Family Fun Day at Great Lakes Crossing!

Last winter a new aquarium opened at Great Lakes Crossing and we had planned to take a little weekend getaway to visit. Well, the day before we were set to leave, Kyle went online to buy tickets and saw that they were already sold out! We were all pretty disappointed...especially Brett who had been looking forward to going for weeks. Luckily, that same weekend "Discover the Dinosaurs" was happening at the Cobo Center in Detroit so we did that instead. Over the past year, we did many other fun activities but never made it to the aquarium, so this February we finally made it happen and Kyle ordered tickets weeks in advance this time! Camden was in the midst of dealing with his rash, but we figured that this little getaway was just what he needed to get his mind off his discomfort....and we were right! Both boys had a blast!!

We arrived around 11:30am but we couldn't get in to the aquarium until 1pm, so we ate lunch together first. Originally our plan was to eat at the awesome Rain Forest Cafe, but after hearing that the wait was an hour and 45 minutes long, we quickly changed gears and headed to Bar Louie! Then, after eating a yummy lunch, it was time for our tropical adventure to begin!

Even though we had purchased ticket's way ahead of time, there was still a long line we had to wait in! Thankfully there was a cool fish tank along the way for the boys to look at.....

...and these pamphlets they were given were pretty entertaining too! :-)

Everywhere we went, we were surrounded by fish and tropical creatures! 

There was a cool "touch station" where you could feel star fish and crabs. And apparently this little guy wanted OUT!

Camden checking out the Sea Horses, one of my favorites!

If you look closely, you can see Brett's head in the bubble for a 360 degree view!

Camden wasn't tall enough to look through the bubble, but he sure liked hiding in the cave like opening where Brett stood. I literally had to drag him out!

Another favorite of ours...the Sting Rays!! Both boys were captivated.

The boys stamped their pamphlets along the way to win a prize at the end! 

I like this picture because it shows all the vivid colors of the 'sea'!

Brett has always loved the aquarium just like his mother!

At the end of our tropical adventure, there was a little play area that Camden LOVED, but he was too quick for any good pictures! Then, it was time to collect their medals in the gift shop!

Camden was too busy checking out his prize to look up for a picture :-)

After the aquarium, we strolled around the mall for a little bit, and then ended our day at the 'shooting range' at Bass Pro Shops!

We had such a great day as a family and loved getting away for an adventure in the middle of February! Although we loved the aquarium, I don't think we'll be going back to that one. It was quite expensive (highway robbery, really!) for how small it was and I think we were in and out in an hour and a half or less! We can pay less to spend the whole day at the zoo where the aquarium is included in the price!! We did have a wonderful time though and that is what matters most :-)

Our Big Scare

Remember in my last post how I mentioned Camden was diagnosed with another ear infection at his last well visit? Well, his doctor prescribed Amoxicillin, just like the last time he had an ear infection. I didn't give it a second thought and gave it to him twice a day for a week with no side effects at all......until the 8th day. When I went to change his diaper early that morning, I noticed some spots in that area. Then, when I took off his shirt, I noticed more spots on his shoulders and back. My first thought was "oh crap, he has Chicken Pox!" We spread his vaccines out and haven't given him that shot yet, so it was definitely a possibility. Camden was happy as could be and didn't seem to be fazed at all which gave me some relief, but I still knew a call to the doctor was in order. Before picking up the phone, I remembered he was taking antibiotics and decided to look up possible side effects...and sure enough, a rash was listed. When I called the nurse, she was quite certain that's what we were dealing with but still wanted us to come in, so an appointment was made for 4:15 that afternoon. Since Camden was acting fine, and we knew where the rash was coming from (which generally is nothing serious), I wasn't worried and we went about our day. Kyle had taken that afternoon off, so around 2:30 he took over and I went upstairs to take a nap. When I got up a little over an hour later, Camden had really gone down hill, and fast. His rash had gotten worse and was spreading, and his knees and feet had started to swell. He also seemed to be in pain because he refused to walk, was becoming lethargic, and only wanted to be held. Originally, Kyle was going to take the boys to Camden's appointment and I was going to go to the mall....but after seeing my poor baby, there was no way I could leave him. We knew something was very wrong and we were scared.

The first thing they did when we got to the doctor's office was check his vitals and oxygen level. Fortunately, his breathing was fine and his pulse ox was 100% so we took a huge sigh of relief. Next, they (two pediatricians and a nurse practitioner) looked over his whole body to see where the rash had spread and checked his swollen joints (which seemed to be getting worse while we were there). They had seen the rash before and the swelling before, but not together, so that is what had them puzzled. Dr. Long explained that there was a good chance the swelling was just part of the allergic reaction but that she knew blood work would need to be done to rule out any other possible problem's, like a clotting disorder. Somehow I stayed very calm and took everything in stride, but man was that scary to hear!  And after observing Camden (who had actually fallen asleep during all of this), we all knew that a trip to the emergency room was needed. He was one sick baby boy and we didn't want to take any chances. We were told to go straight to Mott Children's ER and they would call to let them know we were on our way. We quickly jumped in the car, dropped Brett off at my parent's house (who thankfully live right in town!) and were on our way. I sat in the back seat with Camden so I could keep a close eye on him while we tried to stay calm and not focus on the "what if's". 

