Busy Weekend

It's been a rather eventful weekend in the Gaufin household. Friday saw Connor discovering the joy of climbing in and out of the playpen. Before he transferred this newfound knowledge to his crib, Carl and I decided to act fast and we took the twin bed in his room off the frame and began the transition to a "big boy" bed. Bedtime rolled around and we laid Connor in the bed and told him to enjoy his new bed. We closed the door most of the way like we had before and hopped downstairs. Connor stayed put...for about 5 minutes.

I wish I could have captured the image on film when I peeked my head out of the kitchen to see Connor in his pj's, blanket trailing between his legs, one hand on the wall as he stealthly moved down the stairs one at a time. It was only cute the first time though, the 4 times after that necessitated a new plan. So we put the gate on his door and he screamed as though we'd abandoned him but climbed back on his bed and eventually fell asleep.

Saturday was the ward Christmas Party. We were there til 9pm helping people clean up and by the time we got home, Connor's whining had turned rather hoarse. By morning, he wasn't much better but seemed happy and chipper and so we celebrated his first 18 months with a move to nursery.

Nursery was chaotic. Connor played with a few toys but hung on to Mom rather protectively. By the end, he seemed particularly warm and not quite himself. When we got home, he refused to eat lunch and began intermittent coughing which sounded more like a barking dog than a cough and we knew, the dreaded croup had arrived. Over the next few hours Connor's breathing became shallow and raspy and his fever spiked to 102 as he lay lifeless on the couch holding his blanket and staring at Shrek (our only animated movie). It's the most "cuddly" he's been in his short 18 months and while I reveled in the chance to snuggle with him, it was so hard to see him so miserable. But last night our prayers were answered and Connor was able to sleep through the night after waking up in a terrible coughing spell at 10:30pm and hanging out with Mom and Dad for an hour. Another dose of Motrin and he didn't open his eyes til 7am.

Today Connor is doing much better. His cough is just as ugly and so is his breathing and there are moments he starts coughing and then looks at me in panic and starts to cry but he doesn't have a fever at all and we're hopeful that all the juice, popsicles, and loads of movies various people have let us borrow will all have their effect in making him better. He's moved off the couch and while still not his normal spunky self, is at least interested in moving around a bit.

Whew, we're making it!

And a big thanks to my mom who answered the phone with all my questions and came over and helped finish dinner while I gave Connor the prescribed "tepid" bath. :)

And my apologies for no pictures...like I said, it's been a busy weekend!