The Croup

It amazes me that a child can go to bed perfectly fine, no sniffles, no cough, no nothing and by 11:45 pm wake up coughing and crying uncontrollably. My boys have had 'croupy' coughs in the past, but the way Casen woke up late Monday night honestly scared this momma (and nurse ) to death. He sounded absolutely horrible, had stridor (which is a sound that is made when the airways are swollen and it is harder to breathe), and of course said it hurt when he coughed. He did not have fever at that time, but I got him calmed down and turned the cool mist humidifier on him. I laid next to him, wide awake, just listening to him breathe, praying it would not get worse. Around 3:00 am he woke up screaming crying and coughing again saying his head hurt. My first thought was fever, and sure enough he had 102.7. So I got him medicated and finally after his fever broke we finally both fell asleep around 4:00 am. Luckily, the cool mist humidifier was making his breathing easier.

We both stayed home yesterday and of course he was good, except for the croupy cough. He no longer had stridor, thank goodness. I did not take him to the doctor, knowing there is not really anything they can do. We laid low all day and he remained fever free. He again slept with the humidifier last night and luckily had a much better night. We both went back to school today and when I picked him up from school, she said he did great! Thank goodness!!!

I am hoping this will not happen again in either of my boys. They say that the age of three is the magic age when they will no longer get these horrible symptoms from the croup because their airway is maturing. That is a blessing, because I can honestly say this is one of the scariest nights I have had with either of my boys!

Casen's 100th Day of School

Today was Casen's 100th day of school and they had all sorts of fun things planned for them. Of course, he got to wear his awesome cape all day - and good news for us, none of his stickers fell off!

Kerrville Fun

Since the boys and I had a three day weekend, we decided to go to Kerrville to see Grandma and Grandpa Key. So after Camden's basketball game, we packed up in the car and headed west. As always, we had a great time playing, shopping, visiting Great Grandma Key and just relaxing.

Luckily Mom helped me with Casen's 100 day of school project. They gave us a cape and we were to decorate it with 100 items. Casen chose sports theme stickers which mom and I strategically placed and glued on his cape.

 And what do you do with the extra stickers? Make pasties of course!!!

Dad took the boys and me to the local FFA livestock show. We got to watch some of the pigs as well as angora sheep. We all found it very interesting and educational.

Watching the angora sheep

The boys wanted to pose with a pig

Grandpa and the boys set up the trap to try and get a nutria rat that has been getting in his neighbors pond - and don't you know the carrots they left must have been just what the nutria wanted! I tell you, those animals just are not very pretty!!

And of course after church on Sunday, we stopped to visit great Grandma. She is looking great as usual, for her 98 year old self. 

We had a great time and hated to leave, but look forward to our next visit!

Basketball Season Has Begun

Today marked the first basketball game for Camden. He was really excited to play basketball this year so we started him in Upward basketball at the local Methodist church. After his first practice he told Shane that it was really fun, despite his team having to run horses for some not paying attention.

The game starts with each player being announced as they come running out of a blow up tunnel with smoke billowing out of it. Talk about cool!

Some dribbling action

He shoots . . . but unfortunately does not score.

Afterwards, each team member is acknowledged with a
star for something great they did during the game.

Casen's First Trip to the Dentist

Today both boys had a dentist appointment. This was Casen's first trip to the dentist and he was very excited about it. Once we got there, the boys decided amongst themselves that Camden would go first so he could show Casen what to do. I love that he is such a good big brother! Of course Camden did awesome. He got some unexpected, wonderful news while getting his teeth cleaned - he has two loose teeth! He could not have gotten better news since he has been asking for probably a year when he is going to loose teeth. The hygienist told him it would probably be a month or two before he looses them, which he was thrilled with!

I thought since this was Casen's first time that it was going to be a 'happy' visit where they just count his teeth and let him get used to things, however he ended up getting a full cleaning, minus the x-rays. The hygienist didn't want to overwhelm him all on one day! He chose to wear    sunglasses to keep the bright light out of his eyes. He did everything the hygienist asked him to do and got a very good report! I was so proud of how well he did!

Getting Ready!

Big brother looking on