It's Not Over Yet

Sophia with her Russian nanny Irina


Ice cream time with Daddy (notice that Sophia is standing all by herself)


Gerritt burying himself in freshly dried laundry (It was really funny hearing him yell for help. I keep being surprised at his imagination - he can create a game out of nothing, it seems).


Sophia's new favorite game - playing with a balloon (She can do it for up to an hour at a time)


Gerritt organizing his cars for the night (This process involves much precision & concentration - which side is this trait from, I wonder?)

Just as I was getting ready to have a well-deserved rest after 2 difficult & busy weeks, both of the kids & I developed signs & symptoms of viral gastroenteritis (or, commonly called, the stomach flu). Poor appetite, nausea, intestinal cramps & diarrhea started on Monday morning & lasted until late Tuesday for Gerritt & I, & Wednesday evening for Sophia. Constant washing of sheets & clothes (even the biggest diapers couldn't hold the large volumes of diarrhea - I apologize for the grafic nature of my description); grumpy kids & my constant worry about keeping them well-hydrated - you can just imagine. Thanksfully, this stomach flu was nothing like the one Gerritt experienced when he was a baby (constant diarrhea every 20-30") when he became lethargic & almost ended up in the hospital for IV hydration if not for my forced liquid feedings with a syringe. I thought I had food poisoning at first, however, when the kids developed diarrhea as well I said to myself, "Oh, no... Not this! How much more can I handle?" They say God will never give you more than you can bear, so we have weathered this storm as well. I didn't even have to call sick for work since my Russian nanny took care of the kids in our home.
On a good note, today I got clinical privileges to insert & remove the implantable contraceptive rod called Implanon all by myself. I saw a patient from Australia who's had it for 3 years & she was so happy with it, she wanted the old one removed & a new one placed, so I did both under the supervision of my Assistant Director of the Clinical Services. Another service I can offer to my patients!
Gerritt & I continue our evening reading sessions & this is the list of his favorite books from the past few weeks:

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by B. Martin & E. Carle
The Best Pet of All by D. LaRochelle
There Was an Old Monster by R., A. & E. Emberley
Suzy Goose & the Christmas Star by P. Horacek
I Took My Frog to the Library by Eric Kimmel
Ready for Anything by Keiko Kasza
Do Your ABC's, Little Brown Bear by Jonathan London
Nicky and the Rainy Day by Valeri Gorbachev (one of my favorites)

It is just amazing how he never gets tired of reading the same books over & over. And if I attempt to shortchange him (read only 1 or 2 books instead of the usual 4-5) because I am tired, he catches me every time. :-)