Samantha: 27 Months, Week 4 {Trip to the ER, Friends Visiting for the Week, and Samantha Learning God's Word}

This past week began with Labor Day.  Ben was still feeling pretty nauseous and in pain, so Samantha and I decided to go to the park in the morning with Uncle Matt and Aunt Christy before they left.  When we got back and I had a chance to talk to Ben about how he was feeling, I decided it might be good to try and go into the doctor again.  Well, the walk-in clinic that is supposedly open 365 days a year was closed for Labor Day, as was the IU Student Health Center.  After talking with Ben and texting his sister Jeni about how he's feeling, we decided it would be good to go the Emergency Room.  We didn't know why his pain had suddenly gotten worse when it seemed he was feeling so much better just a couple days before.  Also, we didn't want to delay getting seen and have it get worse and require surgery and a longer hospital stay.

So, after Samantha and I had some dinner, we got our things together and drove to the hospital.  We came prepared with my computer to watch the movie The Princess and the Frog while we waited in the waiting room.  Samantha did a really good job waiting patiently.  She just flitted back and forth between watching the movie, looking at the fish in the fish tank, and eating her snack.  We were finally called back to a room where a nurse came and got him on an IV with fluids and some anti-nausea medicine.  The doctor decided that they needed to do another CT scan, but this time they were going to use contrast so they could get a clearer picture and make sure nothing had gotten worse from the previous CT scan.  Ben had to drink a very large glass of grape juice with this contrast in it, and then about an hour later he would be taken in for the CT scan.  By this point it was already past 8:00, and Samantha was getting very tired and harder to reason with in the tiny ER room.  I decided to take Samantha back home once Ben was drinking his juice and waiting for his CT scan.  Ben's Dad was also on his way down to Bloomington to stay with us for the night, mostly to be there when Samantha was sleeping so that I could come back to the hospital, hear what the results of the CT scan were, and know what the next step would be for Ben.

I finally got Samantha to bed around 9:00, and Ben's dad arrived sometime between 10:00 and 10:30.  As soon as he got to our house, I went back to the hospital to be with Ben.  The large glass of grape juice came up right at the point I was entering his hospital room.  I talked to him for a little bit about how the CT scan went, and then let him get some rest.  He was so worn out and so out of it from all the various medication he was given.  

It was a little after midnight when the doctor finally came in to give us the results of the CT scan.  They said that his diverticulitis did not get worse, but it also did not improve with the antibiotics that he was taking.  They suspected that one antibiotic may be the culprit in having extra stomach pain, so they took him off of that one, and gave him a stronger dose of the Ciprofloxacin.  They also gave him prescriptions for pain and for nausea, which I was very grateful for because if he can't keep down any liquids, he surely wouldn't be able to keep down his antibiotics.  They gave us many papers of instructions on how to be on a liquid diet for about 48 hours until he starts to feel better and the pain begins to subside.  Then, after that he is to do a BRAT diet with very bland food until he feels up to adding other foods slowly to his diet.  He still is supposed to keep a low fiber diet and stay under ten grams a day.

We headed back home for the night, and after briefly filling Ben's dad in on what happened at the hospital, Ben and I crashed in bed.  Luckily, he was still pretty drowsy from the medicine at the hospital, so he fell asleep quickly, which is unusual for him on a normal night.

The next day Ben stayed home to rest instead of going to campus, but I still had Sadie to take care of.  I was so tired that day, but luckily both girls were pretty easy to take care of.  I took Sadie with me to Kroger that morning to fill Ben's prescriptions, and Ben mostly stayed in bed that day.  I would go up periodically to check on him and make sure he was feeling alright.  I don't think Ben ate very much that day, maybe an ice pop and some jello.  He felt so weak and tired from hardly eating any food since Sunday afternoon.  The good thing was that the nausea was pretty much gone, mostly controlled by the medicine at this point, but his pain was pretty strong and made me worry about him.  I just wanted him to be completely healed and not have to be in pain anymore or concerned about what to eat or what not to eat.  I just wanted my husband back.

