What Aaron's been up to

He's gone to a new doctor. This is one of his flip phones. He took it with him to the doctor's office. He takes it a lot of places. His rash, by the way, is completely gone and his appetite is back to normal. Of course, he got a little spoiled while he was sick... He's gone to his grandma's. I didn't get good pictures, but Aaron had a great time running around Kimmie's yard chasing her animals. AND Kimmie has mulch. How great is that?

He's started coloring.

He reorganized the refrigerator. I couldn't get him to look at me because he was way too busy working. He took everything out and put it all back in where he thought it should go.

He played in the kitchen.

Well, he plays everywhere with everything, but I thought this was a cute picture. We had a sweet, low key weekend in the Allen house. I hope yours was great.

Some things I am excited about

And Aaron is too, can't you tell? This is the collage I made for his birthday party. We are going to hang it in his room. It has each of the monthly birthday pictures taken his first year. The big picture was taken the week of his birthday. I think it turned out cute.

This is the picture frame and matte that Grandma Beth sent him. It was signed by people at his birthday party. And isn't that picture a hoot? Kimmie took it. It has the monkey shirt that matches the frame and his 'Fun To Be 1' hat!

This is the book that I made the blog into. It came this week and it is super nice. It's a hard back book with high quality pages and binding. We were very pleased. Creating it was tedious and time consuming, so I really hoped it would be nice.

These are some sample pages from the blog book. And I get that I look like an obsessive First Time Parent right now, so don't think that I'm unaware. :)

As far as Mr. Aaron goes he had a very good day and he has been fever free for 24 hours. YAY. But, here's the thing. Even though he is absolutely not contagious and is free to be around other kids now, no Mama would let her baby near mine. This virus (it's called Rosella) ends in a rash that starts about 24 hours after the fever ends. It is not itchy or painful and there is nothing that has to be done for it. It goes away in 3-4 days. But the doctor warned me that it looks bad. She said, "If I don't tell you what this looks like you are going to call me and tell me your child has the measles." Well, I wouldn't have done that because I've never seen the measles, but I would have called her and told her he has chicken pox and I actually considered doing that several times today even though I knew this was going to happen. Oh, y'all, this child just looks pitiful. He doesn't know it, though, and he's just as carefree and fun-loving as can be!

98.3

That was Aaron's temperature this morning! He hasn't had any Motrin since 4pm yesterday and he stayed cool all night! He woke up early and he woke up hungry! I am glad his appetite has returned. Don't worry, though, these pictures are from the other day. I don't feed him green beans for breakfast.

Aaron's been playing very sweetly this morning. He is starting to look tired, though, from his shortened night. We are going to try an early nap and then hit the road and head to Grandma's. Have a wonderful Friday!

Feeling Better

Aaron's fever remained under control (around 101) most of the day. It did spike again around 4pm to almost 103, but medicine immediately brought it down and he has remained very cool. Thank God!

We saw the doctor today and I LOVED her. It was a very good visit. She said that Aaron was the fourth patient she saw today with the exact same thing - a very high fever and no other symptom. It is a virus that is going around and is nothing to worry about. She did want to see him, though, because his fever had hit 105. She needed to rule out a couple of other things that could cause such a spike. His exam was fine, though, and she said he would be fine very soon. His fever should be gone tomorrow. If, for some reason, he still had it on Saturday there would be something else going on and she would want to see him again (they are open on Saturday!), but she doesn't anticipate that and we should be good to go.

Of course, we can not go to Tyler tomorrow. I was looking so forward to seeing my friends and watching Aaron do an Easter Egg hunt with his friends! I was very sad when I realized the trip would be off. Aaron won't be allowed to be around other children until he is 24-hour fever-free. He also doesn't need to be in public places until his fever is gone because the Little Guy's immune system is suppressed when that fever is doing it's thing. Kimmie had originally planned to come visit Aaron tomorrow (she comes once a week to see him), but couldn't because we were going to be in Tyler. Since that's off she said she would come over. But, if he's still acting fine, I am going to take Aaron to her house tomorrow. It will get us both out of the house (it feels so much more cooped up when you can't at least walk outside to your backyard) without exposing Aaron to others or other kids to Aaron. Plus, Papa John will get to see Aaron this way, so it's bonus.

Aaron's Rough Night

These pictures were all taken at the park the other day. We went to one with a playground, but we needn't bothered. Aaron showed no interest in the play equipment. He spent the whole time digging the mulch and trying to eat the dirt underneath. I thought it was very fitting that his shirt said 'I Dig Dirt'. HA! The only thing that distracted him from his important dirt digging project was the occasional dog being walked. Aaron would leave his mulch work and head to the grass where he would point excitedly at the dog. He really likes dogs! There are several of them at this apartment complex and it makes him so happy to see them when we go outside.

