Q-Tip Fascination

It appears my kid has a fetish for Q-Tips or what he sometimes calls "Q-bip" or "bip".

For several months now, every morning when he strolls into our bathroom as we're showering and getting ready for the day, he spots the Q-tip dispenser located on the back of the toilet, and asks for his "Q-bip". So to avoid a meltdown, we hand him one or two (what is a wasted q-tip anyway).

He then happily strolls through the house twirling it between his fingers. Occasionally he'll try and put them in his ears or even ours, but then like clockwork, he bends it in half. At that point he throws it into the "dirty" otherwise known to us adults as the garbage.

So what is the fascination with Q-tips anyway? Who knows, but they make Drew happy on a daily basis and it's a cheap toy. Silly little boy.

Sunday Randomness

We're having a wonderful time visiting with Tata & Abuela in Los Angeles. I'll have updates on the trip later this week. However, I figured I'd share a few pictures taken over the past week and a half.

Drew is really into going to play outside. When we go out back he really enjoys playing with the sidewalk chalk. Sometimes he draws, but more likely you'll spot him rolling the chalk back and forth.

This past week while Drew was sick with a raging fever he spent much of his time simply in his diaper. Anything to cool him off. At one point on Wednesday (the day we saw that 105-degree fever) I found him hiding alongside the TV.


Quite an odd place to play with your toys.. perhaps the fever made him do it?

Speaking of fevers, today is the first day since last Sunday he has been 100% fever-free! Yay. He's still a little hoarse, has a cough that won't quit, and talks like his throat still hurts. But his appetite is definitely back and the fevers are gone. What more could a mother want?

Scrappers Saturday

Illness update - as of this posting 8:45 am on Saturday.... Drew is still asleep. This HAS to be a good sign, since Drew never sleeps past 7am. However last night before bed, he still had a fever of 100-degrees. He's a trooper as we enjoy some time in Southern California with Tata & Abuela. I'll keep you updated.

Last weekend, I managed to get a few hours of scrapping in at Grammy & GrampC's. Drew meanwhile had a great time trying to interrupt Mommy... yes Daddy was there, but he was busy with GrampC and baseball (nobody's bitter or anything hehe).

Here are a few pictures from the completed projects - I managed to finish 3 or 4 pages in a 7 hour period. Keep in mind we paused for meals, wine - oh, and Drew. I cannot remember if I got that 4th page done (stinkin' wine ;)).

Cousins - I was just trying out a few punches and tools I had with this spread. I created it on my own.


Easter 2009 - This page was inspired by a sample book my Mom had. For the lettering I used our new Cricut :) I do want to make another lettering (shadow) over the words "Easter 2009", but I need to find the color paper I want to use. So I guess this one is a work in progress...


And here's why Daddy was busy that afternoon....


Yes Daddy is drinking some beer out of a measuring cup - chased with a cheese & cracker spread with a green olive on top. Classy!

OK in all fairness, Daddy didn't spend the entire day drinking... he was busy watching sports and hitting up a few garage sales.

Road to Recovery

It seems the worst of Drew's fever is finally behind us. Talk about a stressful week filled with second-guessing the doctors, and worrying about his lack of eating, sleeping and well those 105 degree temperatures.

I am happy to say he went to sleep last night hovering at the 100-degree mark. While he's still sleeping right now, I felt his torso (where he carries fevers), and he feels "normal", well at least he's not radiating heat like he has been.

His throat is still pretty swollen, so we're still contending with that. Everything I've read about tonsillitis online, says it can remain that way typically for a week, but in worst cases up to two. However he's already starting to become the sweet little boy we know, and is really getting active - asking to play outside, running down the hall saying "get-choo" (aka chase me Daddy), and his appetite is returning. So I think we're finally on the road to recovery!

Thank you everyone for your prayers and well wishes!

Fever Update

Yesterday was extremely stressful and frightening. Just as we thought he was starting to beat the fever (it got as low as 99.6) Drew woke up from a nap with a record 105.1!!! Dave and I instantly went into panic mode, and made an emergency call into Drew's Doctor.

They gave us a call back within about 5 minutes and simply said to keep doing what we're doing - giving a mix of Motrin & Tylenol. We could give a bath, no cooler than a regular bath... to see if that helps. But the Dr. said they are aware of the situation, and he's being monitored... so we do not need to go to ER until Drew reaches 106 or higher. (WHAAATTTT????) The doctor said he suspected that the 105+ fever was the highest we'd see, since it's pretty rare as it is.

