March 6

The blog silence this time really has not been my fault, I promise. Friday night, a nasty stomach bug hit half of our family. Chris, Caleb, and I all woke up puking between 12-2 am, and we all threw up every two hours for the rest of the night. It was awful. 

At first I thought it was food poisoning, based on the fact that it hit us all at the same time. But we all ate different things for dinner, so I supposed probably a stomach bug. Chris and Caleb felt touchy, but better on Saturday, but I was still laid low. I spent all day in bed, and threw up again Saturday night. Boo. Then Daisy and Lily both threw up in the middle of the night, and I was confident it was a stomach bug.

Luckily, by this morning we all seemed to be feeling better. Not back to 100%, but better enough to deep clean the whole house. Chris and I literally washed every piece of laundry in the house, and I even went as far as sending him to a laundromat to wash all of the covers and blankets for our beds. It was intense, and made even more effective by the fact that it was a lovely day. Nothing makes a house feel cleaner - and less germy! - than a warm breeze blowing through it.

Eli helped clean:

"I really am helping, Ma!"

That drawer full of dishes is his favorite.

Chris got out the vacuum, which is a novelty in our hardwood and tile-only home, and Eli was appropriately impressed. 

Chris used the vacuum hose to suck at Eli's jammies, and Eli thought it was hilarious.

I love how he points at everything now.

At breakfast time, Caleb randomly asked if we could read the funnies. We used to subscribe to the local newspaper, and Caleb loved reading the comics with Chris. But the prices kept going up and up and up, so we dropped our subscription back in August. Apparently Caleb hasn't forgotten, and he misses the funnies! Chris and I couldn't refuse his request, so Chris ran out to buy a copy of the Sunday paper for Caleb.

Caleb was a happy, happy boy!

It's so neat to see how his reading skills have improved since August. Back then, he could read some of the comics, but it was a struggle. Now, he can read and understand almost all of them. I love that my little boy loves reading!

My sweet mom was willing to brave the sickness to help in any way she could, so we enlisted her to take Caleb to Boy Scout event at the World Bird Sanctuary. It was win/win/win, because birds are right up her alley, Caleb loved being with her, and Chris was able to stay home and clean while I went grocery shopping.

She sent these pictures:

Caleb in an eagle's nest.

Blowing out at candle on a pretend birthday cake. (Remember when we visited 33 of these in one day for Chris' 33rd birthday? That was insane.)

This picture was accompanied by a request to take Caleb to Jenny's restaurant for a milkshake before she brought him home. Caleb is so lucky to have two sets of grandparents who adore him so much!