On Wednesday, Ben was starting to feel a little better, but decided to stay and work from home.  Some friends (Jaime, Ainsley, and Elias) came over for a play date in the morning.  It was fun to have friends over, for the girls to play together, and for the grown ups to have a chance to talk.  Jaime watched Samantha for us last year while I was teaching, so Ainsley and Samantha had a good time reconnecting with each other.

On Thursday, I was doing my best to get things ready for the Brashers to visit, but trying to clean around the house with a two year old and a three month is not an easy task.  Most of the time, I don't even bother trying to get things done while the kids are awake.  It's just easier until I have time to myself.  I can get it done so much faster.  Now that I'm staying home, I have considered breaking up my household chores throughout the week so that it's not so overwhelming, and so I don't spend a whole day just cleaning the house.  However, I'm one of those people that once I'm in the mood for cleaning, I just want to keep going.  I love the feeling when the ENTIRE house is clean at the same time, everything in it's place, and everything smelling fresh.  Is anyone else like this?  I feel like if I just did a little bit every day, my house would never feel totally clean, just partially clean every day.  I think for right now I'll stick with having a cleaning day, even if it means cleaning until ten o'clock at night when Samantha is sleeping.

Thursday afternoon, Ben decided he was tired of just eating the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast), so he looked around online trying to find a restaurant he could eat at that would give him some kind of sustenance, but very little fiber.  He finally settled in Chick-fil-a, which was a fine choice by me and Samantha.  Since we were driving over to the east side of town for dinner, we dropped Sadie off with her Mommy right when she got off of work.  I think that made her day and saved her from having to trek all over town.  Ben was able to eat some chicken strips and some chicken soup, and Samantha was able play in the play space for awhile.  It was well worth the drive all the way across town.

On Friday afternoon, Ben had his appointment with the GI doctor, and it was really good to hear what he had to say.  He had much more detailed information than any of the doctors at the hospital.  He described to Ben that it is rare for someone as young as he is to have diverticulitis, so he was almost certain that it would be a genetic thing.  Also, having it at such a young age makes him more prone to future attacks or complications, so the doctor brought up the fact that Ben could choose to have surgery to remove the part of the colon that is effected, eliminating the chance for any further flare ups or complications, and being in the hospital for only a couple days rather than a week if he had to have emergency surgery.

He told Ben to call him on the following Tuesday whether he is feeling better or worse.  If he was feeling better, than they would schedule a date for a colonoscopy to check how much and what part of the colon is affected.  If he was worse, he would be prescribed more antibiotic to try to kick the infection.  Ben is continuing to be really careful with his diet, trying to only eat low fiber foods, and particularly staying away from fresh fruits and vegetables.  Hopefully on Tuesday he will feel okay and will be able to move forward with the colonoscopy and whatever the next step will be after that.

Then, Friday evening, our friends, the Brashers, arrived for their week long stay in Bloomington.  We were so excited to have them here and so excited that they were staying with us.  Jacob, Michelle, and Sadie came over to join us for a dinner of pulled pork barbecue, corn on the cob, and orange watermelon.  We had a delicious dinner with wonderful company.  It was just like old times in our small group, except now we all have kids. :)

After Jacob, Michelle, and Sadie left to go home, the Brashers played games with us.  This again brought back fond memories of when we'd go over to their house on a Friday or Saturday night, let the kids play for awhile, put them all down to sleep upstairs, and then play games until way too late at night.  (Yes, midnight is way too late for us now.  Being parents changes your concept of what too late is.)

