We started the weekend by checking out the San Jose state library on Saturday morning.  The children area was quite large, and it was quiet.  Stuart was able to search for some books while Logan and I did some reading together.  Connor enjoyed walking around the area with daddy keeping an eye on him.  We made it home in time for Ted and Marcus’s quick visit.  We hung out for a bit, then Stuart had to part with the 2 beta fish that he was babysitting for the Kaos. By noontime, Connor and I both took off to go to Penelope’s 1st birthday party.  We parked at the Tsaos which was just a few houses down from the party.  Brandon and Peyton were giving me a tour to their house while Connor tried to catch a few more minutes of his power nap.  This was the first time Peyton ever talked to me directly; she told me many little things of the house and what she likes.  I felt so honored.  We all had a good time at the party.  Connor and I both ate quite a bit; he had a lot of the veggies and grapes while I enjoyed the roasted pork and many other delicious foods.  Connor finally warmed up to everyone, and had fun playing with Peyton and the balloons there.

     Today we hosted a get together for the “Mommy and Me” group.  I prepared some brunch items and the guests also brought some foods.  Logan and Connor both were very good in sharing their toys with everyone; no complaints from them at all.  Logan played toys with the guests and even some hide and seek.  Everyone left after 2.5 hours of playing, we then rushed the kids to bed for a nap.  As soon as they were up, we headed out to the Hashiguchi’s for their Superbowl party.  There were so much food that we started eating shortly after we arrived.  Logan only wanted breads and a hotdog while Connor had chow mein, egg roll, corn, carrots and strawberries.  I also had a good share of sashimi and sushi rolls.  The boys enjoyed their time playing with many different things in the house, and we discovered that Connor really liked playing with toy dishes.  We hung out a bit longer after the game was over, and we went home to prepare for the night and next school day.

       Our eating has been out of control lately, and we have decided that I need to return to the gym.  Stuart volunteered to pick up the kids and hang out with them while I return to my favorite aerobic class on Mondays after work.  It has been at least two and a half years since I went to that class.  Hope I will survive tomorrow.

     We think Connor is having another growth spurt.  For the past week, Connor has been waking up early, around 6:05am every morning.  Immediately he wants me to take him out to the living room, then he walks me to the kitchen and asks for food.  He keeps pointing a finger to his mouth until I offer him something to eat.  One morning, he ate 2 cups of yogurt, some bagel and some cereal squares while we got ready for school.  This week, the teacher asked me to bring more foods for his lunch and snack.  The teacher also noticed the change in his appetite as she reported that Connor used to just lay there for a bit after waking from nap, but now, he immediately gets up and walks to the little table to ask for snack.  Stuart even thinks that Connor’s double chin has returned.

     Almost the same time frame, over a week ago, we noticed that Connor is being very naughty.  When we ask him to do something, he refuses and walks away with the naughty smile.  He cries easily (or pretend crying) when he does not get what he wants.  He wants to be independent, does not want to be held and wants to do things on his own.  Getting him inside the car has been tough; he walks away from us until we have no choice but to pick him up.  He then struggles while we try to put him down in the car seat.  He is so strong that it is like a battle at times.  For nighttime, he is no longer the sweet little smiling angel saying night-night while laying down, he now puts up a fight for a little bit before falling asleep.

     The boys got a chance to bond with Auntie Dora during her week long visit.  Logan warmed up to Dora quickly and became quite attached to her as well.  He would ask to sit with auntie, ask to read books with her at bedtime, and even ask her to pick them up from school.  He told Dora that he wanted to go home with her, and when we asked if he would miss mommy and daddy, he even said “no”.  Today after dropping Dora off at the airport, when we were driving in the car, Logan suddenly said “I am going to cry”.  When we asked him the reason for that, he just said “Auntie Dora”.

     Connor, on the other hand, was not as nice.  After so many days with auntie, he still would cry for me when Dora tried to carry him.  However, Connor did have his ways to show affections; he would bring things/toys to Dora, say bye or night night to her.  Last night, he even threw in a blow kiss to Dora on his own after saying night night.  Today after bath, he wanted me to walk him to say night night to her too, but she had left us already.  Hopefully, it won’t be another year before they get to see Auntie Dora again.

