Lately, Campbell wants to match whatever dad is wearing.

He’s still feeling under the weather, but doing better!  And, we may have the answer to the question of what was wrong with Campbell.  We got an email from school today saying that someone in Campbell’s class tested positive for Hand, Foot, & Mouth.  So, we’re pretty sure that’s what we have.  Especially since he woke up this morning and kept itching a spot on his toe, and then it looks like he has a couple of spots around his mouth.  He’s still under the weather and really tired, but the fever is down a lot and he’s on the mend.

 

Campbell was not feeling well last night, and when he got up this morning, he had 101.8.  I gave him Motrin, but it kept going up.  I went out to go look at washing machines, and when I got back, dad told me that Campbell was super-hot and feeling terrible.  I took his temp, and it was 103.4.  I gave him some Tylenol to try to get it down, and tried to keep him up to make sure it was going in the right direction.  Campbell fell asleep on me downstairs – I don’t think that’s happened in at least two years!  He was so miserable.  It went down a little and he went down for a nap.  But when he woke up it was 104.2. So, off we went to the urgent care center.  I gave him a dose of Motrin before we went, and it helped – by the time we got there, we were down to 100.6, and you could tell he had a lot more energy.  The doctors and nurses were so cute with him, and so impressed.  They all said he was their favorite patient today, and they couldn’t believe how smart he was – especially after finding out he was a 27-weeker.

They ran a few tests to rule things out since he’s been sick so much this winter.  It’s probably just school, but just to be safe they did a chest x-ray to check on his cough (clear), and a flu test to be sure that wasn’t an issue (also negative, thankfully).  It’s probably just a virus, so we’re going to treat the symptoms and the fever.

But here is a fun video of Campbell reading a story to himself while we were waiting.

And, later, you can see the contraption he had to get in for the chest x-ray.  The x-ray tech said that it was “medieval” and that most kids cried and screamed and thrashed and that he had to try several times to get the shots he needed.  So, when we were walking over, we talked about how it would be like when Franklin the Turtle got his chest x-ray.  And, how it would mean that he had to be in something that would keep him still so that the man could get a good picture.  I have to say, he was super-good about this.  He got right in, and let us strap him in, and he didn’t cry at all – and was even trying to “smile” while I got a picture of him.  I think the tech was completely shocked and said he was the best patient of the day.  Even when we left, he was sitting at the front desk, and was clearly not used to kids thanking him and being nice after this.  🙂

I was so proud of how great he was at the doctor with all of this.  Unfortunately, we were there for a long time, and by the time we got back home, his fever was back up and rising.  102.8, and then up to 104 before he went to bed (even after medicine).  So I wasn’t pleased about putting him to bed with that, and went to check on him later, and thankfully, it was clear from touching his forehead that it was down.  And, I woke up at 3 to go check on him  He was awake when I went in, and his temperature was down below 102.  So we had some milk, rocked and sang a couple of songs, and went back to sleep.  I hate to see him feel so bad, so hopefully he will be feeling better tomorrow.

Campbell and I had a super fun golf cart ride while dad was trying to work on his exam.  We saw a bucket truck with men changing street lights.  Campbell said “let’s go find more cool trucks.”  And, I said, I doubted there would be more…  And then we saw a dump truck with a backhoe on a trailer.  And, then we found a group of men working to find a gas leak.  Campbell got to see them use a jackhammer to cut through the concrete to find the line.  He was so excited, and the men were so nice to him.   And, you could really smell the gas in the air.  It was super exciting.

Today, Mom and Campbell went to the zoo after school because Mimi couldn’t come today.  We had a great time and got a cute video of Campbell playing the drums.

Today, Campbell went to Mimi’s house to play while I went to the NICU family meeting.  Unfortunately, he was so excited playing in the driveway that he fell and hit his head.  He was upset but more scared than actually hurt, I thought.  Until I saw this when we were going to bed.  The funniest part was when Campbell was trying to see his own bruise on his forehead by looking up (no mirror).  🙂

Campbell is super interested in sports.  Here we were braving the (almost) freezing cold weather to go play in the park with the soccer ball, golf ball, and fat-bat ball.  He loves it!

Later, we figured out it was much smarter to play inside the garage where it was warmer.  He loves his tricycle too.  🙂

And even more golf.  🙂

Cute picture of Campbell.  Not so great of mom…  But he was really having fun reading Goodnight Gorilla.