Saturday morning was a slow morning at home, and luckily the kids slept in for us, which was a nice break after staying up late playing games the night before.  It was good to catch up with each other and to just enjoy watching Samantha and Jesse play.  Around lunchtime, we went to the annual political science welcome picnic at a local park.  Samantha did pretty well there, ate a whole hot dog and chips, and got to play on the playground.  What could be better?  And then Saturday evening, we watched Jesse while Ryan and Melanie went to visit some other members of our church for a dessert night.  Jesse was extremely easy to watch and went to bed for me with no problem at all, unlike our daughter who will lay in bed talking and singing for at least a half an hour before she finally falls asleep.

On Sunday, we went to church and heard Ryan talk more about their future plans during Sunday School, then enjoying a good service.  We got home and fed Samantha some grilled cheese quickly before putting her down for a nap.  Man is she tired when she has spent the morning playing at church!  Then, Ben and I went next door to our neighbors for a cook out.  We try to participate in this as much as we can because we think it's important to get to know our neighbors.  However, all this socializing just wore me out, so after we ate I came back and took a nap on the couch while Ben watched the Colts game on TV.  

Something kind of ironic happened when Samantha woke up from her nap that afternoon.  I was still fast asleep on the couch, so Ben went upstairs to get Samantha.  He brought her downstairs and she saw me sleeping, so she just sat quietly on Ben's lap for almost forty-five minutes while I continued to sleep, not making a sound.  Ben said she would just keep looking over at me every couple of minutes, and then would continue cuddling quietly with her Daddy.  I don't think she has ever been this quiet for that long while she's been awake, at least not since she learned how to talk and sing!

Sunday night the Brashers decided to give us a date night as a gift for watching Jesse and allowing them to stay in our home.  Ben and I took them up on that offer.  (We'll never turn down free babysitting!)  So we decided to go out to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings and then went to see the movie The Butler.  We had a good time talking and eating by ourselves, going places that we couldn't go with Samantha in tow.  Thank you Ryan and Melanie!

We have noticed two things about Samantha in this past week that have stood out to us.  First of all, she is definitely becoming more and more independent.  She is expressing her opinion, what she likes and doesn't like, wants to do everything on her own, and Ben will even call her our little Mussolini.  The second thing we have noticed about her is how much she is soaking in everything around her.  You can't have a conversation around her that you don't want her to hear.  She'll hear it and even repeat parts of it later.  This could be a good thing or a bad thing.  At church they have started learning a memory verse every month and have printed it in a newsletter that we now have hanging on our fridge.  After only saying it a few times, Samantha had it memorized, and now she will go up to the fridge, look at the paper as if she's reading it, and recite, "There is no God like you.  1 Kings 8:23."  She is so proud of herself when she says her memory verse, and I am so proud that she is hiding God's Word in her heart even at such a young age.

Samantha: 27 Months, Week 3 {Ben and Samantha Sick, A Labor Day Weekend of Visitors}

This past week was a whirlwind, with Ben trying to heal from his diverticulitis and then Samantha getting sick as well.  Ben stayed home resting and recuperating on Monday instead of going to campus, and I decided to take Samantha to the beach for a little while since it was pretty hot and would be a nice day to go to the water.

However, later when we got home she was acting very much not like herself.  She wouldn't eat much for lunch, and Daddy ended up giving her medicine before she went down for her nap.  While she was napping, I drove up near Martinsville to meet someone who was selling me a doll's house that I found on Craigslist.  I thought Samantha would love it, and it was a really cheap price.  I gave a piano lesson at 3:15, and then we showed Samantha her new doll house.  We took a video of it to capture her reaction.  I think she likes it.  :)

However, the more we observed Samantha after her nap, she was still not acting like herself and she was feeling really warm.  Samantha always shows her fever in her temples and in her back.  She was burning up!  I took her temperature, and it was 103.4.  Fevers always make me nervous and very emotional.  I get very worried.  So, I made a phone call to the doctor's office, and the first appointment they had was at 7:30.  We gave Samantha another dose of medicine and did lots of cuddling.  Never is she so content just to sit still on our laps as when she is not feeling well.  We snuggled and watched some cartoons on the couch.  She wasn't interested in playing with toys.  And despite the medicine we gave her, she still was burning up for quite a while.  Since she hadn't eaten much for lunch, and we wanted to make something she would really like, we decided to have some Annie's mac and cheese for dinner.  She will always eat Annie's mac and cheese.  

