Canal Boat Ride

Today we took a river boat ride at Richmond's Canal Walk- I'd never been on one despite the fact that the Canal Walk area was completed in 1996.

We had a great day for it- we've had a respite from the heat which was also nice for my eight mile marathon training run today!!!!

Vake did his best to listen attentively- but even 30 minutes is getting on the long side for my constant motion machine.

He definitely was interested in the water around him- my water baby would have jumped in about six times if I had let him...

Seventeen Months!!!

Vake, you are 17 months old today!!!

You are growing and changing SO quickly. You are the busiest little boyin the world- always on the move. You are full on from the time the sun goes up until the time I put you down at night. You never stop moving. NEVER! You've got a super intense personality to match- things are really great or really horrible (wonder where you get that from- couldn't possibly be your mama????)

You weigh 35 pounds(!!!!!). You wear mostly 3t clothes but have some 2t and 4ts that work too. You wear a size 7 diaper (which of course they don't carry in stores and we have to order from diapers.com) and size 8 shoes (you need the size 8 more for the width than anything else- there's not a huge selection of shoes in double extra wide.

In the same way that you are enthusiastic about the good and the bad, you are a champion sleeper. Right now you go to bed between 6:00 and 7:00 and sleep until around. You usually take one good nap for 2.5 to 3 hours - always in the afternoon.

You are getting to be a pretty good talker but it is weird talking. You don't use many words in ways that make sense (only a couple, like dog and tick-tock). You use a lot that make no sense at all in context and then you've got a large vocabulary of crazy words.

You have figured out how a fork and spoon work and you really want to use them- it doesn't always go so well. You love to feed your dog from your tray and you are getting sick and tired of sitting in a high chair.

You have favorite books (Freight Train especially) that you will read again and again and then bring to your daddy and me to read.

Vpumpkin, we love you very much!!!!

Richmond Zoo

So we rolled out to the Richmond Zoo today.

I'd been pretty doubtful about the experience but the cabin fever was really starting to get the best of me. (And Eric, surprisingly, has no interest in going station wagon shopping...).

So we left for the Zoo. I thought there might be one monkey in a cage. We got out there and it was actually great. Don't get me wrong, you're definitely not at the National Zoo or the Seattle Zoo, but there is a lot of opportunity to feed and pat some pretty exotic animals.

We started our day by admiring the groundhogs.

Then Vake and Eric fed the emu. Who was extremely personable.

Vake actually chased the emu down the fenceline for a bit. I hope these pics give you some sense of how HOT it was out there. I think we are in for a MISERABLE rest of summer if this heat keeps up.

This little boy loves animals...

...and cheesing for the camera.

I think we were talking about not putting our fingers through the fence here.

So the craziest thing they have is the budgie aviary. You go inside and there are about 50-100 budgies and you buy a stick with birdseed on it and you are literally swarmed by budgies. There is a certain ick factor, but if you can put that aside, it is pretty cool and the budgies are so sweet.

Vake LOVED the budgies- I was trying not to freak out and simultaneously chanting "Gentle Hands, Gentle Hands."

Once all our seed was gone. we fed some extremely docile camels.

And then went over to the giraffe area. It's extremely clever- they've got this ramp so that the giraffes don't even have to bend their heads for you to feed them.

And once we were too hot and miserable to go on any more, we rolled out and went to Johnny Rocket's for lunch- as you can tell, someone in our house is feeling all better!

HF&M Day Four (Five?):Feeling Better?

Vake seems to be feeling a little better today- I just put him down for a nap so the good news is that he stayed awake a "normal" amount of time for him today.

He's not eating much but he's also showing some interest in food again...and trying to use a spoon again.

Oh right, I remember how these things work now...

Delicious apple sauce that doesn't hurt my throat.

Hmmm. What else could I do with a spoon?

After brunch, we played with some lids for awhile.

He thought that was terrific!

Good times, Mom!

In other news I had a seven mile run this morning that went fine.

Hand Foot and Mouth: Day Three (Four?)

So this routine is starting to get a little tired. Vake's been hanging in there like a champ but he feels bad bad bad.

Yesterday, Vake woke up screaming at 6:00 am. I gave him some Motrin and got some fluids down and then he went back down to sleep until Grandmary came over so that I could cover my morning docket (because it was a holiday weekend it was punctuated by a bunch of folks who had had no contact with me who then wanted to me to try their cases dead cold. That's not a fun way to try a case, let me tell you...ugh.).

I came home about the time it was time for an afternoon nap for everyone. Then he was up and mostly not fussy until about 7. He had, however, decided that he hates Motrin, so it is now a Mommy and Daddy activity to get it down his throat. Awesome.

This morning began again with the screaming and the Motrin but Eric was out cold so it was all Mommy all the time on the Motrin. (In fact, Eric came to long enough to tell me that I had terrible morning breath. Double awesome.)

Vake made it about 30 minutes before it became obvious from his screaming that it was time to go back to bed again- he's still asleep now and it is almost 10:00 am. While he was asleep, I tried the Silver Palate's brownie recipe. Perhaps it is because I had to substitute brown sugar for white sugar but they are TERRIBLE. Consistency's bad AND flavor's bad.

Everyone else in this house is still unconscious. Vake, E, Stilly and Judge. When everyone comes to, the real challenge will be to think of activities we can do where Vake won't be miserable and won't expose other children to this disease. Obviously the pool and the Children's Museum are out- maybe the zoo where he could stay in his stroller?

What Vake's Got.

Is called Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease.


Description:

Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is a common viral illness of infants and children. The disease causes fever and blister-like eruptions in the mouth and/or a skin rash. HFMD is often confused with foot-and-mouth (also called hoof-and-mouth) disease, a disease of cattle, sheep, and swine; however, the two diseases are not related—they are caused by different viruses. Humans do not get the animal disease, and animals do not get the human disease.

Illness:

The disease usually begins with a fever, poor appetite, malaise (feeling vaguely unwell), and often with a sore throat.
One or 2 days after fever onset, painful sores usually develop in the mouth. They begin as small red spots that blister and then often become ulcers. The sores are usually located on the tongue, gums, and inside of the cheeks.
A non-itchy skin rash develops over 1–2 days. The rash has flat or raised red spots, sometimes with blisters. The rash is usually located on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet; it may also appear on the buttocks and/or genitalia.
A person with HFMD may have only the rash or only the mouth sores.

What it means to Mommy:

No trip to Shrinemont for the bluegrass festival.

Sick Sleeper

He's still not 100%. No more vomiting but tired. Morning nap tired.

E covered this am while I went to court. Way to go superdad. Now I'm on. Little pumpkin is out cold.