We have had a rough few days here, but it has to get worse before it can get better, right? Lev had a small fever on Wednesday and then Finn came down with a higher fever on Thursday. We didn't have a thermometer, so can't say how high his fever got, but we did worry about him a fair amount. Anything that makes him voluntarily sleep is alarming, and he actually woke up hallucinating a few times, so that was worrisome for us too. But Friday morning he woke up at his normal time feeling better and ready to play, so whatever the problem was, came and went rather quickly anyway. Unfortunately, his nasty cough that we've been battling since before we got here (and had seemed to be nearly gone earlier in the week) came back at full strength. We have been making lots of good bone broth soups, but cannot get him to eat or drink soup for anything! So, we use bone broth for cooking his rice and noodles, supplement Vitamin D and Fish Oil, eliminate sugar, and try to get him to some extra rest.

Saturday night Finn slept terribly, waking and moaning every 20 minutes, so we are wondering if the new diet isn't working as well as we had hoped. It has been two full weeks of eating normally, but we are going to try to eliminate eggs again and see if that makes a difference. His behavior took a step back as well; we had been making quite a bit of good progress, I thought, but yesterday he spent a good part of the day screaming at me. It is so hard to know if his behavior is just him testing his limits and trying to get his way, or if it is due to not feeling well. I guess time will tell. I am trying really hard to model the behavior I expect from him, remaining calm but firm and explaining that speaking nicely to me yields results, but screaming only earns him time outs. It doesn't help that we are in the "in-between" season here, where the playground is a cold muddy puddle. It is hard to get outside; everything gets wet and dirty and cold in a matter of minutes. I am really looking forward to the snow coming and staying!

On the brighter side, it is adorable how much the boys love each other (even though they do fight over toys). Lev goes from groggy to squealing with delight as soon as he hears Finn in the morning. He has always been the cuddly one, and now he has been insisting on giving Finn hugs too. It is SO cute! Finn is always the first one to hear when Lev wakes from a nap and runs into his room to say hello.

And a piece of good news -- my parents have applied for their visas and hope to visit in January! There is something really reassuring about just knowing that they have visas and could come at anytime (even if it is completely impractical, just the fact that it is possible is nice).