We're doing something right

The other night John and I were standing in the kitchen discussing something. When there was a pause in the discussion we both looked down at Benjamin. He was standing next to us with his head bowed and arms folded. We heard him say Mommy, Daddy, something else, then something that resembled amen. Then he looked up at us proudly. I guess he's seen us doing it every night before dinner, so he thought he'd give it a try.

Yes, Mom is here

It has come to my attention that not everyone knew Mom was coming to Utah for a visit. She got here on May 3rd and will be staying until Sunday, June 1st. She is soaking up lots of Benjamin love (and visiting with the rest of us too). She has really enjoyed watching him play and chatter on endlessly. He's having a great time visiting with her too and loves to play hide and seek. He'll run around the corner by our bedroom door then come bursting out giggling hysterically at Mom sitting on the living room couch.

Sick House

It's a crappy week in the Mealey household. John started getting sick Sunday night. He was up all night with stuff coming out both ends. Mom also threw up several times. John ended up coming home early from work on Monday and calling in sick on Tuesday. Mom had a very bad night Monday with not being able to leave the bathroom for very long. We've all been waiting until it was mine and Benjamin's turn. Unfortunately he decided to go first. He started throwing up first thing yesterday morning and couldn't keep anything down all day. We were really surprised that he made it through all of last night without a peep. Today he was able to keep some liquids down and even munched on some crackers for lunch. Unfortunately he woke up prematurely from his nap and proceeded to throw up a bucket-full (well, it sure seemed like it to me). He's had a couple runny diapers, but so far the worst of that's probably still ahead of us. He managed to clear out his stomach and the poor guy was throwing up stomach acid or just dry heaving. He finally crashed and is sleeping in the middle of my bed with Mom and me watching over him. I hope he escapes the next phase or I'm in for some lovely diaper changes (and a lot of them). If I do get sick, it should be a fun Mother's Day! Anyway, keep your prayers with all of us--especially that little boy.

We're back

We're working really hard to get settled in, but we are finally here. I'll post more when I have a few minutes.

Going Offline

We will be turning in our equipment to Comcast early tomorrow. So that means we'll be without internet and our house phone. So if you need to contact us, please call either of our cell phones. It's going to be a very busy weekend!

Birthday Pics

Please check Flickr for a bunch of pictures of Benjamin's birthday and the aftermath. We had a LOT of people in our little apartment. I was so focused on chatting with everyone that I didn't take out the camera until most of the presents were opened. If I'm counting correctly, it was a total of 22 people, although the Phalp contingent came an hour late and some people were getting ready to leave. Benjamin had mixed feelings about having all of those older kids in his room and playing with his stuff. He'd go from staring at them in confusion, to giggling at their antics. He was grouchy on and off through the whole thing, but I attribute that to his ear infection and being overwhelmed by so many people. The dogs were really well-behaved and soaked up all of the extra attention. Benjamin got a lot of toys, although some things he's not quite old enough for yet, so we'll put those away for now. We're going to do a thorough inventory of his toys before the move and figure out what's going to be packed away, donated to D.I., or kept.

Double Whammy!

Benjamin has been very sick the last couple days. He started by coughing and has moved on to not sleeping, not eating, rubbing his nose, vigorously rubbing his eyes (to the point where the skin around them is purple), sore throat, and just general crankiness.

After 2 sleepless nights and a miserable day yesterday, I decided to take him to the doctor. Turns out he has double "raging" ear infections. I'm so glad I took him in instead of assuming it was a nasty cold. At least now he can get some medicine in him and start getting better. We just have to endure a few more nasty days and nights.

Best of all--I don't have to cancel his birthday party on Saturday because he's not contagious. I was not looking forward to having to let everyone know not to come.