It's looking like mono....

So we got some more test results back from the pediatrician today, and it's looking like the boys have mononucleosis. They haven't actually run the mono test yet but the other results are pointing in that direction. Honestly it's a relief to me because that means the boys have been sick for so long because of one illness rather than multiple. It still stinks that they are getting ear infections as a result of the congestion but it explains why the congestion just hasn't gone away after six weeks.

Anyway we'll know more in a week or so but I thought I'd post just to give an update. The boys and I went to Jersey to spend the holiday with the Grinnells, but Jeff got held back because he has the flu. The hits keep coming here at the House of Lovebo! Pictures from the weekend (mine, not Jeff's, because pictures of laying around drinking ginger ale and watching reruns of Top Gear don't really get the traffic to the blog) to come in the next few days....

Thanksgiving update

We're home with two very sick babies, hoping to escape to Jersey to celebrate and give thanks with the Grinnells at some point over the weekend. Tuesday afternoon we revisited the pediatrician, who pronounced Beck's ears "horrible" and Theo's ears "questionable." Theo had a 102+ fever and Beck had hives. We debated whether to give just Beckett a z-pac or to juice them both up and decided on the latter, to try to kill, for once and for all, this bug we have been trading back and forth for the last six weeks. The pediatrician thinks it's nothing serious but we just keep giving it to each other so we can never rid our family of it. Jeff's been getting worse and worse and went to the doctor himself today and got a z-pac, and I've been feeling worse over the last few days (though not as bad as the boys of the family). So I got myself a z-pac as well. We're going to try to kick this thing hardcore. 100% of our family is now on a z-pac.

The boys also experienced their first blood draws this morning. The pediatrician wanted to rule out anything especially yucky (as of this afternoon, everything that had come back looked normal). For anyone who knows me, you may remember that I used to have to be physically subdued to have blood drawn. I've come a long way but it is still difficult and stressful for me. I tried to remain calm and upbeat for the boys and we were lucky enough to have Mindy come with us this morning to help keep the boys relaxed . We had predicted that Theo would be the one screaming his face off, so Beck went first. He cried and screamed, especially the longer it went on, which of course prolonged it, because he did not like being restrained. But he was a champ and stopped crying immediately after it was over. He seemed to think the bandage was pretty cool. Theo calmly watched the tech insert the needle and then laughed when she asked how many fingers he had and counted them out. He was quiet and watchful the entire time. Near the end he got squirmy because he didn't like being restrained, but he was fine. Hooray! I'm especially thankful for Mindy for coming with us and for the patient and kind women at the St Joe's lab who gave great big stickers to the boys before their draws, and beanie babies afterward.

We're hoping to head to Jersey tomorrow morning if everyone's feeling better and the night goes a little better tonight. The boys have been sleeping terribly lately (off and on for about six weeks) and we need some sleep to heal!

Weekend in Ithaca

Thanks to Todd and Jess for these pictures from the lake this summer of Mama and Beckett.

Auntie Tara and her (real) niece Sierra came over last week for some cuddle time with the babies. Sierra proved herself worthy babysitter material, reading books and engaging both boys in play and reading.

Peekaboo on the stairs.

 As Daddy Lovebo was in Philadelphia for another Temple LLM weekend, I decamped with Theo and Beckett to Ithaca for some help and support. Last night we had a wonderful dinner with Taf and Fred, but Beck started feeling yucky and fell apart quite quickly after hors d'oeuvres. He fell asleep in my arms at dinner, coughing and sniffling and getting hotter and hotter. His temperature before I put him to bed was 102.0, which earned both Beck and Theo some ibuprofen before bed. When Beck woke up at 2am his temperature was down to 100.8. He woke up at 6:30 in great spirits, giggling and wrestling all over the bed after nursing. He still has an awful cough and kind of declined over the day but still had a good day reading Make Way for Ducklings (over and over and OVER again) and having the kind of diaper explosion I had heretofore only heard of.

We had a great visit this morning with Jess, Todd and their adorable and sweet girls, Emma and Sophie. The boys had been enjoying pushing themselves around on their new ride-on toys, but Emma and Soph were kind enough to push them around, leaving Theo and Beck only to lift their feet up and enjoy the ride.

Boys' health update

We've been to the pediatrician three times this week. Wow. Tuesday we took Theo back for an ear re-check, and it turned out he still had his ear infection from three weeks ago. He started azithromycin Tuesday. Friday he seemed not to be any better, and Beck (who had been cleared the week before) seemed to be getting worse again, so Jeff and Mindy took them back to the pediatrician. Friday Beck had two ear infections and Theo had one, so both were started on augmentin, a harder core antibiotic neither had had. Saturday Mama Lovebo went to an all-day Women's Bar Association statewide board of directors meeting but came home and noticed Theo had a rash all over his torso. On direction of the on-call nurse from our pediatrician's office we stopped his augmentin and took him back in this morning. The Dr on call this morning said we should have given him another dose this morning so she could have seen the rash we saw, because it's now gone. She started him on the same antibiotic he started on nearly a month ago. The Parents Lovebo are skeptical that this is going to make a difference, and we're worried that it's only November and they've had ear infections and been on antibiotics for almost a month. But we're crossing our fingers. In the midst of all this illness we have enjoyed some wonderful nights of uninterrupted sleep, which we hope will continue! Tuesday night, following the election, and again Friday night, the boys slept straight through from 7pm until 6:30/7am, with no wakeups. Hallelujah!

