henry health update

made the third trip back to the doctor's office this morning. henry has shown some signs of improvement but is still not nearly 100%. he still has some of the same symptoms he's had for almost three weeks now so I wasn't convinced the ear infections were truly gone. however, the good news is that the ear infections are gone ... there is still some fluid in his middle ears and he still has a bit of a cold, but the doctor just advised us to give him a few more days. this was encouraging to some extent ... to another it was not. we have given him "several more days" and he still isn't well and happy old henry. but we are hoping this week it will turn around! I'm sure cutting not four, but now FIVE teeth, doesn't help matters much.

also, over the last few weeks of being sick, henry has developed a little bit of stranger anxiety. those of you who know this little guy know that henry never meets a stranger and is not stingy with his smiles. this is perplexing ... I have been told it is totally normal for his age, but its still weird. this new found anxiety, on top of not feeling well and being pretty darn irritable, is not a good combination. a learning experience indeed! here's to full health and lots of smiles! :)

little moments. big meanings.

today I attended my "nephew" Cole's third birthday party. watching him interact and play with others, listening to him speak so clearly, and reflecting on how life changes so quickly made me stop and think for a moment. seeing him lay down and pet his dog, talking with those family members of his that we only see once a year at his birthday celebration, feeling the warm and pleasant sunshine, and just enjoying a day with family and friends, can, for all those small reasons, bring a big impact. I wrote a post on our blog a couple of years ago on taking each day for what it is worth and enjoying each and every seemingly "little" thing life offers. this post is a sequel I suppose. why a sequel you ask? with the experience of raising a child, you are quickly and constantly reminded that life passes by at speeds you could never before imagine. if you don't stop and enjoy those small things, you will assuredly regret it. only yesterday cole was turning one on a chilly march day with a blue coat and little white shoes. allison was wearing a red dress/shirt and was fighting nausea and such expecting sweet madeline. gary and I were working on starting our family and experiencing bumps in the road. neither henry, nor georgia, nor will, nor adam, nor many others even existed. so, before tomorrow comes I want to continually be cognisant of and give thanks for the goodness today brings. and, even in uncertain economic, political and societal times there is still good in each day. you just have to be still long enough to appreciate these little blooms of goodness before they drift away and, they most definitely will.

snow?

last weekend was the strangest weather ever ... 70 with tornado warnings one day and 3+ inches of snow the next. whatever, I'll take it-I LOVE snow! unfortunately we didn't get to play like we would have wanted to ... henry and I were at the doctor's office and gary was driving family to the atlanta airport. but the dogs had a blast and it was so beautiful. here's hoping that it won't take another decade or more for it to snow again ... it was 75 here today so who knows!

savannah
loved this photo of Bricks (above)
savannah

shelby and bricks

(in fairness, we did not leave shelby or sterling out of the picture taking-they just wouldn't be still for a solo shot)

sterling and bricks

savannah again

shelby

our back yard in white

our house in white

I miss the snow already.

auburn vs. fsu baseball

in effort to try and get some fresh air and enjoy the nice weather last saturday, we parked close to the baseball stadium and watched the auburn versus fsu game.

check out the cap. it even has a little tiger on it. what a little boy! so much for my little baby.

picnic on the tailgate. yes, henry is still under the weather. but he did show some signs of improvement today ... he actually had an appetite and smiled and laughed! so that was extremely exciting! hopefully tomorrow and the next day are even better and things will get back to normal (we hope).

one incredible birthday

last friday night we celebrated gary's 30th birthday with a few close friends and family members. joel and allison gave us this hilarious picture inside of gary's card. how talented are they?!?

the party was at tricia's house

robbie, emma and little jake drove all the way from chattanooga! it was wonderful to see them.

we had a band

abe and brooke drove from tallassee - and the weather was just terrible friday night. big ole fat rain as forrest gump would say.

deirdre and joe flew all the way from maryland - we had a blast with them as always. sure wish we all lived closer.

julie and holly

allison and joel drove all the way from bham (pictured with robbie and emma)

happy birthday gary! gary's favorite, coconut cake.

