Wuk Fut

Say what? Wuk Fut, it means ski fast, and it is also what the race is called when Mankato West and Mankato East/Loyola high school ski teams go head to head for a years worth of bragging rights, the Wuk Fut trophy (big hunk of wood). It is the Mankato “jug” of skiing, but better. The race and the festivities that accompany the event are always evolving, it started as a race and a potluck, but a few years back racers started wearing costumes and the trend caught on, so now whoever wants to dresses up to race, there have been all kinds of silly costumes and themes, it is great to see what they come up with each year.  Another element  to the race is the Alumni team, past participants of the programs are invited back to ski, which is where I fit it. Last year was the first year in 17 years or so that I was not actually in the race, but I did go out to cheer on all the teams, and was accompanied by the newest “Future Team” member Avery. At two weeks old, it was Avery’s first trip to Mt. Kato, and obviously his first Wuk Fut . This year I was able to participate again, so I did, my actual times weren’t the greatest but I did have a good time, and that is what really matters (and not getting hurt). This year again Avery came with, for his second Wuk Fut.  It was a great night to spend with my family, and my winter family. Can’t wait for next year.

Helping clean up after the race 

Checking things out with Daddy

Everyone in our family needs "choppers"

I want to thank your friends Alison and Jon for giving Avery his first set of skis....you guys are the best! Thanks a ton.....

Checking out his new skis

Not quite ready to ski yet....

Silly Sunday

As usual our Saturday was a busy one so we took our Sunday to just hangout and relax. While making laps with his fire truck we made a pit stop to play with the door in the spare room, he sung it back and forth until he actually shut it, then he showed me a new little trick...

if I was only a little taller...

Avery knows how to open doors, or at least the basic concept of how doors open, he isn’t tall enough yet to actually reach the door knob but soon closed doors aren’t going to slow him down either.


Not sure what it was about yesterday, maybe he is just starting to feel better but he was one silly little boy, playing silly games and doing silly things that made both of us laugh.

There seems to be something stuck in the ball tube..

Such a silly boy

And because he played hard, he took a nice long nap...almost too long, bed time was a little later then usual last night, oh well. 

Come back later I am sleeping

One fish...Two fish...

Starting to feel better

Or actually should I say...one day, two days....in a row, at daycare that is! It seems (knock on wood, figures crossed, etc...) that Avery could be on the mend. He seems to have regained his desire to play and his appetite is slowly coming back as well, he is sleeping better at night, and waking up happy in morning.  He still gets tired, and has been going to bed a little earlier then usual but after full days of playing who wouldn’t be a little bit tired. 

Another Reason to Celebrate

Last night we celebrated my birthday again, this time with my family. Nothing too fancy, just dinner, and cake and ice cream. 

Avery & Mommy 2012

Avery & Mommy 2011

But we had another reason to celebrate too, after almost a week of rest and lots of snuggle time at home, Avery returned to daycare all day yesterday and we finally broke his Monday doctor visit pattern. Avery still isn’t 100%, he had a great day yesterday but he got sick in the middle of the night last night and had to stay home from daycare again today. It’s hard to say but I think he might be getting a tooth in the middle of all this too. So far today he is doing good, playing, eating, drinking and resting. Hopefully tomorrow he will be able to go back to daycare.

RSV

Enjoying a low-key day with Grandma

The results are in and Avery has RSV, Respiratory syncytial virus. RSV is the most common germ that causes lung and airway infections in infants and young children. Children at or under age 1 may have more severe symptoms and often have the most trouble breathing, which is why is doctor was concerned with his lower oxygen level yesterday and wanted to see him back today (even before the RSV results were in). After receiving the call from the nurse this morning confirming he does in fact have RSV we moved up his appointment to noon. One of the main reasons Avery’s doctor was so concerned about him is because Avery is such a happy baby it actually camouflages how sick he really is. Which can make it difficult to diagnose him, luckily, his doctor knows him and doesn’t let his smile and happy go-lucky behavior deceive her. After checking his oxygen levels again today his doctor was pleased, they are up from yesterday, a very good thing, that means he didn’t have to be admitted to the hospital for observation. We discontinued his antibiotics (because they wont do any good against a virus) and still need to watch his breathing and fever, most likely it might be a few weeks before the cold and cough symptoms go away but we should see some improvements in the next few days. And I can actually already see an improvement in him from last night, weather it was the fairly good night sleep he got or the nebs, or something else I am not sure but I do think, although he is still sick, he is already getting better. 