As soon as we found out how high Samantha's temperature was, I called Sadie's Mommy and told her that we couldn't watch Sadie on Tuesday because of Samantha's fever.  I don't know why, but I just broke down crying on the phone with her.  I think it was all just a little much.  Ben being sick and still not able to do or eat things normally, and now Samantha sick.  I was feeling a bit overwhelmed.

Samantha did well waiting at the doctor's office that night.  She weighed in at 31 pounds and enjoyed climbing up and down the table while we waited to talk to the doctor.  He checked her out and everything seemed fine.  Just to be safe, they also did a strep test because her throat was a bit red.  I got strep throat a lot as a kid, and to this day, I hate getting strep tests done.  I have a really strong gag reflex, and just the thought of them sticking a swab down my throat is enough to make me gag.  Knowing what was coming, we started talking to Samantha about it so that she could be prepared.  We told her they had to do a test to make sure she wasn't sick and that it would feel uncomfortable, but it would be over quick.  We even practiced how she would open up her mouth and stick out her tongue so that the nurse could get it on the first try.  The nurse came into the room bearing prizes, a squeaky dolphin and a bracelet with beads.  Samantha really did a good job during the strep test.  The nurse was pretty impressed.  After she stuck the swab in her throat, Samantha coughed and cried for a little while, but everything was made better by wearing the pretty bracelet and squeaking the dolphin.  We were proud of our brave little girl.  Five or so minutes later, the test came back, and it was negative.  Our doctor said that she probably had a viral infection, and her body was doing it's job by raising her temperature to fight it off.  He gave us a couple other scenarios of illnesses she could have if things started to get worse or appear throughout the rest of the week.  We then were on our way home to put a very sleepy, feverish daughter to bed.

We gave her more medicine to help with her fever before tucking her into bed, and she went to sleep without a problem.  However, right around 3:30 a.m., she woke up crying.  Ben, like the good husband he is, went in to see what was wrong.  She was burning up again and was covered in sweat.  He gave her more medicine and got her back to sleep.  She woke up over and over again, Ben and I taking turns who went in her room to be with her, rock her, hold her, and try to get her burning hot body to go back to sleep.  Ben even had the idea of getting her some cold water to drink, and that seemed to please her a lot.  One time I held her for quite awhile as she took small sips of water.  I'm sure that felt great, cooling her down from the inside.  Then, at about 7:30 she woke up for the last time, at which point she felt much cooler to the touch, and her pajamas were wet with sweat.  I think her fever finally broke, and we hoped that would be the end of her interrupted sleep.  Daddy and Mommy ended up sleeping in quite a bit that morning, as we were tired from being up many times during the night.  But Samantha just kept on sleeping, she did not wake up until after 12:00 noon!  She ended up having breakfast for lunch.  However, you could tell she was feeling much better.  She was talking again, wanting to play, and already asking if we could go do something fun.

Since Samantha's fever was gone, Sadie came back to our house on Wednesday, and we all went to the library for their Story Hour Extravaganza.  Sadie had fallen asleep in the car and stayed asleep as I transferred her into the Ergo, but then as soon as we got into the auditorium and she heard the music and singing, she woke up and was eagerly looking around at all there was to see.  Nevertheless, I was not able to get her back to sleep, but she did a great job drinking her bottle and observing all the activities going on around her.  Samantha also did a really good job paying attention to the stories and songs.  They were all about dogs, so she really enjoyed that.

On Thursday, we didn't have plans to go anywhere because one of my best friend's from college and her husband were coming to visit us for a couple days, so I had some last minute cleaning and picking up I needed to do.  They arrived in the afternoon while Samantha was napping, and it was so great to have them here.  No matter how much time passes between talking or seeing each other, when we are around each other again, we can pick up right where we left off.  It's so easy to talk to friends that have known you for so long, know your history, and have been with you during times of good and bad.

