September 28 - October 2, 2012

Friday, September 28th

Last night turned out to be a rough one. Around midnight Olivia's fever was a little over 103 (degrees F), and since that's when my chart told me to take her to the doctor, that's what we did. We loaded her, practically naked, into the car in the cold Alaskan night and went to the emergency room. We checked in and when they got around to seeing us & taking her temperature it read at about 100. So either our thermometer was wrong, or she had cooled off by the time we got there. They sent us back out to the waiting room...for another hour and fifteen minutes. I got up to see if we could have an update - were they planning to see her? should we go home since she didn't 'technically' have a fever? couldn't they just give her some acetaminophen? what was going on? In about another fifteen minutes they rechecked her temperature and since she still read at about 100, they agreed with our decision to take her home. We talked to Nana on our way home, since she's the expert!, and she gave us much clearer instructions than they had at the hospital. Thank goodness for Nana! We gave her some Tylenol & all went to bed. Poor baby.

In the morning she had no more fever. Thank goodness! She was, however, still a little fussy. But who can blame her for that. Since she had no fever, we stuck to our plan to go south today. I had been hoping to get things ready during the day so that we could leave as soon as Adam got home from work...and that was a challenge! Olivia did not want me to leave her. Jessica came over to play with her, but she didn't want me to leave the room. Oh well, it was nice to have Jessica's company! When Olivia finally decided to nap - it was on me! But I laid on the floor and was able to pull a switcheroo. I fooled her with some pillows & blankets. She slept nicely & I was able to finish packing & loading the car. We got on the road by 4:30 and began our long drive. It was beautiful and uneventful. We even had some snow along the way! We arrived at David's & Lindsey's around midnight. We chatted for a few minutes, fed & watered the dogs, and then went to bed....or so we thought. Olivia had one of the worst nights we've ever had! She was inconsolable and what little sleep she did get was in bed with us...which was interesting.

Saturday, September 29th

Olivia was in a perfectly happy mood this morning - thank goodness! David made us a beautiful breakfast & Stetson gave Olivia his high chair. What a gentleman! Saibree invited Olivia & Adam to watch part of The Lorax with her, and they all enjoyed it...what little they watched.

We had snow, so Saibree was eager to get outside & play! I don't blame her! While Olivia & Stetson had their morning nap, I got fixed up for our family photos and Adam, David & Saibree played outdoors with the pups. Soon Nickie, Alysen, Kailey, JD & Sophie came over. It was great to finally meet (almost) everyone! It's good to spend time with family.


Soon we began our day of sightseeing, caravaning, and snapping photos! We went up to Hatcher's Pass and saw the glistening snow. We posed in front of some picturesque buildings and enjoyed the fabulous views. We worked our way down the mountain and got the best of both seasons. There was still some glorious, glowing foliage at the bottom of the mountain. We sat near some racing water & everyone had their pictures taken. Wasilla & the MatSu Valley are teeming with vistas - scenery every direction you look and more mountains than you can shake a stick at!

In the evening we all had pizza & apple pie at David & Lindsey's. We had a great time talking & once all the children were in bed we started (but didn't finish) watching The Avengers. Olivia did much better tonight. After talking with Lindsey & Nickie, I realized that she hadn't worn her amber necklace all day Friday. Their littlest ones also wear amber, and they have noticed a big difference (for the worse) on the days that they don't have it on. Perhaps she was so fussy because she had no necklace? Or perhaps because of her ER trip? At any rate, tonight was a big improvement.

Sunday, September 30th

We had another fantastic breakfast with the Nolls before we began our trip home. We took our time on the way north because it was an absolutely breathtaking drive. The sun was beaming & the sky was crystal clear. We lunched in Talkeetna & got the best views of Denali we've ever seen. It was amazing. We made it home around 8pm and did some quick shopping at Fred Meyer's. Our major purchase was a new gate for the living room. It has a door that swings open & closes itself behind you. It works like a charm!

Monday, October 1st

Today was a good day. Morgan came over and we played the day away. When Daddy got home, he and Olivia played with her new Legos. They had lots of fun! It seems that Olivia has caught a cold. She had a runny nose in the evening, so we made sure to put her humidifier on and get her nice & cozy for bedtime.



Tuesday, October 2nd

Olivia definitely has a cold. She has a runny nose, a cough and her appetite is diminished. Poor baby clearly does not feel well. I tried to be as comforting as possible. We played with blocks. We had snacks & juice. We read lots of books & we snuggled while watching some Beatrix Potter - and in honor of that she nibbled on Jeremy Fisher at dinner time. Olivia really enjoyed her banana car this evening and tossed it all about. She had a nice steamy bath and went to bed with no fussing. Her coughing has woken her up several times...but so far she's put herself back to sleep. Depending on her symptoms, I may make an appointment to see the doctor tomorrow. I want to make sure that I'm doing everything to keep her comfortable and help her get a good night's sleep.