The Reppard Crew: Oh, poor, poor Valentine . . .

And, no, I do not mean my husband, who went treat-less this year due to our unexpected afternoon activities . . . Our sweet Valentine, William, woke up from his afternoon nap on Monday with the stomach bug—four days later, he still has it. And, so do I. We have been within the walls of our home {and yard} all week {which, as a sidenote: this may be the first week since Anna was born that I have been home all week by myself with all three babies. whoo!} Hudson has been a tremendous helper to me{what a blessing to have 2 two year olds! one can help take care of his brother!} as I try to care for William {who is quite a snuggler when sick . . . we’re hearing lots of “Uppy, Mommy!” around here} and Anna {who has a really bad cold, and who we are praying and praying will not get the bug.} Hudson has been into giving spontaneous kisses to us all, which is so sweet . . . and the pediatrician says he has a 99.9% chance of catching the bug. Does that mean next week will look like this too? If so, I need some BIG prayers for energy and endurance. I have taken a few pictures this week, when I could . . . our days have ups and downs, and the ups have had some sweet time together, thankfully. But, before the pictures, we need some prayers:

-please pray for Jesus to fully heal William and me and for both of us to stay hydrated {so he can improve and so I can keep nursing}. It is hard to make William drink and hydration has been really difficult for him and it is scary for me to watch!

-please pray for Hatch, Hudson, and {especially} Anna to be spared of the bug. We want this out of our house and fast!

-pray for healing for Hatch and Anna of their nasty colds and coughs. I don’t do well when my babies are sick and my husband isn’t well either!

Since I’m asking for a lot of prayer, I thought I’d mention a few ways that I have been encouraged this week . . . first, Hatch has been so helpful in being flexible with his work schedule to help as we’ve needed; Bumps and the neighbors have made gatorade, jello, etc., runs for us; I’m realizing that my boys really really love playing with me and that it doesn’t matter so much if we are home or not {this is big for me since I like to be out and about a lot!}; sick two year olds tend to have a tad less of the two year old attitude when they are sick, which is a good thing; and, the boys are really taking care of each other well, which I love. I’m also grateful that these arrived last week . . . fully stocking our supply!

Day 2 of the bug held a perky morning for us! So, we made some stomach bug Valentine’s cards! The boys are really into Richard Scarry books right now, and we’ve been learning about the Post Office in Busy, Busy Town, {despite the fact that Hudson’s favorite page in the book is of the Grocery Store—“More Food, Mommy! See Food, Mommy!} so we decided to send some {belated} stomach bug Valentines . . . {note: I am told that the stomach bug cannot be contracted through mail!}

Day 3 of the bug held a good pre-lunch window, so we decided to make some stomach bug cookies! If we’re already exposed, then who cares, right? And, I figure 375 degree temps should kill any bug . . . That said, no one has eaten a single cookie! But, we did have fun making them! Thank you, Nonna, for our ‘prinkles!

Hudson’s cookie sheet

William’s cookie sheet

Precious Little Miss put herself to sleep for a cookie-making nap while we decorated. I walked into the den to check on her, as she had been playing, and this is what I found! Oh, she is such a sweet girl!

While checking on sissy, Hudson decided to make a “tower of wims” {translation: tower of worms. YUM.} with his cookies

Meanwhile, brother counted his cookies. 1-3-6-7-8-9- 10!

Shortly after this picture was taken this happened:

Hudson put his feet on the table, which is a punishable offense in the Reppard home. I saw it happen, but was doing other things and this is what ensued:

William: HUDSON. YOOK AT ME. YOOK AT MY EYES! PUT YOUR FEET DOWN! NOW! YOOK AT MY EYES! NOW, HUDSON!!

{OH MY. I MAY HAVE A TINY BLONDE MONSTER LIVING IN MY HOME WHO REPEATS MY EVERY WORD! SCARY. THIS IS VERY SCARY!}

Day 4: Mommy was not feeling great on day four, but William was starting to be able to eat a little and drink {finally!} some, too. The boys watched some “einstein” while I did some much needed laundry. {And, yes, poor Hudson is still in the same jammies as yesterday. They asked me to keep wearing jammies . . . and, well, showering and clean clothes for show has not been at the top of our list right now!}

Overheard: William asking me for water. And, Hudson saying “Mommy, Dr. Powell says NO WATER FOR WILLIAM.” :) Which was true, yesterday, but thankfully, is not true today! These boys will keep me straight, that’s for sure!

Although I have zero pictures of it, we started the day by watching the Recycling Truck collect the recycling outside . . . we saw it from the boys’ window, and it was THRILLING! They loved it! I decided that we’d had enough of watching life from our windows, so we strapped on Baby Anna and headed out back for a little romp in the yard before Daddy came home for lunch-backup-help!

The boys had a great time with the chalk, kicking the ball, swinging, going down the slide, and, of course, digging! I feel certain that the fresh air did us some good! And, can anyone tell me if it is too late for me to plant crocus bulbs? Being outside reminded me that I have some tiny ones that need some tending . . .

Someone got some chalk on his teensy nose!

I love this sweet boy in his amazingly trendy outfit! I mean, who doesn’t wear red fleece reindeer pjs with green frog boots on a 65 degree day in February?

I found myself SO VERY THANKFUL for our deck, sandbox, and swingset today!!

And, when we came back in, this is how I found my sweet girl. I could EAT HER UP!

When William first started getting sick, he would cry and Hudson would just boo hoo right beside him. They are so sweet together!

Here the boys are trying out the new picnic table on our deck! Please notice how close together they are despite all of the room on the benches! I have a hunch that Hudson’s percentage of getting the bug may be a little higher than 99.9% . . .

Watch it wiggle! See it jiggle! I can’t remember the words . . . you know! JELLO! {and, no, William would not eat it, but fear not: Hudson is well hydrated!}