Celebrating Daddy

Sunday was all about Daddy!  It was so much fun to celebrate Dave on his first Father's Day.  He was able to sleep in and when he got up, a father's day breakfast was in the works.  The table was set and decorations were on display.  Neckties were the theme of the day and were incorporated into a "Happy Father's Day" banner, the day's menu, gift tags, and cupcake toppers.  While Dave ate breakfast, I had a movie playing that I made for him, "The Adventures of Daddy and Jack."  Of course, it was a movie put together of different video clips of Dave and Jack that I gave a comic book feel (I LOVE imovie!!).

We enjoyed a wonderful church service at Covenant and then came home for some relaxation.  While Jack napped, and Dave watched TV,  I made bacon maple cupcakes from scratch!  Dave hit the gym on Sunday afternoon and then came home for a yummy dinner...grilled pork chops (salmon for me!), roasted smash potatoes, and asparagus.  Those bacon maple cupcakes topped the meal off and were delicious!

After dinner, Dave FINALLY opened his gifts.  Mommy got him a boring white polo short but Jack got Daddy a gift that stole the show!  Jack's gift was a photo album of pictures of the two of them...a photo journal of their first 8 months together!

Dave is such a great Daddy to Jack and wonderful husband to me.  It was so much fun to spoil him and let him know how much we love him and how lucky we are!  

But to backtrack for a minute...on Saturday we took an impromptu trip to "Little" Washington, a small waterfront town about 30 miles from Greenville.  Dave suggested that we drive over there for lunch so we did!  We had a great meal and then walked along the river looking at an antique car show that was on display.  Dave had a great time showing Jack all the cars, especially the mustang!  My favorite part was seeing Tow Mater from the Disney movie, Cars.  Of course Jack and Daddy had to take a picture with him (Jack will love this picture one day!).  It was such a fun afternoon and such a great part of our Father's Day weekend!  

Jack's Baptism

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." -Matthew 19:14


Sunday, June 10, 2012, we celebrated sweet Jack's baptism. It was such a special day and wonderful celebration.  We were surrounded by family and friends as we professed our faith in Jesus Christ and presented our son before our church.  We have found a wonderful church in Greenville that we love, Covenant United Methodist Church.  We are so excited to have a church home where we can raise Jack to know the love that Jesus has for him.

After the service, we had had a luncheon at our home.  A good ole southern spread of pimento cheese, chicken salad, and egg salad, lots of yummy sides, and to top it off, my homemade almond cake with raspberry mousse and chocolate ganache layers (I am so proud of this cake!).  It couldn't have been a more perfect day.    

Roseola

At first glance, this word looks nice...a vintage bottle of wine, perhaps?  The newest OPI nail polish color at your favorite pedicure spot (I always think the names of their polish are creative and fun)?  A new floral hybrid bursting with color?  I can assure you, all of these nice, pleasant things are not Roseola.  Two weeks ago, we found out first hand what Roseola is.  Let me explain:

On Wednesday, May 30, Jack developed a temperature before bed.  He had been acting totally fine during the day so I didn't think anything of it.  I gave him some Tylenol and he went right down.  On Thursday, he was acting normal so we went for a walk with our friends Courtney, Marycarson, and Oliver.  Boy was it HOT outside (we went walking at 11:30 in the morning).  Jack's cheeks were flushed after our walk but I thought it was just because of the heat.  He ate a great lunch and then went down for his nap.  When he woke up and hour and a half later, his cheeks were still flushed and he was burning up!  I took his temperature and he was 103.0!!  To the doctor we went...

The doctor did some blood work and a physical exam and said everything looked normal.  Probably just a virus.  We came home and started tylenol around the clock.  His temperature would break for a while but then return.

Friday morning he still had the fever and was very clingy...he didn't cry or get upset, he just wanted to be held. He would be awake for about 40 minutes and then fall right back asleep.  By Friday afternoon he still had the fever and then started vomiting.  He was pitiful!  To the doctor we went...you might call me a frequent flier (I call myself a protective momma).

Again we had blood work and this time they did a flu swab (apparently that has been going around lately).  Again his physical exam looked fine.  Again we were told it was a virus.  We came back home and added motrin and pedialyte to the mix.

Saturday brought continued fever, continued round-the-clock tyelnol and motrin, and a still pitiful baby boy.  We did get some good snuggle time out of it, but I would have preferred to have him healthy and snuggly!

Finally on Sunday his fever broke...woo hoo!  He had a little more energy and was more receptive to eating and drinking.  We were in the clear...or so I thought.

Then came Monday morning and the bright red rash on his trunk.  ROSEOLA!  We had a diagnosis for this poor sick baby.  The rash made him more uncomfortable and irritable than the high fever.  He was fussy and clingy...not a fun combination!  

By Tuesday the rash had spread to his neck and thighs, by Wednesday (a full week after the start of it all) the rash was disappearing and by Thursday the rash was gone.  Finally on Friday our little man was back to his happy, playful, and energetic self.  

I guess this gets recorded in his list of firsts...first time being "sick".  I would have happily let this first pass us by!  I am now, more than ever, thankful for my healthy baby boy.