The Veldmans: Thanksgiving week

We hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and were able to spend time with family and/or friends. We were fortunate enough to get to spend Thanksgiving with my family in IA this year. We had plenty of time to reflect on our many blessings during the 6 hour and 15 minute drive to Grandma & Grandpa's. Yes, that's a short nap, 3 movies, 2 near accidents, and some greasy gas station cheese balls. Needless to say, the weather was not good and the roads were even worse. At one point we were going to turn around, but Ava really wanted to keep going (even though she asked us 50 times if we were almost there). Thankfully we made it safely and were able to enjoy our time there.

Let me rewind to last Tuesday. Tuesday was an eventful day in our house. After getting off work I picked the kids up from day care and rushed home to get ready for swim lessons. As I was unloading stuff in the kitchen Grant fell on the hardwood floor. Now, Ava tells me that she didn't push him. She may have however, "brushed up against him". He cried for a short time and was then fine. I looked him over, and as I did I found this...

Yes, Grant chipped his tooth and then swallowed it. We made an emergency call to our friend "Dr Greg" in IA to consult him on what we should do. Thankfully there was no blood, just a very sharp tooth. We had little time to dwell on this, and rushed out the door to swim lessons. Ava was a rock star in the pool and passed her test to move on to the next level. I'm amazed at the progress that she made in that short month. We'll start lessons up again in February.

Wednesday morning Ava went to day care while I took Grant into a pediatric dentist for an emergency visit. Of course he doesn't start on our dental insurance until January 1st. Oh well! They were great with him. The looked it all over, smoothed the tooth out, put a little flouride treatment on there, and sent us out the door. I dropped him off at day care so I could run an couple of errands and pack. We picked the kids up after lunch and started on our long journey south.

Thursday was our big family gathering. The kids had a great time playing with everybody, especially their cousins. I have never been a black Friday shopper, but did head into Younkers with my mom and sister after the kids were in bed (and Daddy was half asleep on the couch).  It wasn't crazy at all, since the store opened at 6:00 and we didn't get there until after 9:00. I was not going to miss putting my babies to bed on Thanksgiving so that I could go shopping. Seems so wrong!

Friday morning we were all up early to head to IA City to tailgate for the IA/Nebraska football game. It was a cold one! Aunt Lisa & Uncle Brent brought there motorhome. Now that is the way to tailgate in the cold! Nate went to the game and I stayed back in the heated motor home with Great Grandma & Aunt Darlene. Somebody had to hold the fort down. :)  That evening Grandma Great, Aunt Lori, & Uncle Matt came down for dinner and for some birthday cake and ice cream for Aunt Lori. The kids and Grandma even put the Christmas tree up that night. The kids loved decorating it.

At 12:30 am on Saturday Grandpa woke me up saying that Ava was sick. I went downstairs to a very steamy bathroom where Grandma was sitting with her.  Her breathing was very tight and she had a horrible cough and felt very warm.  The steam didn't seem to be helping much so I brought her upstairs to sleep in our bedroom.  Thankfully she was able to fall asleep and the coughing subsided. Her airway still sounded tight, so I was up frequently to make sure she was still breathing. Grant woke up that morning with a cough and felt warm as well. We let the kids play for a bit, had an early lunch, and hit the road.

We laid low the rest of Saturday with the kids not feeling well. At midnight that night Grant woke up with a fever of 104.6.  Poor little guy had the chills and chugged a whole cup of water. I stripped him down, gave him Ibuprofen, and rocked him until his fever came down to 103. Then I prayed that he wouldn't have a febrile seizure if it went back up. Thankfully Ava had a restful night and had just a slight fever on Sunday. I took Grant to Urgent Care on Sunday and they couldn't find anything wrong with him. He continues to have fevers >102 today, and now has copious amounts of green snot constantly oozing out of his nose and now out of his eyes. I'm calling in sick tomorrow and we'll be heading to the pediatrician in the morning.

Well, that pretty much sums up our week. Here are some pictures for you...

Thanksgiving day. So thankful for these two amazing kiddos. They bring more joy into our lives than we could have ever imagined. I wish I could freeze them at this age. I love watching them play together. Ava is so nurturing towards Grant, and Grant idolizes Ava copying everything she does. I pray that they will always love each other the way that they do right now.

Filling up their piggy banks at Grandma & Grandpa's

Chill time with Zacky

These kids love looking at pictures (at least I think that's what they are doing with his phone)

Looking for Herky the cat

Grandma watched the kids while Nate and I went to the game on Friday. They stayed very busy baking and playing. Thank you SO much Grandma. We enjoyed our day away, and they enjoyed their day with you!