More golf fun.  And, he likes golfers other than Tiger, but that seems to be what he’s saying in all the good videos.  🙂

Fun with math matching cards in the morning in our PJs followed by more golf.  Campbell wants to go play golf for hours!  🙂

More golf.  🙂

Campbell loves to play outside!  Here we had a picnic at the park before playing golf and playing with construction trucks.

We had a fun Easter day!  First, Campbell got to see what the Easter Bunny left for him.  He loved his cool “take-along” trains that fit inside Easter eggs, candy, bath crayons, and especially his new Franklin books.  And, his sunglasses and new cool silicone plates.

Then we got to get dressed up and go to Spring Creek for Easter brunch, where Campbell got to see the Easter Bunny.  He was even patient at the table until it was time to go!

He was so sweet and he said thank you for his gifts right away.  He was so excited when he saw him.  We also didn’t have any luck convincing him not to open each Easter egg as he opened it.

Today was the Easter egg hunt at Calvary (at the Metal Museum).  Campbell had a great time, but we couldn’t convince him to stop opening each Easter egg as he got it to make sure there was some kind of treat or candy inside!  He can’t be convinced to wait and open them later.  🙂

And, it was especially fun for both sets of grandparents to be there for the hunt.  🙂

 

We tried to get a picture with both sets together.  Someone didn’t want to cooperate, but we still got a couple of pretty good pictures.

 

After the hunt, Pat-Pat and Bing gave Campbell an Easter present.  He loved all his new cool matchbox cars!

 

More golf at the Montessori school.  🙂  At least it’s nicer weather!

 

Campbell loves playing golf.  We’ve had to move to a more contained location to keep the golf balls from going everywhere.  The Montessori school auditorium is our new favorite place.  He asks to go play golf all the time!

We tried to get some pictures after church today.

Today, Campbell got to visit with Pete and Aunt Lizzy and Pat-Pat and Bing.  They got to go to the Harbor Town Easter Egg Hunt, which was great fun.  🙂

 

Later, they got to play with trucks.  🙂

Then, this afternoon, dad and Jeeves snuggled together while Campbell took a nap.

Afterwards, we tried to play outside again because our house just feels so wrong without Shamu.  But, at least we’ve figured out a way to keep the balls in the yard (mostly) and for Campbell to play with his golf clubs and soccer ball.

 

And, Campbell loves to have us sing variations on “Pig on her Head” when he puts things on his head or when we put them on ours.  (“Campbell has a tractor on his head.  Campbell has a tractor on his head.  Campbell has a tractor on his head, and he keeps it there all day.”).  And, mom needed some extra hugs today.

 

I have no words.  We took Shamu to the vet this morning to have her teeth cleaned, and she died from complications of the anesthesia.  Her blood pressure dropped, and they couldn’t get it back.  She was healthy (as far as we knew) when we dropped her off, so I can’t even comprehend it.  It’s just awful.

Campbell is so smart that when dad drove past the vet’s office (which is on the way home from school), he kept asking why we weren’t picking Shamu up.  :(.  He came home with Campbell so that we could tell him together.  We really didn’t know how to explain this to Campbell or to Jeeves, so we decided to go to the vet to visit Shamu and let everyone say goodbye.  I’m so glad we did because I think it helped both Jeeves and Campbell understand.

It was so hard today to tell him this and to break it to Jeeves, as well.  Campbell and Jeeves were both so close to her.  And, Campbell thought of Shamu as his best friend.  She taught him to share his toys (he loved to “share” with her).  And, she was so gentle that she let him run his cars over her, and she always wanted to be nearby wherever he was.  I don’t think we’ll ever find a cat that’s as gentle and sweet to Campbell.  We are just completely devastated.  Especially because she was just fine when we took her in.

The top center is a picture of Campbell saying goodbye, and then a few of our favorites of Shamu.  We love you, Shamu and already miss you terribly.

Later, we tried to play with Campbell outside and take our minds off of how lonely our house is.  He still loves to play with his tractor.  🙂

Today, Dad and Campbell had fun going to the Bass Pro Shop and playing outside at the park with his cool construction trucks.

Later, we went for “date night” at Spring Creek, and Campbell got to go the practice green to putt.  He loved it.  🙂