G Family: G Family is sick :(

It was bound to happen - the dreaded double ear infection. Truthfully, I expected it a lot sooner than 14 months, but we have been blessed with a pretty hearty and healthy child. So, when Ms. Selena called on a Friday afternoon to let me know Emma had a low grade fever (99 degrees) I didn't worry too much. Still, Ms. Selena knows her babies, so I stopped on the way home and picked up a thermometer. Yes, we didn't have a thermometer in the house. Like I said before, Emma comes from healthy Huch/Gilliland stock.

So, I got one of those handy go-across-your-forehead thermometers at Costco (along with a delicious take-n-bake pizza). I was shocked that it was only $29.99!!! The thermometer, I mean...not the pizza. That would be ridiculous.

Anyway, I got home with this amazing thermometer only to find that poor Emma's fever had spiked 103! I instantly panicked, but Kory made a few phone calls to our more experienced parent friends, and learned that we should just start bringing it down by alternating acetaminophen and ibuprofen. It worked really well, and the fever was taken care of. She had it on and off over the weekend, but it finally broke Monday morning when she woke up at a fairly normal temperature.

I have to say Emma was a trooper all weekend long. While it was easy to tell when her medicine wore off, she was pretty much her old self when she was medicated. I did notice that she would tug and hold her ears, so I wasn't incredibly surprised when I took her the doctor on Tuesday morning and learned she had infections in both ears. She has been on the prescribed amoxicillin for a week now, and she is 100% back to her happy, playful, curious, giggly self. Sidenote: they clearly haven't changed a thing about amoxicillin since the early 80's. After Emma took her first syringeful of the stuff (she loved it - she gets so excited when she sees that syringe now), I put a little drop in my mouth, and that weird (bubble-gum?) taste transported me immediately back to my childhood. Isn't it funny how a certain sight, smell or taste can do that? All of a sudden, I had a very clear mental picture of me being all set up on our couch and my mom bringing me a variety of get-well type foods, all on a My Little Pony TV tray. Hey, whatever happened to TV trays anyway?

As is expected, I picked up whatever cold Emma had, which isn't shocking since I was basically wiping off her snot with my bare hands. I'm getting over it though, with the help of all those old feel-good favorites that were once served on my childhood TV tray. :)

So, here are a few pics that sum up the long weekend of Emma's first illness:

Before meds

After meds

Kory found a kid's activity tent at Walgreens and picked it up. Naturally, she loved the box it was in far more than the actual tent, but here is a pic I got of her actually interacting with the tent. She seemed fond of me being in the tent, and her going around and banging all the sides of the tent from the outside. Really though, I have a feeling she will absolutely love this thing in just a little while, especially paired with the cute sleeping bag that Grandma Liz got her for Christmas.