Updates on ER visits and a video

Travel with me if you will, back a few weeks. A week and a half, to be precise. Friday night (the 12th) was a tough one for Lincoln. He had a mild fever and was showing some teething systems, so we thought that might be it. Then, after a REALLY rough night and morning, we checked his temperature (again) only to discover that it had skyrocketed to 103.2°F! I almost passed out. So we hurried him to the ER (again! the last time was just 2 months ago). As usual, they have to run all the tests to make sure it's nothing serious, and then left us with the diagnosis of "MAYBE an ear infection, here's a stronger antibiotic (since Lincoln had finished a round of antibiotics for an ear infection only a week before this), but most likely it's a virus. Follow up with your doc if the fever isn't better in 2 or 3 days, and in the meantime, treat with tylenol and motrin." Great. So here are some pictures from Lincoln's SECOND ER visit.

Poor kid. It hurts to see him so despondent.

They put a bracelet (anklet) on his ankle, but it kept slipping off, so
finally they just slapped one of the stickers to his gown.

We included this so you can see how much he's grown from his last ER visit...

Then he was still pretty sicky and unhappy the rest of the weekend and into Monday. But then Monday morning he developed the most spectacular rash. He had all the symptoms for Roseola, but we wanted to make sure it wasn't an allergic reaction to the new antibiotic. So, once again we went to the doctor. He decided it WAS a viral rash, so we could stop the antibiotics and then just wait for the infection to pass. Which it did. It was a rough week, but by Friday morning he was our happy, cheerful baby once more. Here's a picture of his rash that I took at the doctor's office.

Notice he's smiling. WHAT a trooper.

But before I move on the video, we're not quite done with the ER visits. On Sunday (of that same weekend) we took Tyler into the ER to get an infection cut out of his thumb. I won't go into details. Suffice it to say, it hurt less after being cut up than before. I shudder to imagine that pain. And the doctor said we definetly needed to go in - it would have been much worse if we waited. That was TYLER'S first ER visit, and I realized afterward that I didn't take any pictures of that momentous occassion! Somehow I think Tyler's probably ok with that. :)
*UPDATE- Tyler reminded me that though we didn't take any pictures at his ER visit, you CAN see the result in the above picture of Lincoln's rash. That's his bandaged finger in the upper right corner.

And now a cute video of our adorable baby. He's started to roll over onto his stomach if you put him on his back. But then he gets stuck because he can't roll from this stomach to his back. He tries to pull his legs up for a while, but then gives up. I find our comments in the background almost funnier than Lincoln. It's funny how excited we get over the littlest things. :) Enjoy!

Check back in a few days for more pictures and videos of his latest tricks!!

As Promised...

...I have posted some more pictures. Follow the new facebook photo album link to the right (Just Can't Get Enough), and I think we'll be adding even more in the next week or so.

So, now I'd just like to recommend a new book to all you Twilight fans out there. I like Twilight, but there have always been plot elements and characterizations that have kind of bothered me. For example, neither Edward nor Jacob really appeal to me. Bella and Edward have a very codependent relationship, and Jacob's just a jerk (exhibit A - the lip-rape in Eclipse). Now, I loved Breaking Dawn, so don't misunderstand me. But I came across a recommendation for a new, similar book a few months ago (at http:\\www.seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com, in case anyone is interested), and after thinking about it for a little while (NOT an impulse purchase, mind) I decided to buy it at Sam's on Saturday. LOVED it! Had a tough time putting it down. Easy read - granted I skim through a lot of the prose - but I genuinely liked the characters more. The book is Wings by Aprilynne Pike. I suspect she's another LDS author, but I can't confirm that, mostly because I don't feel like doing the research. Anyone else read it? What do you think?

You Can't Make This Stuff Up

The last week and a half has been emotional and crazy. I'll try not to belabor the issue, but here's a little recap.
My grandma (my mom's mom, my last living grandparent) has been sick for a long time. And for the last few years, we knew she didn't have much more time on this earth. So I was not too terribly surprised when my mom called last Sunday morning to tell me Grandma had passed away during the night. I was sad, of course, but I also knew she was MUCH happier reunited with her eternal companion and freed from the frailties of growing old.
Of course we made arrangements to fly out for the funeral. The plan was to leave Thursday afternoon and fly into Salt Lake City (the funeral was on Saturday in Blanding, the farthest south you can get in Utah). We also figured that since we'd be in Utah anyway, we'd take one extra day to see some of Tyler's family that live in Utah, so we'd leave on Monday.
All of this went according to plan. We saw cousins and aunts and uncles and great-aunts and new in-laws and the whole shebang. It was a whirlwind trip, but it was worth it.
Lincoln was amazing. We rented a car which I fell in love with (Nissan Rogue, check it out). Part of the reason I fell in love with it is that when Lincoln got fussy in the back seat, I could climb into the back and feed him a bottle or what-not then climb back to the front when he was happy. That car saved us a fair few hours on all that driving we had to do, let me tell you.
So things were going according to plan until we went to the airport to check in to leave on Monday afternoon. "So sorry," they said, "but your flight's been delayed and you'll miss your connection in Denver." So there we were. No real option but to wait for the flight the next day, but that meant one MORE day of missed work. We were already pushing it.
It turned into a pleasant evening, though, and the flight back was smooth, and all was well with the world.
Until 11 o'clock last night.
That's when Lincoln started screaming bloody murder. And aside from a few fitful moments of quiet, he didn't stop until we finally got him into the doctor's office. It's much like when something's going wrong with your program you're running and you call someone over to look at it, and suddenly it works great? Tell me you've been there.
Luckily the doctor didn't dismiss our concerns, and found out Lincoln had a double ear infection! Poor kid. He'd been amazing on the flights, so I wonder when they really flared up?
So, I took Lincoln, filled the prescriptions, and then spent the afternoon working from home. Which, by the way, is easier said than done with a sick infant.
But back to the title of this post. I had GENUINE and UNAVOIDABLE excuses (twice in a row!) not to go in to work. The loss in pay is frustrating, but so is the havoc my schedule's been through the last week and a half.
I need another vacation...

P.S. Pictures to follow, don't worry.