Despite all the illness, we've been having a great time. The boys are snotty, yes, but still in great spirits most of the time.

Theo's found a great spot in the kitchen closet, crammed in underneath the stepstool. 

Grandma and Grandpa Leibowitz came to visit for the weekend after we had to cancel our trip to Johnstown because of the boys' illnesses.

Theo is a camera hog. He saw me snapping the above picture of Beckett with his grandma and just had to get in on the action. 

 Tonight I put the boys on a high chair to watch me cook dinner. That was a great idea until Beckett fell off. Oh, well.

On this gorgeous day we spent some of the morning at the park, soaking up the sun. This is Grandpa Greg with Theo in the grass.

Theo feeding Beckett some cheerios. They're becoming much more interested in sharing with each other lately.

Like taking turns riding the lawn mower around the house.

And working cooperatively to stack the rings.

AND... Happy BIRTH DAY to little Julie Ogdemontes in San Diego, CA. You are one loved little baby! I can't wait to meet you!

Seat Belt Safety Tips for Winter

Some helpful reminders for us as the weather gets colder. But I have to disagree with one comment. Who dresses their kid for 50-60 degree weather in an undershirt, long-sleeved shirt, and sweater?!? In Syracuse, New York, 50-60 degrees warrants a short sleeved shirt over a diaper!

What NOT to say to your kid

Mindblowing article.... Thanks Sarah M!

Foam Pit Videos

Election Day!

Since both Mama and Daddy Lovebo had the morning off from work in honor of Election Day, we attended a Syracuse Attachment Parenting playdate at a gymnastics facility in East Syracuse. Daddy voted this morning. Mama waited for the boys to wake up and un-grump from their naps, which turned out to be 5:30 this afternoon. Mama forgot where the entrance was to the polling place, so we took a nice (unlit) tour of the back grounds of Corcoran High School, including custodial entrance, garbage, and wall ball court. I would never have had the courage to attempt the journey alone but somehow felt emboldened by having two toddlers in tow. Doesn't make much sense, does it?

Theo in the foam cube pit.

There was a giant blow up maze that Theo but not Beck had the courage to explore. There were little plastic panels to watch from outside. It was quite large and we probably would not have fit inside if we needed to rescue him, and it was probably optimistic to think Theo could figure out how to get through it on his own. However some bigger kids came tearing through it and helped show him the way.

The boys also found a little nook underneath the vault, wrapped in mats. It was like a little house.

Videos of sliding into the foam cube pit to come tomorrow when the internets are more accommodating to video upload....

Big boy stuff

Like getting dressed in our warmies to go for a walk this morning.

And playing in the dishwasher.

And riding in the twin truck grocery cart at Wegmans!

Dip Party

Our friends Leah and John hosted a dip party to watch the Steelers-Giants game this afternoon. I watched not a single play but enjoyed the company of a dedicated corp of dip-eaters!

Auntie Tara fed Theo a LOT of chips, crackers and dip, including a whole bunch of yummy cannoli dip which we discovered later contained orange liqueur. In an unrelated story, one not accompanied by photographic evidence, Theo projectile vomited as I was putting him to bed, completely soaking both of us.

Happier moments at the party with Leah. The boys were super grumpy-umpies all day at home after being cooped up, and we briefly considered not bringing them at all, but banked on a change of scenery helping mellow them out. Which it did! They were complete goofs, running around and playing with toys and eating and drinking and being friendly with everyone. 

The boys had their first PB&J sandwiches today. Somehow I had not thought to give them sandwiches, but friend Kelly said her little Addy, one month older than T&B, was eating sandwiches as an easy on-the-go lunch. I made it up and WOW! they loved it. They only ate half at lunchtime, but finished it off after their naps.

Autumn fun

Yes, I peed on the floor. BUT I am ready and able to clean it up with my swiffer.

The second attempt at coloring with chubby crayons and newsprint went much better than the first. Less coloring on the tile floor, and more crayon on the newsprint. It kept their interest for about 20 minutes.

Sadly, this was probably one of the last days out playing in the yard. It's gotten so cold!

We were graced with an unexpected visit from cousin Diane and her family who escaped Hurricane Sandy's aftermath.Thursday night they all came up to Syracuse for a nice dinner and visit!

This is my attempt at trying to capture Theo's self-satisfied smirk when he figures out a new trick. He just figured out how to press the red nose on the sun's face to make it sing a song.

Mindy sent me this picture of Theo trying on a paper bag hat.

This is Daddy Lovebo trying on the same hat.

Theo having some nice solo time with Mindy this week when Beckett had not yet woken up from his nap.

Visit with Aunt Deb and Uncle David

On our New England swing last weekend we had a great visit with Aunt Deb (Grandma Joanie's sister) and Uncle David. They had some fun toys and wonderful books to share with Theo and Beckett, and Aunt Deb made a feast, with roast chicken, quiche, orange-ginger carrots, cranberry sauce, salad, olives and bread. I am not sure I've ever seen the boys eat so much!

The day we left for our trip Grandpa Stu taught the boys how to use their favorite lawnmower as a ride-on toy.