I took this picture of Camden's rash while he slept in my arms at the doctor's office. It was spreading fast and some area's looked more like hives and other's (like here) were raised bumps.

As soon as we arrived at Mott's ER, a nurse took us back to a room. During the 4 and a half hours we were there, many different doctor's (and student's) came in to ask questions and look at Camden's rash and swollen joints (his elbows had swelled by this point too). Fortunately, soon after we got there, we were reassured that he had the classic symptoms of something called "Serum Sickness" which is the type of allergic reaction he was having. But, to be safe and rule everything else out, they wanted to put an IV in him and get multiple viles of blood for different tests to be run. Even though everyone was pretty certain he would be fine, just the slightest chance anything could be really wrong with your baby is just plain scary. It was also pretty awful to watch Camden cry out in pain and fear as the nurses held him down and inserted the IV to draw his blood. After the blood was taken to the labs, the waiting began. Camden was completely worn out from everything so he soundly slept in my arm's until we were finally give the good news....that we were free to take him home! The lab tests had come back good, and thankfully, although we would have some rough days ahead of us, he would get better! 

Before leaving the hospital, the doctor's explained that it could take up to 2 weeks for the rash to go away, and unfortunately, it would get even worse before it got better. And other than IB Profin and Benedryl, there wasn't much we could do to help the pain. We were also told that if his skin started to peel or if red sores started to show up in his eyes or mouth, we would need to take him straight to the ER and he would most likely need to be admitted. More scary stuff, but we tried not to think of the worse case scenerio and instead focus on that fact that we could take our baby home and at least knew what was going on.

We got home about 10:30 that night and went straight to bed. Camden was quite uncomfortable but the medicine's seemed to give him some relief so we could get a few hours of sleep. The next day, Saturday, was probably the worst day of all. He clearly felt miserable and was in pain. He was in our arms pretty much all day, except for the rare moments he would let us put him down to watch Baby Boost on TV.

Here are some pictures of what his rash looked liked on Day 2. These hives were all over his torso, diaper area, thighs, and arms.

His swollen, black and blue foot. Looks awful, doesn't it?

By the evening, it had gotten even worse. Thankfully,the bath helped to soothe him for a few minutes.

What we did for two days straight....lots of cuddles and naps together.

Over the course of the next few days, the swelling went down and Camden started to act more like himself again (at least during the day....night's were pretty rough for about a week). BUT, like the doctor's said, his rash continued to get worse, spreading more and more and changing in its appearance. 

Snuggles with Papa always make things better.

By the 6th day, his rash was finally starting to get better and we were hopeful the worst was over. Then that night, about an hour after Camden went to bed, he woke up, clearly very uncomfortable. I turned the light on and was shocked to see his left eye swollen shut and blotches all over his face! I quickly called Kyle in to take a look, and then phoned the on-call nurse. We figured it was just part of the reaction, but wanted to make sure we were doing everything we should be. After answering what seemed like a million questions, the nurse told us to just keep a good eye on him throughout the night and then take him to our pediatrician in the morning. We gave him some more Benedryl and held him close all night long. Fortunately, by morning, he could open his eye again, but he still looked pretty rough so his doctor wanted to see him. Once there, Dr. Moore reassured us that he would be okay and that by this point he was out of the woods for any complications. We just needed to wait it out and let it finish running it's course.

Not the best picture, but the only one I got of his poor little face :-( 

And finally, a couple days later, Camden's skin cleared up and he looked like our healthy baby boy again!

Camden sure gave us quite the scare, and we are so tremendously thankful that his allergic reaction didn't get any worse and he is okay now. After witnessing everything Camden had to go through (especially his short stay at Mott's ER where he had to be held down to get an IV, all while screaming out in fear and pain) you quickly realize just how lucky you are that your baby is going to get better. You can't go through something like that and not have a new appreciation for your children's heath. Somehow, we are the lucky ones right now and I don't ever want to take that for granted. We are also so grateful for all of the phone calls, text messages, kind gestures, and positive thoughts from our friends and family! I even had an acquaintance who lives in another state contact one of her friends nearby who delivered some essential oils to rub on Camden's skin...and they refused any payment at all! I really think the oils helped too because soon after we started using them, his pain seemed to subside and overall, his rash went away quicker than most cases. Thank you Sasha and Jessica!! I'll be waiting for my turn to pay it forward :-) Camden is all better now and ready for the races.....well, maybe after his 100th cold for the season goes away, but that I can deal with!