I was sort of calmed down by the doctor's demeanor, he carefully talked me through everything.. but still I'm a mess of nerves even today. It didn't help that no one got a lot of sleep last night.

Drew was thrashing & kicking all night - waking every hour to hour-and-a-half, screaming and inconsolable for about 5-15 minutes, before he fell back asleep. We have no idea what it was - whether he hurt somewhere (he's usually able to tell us if something has a boo-boo), so I think it may very well be he was pissed off that he woke himself up. He's having trouble breathing, and is snoring - I think due to so much drainage, which is irritating his throat. Every time he let out a big snore, was when he woke up (now if Daddy's snoring would wake Daddy up...).

We were told to go back in and be seen by the doctor if the temps reach 103 or higher today - and by then our throat culture results should be in. Please please say a few prayers that we don't see those temps, and that our restless night was the end of this whole ordeal. This poor kid is trying so hard to be himself, but the fevers are definitely taking their toll on him.

Chronicles of an Illness

So Drew is still experiencing extremely high fevers - ranging from 100.5-104.5. Most of the time he's hovering between 101-103ish. The puking and diarrhea seem to slowly subsiding, well the puking more so. He still isn't eating much, but his throat is incredibly sore.

After another afternoon of nearly 104 degree fevers I called the doctor and brought him back in. Drew was starting to get pretty weak and very unlike him. So in my panic he went back to the doctor where he was diagnosed with Tonsillitis and we're waiting for the results of the second strep throat culture. I was a little concerned when they did the swab and came out with blood on the swab - I've never seen that before.

In the meantime, no medicine since it's viral until the throat culture says otherwise. So it's plenty of Motrin & Tylenol for the little guy. Every once in a while we see the normal Drew come through - and here are a few things that make him happy....



All I can say is thank goodness for YouTube - here's the full commercial if you're interested. Drew seriously has us rewind this commercial when we see it on TV, and he's asked to watch it on YouTube about 30 times a day. We play it, and he says "Again". Needless to say "pahsi" goes nigh-night many times a day.

And then last night Drew's appetite came back for a little while. All he wanted was his waffle and 'roni. Oh, and normally Drew won't eat anything unless it's cut up.. that's what makes the waffle video so funny to us.

Another Sick Day

Looks like Mommy & Drew are going to be staying home today for another sick day. Overnight Drew's temp reached 104! That's the highest we've ever seen - previously it was only the 103 range.

Sunday after church, we changed Drew from his clothes into his comfy's and he felt a little warm - fever was 100.4. A short time later was when the vomiting started (a total of 3 or 4 times that day). So Dave picked up some Pedialyte, and we've been putting that that into him - oh did I mention that he has a case of diarrhea? Poor kid just can't catch a break.

Doctor's verdict... it's a virus and it needs to run its course. That could be a few days. We're to report back on Friday if the fever is still over 101. Rapid Strep Test came back negative, but his tonsils are red and swollen.

What an Arm

Drew begged for us to take him outside on Thursday evening. It was the first summer-like day of June, so after dinner we went out to play. Instantly Drew flocked for his "Things" or little spikey seed-like things that fall from the tree, just to do his favorite outside past time..



He's obviously as impressed with his baseball arm as his Daddy is.

"Gee-Boo"

While others may play "peek-a-boo", Drew plays "gee-boo"



Drew is quite vain, he likes to look at himself on the video camera. So I flipped the LCD screen out so he could see himself, well apparently it leads to a game of peek-a-boo. Of course as I was loading the video onto the computer we had to watch it about 2-dozen times... and I'm not exaggerating! Is that normal?

Saving Lives

I can now say I'm a 2 time blood donor! On Wednesday I took part in a blood drive for the business complex where I work. The first time I donated blood, in January or February, I made the mistake of going to pick Drew up from day care about an hour after donating.

It turns out lifting him up and over the baby gate was enough "heavy lifting" to cause me to pass out. Despite that hurdle for my first blood donation, I decided my slight inconvenience wasn't as important as what I was doing - giving life to someone else.

So I encourage everyone to look into donating blood! You can find out where to go in your area by clicking here.

Here are some great reasons for donating (courtesy of the American Red Cross & Blood Bank of San Diego - thank you google).

1. Every 2 seconds, someone in the US needs blood.
2. More than 38,000 blood donations are needed every day.
3. Shortages of all blood types usually occur during the summer and winter holidays.
4. Blood Donations is a simple 4 Step Process: registration & medical history, mini-physical, donations & refreshments (the cookies alone are worth the donation in my opinion).
5. The average adult has 10-12 pints of blood, and only 1 pint is donated.
6. One donation can save the lives of 3 people.
7. My favorite reason - Since a pint is a pound, you lose a pound every time you donate.
8. You can donate every 56 days

Isn't losing that pound worth the donation alone? Oh and for the record, Daddy was on Drew pick-up duty.

