He Did It.

Ever since Little Love learned how to pull up to stand (at 8.5 months), I have been terrified that he would learn how to climb out or fall out of his crib. Actually, within the week he learned to pull up, I bought a crib tent AND two extra bumpers (thought I would double them up so he wouldn't be able to climb out. I realized right away that wasn't the brightest idea and returned the extra bumpers)! Tried to get the crib tent up... the $80 crib tent, I might add... wasn't happening. It is stored somewhere, never used, in our garage. As you all know, Adam loves to sleep (or he did, at least). So I never was too concerned about him climibing out of his crib since he usually goes right into his corner, grabs his doggies, and goes to sleep. If he's not ready for bed, or calls for me, I usually get him right away and sing to him (or something) so he won't even THINK about climbing out. Well, you know what I'm leading up to...

ADAM CLIMBED OUT (OR FELL OUT?!?) OF HIS CRIB FOR THE 1ST TIME TONIGHT.

I almost had a heart attack.

Long story short, LL did NOT want to go to bed tonight. He was doing EVERYTHING to procrastinate... "read book, water, no - chocolate milk, no - water, sit in chair, lie down on carpet, one more minute, one more minute, one more minute, etc." Seriously. This lasted for an HOUR. Why didn't we just let him cry it out, you may be thinking. Good question. The reason why is because we were scared that he would try to climb out his crib (mother's intuition or maybe b/c when we did try to let him CIO we heard him yet "Get Out!" and saw his leg hanging over the crib). So... we kept trying to get him sleepy... usually we'll sing, tell stories, etc. and then he'll say "sleep" which is the sign that he's ready. Except he never said that.

Eventually, I put him back in the crib, as he was yelling for water, and went to ask Steven to bring up water. Literally less than 2 minutes later I hear a bang. And I knew. I ran in and Adam was standing (I think he was standing, and not sitting... I was in a state of panic so it's hard to remember) right next to his crib. OH MY G-D. He looked kinda shocked and was crying (not his "hurt" cry, though) and started crying for water again. Seriously.... I panicked... I still am a little upset since I don't know how he got out. Steven thinks he climbed out which I think is the case, too. But what if he fell out and landed on his head.... those of you who know me IRL know that head injuries are a fear of mine. Total panic kicked in. Even Steven was a little freaked out and surprised. Adam was acting TOTALLY FINE though... not hurt or anything. So we're hoping it was a climb as opposed to a fall.

Now, what to do??? We could try the crib tent (with help assembling it, of course), but knowing Adam, it won't work. He'll spend hours trying to undo it and will probably hate it... I just can't see it working. I'm not ready to convert his crib into the toddler bed either (even though it may come down to that). I just don't know what to do at this point. Anyone else been here and have some ideas??? Thanks in advance for helping this (slightly) panicked 1st time Mom (can ya tell?)!!!

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In other news, Adam is feeling MUCH better. Yay! Turned out to be a 48 hour virus after all. I took him in to the Dr. this morning (since he had a slight temp/little appetite) when he woke up. Dr. W said he probably has mild rotavirus (stomach flu) and should be better by tonight. He was right, yay! Adam stayed fever-free the rest of the day (I so appreciated "cool foreheads" now!), was very playful and for the most part, 100% himself. When he woke up from his (4 hour!) nap (he had been up a lot the past few nights, so I guess he needed that sleep), he asked for chocolate milk and gulped it down. Then he ate a full dinner of macaroni & beef, as seen below:



Back to normal & eating! :o) Which is a good thing, b/c his weight is still on the low side (24.5 lbs... I think he lost 1 lb. in the 2.5 days of no eating). Anyway, as you can tell, there is never a dull moment in LL's Home!

Still Sick... UGH :O(

Look at that face! Oh, do I love that face!!! What I don't love is that my precious little love is STILL sick (I'm HATING that)!!!

So..... Adam did relatively well last night. No fever and slept till about 4:30 AM when he woke up screaming for Dada. The funny(?) thing is that the only time Adam screams for Dada (instead of Mama) is when he's sick (or scared). Sure enough, ever since he's gotten sick, he's called for Dada. Right now as we speak, Dada & Adam are laying down together (it's very sweet -- well, maybe not so much for Dada. He really wants his bed). Anyway... Adam woke up at 4:30 and slept with Steven on the couch until I woke them on my way out to work at 7. Mom then came at 8 to so Steven could go to work. Adam had a very low grade temperature (around 99.5, I believe) and was very happy and playful (but had no appetite) until about 4 when his fever came back (around 101). After he took some Tylenol, he was happy again. Until 8 pm when the tylenol wore off and he had a fever of 102. UGH!!! I spoke to the Dr. on call (actually it was a nurse practitioner) and she said it sounds like a virus, but who knows what?!? She recommended Children's Motrin.

