Christmas Adventures in Houston

Well, our first Christmas with Noah was wonderful. He enjoyed playing with Santa and Daddy. He was more excited about the play phone than the Tonka 3-in-1, but I say give it time. It was also fun to spend Christmas morning with just the three of us and I got a new digital camera. It is the Canon Rebel XTI. The exact one I wanted. I will post pics from it as soon as we get back to VA. We then left for my mom's house and had a wonderful day. Stephen got a set of golf clubs and he is very excited for spring to come around, so he can play. The animals were delivered to my mom so they could have company while we are gone and little did we realize that this would be a great thing.

I am excited to report that Noah made it through the airplane ride like a champ. We got a lot of wonderful compliments and people assured us that they wouldn't mind being on a plane with us again. Luckily, it seems that Noah has Stephen's ear drums and plane flight doesn't bother him. We arrived in Houston and all was well until Wednesday evening. Noah had been coughing, but not much that we were concerned. We figured we would keep him away from Charlie since he was so small. In the night, Noah started to develop problems breathing. Luckily, Chips, my mother-in-law, is a Vice President of a hospital and family care practice. So needless to say getting in to see the doctor was not difficult. He was diagnosed with RSV which is not a big deal for anyone over 1, but a very big deal for our wee one. I was so happy I didn't go over to Jenni's house and expose Henry to this nastiness. The doctor gave Noah a steroid shot, worst shot ever. He slept a bunch and still wheezed a bit and started to return to his good natured self.

By 4 AM on Friday, good mood was over. Noah woke up crying and barely able to breathe. He was rushed to the ER and put on oxygen. By 10 AM, we were admitted into Hermann Memorial Southwest Hospital and we have been here ever since. Noah is better. Today we were able to take him off of oxygen, but he still receives nebulizer treatments ever 4 hours. Initially, we were going home today, but we have changed our flight until Friday. The doctor believes that if everything keeps getting better we should be able to be released on Thursday. Keep your fingers crossed.

My boss is fabulous. We contacted her and she is taking care of everything at work for me, so my classroom will be taken care of for the rest of the week. Did I tell you how I can't wait to get home and relax a bit?

Colds All Around

Today, I was supposed to go to Jenni's house for our annual ornament exchange. I actually managed to have mine completed this year and I get Stephen's cold. I decided passing on illness to a very small wee one was fairly contemptible, so I stayed home. My little one seems to be holding on, but is starting to sound stuffy, so we got cold medicine for him just in case. Isn't there some saying about the family that gets sick together...yadda, yadda, yadda

Christmas is coming along well overall. My mother is setting up most of the day preparations at her house, so we can get our together before we leave for Houston. And all I have to manage to is get us packed, my house straightened, and the animals over to their grandmother's for the week. The interesting thing is that although the RAV4 holds a lot, it will not manage all six of us (Stephen, me, Noah, Willie, Jack, and Callie) and all the presents, so we are breaking it up into two days.

I have also discovered that keeping up with a blog is a definite commitment, so I am working on becoming more diligent about it. Thankfully, Noah has started to return to his normal bedtime at around 8:30. We spent two weeks with bedtime being at 11:30 and I couldn't manage to get anything done. I enjoy Christmas, but find I fall behind in all areas of my life during this time. Maybe 2008 will be the year that I manage some efficiency in my life.

Babies and Glasses

All my friends are having their babies. It is so very cool. Jenni had her little boy, Henry, today. I am very excited to see him and hold a little one. Noah has gotten so big and is just changing by leaps and bounds it will be nice to hold a not so wiggly one.

After six months, I finally have my new glasses. It only took four times to get it right. (yes, I recognize this as the complaint that it is and not to worry my bracelet is now on my right wrist.) I do love them though. They are very flexible so I don't have to worry as Noah rips them off of my face.

Noah has his two bottom teeth. I can tell by his behavior that more are coming, but I'm not sure where they are coming in at. He is almost crawling and I am so excited. My little boy is slowly becoming a toddler.

Complaint - Free Living

Stephen and I have ventured into the world of complaint-free living. We are supposed to aim for 21 days without complaints. The longest I've been able to manage is 28 hours. Luckily I slept for about 6 of them so I got a reprieve. Today I had to move my bracelet twice, so my first day begins again. If I can get to 10:15 tomorrow, then I am good for day 1. Woohoo!! Keep your fingers crossed.