barefootprints

It's spring!

We still have a few things to iron out before we venture back into full swing life again, but we're definitely excited for the first day of spring. We've had relatively mild weather the last week or so, and almost all the snow is gone. We've taken advantage of the weather to play outside, but we had one big monkey wrench thrown into those plans. The Plague hit our house last weekend. Well, not really, but it seemed like it. Kurt came home from work sick: fever, cough, chills. We went to great lengths to limit his contact with the kids, especially Quinn. We thought we were successful until Sunday when Faith and Dorian woke up feverish with coughs. They spent most of Sunday in bed, and part of Monday, and then seemed to be completely back to normal. And we thought we'd dodged a bullet with Quinn...until Tuesday when he spiked a fever, and the cough he'd already had for a month ramped up a notch. The fever last exactly 2 days, but the cough is lingering. And once again, I seem to be immune. It's been more than 3 years since I've had any sort of respiratory illness. Kurt thinks it's a literal miracle that I've been spared this whole winter, while this is the third time he's gotten sick. That's quite possible. What would happen if I were to get sick? Mass pandemonium. So, I've been spared yet again. But needless to say, I'm done with illness. I'd count down to the days when we can be healthy again, except that I'm not sure when that will be. I've been in wait-and-see mode for more than a month, and it's wearing on me. We're almost there...we're almost there...We have two weeks until Quinn's first birthday. And then we will have survived quite a year.

On a slightly different note, I've been experimenting with our camera's video capacity. This is poor quality, and I'm not very experienced at keeping it steady and so on, but who can resist a laughing baby? The giggler in the background calling out "Lemme see!" is Dorian. He loves making his baby brother laugh.

Brittany, this one's for you!
My sister requested I post a picture of Quinn sitting up. He just mastered this skill. He would have been 8 months old, so that's just about right, based on my memories of my other kids. He also just got his first tooth, so we're moving right along, and he's fifteen and a half pounds. He's been sick for three weeks now, and I'm so ready for spring weather and sunshine and warmth and health. He has had the same annoying cough that Dorian, Faith and Kurt got. Everyone else is healthy again. This too shall pass.

With Quinn getting his first tooth, I've reflected again on something that has struck me in the past. Before I had kids, I heard all these stories of what it was like to have babies around the house, the things that just come with the territory. Here's a short list of some of those things that I haven't had to do in nearly five years and three kids.

• I've dealt with one ear infection.
• I haven't dealt with colic. If my kids are crying, I can almost always identify the cause.
  
• I can count the number of times each child has spit up.
• Putting things other than food in their mouths doesn't seem to be something that appeals to them.
• The only way I've noticed a new tooth is by seeing it. My kids don't show any symptoms of teething.

I'm not saying it to brag. I just find it interesting.