Toddler Days Are Here!

It recently dawned on me that I haven't posted any updates on Camden since his first birthday! SO.....get ready for picture overload! This little guy sure keeps us on our toes and is the life of the party....always smiling, laughing, babbling, dancing, clapping, high fiving...and getting into mischief! He is also quite the love bug who gives us hugs and wide open mouth kisses all day long. He continues to be obsessed with his big brother and they have so much fun running around the house together, rough housing, and jumping into pillow piles! Unfortunately, I still haven't gotten our good camera fixed, so I don't have any action shots of the boys (they turn out blurry with my cell phone)...but I plan on getting it fixed very soon!

Camden had his 15 month well visit last Friday, and although it started out great, it ended with tears and a diagnosis of yet another ear infection. When we went to our music class the day before, he was clingy and fussy so we left early. I just thought he was extra tired since he had gotten up earlier than usual that day...but then at the appointment, as soon as the doctor started looking in his left ear, the tears started coming. Clearly the poor boy was in pain. And once she finally got a good look, we new why. It was very red and infected and his right ear was full of fluid. Ugh. This is Camden's second ear infection so far, and because of the fluid build up, there is a good chance he will need tubes just like his big brother did. To this day, Brett has never had an ear infection, but when he was 3, he needed tubes to relieve the fluid build up that was effecting his hearing and causing pressure. We're hoping that by the spring Camden's ears will be better, but if not, it will be his turn for tubes. Truthfully, if he has to have them, I would much rather it be now than when he is 3 years old! That was awful because Brett was so aware and very scared. Fingers crossed that Camden doesn't follow in his brother's footsteps, but if he does, we know it's for the best. Other than the whole ear infection fiasco, Camden is right on target with his development and growing like a weed! He is in the 86th percentile for weight and 95th for height! Future basketball player? I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

Now it's time for PICTURES!!!

Reading with Papa :-)

#1 Team! Go Pack, Go!

Have I mentioned that Camden likes to explore?! As soon as we walked outside, he was off!

He was quite intrigued by the leaves....that were still in our neighbors yard in January!

Climbing is another favorite passtime of Cam's. The dining room chairs must be pushed in at all times....or this happens!

While I don't feel I do nearly as many activities with Camden as I did with Brett, I do still try :-) Here he is exploring SNOW!

A few weeks ago some friends and I met for lunch at the Ale House...and Camden was such a ham! He was smiling and waving at everyone and he made a new best friend....our waiter! His little girlfriend sitting next to him was the opposite, very quiet and reserved and just liked to observe. Still such a sweetie though! Oh, and get this, Eden is 4 months older than Camden!

Another obsession of Camden's? Hats! He loves to wear them, play peek-a boo with them, and put them on other people! Seriously so cute!

Cheese!

Where is Camden?!

My best friend Rachel got Camden a doll for his birthday, and boy does he love his "baby"! He holds her, kisses her, pats her back, and feeds her. 

One morning I got some "ingredients" from the kitchen (pasta, cereal, rice, etc) and he went to town scooping, pouring, and stirring! Such fun!

More outside pics.....this time with snow!

Look at that sweet face!

One recent Friday, Rachel brought her adorable kiddos over for a play date (Molly, 4 and Ryan, 2) and here they all are making Valentines....

...and playing light sabers! Rachel and I laughed because between the 3 kids we had a 1 year old, 2 year old, and 4 year old....and the house was a crazy mess, we couldn't finish a conversation, and there was always someone not sharing. But ya know what? We still managed to have a blast! :-)

Playing legos together at my parent's house. Camden had the most scooping them into the container and dumping them back out!

Bath time!

Camden usually insists on sitting at the table with Brett while he does his homework. And of course, he wants to do homework too!

Camden loves to "bake". Here he is "spraying" Pam into his baking dish like he see's us do. This kid seriously want to do everything we do these days!

Time to make some music!

You see those little tuffs of hair on the side? After a bath, they turn to curls! Camden has much more hair than Brett did at his age, and Kyle thinks it's time he gets a haircut....but I say no way. I love his crazy hair and can't bare to cut it just yet! 

Yes...another pots and pans picture :-) He was so busy, I couldn't resist!

Drawing 

The other day, I was in the living room and heard Camden calling for me....and this is what I found. Camden has wedged his little butt into the pot and was stuck! He started out smiling but soon he made it clear that he wanted out! I got a video of it that is sure to make us laugh for years to come (Sorry, Cam).

Books, books, and more books! Camden loves to turn the pages, point at the pictures, and tell me all sorts of things about what he is seeing :-) 

Okay...whew...I think those are enough pictures for now!