The week in review...

Whew- TGIF!!! Will has been sick all week with croup & a double ear infection (caused by the croup.) He began coughing Sunday night & woke up Monday morning with a bad stridor, a horrible seal like cough, & wheezing. I took him to the doctor & learned he had croup. We immediately started him on steroids to try to reduce the swelling in his airway. Because Will has a narrow airway, there is not much room for swelling. After his afternoon nap, he was trembling all over and seemed to be doing worse so the doctor's office requested we return. At that point, he was one point away from being admitted to the hospital & they even told us they would admit him if we would feel better having him in the hospital. We choose to go home but kept a very close eye on him. Wednesday, I thought he was sounding much better. We had a follow-up appointment and the doctor informed me that he was not recovering well at all. The doctor suspected that perhaps he had ingested something which was caught in either his lungs or his airway and therefore causing the croup. He sent us for x-rays at the hospital. He told us there was a likely chance Will would need surgery that afternoon or the next day. Needless to say, I was a wreck. I imagine that preparing for surgery with any child is scary. With Will, there is an extra dose of scariness due to his narrow airway complications. He needs an anesthesiologist who specializes in pediatrics with narrow/difficult airways. (There's not one of those in Midland.) After enduring x-rays, he finally got to go home for a much needed nap. There was no foreign object to be found (thank you, God!) We just went today for our fourth trip to the dr this week and he has pronounced Will on the "road to recovery!" Yahoooo!!! I can hardly wait to get back to playing outside at the park & with friends again!

On another note, Will recently turned 16 months & I thought I'd share some new things he is up to:

• lots of new words & phrases: "no no" being a current favorite, "mine," "my mommy," "side" (for outside), "mmmm" while eating, "please," "crazy," "wheeee," "ha" (hat), "light off," and more!
• He is obsessed with the Wiggles- 4 dancing, singing men on Disney. Aunt Melinda got him some Wiggles dvds which previously we saved for special occasions - like airplane and car trips. This week, with being sick, however, I've let him watch more Wiggles at home. And he's obsessed! He has a special dance move for the Wiggles and he will stand at the TV doing his dance and begging and sometimes crying. Thanks, Halls! ;)
• He is obsessed with all things doggie related.
• He is obsessed with his Boston Red Sox hat
• He does not like steak but generally eats whatever we are eating
• He has lost some weight and is down to 23.03 lbs (I've told him to bulk up so that we don't have to turn him back around in his car seat!)
• He has learned how to climb up his plastic slide & then slide down, all by himself.
• He has learned how to take his pants off- & does frequently. Then he crawls around with them around his neck. Fortunately, he just does this at home (so far!)
• He has learned how to get a spoon or fork into his mouth properly & sometimes with food on it!
• He can roll down a hill (see video a few posts down.)
• He loves playing at the park & prefers to go head first or upside down, head first down the slide. He does not like short, "little kid" slides but prefers the big ones. He is a daredevil!
• He has gotten great at using his sign language. He often says "thank you" & "please" with out being told to! He even told the nurse this morning as she was leaving, "thank you!"
• He can make the "baaa" sound of a sheep (an angry, agressive sheep) & sometimes says "woof woof" for a doggie
• He loves swimming in the bathtub and lately spends most of his bathtime underwater, face up (with just his nose & mouth above water.)) He can roll himself back up but, obviously, I can't take my eyes off of him! He's crazy!
• He can find the moon / luna in the sky & loves pointing it out & talking about it.
• He is doing lots more pretend play - loves pretending to talk on the telephone & anything can be a telephone - his hand, my hand, my keys, etc. He loves to play cars & trucks and anything can be a truck. He also likes to pretend to be a crane we think in his highchair.
• He can climb out of his highchair. While preparing his lunch yesterday, I was coming out of the kitchen to place his food on his highchair only to realize that he was not in his high chair. He was sitting on top of the dining room table playing with the pepper bowl. Fun!
• He can locate lots of body parts- his belly button (or mine), ears, eyes, hair, curls, feet, hands, teeth, mouth, & nose.
• He gives really precious kisses (on the lips) & hugs with little pats.
• He is up to 6 steps independently.
• He can stack up to 4 blocks before losing his patience & needing to knock down the tower.
• He loves hiding inside cabinets or behind doors & knocking.
• He loves hiding objects inside places. I've found pacifiers in cups, goldfish in random places, small toys in my shoes, etc.
• This is a super fun age!