Very Merry, Despite The Plague

The title of this post sums it up.   Nico came down with a stomach virus on Thursday night.  The pediatrician said these things generally clear up in 24 - 48 hours.  So, on Saturday morning, when things seemed to have settled down, we picked up Uncle Ken at the airport.  Uncle Ken proceeded to help us assemble toys and entertain Stella while R* and I took turns cleaning up and bathing Nico, whose stomach bug decided to stick around for another few days.  The cough R* has had for the past few weeks stubbornly hung around, not wanting to be the first bug to leave the party.  And my nasal drip/headcold returned, to make it a family affair.  The stomach bug moved on to clobber Uncle Ken on the 26th.

BUT, in what can only be called a Christmas miracle, we were all (relatively) healthy on Christmas day.  So we enjoyed opening presents and pancakes for breakfast, and my parents came over to spend time with us in the afternoon (since their dinner guests had also contracted the plague and canceled earlier that morning).  The three best moments of Christmas 2012 were:

1)  Nico's reaction to his big present -- a train table.  We had hidden it in the dining room, and let him open his other gifts first.  Then, I totally stole cred from Santa and explained that MOMMY AND DADDY had one more present for him.  We brought him to the dining room, lifted the table cloth covering the whole thing, and he literally froze speechless with delight.  His face lit up, and then he did a little shuffle and grab to the left, and a shuffle to the right, and then he whipped around and threw his arms around my neck.  It was such an EPIC parental WIN!!!!!!   I don't know that we'll ever top this off.  I have already caught myself thinking of the car we could give him when he turns 16.  (And then I gave myself a good slap and came back to reality!)

2)  Watching Nico and Stella playing with my parents and Uncle Ken on Christmas Day.  We missed my other brother and his little family, but I hope there will be Christmases ahead that we can all spend together.

3)  Later in the day, we were all sitting on the living room floor playing with toys, and I nuzzled my Nico-chan and said to him, "You know what the best present is, of all?  Its my family -- you and Stella and Daddy."  And then I got choked up and I gave R* a hug and a kiss, and then Nico came over and said, "I WANT HUG, TOO!" and insisted that we pick up Stella so we could make it an ENTIRE family group hug, and we did, and it was pure awesome. 

A couple days after Christmas, I woke up feeling weak and sweaty and chilly and my stomach was a bit wobbly (on the inside, not the outside, which is post-babies wobbly forevermore), but I think that a full day in bed and that flu shot back in November have saved me from more.

My wish for the New Year:  no more germ plague virus bugs!!!!!  Please!!!!!!!!!!

And my wish for all of you:  good health, happiness, and peace. 

Comments

[Mama]

So sorry about the stomach plague. Our youngest family member, Lucy, passed in on to me while visiting in early December. I had never experienced anything like this before. But how wonderful that you all got a day off from it and could spend such a very marvelous Christmas Day together. And may everyone be healthy and plague-free again soon!