When we decided to have children, we also decided that we wanted to be home every Christmas morning. However, this year, it just didn’t work out that way. We decided Liam is still too young for that to be an issue, and so we made ourselves flexible so we could spend time with family members we otherwise would not have gotten to see!
Rather than have one crazy, hectic Christmas week-end, we decided to open our Christmas presents at home on Saturday, December 15 after hanging our Christmas lights. Liam got so excited about the lights, and was a little helper.
Every night since, he comes home and wants them to be turned on, after which point he exclaims “lights!”. It’s fun to see him so excited, and I know next year will be even more sweet as he begins to more fully comprehend what Christmas means.
Liam’s big present from this year was an iPod Touch 4. Some may be rolling their eyes here. However, it really is the best present we could have gotten him. He is absolutely obsessed with our iPhones, and this keeps him from playing with those (and making repetitive calls to friends and family and who knows where else). We loaded it with several toddler-friendly apps, and it is the perfect thing to entertain him on the 40 minute drive to and from daycare each day. Screaming time has greatly diminished, and so I have no regrets about this purchase. He also received 4 new books and a pair of house shoes from us. He loves the books, especialy “Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?”. He isn’t so sure about the house shoes, but maybe he will adjust to them! We also got him some bath paints, and so his new favorite bathtime pastime is painting our tub and himself!
On Saturday, December 22, we had Christmas with some of our grandparents and my parents in Evansville, IN. Liam had a lot of fun opening and playing with his new toys. He also got to visit with some distant cousins and spend time with family members who had either never seen him or not seen him in a year! Unfortuantely, on this day he was exposed to the flu and, as I’ll explain more later, he did catch it.
On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we spend time with Nathan’s family. Christmas Eve was with Nathan’s mom’s side of the family, and on Christmas Day we opened presents with his parents, and then with his grandparents on his dad’s side. Liam had a great time, and was spoiled beyond measure! We all were!
Now, I must back up to Christmas Day to begin the saga of our bad luck that followed after Christmas! First, on Christmas Eve, we woke up without hot water, and not much to be done about it since it was during the Christmas holiday. We had hoped to get the hot water fixed by Wednesday, but it didn’t happen. After having several friends and 2 plumbers assess the situation, we finally discovered the cause of the water not heating was due to a leak beneath our house. A friend of ours helped us fix it on Monday – so we were without regular hot water for 7 days!
On top of the hot water situation, Liam woke up the day after Christmas (Wednesday) with a fever. It was only a low grade fever, and after calling the pediatrician’s office, their recommendation was that we keep an eye on things and bring him in the next day if it got any higher. Well, it did, and they tested him for the influenza virus, and it was positive. He ran a fever until Saturday, December 29, which was supposed to be the day of his birthday party! So, we had to reschedule that for January 5. Thankfully he seems to be doing better now.
As if the lack of hot water and the flu virus weren’t enough to make for a bad week, Nathan’s grandpa was also admitted to the hospital for pneumonia, and there was some concern about whether he would recover. Thankfully, he seems to be doing better, but could use continued good thoughts and prayers.
I’m glad to be on the other side, or mostly on the other side, of all of that!
Hi Heather, I wish I could tell everyone with pneumonia or at risk for it about the Cough Assist device. It should be in every hospital. Look it up–the generic name is ‘mechanical insufflation/exsufflation’ MIE device. It helps clear airways but is much less invasive and uncomfortable than suctioning. It is crucial for people with a weak cough reflex that can accompany spinal damage, paralysis, etc. Perhaps it can be used for Nathan’s grandpa; I’ve no doubt it would be helpful.
–Jane
Loved the photos of Liam!
I’m so glad that Liam is recovering, and hope Nathan’s grandpa makes a full recovery as well. It sounds like you had a wonderful Holiday Season! We’re in North-Central Indiana, so about 3 hours North of Evansville! Small world.
Liam’s pictures are so cute…he’s getting so big, and it’s hard to believe that he’s already 2!