Ew, I know.

Yesterday morning, around 6 am, Liam was cooing and gargling in his crib.  As usual, he was giving me my 1-minute warning before screaming to be picked up.  As I entered the room, I instantly detected a gross yet familiar smell.  I looked into the crib to find him lying on his back and smiling as if nothing were wrong.  The sheet beneath him had a large, dry circular stain and when I picked him up, I found that his back and head were similarly covered.  He must have thrown up during the night and then fell back to sleep.  Ew, I know.

Strangely though, it was a happy sight for me.

If you've been reading, you know that Will had a stomach virus less than 2 months ago.  Last week, he got sick again-- same thing-- except the duration.  He wasn't able to keep anything (besides some dry Cheerios and Gatorade) down for five days and he was so lethargic.  Each day, he spent the entire morning on the couch, dozing on and off, and then at around 1 pm he would announce that he was ready for his nap.  His toys hadn't moved in a week and he barely had any interest in what was on television.  He was visibly losing weight and had absolutely no energy.  Although the pediatrician told me that this could happen, five days of this had me worried...

I can't even begin to put my deepest fears in writing... What if it wasn't a stomach virus?  What could it be?  He washes his hands at least 30 times a day, how could he have this again!?  Google, WebMd, Google, WebMd.... Aaaahhhhh....

And then came that beautiful sight on Saturday morning.  Liam was sick-- not usually a good thing-- but in this case, it meant that Will probably did have a virus and he had passed it on.  Yesterday Will ate some toast and banana for breakfast, played Legos on the couch all morning, then had a plain cheese quesadilla for lunch and ran an errand with Bill.  He took a nap around 4 pm and woke up the next morning at 7:30 am.  This was a significant improvement and today has been even better.  

Hopefully, Liam's recovery will happen a little faster.  Unlike his brother, he seems to really love that Pedialyte.  I took a swig and can't say that I agree-- yuck.

Playing... finally.

As we prepared to bring Liam home from the hospital, we weren't sure how a baby brother would affect Will.  Would he be jealous?  Would he regress?  Would he harm (intentionally or unintentionally) the baby?  We weren't sure.

As usual, all of that worrying was for nothing.  When we brought Liam home, only one thing changed.  After months of trying, Will was potty trained within two weeks.  (He didn't want to wear diapers like the baby.)  And that was it.

He didn't want to help bathe, change or feed Liam.  It would take tons of convincing for him to get close enough to pose with him in a picture.  He went on with things as usual, completely ignoring the new addition to our family.  No jealousy, no hostility, no interest-- whatsoever. 

Here it is, six months later, and the two have definitely warmed up to each other.  They compliment each other naturally-- Will gets to be the center of attention and Liam gets tons of entertainment.  As a matter of fact, Liam's fussiest time of day is when his big brother is napping.

The other day, after finishing breakfast, I went into the kitchen to clean up a little.  Liam and Will were still at the table.  I could overhear Will and I sensed that he was up to something.

"What are you doing to Liam?", I asked.

"Anything....", Will replied.

(He confuses the words 'anything' and 'nothing'.)

"We're just playing, mom."

.

So... they're finally "playing"... well, sort of.