Nicholas and I have both been sick with the flu. Yes, we both got the vaccine in the fall but we both got sick with the flu. Rachel is too young for the flu vaccine and Stuart never got around to getting it but they are both healthly and well. Crazy stuff, huh!
I don't think I had ever had the flu. It was pretty miserable. What made it worse for me though was simply trying to keep Rachel from catching it. I was really worried about how her little nearly four month old body would be able to handle it. So I did what any normal obsessive-compulsive worried mom would do - I washed my hands a squillion times a day, put hand sanitizer in every room of the house, changed my shirt at least three times a day, and I wiped down door handles, faucet handles, and light switches with Clorox wipes at least twice a day. Since Rachel still won't take a bottle, I was stuck nursing her for every feeding which meant trying not to breathe, cough, or sneeze on her for the 20 or so minutes that I was holding her for feedings. Not easy to do as sick as I was. Sadly, she had to spend a lot of the last few days alone in her crib or swing because holding her or talking to her much was just too risky for her health.
What was most risky was the walking 4 year old flu bomb. Nicholas does not have the same obsessive-compulsive fear of the flu germ that I have. Yes, he understands that he needs to cover his mouth with his sneezes or coughs and that he needs to wash his hands. But he just doesn't get how easily germs are spread. One time I was feeding Rachel while she lay on her Boppy pillow. Nicholas comes into room coughing into his elbow. Then he comes over to us and climbs up behind where I'm sitting and wraps his arms around me. I just know that his germ infested elbow is rubbing up to my shoulder where Rachel will have her head in a few minutes when I burp her. I kindly asked him to go wash his hands and then to stay out of Rachel's room until I'm finished but I'm secretly screaming inside saying, "Don't touch me! Don't touch the crib! Don't touch the Boppy pillow! Stop coughing! Don't breathe on Rachel! Just don't talk to Rachel! No! Don't touch that! Ok, just leave the room for now! Just go!" So I watch him as he walks into the bathroom and washes his hands. He dries them on the hand towel...and then he wipes his runny nose on the hand towel and walks out! Eww! If I hadn't seen it happen, Stuart or I would have surely dried our clean hands on that flu-infested towel and then picked up Rachel with our flu hands. This was just one incident but you can imagine that similiar scenes like this played out day after day. It was a bit stressful for me. Thank goodness we are both over the flu and things are back to normal around here. Well, at least as normal as they can be around this place!
Swaddling Is For Babies
Rachel says that swaddling is for babies and she's a growing girl who needs room to stretch and roll. A minute after she is swaddled she has broken free like Houdini escaping from a straight jacket. She fights it more to get her thumb in her mouth than for anything else but she does seem to like sleeping all stretched out.
This is a cute little outfit she's in. Grandmama gave it to her for Christmas. It is simple with a sweet little collar but the cutest part is that it has a little button-up flap in the back for diaper changes. So cute! From the big toothless grin on her face, I'd say she likes it too.
This is a cute little outfit she's in. Grandmama gave it to her for Christmas. It is simple with a sweet little collar but the cutest part is that it has a little button-up flap in the back for diaper changes. So cute! From the big toothless grin on her face, I'd say she likes it too.
Happy Little Guy!
Nicholas is such a happy little guy. He is always smiling and he has such an infectious smile! Stuart got these great pics of him recently. I just love them :)
Bath Time Isn't So Bad Anymore
Rachel has started really liking bath time. She giggles and smiles and likes to kick the water to watch it splash. Nicholas likes to help bathe her by rubbing her tummy and legs with the washcloth. Rachel just loves anything that big brother does so that just makes her smile even more.
Yay Body!
Today we got to see Slim Goodbody perform again. Last year, I let Nicholas miss a day of school so that we could go see Slim in Fort Worth. This year I found a show in Garland that wasn't on a school day. I haven't been to Garland much and I wasn't sure how Rachel would do in a one hour performance during her nap time. I was a little worried this morning about how the whole thing would work out. What a waste of time. It went beautifully. We got there in about 30 minutes by the tollway and had plenty of time to play around, feed Rachel, and get our seats. Rachel slept the whole time so it was a breeze.
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The theater in Garland is small and they had already done several performances here with this show being the last one so the crowd was really light - maybe just a couple of hundred people. Last year in Fort Worth, there were 1700 people and it was kind of crazy! Next year, we will be seeking out the Garland performance for sure!
The show was fantastic as always. Slim wears a cool costume showing the inner workings of the body. He sings and dances and teaches kids about healthy habits, all of the systems in the body, dental hygiene, and not smoking. Nicholas really got into it.
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After the show, I was able to talk to Slim. The original Slim Goodbody has been performing and teaching kids about the human body for some 30 years or so. I even remember watching him on TV when I was little (yes, he's THAT old!). This Slim was a different Slim. His real name is Butch and he said that he has been helping out with the show for a while. The original Slim was actually performing in another state. I was sad that we didn't get the original Slim but Butch had a great performance and he was fun to talk with. He is starting his own show too. It will also be a children's performance like Slim Goodbody but it will focus on the environment. It's called Kid Power.
After the show, it was lunch time so we tried a new place for lunch. It's called Planet Pizza. It was fun and the pizza was pretty good. They have a big indoor climbing structure - maybe the size of 3 or 4 of the McDonald's play areas all put together. They also have several amusement rids and games. Nicholas loved a pirate ride that swung a pirate boat high in the air. They even had to remove some of the ceiling tiles to make room for this thing's range of motion. He also loved the rockets and the bumper cars.
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Tonight Nicholas and I performed a few of the songs we learned at Slim Goodbody today. We taught Daddy all about the digestive system and the circulatory system. Nicholas told Daddy that Rachel's heart beats faster than his and that his heart beats faster than Mommy's.
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The theater in Garland is small and they had already done several performances here with this show being the last one so the crowd was really light - maybe just a couple of hundred people. Last year in Fort Worth, there were 1700 people and it was kind of crazy! Next year, we will be seeking out the Garland performance for sure!
The show was fantastic as always. Slim wears a cool costume showing the inner workings of the body. He sings and dances and teaches kids about healthy habits, all of the systems in the body, dental hygiene, and not smoking. Nicholas really got into it.
.JPG)
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After the show, I was able to talk to Slim. The original Slim Goodbody has been performing and teaching kids about the human body for some 30 years or so. I even remember watching him on TV when I was little (yes, he's THAT old!). This Slim was a different Slim. His real name is Butch and he said that he has been helping out with the show for a while. The original Slim was actually performing in another state. I was sad that we didn't get the original Slim but Butch had a great performance and he was fun to talk with. He is starting his own show too. It will also be a children's performance like Slim Goodbody but it will focus on the environment. It's called Kid Power.
After the show, it was lunch time so we tried a new place for lunch. It's called Planet Pizza. It was fun and the pizza was pretty good. They have a big indoor climbing structure - maybe the size of 3 or 4 of the McDonald's play areas all put together. They also have several amusement rids and games. Nicholas loved a pirate ride that swung a pirate boat high in the air. They even had to remove some of the ceiling tiles to make room for this thing's range of motion. He also loved the rockets and the bumper cars.
.JPG)
.JPG)
Tonight Nicholas and I performed a few of the songs we learned at Slim Goodbody today. We taught Daddy all about the digestive system and the circulatory system. Nicholas told Daddy that Rachel's heart beats faster than his and that his heart beats faster than Mommy's.
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