Sick?

You wouldn't know she was sick until the diaper change ... then you really know. Shortly after this video, her nose got really runny. I think that drainage is making her throat soar so she coughs.

One for the team

After commenting to my mom on Sunday that Zoe hasn't been sick yet (5.5 months old), Zoe promptly became sick that night.

Warning: Subject matter is about poops and puke. Reader discretion is advised.

It started with a fussiness and soon her diaper was making noises. It was her first real series of diarrhea and it was about 2:30am. We were caught off guard. But Yvonne worked with her for a while and changed a couple diapers. Then I took over and changed one myself until about 4:30am, when Zoe was calm enough to sleep. That was Sunday night.

We all woke up sick Monday morning. We knew we couldn't take a sick baby to day care--diarrhea is like the No. 1 thing they want to avoid because other kids could get it. So we all stayed home. I started feeling better by the afternoon and would say I was 100% by around 3pm. I think Yvonne started feeling better around that time as well. For us, the sickness was mainly an intense headache behind the eyes and in the forehead.

Poor little Zoe though. Her diet went to "Pedialyte" (a mix of Gatorade and sugar water from what I can tell) for the day and she added a runny nose to her symptoms. We talked to our doctor and did what we were told. Things seemed to be moving along and not getting worse. That was all we were focused on.

Last night, things got worse. After taking the Pedialyte all day, we moved on to a mix of formula and non flavored Pedialyte. She kept down the formula mix and things were good. She crashed after a long effort by Yvonne to get her to fall asleep.

The whole time, I'm in the kitchen making the baked good for a Halloween Festival at the day care today. Parents in our room all need to bring a baked good because they are doing the cake walk. Sounds easy. I made a lemon delight thing that we left in the fridge all night and this morning, the damn thing was still too gooey to slice into pieces. Like I say, I'm the chef, Yvonne is the baker. She can bake some good things and probably could even do a lemon delight, although she admitted she's never done one. I'm all about making sauces and stuff.

So last night around 1:30am, Zoe wakes up hungry. Yvonne feeds her in bed and she starts this scary choking noise. So Yvonne quickly sits Zoe up and the baby pukes all over the bed. We clean her up, change the sheets and Yvonne takes Zoe into the other room to calm her down. They come back to bed and we all slept until this morning.

Then, Yvonne took one for the team. We fed Zoe again in bed and she made the scary choke noise again. Yvonne sat her up and I said,"She's going to puke again." So, Yvonne picked her up--it was like a scene in a movie where the hero dives for the bullet screaming, "Nooooooooo!"-- and the baby proceeded to vomit all over Yvonne. We didn't have to change that damn sheet again, but poor Yvonne had a second pair of PJs puked on.

So, Yvonne got ready for work at that point and I'm on Daddy Day Care mode with a sick daughter. Runny nose, coughing and sneezing, and of course the diapers. I'm just trying to keep her hydrated and happy--feeding her sitting up. I'm taking a second day off from work and we're pretty sure poor Zoe is going to miss her first Halloween Festival. Yvonne is seeing if we still need to volunteer. And Yvonne's probably going to end up buying a baked good to drop off.

Side by Cycle

Sunday, I visited a friend and he showed me his new two-person bike. He ordered it online and it arrived a few days ago. It was pretty cool (see photo). His was the same colors as this one. They come in all yellow, white and red or blue and white.

We rode it around for a while and it was pretty fun. If your facing the front of the bike, the rider on the right has control of the brakes, gears (six of them) and steering. The rider on the left basically just has handle bars to hold on to. The pedals can be adjusted however you want, but he had them set to sync up. So our left legs would go up and the same time, etc.

It costs less than a normal tandem bike, and it's more social. You can hold a conversation while you're riding. We talked about his neighborhood and features on the bike. He said he's going to add a few items, like lights, horns and possible wind chimes.

Some new videos

Baby and Cat Duet


Talkin'


Bouncy Chair

Full steam ahead

Inspired by Yvonne's post, I thought I'd share my average day as well.

It usually starts around 6am. Zoe's in bed at this time and she starts moving in her sleep. So if the alarm doesn't wake me, a tap tap tap on the shoulder does. I get ready for the day, then go to the kitchen, get Zoe's bottles ready for the day, feed the dog and make some coffee. Sometimes I empty the dishwasher or take out the garbage. Then, Walker and I go for a walk around the block and get back to the house by 6:50am-7am. The sun is not up yet.

Yvonne is up by this point and has Zoe dressed if the baby wakes up at 6:30am. If she doesn't wake up, we let her sleep in until 7:30am. I take over baby detail while Yvonne gets ready for the day. We watch the traffic and weather reports, while Zoe eats more formula and juice. I usually feed the fish at this point if I remember to. Around 7:45am, Zoe and I head to day care. I drop her off and get to work around 8:45am.

I head back to day care around 5:15pm--getting home around 5:45pm. One of us feeds the dog again--whoever gets to it first. We play with Zoe until about 6:30pm, then give her a bath. Yvonne starts to put her to sleep, while I start on dinner. I might empty the dishwasher or take out the garbage at this point as well.

We hang out for a couple hours, watch TV, read or bowl. Sometimes I do freelance work. Then, off to bed. Zoe starts off in the crib, but when she wakes up in the night for food she moves into the bed with us.

Like Yvonne, I'm struggling to find time to do some things like bike riding, yard work and regular freelance work. Usually, freelance is done on the weekend mornings while the girls sleep in. I can also fit a mowing in the weekend, but not much more. Weekends are also when I water the house plants, clean the bathrooms and vacuum where Zoe isn't (she doesn't like the noise). I'm glad it's been rainy because I've had no time to water the yard. We've lost a few potted outdoor plants as a result.

So there you have it.

Haloed

My friend Old Skool came up from Austin over the weekend. We played the Hell out of Halo 3 and I've concluded, it's awesome. What caught me off guard was a play back feature. So after a particularly messy round, we sat back and watched it. We were geeked out if true fashion with two TVs in the living room. After he left, I started over again and still like it a lot. Easily, it's up there with Bioshock, but will surpass it only because you can play it over and over and against other peeps.

Moving right along

A quick note to update things. We've been dealing with a sleep regression that's zonked out most of our extra energy. XBox playing is down very low, as well as Wii. I'm pretty caught up on freelance work, so I have that going for me. Clark Kent work is going fine.

Speaking of, the new "Smallville" season began and so far I'm saying it's good. Not great, but pretty good. The Supergirl actor needs lessons, but so did Tom Welling in the beginning. I hear a spin off revolving around her might happen. They obviously have a lot of money this season, so the special effects look great.

Yesterday, I had the heater reconnected to the gas line. For those who forgot, it was disconnected while Yvonne was in labor. An electrical cord had worn out and started sparking on the gas line whenever the AC kicked on. I killed the AC and mom had it fixed the next day while we were at the hospital. Fast forward 4.5 months and I finally had it fixed. The need for a heater in Dallas during the summer is not a high priority.

I also bought a vacuum cleaner. Next on the list is getting the trees trimmed. then a chimney cap. Then, we might readdress some doors.

The Cowboy game last night was insane. We stayed up too late and watched it.

Thirty four

We just got back from a lovely trip to Midland. We went to a fair where Yvonne went to school (above), ate some really good food and played with the family. It was the first five-hour (one way) drive with Zoe D and she handled it pretty well. Yesterday in Fort Worth (hour 4.5), she began to grow tired of the car, but Yvonne kept her in good spirits so it wasn't too bad.