Preschool Graduation

Roo is now a preschool graduate! It was so much fun watching him have so much fun on stage with all of his friends. He had a fantastic school year and is ready for kindergarten. He has so much more confidence and is much more mature than a year ago. Daddy and I were discussing how happy we were with the preschool this year and how their focus on building strong confident kids has been so wonderful for Roo. Can't believe he'll be going to kindergarten this fall!

Shake Your Peanut!

Disney channel has a show called Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. In one of the shows they are trying to get an elephant out of a tree by shaking a peanut at it and doing a little dance with the peanut. I have to say the over protective side of me has always disliked it because it like several other kid shows have characters playing with peanuts and there are so many kids with peanut allergies these days that I felt it sort of irresponsible. Regardless and apologies for my preachiness on this one I couldn't think of a better title for this post but wanted to not make light of peanut allergies.

With that said, Bug is NOT allergic to peanuts!!!!

He went to Hopkins yesterday for his peanut challenge and though I kept waiting and waiting for a reaction, it never happened. He had to eat less than 2 tablespoons of peanut butter over a little over and hour. I made peanut butter icing on cupcakes for him and that's what he chose to eat (I also had cookie dough, pasta for mixing peanut powder, oreos, you get the point). His first bite was tiny, about the size of a pink finger nail. As the size increased and time passed it was harder to get him to eat, but I had been advised that this would be an excellent occasion for bribery.  Before Roo and I got to Grandma and Grandpa's on Monday, we stopped and got Bug a bunch of small gifts or as Bug called them yesterday, prizes. Roo was an awesome helper and Bug was excited about the prizes.

Hopkins is really an amazing place. From the moment you arrive until you leave, everybody is happy and helpful, even down to the cleaning staff who upon seeing a large sheet covering the floor and were concerned we were covering up vomit were sensitive to what was going on. Luckily, the sheet was on the floor for Bug to play on!  The staff was great the entire time and what an amazing moment when the nurse walked in and said, "so, he's not allergic to peanut." Amazing!

Peanut was always a tricky one for us. He never skin tested positive but at an early age (3 months) skin tested positive for a tree nut (almond). Because of the cross contamination between the various nuts we were told to avoid all tree nuts and peanuts. He did always have a positive RAST for peanut though. Luckily the number decreased that last two times he had the RAST done and Dr. Wood recommended he trial peanut.  We weren't sure what to expect since he had never actually ingested peanut and had a reaction like he's had with several of the foods he's allergic to.  It's likely he never had a peanut allergy since only 20% of children outgrow a peanut allergy, but peanut allergy is so dangerous we followed the doctors orders and strictly avoid peanuts just like we do with his other food allergies.

It's really amazing to be at the point where we've crossed a few foods off his allergy list rather than adding foods like we were three years ago.  The doctors and nurses at Hopkins are confident he'll outgrow ALL of his food allergies.  He is scheduled to trial tree nuts in July and we are supposed to start adding in baked milk again when we feel ready.  We'll wait until next January after his next RAST to find out about the remaining fruits and eggs but for now, crossing peanuts off the list is pretty amazing!

Roo Enjoys Soccer...He Loves Swimming

Roo has been having a fantastic soccer season, especially if you compare it to last fall.  The league changed the format to 3 v 3 for U6 so there is much more focus on skill development this season.  The coach is good at moving the kids from one activity to the next and they're required to keep their ball with them the entire time. The concept of "keeping your puppy on a leash" has worked really well and Roo understands that he should keep the ball closer to him when he dribbles rather than kicking it as hard as possible and sprinting after it.  They've had another coach come and help with the team once in a while, he's the travel team coach for our area, and this has given the kids on Roo's team an almost unfair advantage in the coaching arena.  I love that Roo is learning all these skills and he's even learned to turn with the ball, a pretty advanced skill, but it would be even more awesome if this coach provided a little help to all the teams to help improve the skills of all the kids.  Regardless, it is so much fun watching Roo play in games this year.  He's fast, has pretty good ball control, loves scoring goals and is suprisingly competitive and physical, plus he's really receptive to our guidance.  He's enjoying playing which is fun for us since we both played and Bug can't wait to join in the fun!

Roo's real love right now is swimming. We switched him from group lessons to private lessons and the instructor really pushes him. This has been working out great and he is turning into a really good swimmer. Whenever I take him to lessons he comments that he wants to swim every day of the week.  We've asked the instructor to get him ready for swim team.  I would be by the fall he'll be ready to join in the fun.  I'm not sure if we're ready to be at the pool every day of the week but the benefit is that we can exercise at the gym so it's good for all of us.  Now we just need to get that little Bug in the pool and swimming!

