Update

Last weekend we took a quick trip down to SC for my Grandmother's funeral. It was sad but also really great to spend time with our family.

Our flight was early Saturday morning, and the service was at 11. We were so afraid of missing the plane-- and the funeral-- (we did, in fact, miss our flight to Greenville three years ago, and ended up spending the entire day at the airport) that we left the house at 3:30. James woke up and stayed up! He was singing in the car, exclaiming "Bus! Airplane!" as we rode from long-term parking to the terminal, and happily running laps around the gates of Terminal A. He wasn't at all interested in eating breakfast. When we got on the plane he promptly shut his eyes and tipped right over. Before we even pulled away from the gate! He slept across our laps until they made the announcement that we were approaching GSP. We thought he felt a bit warm, but chalked it up to the early waking and the excitement of the morning.

He had a brief opportunity to exercise (up & down the stairs) and eat (he had just a few bites of oatmeal) at the hotel before we all headed to the Mortuary. Then he slept through the service. This was quite handy for us, but totally out of character for James. We stopped on the way to lunch to buy Tylenol. He was still pretty hot, and we felt certain it was a fever. At lunch he still wasn't interested in eating.

Seemed like teething-- the bottom molars have come all the way in, as have the top front teeth. The top molars, however, are just bursting through. Fever. No appetite. One runny, clear nostril.

He was SUPER hot that evening. And was asking for more Tylenol even though he'd just had some. He also was begging for "nuk" (milk) which Dan ran out to get. We gave him Tylenol every 4 hours, but he was still like a little charcoal briquet in bed. So sad.

On Sunday James had an appetite for breakfast-- he ate some oatmeal and most of a waffle. Dan went out to get a thermometer (and a carseat-- the car rental place had given us a toddler booster with no harness. HIGHLY unsafe for our lil' guy.) and James's temp was over 101. We stuck with the steady doses of Tylenol and also got some juice boxes (it's getting crazy up in here!) in an attempt to move away from milk for the congestion. He downed one juice box, and then was over that. Only wanted milk. Lunch was some bread and yogurt.

Monday he seemed a bit better in spirits, but still had a low fever and didn't want to eat much aside from breakfast. Kept the Tylenol coming.

No fever Tuesday. Also no appetite. We got on the plane at 5ish which is dinner time. He hadn't eaten lunch and had refused the attempts we'd made with snacks. On the plane he ate a ridiculous amount of Goldfish crackers and had some milk (after getting all offended when we'd offer him juice or water).

We decided to send him to his grandparents instead of daycare on Wednesday. He had a temp of 100.4 when I picked him up. No appetite.

Thursday morning he woke up a bit happier and asked for eggs for breakfast. But he kept whimpering as he ate them. Then he was crying, so I brought him into my lap. Then, for the first time in his life, he threw up. So I stayed home and called the doctor. They said he didn't need to come in, that it was probably a virus, to stay away from dairy and call back next week if he's still sick. Great, because all this kid wants is milk.

We made it through the day without incident until around 6ish when he threw up again.

On Friday he woke up really happy and I was sure he'd turned the corner. I gave him a choice of oatmeal or pancakes,and he chose pancakes. He ate most of one then threw it up shortly thereafter. He was back at his grandparents' house for the day where he took a three hour nap and didn't eat or drink much. He had an egg for dinner and then a bit of milk before bed. He woke up just before midnight to hurl.

This morning we've been puke and fever free thus far. He's eaten cantaloupe and a pancake and had a bit of juice and more water than he's had in the past few days. We did get an appointment with the pediatrician for 11:45, mostly to make sure he's not too dehydrated.

Grandmother

Random

Here are some of James's new favorites:
* Doing a "split" and announcing "Split! Split!"
* Scooting around while sitting on his bum announcing "Slide! Slide!"
* Picking up his toys
* Washing his hands
* Throwing away trash (and non-trash)
* Announcing names of letters and numbers
* Reciting names
* Eating big lunches every day at 'school'
* Saying "fi-fi" whenever he passes gas or poops
* Calling cow's milk, milk ("nuk") instead of water.
* Saying "Song!" as soon as (or before) he gets in the car (and until we turn on a CD)

And here are some cute new photos:

Cutest. Backpack. Ever.

Nana & Pops gave James this amazingly cute penguin pack whilst we were at Edisto. On a recent visit to Grandma & Grandpa's, he carried it (and we left the ol' diaper bag at home).

New Kicks

I haven't taken a photo of James in his cute new shoes yet, but here they are. Love them.

Somebody really loves his new truck...

James has pretty much not put this truck down since he got it from Grandma (who got it at a garage sale) yesterday. This was naptime today.

Week One a Success! (now with photos)

So... the blog has been ignored for a while-- it's been pretty busy around here!

Last week was the last full week of vacation (during which I had a two day workshop), so James & I were maximizing our fun. Lots of playdates, pool visits and even a visit to have lunch with Daddy at his office.

This week we headed to school. My first day (inservice) was Tuesday. James's school was having inservice that day as well, so Dan stayed home for Daddy-Son day. This worked out really well for me because I didn't feel rushed to go pick James up and was able to stay at school long enough to get everything done that needing doing before the students arrived the next morning.

On Wednesday, James headed off for his first full day of daycare. Dan graciously offered to drop him off so that I wouldn't feel rushed or sad on my first day with students of my own. Other than not wanting to wash his hands (which they have to do each morning upon arrival, as well as before snack & lunch), James was thrilled to be there. Dan, on the other hand, was a bit sad. When I arrived that afternoon (after a long, but good first day of fifth grade), James happily showed me around the room and didn't seem to anxious to leave.

Yesterday was much the same-- Dan dropped off, James wasn't a fan of handwashing, and I picked up. James had just gotten up from his nap when I got there, and he was much more interested in visiting the library than leaving with Mommy. After he'd looked at a couple of train books, I was able to entice him away with the allure of an afternoon visit to the playground. We had fun on the swings (James even rode the big-boy swing!) and slides before heading home for supper.

Today was another good one. It took me half an hour to get James to leave-- today it was a car/truck/bus puzzle. We've been really pleased with how happy James has been. Each morning he smiles and talks about the train toy when we tell him he's going to his class. He's been eating all of his lunch food and getting good naps (which totally amazes me-- I'd love to see him go down for a few hours on a mat on the floor at home! ha!) His teachers tell us both how well he's doing and how smart he is. They've been impressed with his knowledge of body parts and the alphabet as well as his overall language skills.

It has certainly been an adjustment (and will continue to be so) for me to start juggling all the stuff at home with my responsibilities at school. I've never claimed to be a super housewife, but I was starting to find my stride. Now I'm just exhausted and so very thankful for a)a three day weekend and b) a four day workweek next week. I've managed to get up at 5 to run each day, brew and imbibe some coffee, hang out with James each afternoon, do my schoolwork at night after James goes to bed, and collapse in bed. This weekend, among other things, we'll work on getting things cleaned up and organized to help get a routine established for the week.


James checking out his lunch on the first day of school.

James looking stripe-tastic with his jacket on, ready to head to class.
After school, playing in the yard.