Saturday, April 30, 2011

Saturday Morning Scene

I am posting this rrrreeeaaalllly late, but better late then never, right?

Saturday Morning Scene

Anyway, I'm joining Kate at Loves of Life a little late today to share part of our Saturday morning.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned on the blog that I am going to get my Infant and Toddler Montessori teacher training this summer.  I am super excited, and cannot wait to get out of the office and back into the classroom.  I have to admit, I am a little afraid scared anxious about taking classes again....and the long hours...and going another 5 weeks with no paycheck...pretty much this who training thing.  But, I am so excited, and that overrides all other feelings.  So, this morning, C and I went to the post office and mailed in my application!

Excuse the bedhead, he was a last minute addition to my trip and didn't get his hair brushed.

Today is also my Hubby's birthday.  We really wanted to do something fun and exciting, maybe have a few friends over, but with the boys being so sick this week, we didn't get anything together.  So we had a relaxing day at home.  We didn't really do anything, just played with the boys, I took a nice long nap, and Hubby got some awesome presents!  Happy Birthday, baby!

I hope every had a wonderful Saturday!  

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Vacation, Picture Edition!

Beach...Fun...Sun...Shopping...Pool...Putt-Putt...Eating Out...Can you say vacation!!  We had such a great time getting away from the normal day to day, and what better way to show you, than with pictures!

Warning: there are a lot of pictures in this post, I really tried to narrow it down, but I just couldn't!

On the way to the beach!



 Look at those waves!


Really, mom?

Ummm, they felt the need to make a sign telling me to run in case of Tsunami??

Birthday celebrations!


Brothers, ready for the beach.

C loved being buried in the sand.

First visit to the beach.

Daddy and N!

Beach bum!


Daddy and N (and a glass of wine!)

First time in the pool, loved it!


Happy Family (sleeping baby)



We ate at a German restaurant with really good beer (and food)!

Putt putt is so tiring!





Just a note: I cannot believe I put any pictures of myself in a bathing suit, even if you couldn't see it that well.  Eeekk!!  (Be nice!)

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful little guy!  C is 3 years old today*!  I cannot believe how fast the time has gone.  He's grown up so much this year and has had many changes in his life that he has taken in stride.

*Okay, actually last week, but I had some internet trouble, so let's pretend!

This year his birthday has been so fun because he's starting to get it.  He knows something big is happening, even if he doesn't really understand what it means.  He knows how to open presents now, which is hysterical to watch!  He knows that birthdays equal cupcakes and loves the attention, even if he's a little shy about it!  

Here's some pictures of our awesome little dude:

A couple minutes old.

1 week old.

Right after his first birthday.

At his second birthday party.

First day of school.

Meeting his brother for the first time!

Celebrating his third birthday at school.

With Hubby at his third birthday celebration.

Opening presents.

CUPCAKES!!!!

Our wonderful little family, which would not be complete without him!









Thursday, April 14, 2011

*sigh*

I had trouble writing a post for today.  I was going to answer Becky's question about my parenting style...but that is a huge question!  I am working on an answer, but when I wrote the post, it was really long and wordy, and very unorganized.  So, I am going to take a little more time to answer, I'm thinking it might even be a multi-post answer.  So, for your viewing pleasure, I give you this video.  Enjoy!

(Excuse the mess in the background, we had just returned from a trip and hadn't put anything away yet.)  This starts as C getting "kicked" by N, and then develops into C getting knocked over by N's "smelly feet".

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Allergist Visit

We took N to the allergist yesterday because of some suspected food allergies.  For some reason, I've thought for a while that he had a milk allergy, but couldn't really explain to anyone, just a feeling.  He has really bad eczema all over his body (mostly noticeable on his face and calfs), really bad gas, and just seems fussy after eating sometimes.  I looked around on the web, and didn't really see any information that fit what I was seeing in N to justify a trip to the allergist.  But, recently, our pediatrician finally mentioned he might be allergic to milk and to try cutting dairy out of my diet, just to see.  Well, I don't really like to do things "just to see", so I had trouble cutting a whole food group out of mine and N's diet.  So, we made the appointment.

We got to the doctors, and after filling in the paperwork (which I then found out I could have found on their website and had it finished beforehand, oops), we were taken into the doctors office for a little information gathering session.  She asked about family history, what we thought his symptoms were, what we feed him, what I eat, his bath routine, and a bunch of other things.  

Next, we were taken into the exam room where N was examined under those fluorescent lights that show EVERYTHING!  If we had any illusions that N's skin was looking better these days, it was squashed by those lights.  She said she would be surprised if the tests showed no allergies, so she picked 14 items for to be tested for.  Let's see if I can remember...dog, mites (x2), egg white, egg yolks, pecans, cashews, peanut, milk, rice, soy, corn,  wheat, and I cannot remember the last...I think thats the list.  He also got pricked with a histamine and saline (to have controls).  

Here was what his poor arms looked like:



He did a great job though!  Barely cried, and no scratching.  We did a bit of nursing afterwards to help comfort him, but he was in great spirits, if not a little tired.



The doctor came in after about 15 min to look at his arms.  He was showing reaction to egg white and yolk, dog and milk.  Gah!  She went over her suggestions for changes in my diet.  No diary or egg at all as long as I am nursing.  And since we are supplementing with formula, to switch to a hypoallergenic forumla (read: expensive!).  

Since he's only 5 months, there's a strong chance that he's allergic to some of the things they tested him for, but they are not showing up yet since he hasn't been exposed.  She wants us to stay away from the top 8 allergens for now (egg, dairy, fish, shellfish, wheat, peanut, tree nut and soy).  This means no soy formula, which would be much easier on the wallet.  I guess repeated exposure to soy could actually cause him to develop an allergy, especially at this age.  This also means, I need to be careful about the amount of soy I eat.  

We will take him back in 2 months to evaluate how he's doing, and if the change in diet has helped.  We are free to start introducing foods when we are ready, just need to be careful for the top 8 allergens.  N will probably get more skin tests, along with a blood draw to determine any more allergies, as well as the severity of them.  

The good news is that milk and egg are both typically outgrown around the ages of 2 and 3.  So, fingers crossed!  We are very lucky to have supportive family and friends, I don't know how we could it without them!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Photoshoot

The other night, the boys were just being so cute.  I grabbed the camera and starting snapping away.  Here is a sample of what we got!