Broken Rib

Daddy had started playing Friday basketball again at work but unfortunately got hurt in a game recently. He didn't want to take leave that day so waited until after work and went to urgent care where they told him he had a separated rib (don't get me started on why he wouldn't just leave work and see his regular doc).  He was in a lot of pain but still went on travel the following week. He discovered that sleeping on a regular mattress instead of our fancy new mattress was much more comfortable, so he spent a few nights in the guest room. A week or so later he was still in a lot of pain and I urged him to see his regular doc. He did and it turns out it's a broken rib. Same recovery period and procedure as the prior diagnosis but more reassuring having had his regluar doc check him out.  It's been a few weeks now and it's hard to get him to do less around the house but it is feeling a bit better and the pain comes and goes.  I know he's hoping it's healed before the trip to Maine so he can play a round of golf...we'll see!

Not Again

Bug was sick last week with a cough and a fever. Daddy took him to the ped and I told him if it's strep to please not tell me. It was strep. We don't think the primary issue was strep since he had a really nasty cough. We got a nebulizer delivered that we actually get to keep and with that and the antibiotics he had a faster than normal recovery. His fever didn't break 102 either, which is a first for him, so that was good news. I dislike strep.

Tonsils & Adenoids Are Out!

Yesterday Bug had his tonsil & adenoidectomy. We're glad it's over with and hopeful he has as painfree a recovery as possible.

I had talked with Bug the night before his surgery and told him that if he got up in the night that he wouldn't be able to have his milk since his surgery was in the morning, but that he could have apple juice. Luckily when he got up he asked for apple juice and all was calm.

The next morning he was a bit upset that he couldn't have anything to eat or drink but was also easily distracted so he got over being upset quickly. When the hospital called me before the surgery they had requested we either bring extra underwear for him or have him in a pull-up since many of the little kids wet themselves during the procedure or post-op. It was hilarious how offended Bug was at the suggestion of a pull-up. So I brought and never needed the extra underwear and clothes for him.

When we got to the hospital and back to the pre-op room he was really great about everything except putting on the gown and bright orange socks. We totally expected this and the nurse gave in to him and little by little he was back in his t-shirt, sweatpants and flip flops.

He was upset when they took him from us but not as upset as I expected, so that was good. The good part was that one of the doctors working with him that day came in and explained that he would blow into a balloon and then fall asleep. He thought this was pretty cool and I think it eased his fears a bit.

Oh, also while in the pre-op room, the same doctor that great about explaining the balloon to Bug also double checked the popsicle ingredients for us. I had explained to her that we brought our own but I got the feeling that when I called and asked about the ingreidents a couple of times before the surgery that nobody had actually looked at the popsicles. She was awesome and brought in a wrapped popsicle to show me that they "may contain traces of dairy!" She was really disappointed and judging from her response, those popsicles won't be there long. Glad I brought some for him!

The surgery including putting him under probably took around a half hour. When they were done his doctor told us everything went well and that he had large tonsils and adenoids. He gave us all of the recovery instructions and then we were told it would probably be another fifteen minutes to half hour before we could go see Bug.

Well, not even five minutes later they call us back. And not at all a surprise to us, Bug was pissed about the IV. I was positive this was the one thing that was going to make him really angry, and it was. The nurses were really concerned that his throat was in a lot of pain and we told them that he really didn't like the IV and he was even saying "get this thing out of me!"

His being that upset was not really good for his throat and they put some more drugs in his IV and after a short but unrelenting fight, he finally fell asleep. The problem with all of this was that until he showed the nurses that he would drink something, we weren't allowed to go home. We were starting to think we'd be there all day!

He took a good nap and when he woke up he was still angry about the IV but we were somehow able to reason with him and he finally at a popsicle. Hooray! So then we just needed the nurse to hurry up and get that IV out so we could go home. He didn't like that process at all and was getting really worked up again. We were finally free and had a very nice calm ride home. He ate popsicles the entire way and pretty much the rest of the day.

He was pretty good about taking his pain medicine and being calm the rest of the day and was very happy to see his brother and Grandma & Grandpa. His brother gave him a new Transformer, Arcee that just brightened his day. He worked on a Cars puzzle with Grandpa that Daddy framed for him and had a pretty relaxing afternoon.

