Big Willie

Her face says it all.  

 I think he's done with her now.

He loves to cuddle when he's not trying to destroy something, throw something, attack something, or wrestle someone.  He chews/sucks on his fingers a lot.  I don't know if he finds it comforting b/c some kids just chew/suck on their fingers or if it's because we don't have a blanket with us all the time and he's resorting to his back up method.

It's funny when I think back to when Miss M was a baby and we were first time parents.  First time parents are funny creatures.  I wouldn't have gone ANYWHERE without Miss M's blanket or a diaper bag full of toys to entertain her. We never left on a car ride without a bag full of toys to hand her so when she dropped one there was always another in line. We never went to dinner without an arsenal of toys to entertain her (until she learned how to use the phone).  We don't pack any thing for Mr. Man except hopefully I remembered some diapers and some wipes.  We leave the house without his blanket all the time. An unheard of move with Miss M.  We go to dinner and try to find things on the table to occupy the time until our food arrives.  We don't eat out much anymore. It's not worth it. We do however order in a lot.  I just don't always have it in me to clean up another post-meal mess or prepare a meal that the odds of someone eating it are slim to none unless it's a tortilla with cheese inside served with more than a dollop on ranch.  This reminds me that I need to add ranch to our Costco list. We buy bottles of ranch at Costco. We don't have to throw them away before their expiration date if that's any indication of how much ranch we use.

Miss M got a stuff Olaf for a Christmas present and Big Willie loves it as much as she does. I think he likes to wrestle it.

One day when the babysitter canceled and my nerves were on the verge of being shot I packed up the kids and took them to the gym.  I figured I might as well use the babysitting I am paying for each month at the gym.  Big Willie doesn't scream his brains out when I drop him off anymore which means we should keep going. I dropped them off at 4 and picked them up 2 hours later (the allocated time we pay for each visit) and I assumed everyone was starving. I was starving so we walked next door to Chipotle. I successfully ate my meal and the kids ate their meals and Miss Cate sat in her car seat without having a breakdown. I was pretty impressed with myself.  It's not something I am going to attempt everyday but it's nice to know it's possible.

 This is his favorite place to be. In her business.

 He loves Miss M's jewelry.  He really just loves everything she loves.

Andrew has taught him a lot of things. There are things I wish he wouldn't have taught him like how to make a cup of coffee b/c now he thinks he can make a cup of coffee whenever he's bored whether there is a cup or adult supervision present. But he also loves to help with the trash.  We give him the recycle bag (because it's the lightest) and he drags it to the door and when it's not cold and rainy out he drags it to the garage. He likes to push the garage door button to open it and close it.  He just loves his daddy. He wants to be with him not a minute less than 1,440 minutes a day (60 minutes x 24 hours).  It can be exhausting for Andrew but I love it b/c it relieves me of Big Willie duty.

And he loves his milk. This is what happens when you tell the little guy that there seriously is no more milk in the house. I always have gallons in reserve in the basement refrigerator with the exception of this day.  Miss M had been sick with a cough and cold and he had just caught it. He needed his milk and there was none to give him.  The babysitter came to the rescue and brought one over after school.

Big Willie woke up this morning not being able to breath. It was possibly the scariest thing I have experienced as a parent. Miss M's wheezing wasn't as scary b/c it slowly developed.  I picked him up from his crib and he couldn't catch his breath. His inhale kept getting caught and he was freaking both of us out. I yelled at Andrew before he left and asked him to stay home b/c I was taking him to the doctor. I couldn't risk having him leave and me getting stuck taking three kids to the doctor which is a cesspool of germs. We were the first appointment of the day so the room was germ-free.  You know the kid doesn't feel good when he just lays down on the table and waits for the doctor to arrive. usually he's playing in the trash can and trying to open the door to escape.

The doctor diagnosed him with croup. Apparently croup is a real thing. My mom always seemed to use it loosely like it was another term for a cough/cold.  Apparently croup is bad when kids wake up but gets better if you just take them outside. I could have saved myself a $30 co-pay had I known all I needed to do was take him outside to breath some fresh air.  Rascal.  They prescribed him a steroid and as of the end of the day I don't think it had made him much better. The doctor said if he's not better in 2.5 days then to come back.  Lets hope he's better before 2.5 days is over.  He was such a mess today while he was awake. And he's not really that much better in his sleep.