106 degrees and what should we do today?

Well, stay inside of course.  Today was 106 degrees here in Raleigh, which I think ties the hottest day ever recorded in Raleigh history.  Not just for June 30 (Aunt Janet and Uncle Jarett's anniversary), but for any day.   It has certainly been a hot one. 

So what do you do with twin boys that are almost 3?  They have lots of energy that needs to be depleted.  Well, they got up this morning and we got dressed before breakfast for starters.  That is something that doesn't happen around the DeVault household on lazy Saturdays.  But this wasn't your typical Saturday morning.  We were very lazy however in the beginning and didn't really do much till 8:30.  But then we got dressed and then went downstairs.  We ate breakfast and then went outside to play baseball.  It was around 9:30 and only in the mid to upper 80s at the time.  The boys enjoyed playing baseball as well as showing off their golf prowess.  It was a good time had by all.  But it was already getting hot and muggy.  Daddy watered the grass this morning just enough so it could handle the extreme heat for the next couple of days...hopefully.  The boys enjoyed seeing how it was "raining" on one side of the house but dry where they were playing baseball.  We spent around one hour outside and a good time was had by all.

Then, after a snack and a drink, we were reading some books when we got a call from Granna and Grandpa asking what the DeVaults were up to.  They invited us up there for a change of scenery for Jack and Mark.  A little while later we showed up there and played.  They colored and played their instruments and sang their favorite songs, like "This Old Man", "Bye Bye Black Sheep", "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," and the "Red and White" (NC State fight song). 

Daddy went to the mall to get everyone some lunch.  After lunch, we came home and took a nap.  Then we played with our train table for a while before it was bath time.  Jack and Mark really enjoyed taking a long bath where they could play with all their toys and there wasn't any worry about running past bedtime. 

After the bath, the boys watched a NC State basketball game that was recorded our DVR for a few minutes before we went to dinner.  We went out to dinner with several couples in the neighborhood, whom we met as they are neighbors of Granna and Grandpa.  We all had a good time at dinner but we had to come home in order to get to bed. 

All in all, it was a good and relatively cool day.  Let's see how hot tomorrow gets.  Hopefully it will only get to 100 degrees.

An Eventful Weekend...Not What We Were Expecting

Last Friday, Craig and I picked up the boys at daycare around 1:30 to head to TN for the weekend to visit Craig's parents (for a post-Father's Day visit).

Now, Jack had been out of daycare last Wednesday with a fever virus. His daycare teacher had called me around 4pm on Tuesday to tell me he had a fever and that I needed to come get him. His fever was gone by 2:30am on Wednesday, but he had to stay home on Wednesday due to the 24 hour fever free rule! Well, it seemed that the rest of us had avoided getting the "fever virus" that Jack and a lot of others in the 2 year old classrooms have had lately.

Around 5pm, when we were a little over an hour away from Kingsport, Mark threw up in the car. So, needless to say, we pulled off the interstate at the next exit and got him all cleaned up, changed his clothes and then cleaned his car seat. At the time, we didn't even think about the stinky smell that would linger for the rest of our trip. It was less than ideal for sure! We arrived in Kingsport around 6:45, sat down to dinner and then started the bathtime / bedtime routine with the boys. I took Mark's temperature before putting him in the bath and it was 102 degrees. So, I gave him some Children's Advil after we got him out of the bath and dressed. This was his first time having Children's Advil (CA); he had only had Infant Advil (IA) in the past. This is because the minimum weight for CA is 24 pounds. This was the first time Mark had needed Advil since passing 24 pounds. I have always been very careful not to try new things when we are away from home, just trying to avoid an allergic reaction away from home. Well, I didn't think CA would be any different from IA, so I didn't hesitate to give it to him.

After giving him the medicine, we continued with our bedtime routine of reading stories, saying our prayers and then putting the boys to bed. Mark had been in his bed for about 15 minutes and then  he started crying very loudly. I immediately thought it sounded like a bigger cry than just a normal whine about not wanting to be by himself at bedtime. I thought it was just because he didn't feel well and was away from home. I went to get him and thought I would rock him for a little bit. When I got to the recliner and sat down and looked at him, I noticed that his lips were starting to swell on one side. I immediately called Craig from the other room and had him look at them. We quickly decided that we needed to take Mark to the ER to get checked out. His lips continued to swell more and more by the minute. And, drool was almost continuously flowing from his mouth. Luckily the hospital was only about 5 minutes away. The whole way there, we had the light on in the car, so I could keep an eye on Mark while Craig was driving. After praying out loud for our little guy, we asked him lots of questions just to ease our minds and know that he was engaged and conscious. He would answer our questions with one word answers, but it was getting harder and harder to understand him due to the swelling. By the time we got there, his entire face was swollen!