So, we gave him Children's Motrin. Have I mentioned previously that Adam HATES medicine with a passion? He was hysterical. He was all happy previously, even giggling, while watching Barney (the new one On Demand: Practice Music).

Here's how happy he was pre-medicine:

And this was Adam's face (2 min. later)once he heard "medicine":

Oh, my poor little love. He protested & protested and spit half the motrin out. So he only got half the dose. He was so upset with me for giving him medicine that he actually said "Mama Go to Work"... Steven and I couldn't keep from chuckling at that since he HATES it when I go to work. He also asked to "go to sleep" and "take a nap"... did I mention that Adam HATES medicine?!?

He got about 1/2 the dose in so his fever dropped to 100.5 and then he started sweating in his sleep. We're pretty sure his fever has completely broken, at least for now. FOR GOOD, I HOPE HOPE HOPE HOPE!!! If not, off to the Dr. tomorrow. UGH. Have I mentioned that I HATE it when my little love is sick?!? And that he hasn't eaten anything except 1/4 of a bagel and a piece of apple in 2 days?!? UGH!!!

Adam's sick. Again. (HUGE SIGH).

Unfortunately, the old saying is true... kids get sick in daycare. UGH. Can I just say that until Adam was 20 months old, all he ever had were colds (some bad, but just colds/coughs, no fever)? Around 19 months (?), we thought he had Staph but it was just his sensitive skin. Keep in mind that he started Montessori at 17 months. Then at 20 months, he contacts roseola and was quite sick (scary high temp of 104, rash, etc.) It seems like every month since then, he has a virus of some sort... nothing serious, Thank G-d, but some low grade temps and LOT of colds. Thought we were over "sick season" as the weather is finally nice... but apparently not.

Around 11 this morning, Adam felt HOT, wasn't hungry for lunch, and threw up his fruit from breakfast. We thought it was just from him running around in the sun (even though my Mama intuition kicked in and I knew it was something more). After his nap, he had a genuine fever (of about 101) and was acting really sleepy... just wanting to lay down... not at all himself. We gave him some tylenol and he gulped down some apple juice (a special treat since he's sick and we don't need him to get dehydrated on top of everything else!). Then, 10 minutes later... well, you can guess what happened. Juice everywhere... on Adam, me, the couch, the carpet, etc. It gave LL a surprise burst of energy, though... he kept saying "I threw up. Need wipes. Need paper towel. Threw up on Mama and floor. Clean up." Then he settled back down and Grandma came over a few minutes later. The tylenol seemed to kick in around then b/c all of a sudden, he was demanding that Grandma "make eggs", was playing in his house, "writing" (his new favorite thing) jumping on our bed, etc... acting totally fine. We thought were clear. Not so fast. Around 9 pm, he suddenly felt hot again and, sure enough, fever was back... 102. Gave him some motrin this time and he quickly fell asleep. Felt much cooler shortly after that. I'm going to keep checking on him throughout the night, of course. I'm sooo hoping that his fever is gone for good & he's feeling like himself again... please, please, please. I get so nervous and upset when he's sick... I imagine these horrible "worst case scenarios" (Googling doesn't help. Shocker).

Grandma's coming over tomorrow to watch LL since I can't miss any work. I'll update again tomorrow... hopefully with a "he's better" title!!! My poor little love. :o(

Happy 2nd Birthday, Claire!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Cousin Claire!


We had a great time at Cousin Claire's 2nd birthday party yesterday! As usual, Paul & Jenn threw a great party... fun for kids & the parents! Adam especially loved the water table and playing with Claire. They play so nicely together. It's always such a treat getting together!

At the H2O Table!

Let's see how wet I can get!

Adam & Claire watering the plants together :o)

Of course, Adam found Claire's balloons

MMM... Cupcakes. Let's see if I can get some on Mama!

Adam with Great Uncle Morty (Grandma's brother) and Great Aunt Elaine

Claire opening presents... she got some great ones!

It was a wonderful birthday party... so glad we got to be a part of it! :o)

Birmingham Playground -- Photo Session

As my husband will attest to, I do not take the world's best photographs. Every once in while, though, the stars will align and I am able to capture some nice shots of Little Love. Here's evidence of one of these session... some photos that were taken 2 weeks ago during our Birmingham trip. I zoomed most of these photos directly from the camera (just figured that trick out -- yay!) and love how they turned out. They really capture Adam's playfulness, sweetness and wonderful spirit... so much so that they deserved their own post :o).






