and further more in this situation I am the mom. So it took a bit for my clear headed assessment skills to click in. After a phone call to Urgent Care it was decided that we would remain at home until morning unless he had another episode or if his colour worsened. So L and I spent the night sitting up on the couch and Dad checked in on us periodically.

Sure enough L’s oxygenation was a little low requiring two ventolin inhalation treatments before they improved. We were sent home with syrup ventolin to open his bronchials and prednisone to reduce the swelling. On top of it he has an ear infection so we brought home antibiotics for that as well. He wasn’t exhibiting any signs of the ear infection bothering him, but we won’t argue with the antibiotic prescription in this situation.

After we got home L seemed to have recovered remarkably well, slightly less energetic then usual, but bouncing back very well. This afternoon the fever arrived knocking him right out.

He is sleeping now so hopefully he will be able to sleep without a repeat of last night.

I never enjoyed Dr Suess as a kid, maybe because I was too old to enjoy the rhyme and not old enough to appreciate pure silliness when I was introduced to them. L on the other hand loves Dr Suess, we have made our way through “Mr Brown can Moo”, “ABC” and are currently enjoying “One fish two fish red fish blue fish”. With this much Dr Seuss in my life it was inevitable that at some time he would show up on the blog. So this week when Daddy is so stressed trying to get his last starred paper finished here is a little taste of Dr Suess.

Grandpa F commented once on how exciting it must be for a child because everything is new. For example one of the days that L and I were outside last week L discovered that a stick could be used for digging. Pretty soon he was having a great time digging a hole in the dirt. So learn a lesson from Dr Suess, try something new and remember to keep your eyes open for the funny things in life.

The temperature has been in the ‘teens the last couple of days; spring has finally arrived. There is a playground not too far away and L has discovered the joy of slides. I thought that L wasn’t a risk taker, but he is not afraid of the slide at all. The bigger the slide the better, in fact mom was more afraid of L going down the big slide then L was.

Today was beautiful! L and I took advantage of the warm day and spent some time outside. We even managed to find some brave crocuses in bloom.

L did have fun walking on the grass, but his favourite part was the stones beside our building.

We have introduced L to crayons. Now that he is getting the hang of making his mark he quite enjoys colouring. His favouite two crayons are purple and orange. I am not sure if that is because he can say those words or if he says those words because he likes the colours.

Quite awhile ago Lowell posted a picture of L and I sewing, I have been mostly sewing strips for a bargello quilt using the material (Fabricland gift certificate) I received for Christmas. However I have completed a different project that I can show you. A long time ago, a friend sent me this Winnie-the-Pooh panel, L loved lying on it and looking at the bright colours. I had always intended to quilt it, finally I have done just that. Nothing complicated, but I did try something new with the triangles as a border.

I was reading Quiltpixie’s blog today. She wrote that she often buys material with gifts in mind, but rarely gives them away thinking the finished product isn’t good enough. I can totally sympathize with this viewpoint, I have been guilty of the same. More often I do give the item away, cringing a little as a I do. So I thank all the recipients of my experiments for being so gracious and allowing me to play.

Since you are indulging me already; I will post another picture of my very cute son. Sometimes (more often then not) he is too smart for his own good, he now knows where and how to get to the Cheerios. Here he is helping himself to a snack.

These days L knows exactly what he wants and where it is. He is not easily distracted and he is getting so tall that he can reach items on the counters. In this picture he is reaching for the stereo remote to listen to some “wawa” and do some dancing. At this point he doesn’t really care what style of music is in the stereo anything can be danced to or offer an opportunity to wave his arms around like Daddy the conductor.

Put the lid on, take the lid off, put something inside, put the lid on…etc. On and off, scooping and pouring are the favourite games right now. Over and over again, I guess practice makes perfect. Notice the hat, still a big hit.

He is still walking on his knees, silly boy!

Do you know what the “masculinist” of masculine things is? Lowell tutored L in the secrets of manhood yesterday afternoon. I was able to snap a picture of this intimate moment.

Looks to me like they are baking chocolate cheesecake.

L’s enjoyment of music is increasing. He is learning to “dance” to the little jingles that his Leappad makes; dancing consists of jerking his head and upper body back and forth. Lowell has been practicing around the house for a choir audition tonight. L really enjoys Dad’s “wawa”. One evening I was doing dishes and all of a sudden I hear what sounds like a guitar. Sure enough Lowell had pulled out the guitar to show L. I must add that we have faithfully moved this guitar with us on all of our many moves and this is the first time I have ever heard Lowell play it. The things a father will do for his son. L must have appreciated Dad’s efforts because he is very quick to point out the guitars in his books now.

A note on “wawa”. Over Christmas break Lowell taught L the jingle from the Meow Mix commercial; “Meow, meow, meow, meow etc”. L can’t say the m sound yet so he sang wa, wa, wa, wa. It stuck; singing, music, the stereo, the hymnal all are “wawas”.

I am hoping that L inherited his Dad’s talent for music. The question is how much of our likes and dislikes are in the genes and how much is fostered through our life experiences. Whether L inherits musical ability or develops it now I won’t mind another musician in the household.

Lowell and I had lots of fun laughing at L the other day. He has recently discovered that it is lots of fun to wear a hat, but only if you can see that you are wearing it. Unfortunately if you can see your hat you can’t see where you are going.