Scrappy, sick and smart...all in one week...

Sick?  Again?  Yep.  Jenna is sick again.

As we were preparing to take off to Pennsylvania yesterday afternoon, I get a call at 3pm from the daycare letting me know I need to come and get Boogie because she is running 102+ temperature.  I had noticed she was pulling on her ear the night before, that she has had a runny nose and a low appetite all week - all of the signs of a pending ear infection.  Another sign...a fever that spikes and disappears the week prior - which happened last week.  In these cases, I have learned to stop calling the triage nurse at the pediatrician's office and go straight to making a sick appointment.  45 minutes later we were in the doctor's office - stripped down to the diaper and waiting to see the doctor.  Here is a picture of Jenna in the rocking chair - her entertainment while we waited. As you can see by her rosy cheeks and pink skin, she was burning up, but she is still just her sweet, energetic self.  

Her doctor is off on Thursday's, so we met with a new doctor, who quickly announced that Jenna's left ear was infected, and that she most likely has strep throat.  Whoa...what?  How did I miss that one this week?

We decided not to do a strep test, as she has to be on antibiotics for the ear anyway, and it would just be an added expense.  As a result, she either has a viral throat infection or strep throat, either of which meant no traveling for this family this weekend.  We're a day into the antibiotics and the fever is still holding strong, even with fever reducers, and Jenna is just as sweet as ever.  Her ability to roll with it just blows my mind!

As for the scrappy part....well...Jenna has her first scuffle at school this week.  It turns out that she was the victim, with a boy who is a little older being the aggressor.  The story went that Jenna had a toy he want and he scratched her face.  However, Jenna's teacher, Ms. Shon (who is Jenna is extremely bonded with) let me know that before she could get to them, Jenna had hauled off and whacked him on in defense of herself.   Ms. Shon said told Jenna, "Not nice, Jenna" but then whispered to me that she was secretly proud of Jenna for standing up for herself.  I certainly don't want to teach Jenna that there is a justified time she can hit someone, but I have to say that I am also proud she stood up for herself - to a bigger boy at that!  She's definitely like me in that respect.  At the end of the day, Daddy wasn't happy that a little boy hit Jenna.  I wasn't happy about it either, but I also realize that little scuffles can and will happen at this age.  I also realize that we will probably have our moments where Jenna is the one who instigates an event like this - although I hope not.  If it happens again, though, we will be addressing it more firmly with the daycare.

And finally...the smart moment.  Their growth at this age is so rapid, and I am truly dumbfounded at how much she is picking up everyday.  I am continually surprised to discover that she understands a LOT more than we think she does.  Three mornings ago, we were getting ready to go, and I had to get her food out of the fridge to take to school.  She had a little funnel she had gotten out of the kitchen cabinet a few days before that she had been playing with.  When she does this, I generally just put it in her toy box until she is done with it or we need it again, at which time I will put it back in the kitchen cabinet.  That is, until she goes through a period where she wants to play with it again.  Back to the other morning - she had put the funnel in the refrigerator while I was getting food out of it.  I asked her to get her funnel and to go put it in her toy box.  Half of the time I do this, she will take the item and put it in there and half of the time, she will walk away - and I will model what I am requesting by showing her while I put it in the toy box.  The other morning, however, she grabs the funnel and starts to walk off.  When I turn around, I am expecting that she will be walking into the living room where her toy box is, but when I turn around, I realize she is putting it back in the kitchen cabinet where it normally goes when she is not playing with it.  It caught me off guard.  And unlike other times, when she looks to be for accolades for putting something up, she just turned around and walked over to the door, waiting for me to go.  I was genuinely taken aback and so proud of her for understanding where it went.  

I know everyone thinks their kid is the smartest and best.  I genuinely don't like to compare Jenna to other kids, as I realize all kids have their growth moments.  But I do love to celebrate hers with her, so I thanked her for putting it up and gave her a big hug - and then we called Daddy at the gym to tell him about it so he could be proud of her, too.  

Which brings me to my final thought for this post, which is just sharing with everyone how much I love Jenna and how my gratitude has filled me this week.  She truly is a gift from God and an example of how His Grace is manifested in our lives.  So, though I may have those moments where I get frustrated (refer to the battle of the wills post), I am so grateful for her, for JP - for our family.  I love everything about her and I am so grateful that she came to us in His time, not ours.  Whether scrappy or sick or smart or sassy - she is our Boogie and I treasure every moment I get and every story I get to share. :)