He had an okay night. He took his pain meds before bed and started waking up as they wore off. I brought him into our bed to get him to calm down but he wouldn't take any more meds and would get upset every few minutes. One of the times he got worked up he spit up a bunch of yuck. Yuck is the best way to describe it. Luckily, nothing else came up and a trip to the ER wasn't necessary. I finally got him to take his pain meds and he fell asleep in his bed shortly after. He only peeped a few times the rest of the night so we all got about 6 hours of sleep. Not bad though I jumped out of bed each time he peeped to make sure he didn't cry. Hopefully tonight will be even better.

Bubba Roo has been awesome through this entire thing and was really good about telling Bug to sit down and be calm yesterday. Daddy took him to dinner last night and they'll go to soccer and probably dinner again tonight. Keeping the boys apart these first few days will help ensure Bug doesn't run around too much. Roo was excited that he got a new Transformer too, Wheeljack, and was really excited when I told him Bug slept with Arcee all last night. They really love playing Transformers, hopefully Bug will be well enough to play with Roo this weekend.


Yesterday was exhausting and I'm really tired today too, but hopefully things will start to get back to normal soon. I'm glad we're past this and am hoping this helps Bug stay healthy.

Happy Birthday Party, Grandpa!

Yesterday we celebrated Grandpa's 65th Birthday with family at Renato's Italian restaurant. We had a room reserved and we actually dined before the restaurant opened so it was really easy to keep an eye on the boys. Aunt Linda had gotten them Play Doh for Hanukkah and the boys played with that the entire time. What a great strategy for good restaurant behavior.

The boys were so excited for the party. They had each picked out gifts for Grandpa, a gift bag and a card. Roo picked out bright orange golf ball and put them in an Optimus Prime gift bag with an Optimus Prime card. After Grandpa opened his gift, he asked Grandpa if he could keep the card and bag. Silly kiddo, was so excited the whole way home and said how great Grandpa was for letting him keep the bag and card. Bug got Grandpa Buzz Lightyear and Woody figures for his desk. He said the Woody was for Grandma's desk. He put them in a Buzz Lightyear gift bag and got Grandpa a cake card. He was so excited for the party and enjoyed himself the entire time.

It was great to see family and it was a wonderful afternoon. Here's a picture of the cake I made for the party, a Les Paul guitar cake. Daddy definitely saved the day on this one after the fondant decided it didn't want to work. All for the better though because the icing I made tasted so much better than the fondant.

I Wouldn't Have Jinxed it Anyway....

I was reluctant to blog about Bug's visit to Dr. Wood last week. When we got his allergy blood work results I was super excited to see that all of his numbers, except egg, had gone down. This is what we're hoping for. The numbers continuing to go down in his young years are a good indicator that he'll outgrow his food allergies.

We had a great visit with Dr. Wood. They're really good about listening to all of your questions when they come in and examine the kiddo and then coming back with Dr. Wood and answers to all of your questions. Dr. Wood is good at reviewing Bug's history and explaining the way ahead. The way ahead this year was to do an at home introduction of dairy and to schedule an in office food challenge of peanut.

That appointment was last Tuesday and we were full of cautious excitement. We started the introduction of dairy last Friday. We were directed to introduce him to a foods that have dairy in the last third of ingredients. He tasted plain gold fish and didn't like them but luckily I had also gotten Vanilla Wafers and he loved them. A full serving was 8 cookies. On Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday he ate a full serving. Tuesday he only ate one cookie and Wednesday he only ate one cookie.

And then it happened. I got a call from the school that he had gotten up from his nap and was throwing up. This didn't sound like their normal phone call when one of the boys was sick, it wasn't what they said, just the tone of the call. Luckily we're only about 1o minutes away from the boys from where we work so I left and got there quickly and when I walked in the administrator said that they were really confused by what was going on. He was in the class with one of his teachers who remembered that Bug like lotion like the father on My Big Fat Greek Wedding likes windex. They were trying really hard to calm him down and she was putting lotion on him to help calm him. They knew he hadn't eaten anything he's allergic to which is why they were so confused. I packaged him up and put him in the car.

I stood by the car for a little bit after I put him in and was really able to take notice of how off his breathing sounded. That plus the coughing really didn't add up. I knew had had been having strep throat a lot recently but this just didn't feel right. I was debating what to do.