Thursday night Ben and Brad went out to the IU football game, while Melissa and I took Samantha to a local park to get out some energy before bed time.  We had great conversations, and it was nice to just have some girl time.  You can talk about different things when there are just girls around than when you are in mixed company.  After the game, several Taylor friends came over to our apartment to hang out, and we didn't get to bed until 1:30 in the morning, way too late for old people like us.  In college that would have been no big deal, but now, with a kid, we just can't stay up that late anymore.

Friday morning we just relaxed and played at the house.  Brad and Melissa were so good with Samantha.  When Samantha woke up in the morning, she said, "My friends still here?"  She adored them and loved interacting with them.  Before lunch, we took them on a driving tour of Bloomington and the IU campus.  We then went to Chick-fil-a for lunch because a Taylor friend of ours was going to be there for the grand opening.  We all enjoyed a good lunch, and Samantha had fun playing in the indoor playground.  When you're with good friends, you don't need to do anything in particular to have a good time.  We just did a lot of hanging out and talking, and of course, playing games.  Friday night we again stayed up until 1:00 a.m. playing games and talking.  We had a wonderful time, but I was sure tired.

Saturday morning, after eating breakfast, Brad and Melissa had to leave us, and it was sad to see them go, but I was so glad we had these couple days together.  It was nice having them at our place as they hadn't ever been to where we've lived before.  We will definitely have to do this again sometime soon.

After they took off, Daddy, Samantha, and I went to the Farmer's Market to get another orange watermelon, more fresh corn, and some peaches.  Samantha was pretty tired, and it was a hot and muggy day, so we just had Samantha stay in her stroller as we made our quick trip around the Farmer's Market.  When I was purchasing the peaches from a local Amish farmer, Samantha kept trying to grab the peaches out of the basket.  The man was really nice and offered her an apple for free so that she would have something to hold in her hands.  She had never eaten an apple right off the core before, but she loved it.  She was really good at eating all around the middle, and that kept her occupied for the rest of our time at the Farmer's Market and our ride in the car to Kroger.  (I think she would love going apple picking.)  After doing a quick trip to Kroger for the rest of our shopping, we got back home, unpacked groceries, ate lunch, and everyone (including Mommy and Daddy) took a nice afternoon nap.  Samantha slept for almost three hours, and Mommy and Daddy slept for about two and half hours of that time.  We all felt much better when we woke up, which was good because we had more visitors arriving later that night.

My sister, Christy, and her husband, Matt, came to our place shortly after we got Samantha in bed.  I don't think we were too exciting for them, but it was good to see them again and to catch up with what was going on in their lives.

Sunday morning Ben and I had nursery duty in the toddler room, which was an interesting experience.  You forget how clingy kids can be at that age.  You also forget how they can't really express what they want yet.  Samantha talks so much that it's almost difficult for me to remember a time when she didn't talk.  We struggled with a couple kids that were upset from leaving their Mommies, but at least we were able to keep them there the whole service without having to flash their numbers on the screen in the service.  After service, which Matt and Christy met us for, we had a church lunch out in the gathering space.  Samantha did a good job eating her mac and cheese and enjoyed the first corn dog she's ever had in her life.  We also made it all way through both services and lunch without any accidents, which is wonderful!  She's getting back to her normal potty trained self again in that regard.

Sunday afternoon, once Samantha was asleep, Ben was starting to feel nauseous and in pain, so he laid down upstairs while Matt, Christy, and I played Monopoly.  After Samantha woke up, we decided to go swimming at our local pool because we still had two punches left and the pool was going to close for the season after Labor Day.  Samantha had a wonderful time roughhousing in the pool with Matt, she has missed that from her Daddy lately with his wrist injury and then his bout of diverticulitis.  Samantha and I went down the slide several times together, even raising our hands up in the air like we were on a roller coaster.  There were quite a few people at the pool this afternoon, and we had a good time playing in the water.  It was a good last swim of the year.

