Return of the Croup

Logan had a runny nose on Friday and yesterday, he started coughing. We knew the sound of that cough. Croup. It got really bad last night. But we were prepared this time. We had a bag packed for the hospital. Our first course of action would be to run a steamy shower and have Logan sit in the bathroom and breathe in the steam. The next step is to bundle him up and take him outside.

I was getting sick just thinking about the possibility of having to take him back to the hospital, so our main goal was to do everything we could to prevent that. About 3a.m., the wheezing started. Just like the last time, although not quite as bad. We did the shower thing and then took him outside. That seemed to work! We all went back to bed, but his cough was pretty persistent this morning. We all stayed home from church because neither me or Zeb wanted to be the one alone with Logan in case he had another attack. It's quite scary.

I'm proud of the way we kept our cool so far. Everything we've read said that one of the most important things with croup is for everyone to remain calm. We've tried not to do anything that will upset Logan (I'm sure he loves that!). We're praying that tonight is even better and within the next couple days his croup is gone.


Fortunately, Logan still has a great appetite and has actually been in a pretty good mood. I'm definitely more stressed out about this than he is.

Logan had his 15 month check-up this past Monday. Here are his stats:

Weight: 22 lbs. 14 oz. (25th percentile)

Height: 32 1/2 inches (90th percentile)

Head size: 19 inches (80th percentile)

There's a Monster in our Bathtub!

Logan loves to take baths. He will sit in the tub for a very long while and we finally just have to pull him out. That was until, the penguin joined him in the tub. I needed something to store all of his bath toys, so I got this cute penguin that you hang on the bathtub. At least, I thought it was cute. Logan would NOT sit in the tub with the penguin in there. I couldn't figure out why he was all of the sudden against taking a bath. As soon as I removed the penguin, he was fine. I found that it works to my advantage, however. When I'm ready for Logan to be done with his bath, I simply hang the penguin up and Logan's ready to get out!

I just followed Logan around with a camera last night, taking pictures of everything he likes to do around the house. He sure gets into everything!!!









And here are some smiles...instead of saying "cheese," Logan smiles when I say "cookie!"





He is the joy of our life!

Texting

"Ugh...Mom, will you leave me alone? Can't you see I'm texting?!"

Gone is my little baby...he's been replaced by a little boy....

2010

Being off work doesn't necessarily mean that you feel more rested. Zeb and I were both off work this past week. As I mentioned, Logan was sick, then I was sick. Zeb got sick on Wednesday and hasn't really been feeling great since then. We had our nephews spend the night on Tuesday, our treadmill delivered on Wednesday (what a mess), and on Thursday - today, our friends from Chicago were visiting. We've had a wonderful week, but Zeb and I are both looking forward to getting back to our routine on Monday. Let's face it, being sick when you're off work isn't really a vacation. It's possibly a terrible slap in the face :)

All 3 of our nephews were sitting on the couch the other day. Logan picked up his favorite blanket, walked over to the couch and backed up, as if to say "I want to sit with you." And so Drake picked him up and they sat together for a while!

Who needs expensive toys? Logan LOVES riding around in the laundry basket. He says, "Weeeeeee" as I pull him around! I always have to say, "please keep your hands inside the ride," as he has a tendency to try to touch everything we pass!

Logan with his new Teddy Bear from Great Grandpa & Grandma Johnston.

Logan can now be given a cookie (a soft one) and he can take bites by himself. We're still trying to teach him to take small bites, but he loves cookies and says "cookie" quite well. The other day, I was talking to Zeb how I was going to make cookies, and Logan was obviously listening to me, because when I said it, he loudly said, "COOKIE!"

Logan's hair is getting long and crazy. I love it!


Logan loves playing with Charlie!


Blueberry/Cranberry/Apricot muffins that I made. They are yummy and also low calories! (New Year's resolutions, right?!)

January is going to be a very busy month. It's the start of a new semester for me, and I'll be teaching an online class, as well as piano lessons and Zeb starts his new job in the middle of the month. We pray that everyone has a very blessed new year!

Christmas 2009

We had a wonderful Christmas Day. Logan woke up at his usual early hour and opened the gifts from his Grandpa and Grandpa Johnston from Florida. When he opened one of the gifts, he said, "Ooohh, books!" He loves books!

We spent the afternoon with the Atchleys and then enjoyed a quiet evening at home. That was, until I realized that our refrigerator/freezer had died! We moved all of our freezer stuff into the deep-freeze and all of the refrigerator stuff into coolers and put them on the back porch. Thank goodness it was cold outside!

First thing Saturday morning, we went to Sears and ordered a new refrigerator. It was delivered yesterday. We are so thankful we didn't have to go any longer than we did without one!

On Saturday evening, we were with the McKinleys and Logan got sick. Very sick. He threw up twice while we were there and once on the way home. I was so upset about him getting sick that I didn't take any pictures at this Christmas. But trust me, you didn't really want to see Logan throwing up all over the presents anyways, right?! He didn't get sick after the incident in the car, but I kept him home from church on Sunday because I wanted to be sure that he wasn't going to get sick again.

On Sunday night, I got very sick. I was sick all night and most of yesterday. I'm feeling much better today. Zeb and I both took vacation time this week, so I was not happy about having to spend my first vacation day in bed. But at least it was at the beginning of the week. We're praying Zeb doesn't get it!

Logan's body has been covered in some kind of rash/break-out since last Tuesday. We weren't sure if it was something he wore, something he ate or something else. So, Zeb took him to the doctor yesterday. Apparently, it is just his sensitive skin flaring up. Poor little guy -- it looks so uncomfortable! Although we didn't notice any symptoms, he does have ear infections in both ears. So, he's been covered in break-outs, throwing up and ear infections.

We plan to spend the next couple of days just relaxing around the house. Our friends from Chicago are coming at the end of the week, so we want to be sure that we are all feeling better by then!

Christmas Eve

What a great day!