Happy July 4th!  We started the day by going to Bar’s and Raz’s house for an early BBQ.  The kids played in their trampoline, ran around and played with water toys.  Logan and Connor were both reserved with the water toy initially, but eventually had fun with it.  Logan and Rohan hung out together most of the time, and played with Bar too.  Raz seemed to enjoy staying with Connor; the two of them played well together and they were talking to each other using their own language.  However there was one big fight between them.  Raz apparently must have pushed Connor away from her cart; Connor made a very angry cry, and swung his arm twice attempting to hit her but missing her both times.  I don’t think I had really seen Connor this angry at something; I had to take him away to punish him for hitting and to calm him down.  The rest of the time they were fine.  With other kids eating apples, Connor ate an entire apple as a whole for the first time and was loving it.  Later on, the kids spent quite a bit of time inside the house watching Rio which they seemed to love.  Afterward, the parents had an impromptu birthday celebration for Raz too.  During the four hours at their house, the adults had a chance to sit in the backyard under the shade almost the entire time, eating and chatting.  It was a fun time for everyone.  By 2:30pm, the girls started to cry about something, Logan somehow hurt his toes, and Connor did not want to leave his toy shopping cart; all the crying indicated that it was time for us to say goodbye to go home.

     It worked out well that we had a late nap as we were invited to watch our neighbor’s “safe and tame fireworks”.  After a late dinner and before getting dark, we walked down to our neighbor’s house.  They had their family plus a few neighbors over, so it was a nice little crowd.  There were many large scale fireworks nearby our neighborhood, and we were able to see one show nicely over the roofs.  Afterward, the neighbor’s show began.  Both Logan and Connor were captivated by how close and loud we were to the fireworks.  It was very nice sitting on the lounge chairs they provided to watch.  Connor got a bit scared after a few minutes, wanting Stuart to hold him and take him to watch from further back.  Later on, when he returned to me, he was clapping after each firework and asking for more too.  Logan was talking about how each one was different and enjoying the show.  The show ended at 10pm and we all enjoyed it.  We had to hurry to say goodnight before walking the kids home for bath and bed.  They were down easily as it was over two hours later than their usual bedtime.

     Connor occasionally would request to go pee pee near bathtime after watching Logan go.  Today was no exception, but the toilet was occupied by Logan still doing his business.  So after I removed Connor’s diaper, I just held it in front of Connor to let him have an attempt.  Normally, he would immediately say “done”, then I would give him a cheer and we could move on to the bath.  Today, he actually did some serious concentration and pushing, then a little bit of pee pee came out.  He was so happy and so was I; this was his first on demand. 

     The boys finally had their dental appointments this morning.  They both were happy playing in the waiting room, then Logan was called into the exam room first.  Connor and I were called shortly after.  As this was Connor’s first visit, we received some introduction and had our picture taken for a souvenir photo certificate.  The hygienist then took Connor over to have x-rays taken.  Connor whined a bit but did open his mouth just wide enough to bite the film strip for two front teeth x-rays.  We then returned to the exam room for cleaning, and I let Connor sit on me again for this part as well.  Connor did not like something in his mouth and he cried while the hygienist quickly cleaned his teeth.  He then cried again when she placed fluoride on his teeth.  However Connor stopped crying as soon as she announced being done; even the hygienist thought that it was funny how quickly he stopped.  When the dentist looked at his teeth, Connor did not like that either, but since the exam was quick, he recovered fast too.

     Logan initially sat on the exam chair by himself, but was whining when asked to have teeth cleaned.  According to Stuart, the hygienist was a bit too cautious and thorough, giving Logan too many choices.  Logan ended up sitting on Stuart who was on the exam chair; but he did go through the cleaning with just a little bit of whining.  Then it was time for the first x-ray for Logan; Stuart was firm telling Logan to follow instruction, so Logan had the films taken without any complaints.

