Tigers, Temperatures and Toots

I just love January and February down here.  It's so much easier to handle when you're still able to go outside and get in the sun.

Hinckley is doing just great!  At his appointment laaast month he was a whopping 13 lbs 6 oz (80th percentile!) and was in the 50th percentile for his height (his head was a wee bit small.)  He did have some trouble with his shots, but no fever the way Atticus always did.

He is blowing bubbles like a champ, holding his head well, and is just the sweetest little smiler.  This month he started laughing- it's a cute little gasp laugh.

He also rolled over on the 26th and 27th in two different directions.  He did it a few times so I thought it would stick, but he seems to have let it go for now.

He is still really gassy and I think I might have to devote the month of February to finding some answers (I'll start with giving up dairy.  NOOOO!)  It hits hardest in the evening, in the morning around 4 AM and usually in the afternoon around the time Atticus is trying to take a nap.

A reason we don't have as many pictures in this post is because Dane and Atticus both got the flu.  It was easily the worst part of the month.  

Atticus had one of the worst and longest night terrors he's ever had.  After sleeping for a few hours, he woke up screaming, again.  He had taken all of his clothes off because he was hot, including his diaper.  He'd then woken himself up by wetting the bed.  We knew something was up and were worried this was a fever, but the next day he was perfectly normal.

After a normal evening, he woke up around 5 and threw up in his bed.  It was official- he was sick!  Later that day, Dane came down with it, as well, and it hit him hard.  We took his temperature and he definitely had a fever.  He missed three days of work and spent most of the that time in bed.  After he was swabbed and we had it confirmed that he had the flu, we tried to keep him away from the boys, especially the baby, as much as possible.  

While I knew that such a course was wise, it sure made it hard on an already sleep-deprived momma to have to watch two boys nonstop.  Furthermore, I could feel my body starting to fail.  I became congested and so incredibly tired.  

I'll spare you more details (Atticus's boredom and my meager attempts to satiate his thirst for adventure were something, let me tell you!) but there were nights that felt very, very long (the baby became congested, too, which made sleep difficult for both of us!) and days that, sans playdates and a lot of outside play, were also very long.  I felt downright sorry for myself on multiple occasions.  

But there were, of course, miracles wrapped up in the week.  

First and most noticeable was the fact that Hinckley and I avoided coming down with the flu.  While he's a big boy for his age and he's getting older, we were very afraid for our little 2.5 month old.  And I was simply terrified at the prospect of being sick and having to care for our family while being down.  I did have one evening when I started to feel the effects (I had a temperature, felt like I'd been hit by a truck, etc.)  But after laying down on and off for a few hours, I felt the fever lift and the symptoms wear off.  I don't want to sound too cheesy, but I'm certain that our prayers (and those of so many others!  Thank you!) were being answered so that I could continue to care for our family.

Another miracle was the wonderful outpouring of love and support we received from neighbors and friends.  We've been trying to reach outward ever since our move here (we were so dependent on others for help!) and it was a little discouraging to feel so needy again.  But my goodness, were people kind while we were on the receiving end.  One friend brought us a bunch of Dane's favorite soup.  Another brought us homemade soup.  McKay brought us oranges.  And so many kept checking in on us.  The Lord really does use us as His hands to minister to one another.  

A final, less noticeable miracle that occurred to me while this was all going on was the perspective that time gives you.  As tired as I was, as frustrated as I felt on many occasions, I couldn't help comparing this to the summer when Atticus got roseola, or to other times of stress and sleeplessness.  Every time I wanted to complain, I was reminded that I'd been through something similar before and that I was strong enough.  It would pass and I could do it.  It was still really hard, but didn't feel quite so unendurable as before.  

A week later, I was feeling particularly grouchy in the morning (see the quotes below for a few Atticusisms) and I don't think it was coincidental at all that we were reading in Alma 26 where, in verse 27, it says, "Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us...and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success."

Last night I experienced this firsthand.  I had FINALLY gotten the boys to bed and I laid down to sleep.  At 2:30 Atticus woke up and started talking to himself (the result of missing a nap and going to bed too late).  I started to get really angry but, instead of storming in, just tried to lay and relax.  A couple minutes later, the baby started farting.  These were not little high-pitched, infantile toots, mind you.  They were surprisingly manly and loud (which is typical for him during the day, I might add).  But he didn't stop.  He kept on farting for almost ten minutes!

By the end, I wasn't nearly as angry- I was laughing at poor little Hinckley and left shaking my head at the whole situation.  Here were my two boys struggling with what, for now, is their greatest difficulty or affliction!  I was only seeing myself as being afflicted with taking care of the two of them.  For Atticus, settling down and sleeping are just about the hardest thing in the world.  For Hinckley, he desperately wants to sleep, but he's too gassy to do so.  Recognizing that they were both wrestling with their affliction helped me show greater patience for mine.

Atticusisms:

• "Why?" (again and again and again- just like the scene in Pinocchio...)
• "You be Mary and I'll be Osanna." (After I look confused he grabs a tree branch and starts singing, "Hosanna, blessed be the name of the most high God."- he was reenacting the scene when Jesus enters Jerusalem and the people were waving palm branches.  I'm sure Mary was there... ;)  )
• "You're protein!" (he meant to say guilty) "I'm gonna kill your body!"
• "What is die?"  I explain it as simply as I can with the glove and hand analogy- "I don't want to die."
• (While praying) "Thank you for Skye and Bowman" repeated 3+ times, "Thank you for Santa and his Reindeer..."
• "Hold me," "I want to ride in the stroller,"  "Look at me!  I'm smiling, take a picture of me!"
  (All said in response to attention that is being given to Hinckley)
  
  
• "You are the most stupid mom I ever saw!"
• After I had had a VERY grouchy morning, "Mommy, we forgot to pray!"
  While praying, "Help Mommy to feel better."
  On the way to Joy School (after I had apologized), "I don't want you to scream and yell.  Next time, I want you to tell me, 'Atticus, Bowman is making a mess.' "  The kid was talking me through my own tantrum, just the way I talk him through his! 
• "I'm a tiger"  
• "What do we do with our hands when we pray?"

"This!"
The kids all laugh.
"And then we eat it!"