Hmmmmmm.....

It's the strangest thing. We gave Fenn his bottle around 7:30 last night, he fell asleep in my lap IMMEDIATELY afterward, we put him in his crib, and then didn't hear a peep out of him until between 12:00 and 12:30 a.m. Then, he really didn't wake up, but was just fidgeting. I could tell his diaper was pretty puffy, so I decided to change it (thinking the wet diaper would wake him up later on). He didn't wake up while I was changing his diaper! I put him back in his crib and didn't hear a peep out of him until 5:00 a.m. I went to check on him and once again, he was just fidgeting a little... not really awake. It was like we got the old Fenn back! Oh, and he has suddenly lost interest in sleeping on his belly and has gone back to sleeping on his back. I guess for that one night, he just wanted to be near his mommy and daddy.

Too Smart for My Britches

We had another busy weekend in our household. First of all, we took Fenn back to the doctor on Thursday and found out he has another ear infection. (Or maybe the first one never completely cleared up.) So here we go with round two of antibiotics... and the inevitable diarrhea. Oh joy! On Friday afternoon, my parents (G-ma and G-da) were coming into town. We also had another Front Yard Friday social to attend at our friends' house next door. We went ahead and took Fenn with us since he wasn't contagious and seemed to be feeling good. My parents stayed at the house to rest after a five hour drive to Knoxville. As usual, we had a great time and a huge turnout. Fenn got to meet Jack (just 5 weeks old), who lives across the street. Looks like we'll be continuing the socials into the fall because lots of people are interested in hosting.

On Saturday night, we decided to take my parents out for dinner at a local Italian restaurant, Naples. Things were going great until......another INCIDENT happened.... again. I had just changed a poopy diaper and then our food arrived. Being lulled into a false sense of security... I was thinking we had averted any catastrophes (of the poopy diaper kind) and would be able to enjoy our meal and get home. Fenn was sitting in the highchair and we were almost finished eating, then Dan happened to reach behind Fenn and put his hand on Fenn's back. And there IT was... poopy had squeezed out of Fenn's diaper and was all up his back. We grabbed Fenn out of the highchair and headed for the bathroom, leaving a trail of poopy behind. (That's why you should clean those seats before you use them!) This time I needed Dan's help, and it didn't matter if he wasn't supposed to be in the women's restroom. We stripped Fenn down and got him cleaned up. But this time, I didn't have a change of clothes with me, so all I could do was rinse out his clothes and put them back on him. The shorts weren't too bad ~ I just rinsed the waistband and put them back on, but the shirt was another story. While I was rinsing out Fenn's shirt, Dan walked out with our shirtless, wet shorts baby to tell my parents to ask for the check. When I walked out with Fenn's shirt, everyone was staring at Fenn and Dan! Once again, the "Clampetts come to town". We put the half wet shirt back on Fenn, paid the check, and went home. Another lesson learned: ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS pack a change of clothes for the baby!

Once again, our perception of what is "normal" (for our lives) is changing... hence, the name of my blog. First of all, Fenn assumed the crawl position (with a little help from G-da) for the first time... so he'll become mobile really soon and we'll have to "babyproof" the house. Secondly... For the most part, Fenn has always slept well at night. Over the last few nights, he has started waking up a couple of hours after going down for the night. Well, this just happens to coincide with when we are trying to go to bed ourselves. He's fussy and wants to be picked up. We'll get him back to sleep (either by picking him up or by just patting his back), but he'll wake up again within 30 minutes or so. This would go on until about 3:00 a.m. Well, the first half of the night is mommy's shift... so I have basically been getting up every 20 or 30 minutes for the first 4 hours of each night. This is NOT good sleep! After 3:00, Fenn would at least sleep until around 4:30 and then until 6:00 (his usual wake up time). Last night, we tried everything we could think of. We checked his temperature and gave him some Tylenol. We thought maybe he was a little gassy and gave him some Mylicon drops. We changed his diaper because it was a little puffy. We thought maybe his ears were hurting and put some ear drops in them. But he still cried whenever we put him back in his crib. Then we tried letting him cry it out for 5 minutes or so. A couple of times, he would stop crying and drift off, but then he would wake up and start crying again a few minutes later. So we decided to do a little experiment. We broke our rule about putting him in our bed. But we knew that if he stopped crying once in our bed, we would have our answer. We would know he was fine and just wanted to be near us. And that's exactly what happened. He went to sleep and was good the rest of the night. So, that's why I say our "normal" is changing. Fenn is getting older... and wiser. He's a smart cookie and is learning how to manipulate Mommy and Daddy. Not to worry... we're pulling out our "artillery" and will win this battle... somehow!