We went through registration, triage, nurse assessment and had seen the doctor and he had received a dose of benadryl within 15 minutes of arriving. They really did get us through pretty quickly, but at times it seemed to move slowly while in the midst of it. The nurses hooked him up to an oxygen monitor and his oxygen level was good. At this point, we began to relax and feel better about things. This indicated that his throat was not swelling, he was just drooling so much because of the swelling making it hard for him to swallow. At that point, they just monitored Mark and did some blood tests to rule out any other problems. And, it was determined that it must have been an allergic reaction to the ibuprofen. The doctor seems to think that the CA dose was enough to just cross over the threshold of what Mark's body could handle. There is also the potential that it could have been the dye in the medicine as he had never had a grape flavored medicine with dye in the past. We were discharged around 1am even though he still had some swelling.

We were instructed to give Mark benadryl every 6 hours for 24 hours. So, we had to wake him up at 3:50am for his next dose. We got home and were in the bed around 1:30. Craig and I decided to let Mark sleep with us so we could keep a close eye on him during the night.We didn't sleep well until after we gave him the dose at 3:50am because we were scared we were going to be so tired we would sleep through our alarm. We all slept well after we gave him the medicine.

So, this was our eventful trip to TN for the weekend. We have a follow up dr. appt. with our pediatrician tomorrow to pursue allergy testing so we will be sure of the cause of the allergic reaction.

Here are a few pictures that we captured on Sunday before leaving. Friday was so eventful that we forgot to take pictures. And, Saturday, we were all too tired to think of taking pictures. Glad we were able to get these.

After the Benadryl had started working and we relaxed a bit, I thought of taking a picture.

Saturday around noon, still some swelling hanging around. It was all cleared up 100% by bedtime on Saturday night!

Poppy, Mimi and their favorite grandsons

A post-Father's Day picture of Daddy, Poppy, Mark and Jack

Our family of 4!

2 happy boys!

On the ride home, we turned around to see this. They were just riding down the road holding hands. SO SWEET!!!

Jack sporting his new sunglasses...isn't he one cool looking guy?

Mark and his new shades...isn't he one cool looking guy?

2 year old School Pictures

A couple of weeks ago, the boys had their school pictures done.  We just got them back.  Here are the cute pictures:

The Next Phil Mickelson/Tiger Woods/Sergio Garcia???

After the boys woke up from their nap on Sunday, we went out to Knight's Play and let the boys experience the driving range for the first time.  They have their own golf clubs and balls that they hit in the back yard (and hit very well may I also say), but this would be new for them. 

The driving range was almost completely full.  It seems like taking children to the driving range on Father's Day was not a unique idea.  But, it was OK because we found a station to hit from.  Daddy hit some shots and then the fun really began.  Jack and Mark took several swings with their plastic clubs and hit some of the range balls.  They had a great time.

After hitting all of the balls, we went over to the putting green to practice the short game.  They showed off considerable skill on the putting green.  We will definitely be going back very soon for round 2.

Here are some pictures from the golfing adventures:

Daddy and his two sons at the range.

Look at the angle of my back and how I let the club drop from my hands.  Perfect setup by me! - Mark

The follow-through by Jack as the ball jumps off the tee.

The boys are getting ready to give Daddy a putting lesson.

OK, I made it into this hole. I am awesome at this game! - Jack

Well, my golf ball went into this other hole.  Golf is so easy and fun!  - Mark

We will be doing this together for the rest of our lives!

Father's Day pictures

After church on Father's Day, we went out to eat for lunch.  When we got home, we had a photo shoot with the boys.  Check out their outfits that honor Flag Day, the Fourth of July, and the upcoming Olympics.

Daddy really enjoyed taking pictures with his sons on Father's Day:

Look at this hydrangea.  This flower is HUGE!  - Mark

Is this how you wanted me to pose, Mommy?  Good.  - Mark

OK, enough posing.  It is time to start playing.  - Mark

Mommy, this hydrangea smells as sweet as you!  - Jack

Mommy, this rock border I am sitting on was expertly put together.  Good job! - Jack

The boys enjoy a laugh when they don't realize the camera is still on.

Wow, this flower is the biggest one I have ever seen.  - Jack

Daddy's two boys give him a kiss. 

Does it get any better than this?