Munch-a-Bunch

Our picky eater has a new favorite food - Fritos! He was able to try them for the first time last week, and he was instantly hooked.

Junk food, Drew will eat by the truckloads - healthy food, yeah right. He pukes at the sight of it.

For the last few days he's awakened in the morning begging for the famous corn chips. But being the good parents we are, we say no.

It's insane his fascination with them, he'd eat them with every meal if we let him. Go figure. Guess he's taking after Auntie Lisa... she had a "munch-a-bunch" fettish when she was younger too.

Softball Fun

Daddy plays softball for two leagues - Pleasanton on Mondays and Walnut Creek on Wednesday evenings. Well this past Monday the game was early enough that we all were able to tag along (it doesn't happen very often).

Daddy loves having an audience and hit another homerun for his favorite fan. Unfortunately Drew was busy playing and wandering off that the said audience missed the action - oops. Good thing Daddy's team won!

Drew kept trying to wander into the dugout and afterward enjoyed getting Daddy's attention - his favorite, wearing Daddy's sweaty hat... ewww!


Throughout the game, Drew was busy playing with the little boy from the birthday party this past weekend. The two of them had a great time just laughing and mimicking each other. Boys...

Waterlogged

Sunday afternoon we headed to the Robert Livermore Community Center for a 3rd Birthday party. The little boy of the hour was the son of one of Dave's softball teammates.

Despite the cooler, breezy weather, Drew was anxious to get into the pool designed for young kids (perhaps a little older than his 21 months) and play with all the water spouts and slides.

Since we knew it was a little cooler, and we weren't sure what to expect, we used a swimsuit that had built in floaties in the suit. So what if it was designed for someone who is taller than his 32ish inches - it worked.

Lucky for us the water was pretty shallow, but that didn't stop Drew from clinging to Daddy the entire time they were in the water (maybe 20 minutes). Doesn't Drew know we equipped him with the floaties for this very reason?

After a few trips around the water spouts, Drew had enough and we went in to enjoy pizza and cake - well Drew enjoyed the chips anyway. Dave and I thought the park was a lot of fun, and we're looking forward to going back sometime this summer when it's warmer! Here are a few more candid shots from the water park.

Scrapper's Saturday

This past week I was lucky enough to get a night out to do some scrapping. From 7pm - 10pm I managed to get a 2-page spread done. Sure it may not seem like a lot, but I got to play with some new tools and of course being creative... well it takes time.

The last time I did some scrapbooking I shared a few pages with everyone, and it seemed to go over pretty well. Since I'm always looking for ideas, I figured I'd share my pages from time to time as well - hopefully to help you find some inspiration.


I was able to borrow some of the Disney paper on pg 2 and a few stickers from my friend Lisa (thanks again!), and I also picked up a few Disney embellishments at Target over the weekend. The "Disneyland" was from a letter punch - the name brand I used here is escaping me at the moment.

The Wheels on the Car Go 'Round & 'Round...

Ok, so maybe the song is about buses, but Drew's thrilled about his cars!


Last week Tata & Abuela sent Drew some cars along with other treats in the mail, and Ms. Stephanie got Drew his first official Hot Wheels. He's had so much fun with cars, that we picked up a few Hot Wheels as well. Drew is absolutely obsessed with spinning the wheels and rolling the cars through the kitchen.

If you talk to Dave's parents you'll learn that spinning wheels 'round & 'round for hours is a hereditary thing. Dave did the same thing at Drew's age.


Thanks again everyone for the cars!

On a side note, today Drew's 21 months old! Is it really possible that he'll be 2 in a few months?!

Que?

¿Qué es tan gracioso?



That's right, Drew is brushing up on his Spanish. While Daddy had day care duty last week during Drew's illness, he started learning how to count 1-10 in Spanish. Apparently this time around there was something funny about the numbers...

And what is up with that #7 being so tired?

P.S. In the spirit of upcoming Flag Day & 4th of July, the blog is taking on a patriotic look. We'll put back the original look & feel after the 4th.

Rebel in the Making

Drew is a rebel in the making with his Mohawk wearing bath hair! Now instead of his birthday suit, he needs some goth wearing attire and he'd be a true "bad boy".

