Quick trip and a scary night...

It was another rough night for Cooper. He didn't sleep well at all, and we were both up quite a bit. His stomach was still hurting a lot. We just couldn't figure out what was causing it. He was hoping that once he got up and was moving around a bit, he would feel a little better. After a few hours of laying on the couch, he thought he was ready to do some exploring. Even though we didn't get a chance to go to Philadelphia yesterday, we thought it would be fun to head to the closer town of South Norwalk, Connecticut. We picked up a smoothie, and we hopped on the metro train from Grand Central Terminal.

 He was a trooper, and we had a nice quick ride.

 We got off the train and walked toward the Main Street. We passed the local police station...

 and the local museum...

 and the Chocopologie Cafe! This place looked so good. Unfortunately, no one felt like eating yet, so we just stopped in so I could pick up a quick chocolate, and Zoe a macaron. It was yummy!

We walked down the Main Street...

 

 

and saw the beautiful harbor...

 

 

and the Maritime Aquarium.

 We had a discount package ticket with the metro, so we went in.
We loved these adorable seals!

 We walked outside to see the view, and the Larikeets. I could see on Cooper's face that he wasn't feeling very well and he had to force a smile.

 The aquarium was fantastic though and he wanted to stay.

 The kids loved touching the sharks and sting rays.

 My favorite part of aquariums is always the jellyfish.

 It was pretty cool to see some sharks too.

 The entrance also included tickets to a short IMAX film, called Tornado Alley. It was a fascinating film, but in the middle of it, I noticed Cooper curling up into a ball. He was starting to feel miserable again. We walked out of the aquarium and Cooper was in bad shape. We stopped at the bench and he immediately laid down. We sat for a while, and I felt awful.

 After Cooper was able to get up, we walked back toward the train station as quickly as possible. There was so much more we wanted to see and do in this cute town, but it just wasn't going to happen today. I gave Cooper a piggy back ride, since he was having a tough time walking, and then we continued to walk through town.  I felt awful that we still had to get back to the city.

The ride home was ok, but he was uncomfortable. He sat curled up for a while, and then decided to lay down on my lap and fell asleep for a while.

On the way back we picked up an ice cream on the street corner for Zoe to celebrate National Ice Cream Day! Cooper was hoping he could have some too, but after one lick of his vanilla cone, he couldn't do it.

The rest of the night was long. Cooper was in more pain than I've ever seen. He couldn't move off of the couch, and also couldn't get comfortable. It was awful to watch and I was so worried. I debated taking him to the emergency room all night. I was concerned that he might have appendicitis, but had no idea. He was not himself, which worried me more than anything. I researched hospitals in the area, and tried to figure out where I could go. I didn't want to go if we didn't have to, and I really didn't want Zoe to have to spend the night in the ER too. I talked to Joe, my mom, a nurse, and prayed a lot. It was hard to be here without having anyone to rely on for help. It sure helps me appreciate all of my wonderful friends and family back home!  I prayed for guidance, and decided to wait out the night, unless something changed for the worse. I had a plan of action just in case though.

I didn't sleep a wink. I prayed for healing for Cooper, and kept my hand on him all night to make sure he didn't spike a fever and that he was doing ok. He was restless, but slept better than the previous night. When he woke up, he was in much better shape, thank God! He was still a little cautious, but had a small smile on his face because most of the pain was gone. I still have no idea what caused the pain, but I'm so thankful he's on the mend.