Two sick kids + jealousy =

one tired mama!

Addison: Let's hold hands.

Kate: I don't think so, dude.

Actually, we have turned a corner in the jealousy department and things are looking up. Addison and Kate have given each other hugs and have played with each other a bit in the past couple of days. They especially love taking a bath together and shrieks of laughter are par for the course.

The bigger problem is that they were both sick at the same time. Addison has a cold / ear infection, which seems to be clearing up nicely, and Kate has hand-foot-and-mouth virus. (Seriously, Kate just doesn't seem to get the run-of-the-mill colds anymore.) She is so miserable, as this virus causes ulcers in the mouth, so eating and drinking is painful. Poor, poor girl.

And, a tiny pity party --- poor, poor mama. Sick kids only want mama (at least in y house), so Monday - Friday was spent with them glued to me (which is great), and fighting each other for my lap (not so great). I'd get them calmed down and then, when Scott would come home, they'd both start crying all over again and run to me, each one clinging onto a leg. Poor Scott -- he must have felt like a leper.

Kate will probably be sick for several more days, but Addison seems to be feeling great. They are both starting to sleep through the night (praise God!) so we're all getting more rest. Nothing like being a little sleep-deprived to magnify a situation.

Other events of the week:

Beach day on Saturday (our first full day home) - pics to follow in a separate post

Church on Sunday. I volunteered to stay in the preschool class with the kids and Addison did great. He clung to me for the most part, but got down and played when some boys had some cars out. :-) And Kate did not seem to have a problem with any of it, either, which was a real blessing.

Trip to the park on Monday which started fun, but ended in a lot of whining. It was on Monday that we realized they were both under the weather.

Melissa left Addison with Scott on Wednesday night so she could meet with a book discussion group at church. Kate went to child care at church (we didn't know she had the hand-foot-mouth virus at the time, just thought it was a cold -- and someone always has a cold at child care). As the door was closing, Addison was screaming "mama," "mama," "mama." They survived.

Addison's appt. with the pediatrician:

~He weighs in at 25 pounds and is about 35 inches tall.
~All of his lab work has been perfect so far. :-)
~We got referrals to the pediatric opthalmologist, cardiologist (just to make sure his heart surgery that he already had did the trick), surgical neurologist (NOT for surgery - just to look at the back of his head, which is extremely flat, JUST LIKE Kate's), and some others.

It's going to be a busy summer.

Although it's been a tough week, it's also been full of joy. It is SO MUCH FUN to have two kids. Watching them play separately or together is fascinating and getting to know Addison is like falling in love. I'm so grateful to have the summer to enjoy his silliness (and the boy is silly, let me tell ya), the relationship he and Kate are building, and just being a family. We are tired, but we are so blessed.

The Lucky Ones