We have had a bit of a time at the Allen house this week. On Tuesday afternoon, for no apparent reason, Aaron spiked a fever. I took his temperature and it was 103. It actually got a little higher than that before it went down. After giving him some medicine and a bath and not seeing the temperature going the right direction, I called his new pediatrician in Dallas.

We have not actually visited this pediatrician's office, but it came highly recommended and we set Aaron up as a patient there just this week! I spoke to someone who was very nice and told me that this wasn't an emergency and that a nurse would call me back and if I needed to be seen I could schedule something with her. The nurse was a kind as she could be. I felt very good after speaking with her. She said that Aaron had a fever virus. It is very common and there are no other symptoms. Aaron was acting completely fine though he was eating a little less than normal. She said that as long as the fever came down somewhat with medication there was nothing to worry about. She said it usually lasts a day or so, but if there was still a fever on day three Aaron needed to be seen. Whew!

Yesterday was good. I had to continue giving Aaron medicine, but his fever stayed right around 101 and other than being a little clingy and eating a little less than normal, Aaron acted just like Aaron. Then around 4pm the fever spiked again. It went over 103, but it immediately came down with medicine and he ate dinner, took his bath and went to bed.

At 9pm we started to hear Aaron. He wasn't crying, but he was making sounds as if he was waking up. That is very unusual. I waited until the sounds had been stopped for several minutes and I was sure he was back asleep then I went in to touch his head and just make sure his fever hadn't spiked again. Oh my word, y'all. First of all, the poor guy was wide awake just laying in his crib waiting for me to come check on him. Second of all, he was on fire. I have never felt anything like this in my life. His temperature was 104.9 and ended up climbing to 105.2 before it started coming down. We did everything you are supposed to do and got a doctor on the phone to make sure we weren't supposed to be doing more. By 11pm, the fever was down to 101.5 and we put him to bed. (By the way, the entire time he was awake he was playing very contently with us and acting fine.) He slept until 4am when we heard him just like we had at 9. It was six hours since he had been given medicine and his fever had spiked again. We got it under control and got him down again and he slept until 9am. We have no idea what the deal is. Today he woke up with no fever. He still didn't eat as much as normal and is clingy, but is basically alright. The doctor, however, wants to see him so we will be headed there soon and we hope they can give us some explanation. His fever did go back up to 101.6 right before his nap, so we're not completely out of the woods on whatever this is...I'll keep you posted.

Spring?

Someone told Aaron that Spring started this weekend, so he got out his mower! He actually loves this mower. He got it for Christmas and is now really to the point that he pushes it and he'll mow the whole house!

Of course, this weekend, no one was mowing. We got 6 inches of snow Saturday night and it was cold and wet all weekend (after a 75 degree day Friday). Except for church, we stayed in and stayed warm.

But this week is nicer. It is supposed to get up to 76 today. It was still a little chilly (54) when Aaron and I headed to the grocery store this morning, but that didn't stop him from wanting to be outside. He played outside our apartment for a few minutes and I told him we could go out again later.

I think we are going to head to a park this afternoon. I will try to get good pictures. I'm not sure if we'll just do a walking trail with the stroller or if we'll actually play at a playground. It is very nice, though, and Aaron loves to be outside.

I don't have an Ohio State Basketball T-shirt, so this will have to do. The Buckeyes are definitely our team in the NCAA Tournament. Don't even ask me about Ole Miss and Jory just shakes his head when someone mentions the Aggies!

We have a quiet week this week until Friday - Aaron and I are headed to Tyler for a big Easter Playdate - we can't wait! Have a fabulous SPRING week!

Week in Review

The last several days have flown by - I can't believe it is Monday already! The last time I posted was Wednesday. Aaron and I had a busy day that day. We went house hunting! We saw eight houses and Aaron was a perfect angel! I just couldn't believe how well he did getting in and out of the car and being drug to so many homes! He didn't complain once. And he tested the doors in each house for the Bye Bye Game! It was cute to see him scurry down a hallway looking for a door to shut on me! He also enjoyed checking out all of the backyards. That boy loves to be outside.

On Thursday I took Aaron to Kimmie and Papa John's for a 24-hour stay. Jory and I headed to Tyler and closed on our house - Thank you so much for your prayers, it is done! Aaron did awesome at his grandparents. He stayed on schedule and was a great eater and sleeper. And you could tell that he had so much fun!!!

Now, the rest of the weekend was a different story entirely. Aaron was very cranky all weekend and we had a very difficult time with naps. We are not sure whether he is 'off' because spending the night somewhere was out of the ordinary (it's been two months since he's been left over night and he really hasn't been babysat at all since we moved) and he's just trying to recover? Or if he's trying to give up his morning nap or he's teething or it's a developmental time or if it's just one of those things that happen with one year olds. In any case, the weekend was somewhat rough, but we're hoping for a great week.

On Saturday, we watched basketball and I have to say that we are in a pool of 27 brackets. Of those, only three people still have their Final Four in tact. I am one of them! Of course, my Final Four does not contain Duke or Kentucky, so it could fall apart very soon, but it feel good for now!