The rest of our Sunday night was eating red beans and rice that we prepared in the crock pot, getting ice cream from a local ice cream place, and finishing our game of Monopoly.  Ben was still not feeling well and went upstairs around 10:00 to go to bed for the night.  I felt so bad for him and was starting to get worried that his diverticulitis took a turn for the worse.  He was doing so well for the last few days, we assumed he had kicked it, especially since his antibiotics are almost gone, but apparently not.  I just wish that he could cut a break lately.  Just when he starts to feel better, something else sneaks in and knocks him back down again.

And to end the post on a more pleasant note, here is Samantha making her Barbie doll dance.  We just love her so much.  Samantha that is, not the Barbie.

Samantha: 27 Months, Week 2 {Playing in the Rain, Children's Museum, and Daddy Getting Sick}

The weather has been so mild so far this summer.  It has been wonderful.  I am trying to soak up as much outdoor time as possible before it turns fall and winter, and we have to spend most of our time indoors.

On Monday this past week, I decided to take Samantha to a local park near our house to play, have a picnic lunch in the grass, and then go play in the splash pad once the water warmed up a bit.  We had a wonderful morning playing together.  Samantha enjoyed going on the swings and also pushing her Baby Sadie on the swing.  We had an enjoyable picnic in the shade of a tree, sitting on a blanket together, and she played in the splash pad for a little while, though not as long as I thought she would.  I think it might have been too empty for her.  She enjoys it more when there are more kids around to interact with, plus it was after lunch time, so she getting sleepy and ready for her nap.  

Monday evening, as we were driving in the car with Daddy, we drove past the softball fields, as we always do when we are heading into town.  And as usual, Samantha mentions the helicopter that landed there during Touch a Truck back in June.  (I don't know how she remembers some of the things she does.)  She started talking about how the helicopter lives in the softball field.  And we said, no, it probably lives at the hospital.  After that, Samantha responded, "Like Jeni, Aunt Jeni lives at the hospital."  We then went on to explain how Aunt Jeni has been in the hospital a few times lately, but that she doesn't live there.  Apparently visiting Aunt Jeni in the hospital made an impression on Samantha.  This also reminds me of how recently Samantha has been talking about the owie on her stomach and having surgery.  She even took a little bean bag once, put it on her tummy, and said, "Don't touch my bag."  Samantha picks up on more than we know and enjoys having sympathy pains with those that are feeling sick or injured around her.

On Monday night, as we were getting Samantha ready for bed, I said it looked like Samantha had big bags under her eyes because she was so tired.  So after I said that, she pointed to her eyes and said, "I have bean bags in my eyes!"  Both Ben and I laughed so hard after that.  We love her sense of humor and her interpretation of things.  She's starting to get to the phase where she hears us say certain expressions that mean something different than how they sound, and she will either misinterpret it or ask us what it means.  She understands that she doesn't know what we are saying and is asking for clarification.

On Tuesday we had a nice day at home with Sadie.  We played with a lot of toys and when Sadie was taking a nap in the morning, I got out special paints that I had just bought for Samantha, and she painted a pretty picture.  She really enjoyed painting.  I think it kept her attention for close to a half an hour, which is pretty good for someone her age.

I know I've said I enjoy staying at home before, but I just have to reiterate that.  Yeah, there are moments of frustration, but those are minuscule in comparison to the joy of watching my little girl learn and grow, and being there for all the snuggles and fun conversations.

