3, 4, 5... An Ethan Update

Three: the number of shots Ethan had to get today and the age he was when he last had a wellness check.

Four: The age Ethan currently is and the wellness check we were supposed to do almost a year ago.

Five: The age Ethan almost is and what will go in his chart as being done, just a little early. I prefer to look at it as his 5-year wellness check was done a couple months early as opposed to his 4-year wellness check being almost a year late!!

Other than the shots, Ethan’s check-up went well! Height, weight and blood pressure and then also a hearing test {Ethan loved it!! It was like a game to him, getting the ear right that the beeping was in – even when the nurse tried to “trick” him} and vision. Good marks across the board.

Height: 42 ½ inches (right at 50^th percentile)

Weight: just over 38 pounds (about 35^th percentile)

He passed the hearing and vision checks with flying colors. After the rest of the check-up it was time for the shots. Two in his left leg, one in his right. It was a battle and not fun. We attempted to do arms, but it was nearly impossible to get his shirt off – so we had to do legs and it took both the nurse and I to get his pants off and Ethan to lie down on the table. He wanted nothing to do with it! Once we wrestled him down to the table, the nurse was quick about getting the shots in and the band-aids on. Bonus: No breath-holding spells! And luckily, Ethan had been promised both a sticker AND a prize. He did not let me or the nurse forget!

The night before his appointment I had promised Ethan a treat of his choosing after his doctor’s appointment, knowing that he would be getting shots. Slurpee?? Ice cream?? Milkshake?? Nope, Ethan specifically wanted a doughnut from Krispy Kreme {I seriously don't remember the last time we went there!} So Krispy Kreme was our first stop after his appointment - we got some doughnuts for the family and also a chocolate milk for Ethan. He was a happy camper... temporarily at least...

By dinner-time Ethan was absolutely miserable. He had a fever (101+), no appetite and his legs were sore. We put in a movie and Ethan was out cold, asleep on the couch before 8pm. At 8:30pm I got him in jammies and he went right back to sleep on the couch. Sean got home from choir rehearsal at about 10:30pm and Ethan woke up shortly after - temperature was even higher (102+) and his legs were really bothering him. We moved down to our room where we made up a bed for Ethan on our floor (sleeping on his old crib mattress) and he started crying from the pain in his legs. Broke my heart. Unfortunately he wanted absolutely nothing to do with any fever reducing/pain relieving medicine. Flat-out refused! So some "powerade" was offered instead. Powerade that Mommy laced with a full dose of the clear fever reducing/pain relieving medicine! Ethan drank it all up while we snuggled in bed and watched Wall-E for a little while. He even told me how good it tasted. And by the time it was gone you could tell he was finally feeling better. I like to think it had more to do with the Mommy snuggles than the medicine, but whatever!

He slept through the night, ate a little breakfast this morning {so glad he finally got some food in his belly} and is now snacking on some crackers and apple juice {spiked with another dose of medicine}. I don't really like be sneaky and dishonest with him about the medicine, but it gets the job done. In the past I've tried giving him something to drink when he knew the medicine was mixed in and it took forever for him to drink it and he whined and cried and complained the whole time that he could taste it.

Finally, as if this post isn't already long enough, I thought I'd give a little update about Ethan in general because I think it's been a year and a half since I last did one!

Favorite Foods: Pasta, cucumbers, pickles, fruit (just about any kind - bananas, apples, strawberries, mandarin oranges, pears, peaches, mangoes, grapes, watermelon, etc.), crackers (goldfish, cheez-its and wheat thins), hot dogs, yogurt, string cheese, pizza, mac-n-cheese, fruit snacks, carrot sticks and cold cereal.

Favorite Books: Anything silly or that has to do with monsters, cars/trucks or easy-readers that he can read part of.

Favorite Movies/TV Shows: Movies - Cars, Cars 2, Despicable Me, Transformers, Megamind and Wall-E. TV - Octonauts (a new favorite from Disney channel), Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Phineas & Ferb.

Favorite Things to Do: Ride his bike (weather-permitting), play outside, play Transformers, play cars/trucks, play with friends, "practice" piano, dress-up (pirate, fire fighter, knight), go to Preschool and play games on the computer (parents-permitting).

Friends: Coleman kiddos, Dahl kiddos, Owen, Jason, Jody, Thomas, Scout, Sam, Ben and his cousins (which he doesn't get to see very often).

Things He Knows: ABCs, capitol and lower case letter recognition, letter sounds, counts to 100+ (with a little help), shape and color recognition, counts objects, gets dressed head-to-toe by himself, reads/writes his own name, sounds out/reads simple 3-4 letter words and much more!