    The exams and x-rays were all good; both boys did not have any cavities.  Logan and Connor were excited given some cool stickers and toothbrushes.  They were happy to go find a toy from the basket as a reward afterward too.  It was a good visit today, and we don’t have to go back for 6 months now.

    Connor was up at 10pm with a fever last night, then awoke again at 11:30pm needing more cuddle.  Then he slept through the night until 6:45am.  He appeared much better today, no fever and cough was minimal too.  Stuart and I took a walk with the kids in the buggy to the big playground at a local school this morning.  The boys had the place all to themselves, and they even played hide and seek with daddy.  We came home to have lunch, and so I could get ready for Nilo’s baby shower as well.  Logan was totally fine when I said goodbye to him, but Connor started crying which stopped quickly after I left the house.  Stuart put both kids down to nap, then he had the chance to watch the UEFA championship game.

    I was at the baby shower for 3 hours, helping with taking photos of the event too.  When I returned home, the boys had been up from the nap and were playing in the yard.  A neighbor gave us a bunch of plums while we were out there, so Connor and I enjoyed some as we watched Logan and Daddy playing ball.  Connor surprised me by how much he enjoyed it and we shared five of them together.  Later, we decided to take another walk today to the shops nearby to have frozen yogurt.  Both boys were so excited; Logan chose to have the chocolate one.  Connor was into the idea only; as we started eating, he only wanted a few licks.  Logan, on the other hand, enjoyed a good size bowl.  We then picked up dinner to take home afterward.  We definitely had walked a lot today, so it is super nice to sit down and rest now that both children are down. 

    A day ago Connor started coughing, and every time when he has previously had a cold, his cough often sounds very bad and deep.  Last night his cough got worse; he seemed to be wheezing too.  But other than that, he did not have any other symptoms, still eating fine and playful.  After he went down to bed, we were monitoring his cough which was worse while laying down.  An hour into his sleep, he started waking up crying every 15 minutes or so.  We would go see him, give him some water and a little cuddle, then he would return to sleep.  But unfortunately, the cough kept waking him back up.  He did not have a fever, but we decided to give him a dose of Tylenol for comfort.  I tried to sit with him on the glider to pop him up, but he eventually wanted to return to bed.  After midnight, Stuart decided to give up his spot to let Connor come sleep with me.  After a long while, Connor’s cough finally calmed down and he eventually fell asleep.

    But at 3 something, Connor sat up and cried sadly.  He was burning hot and he must be very uncomfortable as his cry was different than usual, and it was hard to calm him down.  He did not want anything but held by me.  He was 101.8 axillary.  We sat together for awhile on the glider after another dose of Tylenol; he cooled back down, and we went back to sleep together on the bed.  Unfortunately, he was up at 6am sharp, and kept telling me that he wanted something to eat.  Once we were in the family room, he was quite happy and enjoyed watching Mickey Mouse.  He even went to get his stuffed Mickey to accompany him while watching the show.

    The rest of the day, Connor was doing well, did not have any more fever; his cough was gradually improved throughout the day.  We had an earlier lunch knowing that Connor would be tired and he almost fell asleep while eating.  After nap, Stuart and Logan went to library and then to the neighbor’s house for a playdate while Connor and I stayed on our own.  We went to Target for some shopping, then played in the yard and then took a walk with Connor in the buggy.

    Just now at 10pm, Connor woke up crying again.  He was again having a fever, 100.5 axillary.  I held him for awhile on the glider after Tylenol, and he now went back to sleep.  We will see how tonight will be.

      Today was considered the last day of school year as summer camp will start on Monday.  To celebrate, the school decided to do a crazy dress up day.  Stuart considered having the kids wearing the shirts and shorts insides out, but I just did not want to embarrass the kids or have the kids look too bummy.  So having unmatched socks was the extent of craziness I was willing to go.  Connor was complaining about the different socks when I put them on, but was fine with them after showing him Logan’s.  It turned out that there was not too much participation on this activity at school.  I saw a girl with colorful leg warmers in her arms and another girl with different shoes on, but that was about it.