hand, foot & mouth

Hand, Foot and Mouth disease hit our house last month. It is a very annoying disease. It hit Declan first but it took us a couple of days to realize it. He took a normal nap one day, but then after he got up he was really clingy and lethargic and had a mild fever. He ended up going back to bed by like 6:30 and slept all night. The next morning we played tennis and he was really whiny. When we got home we discovered that he had pooped and had a horrible rash. We figured that was why he was whiny. By the next day he had spots on his face near his mouth but just sort of looked like zits. It wasn't until later that day that Brennan and I finally connected the dots. Besides that first day when he was feverish and lethargic (really only a few hours) he always acted completely normal while he had it. So why is it so annoying? Because the kids feel fine but you are stuck at home and it lasts forever. Tatum got it a few days later but her case was even more mild. She only got a few spots and again had one day of feeling really lousy right before the spots appeared.

This picture was taken before Church when Tatum wasn't sick yet but Declan had to stay home. Hence, his outfit. :) Luckily our stupidity in taking Tatum to Church didn't infect anyone.

These coolios got a lot of time together just the two of them.

We of course got hit with this on the four day weekend for National Day. It definitely made for a pretty lame holiday. We tried to take the kids to the maze at Pasir Ris Park on Monday, just for something to do, thinking there wouldn't be anyway to spread our germs there. Unfortunately this was Tatum's day to not feel well and the kids cried a lot and the parents sweat a lot and then we headed back home. Fun!

I didn't really think to take pictures until they were on the mend. Declan's feet were the worst. They looked so painful but he never complained so I guess they weren't. We are still dealing with the aftermath of HFM as Declan's feet have been shedding all their skin for the last several weeks. This part he does complain about quite a lot. I guess I probably would too, poor kid.

This was about how I felt after a few days of isolation and many more to go.

But it did allow us some time to practice the two wheeler. We figured it was one thing we could do outside that wouldn't be infecting others.

Declan now inherits the balance bike which he thinks is amazing but it makes me crazy. He is so slow!

What a good dad. :) This was the second try, the first being very brief and frustrating.

That is one well dressed dad in the video, wouldn't you say? ;) Haha, sorry Brennan.

Speedy Gonzales.

The next time we went out she had it all figured out. It was much easier than I feared!

Tatum completely credits her new shoes from Aunt Crystal for her learning to ride a two wheeler. :)

We took her out for a longer ride one night to see how she would do and stumbled upon this GIANT turtle on our way back.

And a couple of goodies to end with.