Out of the Slump (and Thankful for It)

We've been in a little bit of a sickness slump. Two weeks ago, I was so proud that I had both kids fed and ready to take Cate to dance class on my own when Brennan decided to puke all over himself and his high chair 5 minutes before we were to walk out the door. He'd been coming down with a cold, but I wasn't sure if this was stomach bug puking or his sensitive gag reflex puking. I erred on the side of caution and we skipped dance class. Cate. Was. Ticked. But she got over it. It ended up being the gag reflex as Brennan didn't puke again until Wednesday morning when he choked on some more snot. I will be so thankful when the kid learns to blow his nose.

His cold progressed from a deep, barking cough, to a wet cough. Couple that with lots of eye gunk (and a little pink eye), diaper rash, and a runny nose that just wouldn't quit, and suffice it to say, my little guy was a hot mess. He graciously passed his cold onto me, just in time for Thanksgiving. But I could take Nyquil (yes, he still nurses, but the benefits of Nyquil far outweighed any small risk to him). Nevertheless, we headed to my parents-- snotty noses and all for the holiday.

Brennan turned 11 months old the day before Thanksgiving.
I can't believe he'll be a year old in less than a month. This year has been the fastest year ever!

Thanksgiving morning we took it easy, watched the marching band from our alma mater march in Santa for the Macy's parade, and snapped a few photos before we headed to my aunt's. I wish Cate would have had the smile from the first picture in the second picture.
And here she is trying to pose Brennan:
We enjoyed great food and even greater company at my mom's sister's house. Brennan took over the remote as his new favorite toy.
After dinner, we had our annual viewing of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. I'm not sure we even need to watch the movie as we all have the movie memorized. And no, we're not staring at a black screen-- the flash makes it look that way.
I actually went out with my mom and sister on Black Friday. I helped them pick out a few toys for my kids for Christmas and then my sister wanted a Kindle that was on sale at Target. It was organized chaos. Thankfully, my wonderful husband let me sleep in that morning. I met up with one of my favorite teachers from middle school and high school for coffee in the afternoon. Then we indulged in a White family tradition-- paintbrush cookies!
Friday night we watched The Blind Side. I can't believe I'd never seen that movie before. My mom picked it up for $3.99 on our midnight Target run. I bought The Time Traveler's Wife and a season of 30 Rock. Little man spent a lot of time looking cute.
Saturday was pretty low key. I finally finished Brennan's alpaca wool hat.
Now it's time to start Cate's. Thankfully she at least has a store-bought hat to hold her over until I finish hers-- which may take me all winter at the slow rate I move with knitting projects.

Seeing as how every college kid who lives in NE Ohio and attends college in Columbus or Cincinnati travels down I-71 the Sunday after Thanksgiving, we decided to head home after dinner Saturday night. Plus, the Browns played the Bengals today in Cincinnati, so we didn't want all of that traffic. And it's rainy today. Our drive home was uneventful-- just the way I like it. No stops, no traffic, and both kids fell asleep.

Today we're glad to be home. We caught up on some housework and laundry, decorated the tree a bit more, and relaxed. Brennan's nose isn't quite as snotty, I'm feeling better, and it looks like Eric and Cate are going to be spared. We seem to have pulled out of our sickness slump just in time to start getting ready for little guy's birthday and Christmas! And for that I am very thankful!

~Melody :-)