     Logan is talking quite a lot these days, and sometimes the things he says are quite funny and bossy.  One thing he said awhile ago was cute, “if you don’t want to share, you walk away”; he must have learned that from school.  The other night after dinner, we started playing as usual.  He told me to race cars with him.  I received a text message at the time and wanted to respond, so I asked him to find me a toy car hoping to buy some times to answer the text.  But Logan caught my intention; he said to me “Mommy, put your phone away!”  Then in 10 seconds, he said “I am waiting!”.  I looked over to him, and he was just standing there looking at me.  As soon as I put the phone away, he went to get a car for me.  This morning as I was driving the kids to school, Connor threw his cup away.  As I was trying to tell Connor that he was being bad, Logan said “Throwing things away, it may be an accident, and throwing things away again, it means you are bad”.  He is so deep!  Shortly later, Connor started crying and whining.  Logan told me “Mommy, cover your ears”.  I asked him the reason for that, and he said “Connor is too loud”.

     Connor, on the other hand, is still not talking much at all.  He can say “more more”, “night-night”, “bye-bye”, “uh-oh”, “book” and “nan-na” (banana), but otherwise, he still does not say much.  But he sure understands us well and can gesture to tell us what he wants or what we should do.  If it is not something he wants, he will shake his head a lot to tell us.  But if we say the right things, he will smile and say “uh” which sounds like an old man just letting a breath of air out.  He is very consistent with that which is sort of funny to hear.  When we try to teach him to say “yes” instead, he just keeps having a goofy smile as he refuses to follow our lead.

     My dad bought these outfits for the boys from Hong Kong, so we tried them out and took some pictures today.  Maybe the boys are just “too white” for the outfits

     Dora is visiting us this week; we hung out locally doing something low key this weekend.  Today being the Chinese New Year Eve, we kept our tradition to go out for dinner despite the not so nice weather.  We got to the Chinese restaurant quite early, and it was just barely beating the crowds.  The foods arrived quickly, and all of us enjoyed a good meal.  The boys were quite cooperative at dinner, but Connor enjoyed mostly the edamame I brought for him. 

     Happy Chinese New Year to everyone!

     Finally both boys went to school this morning.  Before we left the house this morning, Logan kept saying how he did not want to go, so I was concerned how tough the drop off might be.  However it turned out quite well.  After putting Logan’s sheets and lunch bag away, we walked from his room to Connor’s room.  Logan reminded me to walk slowly to wait up for Connor, and Logan was very nice walking near Connor and at the same pace.  As soon as we got to Connor’s classroom, Connor started whining and wanted to leave which was not unusual.  Logan on the other hand was ready to stay; he took off his jacket and shoes, and went to the other side of the room to start playing.  He waved and said goodbye to me nicely.  He must really have missed school the past few days.

    Both Stuart and I were so happy having the boys back to school, so we could focus at work again.  Unfortunately, the happiness only lasted half a day.  Before noon, I got a call from Connor’s teacher to report a high fever.  Connor apparently was not his usual self this morning, laying down a lot and falling asleep a couple of times.  He also did not eat much of his lunch, only ate up his cantaloupe.  The teachers tested his temperature twice, one at 99.5 then an hour later at 102.3.  I went to pick Connor up as soon as I could.  It was naptime, so their room was dark and quiet.  I went inside and all the kids were sleeping, except poor Connor sitting at the table playing with books in the dark.  He came walking to me immediately; he looked tired and not smiley as he usually would be.  He fell asleep briefly as we drove home. 