Look What I Can Do Now!

The child can stand. But he still doesn't crawl. He still isn't anywhere close to crawling. He doesn't even get in the crawling position. He doesn't scoot around much... except for when he's in his crib. He sits up great, but the only thing he'll do is sometimes move from a sitting position to his tummy. But he can stand! (check out the "tip toe" pose!)

Belly Sleeper

The other night (Thursday, 07/17), we put Fenn in "big boy" pajamas for the first time. We did this because all of his normal sleep t-shirts were dirty. For months now, we've been putting him to bed on his back in a long-sleeve, legless, white t-shirt onesie and a SleepSack wearable blanket. But on Thursday night when we put Fenn in his crib, he immediately rolled over to his left side and threw his leg over (see photo). He did this for a few nights and then IT happened. He decided he preferred to sleep on his belly! Oh horrors! We had been dreading the day (or night) when we found him on his belly in his crib. Up until this point, he has been so good about sleeping on his back. What do we do? Do we turn him over to his back every time we find him on his belly? That can't be a good idea because not only does it disrupt Fenn's sleep, but it also disrupts mommy and daddy's sleep. We decided the only thing we could do is let him sleep on his belly. Oh my goodness... he sleeps SO much better now. He has always been good at night, but would sometimes get a little restless and wake me up a few times. He wouldn't be crying. He would just be bumping around in his crib and lose his pacifier. So I would typically get up a couple of times each night and give him his pacifier and maybe move him back to the middle of the crib. Well, the past 2 nights he has slept through the night without losing his pacifier and without waking up mommy (I would say "and daddy", but Dan rarely hears him during the night). However, we have a new dilemma. The past two mornings he has woken up because his diaper has leaked out the front.... thus wetting him, his sheet, and his mattress pad. Arrgh!!!! And believe me, sleeping in pee soaked PJs can cause a little rash on the belly! As I type this, I have 2 fitted sheets and 2 mattress pads in the washer. I really don't want to have to wash sheets and mattress pads every day. So now what do we do? We're thinking we either have to try a different brand of diapers, go up a size in diapers, or start changing his diaper in the middle of the night. I do NOT want to start doing option #3. That can't be good!

On the same night that Asha died, we decided to go out to our favorite mexican restaurant, Che Guevara (AKA "The restaurant formerly known as La Paz"). We thought it would be better if we kept busy and weren't at home. Plus, after the two weeks I had just gone through, this girl was needing a margarita! Can we say 'tequila'? Fenn was definitely on his game that night. He sat in the highchair while we ate, being his usual cute self. After we ate, we got him out and Dan had him on his lap. This great bluesy song came on (sure do wish I knew the name of it) and Fenn LOVED it! He started bouncing and jumping in Dan's lap... the whole time laughing out loud ~ actually CACKLING out loud. He had the whole restaurant looking at him and smiling. There was a little girl and little boy at the table next to us. They were having so much fun watching Fenn, that they got up and started dancing and they were laughing along with him. Eventually, Dan got tired, so he handed Fenn to me. (It sometimes gets exhausting trying to hold Fenn because he's so strong.) He proceeded to pick up where he left off, once again bouncing back and forth on my lap and cackling out loud. It was hysterical. He had the biggest smile on his face and was having the best time. We hope this is a sign that he is going to be musical, because he already really seems to love music.

Who's That Baby in the Mirror?

The other day, Fenn was sitting on the floor playing with some of his toys. We have this old mirror for the car (that doesn't work anymore), and I will prop it up on the floor next to Fenn sometimes. After a few minutes, I looked over and he had pulled the mirror onto his lap. He was leaning into the mirror (kind of kissing it) and then leaning back and laughing out loud. It was so cute, so I (OF COURSE) had to get out my camera! Oh, notice that in pictures 1 and 2, his mouth is clean. But if you look closely at the 3rd photo (click on the photo to enlarge it), you'll notice there is something all over his mouth. I can't remember what happened... I guess he spit up. But you'd THINK I would remember cleaning him up after that! Maybe he just spit up on the mirror and it wasn't actually on his mouth. Hmmmm.... Mommy Brain... enough said!

