Happy Belated Easter!

The first picture is of Spencer trying to get Oreo. When we take the bunny out of his cage outside, he loves to go under the boys' picnic table in the shade and relax. That relaxation was short lived when Spencer started looking for him. Spencer would go to one side and Oreo would go to the other. Spencer chased him like this for at least 12 times and then finally...victory. Poor Oreo...I'm sure he LOVES being terrorized and squeezed to death. I picked him up after Spencer had gotten a hold of him and I thought the bunny was going to have a heart attack as fast as his little heart was beating :)

Well...this past weekend has been eventful...just not the way I had planned. We had a lot of fun things planned for the weekend that I was looking forward to-the primary Easter egg hunt and Emery's party...and of course Easter. We called the doctor on Thursday because we were worried about Andrew not bending his left knee. We thought he was just trying to walk and doing a funny crawl because that's part of the way Spencer had started walking-he would crawl on one knee and kinda swing the other one around like he was walking on it. We noticed though that when we picked him up, if we twisted his leg the wrong way, he would scream out in pain. The doctor wanted us to come in before the weekend, so we scheduled an appointment for Friday. She checked him out...checked for strep again...did some blood work, and found out that his white blood cell count had gone down so that was good news that maybe the viral infection was going away. She was worried though that the infection might have gone to his knee...that sometimes happens where the infection will go to the joints of the body. She didn't want to rule out either that he might have broken a bone...so she called a couple of orthopedic specialist but their offices were closed (at 4:00) but she found one doctor who said he would meet us at the ER at Richland Memorial and check Andrew out. So we started to Richland...not knowing what kind of chaos would be before us. There was a huge misunderstanding I think on all of our parts. I thought the doctor would meet us there...check Andrew out...maybe do a couple of x-rays...tell us what he found and then let us go. We got to the children's ER...waited there for 3 and a half hours. I didn't know it was their policy that you had to check in to the ER, go back to a room, then they would call the doctor to let them know you were there. Our pediatrician didn't know that either. She called the hospital while we were waiting and talked with Shaun and apologized up one side and down the other. Anyways...at about 8:30, they took us back to a "room" where a person came in about every hour to an hour and a half letting us know that someone would be there shortly. They said they were going to look at the x-rays first and if there were no broken bones, they would take blood. The ladies came to take the blood...which Andrew absolutely loved...NOT... I asked them if they had already taken the x-rays to make sure there was no broken bones and she said "yeah...they looked fine...that's why we're taking the blood." I told her they had NOT taken the x-rays yet and she just kinda smiled and said they would be there shortly to take them. Another miscommunication. Anyways...they took the x-rays later and then the orthopedic specialist came in and said he would look at the x-rays and see what was going on. Nothing was broken. Then he looked at the bloodwork and said basically the same thing our pediatrician had said...Andrew's viral count was a little high...toxic synovitis...whatever that's supposed to mean. He said he wanted us to stay overnight because it was so late and they could keep a close watch on Andrew to make sure nothing else was wrong. I put up a little fight because we had not expected this and were so not prepared. Shaun said he would stay with Andrew and I would take Spencer home. By the end though...I decided Spencer and I would stay too because by this time it was already 2 in the morning and I didn't know if my driving would be too safe. So about 2:30 we got up to the room and I was holding a sleeping Spencer in a chair and Shaun was holding Andrew down while the nurses tried to check his blood pressure and pulse. Andrew has issues with anyone with a stethoscope touching him...well understood. All of a sudden Shaun said he felt sick and I needed to take Andrew. Shaun went in the bathroom and "got sick"...so he and Spencer went home. They were sick all night long and most of the day on Saturday. So I stayed with Andrew Friday night. Got a good 3 hour nap. I guess I should consider myself lucky though because I'm not too sure Shaun got even that much sleep between him and Spencer being sick.

I thought we would get out of the hospital around lunchtime on Saturday but it ended up being another what seemed to be a hopeless waiting game. Then my hope really got low when the nurse said "he SHOULD be able to get out of here today...I'm just not sure." But when they took his blood again and looked at the results, the viral count had gone down again and they gave us the okay that Andrew could come home. I think I got a pleasant burst of energy hearing the doctor say those words. It took another hour and a half for us to get out of there but at least we got to sleep in our own comfy beds that night!! I didn't have my camera with me....I sure wish I would have because poor little Andrew had all kinds of things hooked up to him. Mom did buy a disposable camera so maybe I can take a picture of a picture and add a few pics. We'll see.

Anyways. We got home around 7 on Saturday and it was so good to be home. Spencer wasn't his usual self. He just had such a sad look on his face. My heart just ached for him because I know it's no fun being sick. Shaun took care of the boys and I had to make a grocery run to WalMart because we hadn't had a chance to do our weekly grocery shopping. So I went to all the chaos in WalMart (bad idea the Saturday before Easter) and when I got back I hit the sack. We had an uneventful night Saturday...no sicknesses that required doing laundry so that was definitely a blessing.

On Easter morning the Easter bunny had come and Spencer just wasn't still up to par. This is a picture of how most of our morning was until Spencer ate a popsicle. That must have given him the energy that spinach gives Popeye because he was a totally different boy. We still had to watch out for the throwing up and leaky diapers but he felt a lot better. Andrew wanted some of the popsicle too so Spencer was the nice big brother and shared with him. He really is good at sharing what he has with Andrew. I guess I should clarify that he doesn't mind sharing food...toys are a different story :)

We all stayed home from church on Sunday...which I hated to do...but on Sunday morning I got sick as well...so we decided it best not to attempt it. I guess the boys will just have to wear their cute Easter outfits next Sunday :)

Today I've gotten quite a bit accomplished as far as housework goes. The house definitely needed it after a few days of neglect because of sickness. We've gone outside a couple of times today for the boys to play but we haven't gone anywhere. Spencer is such a big help with cleaning. I let him vacuum the bathroom because he whined until I let him do it. He thinks he's a big boy. I appreciate his willingness. We'll see at what age wanting to help clean the house starts to dwindle. Right now I'm loving every minute of it.

Both Andrew and Spencer's tummies are still a little rotten, but hopefully that will start to get better soon. Andrew has a couple of doctor's appointments this week - one with the orthopedic doctor tomorrow and then his pediatrician on Wednesday. We sure have spent a fortune this past week on doctor's copays :)Hopefully they will be able to determine what's wrong with his leg though. That's the most important thing. We'll keep you up to date on what they say.

Tonight when we were eating dinner...Andrew definitely had his appetite back. Shaun fed him some noodles and chicken and I thought the cutest part was when he chowed down on some corn on the cob. Who knew 6 little teeth could do so much damage to an ear of corn :)

I guess that's about it for tonight. I know I've written a lot...but a lot has happened. Every day I'm grateful that I'm a Mom. I love Spencer and Andrew so much and just want the best for them. Hope everyone had a great Easter!