Yesterday we tried a new church and LOVED it. Aaron enjoyed it, as well. We are very excited about it and it was such a great start to the week. Yesterday, we also drove to Southlake and looked at two houses. We really, really liked one of them, so we will keep you posted. This week should be much quieter than last week and I will try to take lots of cute pictures. The picture above was taken by Kimmie. I love, love, love it!

Another Year Begins

I have been working to turn this blog into a book comprising Aaron's first year. I got it done and sent it to publish today. The last entry was his 12 Month Appointment from yesterday. And so another year begins. I still plan to blog in Aaron's second year. I don't know whether I will do as much, but I certainly plan on weekly updates with pictures so I can continue to memorialize Aaron's life.

Right now, Aaron's life is going pretty well. He is completely settled into his Dallas home. He knows where his room is and he is completely comfortable here. We are still trying to find him a church. We've been to two now. He has put in his vote for the first one over the second one. It's interesting because both Jory and I preferred the second one, but how Aaron does is extremely important so our church finding criteria has changed from when we were searching for a church in Tyler. We are trying a third church this Sunday and I have high hopes. We continue to be in prayer and know the the Lord will lead us to our church home.

Aaron is a busy guy. He plays very well alone and can be extremely focused for his age. But he LOVES to play with others. He loves to entertain. Making someone laugh is a constant goal. He is still a great eater and sleeper. He is happy almost all of the time. He is very easy and very fun.

12 Month Appointment

These pictures are of Aaron playing with his daddy. They were taken about a couple of weeks ago.

Aaron and I just got back from Tyler. It was a great trip. We saw Dr. Everett for the last time, which was sad, but it was a very good visit.

Aaron is doing great! Dr. Everett was very impressed with some of the things that Aaron is doing. He also answered a lot of questions for me as we go into Aaron's second year. There were no concerns at all. Aaron is very tall for his age. He is almost 32 inches. That is very tall - above the 95th percentile. His weight is closer to average. He is about 22 pounds - the 40th percentile. It is funny looking when he is naked and all stretched out, though! :) Dr. Everett commented on how good Aaron's posture is. I love that because I don't have good posture and it really bothers me.

We spent a lot of time visiting the place where I used to work in Tyler and then we headed home. We stopped and ate lunch together and then Aaron slept the whole way back from Dallas. It was a great trip!

More Pictures of the Birthday Boy

Tomorrow morning we head to Tyler for Aaron's 12 month appointment. It was supposed to be on his Birthday, but Dr. Everett had to reschedule. After this appointment, we will move to one of the Dallas Pediatricians highly recommended by our friends.

Here's a Birthday coincidence. Six days after Aaron was born, my mom came to visit. She had not bought a gift for the new baby yet as she wanted to wait and see what we needed after everyone else had given. At that point we were dealing with the New Baby Poop that is like tar and we were flying through wipes. We really needed wipes. So she spent what she would have spent on a baby gift on wipes. Ummm...TODAY I used the last of these wipes.

That brings me to another point. Having not been used to buying wipes, we completely ran out. (Not completely, because there are wipes in the diaper bag in my car, but that doesn't help when there is a naked baby on the changing table on the floor above the garage!) Aaron was having trouble going down for his nap and I went in to check on him. He had pooped and I started to change him. I realized I had only one wipe, but I cleaned him up, put the wipe in the dirty diaper, folded it up and started to dress Aaron. That's when I realized he had poop on both of his feet!

All that to say Aaron and I will be running errands today! HA! Have a great week!

More Party Pictures

Okay, the picture below is not a Party Picture. It was taken the first week of August, but it is the picture that we had on Aaron's cake because it has the Monkey Bib.

Here's a good picture of the Monkey T-Shirt Aaron wore at the party.

Here is a shirt Aaron got from his Aunt Laura. I love it.

Here is the Pin the Candle on the Cupcake Game after it had been played. Ella won. Aaron didn't come close, but he did play!

Some Party Pictures

Here are some more pictures of the decorations. Aaron's Smash Cake was a miniature version of the Big Cake and it was SO cute!

Aaron wore a Mod Monkey T-Shirt from Grandma Beth that matched the decorations. I am not sure I got any good pictures of it in this batch, though.

Do you love this 'Fun to be 1' hat? This was a present to Aaron from Grandma Beth. He really liked it and I have a lot of pictures of him in it. He has been wearing it for a couple of days, but I wanted to wait until the party to put pictures of it on here.

Aaron got this Sock Monkey bib for Christmas, I thought it would be perfect for his Monkey Party!

This cake just stole my heart! Didn't Kimmie do a great job with the cake?

We had such a good time today. Jory and I really enjoyed the party. Aaron was a little confused, but he held up well. He sure was tired tonight, though!

He did a great job of tearing into his presents! I'll post more pictures tomorrow!