Will it ever end??

Brecken hasn't attended a full week of daycare since October 9th. October 9th?! Note: You do not get discounted for the days that you are unable to attend. Awesome. To point out the financial odds of this all, take note that Eric and I have also not both completed a full week's worth since the before mentioned dates. Super awesome. Not that my week and a half in the hospital following surgery helped out with my attendance, and THAT I absolutely cannot blame on my adorable child, but that is for a different time and a different blog...

Today was my first day back at school and it wasn't the start I was hoping for. The car wouldn't start and had to be jumped and when we woke Brecken up, he was burning up..... A 103 temp confirmed that our partial attendance at full priced daycare would continue. Yay for consistency! It doesn't get more awesome than that. Ehhhh :( Aside from the panic of "who's going to stay home with him?" and "what are we going to do?" and "I can't believe it!" we are also looking at our sick little Bug, red-cheeked, glassy-eyed and full of cuddles and wondering how someone so sick can look so cute.

Despite the constant ear infections and random ailments that come his way, he appears to be doing fine otherwise. He talks almost as much as his mommy these days, and after weeks of being on pain pills, Eric might say he's almost as understandable as mommy :) He is really starting to get the hang of phrases and loves putting words together. He now likes to refer to everything as "his" while pointing to his little chest. Examples include "My mil." (milk) "My brea." (bread) "My pazz" (pants).

He has learned that everything has a label and he likes to both hear and practice them. He can show you where everything is! His eyes, ears, mouth, nose, hair, head, tummy, belly button, knees, arms, hands, fingers, toes, feet, socks, pants, shirt, hat, jacket....... You get the picture. Everything has a label! Again, I think another Mommy characteristic as I like to label and organize everything myself. Tonight before bed, when I was cuddling with a feverishly warm little boy, he was laying with his face looking right at mine. His eyes were almost closed when he all of a sudden looked up and said "nooose." I looked at him a second without saying anything and he repeated "nooose" while giving my nose a honk :) He then preceded to honk his own nose while saying "nooose" and the game continued a few rounds. I smiled at how cute he was and then he smiled because he likes it when people around him smile. Even when he is sick, he is still "good." I wish I could say I had the same attitude myself, but I sure don't.

Brecken has also figured out the phrase "one more" and even sticks his little pointer finger up to show "one." Clearly, this must be something that Eric and/or I must do and he picked it up, but it's SO CUTE. Mostly. Until a couple of nights ago when we said it was time for bed and he put his little finger in the air and said "one more." Ha..... He's already learning the art of negotiation :)

Brecken loves to sort. When we get home from the grocery store, he immediately assumes his position near the bags on the floor so he can start getting things out. He stacks all of the boxes on his little step stool, puts cans in another part of the kitchen... It's hilarious. When he gets done sorting, it's time to re-bag the items and start all over. We try to get to the cold ingredients before he grabs them, but otherwise the grocery shopping experience can (and sometimes does) extend by an hour once home! A few nights ago after Brecken went to bed, we could hear him talking so Eric stuck his head in to see what he was doing and he was sitting up, sorting his "lovies" and putting different ones on different pillows :)

Brecken started antibiotics tonight for another ear infection and we are hopeful that this current illness won't delay his approaching surgery to have tubes put in. We have talked to so many parents that have said this made a world of difference in their children and we would love for that to be the case with Brecken. I hate knowing that he isn't feeling well and I hate even more that there is absolutely nothing in the world I can do to help him. His surgery is scheduled for December 2nd.

Speaking of surgery, my battle scars WERE healing fairly nicely..... Up until the point that I slipped and fell on ice Sunday night and the sudden pull tore one of my incisions open. If I use another sarcastic "awesome" will anyone be annoyed??

In other news, we were talking about our Halloween costumes for next year...... A little early, I agree. But we have the PERFECT idea: I will dress up as a black cloud, Brecken will be an infected ear drum, and poor Eric will be a "Sorry Boss, I am not going to make it in today...." memo :) So fitting, but SO SAD. Let's hope we have a reason to change our costumes by next Fall!!