Stuck at Home

So, this is the time of year when my kids' immune systems head to the Bahamas for a couple months. Did I think of that when I planned to have a baby in February? Um, apparently not. Immediately after the kids recovered from the stomach bug, they came down with a nasty cold - I guess everybody in town has it right now - bad cough, fever, sore throat, aches, stuffy/runny nose. Mainly the cough sets it apart, though. They got sick right when my mom was visiting, and despite her surgical mask and gloves, she picked it up the same time I did. Luckily, Ryan took half days all this week, or I really don't know how I would have survived. Even he caught this bug, although respiratory stuff never hits him too hard. But, happily, Evan is still symptom-free. Of anything! All these baby-oriented prayers must be doing something, because this kid is fine. He's up to 8 pounds 8 ounces (he was 7-4 at birth), and is basically cheerful and cute.

So, in the 2 1/2 weeks we've been stuck at home, sick, here are the exciting pictures we've taken. Oh, actually they start with when the kids were sick before Evan was born, but I wanted to include them since they didn't fit in with any other post.

First, here is Connor a month and a half ago, right after he got his cast removed. He was delighted. And what did he do to celebrate? He tried his very best to re-break it a couple times that week, including this great superhero obstacle course he made with his friends (it involved a lot of jumping and falling to the ground.)
He actually had to wear a splint for an additional month, but was pronounced completely healed about a week before Evan arrived, so at least I don't have to obsess over that anymore! Here's Connor with some of his favorite stuffed animals (plus one of Elise's that he likes to steal.) He set up this "family portrait" and insisted that I take a picture. Here's Elise in her purple fairy dress. You can see how much she loves it, which is the only reason I haven't "misplaced" it yet. (I have a terrible lack of appreciation for girly fairy dresses.) I have to send a sincere thank you to Ryan's family, though, for getting it for her, as she really does adore it! We've gotten a couple of sets of promotional address stickers in the mail recently, so the kids turned them into body art. Connor took the picture of Elise and me. (See? This is still before Evan.)
Then, after the baby, my mom came down, fully equipped with medical protective gear. She basically never took it off. Even while sleeping. I don't know how this virus got to her. She was a wonderful help, though, especially in disinfecting surfaces and doing pukey laundry. Here are productive hours spent popping bubble-wrap. Note the vomit bucket in the background! Here's Elise playing Wii Fit, Connor looking miserable, and the kids being cute with their new little brother.


Umm, more random pictures of us hanging out being bored. Yeah, that's a completely different set of free address labels.


Finally, here are the best pictures to date of baby Evan. He's such a mellow little cutie. Safe to say we're going to keep him.