     At home, I tried to give him an apple sauce, Connor did not want it initially and started sobbing sadly.  But after one lick of it, he decided to have some and ate up the whole thing.  I then gave him a dose of ibuprofen and some water.  He was still quite warm; he was 101 when I tested him.  He just laid on me while I placed a cool towel on his forehead.  His breathing was heavier and more rapid.  We just sat quietly together for awhile.  Connor was sad and had not given me a single smile.  Finally I put him down to the crib for nap.  He did not refuse; he took his toys to hug, and stared at me as I walked away.  Poor little boy!  I returned to work at that point.

     Connor woke up after a little over two hours later, and it was good timing as Stuart just finished his teleconference.  Connor appeared back to his usual self then, and he drank water and had a yogurt.  When I returned home tonight, Connor was happy and was playing as usual.  It was nice to see him back to the happy one again.  Tomorrow he will be staying home again; hopefully what he has this time is short lived.  Poor little one is still on antibiotics from the last infection.

     Logan is finally feeling better.  I think this must have been the 2nd worse cold he ever had; the worse one being the one when Logan had RSV at 8 months old.  On Monday night, Logan woke up overnight with burning fever; the temperature was up to 102.5 axillary.  It took Stuart and I a lot of convincing before Logan willing to drink a dose of ibuprofen.  He then had difficulty returning to sleep due to the horrible cough; Stuart finally took him for another steaming session in the bathroom before the coughing stopped.  In the morning, his temperature was back up to 102.5.  Therefore, we called the doctor; we were told to continue the supportive treatment and take him in to be seen if the fever persists.  The rest of the day, Logan looked very sad.  He just wanted to lay down and watch TV.  He did not have a good appetite, but fortunately was interested to drink water.  His temperature persisted at low grade despite being given ibuprofen and acetaminophen around the clock.  Logan asked to go to sleep before naptime which was unusual.  And at bedtime, he even told me to stop reading when I was only reading the 2nd book, so he could go to sleep.  He looked so exhausted and sad.  He did not cough as much last night, but continued to wake up often to ask for water.

    Today, being the 3rd day out from school, Logan was finally fever free.  He still coughed some, but much less.  He was almost back to usual self, but still not eating as much yet  As he had been staying home, getting lots of TLC and maybe from too much TV, Logan became quite needy and spoiled.  He now asks often “come sit with me” or “come play with me” or “no one sitting with me”.  According to Stuart who stayed home with him today, Logan was difficult at times when asked to do some daily routines.  He also became less sharing during the past few days.

     It has been a very long week and a half.  We can’t wait to have both kids back to school together and back to our usual routine again.

     No matter how careful we had been, separating plays/bath and washing hands often, we still were not able to avoid spreading the germs in the family.  Over the weekend, Stuart, Logan and I started coughing too, now the four of us have the same nasty cough.  But the saddest thing was on Sunday when Logan woke up after nap, he cried and called my name.  I went to hug him, and discovered that he was burning hot; he had a fever.  That night his cough got worse, coughing a lot shortly after he fell asleep.  I ended up laying down with him to prop him up on me; his cough then calmed down and he was able to return to sleep. 

     Connor was finally well enough to go to school today, but unfortunately it was Logan’s turn to stay home.  Logan was still coughing quite a lot and had some runny nose.  He remained having a low grade fever earlier today, therefore, we decided that Logan would not be going to school again tomorrow and would have to miss the 2nd field trip (to watch the Peter Piper).  I was supposed to be a parent chaperone, so I called the school today so they could find an alternate parent.  How disappointing!  Tonight, Logan was still coughing a lot at bedtime, and it almost sounded like some wheezing.  We tried nose spray and suction but they did not help; Stuart finally took Logan into the steaming bathroom to sit for awhile.  The cough finally stopped and Logan could then fall asleep.

     This was the probably the worse time for my dad to visit us during the transition from Hong Kong to New Mexico.  We did not do much with him as the kids have been sick, and we had our kids kept some distance to avoid getting my dad sick too.  Fortunately, the rest my dad received here allowed him dealing with the jetlag extremely well.  He will be flying home to New Mexico tomorrow.

     In the midst of all these illnesses, we celebrated my birthday today at home.  The kids enjoyed singing the birthday song to me.  Logan loved the ice cream cake as expected, and Connor did not care to even take a bite.  With this week of madness in mind, I wished for the one thing as I blew out my candle.