We'll miss you, Asha!

Yesterday, we said goodbye to my girly girl, Asha. I adopted her on February 5, 2000 from the LaGrange, GA shelter. It was my first day to volunteer there. We had been out on an off-site adoption all day and Asha had not been adopted. She kept sitting near me toward the end of the day. She had already been at the shelter for 2 months, so I knew (and she probably knew) her days were numbered. So, being the sucker that I am, I decided to adopt her. Keep in mind that I had no intentions of having more than one dog. (Cole, my black Lab, was turning 2 that very weekend.) I thought maybe Cole would enjoy having a friend. Well, they never really loved each other. I think they just tolerated each other. Cole really wanted to be an only child. Anyway, Asha turned out to be a really good dog. She was always so healthy until the last year. In late June 2007, while bathing her, I discovered that her head was sunken in just above and below her right eye. We never got an actual diagnosis (due to the cost involved), but the vet suspected she had a peripheral nerve sheath tumor. We decided that since she still seemed happy, was eating well, and was still chasing everything that moved, we would just keep an eye on her and make sure she was always comfortable. The last couple of months, her condition seemed to worsen and she wasn't the Asha we knew. She would stumble and fall, get disoriented, and just generally seemed unhappy. She wanted to stay inside all the time (which was definitely not like her). So, we made the decision you never really ever want to have to make. We like to think she's somewhere up there chasing Cole and grabbing onto his ear while he's trying to catch the frisbee! Or she's in a pasture, herding the cows (one of her all-time favorite things to do!). Thanks for being my girly girl for 8 1/2 years and thanks for choosing me. We'll miss you, Asha-girl!

It's so weird around here now. We have gone from 3 fur kids to 2 fur kids and now to 1 fur kid in less than a year. Petey is our only fur kid now. And I would swear that he's a little sad and feeling a little lonely now. (That's all 3 fur kids sunning in the backyard. They loved Spring and Fall days when they could lie on their Coolaroo beds and enjoy the sun.) Some people may think I'm a weirdo for loving my dogs so much. But you have to keep in mind there was a time in my life when I didn't think I would get married, and certainly didn't think I would have children of my own. So my dogs were my kids. And look what happened... Dan married me despite the fact that I had THREE dogs!

Fenn at Seven Months Old

This is Fenn at Seven Months. This is the seventh installment in the "12-month onesie" series. Once again, he has been a really busy little bean. Over the past month, he has celebrated Father's Day, started a new daycare, gone swimming in a big pool for the first time, eaten "puffs" snacks for the first time, had his first "boo-boo", had his first ear infection, gone on his first plane ride, and gone on his first family vacation. He hasn't gotten any new teeth yet, but we know those two top teeth are lurking up there somewhere. He is a drooling machine these days! He gnaws on EVERYTHING he can get to his mouth and has become obsessed with his tongue. He's an old pro at sitting up now. He loves to stand up (assisted, of course). And he loves bouncing and jumping in his "race car" exercise disc and his "johnny jump-up". No real words yet, but he's definitely experimenting with different sounds. He loves looking at himself in the mirror (check back later for some cute pictures of him ~ they'll be in a different post.) And he just smiles the biggest smile when he sees a photo of himself, mommy, or daddy. One more thing... he loves to give kisses. He has to be prompted, of course. But I'll say "Give me a kiss" and then pucker up to lean into him, and he'll start leaning toward me with his mouth open. When I kiss him on his cute little mouth, I'll get a little surprise... he'll give me a little tongue action! Now where did he learn to french kiss?

I put a link (over in the right-hand margin) underneath the heading "More Photos of Fenn" to all the photos in the 12-Month Onesie series. It's fun to see them all together.

