Emerging from Croupville

The good (and most important) news: Kibi appears to be on the mend.  We've had no more scary middle-of-the-night attacks, and although he still seems a bit out of it, I can tell he's getting much healthier and stronger every day.  This is good because he and I are going to Ohio for a family baby shower this weekend.  

The bad news: I have virtually no time between now and Thursday, when we leave, to get done all the things I need to get done.  Surprise, surprise...

So, that's my lame attempt to apologize for this bland blog post.  But, to make it up to you, dear readers, I'll leave you with some entertaining reading from my favorite NYT blog. Apologies in advance to the fathers out there... I realize this is a little unfair, but I post it mainly because I can: my husband never reads my blog.  Ha!

Creeping Crud... or, the Croup

Ack!  Kibi has croup!  

He woke us up in the middle of the night Saturday with a cough that sounded, unmistakeably, like a seal barking.  He was almost gasping for breath - it was very scary.  It gave me a flashback of childhood when my younger brother used to have croup attacks often.  Fortunately that was the way I knew what to look up on the web at 3 in the morning while my husband gave him a nebulizer treatment.  

Once it seemed he was stablized, we paged our doctor and she gave us instructions (one more breathing treatment, then every four hours or as needed, warm steamy showers if necessary - anything to stop the gasping, or what they call "stridor").  She said if we failed to get the coughing under control with this regimen then she would call him in some steroids, but we haven't needed to do that.  

Today he seems to be doing better but he is still pretty lethargic.  Sorry this post is rather boring, but I'm trying to stay on top of caring for a sick little boy, plus finishing a couple of other projects for work - fun, fun!  

I'll keep you all posted...

Potty Milestone

Guess what ... (drumroll please) K. did both #1 AND #2 on the potty tonight!  

Although he occasionally sat on the little Thomas the Tank Engine potty chair that I placed in our bathroom a couple of months ago, he never gave it much thought.  Tonight, for some reason, it was different.  He was bound and determined to see the RESULTS of his efforts - and it paid off!  Those of you who aren't parents won't truly appreciate the satisfaction of this moment, I fear, but I am absolutely beside myself.

Nothing, however, was better than the huge smile on K.'s own face when I yelled for Daddy - who was in the other room - to come see the little brown lima bean sized thing.  (Sorry if too graphic, but I have to convey the cute-ness of it all.)  And then again when Daddy and I started yelling and jumping up and down to congratulate him.  The expression was pure, unadulterated pride - and it was a joy to witness.

Now, who knows how close we are to actual completion of potty training, but that's okay by me. I just feel happy about this very healthy start.

Now I'm off to kick up my heels and raise a glass of wine ... To the potty!

Infant Diplomacy?

Sometimes Kibi really amuses me with the declarations he makes.  

Early this morning, for instance, as we eased into our day. we were watching the news in my bedroom.  President Obama was speaking live at the University of Cairo about U.S./Muslim relations.  

Kibi watched quietly while drinking his milk, finished it, then injected: "He's talking to the babies."  I said, "President Obama is talking to babies? Babies in the audience?" He said, "Yeah. Babies are clapping."

From what I could tell, it was scholars and diplomat types in the audience -- no babies -- who were indeed clapping.  Still, it was funny to try and picture a room full of them, listening intently to the President's speech about the future of our diplomatic efforts with the Muslim world.