Aaron gets sick

So between the long weekend and Aaron getting sick, I didn't manage to write a blog entry last week. Oops! To make up for it, I'm including some of the fantastic pictures from our family photo shoot last month.

The long weekend was nice, but on Friday both boys were cranky and on edge. Mudgie was having meltdowns at the drop of a hat, and Aaron was all out of sorts. I wanted to lock them in their room and run away, but we went to Western MA instead. They had a good time with Grampy Michael, but fought with each other all day.

On Saturday, we discovered why Aaron was acting off. He woke up from his nap with a fever. Poor little guy. It was the first real illness he's had, so I'm sure he didn't understand why he felt so crummy. He even started waking up in the night again. That night he woke up with a very high fever, probably 103+ (it was hard to take a good reading at 4am), and even though I drugged him and got him back to sleep, I was worried about him and didn't sleep much the rest of the night.

On Sunday, we were able to control his fever with a combination of Tylenol and Motrin, and it was such a nice day that we went apple picking with Grammy and Grampy Weatherwax and Auntie Lisa, keeping Aaron quarantined in the backpack. With his fever under control, Aaron was actually in a pretty good mood. He consumed lots of apples. It wasn't until Sunday afternoon, when I noticed Aaron's feet were so red that they were glowing, that I realized what he had...hand, foot, and mouth disease. By Sunday night the fever was gone, but the rash had already started to show up on his feet and legs, and on Monday it had spread to his torso, though aside from being extra sleepy and not having much of an appetite, he was pretty much better. The rash got a little worse before it got better, but by the end of the week, he was back to himself and back to sleeping through the night.

This weekend was pretty low-key. It involved lots of playing in the basement, lots of playing outside, and pumpkin picking on Sunday. Both Mudgie and Aaron loved the pumpkin picking. It was perfect fall activity for a perfect fall day.

Aaron's personality is becoming more and more defined. He still doesn't have a lot of words (though he talks constantly, we can't understand most of it), but he certainly communicates well. A new favorite game of his is going in the closet in the basement and saying "door," meaning he wants you to close the door. Then he waits a little while, opens the door, peeks out, and laughs with delight when he sees you. Dave is also convinced Aaron told him that he was peeing this weekend by walking up to Dave, saying "pee pee," and grabbing his diaper. Let's hope he's right!

Mudgie continues to be wise beyond his years. We were all watching tv in the living room when Dave looked over at Mudgie and said, "He looks so old. Soon he'll be going to school." And Mudgie, who hears everything you say, except when you are asking him to do something, said, "Then college!" So true...