Chevy Chase Vacation: Part V

This is my last post about our vacation to Colorado. It begins with our last full day in Colorado (Tuesday, July 8th). It was a good trip, even though Fenn was sick the whole time. Let's just say we made the best of it. We were constantly worrying about Fenn's fever, which would be lower each morning and then would spike in the late afternoon. It seemed each day the "spike" would be a little higher, with his top temp reaching 104.8. We gave him Tylenol and cool baths to keep the temp down. We were also dealing with severe diarrhea the whole time. Thank goodness the cabin now has a washer & dryer... because we were constantly washing something. And because of the diarrhea and Fenn not eating and taking his bottles as well as usual, we also worried about him getting dehydrated. But we kept a close eye on him and referred to our excellent American Academy of Pediatrics book (courtesy of Publix super market) many, many times throughout the trip. I'll say this again... The only reasons we decided to go ahead with our trip were because 1) Fenn's fever was normal and he seemed to be feeling a little better on the morning we were scheduled to leave. and 2) Everything we read and were told about an ear infection indicated he should be feeling a lot better within a day or two. And the fever should be gone within 48 hours or so. When he wasn't feeling a lot better by Sunday night, we thought "he'll feel better tomorrow." Then he was still running a fever on Monday, and we thought, "maybe tomorrow". By this time, we were almost due to go home. We decided we would take him to the pediatrician first thing on Thursday. Wait til you hear what we found out on this visit...

Back to the trip. On our last day at the cabin, we awoke to an absolutely beautiful day. The sky was clear in all directions and we were excited about taking Fenn for a hike. We got up early and ate a nice breakfast. Then we put a load of sheets in the washer, packed our hiking stuff, and headed out. You actually have to hike in a little ways from where you park just to get to the Hessie Trailhead. Then from there, it's another mile to where all the other trails begin. We chose to hike up to Lost Lake because it was a short hike of 1/2 mile with a destination, although there are some longer hikes with much better views. Two years ago we hiked up to Jasper Lake (4 miles from where all the trails begin) and there are some really spectacular views from up there. Fenn always seems so alert and happy when he first gets into the backpack carrier. He looks around at EVERYTHING and has the biggest smile on his face. I think we might have a "lover of all things outdoors" on our hands! But it didn't take long for him to nod off for a little catnap. We made it up to Lost Lake and guess what happened? It started raining. Actually, it was hailing at first and then it turned to plain old rain. We ate our snack and fed Fenn under a tree. Then because we were unsure of what the weather would do, we didn't stick around. We headed back down the mountain. I wish I had taken a picture of Dan and Fenn now. To keep Fenn dry, we put the hood of my rain jacket over Dan's head and draped the jacket over Fenn (in the backpack carrier on Dan's back). Dan put his hat on over it to hold it in place. Fenn was asleep and never even knew what was going on. But it was a funny sight because Dan had this big hump on his back and you couldn't tell there was a baby under there. Oh, I have to mention my "clutsy moment of the trip"! Coming down the mountain, it is really rocky on the trail and as you know, it had been raining. I stepped on a wet rock and the rest happened in slow motion... my left foot slipped on the rock, my right leg slung forward to try and somehow stop what was happening, my left leg bent at the knee, and I came down (sliding) on my butt and my shin on top of a big rock. I was okay, but my shin was all scratched up and bleeding a little. But I'm a tough girl. I got up and we headed on down the mountain. We picked up some lunch on the way back to the cabin and then spent the next couple of hours packing and cleaning. Plus, we had to do the "traditional" photo up in the bunk bed. (You should have seen Dan running across the room, climbing the ladder, and getting into position.... all in less than 10 seconds... before the self-timer on the camera went off!) Different family members had been doing that shot for years. We also did our own traditional photo outside in front of the cabin with the meadow and mountains in the background. One more thing we started was to mark the date and Fenn's height on a piece of door trim in the kitchen. Dan's cousins used to spend time at the cabin each summer, and they had been marking their heights every year on a screen door on the back porch of the cabin. We thought it was a great idea. In addition to marking Fenn's height, we also marked Piper and Sydney's heights. They were at the cabin last summer. We called Debbie and she just happened to have their exact heights from around that time because they had both been to the doctor within a week or so of the trip. Even though Dan's parents are trying to sell the cabin, you never know if it will actually sell anytime soon. Plus, we can always remove the piece of trim and use it somewhere else (if they buy another vacation home closer to all of us).

We finally finished up and headed toward Denver. We were staying in a hotel that night near the airport because we had an early morning flight on Wednesday morning. By this time, we were anxious to get home. We had been stressed over worrying about Fenn and we also had not slept well the whole time (because Fenn was sleeping with us). We ordered a pizza from room service and turned in kind of early. Wednesday went well. Fenn did great (as usual) on the flight home. We had a 2 hour layover in Houston, which gave us time to eat and actually catch our breath. I have to tell this funny story about something that happened at the airport. You know how you take the train to get to your terminal? The train arrives, everyone gets off and basically follows the person (or people) ahead of them toward the escalators. Since we had a stroller piled high with luggage, we had to use the elevator, so we were merely spectators of this (shall we say) EVENT. This group got off the train, being led by this one woman. There was a set of escalators there, and she approached the escalator to the right. She stepped onto the treads of the escalator, only to get thrown back. Well then she tried it AGAIN! Keep in mind that all the people behind her are following her blindly. After the second attempt, she finally realized it was the DOWN escalator! It wasn't taking her UP! You probably had to be there, but take my word, it was FUNNY stuff. I wish I'd had my video camera out because I could have made some $$$ off of that video.

