New Blog

Obviously, we aren't writing here very often anymore, but Daniel has a new blog at www.salvationlife.com. Please check it out!

Ethan's March Madness

I am late in posting this but it did happen during the month of March. I was at the store with Ethan and had him in the cart. I gave him a snack in a small container to keep him busy. He decided to launch the whole container out of the cart, looked at me and said "two points!"

Oops!

On Sunday afternoon Ethan felt warm when he woke up from his nap. I couldn't find the thermometer so I just went ahead and gave him a dose of Motrin. Two hours later, he felt very warm so I found the thermometer and discovered that he had 103 degree fever! Since I had just given him medicine two hours before, I called and left a message on the after-hours doctor line. A doctor who was covering for my pediatrician called back. He asked how much Motrin I had given Ethan. I told him that I gave him the highest dose listed on the bottle which was .6. He said that didn't seem like a very high dose so he asked me to find the bottle and tell him what strength it was. When I pulled out the bottle, I discovered that it was not Motrin that I had given Ethan but Mylicon (the gas drops). I always keep fever medicine in the diaper bag so I guess when I pulled it out, I saw the "M" and it registered in my mind as Motrin. Oh boy.

This created a moral dilemma: should I lie and said that I couldn't find the bottle or admit that I had given my child the wrong medication? This really did enter my mind. You will be proud though, I did admit my mistake. I told him I was very embarrassed to have to admit that it wasn't Motrin that I had given him but Mylicon. Either he had a dry doctor's sense of humor or he was treating me like an idiot mother by responding, "that won't do anything to reduce fever." Yes, thanks, I know that but at least he won't have gas! He went on to explain in great detail how to give Ethan Tylenol. I guess he figured he needed to explain everything, including the fact that it should be liquid, to a mother who gave her child gas drops to get rid of fever. Within a half hour his fever was down. Amazing what actually giving fever reducing medication can do!

I will definitely look twice at the medication labels from now on. I am very thankful that it wasn't a more serious error!

Animal Sounds -- Bath Time Quiz

Animal Sounds from Daniel Harris on Vimeo.

Hoarse or Horse?

Ethan is starting to talk so much more now and I love hearing what new words he says and finding out that he understands a whole lot more than he can say.

It is rather tricky though to learn new words that sound alike but mean different things. A few weeks ago Ethan had a cold and he started to lose his voice. Daniel picked him up and said, "Are you a little hoarse, Buddy?" to which Ethan responded, "neigh, neigh."

18 Months Old

Ethan is 18 months old today. I took him for his check up at the pediatrician's office this morning and this is what he discovered that he could do, while waiting for the doctor to come in...

For anyone interested:

Weight = 28 pounds, 10 ounces (85th percentile)

Height = 35 1/2 inches ("greater than the 95th" percentile)

Head circumference = 19 3/4 inches ("greater than the 95th" percentile)

This is not a very exciting post after the huge gap, but maybe it will at least get me started again!

One Year Old

A year ago today we were welcoming Ethan into the world. This little guy has brought an unbelievable amount of joy into our lives. I can't imagine being any more thankful for a life than I am for his.

We recently had some friends who miscarried, and that brought back a lot of memories for me, not only of when we lost our first baby, but also of how Ethan had a pretty difficult road in getting here. We found out Kara was pregnant when we took her to the hospital in Guatemala because she had pneumonia. Then, lots of medications for that, a couple of months of bedrest and lots of days and nights wondering if he would make it.

Ethan, you don't understand how big of a deal your first birthday is, but your Mom and I are celebrating with very thankful hearts. You mean the world to us.

(Thanks to Christy Swaringen for the picture above, and for taking great 1-year pictures of him.)