Little Man

When did Dax get so old?

MEA

After one of the worst weekends we have ever had, we had to make up for it this week. It didn't hurt that I had some extra time with my little man due to the Education MN teacher's conference. As usual I considered attending the actual conference for at least part of one of the days, but family time won out and we simply enjoyed ourselves. With a visit to see the scarecrows at the arboretum, two zoo trips, acting like total tourists at the Mall of America, and lots of playing, this could easily be a LONG post so I will simply share the weekend in pictures.

ER

Parenthood is incredible. It is pure joy to watch Dax grow, learn, and become his own little person. It can also be completely heartbreaking and terrifying. Last night we experienced the latter.

Dax has been fighting a cold for about a week and on Friday we decided to give him a low-key day with Grandma instead of the high-energy day he would have at daycare. After learning that one of his buddies had an ear infection and croup, I asked my mom to watch him closely for any signs that he had more than just a cold and not to hesitate to take him to the pediatrician. Fortunately, he was himself all day and, though he napped more than usual, he played and played and was nothing but a little hoarse when we picked him up.

Fast forward to 12:30 AM and he was no longer fine. His hoarse voice turned to an inability to cough, cry, or get words out, and his stuffy nose turned into very labored breathing. He seriously sounded more like a barking dog than a toddler and we knew it was not good. We immediately brought him to the bathroom and ran hot water to let him breathe in some steam and try to clear his airways. Once he calmed down he was a little better, but still struggled to get a breath in and sounded terrible.

After talking with the pediatrician's nurseline and a dispatcher at 911, we decided to bring him in to the ER to get checked. Dax wasn't doing much better and had moments that were much worse so we ended up calling 911 a second time and requesting paramedics. The police showed up first and talked with us while we waited for the ambulance. They arrived a few minutes later along with a fire truck (apparently standard protocol for any call with a child having trouble breathing). They asked to check Dax downstairs and I think there were at least 6 uniformed men in our living room.

The paramedic listened to Dax's lungs and they asked if we wanted them to bring him in to the hospital. We deferred to their expert opinion and the paramedic tending to our little guy said that he was going to get a lot worse if he spent much more time in the dry air. Thus, they recommended we ride with them and they started an oxygen mask with albuterol. Walking outside I realized why there were so many people in our house when I was bombarded by the wall of emergency vehicles and flashing lights.

Later, while driving to the ER, the paramedic was talking with the hospital staff so they could be ready for us and he responded to one of their questions with, "He's borderline." While I have no idea what the question was, "borderline" gave me the assurance that we had made the right decision and Dax was where he needed to be.

Upon our arrival, the hospital staff hooked him up with a sensor on his toe to monitor his vitals and switched his mask to epinephrine in hopes that the swelling in his airway would go down and he started to get better quickly. We learned much more than we ever hoped to about croup, waited awhile to ensure that Dax tolerated the medication he had received and remained stable, laughed while he perked back up and loudly serenaded the ER with Okee Dokee Brothers and Lumineers songs, and left a little after 3 AM exhausted, relieved, and looking forward to going back to bed.

It's a night we will be happy never to relive, but are so thankful and grateful for the knowledgeable people who responded both at our house and at the hospital. And we continue to enjoy parenthood, regardless of those excruciating lows.

Fall is in the air

Commercials for pumpkin lattes (yum!), cooler weather (though inconsistent being MN and all), leaves falling (ours usually start mid-august), and our annual kindergarten apple orchard field trip (success!) all add up to one thing - fall is here! I am so NOT a summer weather person and welcome all things fall. Dax has embraced it as well and it is so much fun to see his joy in everything new we share with him. Here's a snapshot of our fall thus far...

Cooler weather jammies invite extra guests to breakfast - why wouldn't the "tiger slipper" want toast? ;)

We also brought Dax to the apple orchard. We were inspired by the fun I had with my kindergarten classes and visited Applewood Orchard in Lakeville. It was the perfect first apple picking experience for the little man and he loved every second!

Hayride out to the apples

Loving the ride

Picking apples

Got one!

Breakthrough! Dax ate some of the apple!

My boys

So happy

Running through the orchard

He found some tractors that were just his size

Playing with Daddy

What's more fun than a pile of hay?!

Superstar?

Dax sat down with his guitar today and started singing an Okee Dokee Brothers song. It was ADORABLE! While we couldn't exactly replicate it, you can get the idea from these videos where he continued to play some music and sing along with me singing the song. While not quite as cute and slightly more off key with Mama's background vocals, we couldn't help but share.

Can You Canoe?

Bluegrass for Breakfast

Out With a Bang

Summer is officially over. Last week I went back to work and this week the students will come. It was a huge bummer to bring Dax back to daycare, but, thankfully, he has great friends there and is almost as loved as he is when he's home with me. Even so, I will deeply miss spending most of my time with my best little dude. Thus, we did some extra special things the past couple weekends to send summer out in style.

First, we spent some time at the MN State Fair. It was a different experience with a toddler for sure, but we had just as much fun as we have in the past!

Miracle of Birth Center was a great place to start!

Mini donuts...

and cheese curds made a well-rounded breakfast.

Chocolate malt for a mid-morning snack.

Checking out the fishies

Dax tried the giant slide with Daddy

And loved it!

He couldn't get enough of all the machines...

Dax was SO excited to see the Okee Dokee Brothers again!

Corn dog for lunch

And we couldn't leave without getting a bucket of Sweet Martha's Cookies to enjoy with milk!

That same day we celebrated GG's (Great-Grandma Mert's) birthday! Dax was a fabulous DJ and was very serious about his keyboard skills.

We also got Dax his own rake. He LOVES helping in the yard and, though his "help" extended the raking time, it also made the job way more fun.

Testing it out

Like this, mom?

It works better when you use your hands!

And of course he loved putting leaves in the garbage

Eventually he got Daddy to trade so he could use the rake he really loves, haha!

Finally, we took advantage of the break in the heat and visited a nearby playground that we don't go to often. It is pure joy to see Dax's excitement, sense of adventure, and laughter as he explores unfamiliar playground equipment.

While my preference would be to never lose my time with Dax, we are going to take advantage of all the time we do have together during the school year and I am already looking forward to next summer!