OK, so we make it home without any problems. The next morning, we get an appointment for Fenn. His pediatrician was definitely a little confused about why he was still running a fever. She looked at his ears and they looked MUCH better than they had looked the week before. So at least that meant the Amoxicillin was working. She ended up drawing some blood to run a quick test. Get this... he had a viral infection on top of the ear infection (which is bacterial). And he probably picked up the viral infection while at the doctor's office the day before we left for vacation. Can you believe our luck??? So, now we know he probably would have been feeling better within a couple of days. But by then, the viral infection had kicked in full force. I kept him home from daycare that day and on Friday. By Friday afternoon, there were no signs of a temperature. So that's the story of our Chevy Chase Vacation. Want to go on vacation with us?

If you want to see more pictures from our vacation, click on the Slideshow in the previous post "Chevy Chase Vacation: Part IV". Or, you can see the same photos if you click on the photo album link over to the right under the heading "More Photos of Fenn".

Chevy Chase Vacation: Part IV

This is Part IV about our Chevy Chase Vacation experience. As always, if you haven't read the first 3 parts, be sure to scroll down to see those first. I thought I would go ahead and include a slideshow of most of our photos from the trip. There are just too many to include individually on my blog posts. Enjoy! I'll make one more post after this to finish up the trip.

Chevy Chase Vacation: Part III

If you haven't already read Parts I and II about our vacation, be sure to scroll down and read those first. The first pictures were taken on Sunday morning. Fenn was playing peek-a-boo with us. I am still in awe of this child for being able to act so happy while obviously not feeling well. I know I am prejudiced, but he is such a good baby.

On Monday morning, we met Dan's aunt Peggy and cousin Susan for breakfast. They were in town from Michigan and Pennsylvania. I had never met them before, so it was really nice. And it was nice that Fenn got to meet them, too. I think Fenn charmed them, as he does everyone he meets. They were staying down the road at Arapahoe Ranch, but used to spend most summers at the cabin before Dan's grandmother passed away 4 years ago.

Afterward, we had hoped the weather would hold out so we could get in a short hike. But, once again, it was really cloudy in the direction of the mountains and we didn't want to risk getting caught in a storm with Fenn. So, we went back to Boulder to Flagstaff Mountain. Flagstaff Mountain is just west of downtown Boulder. It has panoramic views of the city and plains, mountain views, and an amphitheater. There we could get some photos with nice views and walk on some short trails... and not get too far away from the car. And in case we didn't get to go on a real hike, we would at least have some photos with mountain views! We needed something to prove we actually went on vacation! It turned out to be a lot of fun, and we did get a little rain. First, we went to a rocky bluff with some awesome views where we had gotten some great photos 2 years ago. Then we found the amphitheater which overlooks Boulder. After that, we found a nice self-guided nature trail and Fenn seemed to really enjoy it. Check out some of the sweet photos of him on the trail. He learned about different textures (tree bark, pine needles, wild grasses, and some HUGE "puff ball, blow in the wind" dandelion thingys). I'm going to post a slideshow so you can see more of our pictures. There are just too many to include individually in my posts.

