In my constant attempt to keep Zach busy after school I thought about the stamps that I have been carrying around since I was about 10. I remember loving these when I was little, I loved how precise they were and hated when the colors ran across the stamp pad. I definitely was Type A even then.

At Gymboree and music class they get stamps at the end of class and all the kids love it. I thought that maybe Zach would like to stamp on paper with my little stamps. He figured out the process and liked to call out the “dog”, “cat”, “moo” and “horse”,  but mainly wanted to put those stamp on his legs and feet. We ended up putting his hands and foot prints on the paper too.

Most people know that Autumn is in the air because Walgreen’s has been taken over by orange, the weather has a hint of non-miserable to it and school buses are all around. Here in the Wall household, we know it is Fall when we make our first trip to the ER.

Yes, last week Zach and I (to be met by Alex) scooted on up to Texas Children’s Hospital because Zach was having trouble breathing. It turned out to be a bad case of croup, but it was terrifying.

When I got him from school he seemed fine, a little tired but nothing abnormal. As we were hanging out and playing he started having this cough that sounded like he could not clear the phlegm out of his throat and started to breathe rapidly. I tried giving him his inhaler from the spring with no change. He got a steamy bath but when I laid him down to put his clothes on, it was obvious that he was struggling to breathe, which is when I started to freak out.

I threw some clothes on my crying baby – stopping only to comb his hair – and into the car we went. Given that it was 6pm there was some traffic and I almost hopped up on the median but contained myself. Turns out, when you fly into the ER, throwing your keys to the valet and announce that you baby can not breathe, they take you pretty seriously.

The doctor and nurses were awesome, they listened to me and were great with Zach. When the doctor first saw Zach she said, “Oh sweetie, you look like you don’t feel good. But your hair looks great!” He was  not quite as amused as Alex and I were.

Zach has figured out how to wear “Daddy shoes”, though he can’t really maneuver super well in them. No matter, that does not stop the exclamation of “Daddy shoes! Daddy shoes!” whenever he seems them.

When I saw this picture of my new niece getting her first bath I could only think how angelic she looked and very unlike her cousin looked during his first bath.