Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Once Upon a Christmas

Well, last I wrote you may recall that Gabriel was sick with an upset stomach. That complaint is long gone... and replaced by another. On Saturday night after spending a delightful day in Calgary, we just got in the house when Cash ran up and stole Gabe's toy out of his hand and Gabe started crying - although it wasn't his normal cry. It was hoarse and weezy and followed by coughs. His temperature wasn't up but his cough got worse through the evening and when we put him to bed we were quite worried about him. He woke himself (and us) up every hour through the night with coughing fits and weezing so badly we were really worried for him. He spent the rest of the night laying between us in bed and at least he finally got some sleep, though the same could not be said for Matt and I. We suspected croup based on a couple of his coughs and he started getting a fever on Sunday afternoon so I slept on the floor of his room Sunday night and kept an eye on him to make sure he would be okay through the night. In general he had a better sleep, but his cough was by no means better. We took him to the doctor's on Monday and were relieved to see 4 of our 5 most trusted doctors working the walkin clinic so we were a little at ease about any medications they might prescribe. The doctor we saw prescribed an antibiotic for Gabe, said it looked like in mild infection in the throat and chest and not croup. So now, after another night on the floor of Gabe's room and him having been on antibiotics for the past 24 hours, I am pleased to say he is looking and sounding much better. His appetite is sure back and he's been playing hockey all afternoon. Next to football, hockey is his favorite sport. Watching the Grey Cup on Sunday Gabe started imitating the players to the point of throwing his arms in the air and yelling touchdown and pretending to snap the ball between his legs.
Unfortunately, this little episode of illness has slightly hindered our fond rememberance of the fun we had on Saturday. If you remember, we were headed to Calgary to visit Heritage Park for their Once Upon a Christmas events. With 50% off tickets being handed out everywhere you go and regular admission only being $7 it was definitely a deal. We got to the park by 12 and then walked up the hill to the old village where all the seasonal happenings were. First thing we noticed was a horsedrawn wagon going by filled with little kids. Then we saw the carolers, and the candy store and the bakery. Our first official stop was in to see the model train display however. It was a beautiful Christmas scene that took up the whole billiard hall. We spent a good chunk of time in there looking at each figurine and model house or shop. After the trains there was a bit of a question about where to go next but we finally decided on seeing the reindeer. Real reindeer! And you could go right up and pet them! They were adorable. And small - they were a very small species. After oohing and aahing over the reindeer we went for a hayride and were serenaded by carolers while we waited. The ride was fun and the driver was very fond of his job and the horses. Once we got off the ride we were quite cold so we went into the Wainwright Hotel for their brunch which we were lucky enough to get into without reservations! The brunch was fantastic and we all would have eaten more if we didn't have a huge dinner waiting for us. We needed to do a bit of shopping after lunch which took us to 4:00 by the time we were ready to go. We then retreated to our cousin's house for dinner and a bit of play time for the kids. While we did get home later than we had planned it was very fun. I only wish Gabe hadn't gotten sick!
This week I hope to get our tree and have it ready to decorate by Saturday, and I really need to crack down on making my Christmas presents! It's almost hard to decide where to start...


Mrs. Vander Leek ;)

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