Almost 5 months!

Daddy is the funniest!!!

So I've been sleeping through the night pretty regularly now.  That is so long as my eczema isnt' bothering me or I'm sick or something. 

This is how you do "The Julian" - ring finger and middle finger of your left hand IN MOUTH.  

Then take your right hand and place it over your left hand. 

Then SUCK!  BLISS!!!

Mama has been dressing  me in long sleeves and pants this summer. She says its to keep me from scratching my eczema. 

This is what happens when my head eczema gets super itchy!

I'm going to turn five months old  next week!!!!

I am about 18 lbs!! (my brother was only 15 lbs at this age!) and I am wearing 9 month old clothing!!!

I am finally grabbing things like rings, toys, and Mama's hair!

I cant sit up unassisted yet but I always like to try!

Auntie Marina's family and her inlaws, and Gonggong and Papa came over this past weekend to celebrate Auntie Marina and Gongong's birthday!!! Auntie Marina flew in from California to visit one last time before she gives birth to my future cousin!!!

This is me an Pawps! Uncle David's Grandma!!

Popo is holding me here and Cousin Benjamin was trying to hold me too!!!

Cousin Benjamin calls me "Auntie Julian!" But I don't mind!!!

Check out how huge I look!

I love my brother Maxwell! He was so nice he let me sit in his chair while I watched Ni Hao Kai Lan with him!

Mommy and Daddy finally broke out the Exersaucer for me! 

I love it!

I adore my brother!!! I can't wait til I am big enough to run around and play with him!! He is so smart!!!

 I especially love it when he reads Brown Bear Brown Bear outloud to me....

And follows that up with an emotional reading of "Polar Bear Polar Bear"

My brother is always so sweet!  He gives me kisses every morning!

Happy belated 4 month to me......

So of course being #2, everyone forgot that I turned 4 months old last week!!!! 

Yeah.. my birthday present was a fever + sinus congestion.  Right after a week of coxsackie. 

So the whole weekend I had a 101.7 fever and pretty much screamed all night long because I couldn't breath. 

The only way I would sleep would be if Mommy and Daddy put me in the swing. 

During the day I was in good spirits but I would only eat half my meal because I was choking on my phlegm.

Don't let the smile fool you.  I can scream like a banshee.

To top it off.....

My coxsackie blisters have now been replaced by bad itchy eczema patches.  My brother didn't have eczema as bad as I do.  But I think I have it pretty bad - I am constantly scratching the crap out of my head and thighs.  I  also have bad rashes on my thighs, foot creases, behind my knees, my arms, and my elbows.  

And the constant itching really makes me grumpy and cranky....Mommy makes me wear these mittens so that I don't scratch myself to death but it only makes me mad........so I've been screaming at night and refusing to go to bed.   Mommy said I was a great sleeper before. 

Not anymore~!!!

Unrelated. I think my class photos came out really nice!  Yeah so it looks like this photo was taken in the 1970s....but check out my smile!

Daddy giving me morning kisses...

I'm all better!

I am doing much better now!!! My blisters have dried up and fallen off for the most part.

 Daddy stayed home with two days and took me to the doctor to get a note so I could return to school.

My signature pose..

My new thing is blowing bubbles and trying to talk

I am always happy to interact with people!!!

Coxsackie!!!!

It all started Monday morning.  When Mommy and Daddy noticed that my cradle cap had gotten infinitely worse.  It looked like someone was beating me up at home. But everyone just thought it was bad cradle cap.  I just continued scratching the crap out of it.

Then by Monday evening, Mommy and Daddy noticed that there were reddish rashes in my foot creases. They then concluded that perhaps I was experiencing some eczema or dermatitis, which is common for babies my age.   But then Mommy got a call around 1pm from school, I was running a fever of 100.4 - still not high enough to be sent home but enough for Mommy to make an appointment with the pediatrician.  The pediatrician told her to bring me in immediately because there have been many outbreaks of coxsackie (Hand foot mouth).  Mommy and Daddy scoffed at the idea - because i had rashes only on the creases of my foot and on my head - not blisters on the soles and palms of my feet and hands and nothing in my mouth.

By the time i got to the pediatrician, my rashes had gotten a lot worse and had spread to my face and upper arms and thighs. The pediatrician said it didn't look like coxsackie, but she was concerned because my fever was 101.6 and because i was still very young.  So she sent me to the Pediatric ER to do some blood work to rule out any type of bacterial infection from the eczema.

So Mommy went to pick up my brother and then brought us both to the ER.

My brother kept busy with Daniel Tiger while I continued to scratch the crap out of my head.

The nurses put on the Cartoon Network but all he wanted was Daniel Tiger.

After examining me and finding sores in my throat, the hospital pediatrician diagnosed me with Coxsackie.  She explained to Mommy that i had an atypical presentation and that is why no one seemed to think I had it. Mommy thinks I got it pretty bad because I am a baby and it's my first exposure to any kind of virus/ 

So I was prescribed some antibacterial cream and was told to take tylenol for my fever and aches.   

Of course by the time I got home, Mommy got an email from school saying that they were experiencing a Coxsackie breakout in school!! TOO LATE! I ALREADY CAUGHT IT!!!  I just hope my brother doesn't catch it from me!

The first night i had no problems sleeping.  But the rashes were all over my arms, face, head, and legs.  And they were itchy.  I was pretty cranky.

I HATE THIS!

I have them all over my thighs, behind my knees, and on my foot creases on both sides.

But every so often, I was able to crack a smile...

At least its not so bad on my face.... but my head is super itchy!!!! GAH!

Last night I woke up at 1:30am crying.  I was miserable!!! My head was so itchy it was driving me crazy!!! Daddy took me downstairs and put me in the swing, and luckily that made me feel better enough that I could fall asleep. 

Day 2 at home with Mommy:  Doesn't seem to be getting better yet....I am definitely feeling worse than I did yesterday.   There are more rashes on my arms and the ones on my legs are crusty and oozy.  Mommy says I look like a Zombie baby. 

At least I get to spend some time with Mommy =)

Daddy is staying home with me tomorrow.  Hopefully I will start feeling better soon. =(