As I drove away and waited at the traffic light I decided that I really didn't like how he sounded. I gave him some benadryl and continued to listen to him on the way home. By the time we got home most of the coughing subsided. I was still questioning what to do but know well enough to just keep an eye on him and get him with the epi if I need to. That's when I decided it was an allergic reaction and was just shocked that it was mildly anaphylactic. He even had a few hives on his cheek and we've never seen him get hives, just eczema. It was also hard to tell if his face had been swollen since he was so upset.

The rest of the afternoon I sat with him on my lap. I called Hopkins and consulted with them about what was going on and they said they've found this in their research. I was just so stunned that he could have an anaphylactic reaction six hours after ingesting something but I guess it can happen when you're trying to introduce a new protein for the body to digest day after day. His body pretty much said, nope that's enough of that. Hopkins was great and say that we can drive the way ahead. I was definitely happy one Daddy got home so we could have some other eyes on him but he was great about being by the phone at work all afternoon to keep me calm; I was super worried!

We gave him benadryl and zyrtec before bed and kept an eye on him all night. I barely slept, I'm a worrier like that!

The next morning we took him to see his pediatrician to make sure it really was an allergic reaction and not a virus. She confirmed that it was most likely an allergic reaction. Bummer.

So that's our first experience trialing milk with Bug. Not a success. Looking back, it was probably bugging him from the first day. He said his tummy hurt the first night after he went to bed but it was hard to tell if it was because he gulped his milk down (his soy milk) or that he just didn't eat a lot or what. He also had eczema the next day and we were directed to push through any eczema, so we treated it and he seemed fine when he woke up the next morning. Now he's left with a bit of eczema that will go away in a few days and hasn't asked for the cookies once.

Bug's eating habits are not ideal. He doesn't eat a wide variety of foods and is always reluctant to try new foods. It's no wonder. We were told not to worry about it last year at his annual visit to Hopkins, that food allergy kids often have an innate fear of food. I'm glad he was willing to try the new food. It's disheartening that he had that reaction but we still have hope that he will outgrow the milk allergy by the time he starts kindergarten. His RAST number for dairy has gone down every year. Hope is good!

So, over the next few months we'll have the opportunity to let him try the fruits he should be able to have now and worry about dairy again next year. He'll also get scheduled for a food challenge for peanuts to see if that is a true allergy. Maybe we'll do the same for dairy, but for now, we're ok not having it in the house and sticking with what we know!

January Update...In February

I continue to find myself behind on the blogging. For those who still read the blog, January was strep throat month. It was not fun....at all. I never realized how bad strep throat is. On the one had, Roo shows next to no symptoms so it's almost business as usual with him. Bug on the other hand is an absolute mess when he has strep.

Let's talk about getting puked on. Daddy and I are now even or I may have the lead of who's been puked on the most. We Bug gets a strep test, he pukes. When he gets upset or eats popcorn or takes his medicine or anything that disrupts his delicate equilibrium when he has strep, he pukes. It's really not fun at all. And not only that, he gets a really high fever that fools you during the beginning of the day so you think you can spread out meds and then shoots up at night, even after being on antibiotics for days. Oh, and he doesn't really eat either. So much fun!

So Bug had strep the first week of Jan, Roo the second, Roo's meds were poorly labeled so he actually got a fever and sick the third week and then Bug had it again the forth week. Amazing! And so after changing sheets daily, changing toothbrushes and nuks daily, I decided Daddy and I needed to get tested as well. Neither of us felt sick but I am the carrier of the yuck and actually tested positive. Good to know for the future. Someone at work had tipped me off to the fact that you can be a strep carrier, glad I remembered this conversation. Our ped called back last night to say that everyone's follow-up strep tests, including mine were negative.

I was in a training class the last week of January so that kept me busy and I really hated not dropping the boys off at school. It's amazing how much seeing them in the mornings really starts my day off right. It just didn't feel right not seeing them before I left for work...I wondered what time they woke up, what kind of mood they were in, did they get dressed nicely, what did they eat on the way to school. We really have that morning routine thing down. I may tell them to hurry hurry hurry every morning but I could probably stop saying that without it slowing down our progress, it's just part of the routine at this point.

Bug can wink. Yep, this is true and hilarious. It's adorable and totally going to help him get his way even more. He'll tell me things and then wink so he's using the wink appropriately and his timing of the wink is correct. Watch out world!

Roo is doing great with speech. He loves his new speech teacher and she's really honed in on what he needs help with. He likes to bring a Transformer or two to class with him and she is great about getting him to speak even on his shy days. It's just him and another little girl and it lasts about an hour once a week, so it's really been a great addition to his evening activities.

