I Forgot about Easter

I can't believe I never posted our Easter pictures. Not that there is anything to be impressed with. Still I went through all of the effort to make my family presentable and find a spot to rest the camera and figure out (again) how to turn on the timer and then get everyone in frame.... How do people do this all of the time??

To get us started, here is Hannah modeling her outfit from her godmother. It has a matching coat (not featured) and those styling shoes were donated by a kindly friend.

Next up we have the father strapped into a button down shirt, Xander is his classic (aka go-to) sweater vest and Josie wearing the bright colors of the season.

Finally, here is the happy family together.

(This whole lighting, framing, aperature, shutter speed thing is for the birds.)(I need to find some birds to take better family pictures for me.)

Mystery Virus Fever, Part 2

It began Thursday when I picked Xander up from his classroom and we walked up to my classroom to wait for the end of dismissal. The key word here is 'walked'. Xander never walks. He skips, he jumps, he runs, he races, he skips again. He does not walk. So the fact that he walked was the first clue that something was wrong.

The second clue might have been him saying his belly hurt during snack time at school. However, it is not uncommon for Xander to comment that his belly hurts.

The third clue was what gave it away. He quietly sat in my class after school. And then he said he was cold. Anyone who has met this child knows he does not sit quietly. He asks questions, tells you about the day, repeats facts that he has already told you five times. Also, my classroom is never cold.

We picked up his sisters and headed home where Xander spent the rest of the evening huddled under three blankets while his fever slowly climbed. It was definitely the same thing that all three kids had in February.

Xander stayed home from school on Friday. The fever persisted through Saturday and Sunday with little appetite and no energy. Monday arrived with a lower fever but then Hannah became warm. That is when I wrote this status update:
Mystery Virus Fever Strikes Back - Day 5: Xander seems to be recovering but that may just be a good night of sleep helping him through the morning. Hannah has succumbed to the fever and insists on cuddles. We forge on.

Xander was better on Tuesday but had to stay home due to school regulations (fever-free for 24 hours). So Josie stepped up to take over on the fever front. And she added a random vomit to the fun. Xander had complained about an upset stomach but hadn't gotten sick beyond spitting up dinner while coughing. No puke from Hannah either. Josie has her mother's weak stomach.
Mystery Virus Fever Strikes Back - Day 6: Xander has returned to the Healthy Side, will resume active duty tomorrow. Hannah fights the temptation that is the Fever but Josie has gone over fully by embracing vomit.

In a moment that I'm sure will be hysterical to relive in five years, Josie freaked when she found an itsy, bitsy, little spider on her pants. I'm talking high pitched screeching sobs that she did not learn from me. I took care of the spider in short order. However at 5 am, Josie woke up with the same screeching sobs convinced that there was a spider on her leg. I talked her down and tucked her in but within five minutes there was more sobbing, so she was brought into bed with me. Chris decided to go for an early run rather than listen to Josie snore.
Mystery Virus Fever Strikes Back - Day 7: Xander has returned to active duty allowing me to focus on his sisters. Both have shown signs of recovery. Hannah attempts to sleep off the effects. Josie has suffered fever-induced spider paranoia and had to have her sleeping quarters temporarily reassigned.

The spider issue has come up this afternoon, too. She saw it on her toes! And now it's in her bones! Yes, she was convinced the spider was crawling inside of her leg. I explained that spiders don't like being in bones because they can't make webs. Anyone who tells her differently will have to spend the next week sleeping next to her bed.

We have not been to the doctor about this because the fevers never reached higher than 103 and did not last more than 5 days. Since it's getting spread around it's some type of germ, presumably a virus. I tried to stick with the notion that the fevers were fighting the alleged virus so tried to avoid medicine to lower the fever unless a child was completely miserable or at bedtime so there could be some good sleep. Heck, Xander and Josie are so tough that they actually declined medicine when I offered.

Hopefully the girls will be over this by tomorrow (day 8!). The first time through this, Josie and Hannah both had it for a full five days. Xander had it for two days. I figure that is why he had it for five days this time. So just maybe the girls will be able to fight off the virus a little easier since they may have built up an immunity. Yeah, right, that is such wishful thinking.

Getting Around

For those not in the know, Hannah is finally walking. She showed an interest before she turned one but then had the nasty mystery fever virus for a week and she just wanted to be carried for another week after that. So she spent another month showing interest in walking and finally has it down (as much as a 13 month old can have walking down).

She totters and wobbles, falls and then scoots along on her knees. I find it funny that she seems to walk better when clutching a toy, usually the doll that is about half her size. 

Now she thinks walking is the bee's knees. She laughs and giggles and smiles. She's become our little ball of sunshine (unless she is throwing a tantrum, but that is a post for another time). 

(Oh. My. Word. I have been trying to upload this video for two weeks and it kept giving me trouble. I finally set up a youtube channel (which I'm not going to share) to get it here. Grr. Argh.)