Back Again

Waiting with daddy to see his doc

After sending the day at home yesterday with no fever Avery was ready to return to daycare and see all his friends this morning. Turns out that a lot of his friends were home sick today, and yesterday too. Because Avery still had a rather nasty cough, that has caused the past few nights to be semi sleepless, I made an appointment for him to see his doctor this afternoon, things can change so fast and seeing his own doctor who knows him just seemed like a good idea. I knew he wasn't totally himself when i dropped him off, but I hoped being at daycare would actually help him get back into his routine and get some quality nap time in, I also hoped that he would be able to make it all day without having to go home. Around 12:30 I was informed that Avery had a "running down his leg" style diaper, I didn't have to pick him up it was only a heads up/warning that he wasn't feeling well again. And at 2:45, I did get the call that he had a fever and I needed to come and get him. I would never describe Avery as a fussy baby, except for parts of the last couple of days. That is how you can really tell something just isn't right, he seems to cry for no reason, he is coughing all the time,  and sometimes it looks like it's hard for him to breathe, honestly his doctors appointment could come soon enough.
As a result of his appointment he is now on a new antibiotic, he was tested for RSV (results pending), he has some "crackles" in his right lung, his SATS are semi low and we are testing his poo for blood. Tomorrow we have a follow up appointment to see if anything has changed after some more neb treatments and the new antibiotic. Is he sick, yes...Are we worried, yes (it's our job we're his parents) but he is tough little guy and always surprises us. Hoefully he gets a good nights sleep tonight and wakes up himself in the morning and can enjoy his day at Grandmas (since he cannot go back to daycare until Friday)

Make that 4 for 4!

This is my just had a fever of 103.6 look

Make that 4 straight weeks of Monday doctor visits. Yesterday I received call from Avery's daycare informing me that Avery had a temp of 103.6. I went over and picked him up and we drove right to the doctors office. Because he is still on his meds for his ear infection I just want to be on the super safe side and have him looked at because he has never had a temp that high before.  By the time we got there and were seen his temp had already dropped to 100. A doc checked him over and saw nothing new, but on the up side did comment that his ear is getting better. So it is a virus, and there is nothing more we can do at this time to treat.

Due to his fever yesterday that also means that Avery has to send the day at home (or at least not at daycare) so today Avery and I were in isolation, not really of course, were just staying home to rest and play...but at this point there has been no resting....

Avery in his "isolation" tent

Being home sick isn't so bad

Happy Birthday Mommy!

To celebrate my birthday we went out to dinner with GG & GT at Famous Dave's, I wanted a corn muffin! It was the perfect semi low key night. Avery and I had chicken and broccoli and corn muffin, and ice cream with chocolate sauce and whipped cream for desert. For the evenings entertainment Avery played wtih a straw, his cup and it's lid.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Dinner Time!

This is my straw mustache

I am silly boy!

  Before dinner Jon and Avery gave me my birthday present, an iPhone, thanks guys.

my birthday card and present...love them both...

Slow Down Sunday

After a week of go-go-go it was nice to spend the day with my baby. Last week was sure a busy one for our house, it was a one parent house hold all week, first I was gone in the cities for a meeting Monday thru Wednesday and then Jon headed up north for a fishing trip Thursday morning. Thursday night is race night out at Mt. Kato and Friday night Avery had a sleep over at GG & GTs house because I had to leave for a ski race real early Saturday morning.  So today was my day to spend with my baby. We stayed in our pjs all day. We had breakfast and then got right down to business playing. We played with cars and balls and every other toy we have, and read books, and read more books. 