Do you think this is his sign that he needs a haircut?

For the record, we successfully gave him a haircut on Monday night... no puking! This is the first time since his birthday a haircut hasn't resulted in vomit. It's the simple things that get me excited.

Wiggle-Mania

We're planning to "Go Bananas" this July. As an early 2nd birthday present for Drew we're taking him to see a live performance of his favorite show... "The Wiggles".

Just see how much Drew loves his "Johnny"... otherwise known as the Wiggles.

On Sunday we made the leap to just buy the tickets for the Show in July. We were tossing back and forth whether we should really go to the show (it's in San Jose during rush hour) or whether we should try and make an Elmo Show next weekend.

At the Ticketmaster location we let Drew make the decision - whether to see Johnny or Elmo. Guess who won... the more expensive option!

Honestly, we're really looking forward to the show - his first official concert. Dave & I get so tired of the Wiggles movies (we are known to actually hide the DVD's), but Drew absolutely loves them, that we're thrilled to do this for him. Should be a good time!

Beach Bums

WARNING - you will find an enormous amount of photos in this posting....

This past Saturday spent the entire day as beach bums enjoying the Santa Cruz sun.

This was Drew's first trip to the ocean, and we were accompanied by Ms. Stephanie, Brian, Troy and Mason. The last time Dave and I went to Santa Cruz, I was 7 1/2 months pregnant with Drew.

While we brought sandwiches for lunch this time around, the fried foods from the Boardwalk were calling our names... but we kept our will power. Although Dave & Brian did try a fried Twinkie... just to see if it was all that.... not really.

What a gorgeous day we picked for this trip - a little breezy, blowing sand into our food from time-to-time - but it wasn't too hot.

Ms. Stephanie with her boys - Troy (2 YO in white, Mason in Stripes 3 YO)


After playing near the water - or in the water (Mason took a hilarious spill) - and spending some time in the sand, we made our way to the Boardwalk. The kids all got a chance to ride some of the rides.

Here Drew & Mommy are riding the cars
Notice we're representing the Bay Area, by supporting Jeff Gordon?


Daddy & Drew riding on the Dragon
Clearly Daddy is far more excited than Drew

Glimpse into the future...
Troy: Oh Sh*# we just got pulled over. My parents are going to kill me!
Drew: Hi Officer, is there a problem?


Another Glimpse into the future..
Mason driving Troy & Drew around to pick up chicks...


Just a classic shot!
Left to Right - Mason, Drew & Troy


We had so much fun, and finished the night with dinner at Brian & Stephanie's - where the boys stayed up far too late, but had such a blast! This was seriously the most fun we've had in such a long time.

Drew's "Nini"... or is it "Noni"

Ms. Stephanie is one of the "in" people as far as Drew's concerned. For a while now he's had a bit of stranger anxiety, but Ms. Stephanie has been a daily part of Drew's life since he was 4 months old. That's when she began watching him during the work week.

Drew has many names for Ms. Stephanie - "Ms. Stephy", "Nini" & "Noni", but doesn't "Ms. Stephy" take cute pictures??

You may recall Drew had developed a bath-phobia, roughly around the 1 year mark - and it lasted about 6 months!

I mentioned this phobia to Ms. Stephanie a few months back, and I'm convinced she single handedly turned that around! This picture is from when Drew was 18 months old, and one of his first baths at her house that put him "back in the saddle". I suppose it helps that she has 2 boys that can keep him company in the bath.. and calm his nerves. He now loves the bath!

Going, Going, Gone

Daddy had Drew day care duty on Friday since he was still contagious until lunchtime and couldn't return to Ms. Stephanie's. So rather than torturing everyone we kept him home.

It's no surprise that Drew is a stinker when it comes to naptime and bedtime. While in Daddy's care he finally succumbed to sleep while snacking on some fruit loops and watching a movie - on the floor!

Dave said he slept like this for about an hour - right on the living room floor. Guess all the extra food in the past 24 hours sent him into a food coma (he hasn't eaten much since Monday night).

Hey we'll take his eating and sleeping however and wherever we can!

Good news, he's cleared to return to day care on Monday.

Quarantine Lifted

At noon today the quarantine will be lifted - WooHoo! But that still means we have to keep him home from day care, as Hand, Foot, Mouth Disease is contagious for 24 hours after the fever breaks. His temperature was significantly less when Drew woke up on Thursday.

It did appear to be climbing some throughout the morning (he had the nerve to wake up at 4:30am), but by lunchtime he was completely normal. He remained normal the remainder of the day. There are still a few signs that his throat is bothering him, but for the most part he's improving.

