This week was a hard week. Elijah got sick on Sunday with a high fever. At around 7am, he started screaming “ouweee ouwweeee ouwweeee OUWEEEE!” and pointed to his stomach. It was really frightening and he still had a high fever. Our kids have hardly ever been sick like this where they hurt and we can’t tell what it is, so it was really freaking me out. It was also freaking Rowan out too so I had to yell up to Michael to come down and help. I gave Elijah some water, had some tylenol and he calmed down and went back to sleep. Rowan was ok so Michael took him to school and I took Elijah to the doctor whenever he got up. He wasn’t eating and was very lethargic.

The doctor checked him for strep but it came back negative. He said that there is no way to know if it is bacterial or viral, but since he is so lethargic, he should get antibiotics. So we got our prescription and left. It’s so weird to see him like this and not full of energy! We just missed a tram to go back home so instead of waiting 10 minutes, I figured we could just walk home. After a little bit, Elijah wanted to be carried. Ugh. So I put him on my back and we walked to the pharmacy. The pharmacy was out of antibiotics, but could deliver it in the afternoon to my house - cool! Elijah pretty much slept all day and was so out of it. Poor fella!

I didn’t understand the instructions for the antibiotic and was so confused as to why we got a weird spoon with powder. I thought it said to mix it with milk or water, which I did. But then I asked Riki about it and she said that you’re supposed to mix it with water in the bottle and then measure it from there. DOH! The next day, Elijah was up and around so that was a relief. I am so glad that Rowan could go to school because dealing with one was so much easier than two. Elijah is back to 100% now.

We also had speech therapy this week (it’s been 4 weeks since we last had one) and this time I asked Michael to come to and help. That was really what needed to happen. He stayed in the room with Elijah while I watched Rowan and Elijah started talking more and she said that she’s never seen him like that! There will be some changes to the routine because we can’t use the room that we normally use anymore, so I’m thinking to schedule two different appointments in the morning. While one is at school, I can take the other by myself and then that way I can be in the room and she can work with him. I’m starting to get really concerned since we haven’t been going regularly and you can really notice their speech delay when compared to the other kids at the kindergarten.

We had some really gorgeous weather last week (t-shirt weather!) and I thought spring was here, but nope, this week it was freezing cold! It even snowed a bit. We usually have one more big dump of snow before it really becomes spring, so I’m just waiting for that to happen and we can start going outside more.

Oh and Rowan can now spell his name. I was so proud of him the first time he did it!

Steve and De, our good friends here in Munich, are moving back to the states in a week or so. We are so sad to see them leave! We have really enjoyed hanging out with them and they were a really great resource for things to do with kids. I think the boys know something is going on because Rowan will say “Logan’s house” out of the blue every once in awhile. I don’t know when we’ll ever see them again…and that’s a sad thought! Steve will be back here a few times in the year, so we will probably see him again. We’re going to see them one last time before they leave this weekend. …sniff…

Stopping to read

The other day I took Elijah to the heart doctor for his yearly checkup. Let me just say that there is a HUGE difference when I take the boys someplace together and when they are separate. When we only have one, they are perfect little angels, they hold hands, they listen, they walk, they sit still, they are quiet when they need to be quiet, etc. It really sucks that when you put these two angel toddlers (are they still toddlers?) together, they become little tasmanian devils.

Anyways, we had to wait about 45 minutes and I brought along Elijah’s little computer that he could play with. That entertained him while I sat and knitted. Then we went in for the EKG, and I told the lady that his heart is on the right side. And she said “really? are you sure?” And I was so confused as to why she would ask if I’m sure. I mean, I’m his mother, I would know something like that! But I guess my confusion made it look like I wasn’t sure if his heart was on the other side, so she made a call to check. Elijah was the perfect model child, taking interest in every little sticker that was put on him, not pulling or fussing at all, wearing it very proudly. This is not normal behavior for him. Everything was good and then the nurse gave him a little packet of gummi bears that was really great to get him to lie down. That was the only thing he didn’t want to do, but give him a gummi bear and he’s down.

Then the doctor did the ultrasound and boy, ultrasound has come a long way since 2 years ago. I could actually see stuff really clearly and could tell what it is. Usually it’s just a blob moving around, but on this machine, you could clearly see the heart and all the chambers pumping. Elijah liked looking at the “TV” too. He layed down and didn’t fuss AT ALL, I am so proud of him.

The great news that we got is that he is no longer at risk for a heart transplant!!! All this time we’ve been thinking he has a 25% chance of a heart failure, but his heart has since grown strong and while the doctor can’t completely eliminate the transplant scenario, he said the chances are really really low. The only thing he is at risk for at this point is his heart slowing down. His normal heart rate is 120bpm, and it could slow down to 50bpm. He will tire easily and become lethargic. But he said even that, the risk is low, but it is a risk he will have the rest of his life. If that happens, he will have to get a pacemaker put in, but hell, I could certainly live with that! So all in all, an excellent visit and I couldn’t be any happier or prouder of my sweet Elijah!

Other than that, the boys have learned the alphabet and we now have to stop at lots of words we see and they spell it out. It is so awesome to see! I am also doing some word spelling and games at home. Elijah has the alphabet down. Rowan still has trouble with some of the letters, but has it for the most part. It is really exciting to see them point at a word and spell it!

Speech therapy hasn’t been happening for the past month and I’m getting worried at this point. I really want to have it every week, but it’s just not working out that way. We’ve started seeing the therapist from last August, and we’ve had maybe 4 or 5 actual therapy sessions. So frustrating! I am alloted a time slot and if there is a holiday or the school is closed or she is on vacation or we are on vacation, we just skip it, no rescheduling. The therapist told us to just talk to them a lot and repeat things after they say it so that they can hear it correctly pronounced. But I am taking it a step further by making them say words properly before giving whatever they want to them. Elijah will say “nook” for “milk” and I don’t give him milk until he says it right. It is REALLY hard for him to say “milk” properly, but Rowan now says it correctly. I think it is helping. They are actually really patient and will keep trying to say the word no matter how many times I repeat it, and usually they will get it right after several tries. They are able to repeat after me pretty easily, it’s when they are on their own that is hard. Even “elijah” is hard - I let them get away with saying “sha sha” too long, but Rowan will now say “lai-sha”. I’m even considering calling him “ELI” just so they say it!

As for potty training, well, it’s there. It’s more frustrating for me I think. I don’t know if they are just refusing to go in the toilet or if they don’t know they went. I now give them a choice of wearing underwear or diapers. Rowan almost always chooses diapers and Elijah is choose underwear 1/2 the time. BUT, the last time Rowan chose underwear, she told me he had to go and we ran to the toilet but right as I was pulling his pants down, he went. At least he told me 2 seconds before, that’s progress! When he has his diapers on though, he doesn’t say anything.

Elijah hasn’t told me he has to go, he will just pee wherever. But, he does stay dry a long time. I always ask him if he has to go, and he always says no. I make him sit on the floor or on a blanket on the couch when we’re in the living room, poor thing! The last time he was playing around my desk and he likes to climb into my chair and sit or stand behind me. Then he peed all over my back and chair and said “wet wet wet!”. Thanks a lot!