This is insane. It’s been snowing all day — AGAIN — and there’s more in the forecast.

But Patrick is home early from work, Joe is taking a nice long nap, we have a pantry full of food, and none of us need to be anywhere for a while. So it’s kind of nice!

Seriously.

Joe has been so cranky and out of sorts, and just not acting like himself. After a while, it definitely seemed like more than just teething.

So last night, I took him to yet another urgent care, just to make sure we weren’t overlooking anything.

Sure enough, the doc said his right ear looked red and infected.

Here he is waiting for her to come back with medicine:

No amoxicillin this time, for obvious reasons. He got a one-time dose of antibiotics — in a shot. He was not amused.

He seemed to feel a lot better today as we made our way back to Virginia. But this evening, he woke up from a late nap crying his little eyes out, and could not be calmed down.

So we threw him in the car and went to Target! (For some reason, walking into a big public place shuts him right up.)

He very much enjoyed the toy aisle with Dada:

(We forgot to put his glasses back on him before running out of the house. Oops.)

It’s unusual for this part of the country to get a significant amount of snow. And now it’s happened twice in two months!

Joe and I are in North Carolina at my parents’ house (while they are in Key West, enjoying the 75-degree weather). I needed to get here ahead of the storm to be with my friend Mike while he has surgery tomorrow, and Patrick had some schoolwork to catch up on at home.

Anyway, both here and at home, the snow started morning before last and just kept on coming. Here is Joe enjoying the view from my parents’ front window:

And here is the view back in Virginia, courtesy of Patrick:

Joe’s rash is still awful-looking, but still doesn’t seem to bother him much. He is enjoying the toys here at Nana and Papa’s, so much that he passed out on the floor yesterday. But his legs wanted to stay up and party:

This poor kid can’t catch a break. He’s getting over pneumonia, has four molars coming in at the same time, and now this:

Our diagnostic specialist, Dr. Google, suggests that it’s one of two things:

1) A reaction to the amoxicillin Joe was taking for his pneumonia (who knew you could have a reaction after a week?)

2) A viral condition called “fifth disease,” which is not as bad as it sounds.

Either way, it doesn’t seem to bother him and it’s not contagious. But it looks so uncomfortable!

If there’s anything good about a kid having pneumonia, it’s this:

Although I hate to see him miserable, I love when his eyes close and he’s snoring against me in the rocker. Heaven.

Poor Joe developed a nasty cough a couple of days ago. When he began coughing so hard that he couldn’t eat or drink, I took him to an urgent-care facility to see what was up.

After a nasal swab, physical exam and chest X-ray, they said it was nothing and sent us on our way. We kept his humidifier on, gave him lots of rest, and crossed our fingers.

Then they called the next day to say, “Wait, yeah — that was pneumonia on the X-ray. Call his pediatrician, or take him to the ER. Have a nice day!”

Grrr.

Fortunately, his pediatrician is wonderful. She answered our call right away (on a Saturday!) and called in all the prescriptions he needed to get better. We had a couple of sleepless nights (reminiscent of the newborn phase!) but last night he slept without waking even once. Today, he’s drowsy but getting back to his chatty self:

I think it’s mutual!

We found a YouTube channel full of children’s songs with hand play (you know, like “Isy Bitsy Spider.”)

Joe loves it!

Here he is with Dada after dinner last night:

This is the most annoying thing in the history of animation, but Joe loves it:

Joe had a fun-filled day, playing with his Grandma and Grandpa and getting to know a whole slew of new toys.

He has a puppy that sings and follows a remote control, and another one that sings songs with his name in them.

He also got an assortment of other noisy, bright, blinky things. Plus some cool books, one of which I read to him tonight before putting him to bed an hour earlier than usual. Poor dude was worn out!

Here he is enjoying a ride on the turtle scooter sent by his previously mentioned super-cool Aunt Michele:

And again after getting dressed in an outfit hand-picked by his Nana:

It’s hard to believe that his first full calendar year on earth is coming to a close. It sometimes still seems like he just got here!