     This must be the worst cold Connor ever had.  He appears to be feeling worse as of yesterday.  His breathing got heavier, with some wheezing at times; his cough and runny nose continues to be quite bad.  He also had a fever periodically.  His appetite also dropped starting yesterday.  He was very excited when I handed him a banana, but he took a couple of bites before returning it to me.  He gets tired easily too.  At 10 something yesterday morning, I was going to feed him lunch so he could go for an earlier nap.  But as soon as he saw the porridge that I made for him (which he usually likes), he immediately shook his head and started crying.  He flopped his head down onto the carpet to cry.  It was so sad!  I picked up him to comfort him, and tried to offer some other favorite foods, but he continued to cry to refuse.  I finally decided that he was just too tired to eat, so I took him to his room to read a book to calm him.  He calmed down, but after just reading half of a story, he pointed to the crib.  I laid him down and gave him his two stuffed animals to hold one on each arm; he just laid there without complaint!  Poor little guy!

    We made another appointment for him today since his fever lasted four days.  Stuart picked me up from work so I could go to the appointment with them.  Connor was happy during the wait as he enjoyed having both of our attentions.  It was nice that we did not have to wait long before being seen.  Connor was wheezing upon exam, but fortunately no signs of pneumonia.  However when the doctor looked into his ears, she found an infected one.  She prescribed amoxicillin for Connor.  After picking up the drug and giving it to Connor, they dropped me back off at work. 

    For the rest of the day, Connor continued to be quite sick, still looked very tired, coughing forcefully, and had a fever again after nap.  He was very sad and cranky.  He still did not eat much.  According to Stuart, Connor did enjoy being out in the sun for a little bit, and laying his head on Stuart to watch some TV kid shows.  For dinner, he finally ate some porridge.  We are using everything we can to help Connor feel better, Tylenol, ibuprofen, albuterol nebs, steam room, humidifier, nose spray and suction.  Hope that he will be better when he wakes up tomorrow.

     Stuart and I both feel so behind in everything, work and house chores.  Stuart has been the one taking more days off; he has been doing such a great job taking care of Connor and being so patient.  I had taken an hour to few hours off each day, and so it has been so busy trying to squeeze in all the work in a shorter day.  The highlight of today was my friends at work taking me out for a nice dim sum lunch and having cake to celebrate my birthday. 

     The 2nd night, Connor did not have stridor again, and he slept well until the next morning.  His breathing was normal, and he was fine without any symptoms.  But since it was my day off, I decided to keep him from school.  After playing inside the house for awhile, we went outside to get some air.  It was nice and warm under the sun; Connor and I had fun playing with some outdoor toys.  Then he pointed to the stroller asking for a walk.  Since we needed milk, I decided to go for a fast stroll to a local grocery to pick up a few things.  The round trip was 45 minutes, and Connor was content the whole time and enjoyed a banana as a snack.  When we returned, it was almost time for our scheduled tour to a school, so Stuart, Connor and I got ready and took off.  The tour was quite thorough and lasted almost an hour.  Connor was being held most of the times there, but it was cold at times even though we all were bundled up.  We had our lunch before Connor went down for his nap. 

     It was a packed morning.  Connor was doing so well and happy in the morning that I totally forgot he had been sick, and I must have exhausted him with all the activities.  Connor woke up with a fever again after nap.  He was initially still in good mood, but shortly after, he became more whiny.  He started coughing more to a point that he was coughing every few minutes over night.  As a result, Connor did not go to school again today.  He woke up at 5am this morning, and was still having a low grade fever.  He also threw up from coughing overnight as he had some dried up residual on his hair.  The rest of the day today, he continued to have a bad cough and now a runny nose.  Stuart was good making sure that he kept Connor entertained with tame activities.  Stuart and I plan on doing another split day tomorrow to take care of him.  We hope that Connor will be better soon, so we both can get caught up with work.