On the mend

Benjamin was a completely different child Friday after getting that antibiotic shot in his system.

Here he is enjoying a popsicle with Daddy, who stayed home with him so Mommy didn’t have to use up more vacation time.

Yesterday, (Saturday)  he was running around outside in the nice weather and happy as can be.

 

 

But, most importantly, he slept from 8 p.m. to 8:15 a.m. (with the time change). It was the first time in three nights that we actually got to sleep, and it was the first night in weeks that we got to sleep a consecutive eight hours…OK well actually it was more like almost 11 hours, but who’s counting. We have been a little under the weather, probably fighting off all of Benjamin’s germs.

 

Sick boy

I didn’t have the heart to take a photo of Benjamin today. He is more pathetic and sick looking than I have ever seen him! He was up all night last night crying or coughing. This morning, I did a breathing treatment with him, and he seemed to be hanging in there. But, then, he just started to cry hysterically and wouldn’t stop. So, I called the doctor, and we got in around noon. Benjamin was limp in my arms and didn’t even move when she looked into his ears. It was kind of scary and VERY sad. She decided he has pneumonia, and prescribed an antibiotic. She couldn’t do a breathing treatment, though, because his heart rate was so high.

We got home, and after two hours his temperature was still almost 103 degrees, his little heart was racing and he was breathing almost a breath a second. So, the doctor instructed to give him a large dose of Tylenol (they had given him Advil at the office). He fell asleep on the floor in his room while I dabbed his head with a wet washcloth. By this time, I was getting a little upset, so thankfully Jeremy was able to leave work.

When he got home, Benjamin’s temperature was still 102.8. So, the doctor said to come back in. We got there, and they did a rapid flu test. While we waited, he got a breathing treatment. Almost immediately, he started to perk up. It was amazing to see the transformation from a limp baby to our little fighter. Instead of just staring absently at the doc, this time he resisted her attempts to look in his ears. That was a good sign! He also ate a few fish crackers. The bad news was that he did have the flu, and his lungs still sounded bad. So, they gave him a VERY painful shot of antibiotics and he cried so hard. It was awful. We left to pick up the Tamiflu, and gave it to him as soon as we got him. He promptly puked it all over Jeremy and himself.

Lots of tears later, we got them both cleaned up. Benjamin has been camped out on our laps ever since. We are going to attempt a bath now. But, just wanted to give an update, so you can all pray for us! We need this little guy to get better quickly. Please also pray my mom doesn’t catch this, since she was here when the symptoms started.

Future golf pro

Papa taught Benjamin to play golf this weekend. As you can see, Benjamin was getting the hang of it. With the right size club, he might just be a champ!

We had a fun, relaxing weekend in Findlay. When we arrived after a 2.5 hour “nap,” Benjamin was rearing to go. So, he played with Daisy and read books with Nana and Papa before bed.

Saturday, we went to the mall to play with Benjamin’s Grandpa Bob Hilty and to look for a portable DVD player for the car. We weren’t successful in finding the DVD player we wanted, but we did have fun at the playground. Benjamin especially loved a Little Tykes roller coaster. I would get him one, except that it requires constant supervision! But, he LOOOOOVED it. I was impressed with the whole play area, actually. Since there are no indoor play lands anywhere there, this worked out perfectly on a rainy day.

 

We spent so much time playing this weekend, Benjamin was exhausted. But, the best part was that Nana decided to come home with us for a few days! This is such a blessing, because I didn’t think she would be able to come back to my house anymore.She has been a trooper and loving every minute with Benjamin. She has strict instructions from me to go to bed as soon as Benjamin does, and to rest all day tomorrow while I am at work!

I can do it!

Benjamin loves to show off his newfound skills. So, tonight, we took photos of him climbing on his rocking chair. It is an antique given to us my Jeremy’s grandparents.

Here he is pushing Jeremy away. He got down, so he could show Jeremy he didn’t need help.

Look at me!

 

Then, he discovered there were cards with the chair’s history written on them. We had to confiscate those, but he enjoyed hiding other objects under there instead.

Again!

 

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Benjamin continues to read every single card he has been given over and over and over again like they are books. This was from Aunt Kim, and I caught this grin just as the song, “I’m walking on sunshine,” began to play.

