Our First Dr Visit

Well, here it is Sunday already and it's hard to believe that I only got to post once last week! Whew, it seems like the days are flying by! Well, since the last post, the biggest event was our first Doctor's appointment. The whole family went. We tried to explain that we were going to the doctor's office, but who knows if what I tried to say in Thai is really what I said. Anyway, after we went back to our exam room, the nurse measured height and weight and took temps. Turns out Jack had a fever of 102.4! I had noticed he was very warm after his nap, but thought it was just from sleeping. So, the nurse got him some Motrin while we waited for the doctor.

Neither of them were very happy about getting undressed and wearing the backless robes, and by the time the doctor came in we could only do Jack's exam with one of us holding him. It wasn't surprising that he was fussy, because we discovered that not only did he have an ear infection, but he has strep throat. You would never know it though, since he is just as active as ever and never complained of having any pain. We're just glad that we caught it before it got any worse.

Even though they fussed, the visit was pretty good. We really like their doctor and appreciate her willingness to take an interest in our children even though her practice is full. She talked with us about bedtime and gave us some good ideas and then gave the children a book to take home to read at bedtime. We decided to figure out what we want bedtime to be like as far as the normal routine, and then stick to it every night, even if they struggle with it. So, Friday night, we started with bathtime, then a little dessert, then brush teeth, then read a couple of books in bed, pray and rub backs until they fall asleep. It went really well for Beth! Once she is asleep, she can sleep through the night. Jack still fights going to sleep and wakes up in the middle of the night, but there haven't been quite as many tears lately.

We have also practiced having Mommy leave and the kids stay home with Daddy. We want them to feel secure enough that I am going to come home that I can work a few days a month subbing in the schools again. Since Jack has strep, we decided he should stay home from church this morning, so Beth and Mommy went by ourselves. Jack pitched a fit when he realized that he wasn't going with us. But, it wasn't more than 20 minutes or so before he was content to play with his train set and cars.

Beth did very well in children's church today! When we arrived, the kids were all having free play time, so we wandered out to the playground. Beth really likes the slide and was enjoying it all to herself for a few minutes. Then several other kids decided to slide too, and Beth got shy. So she climbed down and tried out the tire swing. Pretty soon, Richelle joined her on the swing and Beth thought she had to get off. I told her they could swing together and then explained to Richelle that Beth didn't know all of the same words that we speak yet so she might not understand us very well. Richelle was very patient and they stayed on the swing together until it was time to go in for story time. Beth's favorite activity seemed to be coloring the lesson page, and of course playing with the toys. When it was time to leave she remembered where her bag was and grabbed it and then gave Miss Dee a hug goodbye. I was so proud of her!

After church, we drove home and picked up Daddy and Jack and then went out for lunch with Grandpa and Grandma. The rest of the afternoon was relaxing with Mommy and Jack taking naps and Daddy and Beth playing outside with remote controlled cars. We all went for a walk and stopped to visit the Marshalls. Only Trina and Ethan were home, but we stayed for while and chatted (mostly Mommy and Trina chatted and Daddy and the kids ran around in the yard!) They got thirsty and wanted some water, so I had them repeat "Please may I have water?" to ask Trina. Beth got shy, but eventually said it. By that time, I decided Jack could just say "Water, please," which he did with gusto! They are very good about saying "thank you," so that wasn't a problem.