Afternoon Picnic

After going to the fire truck parade, we had a picnic lunch.  OK, it was a last minute idea so we didn't have any food to take for a regular picnic.  So we stopped by Chic-Fil-A for the boys and Hibachi Express for Mommy and Daddy.  We went to Bond Park and had a picnic.  The boys really had good time watching people play soccer, cricket, and one guy unsuccessfully try to fly a kite. 

The boys wanted to take a couple of pictures of them at their first real picnic:

He kicks the soccer ball, GOOOAAALLLL!  - Mark

Daddy relaxing with his two favorite boys who love their push-up applesauce. 

Mommy shows off her boys who are eating their favorite push-up applesauce.

100 years of the Raleigh Fire Department...and a Parade

On Saturday, we went to downtown Raleigh for a parade honoring 100 years of the Raleigh Fire Department.  The boys had a really good time watching the fire trucks as well as the three bagpipe bands.  Here are some pictures from the parade:

Where are the fire trucks? 

That fire truck is really big.  I think I want to be a fire fighter.  - Jack

Hey, I think I see another fire truck coming!  - Mark

The bagpipe band is really neat.  Love the kilts.

Jack loves yellow fire trucks!

A breast cancer fire truck!  Really cool.

Daddy with his boys!

Mommy with her boys!

Mommy, that fire truck horn is too loud!  - Jack

Fire trucks with the US flag in the background.

The next Chipper Jones?

Not to be outdone, Mark has a good swing too.  Check out the initial swing.  It is a good one. 

The Next Dale Murphy?

As we have stated previously, the boys love baseball.  To show you all how well Jack can hit the ball, just watch and enjoy (he also is good at running the bases):

Curly Neal lives on

For those of you that don't remember Curly Neal, he was one of the all-time great Harlem Globetrotters.  He could dribble like no one's business.  Well, Mark is on his way to being a great point guard.  He is getting the dribbling down pat.

Preschool Orientation

A few days ago, Heather and I went to Children's House for orientation.  Children's House is the preschool building at SAS and is where the boys will graduate into in a couple of months.  When children turn 3 at SAS, they move from the daycare building to the preschool building.  They will be going from a class of 10 kids all the same age with 2 teachers (and a floater that covers two rooms) into a room that will have 25 kids, ages 3-5, with 3 teachers (and a floater that covers two rooms).  It is going to be a change.  The boys are required to be in different rooms in this building as they follow the Wake County rule that twins will be in different rooms in Kindergarten.  But we separated them into different rooms this year so they are already accustomed to that.

In addition to music classes, a couple of new classes the boys will take will be weekly art class, bi-weekly soccer class, and monthly science class.  In their last year at Children's House, they will get the opportunity to take French.  Merci!

It will be a great new opportunity for the boys.  The classrooms are much bigger and have a lot more toys and learning stations.  Once transitioned, the boys will continue learning and making new friends. 

Are the boys ready to move up?  They are pretty close, yes. 

Are Mommy and Daddy ready?  Not as sure about that one.  It is hard to believe the boys are almost 3.

A Visit from GG

On Saturday, GG (Heather's maternal grandmother) came up to Raleigh for a visit.  GG is in a wheelchair due to a stroke several years ago.  Even though she lives in Pinehurst (Aberdeen actually), she had not been able to come up to the house since we moved into our house.  But on Saturday, Granna drove down to Pinehurst to pick up her mom and we had a home care nurse at Granna and Grandpa's house to help us with any issues we could arise. 

When Granna showed up with GG, everyone was excited.  The boys went inside and had a lot of fun with GG.  They showed her how they like to play their saxophones, guitars, and piano.  Then they started bouncing a basketball to GG.  GG would catch it and then throw it back to the boys.  I am not sure who had more fun, Jack and Mark, or GG. 

Then we sat down for a nice lunch made by Granna, highlighted by a Honey Baked Ham.  It was very good. 

After lunch, the boys went outside to show off their considerable baseball skills (a video will be uploaded to the blog shortly).  They would hit the ball and then run around the bases, sometimes sliding into home. 

When nap time came around, it also was about the same time that GG had to get back to Pinehurst.  We took a couple of pictures and then went our separate ways.  Everyone had a great time with GG.  We were so glad she could finally come up to Raleigh and see our houses, as well as seeing the boys play baseball.

Here are a couple of pictures from the day:

Mark shows GG how well he can dribble.

GG gets ready to catch the ball from Mark as Jack watches.

GG with her Great-grandsons

The boys with their baseball ball and glove between GG.

GG, am I sweet or what?  - Jack

Not to be out done, "I am sweet too!", says Mark.

4 Generations:  Mark, Granna, GG, Mommy, and Jack