Here he is grabbing a book for us to read. You will notice the ball. I said “Benjamin, where is your ball?” He looked around the room, saw it in his tunnel, yelled “ball” and went to get it! I was so impressed.

Benjamin loves all things super sized. His favorite book is “Goodnight Moon,” I suspect, because it is the biggest board book he has. But, this is a new coloring book he got, and he likes to carry it around.

He still loves his airplane from Papa, but it is so funny, because he doesn’t really ride it.

Instead, he pulls it around the room, repeatedly until he is out of breath from  dragging it along like he would a little toy truck or something. Like I said… supersized.

Benjamin likes to show off how strong he is, and often I catch him dragging or carrying huge or bulky items he finds around the house. For example, he likes to move around 3 pound dumbbells from one end of the room to the other. He loves to pick up the trash cans or bags ready to go out to the garbage can. He is obsessed with throwing things away and we have to watch him like a hawk. This morning he dragged my running shoes from one end of the house to the other, and I had to hunt for them before our evening walk. He likes pots and pans, large toys, cereal boxes, anything he finds in the pantry and so much more. I think it makes him feel important that he not only can walk, but he can take whatever catches his fancy with him wherever he wants to go. I always know where he is, because he grunts when he is getting into trouble and trying to move large items, and he sings when he is exploring. When it is quiet, I know there is trouble and is happily trying to eat whatever he found. I hear his soft voice making all sorts of inflections, like his is imitating our speech. It is precious! I love when he says “uh oh!”

Well, that’s all I have for you today. It has been a much less stressful week at work, so I actually have time to blog. And, Jeremy has to spend all evening reading journal articles for school, so it gave me something to do without him!

Mornings with Benjamin

Benjamin and I have developed a great morning routine! He wakes up between 4 and 5 a.m. to eat his morning bottle. I don’t mind, because he goes back to sleep until 6:30 or 7 a.m. which either gives me time to get ready or time to sleep in depending on how early I need to get to work. The past few days I have worked late, so I chose to sleep in.

When he wakes up, I change his diaper and get him dressed, usually by chasing him around the room. He does NOT like to sit still for this chore, and would gladly run around in a diaper if I let him. Then, he crawls into my lap and we read every board book in his room. I rarely break out the books with paper pages, because I don’t want him to rip them. It melts my heart when he brings me a book and wants to sit in my lap to read. This is the best cuddle time, and it is wonderful to see him comprehend more of these books and take interest in the story rather than just tossing them aside after two pages.

It is a challenge when I take my shower. Benjamin has a tendency to get into trouble no matter how baby proof I think the room is. I have to gate off the shower area from the other part of the bathroom, or else Benjamin pulls back the curtain and sticks his head in to the tub, where of course he gets wet. He thinks it is a hilarious game. So, when he gets tired of banging on the gate and dropping things over the top of it, he goes out to find what drawers he might be able to pull open despite the child locks. And, he is strong, so he often gets them open. Or, the other day, I found him with Jeremy’s discarded toothbrush in his mouth and a very sharp metal lid in his hand.The trash can was on its side behind him with lots of used tissues filled with germs scattered on the floor. Needless to say, my showers in the morning are quick!

When I dry my hair and get ready for work, Benjamin hangs out by whatever drawer or cupboard I open, and ensures that I can’t shut it without smashing him in the process. Then, he plucks out items of interest one by one, either taking them to some random location upstairs, dropping them on the floor by my feet, or sticking them in his mouth. He already broke my electric razor by tossing it over the gate one morning. Yesterday, he got a hold of my deodorant and made a grand mess before I caught him. He LOVES my blush and powder brushes, and he thinks medicine bottles are the greatest noise makers ever. If he is in an especially clingy mood, I have to hold him while applying makeup or brushing my teeth. I feel like an acrobat. Once, I found myself entertaining him with toys that I picked up with my toes while I simultaneously straightened my hair!

After I finish getting ready, (usually after some effort, since my audience is not the most patient) we eat breakfast. Benjamin either eats an entire container of Yoplait yogurt, or he eats half a banana, several crackers and what I call a “yogurt shot” of Dannon mini-yogurts. That is a LOT of food.

He stalls as long as possible, and sometimes we play a little more while I pack us both up. Then, we head off to Miss Linda’s house, both of our hearts broken that we have to leave.  

