Time for a BIG sigh of relief!

It looks like Austin's health is now headed in the right direction.

After a few days with a rapidly rising fever, and daily visits to the pediatrician for checkups and antibiotic shots, it seems we hit the peak of the scare when Austin topped out with a fever of 106.5 the other night.

Calling it "impressive for such a small baby" (and not meaning that in a positive way, of course), it appears the fever even sparked much concern in our pediatrician - who then promptly ordered further testing on the little guy. The flu test came back negative right away, and we had to wait till early evening for the results of the bloodwork to make sure he didn't have an infection in his bloodstream.

Turns out, to everyone's great relief, he tested negative for meningitis. So, it looks like all this stemmed from the ear infections, and the possibility, of course, that he may have picked up a bug of some sort on top of it.

And since by that time he was now willing to smile again (a glorious site considering how he'd been prior), and his fever seemed not as toasty, it did look like things were taking a turn for the better finally.

This morning, with Austin feeling much cooler in the head, we headed to see the Doctor for his last scheduled daily checkup for this illness.

Noting that his color has drastically improved, his fever appeared to have receded, his bloodwork came back clean, and he was more alert and attentive, we were released after one more shot of antibiotics in the baby thigh (much to Austin's chagrin.)

However, due to the severity of this latest round of ear infections, we were sent on our way with a prescription for another round of antibiotics (starting tomorrow), and the instructions to have him checked out by an Ear/Nose/Throat specialist as soon as possible (most preferably within the next two weeks) to get Austin started on the road to tube-ville.

Hopefully, once those tubes are in place, we'll be spared from another event like this one!

And yes, Austin does still have messy ears right now that are keeping him a bit on the irritable side, (they definitely won't be going away overnight) but at least the overall issue that was making it so much more serious appears to have subsided.

Feelin' hot, hot, hot...

Um... unfortunately, not talkin' about me with that title... Actually, it's a bit more literal in reference to our littlest one, Austin.

Poor little guy got evicted from school yesterday with a slight fever. So, grabbing my laptop to work from home, I picked him up and we went to spend the afternoon at home. But, what began as a slight fever certainly didn't stay that way.

By mid-afternoon, a butt-check had him at 103.2! Poor little fella was melting. So, I stripped him down to his diaper, gave him some baby tylenol and a spongebath, walked around a little with him outside, and gave him some milk. Then, I let him hang out in his diaper for a bit to cool off (every baby's dream, really).

It seemed to work, because he calmed down a bit and didn't feel so much like a little roasty piece of coal.

Oh - and I had called the doctor's office too. Since he had just been treated last week with antibiotics for an ear infection, the nurse made us an appointment to stop by this morning to see our pediatrician.

All was calm... until 1am... then, Jeff and I awoke to the pathetic little wails of a baby in agony. Jeff changed his diaper, I did the butt-check, and this time he registered 104.6. So, we gave him more tylenol, a bottle of milk, then moved him back to his bassinette once he seemed to be falling back asleep.

This morning, it was off to the doctor's office. Surprisingly timing it just right, Austin had a bit of an exorcist moment right after I had finished undressing him. I was able to avoid me, his clothes, and the floor - getting it all on the papered patient bench. (i was really proud of that "save", thank you very much!)

Verdict appears to be the ear infections are raging away. But, since he had just shown he has a propensity to not keep all his food in his belly right now, Austin was cursed with having to get his new antibiotics via a shot to the thigh muscle. Ouch.

Having gone through those shots in the muscle through all those fertility treatments that led to our blessing of Tyler, I completely knew about the pain that Austin was SCREAMING about at that particular moment of time. And needless to say, he was one pissed off baby after that.

Now, we wait to see if he needs to get another one tomorrow (for which we have tentatively scheduled a 9:30 am appointment. ) Unfortunately, doesn't look good, as his temp was back up over 104 this evening - and that's with the Tylenol and wearing just a diaper.

Let's just say Austin's not a very happy camper today. But, on the positive side, he really enjoyed the strawberry icee he got to eat as part of our efforts to make him more comfy.

Bopple... Apple... Apple... Apple...

Tyler has suddenly hit that age of todderdom where they apparently start learning things really quickly...

Here's a few of some of his latest surprises:

• When he has his nightly container of applesauce, deciding that "applesauce" was probably too complicated, I had been saying "apple" constantly as I feed it to him. Two nights ago, he finally started to say "apple" himself when pointing to it! Of course, we didn't have the heart to tell him the first night that it was really mixed fruit that time, and not apple... but nevertheless, this is HUGE for Tyler... :)
  
• Replacing the trash bag liner in the kitchen trash can... Well, he doesn't actually change out the trash bag himself (although THAT would be pretty sweet!!) - but he is now more than eager to hand you a new white kitchen trash bag to replace the one that was in there previously when he sees you taking out the full one from the can. So cute!
  
