Natalie & Ryan: Hand, Foot, and Mostly Mouth

We got up bright and early to make the ferry to Canada that morning. It was during the car ride to the ferry that my mommy detective mode kicked in, and I realized what was wrong with Lilly. Joel just recently got over Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease, and Lilly must have caught it while on our trip to Delta. She started showing symptoms the Monday after we got back from the trip, and it only took me A WEEK to put it together. It started with gums that were so swollen, she wouldn't eat or let us brush her teeth. Thankfully she only got the oral version of it, and didn't get the feet or tushy blisters that most other kids get. Her canker sore was only getting worse, and she was starting to get little sores on her lips, tongue, and chin. Since she wasn't eating, the goal was to keep her hydrated, and force down as much cool, soothing yogurt as we could. That's basically all she ate for days.

Once we figured out what she had, it was easier to forgive the tantrums. I know that sounds bad, but for a while I was convinced she just hated everyone. We kept her on Tylenol to relieve the pain, and she slowly got better and better. Since my immune system is low right now, I was the only adult to catch what she had. I had some sores on the top of my mouth, and I got an annoying cold sore, blister thing on my lip. Lilly and I were lepers!

Back to the trip. Lilly loved the boat ride to Victoria. Once we were off, we headed to the Butchart Gardens, our favorite tradition in Canada. Last time we were there, we were rushed through because we were about to miss our bus. This time we brought our rental car, and were staying two days in Canada, so we had all the time in the world to ease our way through the beautiful flowers. Lilly was on and off tantrumy, and it wasn't until the carousel ride that I wanted to leave. She and I rode the carousel, which made me want to BARF, and about half way through, she just wanted me to hold her. Once we were off, she suddenly LOVED the thing. She refused to leave. She kept screaming "MORE ZEBRA!!!" Ryan put her in time out on a bench outside. We were trying to be "good" parents by asserting our authority, but all that happened was a tourist trap. Tons of tourists were stopping by to take a picture of the cute baby who was crying on the bench. When she finally calmed down, I picked her up and started to walk away from the carousel building, and she started screaming and hitting me again. I snapped. I became "that" woman who yells at her kid in public, and I didn't care. I was SO SICK of the tantrums. I'll just blatantly say it, she was ruining the trip.

The rest of the day was a blur. We survived the gardens, had some lunch (Lilly ate two yogurts), checked into our hotel (dad treated everyone to their very own, luxury suite, right on the main street), took a nap, then headed out to find some good Chinese food. We wandered China Town until we found what looked good. Lilly was pretty behaved most of dinner, since she stayed distracted with playing with chopsticks. She even ate some rice, since it was soft. I was in post-Chinese food bliss, and more than ready for my bed. As we walked back to the hotel, we stopped for gelato. The night was easing into a memorable, tantrum-free evening (mom included).

Playing on deck with daddy

Probably a picture of the exact moment I caught Hand, Foot, and Mouth

Started on the whale, ended on the zebra

In time out.

I like that Ryan was able to get a picture of the bee, too

We let Lilly chase birds in the grass. TONS of people were stopping to take pictures of the "cutest baby, running around in the grass."

Ran into a much smaller water snake than the one I saw last week.

I thought this was SO messed up! This is a URINAL stall on the corner of a street. Guys can just stop and pee in public. This is Jack, testing it out.