Oh, and yes, that is a $43 Kingsley T-shirt that Adam is wearing, part of Uncle Steven & Aunt Elizabeth's wonderful birthday gift for Adam. Elizabeth's fabulous sister-in-law, Marcy, owns a gorgeous children's boutique in Highland Park, IL... believe me, my child would not be sporting clothing that's twice the price of half the things that I wear if that were not the case!!! :o)

The 4 Cousin Musketeers (Jake, Evan, Zach & ADAM)!

Adam LOVED spending time with Cousins Jake, Evan & Zach in Birmingham (we did, too)! They are seriously THE BEST BIG COUSINS. They are so patient and careful with Adam as well as being loving and SO FUN!!! Adam still talks about them every day! We miss them very much (Aunt Samantha & Uncle Jeff, too) and really wished we lived closer to Chicago so we could see them more often. We love you guys & hope to see you this summer! Here are a few more photos from our week together in B'ham:

Birmingham, Days 4 - 6 (IN PHOTOS!)

Since our wonderful vacation in Birmingham ended almost 2 weeks ago, the time has come to wrap up our trip. Here is a "photo journey" of our last 3 days in B'ham:

Playing with Zayde and ZB, the neighborhood cat

Watching Zach, Evan and Jake swim in Bobbe & Zayde's pool. Adam also loved watching them play football with Dada!

Adam watching Jake about to take a dive into the pool... and really wanting to jump in himself!

We spent a few hours at this lovely playground in B'ham (more pictures in an additional post). If you look carefully, you can see Evan, Jake, Zach and Uncle Jeff! Adam was sitting with Dada on the swing next to Evan (not seen in photo)

Of course, a trip to B'ham would not be complete without a stop at The Summit, the fabulous outdoor shopping center. Here we are at our favorite bookstore, Bar.nes & N.oble. Are you loving Adam's T-shirt as much as I am?!? :o)

Getting a tickle from Aunt Samantha

Watching cartoons on Bobbe & Zayde's bed

Adam loved playing with "Baby Ball" and hiding them in these containers

Saying the Kiddush with Zayde at our Shabbat Dinner

Football... it's in the H genes, what can I say? :o)

Cooking with Bobbe

Lounging with Zayde

SOOO happy

There's my airplane! Bye Bye, Birmingham. Hope to be back again real soon!!!

As you can (literally) see, we had such a fantastic time in Birmingham. Thanks for everything, Bobbe & Zayde!!!

Passover '09 -- B'ham nights 3 & 4

We celebrated Adam's 3rd Passover 2 weeks ago. It's a special holiday for us since Adam was only 5 days only during Passover 2 years ago. It was the first Seder without my Dad and with Adam. Mom, Steven and I (& Adam, of course) had a mini seder in Mom's kitchen... just us. The lights were dimmed low so they wouldn't hurt Little Love's newborn eyes. I nursed him on a "My Brest Friend" pillow on a chair in the kitchen as Steven led the Seder. Adam's Bris was 3 days later (on Day 9 of his life, instead of the traditional Day 8, since Day 8 is the 2nd day of Passover and no driving is permitted). I remember seeing the CUTEST onesie a few days later at Marshall's that said "Kosher for Passover" but it was size 3 months and Adam could only fit in "Just Born" clothes. Anyway... back to the present...

We had a great Passover this year, celebrating the holiday in Birmingham. Adam was able to sit through about 10-20 minutes of the Seder each night (not too bad) and loved singing "Dayenu" (Steven taught it to him last month)! Here are some photos from the 2 nights:

Reading the Passover Haggadah with Zayde (and 24 guests)! :o)

Adam's Passover Seder ensemble :o)

Playing with Aunt Samantha (Adam LOVED this chalkboard/ABC easel that he found!)

Getting a hug from Evan

MMM... matzah

Cooking Matzah Ball soup with Bobbe... he *loved* the soup... at it 2x a day for 3 days!

The H & L Men :o)

Adam LOVES Pesach!

a lovely day

Steven, Adam & I had a lovely afternoon yesterday. The weather was perfect so we took advantage of it by stopping by a neighborhood playground. Adam loved climbing up everything and even went on the "big boy swing" by himself! He never has been a big fan of swings but I think it's b/c he didn't like being contained in the bucket seats (he's not a big fan of the car seat or high chair, either)! I was asking Steven last night why can't all days be weekend days? Wouldn't that be SWEET?!? :o)







Ending the day with Sesame Street & Mama:
Mama loves her little love SOOOO Much!!!

P.S. I usually don't write too much about my favorite Mommy Blogs (there are several that I follow & adore) but this family has really touched my heart: Stellan is a little boy (only 5 months old) who is having heart surgery tomorrow. Please keep Stellan & his family in your thoughts.