Little Sickies

My boys have been little sickies for 2 weeks now. I think Phin has a "cold" or respiratory issues due to allergies. They say babies don't have allergies, but he seems to be showing signs of them. And Asher just got over ear infection. He didn't have a fever or even any complaints of pain because of the ear tubes. He just had drainage and I knew his ear was infected. So, he's finishing up his antibiotics. It's been hard to lay low with sick kids. I want to go outside and play and take them to church, but it isn't in their best interest, so we stay home. I'm almost glad that it's chilly out again. That way I don't get sad that we aren't spending time in the nice warm sunshine. This chilly "spell" will give us a little more time to recuperate and then we can play in the sunshine!!

Phin also had an allergic reaction to a friend's laundry detergent. Since he's so young and small, we couldn't give him any medication, just a bath and watch to make sure the hives and redness went away. It did within the allotted time and we didn't have to take him in, but I'm wondering if we should get him tested. I would just like to know what I need to keep him away from.

Here's a picture after Phin's bath. We got rid of most of the allergin, so he's looking a lot better. He had hives all around his mouth, neck and the side of his head.


Here's a picture of Asher on his couch watching Curious George after getting his ear drops in. He went through a little Curious George withdrawal when we didn't have to do the drops three times a day.

All My Boys

It's been a sad week. After a few good warm days last week and a lot of time outside, it's back to playing indoors. It's really hard for Asher after spending so much time in the sunshine to be forced behind the glass in the living room. He had a nice time with Dad outside on Saturday while Phin and I took a nap. They watched the trains, threw acorns, played on the slide, and threw rocks off the bridge into the river. They had a nice afternoon together.

And Asher is totally loving Phin right now. Not that he didn't before, but he's never really expressed it. He loves to babble to Phin and I've heard him from the kitchen saying "hug" and it scares me because Phin is on the floor and Asher is on top of him. We've had to explain many times that if Asher wants to give Phin a hug, that's great but he needs Mom's help. It's really quite funny. Asher is into this "love pat" thing, which Jonathan taught him, and he does it to Phin. Except that it's more of a hit than a pat. We try not to yell at Asher and just tell him to be gentle because he's trying to be loving. It's fun seeing Asher show an interest in Phin.

Asher is really into his cars right now. It's funny hearing him make all kinds of noises from the kitchen. And he tells me that a car says, "zoomy, zoom, zoom." It's really cute!

Spring Photo Shoot

On Sunday, Jonathan took pictures of Asher on our deck. They were really cute and Asher is such a little ham! We would put him in poses, and he would hold it like a good little model. So funny!

Easter Joy

Easter was always one of my favorite holidays as a kid and I hope we can make it something special for our boys. It's hard when they're this young because they don't understand the significance of this special time. But I hope as they grow, Jonathan and I can make it a meaningful time of reflection and joy!

Church has always been the focus of Easter growing up. We would wake up before the sun came up and put on our new Easter dresses. We went to the Easter Sunrise Service (a community service) at the Catholic church. It was always such a nice service with hymns, special music, and the pastors in the community reading from different passages of the Bible: the Easter story and the events that led up to the resurrection. Then we would have muffins in the church basement with family friends and head to our church for the Easter service. It was always such a special day for us. At my Grandma Bajema's we would hunt for eggs and at my Grandma Joyce we would get to eat special Easter treats.

On Easter Sunday, our boys woke for breakfast and I got them dressed in their Easter outfits (dress-shirt, tie, and sweater vest). They looked so cute. (We still have to get pictures of Phin in his outfit because he spit up all over his the last two Sundays.) Our Easter service included baptisms, which are my favorite thing to witness and what a wonderful symbol of what Christ has done for us. There were 10 middle school students that were baptized that morning and Jonathan had the honor to baptized 4 of them. There were also 3 adults that were baptized.

We were invited over for lunch by a young couple and enjoyed burgers and the fixin's (even though the wind-chill was 23 degrees). Nothing says "spring is finally here" like a burger cooked on the grill in sub-freezing temperatures.

When we got home, we had Asher "hunt" for eggs on our snowy lawn. It's hard when Easter comes so early. Little girls get cold in their new dresses and hunting for eggs in the snow requires a little more layering.

All in all it was a great day. I received an idea from a friend about making your own Resurrection Eggs. I think we'll try that next year, as Asher will be able to understand most of the items in the eggs. It will be nice to set our traditions early by making the day a celebration of what the Lord did for us.