Chevy Chase Vacation: Part II

If you haven't read Part I of our vacation, be sure to scroll down and read the first post: Chevy Chase Vacation: Part I. We stopped off at Target in Boulder to pick up some baby supplies (diapers, wipes, food, etc.) and some groceries and then headed up Boulder Canyon toward Nederland and then to the cabin in Eldora, an old mining community. (The first 2 pictures are of our view from the cabin.) Eldora has a small ski resort that is pretty popular with Boulder residents because the bus makes frequent trips up there each day. Otherwise, there is not much left of Eldora as a town. We spent that evening and a good part of Saturday cleaning up the cabin (because we were the first visitors this year) and letting Fenn sleep as much as possible... hoping he would be feeling much better by Sunday. Plus, it rained a good bit that day, so it was kind of nice to stay in and nap a little ourselves. We needed the nap because we didn't sleep much the night before. You see... we're not really used to sleeping with an infant in our bed. We decided way before Fenn was born that we were not going to start that. But... because he was not feeling well, he would not sleep in the Pogy travel pop-up bed we purchased especially for the trip. Great idea... Fenn just wasn't having it on this trip! Nope! Not gonna do it. I'll just go ahead and say that he slept with us for all 5 nights of our trip. (But he is back to his normal routine now where we put him in his crib while still awake and he falls asleep on his own each night.) Wanting to get out of the cabin but not sure if Fenn was feeling well enough to hike, we planned to go into Boulder on Sunday. Once again, it rained part of the day. It has never rained this much during past trips to the cabin. So on top of having a sick baby, the rain has also affected our plans. Boulder was fun. It has a really cool downtown with a pedestrian mall. Lots of cool shops and restaurants. Plus, it's fun to people watch and to watch the street entertainers (keep in mind that Boulder is a very liberal town!). We really love it there. Plus, there's virtually no humidity! Anyway, Fenn enjoyed being strolled around. We picked up some gifts for Asha and Petey at a cute dog shop. Fenn got a new toy, as well, at another great store. (Click on the link for a photo of his toy.) Before heading home, we grabbed an early dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. Not a very original selection, but they weren't busy yet because we were so early. Plus, we could tell Fenn was getting ready for a nap, so luckily we were able to leave him in his stroller. And as expected, he fell asleep and allowed us to enjoy our meal.









That's enough for this post. Our first 2 days were pretty uneventful ~ just a lot of sleeping, poopying, and obsessing over Fenn's temperature. I'll post more entries about our trip later on... and of course, more pictures. So be sure to check back for Chevy Chase Vacation: Part III.

