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.
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