I don’t have photos of any of this, but I just thought I would share, because I cherish these morning moments with my little guy who is growing so quickly!

Life at the Hilty house

As usual, things are a tad hectic around here. But, I want to get as many photos posted as possible. So, here is a summary of the past two weeks. As usual, please forgive typos. I am usually in a hurry when I put these together, and I don’t read them over a second time.

 

This photo is of Benjamin helping us last weekend unroll a new carpet. We put plastic down under his seat, because the other carpet had all kinds of dried food and stains that would not come out.

He helped us clean and dry the floors…he is really enjoying “helping” whenever we get out the mops or vacuum.

We had some good cuddle time after he woke up from his nap.

Rarely do we get to cuddle sitting, because Benjamin is always on the move. But, lately, he likes to be held no matter what we are doing…  just as long as we are walking around.

Fast forward to this past week. Benjamin has been so interested in books the past few months, but now he is pointing to pictures and recognizing things like dogs or cats. Today, he actually said “ow” and pointed to a cat. It was so cute!

He also is teething. This is his last canine, and it is killing him. We have been trying to wean him from his pacifier unless he is napping. So, he finds other random objects and holds them in his mouth all day instead. 

Yes, that is diaper cream!

Benjamin loves blocks. He actually stacked a few wooden blocks by himself this week, and he is very good now at putting lego blocks together and pulling them apart.

He also is getting very good at going up and down the stairs. He slides down the stairs on his tummy. Lately, he figured out he can do that and haul things with him at the same time…like his sippie cup that works just like a pacifier! Don’t worry, he only is allowed water except at mealtimes.

I have caved a lot on the pacifier the past few days, because he truly is pathetic without it. Just look at that face!

He hasn’t quite grasped coloring yet, but he likes to play with crayons. I have to watch him like a hawk, or else they are in his mouth or being dragged along the floor. This giant coloring book was something we picked up at the grand opening of Menards the other day on a field trip.

You can see Benjamin is getting taller, and he likes to remind us of that every now and then. He can’t quite get it open yet, but he is trying!

Please ignore the mess behind Benjamin. That is the drop zone on the way in the door, and it was not very clean. But, you can see he also loves to play with toys that roll.

Aren’t I the cutest?

Except when I am whining, because I didn’t get what I wanted.

The other morning, Benjamin was stalling so he didn’t have to go to daycare. It was so sad. He even resorted to picking up his breathing treatment mask in hopes that I would decide he needed to stay just a little longer.

See mom? You can turn on the TV now and we can sit a while!

After I dropped him off, he was so not happy with me. So, when I picked him up, he punished me severely! But, I eventually won back his affections by letting him play with a Swiffer duster. It is his new favorite toy, and he loves to dust the floor with it. He thinks all cleaning should be done on the floor. Last night, he tried to clean the floor with his toothbrush. Ewww!

When Jeremy got home, Benjamin was so happy! But, he was even happier when Daddy got out his cell phone and ipod videos. You can’t see, but Jeremy has one in each hand. He was trying to send an e-mail while entertaining Benjamin.

Here he was Saturday morning, watching cartoons. Note the Swiffer duster clutched in his hand. Do not, I repeat, do not try to take that away from him!

For fun, we decided Saturday morning to go to Chick Fil A, since they are the only place with an indoor play area nearby. We tried to convince Benjamin to play in the toddler section, but he wanted to go down the big slide (or climb up it) like the other bigger kids. So, like a good mom, I ducked and hauled him up the stair case and through the tunnels in order to drop him down the very large slide. Jeremy caught him at the bottom, where Benjamin was giggling with pure joy. Like the mean parents we are, we packed him up to leave after only one time down the slide. He was heartbroken.

But, he cheered up when we let him run around at Kohls and touch all the soft clothes. Much to Jeremy’s dismay, Benjamin liked the women’s bathing suit section the best.

Here is our happy baby boy Sunday morning before church.

And here he is in his happier place after church, eating lunch. MMM spaghetti!

He ate FIVE meatballs. I refused to share any more after that.

We took a walk before Jeremy left for work, and it was so nice to get out in the nice weather. Benjamin and I went to the grocery store and spent the rest of the day cooking and playing. It was a good day, but too short!  I wish we could spend all day, every day together!'