Shopping Trip

I'm not usually very much of a shopper (I don't have the patience for it) but this weekend I went with the other women in my small group on an overnight shopping trip. It was so fun. We left Friday evening and drove to our hotel right by South Center mall. Dinner that night was at the Cheesecake Factory...yum! On Saturday morning we were at the mall at 10:00 and didn't leave until 4:00. I have never spent that much time at a mall in one day but it was great. I took my camera but forgot to take pictures except for at our morning stop at Starbucks. Here they are.



Lisa and Lyssie



Tricia and Robbi



Sam got to come too and he was so good. He was very content in his stroller. He was running a little bit of a fever after getting shots at his six month check-up the day before. While in the Macy's dressing room we gave him a little Tylenol which he promptly threw up. Lyssie did her best to catch it but ended up with a little bit in her cupped hand and the rest on the dressing room floor. We did manage to get some down him and he felt better after that.

Fall Festival

On Wednesday night our church had their annual Fall Festival. Here are some pictures from the event.


The Queen of Hearts ready to go.


It's hard to get strapped in a car seat when you have wings.



Mom with the Queen and her Bumblebee.




Abby shooting a squirt gun.



Her target.... our youth pastor, Mike Slofstra.

Ear Infections, Sinus Infections, Random Viruses...Oh My!

We have always been a pretty healthy family. I know that Sam is relatively new to the family but Abby hardly ever gets sick so I'm not used to what has happened to us this past week.

It started last Tuesday when Sam got sick. He is doing much better now. On Friday afternoon I started to get a headache. Usually Advil takes care of my headaches but this one was hanging on. I figured I just needed to sleep it away. What I woke up to on Saturday is the worst headache of my life! I am not joking about that...it was so bad. I could barely function. I had to sit in one spot and not move my head at all. Since I'd never experienced anything like it I thought maybe it was a migraine. Matt had to do everything for me which he did without complaining once. He had a Husky football game to go to that evening and said more than once that he was going to stay home. But, I did not want him to have to miss the game (even though the Huskies suck and it probably would have been more fun staying home taking care of a sick wife). So my mother-in-law and mom came over to take care of me. I was in pretty rough shape. I went in to the after hours clinic Sunday afternoon and it turns out it was a sinus headache. I thought I had had those before but nothing comes close to touching the pain that I felt with that headache. It started to get a little better Saturday night when I went to bed. I have some medication from the Dr. and am feeling so much better. The headache is still there but it is more of an annoying ache than a knife going through my head.

Last night Abby woke up twice in the night crying and saying that her throat hurt. This morning when she got up she started throwing up. She is white as a sheet and has barely moved or spoken all day. Below is a picture of her... you know she is really sick when she stays in one position longer than 30 seconds. I took her in to the Dr. today (the third time I've been there in a week). We brought a bowl in the car just in case but she also wanted to bring it in to the Dr. I didn't want to but gave in. I'm so glad I did because while I was checking her in I heard something and looked over to see her leaning over the bowl throwing up in it. Poor girl. They tested her for strep but the Dr. thinks it is a virus that has been going around. Hopefully it is a short lived one.

So, three of us have been sick but with totally unrelated illnesses. I'm pretty sure Matt and Dutchess are going to stay in a hotel for the next couple of days.

Beautiful Fall Days

It has been so beautiful out the last few days. Today the kids were all playing at our swing set and we got a few pictures of them. We even put Sam in his swing for the first time. He loved it.

He's Laughing....

...and we finally caught it on video to share with everyone.

A Boy and His Dog

I loved this picture of Sam and Dutchess. This is how Dutch usually sits, with her legs crossed in front of her...like she knows she is a Dutchess.

A First Time For Everything...

... including sickness. I posted about Sam's big week a little while ago. He rolled over for the first time and ate cereal for the first time. Well this week he got sick for the first time. He started coughing and had a bit of a runny nose last weekend. We kept him home from church because of the nose but his temperament was the same so I was not that worried about it. On Monday afternoon he had a fever. It went down with Tylenol but was back up again that night. He woke up a few times in the night which is not like him anymore. At 5:00 Tuesday morning his temperature was 100.7. He also had a rash all over his body. I called in sick on Tuesday and took him to see the Dr. that afternoon. She took one look in both of his ears and said that he had a double ear infection. No wonder he woke up in the night not happy. I can now add to my list of firsts....first sickness and first does of antibiotics. He does not like the taste of his medicine at all. We have to give it to him twice a day for ten days and each time is an ordeal. This morning was the first time that I think all of it got in his mouth. The good news though is that he is feeling much better. His cheeks are still pretty red but he hasn't had a fever since Tuesday evening and his ears must be feeling better because he is a lot happier during the day.