"Hand, Foot, and Mouth"

The title of this post is the name of the virus that Holden somehow picked up last week. He has sores all over the inside of his mouth, even on the tip of his tongue. Some people who are infected also get sores on their hands and feet. He had one nasty red blister swell up on his finger today, but other than that, his virus seems content to reside in his poor little mouth. My tiny little guy doesn't need to lose any weight, so we have been giving him whatever he will agree to chew around the mean welts. So his diet this week has consisted of mainly Popsicles, milkshakes, and unsalted french fries, washed down with Sprite or water sipped out of a straw. He's also had a temp. on and off, but it finally broke yesterday and he's in much better spirits. Despite being sore, he has been a real trooper and doesn't let it hamper his style too much. He doesn't understand why he can't play with the other kids outside, so we've been mainly sticking to the backyard. I am so thankful for the beautiful day we had today! Please say a prayer that his body will continue to heal and that no new sores will pop up.

We have the guest bed mattress set up in the living room again, which we always do when he is not feeling well. Yesterday, he rolled off the mattress, and I came home from work to find him sleeping on the floor. He slept that way for the better part of an hour!

My parents accompanied us to Menards today (my mom held him the whole time, so he didn't contaminate anything!) to help me get some sand for his sandbox. He was in heaven! He played the day away shoveling, digging, and transferring sand. He also got some slide action in. He slept so well at nap time after being out in the fresh air!

Almost as good as the beach! Thank you, Papa!

Jay's parents got us a really nice swing with a canopy seriously two years ago. We thought we'd lost the directions to it, and they turned up recently. We put it together today, and it is awesome! I know we'll get a lot of use out of it this summer. Holden LOVES it! He was so excited to see it all finished when he woke up from nap. He decided it was a good place to relax. :) As you can see, Memaw introduced him to Root beer. He puts a straw in it and sucks it down. At least there's no caffeine!

Some other backyard shots taken today. You'd never know this little boy was in so much discomfort! He is being much less of a baby about it than I would be. The only times he really gets upset are when he's tired or when he wants to eat something and realizes it hurts too much. Memaw, Pepaw, Aunt Allie, cousin Kelsey, and Aunt Cyndee came over for a visit tonight. He was very happy to have some company!