• "Woof!" Yes - now instead of just pointing to Max and Loki and saying "Dog!" every time he sees them, he actually barks at them. This would be cuter, though, if it happened any time other than when Austin is napping in the same room, because once the dogs start barking back, it's just pure pandemonium.
  
• Getting undressed. We're not all that thrilled with this new fascination of his. In case you haven't picked up on it from the pictures, we all spend a lot of time in our jammies at home. It's easy, it's comfortable, and hey - why get a kid dressed just to stay home all day! But, toddler sleepers are always constructed with a big zipper down the middle. And Tyler has decided that it's now cool to walk around the house looking like Elvis with his zipper opened down to his belly button.

Anyway, that's just today's quick update as I procrastinate just a tad longer on that growing number of articles I must now get back to writing for work...

And don't forget to check out the video bar to the right of this blog page! I listed the top video of Austin babbling in my last post, but if you check out the video below it, you can see Tyler and his brother playing with the recliner. We sure are lucky when it comes to those two. They really do love each other a lot, and it shows more and more each day!

"... but you should see what I did to the other guy...!"

Check out Tyler's new shiner....

I'd like to tell you a great story about how Tyler got it... defending his little brother's dignity against the daycare bully - who Tyler then proceeded to beat to a pulp...

I'd like to... but I can't. Because unfortunately, the truth isn't nearly that exciting. In reality, it all came down to Tyler versus the footboard of our bed. And, as you can see, the bed won.

To make matters worse, the very next day at school, another toddler then proceeded to bite Tyler in the hand - breaking the skin! (which of course led to the addition of a new "accident report" to our growing collection....)

I don't think his caregiver caught on that I was only joking when I asked if the other kid had been vaccinated for rabies...

At least it sounds like we have a month for his eye to heal before the next picture day - which is evidently in mid-February. His last round of pictures were a wash since they took place the day after the "dumptruck incident". Maybe we can just lock him in a padded room until then...

And on another Tyler-related note, apparently his presence is having quite a big impact on Max and Loki these days... 6 pounds' worth of an impact, in fact!

At yesterday's vet appointment, I discovered that since their last appointment, both have put on a solid 3 pounds each - which can probably be directly attributed to Tyler's open-door policy on snooky distribution and leftover fishing after toddler meals. Max is now a very solid 57 pounds and Loki is up to 60 pounds (their heaviest weights ever!!)

As for Austin, well, he's recovering from his latest round of ear-infections, still battling baby eczema, and is definitely not a fan of green beans according to the daycare.

But, it does seem that, within the past two days or so, he has found a voice by which he can now complain out loud about his problems. In fact, he really only seems to partake in this babble when he is growing visibly bothered by something at that moment.

Here's a sample that occurred as he was rapidly growing bored with his playmat earlier today...



And since we know the grandparents and relatives want to see pics, and lots of them, here are a few of Austin and Tyler from today and the past week.... Actually they're mostly of Austin since a toddler with a shiner doesn't really look too happy in pictures... Enjoy!

The Birdman Returneth...

When Tyler was Austin's age, that sweet gurgling and coo-ing was not really his forte.

Tyler preferred, instead, to screech really loudly in an annoyingly-birdlike manner. Apparently, he picked that up at school from his friend, Enslow.

Austin, however, has always been more baby-like and easier on the ears with his coos, gurgles, and baby dinosaur-like grunts.

Until today.

Tyler has decided to pass on that valuable skill he learned from his friend in months past to his dear little brother.

Nothing like the "lovely" sound of two little boys screeching back and forth to each other on the living room couch.

We are so screwed when they get bigger.

A new year, a new post!

To help celebrate the start of the new year, and my very first post of 2009, here are a few fun shots taken Christmas Day 2008.

Austin & his new furry Grover (Mmmmm.... tasty, but could use a touch of applesauce!)



Tyler takes his new Big Wheel out for a spin (Whatever happened to the handlebar tassles the kid in the car commercial has on his Big Wheel?)



It's all fun and games till the dogs join the party... ("We'll only let you pass if you give us Snookies - and lots of 'em!")



Nicole, Jeff, Tyler, Austin, Max, and Loki wish everyone a happy, healthy, and wonderful 2009!