PJ Sunday!

Time to read some books

Let's read some more! 

And play with my new cars...you can set the ramp up later

Lunch Time!

We took some time off from playing to have chicken fingers and steak cut French fries for lunch played a little more then it was nap time....Avery took a nice long nap while I did some work and then like magic when he work up from his nap daddy was home! So we played some more, made pizza and cheese bread for supper and played even more before going to bed early. It was a great day, I love having a nice slow Sunday.

My Baby the Pin Cushion, Part 5

Yesterday was Avery’s 1 year Well-Baby visit. He weighed in at 23lbs and 11oz and was 30 inches long, putting him in the 65 percentile for weight and 58 percentile for height. He is happy and healthy (current ear infection and ruptured ear drum not included) and growing beautifully. Most of the appointment was spent discussing things like when and how to switch to cow’s milk and when to stop using a bottle and other development things like that. I feel like I had a ton of questions, and his doctor answered every single one. Through out most the Q&A and his entire exam Avery actually slept, it was his nap time and he wasn’t going to miss that. He did wake up at the end before it was time for his shots. He got three shots, two in one leg and one in the other. Like every previous time he has gotten shot he took them like a troop on crying out a little and letting a few tears roll, I think he was actually more upset that we pinned him down and he could roam around the office anymore. So all in all a great visit. Next scheduled visit is at the 15 month mark, but I am sure we will be in before that.

Waiting in the waiting room for his turn 

Checking things out

Waiting for his Doc 

Post-Shots (there is a little smile here)

Round and Round We Go

Avery’s day isn’t complete until he puts a few laps in with his mail cart. The way our house is laid out we have perfect race track for him. He starts by picking up his mail cart in the living room then heads out clockwise, going thru the extra room (it has two doors) in one door and out the other into and thru the kitchen and then it is back into the living room and repeat and repeat. It’s has been so fun to watch him improve his “driving” skills and see his “lap times” go down, last night was actually the fastest I have ever seen him go. We have also been working more walking along side the furniture and trying to get him to take some steps between us, but he is using a lot of energy to recover from his ear infection and doesn’t have too much left over especially after doing laps. I cant wait to see those first unassisted steps, but they will come in time and can wait until he is ready.

Time for some Laps!

Coming into the first turn.... 

Made it!

Thru the extra room.... 

Next up the kitchen....

Thru the kitchen.....

and back to the living room.

Three weeks of Mondays

The face of "sick" little boy

For the past three weeks on Monday Avery has gone to the doctor to have his ears checked out. The first two weeks his ears were clear, the days before we told him in those times he was pulling on his ears a little bit. He stopped doing after last week so I thought he was in the clear and we won’t be going to the doc until his 1 year appt on Thursday but after a call from daycare because his ear were draining and they wanted to make sure he hadn't gotten tubes and I forgot to tell them, which he didn’t . So off to the doctor he went with Daddy, third Monday in a row. He does have an ear infection and a ruptured ear drum. He is on an antibiotic, his ruptured ear drum doesn’t seem to cause him any pain and should heal on it’s own. As always he is a happy baby, and not letting this get him down. 

Happy Birthday Avery!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday Avery, Happy Birthday to You! Today is Avery’s first Birthday! We celebrated his birthday the best way we know how with a party, with cake and ice cream, food and family and friends!  We kept things real simple, a balloon themed party with some balloons tied to his highchair, some fun napkins, cupcakes laid out in the shape of a bunch of balloons and little cake for Avery to eat, and presents!
 

Avery's First Birthday - Balloon Theme Party

Checking out his decorations

Avery's First Birthday Cake

Cake Time!

Starting with a small sample

Having some fun now!

Time for two hands

Do I have something in my hair?

Frosting = FUN

Our birthday boy covered in frosting

What was left of the cake

Time for presents

New toys, books and clothes. What a lucky boy.

Avery riding his custom made rocking "horse" motorcycle.

Driving around his new firetruck....box said 3 & up....

It was a really great party we are so lucky to have such great friends and family to help us celebrate!