Xander in the hospital---part 1

As most of you know, Xander got very sick and ended up in the hospital for several days.  He was diagnosed with Pneumococcal pneumonia.  It was the most stressful time for our whole family.  He had been sick for days, but with no typical pneumonia symptoms, it would take an xray in the ER at Children's Hospital to discover what was wrong.  All we knew was that he was very sick, and not getting any better.  Thankfully they figured it out and got him on IV antibiotics.  He had to stay in for several days and he finally started feeling a bit better.  Chris stayed at the hospital with him every night and a lot of the days while I took care of Nathan.  We tagged teamed the boys as much as possible.  Very hard on everyone!  We were hopeful that he was on the mend, but we had no idea that this was just the beginning....

Our sick little guy in the ER.

The unexplained pain is really starting to get to him.

Finally, we know what is wrong, the pain meds have kicked in and he can rest while we wait for him to be moved to his own room.

Sleeping, with a little help from some oxygen...and his Glo-e bear.

Nice view of downtown from his hospital window.

A volunteer brought in her little dog, Ginger.  Xander thought she was very cute!  He couldn't wait to tell me all about when he called.  

First signs of a boy feeling a little better.

But starting to feel better is also hard on a little guy, stuck in a hospital bed and tied down with IVs.

Yay!  Finally the IV is out and waiting to go home!

Misc. September photos

Labor Day trip to Elm Creek Park for the last swim of the season
Coming out of the water to dry off and head home
Xander has a hard time saying goodbye. I think he knows the LONG winter is coming!
Nate waves goodbye to the beach.
End of summer/celebrate going back to school cupcakes. Nate really got into it!
Playing nicely with their GeoTrax
Swimming lessons for Nate. The instructor, Jessica, is my favorite of them all at Foss in Blaine.
The kids (and Ann) playing in the bubbles at a end of summer bbq at their house.
Taking in as much outside time as we can.
Chris put up a tent in the back yard, thinking that him and Xander could camp out before it got too cold. We had no idea he would be so sick in no time at all.

Nathan hanging out in our bed (he thinks it is HIS bed too) with a good book.
Bee on the late summer Sedum blooms.
Beautiful rose
Beautiful sight!

Alexandria trip

We decided to take a weekend trip out of town after school started since we never went anywhere over the summer.  We drove to Alexandria and stayed at a hotel with an indoor water park.  We all had a great time and it was nice to get away.  

Dinner at the resort.  The biggest pile of food, including a ton of veggies, on the kids menu.

View from our room

Nate crashed out in bed

In the jacuzzi

Xander flying top speed down the water slide

Nathan and Chris relaxing on the tube

Nate was so tired and ready for a nap that he climbed on the bed and went to sleep.  He had been naked and the best i could do was position a diaper around him and hope for the best.

While Chris and Nate napped, Xander and I went outside to check out the rest of the resort

blowing some dandilions

There was a lot more to do there than I knew about or we had time for.  We had fun in the water park, but it would have been nice to explore the area more.  I think Xander was wishing we had one more day so he could look for shells and do some other things outside.

After going out for dinner at a local pizza buffet, we headed back to the room for popcorn and movies in bed.  The boys were far too tired to make it through even half the movie.

Xander loves popcorn and could eat a whole bag on his own, but as always, the boys shared very well.

Another leisurely float on the tube

The boys dried off, dressed and ready to hit the road.  Our first little road trip with the boys was lots of fun and the boys did great!

Xander's first day of preschool

Here are some photos of Xander's first day back at preschool. He really loves his teachers this year and would go everyday if he could.

Getting excited as he walks in front of the building
He was so excited when he saw the sign on the way to his classroom His own hook for his stuff
Checking out the sand in the sensory table
Moved on the the play dough. If you look in the background, there is Nathan playing with the kitchen stuff.