Now that I get to stay home, I have a lot more time to do things around the house, like laundry, keeping things picked up, and being a little more creative with dinner.  Back when I was teaching full time, by the time I picked up Samantha from the babysitter's house and got back home, I didn't have much energy when it came to planning and making meals.  Hence the fact that we would go out to eat way too much.  So on Tuesday this week, I put ham in the crock pot and made scalloped potatoes and corn on the cob to go with it.  I was pretty proud of myself.  Ben loved the food, and that's a pretty good meal for a week night in our house.  He even posted a comment on Facebook about the good weekend of meals we had, saying, "I ate well this weekend thanks to Jenny Toll.  We had calzones for dinner on Saturday night and zucchini lasagna last night.  I am a happy man."  I like the fact that I can learn more about cooking and get more comfortable trying out new things.  I know in the past I always felt like I wasn't "domesticated" enough because Ben would end up doing the share of the cooking during the week when I taught.  I never really had any experience cooking until we got married, so it's definitely been a learning process for me.  I am happy to make my family happy by serving good tasting food.

Samantha could smell the delicious ham cooking in the crock pot, so she stopped and asked me what were having for dinner.  I said, "Ham."  So then the started singing Father Abraham!  What a hilarious little girl!  At least we think so. :)

That evening dinner, it started to rain, so I thought, "Why not let Samantha take her Hello Kitty umbrella outside in the rain and play for awhile?"  Even though I wouldn't particularly choose to play in the rain, that doesn't mean Samantha shouldn't get that experience.  She's never done this before, and she thought that it was pretty awesome being outside in her bare feet, walking through the wet grass and jumping in puddles.  Kids don't need fancy toys, they just need to get outside and have a grand old time in the rain.  We will definitely have to do this again sometime.

After deciding to ditch the umbrella, jump in the puddles, and just get wet, she was sitting on the sidewalk looking at things with me and laying down in the puddles, getting herself soaking wet, but we didn't care.  Clothes can always be changed.  Sometimes I just need to remind myself to let go and live in the moment.

On Wednesday, Samantha had her special Tuneful Twos class at the library.  We loaded up all our gear for Samantha and Sadie, and had a great time at the library.  Sadie had a bottle right at the beginning of class and then was content just looking around the room, listening to the music, and watching the kids play, dance, and sing.  Even though this was only the second class we've been to, it was like Samantha remembered everything.  The teacher starts the class off by rolling the ball to each child individually and singing a little song that goes, "I roll the ball to Samantha, she rolls it back to me.  I roll the ball to Samantha, she rolls it back to me.  Roll the ball, roll the ball, roll the ball, roll the ball.  I roll the ball to Samantha, she rolls it back to me."  We have done this a few times at home, singing the song as we roll the ball back and forth, but Samantha was the only kid singing the words to the song even though some of the other kids were veterans to this program.  We sang "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" which Samantha also sang right along to.  The teacher kept looking over at Samantha and smiling every time she heard her little voice singing the song.  After a little while sitting on the rug, it was time for dancing with the streamers, playing with balls on the parachute, and marching around the room while playing instruments.  Samantha was beaming from ear to ear and squealing the whole time.  She LOVES this class.

Because of being out all morning at the library, Sadie didn't get much sleep in.  She has a little bit of a stuffy nose and was super tired, so she slept most of the afternoon until right before her Mommy came to pick her up.  She was pretty comfy in this vibrating chair, all snuggled under her blanket.  Especially when babies are a little under the weather, I always follow the motto, "Let sleeping babies lie."  I figure there is some reason their body is having them sleep, so I'm not going to wake them up.  Sleep is so restorative for babies and kids, and probably for adults too, we just don't listen to our bodies as well anymore.

I am also giving piano lessons to supplement our income, and on Wednesdays I go to my old school to give a lesson to a former student.  Ben took a great picture of Samantha while I was gone.  She has her "story blanket" set out on the ground.  Lately, she has loved to do this with her blanket, and she gets it from church.  During story time, they spread out a blanket on the ground and have the kids come sit on the blanket to listen to the Bible story of the week.  Samantha will mimic this by spreading out her story blanket and asking us to read books to her on it.  We love that she is picking up so many wonderful things from church.  We love that even from a young age they are teaching the children about God, Jesus, and the Bible.  It's not just a babysitting hour on Sunday mornings; it is a teaching hour for the children, too.

