Thanksgiving

Happy belated Thanksgiving to everyone!

The Powells headed off to Michigan for Thanksgiving again, and we were lucky to be able to share the day with no fewer than 12 relatives from the Cary/Rohde/Powell family.

We ate massive amounts of food. Well, Henry didn't. Mr. Picky skipped the sweet potatoes, two types of stuffing, mashed potatoes, salad, turkey, etc etc etc and only ate bread and pumpkin pie. He loved that pie.






He also had his first Thanksgiving Day parade viewing, which resulted in some massive zoning out:



Henry spent some time working out in the home gym:



Playing with his cousin Evan:




Discovering bugs with Uncle John:



And doing some backyard hiking with Nana and Dad:




Henry was spectacular on all flights and only had one minor "incident" the entire trip (where he managed to unzip his toddler bed/tent during nap time to sneak out and I discovered him on some weight machines instead of sleeping...) All in all it was a great trip and we thank everyone for sharing the day with us.

Performer

Henry has discovered the narcissistic joy of having himself recorded and then watching himself on the video. He now will request that we take the camera out so that he can "perform" and then watch himself. Here are a few gems:

Stumped

That is what our pediatrician said - she is stumped. Henry is acting fine, eating well, barely coughing now, and has no congestion. His chest sounded perfectly clear, which is good. He wasn't wheezing, but he definitely has labored breathing (you can hear him breathing loudly and can see the skin between his ribs sucking in with each breath) and she was concerned about that, especially because she couldn't find anything else. Plus, 5 hours straight of severe coughing/choking is obviously not good.

She is toying with the idea of asthma. You can't diagnose asthma at this age, but you can diagnose "asthmatic symptoms" and treat based on that. He has had several instances of wheezing when he was younger, so we kind of had an eye on that anyway. In the end she decided that giving him an inhaler at this point is premature, but if he has another bad night tonight we need to see the on-call doctor this weekend and potentially get one.

So, good news - so far it doesn't seem like a bad cold/flu/whatever, he is happy while awake, not contagious, etc. Also, he has been in his room fo an hour now for his nap with NO COUGHING! (we still have his mattress at a major incline to help)

Bad news - we don't know what the heck happened, he could potentially have asthma, he could have another bad night tonight, there are zero cough medicines approved for his age so we can't alleviate his symptoms more than what we are already doing, and although he is in his room he is (sob) skipping his nap. You would think he would be tired after only getting 5 hours of sleep instead of his usual 11, but I guess not. Too bad, I could have used one!

Sick

Well, I was really impressed that Henry made it all the way to November without getting sick this year (I think the last time he was really sick was in June), but it looks like our record well-spell is ending. Henry woke up very suddenly last night with a terrible cough - I actually ran into his room because it sounded like he was choking on something. No fever, no congestion, but a little wheezy and an awful cough that just wouldn't stop. He kept crying and saying "I'm choking!" It was much worse when laying down, so Henry and I sat up together on the couch...for five hours. Yes, from 11:30 PM until 4:30 AM Henry and I were both wide awake. Poor guy.

He managed to sleep about 3 hours and then got up for the day. He seems OK - tired, obviously. He is coughing a bit here and there but since he isn't lying down it isn't very bad. The pediatrician was concerned that he was a bit wheezy sounding so I am bringing him in later today for a check up.

So, we need fingers crossed that:

- Henry is fine or at least has a short lived/minor illness (we fly on Wednesday and would really appreciate a healthy toddler on the plane)

- Henry somehow manages to get some sleep (especially considering his Dr. appointment is during nap time. Sigh)

- I make it through the day without falling over after the total 1 hour of sleep I got. Yes, 1 hour. That's what I get for staying up late to watch the "Project Runway" finale.

Acclimating

You learn to acclimate quickly in New England. Our late fall temperatures have been bouncing all over the place - from snow at the end of October, to 70 degree days, to 40 degrees and windy. The last week we have had some nice days of high 50s/low 60s - park weather!

Little Artist

Henry has a new favorite activity - art. He has always really enjoyed drawing and painting, but recently it has become THE favorite thing. Better than trains. Better than trucks. The other day when he chose to color rather than watch "Super Why" we knew we had an obsession.

Markers are his medium of choice. I have gone through 2 large drawing pads and a ream of construction paper in the past two weeks alone.





Sometime he gets in interesting positions while he draws:



He also enjoys working with playdoh, although he tends to only want to make "birthday cakes":

Bounce House

This morning we were at our good friend Griffin's 3rd birthday party. Henry was in 7th heaven because the party was held at a giant indoor bounce house fun-zone.

Henry jumped:





Hula hooped:




Climbed:





Slid:



(Mike and I got in on the action, too):





Dined:



and generally had an excellent time.

Here is the birthday boy with his mom:



Happy Birthday Griffin!

A few pictures

We have had beautiful weather the last few days, so we have been out and about taking advantage of it. On Sunday we took another day trip to Newburyport, one of our favorite places:








And this morning we enjoyed a great park playdate with Jake:








Please note that Henry is now very insistent on picking out his own clothes these days, but only likes about 2 things. Hence, almost every picture of him he is wearing the same thing. I swear, we do provide him with clothing, he just refuses to wear it.

A few more photos...

A few more photos from Halloween taken by Jake's parents:

The kids with their bat whistles:



Trick-or-treating at Jake's neighbor's apartment:




Out trick-or-treating:



The crowd:



A big hug: