Roller Coaster Summer

What a summer this has been so far!  There have plenty of days of playing out in the sunshine, but there have also been some days that haven't been quite as fun as we imagined they would be a few months ago when we couldn't wait for the arrival of warm weather.

Although we have received a good amount of rain, the temperatures have remained fairly mild for Central Illinois, which has allotted us a lot of time to play outside with friends. Because the majority of our friends are teachers, our playmates are now available all day!

Hardware shopping at Menards for the neighbor's new swing set.

In awe of the fountain with Gabe.

Impromptu picnic on the porch

June was a whirlwind month for Sean.  He was the lead life science instructor at a summer science camp for junior high students at Illinois Wesleyan.  Shortly after that he left for his final Gates Foundation conference in Seattle, all while completing his last on-campus class before his thesis.  Wes and I had a lot of mom-and-son time for a few weeks, but when Sean was able to be home, he definitely made those moments count. 

Who says yard work needs to be boring?!
Sean made Wes a tree house out of the branches we pruned.

One of our favorite things to do this summer is to go for evening walks around IWU's campus.  They recently added a number of sculptures to the quad, and Wes loves to climb all over them.

Another wonderful part about summer has been the opening of our local pools.  Although there are often "too many peoples" in Wes' opinion, he does enjoy splashing around once he gathers up the courage to get in.

On the days when he doesn't feel like battling the crowds at the pool, he prefers perfecting his "Cannonbaaaaalllllll" in our own backyard.

 

We have also spent a fair amount of time doing our usual favorite summer things, including going to the museum, parks, and grilling in our own backyard.

We love the tractor at the museum.

Sometimes we visit Grandpa Miller at work and stop by the bus barn.

Grill Masters.

Unfortunately, Wes fell ill at the beginning of July.  It started with a cold which I thought he was just handling poorly (admittedly Sean isn't always the best patient when he is sick, so I just rolled my eyes and blamed it on genetics!), but then Wes spiked an extremely high fever a few days later.  We battled the fever for 4 days, and even after two trips to the pediatrician, we ended up in the ER early one morning.  Once his fever was gone, Wes was still extraordinarily out-of-sorts for a few days.  He spent a lot of time crying, whining, and refusing to eat, all while Sean and I tried desperately (and seemingly unsuccessfully) to comfort him.  In the end, we have no diagnosis, although after talking with a pediatrician, all signs point to mononucleosis.  It certainly was the hardest days of parenting we've had yet, and we are thankful that Wes is feeling better each day.

In a desperate attempt to avoid the ER, Wes asked to have pancakes on the way there.
In a desperate attempt to feed our child who hadn't eaten in 3 days, we agreed.  Those poor sick eyes!

Restraining Wes for a blood draw and IV was one of the
more horrific parenting moments we've had so far.  

Sean won the patience award while Wes was sick.  

Multiple times we sat in the car just so Wes could get some sleep.

During Wes' recovery, we have spent A LOT of time indoors.  This has led to all sorts of crazy ways to keep ourselves entertained, including playing with both Mom and Dad's toys.

Man-icure :)

Today was Wes' best day yet since he was sick, and we even ventured out for a walk on campus.  We sure needed this smile to let us know that everything turned out okay.