Thursday morning we had a play date bash with the moms from our church.  We met at one of their houses for some time of fellowship, playing, and lunch together.  I put Sadie in the Ergo, and after walking around the house for a little while, she fell fast asleep.  She stayed asleep in the Ergo the entire time we were there, for about two hours, I couldn't believe it!  Samantha had a great time playing alongside the other little girls there and playing with all the new toys, especially the dollhouse in the upstairs loft.  That was a really big hit.  I had to practically tear her away from it to get her to come downstairs and eat lunch.  After lunch, the kids played outside in the water table and on the trampoline.  Finally, when it was about noon, I decided it was time to wake up Sadie, try to feed her a bottle, and then head back home to get Samantha down for a nap.  Being in charge of two kids is exhausting sometimes.  I have a much greater respect now for moms of multiple kids!

The month of September is going to be really busy for us, so on Friday I decided to take Samantha to the Children's Museum by myself.  We packed a lunch for ourselves to eat at the museum and had a good time going around the museum together.  She was very well behaved there, listened obediently, and tried to share with the other kids playing around her.  We saw the dinosaur exhibit first, because we didn't make it there last time.  We rode on the carousel, played in Mr. Bear's Place, rode on a really cool slide in the Science area, and learned that you need to sing the ABCs while you wash your hands in order to kill all the germs.

We didn't leave the museum until sometime around 3:00, and even then I had to pull Samantha away from playing.  However, we needed to get back home, and she needed to take some sort of a nap.  Luckily, Samantha was quick to go to sleep in the car, which was good, for her and for me.  It's nice to know that Samantha and I can go out and do things like that together, with both of us having an enjoyable experience.  It will be especially convenient when the weather gets cold, and we can't do as many things outside.

Saturday morning I had plans to meet some friends for a girl's breakfast, but Ben was not feeling well when I left.  I almost stayed home, but we had been planning this breakfast for awhile, and I wasn't going to be gone for very long.  We had a great time eating pastries at a local restaurant and talking about what has been going on in our lives lately.

Well, when I got home, I discovered that Ben was feeling even worse and that he had even thrown up.  He had a very severe pain in his stomach, and I was getting concerned.  He thought it might be a kidney stone or something like that, so I insisted we go to the doctor.  There is a walk-in clinic right down the street from our house, so we decided to go there, and he got helped fairly quickly.  The doctor there thought it could have been something more with his appendix, but there was really no way to tell unless he got a CT scan done at the hospital.  So, Samantha and I dropped Daddy off at the hospital to get his scan done, and I went home with Samantha to get her some lunch and put her down for a nap.  She really did well, though, waiting in the waiting room and watching the doctor check Daddy.  I went back to get Daddy really fast when Samantha was napping, and he informed me that he has diverticulitis, just like his sister has and is having surgery to fix.  I couldn't believe that he had it, too.  Luckily, it didn't sound quite as bad, and they prescribed him with some antibiotics and told him to take Tylenol for the pain.

After getting home, Ben still couldn't keep anything down, even the water he took with the antibiotics came right back up.  He spent most of the day in bed resting, trying to keep himself from feeling nauseous.

Sunday morning Samantha and I went to church by ourselves while Ben rested.  I was in the three year old room first service for nursery duty and then went to church second service.  It's always weird going to church without Ben.  It just seems unnatural.  Ben continued to feel terrible today, luckily, not throwing up anymore, but still was in quite a bit of pain, feeling nauseous, and just a general feeling of fatigue.

Getting the news of having diverticulitis was a real discouragement to us.  It seemed like Ben was just back to normal from having his wrist surgery, and then this happened.  We hope that this first round of antibiotics will do the trick, and we especially hope that he will not have to have the surgery like his sister.  The one benefit of all this happening this weekend is that Daddy got lots of snuggles from his little girl. :)