Roo is doing great with swimming. He moved up to the next class and really enjoys it. When I took Bug to his mommy and me class you could tell Roo longed to jump in the pool and join in. I may sign him up for lessons for twice a week for the spring.

Both boys are signed up for spring soccer. Bug has been so mad at me for him not being in soccer this winter. He's only three but man, that kid just loves soccer. I have no idea where he gets this from :) We asked Roo if he wanted to try t-ball or soccer and soccer was it, which I was pretty excited about. Would much rather watch soccer games than t-ball games!

Roo's asthma is doing great and he had a really good pulm appointment. So glad that's under control!

Oh, and then there was the plumbing....

That's all I can think of for now. I'm sure there's more...so today I'll add my (relevant) Facebook posts from January so I can truly use the blog as a journal! Oh, and I got a new car and my back is thanking me very very much for it...amazing the difference the seat makes, should be a much better trip to Maine this year that will hopefully not be followed by a shot in the back for my disc!

January 5

At the doctor's office with a sick Bug he feels so bad he's laying down with his blanket on ...most calm he's ever been at the doctor

January 5

and now lets discuss Roo's version of step throat...no noticeable signs of not feeling well, no soar throat, no fever...only a random rash that appeared two nights ago that is already gone....but upon looking in his throat, yucky strep....ped called in a prescription for him. Would have never known if Bug hadn't gotten so sick. Crazy!

January 8

made pigs in a blanket an Roo declared that we should really be calling them "snakes in a sock!"

January 9

false start with Bug at swimming tonight, guess he's not feeling totally better yet....we'll try again tomorrow night.

January 13

Roo had a great pulm appt yesterday! Too bad I had to pick him up early from school today. He's got a massive headache and a fever, this kid NEVER gets a fever. Our weekly pediatrician visits are getting old at this point!

January 13

and it looks like we may have a leak in one of the bathrooms, there's a really nice new wet spot on the kitchen ceiling, fun! Oh well, at least the boys will enjoy going to Lowes to get the materials to fix it, and who doesn't like cutting a hole in their ceiling?!

January 13

hole in kitchen ceiling, check....source of leak identified, check...water directly from toilet leaking onto kitchen floor when flushed, check...dry wall guy scheduled for this weekend, check...silly interior wall with window identified as not load bearing and getting cut in half tomorrow, check...kid with fever b/c antibiotics not clearly labeled that they need to be put in the fridge, check...and why am I feeling stressed?

January 14

love when the kids sleep in on a Saturday...got the house picked up and ready for taking down the ugly window wall, woo hoo! Then on to fixing the toilet.

January 16

took Bug for his annual RAST blood work and as soon as he realized what we were doing he said "I hate this place!" Glad we only have to do this once a year!

January 16

the ugly window wall is now a nice knee wall, the plumbing in our bathroom is fixed, Roo is better and as I walked by the hole in the ceiling thinking about how much we got done this weekend, I stepped in water....seriously, is this a joke?!

January 18

bad news: need to hire a plumber to fix the tub overflow leak....good news: scheduled our Maine vacation...if only it were June instead of January!

January 19

Bug has been playing with a wrapped roll of red party streamer, throwing it and kicking it around the house. Tonight he figured out that you can open it up and unroll the streamer across the house. Roo called him a "genius" and remarked that he wished he had thought of that!

January 21

making the grocery list for tomorrow and asking the kids what they want for the Patriots game tomorrow...Bug's response was chicken head and Roo's response was chicken feet. Very helpful boys....

January 23

had to pick up a sick Bug from school...now he's resting on my lap watching Transformers...I love cuddling with my little guy!

January 24

Bug's got strep again and would you believe it, when they swabbed his throat he threw up on me again, I love him! In better news, we got his allergy blood work back and all of his numbers went down except egg; hoping for a great appointment in 2 weeks!

January 26

at home again today with my sick little guy, he's fast asleep on me, reminds me of when he was a newborn :)

January 26

decided to go to the local urgent care this evening for a strep test to see if I'm part of the problem for why Bug got strep again. Figured it was something they couldn't mess up. I tested positive and then the doc came in and asked if I can take penicillin. Guess the doc didn't read the file so I told him I'm allergic and he goes on to say that it's the gold standard for strep...yep, I get it, but I'm allergic, so please stop being an a** and just give me something else. Another reason why I never go to that urgent care.