So how do you like the makeshift bed? My co-worker Rachael let us borrow this really cool kids inflatable bed/sleeping bag. At first Drew didn't know what to make of it, but finally I managed to get him to enjoy his juice in it. Now if he would only fall asleep here, rather than our bed....

Perhaps there's hope of that now that he's feeling better.

Baby's Friend

Drew's friend "Baby" has some competition. Meet "Baby".

That's right, his Prayer Bear is facing some competition from the other "baby", the precious moments doll. It's really quite adorable to see him cuddle with his two friends.

They both say prayers and I think he loves the fact that the toys talk to him. He's really cuddling them at night, and they both came to day care with him last week. Of course he walked in the door at Ms. Stephanie's and he tossed them aside for the much more appealing toys at her house.

But really it's interesting to see him interact with them, giving them hugs and kisses and talking to them. He's really starting to get quite the imagination.

Dodger Dog has made a comeback though - his longtime favorite friend. We'll see if we can capture that reunion one of these days.

***illness update... Fever appears to be breaking this morning... however he needs to be fever free for 24 hours to go back to day care. Dave & I are taking turns staying home with him and adjusting our work schedules accordingly. It was a rough evening last night, fever was still in the 101.5 range, but he seemed to be having a harder time with it. Not to mention he's having trouble sleeping (up this morning at 4:30am) and eating... Poor thing.

Quarantined

On Monday night I picked Drew up from day care and he fell asleep in the car (he's apparently on another nap boycott). We easily made the transfer from the car seat to our bed so he could continue his nap.

He woke up absolutely miserable! He felt warm, and so I checked his temp... 101.5. So I gave him some Tylenol to bring it down, and made a call to Grammy to put her on standby that we may need her to keep an eye on Drew on Tuesday (Mommy & Daddy had meetings we couldn't miss).

Later that night, Drew & I fell asleep in my bed and around 11pm I woke up feeling nothing but heat coming from my bed-mate. The fever climbed to 103. Last time this happened Drew had Roseola and we panicked and went to ER. This time the much more experienced Mom in me decided to give him a dose of Motrin and wait for the Pediatrician to open the next morning.

Grammy arrived and helped us out tremendously by taking Drew to the Dr. One look inside his mouth, and another temperature reading (102+), and the diagnosis was clear... Hand, Foot & Mouth Disease. LOVELY! He's now quarantined to our house until the fever breaks in 3-4 days, and his mouth is filled with sores, that will likely spread to his tongue and beyond. Right now they're contained to the back of his throat.

So we're home-bound and Daddy & Mommy are rotating who's on "Drew Duty". Hopefully he'll be well enough to go back to Ms. Stephanie's by Thursday or Friday.

We're not clear where he picked it up, but suspicious about the kiddie pool we visited over the weekend or perhaps from a grocery cart (although we are good about still using the cart cover), but anything's possible. At this point it no longer matters... now just to cross our fingers that no one else at day care comes down with it....

So There's No Confusion about Loyalty...

Just so there's no confusion about where Daddy & Drew's loyalties lie in the baseball world... here's a picture from this weekend. It was a "big game" between the Dodgers and Cubs, and I dressed Drew in some Dodger Blue. Daddy then had to follow suit, while we hit a few garage sales.

You may recall we let Uncle Matt have access to Drew while we weren't there and it lead to a temporary insanity by Drew. Click here if you forget what I mean...

Oh and yes, we're well aware we're going to hear from our Pastor about the Dodger's performance against the Cubs. But hey, my boys are true fans and will support their team through all ups and downs.

Pooltime, BBQ, & Friends - The Good Life

The best part of summertime has to be the pool parties, BBQ's and friends! That's exactly what we did this past Sunday. After naptime we joined my friend Lisa and her family at the neighborhood pool. There were probably 20-25 of us relaxing in the pool and just enjoying everyone's company.

Drew managed to get some time in the kiddie pool, while the older kids played football, baseball and swam in the bigger pool.

Drew's buddy Mason (Ms. Stephanie's oldest son) was happily hanging out with Drew for dessert - chocolate chip cookies.


Drew of course can't forget his other best bud - Troy, who's Ms. Stephanie's youngest and is 9 months older than Drew.

The kiddie pool was pretty cool, with little fountains of water coming out the side of the pool. I guess Troy thought you may need to do some snorkeling in the fountains...

It was a nice day, but we can't wait to go back when it's even warmer out. Thanks for a great afternoon Lisa!