Chevy Chase Vacation: Part I

Well, the week leading up to Friday, July 4th turned out to be a really hard week. I have to mention all of this so you get the full picture about our Chevy Chase Vacation. On Tuesday morning, I found out that Kate, the 7-year old daughter of my friend, Maribeth, had suddenly passed away on Sunday from an inflamed heart. Needless to say, this was completely unexpected and they had no idea she had any kind of heart problem. Finally, I found out visitation was that night in Valley, AL from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. So I made a quick decision to try and make it in time ~ a 5-hour trip with an infant. I started packing around 1:00 p.m. with hopes of getting on the road by 2:00ish. Dan picked up Fenn from daycare and gassed up the car for me. We finally got on the road around 3:00. It didn't take long to realize it wasn't going to be an easy trip. Fenn had always been so easy and good on previous road trips, but this time he was really fussy and not napping as much. I found myself driving with my right arm draped over the seat so that Fenn could hold my hand. Not the most comfortable of positions! I finally got Fenn to sleep, but then it was time for the 5:00 p.m. dinner stop and we were close to an exit where we regularly stop about an hour north of Atlanta. We've found that Cracker Barrels are great places to stop because you can sit outside in the rocking chairs while feeding the baby. After about 45 minutes, we were back on the road. Thank goodness we stopped when we did, because it wasn't long before we got slowed down in road construction a little north of Marietta. We got through the construction and made it to the I-285 by-pass and then it happened.... Traffic came to a screeching halt. For the next 10 miles, we averaged 10 miles per hour (yes, it was THAT slow!). Fenn cried a lot and really just wanted to be held. I knew he couldn't be feeling well, or he wouldn't be acting like that. We finally made it past the accident and traffic started moving at a normal, German Autobahn pace. By this time, I had come to the realization that I was NOT going to make it to visitation that night. Because of being held up twice in traffic, I had to make one more stop to feed Fenn his 8:00 p.m. bedtime bottle. Back on the road and headed away from Atlanta, we made it to my parents' house a little before 10:00 p.m. After getting the car unloaded and the Pack 'n Play set up, I finally got Fenn down for the night. He was running a slight fever that night and the next day. I attended the funeral at 2:00 p.m. while my parents watched Fenn. Let me just say that the funeral of a child is the saddest thing you'll ever go through. I just hope you never have to experience it. The strangest thing is that I was just thinking of Kate the weekend before when Fenn was swimming in my parents' pool. We (Maribeth, Kama, and I) had taken Kate swimming at my parents' just 7 years earlier, when Kate must have been only a few months older than Fenn. After the funeral, I fed Fenn and quickly finished loading the car. We got on the road around 4:45 p.m. This time, Fenn was still a little fussy, but the trip went much better and there were no traffic problems. We got home that night at 9:45 p.m. The next morning (Thursday), we went ahead and sent Fenn to daycare, but called the pediatrician to make an appointment. It didn't take long for his doctor to discover he had an ear infection. She said it was probably just beginning on Tuesday night. Poor little guy! (Mommy is feeling horrible right about now for dragging him out of town.) So... now we have ourselves a little dilemma. Do we go ahead with our vacation plans or cancel them? We were scheduled to fly out the very next morning. Destination: Denver, CO. We had been looking forward to taking Fenn to the cabin in Eldora and going on his first hike in the Colorado rockies. With a clingy baby on our hands, we did the best we could to try and pack that night. We decided we would see how he was the next morning before making a final decision about whether to stay or go. The next morning, Fenn's fever was in the "normal" range and he seemed to be feeling much better. (I had gotten 2 doses of Amoxicillin in him on Thursday.) So, we decided to go ahead with our trip. Everything we read about ear infections indicated they should be feeling better within a couple of days. So we thought he would be back to his old self by Sunday. We made it relatively easily through airport security (considering all the baby stuff we had). The first leg of our flight (we had a layover in Houston) went great. Fenn never cried during takeoff, took his bottle, napped a lot, and bounced on our laps. We was so good that almost everyone on the plane was either smiling at him as they exited or commenting about what a wonderful baby he was. The flight attendant asked if it was his first flight. When we told her it was, she asked if we wanted to take a few pictures up at the front of the plane. We said sure! We, of course, just thought she meant right there as you exit the plane with the cockpit in the background. But then we found out she meant INSIDE the cockpit! How cool is that? The pictures are a little dark because the light is coming from behind them, but you can still tell they're in the cockpit. If you look at the other pictures, you can see that Fenn's cheeks are flushed and it is obvious he's not 100%. But he still was so good throughout the day. The next leg of our trip went fine, too. However, Fenn's temperature had been creeping up some during the day. We made it to Denver International Airport and caught the bus to the car rental place. There was a long line, so I sat with Fenn and all our luggage on a sofa in a waiting area while Dan stood in line. Fenn was sitting on my lap. He was tired and getting a little fussy. And then the INCIDENT happened. I felt something warm on my lap. I lifted Fenn off my lap and there it was.... POOPY all over my shorts and the (thank goodness) leather sofa... RUNNY POOPY. (If you'll look closely at the 2nd picture, you can see it is on both legs.) While holding Fenn away from me, I called for Dan. He looked around at all the people around him and gave me a look like "I really don't want to get out of line and lose my place. Can it wait? Or, can you come here to me?" I said, "Get.... over... here... NOW!" He came over and quickly assessed the situation. (It didn't take much "assessing" to figure out we had a mess on our hands... pardon the pun.) Dan took Fenn and was just standing there holding him as far away from his clothing as possible. We were trying to figure out how to get both of us to the bathroom, when this extremely nice lady came rushing over to offer her help. She called her daughter out of line and they told us they would watch our luggage. I tried to find the "back up" change of clothing I had packed in a carry-on for Fenn, but couldn't seem to find it. I grabbed the diaper bag and my suitcase and we headed to the bathroom. Well, I waddled like a duck and must have looked really strange. While walking toward it, we met a woman and her young daughter coming out of the bathroom. The little girl looked down at my pants in horror. I suppose to her it looked like I'd had an accident in my pants! I went inside first and got the diaper changing area set up, then went back to get Fenn. I cleaned up Fenn and handed him back out to Dan. He only had on a diaper, so he looked a little bit like white trash standing in line with his Daddy. All he needed was black, dirty feet and a snotty nose and he could have passed for some of the babies you see in Wal-Mart. I changed my pants and then rinsed out our clothes. Once back out with our luggage, I was able to think straight and find some clothes for Fenn. We got our car and were finally on our way toward Boulder for a Target stop and then on to Eldora. I'll post more about our Chevy Chase Vacation later in a separate blog entry. It wasn't all bad, but it wasn't the vacation we were hoping for. Complaining about our recent run of bad luck is all in fun. We feel very fortunate to have our health and be able to even take a vacation. In no way do we think what we have been through remotely compares to what Maribeth and her family are going through right now. My thoughts and prayers are constantly with them.