I think (and hope!) that gary william had a memorable 30th.

thanks to all who traveled near and far!

videos from a couple of weeks ago

clap and touchdown auburn

clap and signing thank you - put hand to mouth and push hand away (almost like the motion of blowing a kiss)

signing more and please

a bear, a robe and a train

these pics are from two weeks ago (pre-sickness) - enjoy!

we had a full weekend, with gary's 30th party, family/friends in town and a trip back to the doctor's office today, so more pics forthcoming at some point. henry is still sick; other than the conjunctivitis clearing up, he is about the same ... still has a cold/cough (that makes him vomit daily)/runny nose and is acting very un-Henry like. he finished his antibiotics on saturday morning and by saturday evening he started running a fever that is still around. after taking him back to the doctor's office today, found out he still has a double ear infection and so a new antibiotic was prescribed. we will try this and see what happens. tomorrow marks day 13 of this "sickness" - breaks my heart to see this baby so sad.

this is a bear I had growing up that my mom brought down for henry. cleveland.

after henry has a bath he has a head full of curls. when his hair dries, the curls straighten out, but they sure are adorable when you can see them.

give me back my milk, daddy!

happy 30th birthday gary william!

today is gary's big 3-0. we are officially celebrating on friday night, but we got an early start today by being "flamingoed" by kevin and sue! yep, 30 beautiful pink flamingos adorned our front yard today. too funny!

we are still fighting germs/sickness but will save that update for another day.

today is gary's special day ... he is one wonderfully amazing father, friend, son, brother and husband.

happy birthday gary!

house of germs

the last several days have been rough ones around the vaughan house. early last week henry started cutting two teeth, which brought a cough and runny nose. by wednesday the cough had gotten so bad it was triggering his gag reflex and making him throw up often. on thursday he started running a 102 fever. also on thursday night, gary got food poisoning from some old lettuce (we think) and was in the fetal position until saturday morning. on friday, henry's eye was nearly swollen shut. I then took henry to the doctor ... turns out he has an ear infection, a respiratory infection, conjunctivitis in that eye, and a cold virus. our doctor started him on some antibiotics.

gary is nearly all better-just getting over a cold but the stomach bug is gone. henry is slowly getting better ... but still has a ways to go. his eye is much better, but everything else is still lingering and the cough is still making him sick at times. also, yesterday I found that he is cutting two MORE teeth, so four total (all molars). poor guy can't just get one tooth at a time ... or even just two ... it is four or five at a time.

henry is taking his medicine like a champ though! hopefully the next few days will show more signs of improvement - it is always so sad to see your little one sick. I have not been feeling great either but am trying to ignore it.

more and please

from a little while ago ... signing "more" (touch thumb with fingers and bring together) and "please" (put hand to chest and rub in a circle).

wonder if we can teach him "more cowbell" ....

visit with the perlins

this past weekend I went to see the perlins ... henry stayed home with daddy. it was the first time I was away from him ... I survived but only because I had a sweet little bundle of joy named adam as a stand in ...

gary took excellent care of H and the dogs. they had a busy and fun weekend, although gary did say on sunday morning henry was repeating "mama" over and over ... I was very impressed with how well gary fared and he even had the house clean and groceries for the upcoming week. what a guy! I sure am lucky. he even surprised me by taking off a half a day from work to spend with me yesterday on my birthday. the big 2-9 was fabulous ... bring on another year! :)

how cute is this family?
adam and I playing peek a boo

adam is such a sweet, easygoing baby boy. he is starting to smile and is very focused on the world around him

snowed on saturday! it was great. I was super excited about helping kevin shovel the driveway. I guess it is fun to someone who only has to do it once a year, if that.

adam in his valentines day outfit - funny!

as always, the perlins were phenomenal hosts. I had the best time seeing you guys! I can't wait for henry to meet adam this summer.

catching up

well it ended up we had to say farewell to our old computer. our new one arrived over the weekend. so, lots of catching up to do ...

henry tries tilapia with orzo and asparagus ... tilapia was the favorite, followed by asparagus, then orzo.
love those apples of his cheeks!

working on signing "more" - he finally has it! videos coming soon ...

little guy in a soft and comfy robe from his grandmother E.

not a staged picture-how sweet.

before a walk a couple of weekends ago.

at the lawn at samford hall a couple of weekends ago.

sleeping with all of his friends, most closely, his little dog. he just loves this dog!