Falling for Autumn, Kicking It Off

Fall is my favorite time of year, the smells, the weather, the activities, and the colors! We started off Fall with AppleFest in Adel at the local winery. It was the first time we attended and as we arrived we weren't quite sure, but it ended up being a lot of fun. The Chesnuts, Papa, and Grandma as well as some other family joined us. We walked around and got to see craft vendors, sample some wine, roast marshmallows, get our face painted, go on a tractor ride, have a picnic with brick-oven pizza (really tasty), and listen to live music.


We also headed up to Boone to attend Avery's soccer game and have dinner with the Chesnuts, Grandma and Papa. Liv is over the moon for her cousins, she talks about them all the time. She always says I Love the Chesnuts and calls Avery her best friend. It really makes me happy to see them get along so well and I hope they continue to be close.


Liv and Blake headed to Iowa City to attend a friend's birthday party, her first friend party. She had difficulty understanding that the present they picked out wasn't for her, but her friend. She of course got a My Little Pony for herself as well. When they got there, she had a blast. She bounced her little heart out in the bounce house, had a cupcake, and got a sparkly snake painted on her face.
While they went to IC, Ben and I headed to Boone to watch Sam's flag football game. We ate lunch with the Chesnuts and they snuggled him. We then did a little shopping to buy his letters for his room. It was overall a great weekend. Next time, we will make the trip to IC together.

 

We head up to Boone every so often, and this weekend we attended Sam's flag football game, rode the trolley through town, and went to lunch in Ames. Liv likes to cheer, "Go I State!" The trolley was an interesting experience as it mostly goes behind people's houses-it was a long enough ride (30 min) to give the kiddos their experience on a train until they're a bit older. When they're older there are other train options: a picnic train, the Kate Shelley Bridege Ride-which are a bit longer, etc. 

Ben enjoys his daily morning walks with mom, feeling sad we will be giving these up soon-back to work and winter :(

Month 2: BTM

It is crazy that my time left being at home is down to the last 1/3, it really goes so quickly and Ben has changed so much. I am loving my time with him. As hard and guilty sometims I feel about sending Liv to daycare, it really is the only time he won't share me. She demands the attention these days from both Blake and I. We are doing our best to include her and make it seem special and a big deal that she is the big sister, but every day life gets busy.
Ben is now oohing and aahing, loves our faces and smiles at us, and he is really into looking around. He is our smiley guy. So far, he has been a laid back kiddo, but we will see how long that continues. He is starting to sort of have a schedule (at least at night-wakes up 3-4 times to eat and goes right back to sleep, unless it's the last one in the cycle-then he likes to get some snuggles in. Then he usually sleeps until between 8-9). Daytime, I am starting to track as day is different, being on the go sometimes. We are starting to get in a routine- breakfast, go for a walk, play/read/do some chores/or run errands, lunch, and then hang out in the afternoon until we head to get big sis.
He is 12.2 lbs. and almost 23 inches. He is in the 50th percentile for everything-so we are on the right track!

A Whirlwind of a Weekend

We thought we would have big plans this upcoming weekend: Adel Fest, Pufferbilly Days, etc.....our plans changed big time. Ben came down with a fever Thursday. In the morning, I thought he was a little off-he hadn't slept as well as he was starting to and he seemed more whiny. Out of I don't even know what I checked his temp, only 99.9. He seemed to want to cuddle more than usual and not eat quite as well (still figuring this out, so wasn't too concerned), but he seemed hot so I checked his temp again-this time 101.4. I knew immediately we would be going to the hospital. Too many kiddos this summer I knew had fevers this summer under the same circumstance. I called his pediatrician to confirm that we should head to the ER. I also called Blake and my mom, I was rattled. We had my mom come down to take care of Liv since we didn't know how long or what the outcome for Ben would be and I knew I would need Blake to be with us. 

As I took Ben to the nearest ER, they instructed us that they wanted us to head to Blank, where they had a bit more expertise with such little ones. It took them four times to get an IV into Ben to begin fluids, which ended up being in his scalp-talk about scary. Ben and I ended up having an ambulance ride downtown while Blake drove to meet us after getting Grandma a carseat for Liv. We got a full work up with a urine test, blood cultures, and spinal tap. They take it very serious when such a small babe gets sick, which is appreciated even if it all seems crazy and extensive. We were then admitted for a 48-72 stay depending on the results. His spinal came back positive for enterovirus, which makes littles ones very sick. It was no fun, but on the better side-no bacteria. We stayed 72 hours, the nurses and doctors were great and Ben started improving on day 2. We are so happy to be back home, have Ben on the mend, and have our whole famiy together. We are continuing to monitor Ben to ensure he doesn't get dehydrated as his feeding isn't what it was, but we are heading in the right direction-with a follow-up this week with our pediatrician. 

Liv got to spend a whole weekend with the grandparents and cousins. She loves the Chesnuts so it was a good distraction that mom and dad weren't around. She watched then play soccer, have a playdate, go to a parade, and have one-on-one time with the grandparents. She asked a few times for us and to go home, but overall had a splendid time. She kepts saying, "mom and dad at the doctor." We missed her very much, but knew she was in good hands. We again are very lucky to have such a supportive family-it takes a village. 

These little ones of ours are so precious and it was definitely a reality check to be grateful for them. We also had family and friends checking in on us for support.