Bananas for Baxter

Whew......the past 4 weeks have been tough. Love Bug has always had some cradle cap and a crusty ear. Well it all got worse and he broke out with eczema head to toe. Then he started waking up every 2 hours at night because he was so itchy. Poor little guy. So off the the pediatricians office we went and then began our experimenting with different bath and body products. Well, after going to the pediatrician almost every week since he turned 3 months old and eliminating dairy from mommy's diet we thought, oh no, he's allergic to Baxter.

So last Monday we took Baxter to the kennel. We cleaned the house from top to bottom. Had Stanley Steamer clean the carpet and couches. And then guess what....the next day Love Bug broke out again. What could it be? So mommy eliminated eggs, chocolate and nuts (the dairy free granola bars had all sorts of nuts in them). We also made an appointment with a pediatric allergist.

Today we took Love Bug to the allergist. He was so good. Everyone in the office was also incredibly nice. His appointment went really well. They were actually able to do a skin test to see what he's allergic to.

The results: milk, clams, almonds (remember the granola bars), and bananas!

Bananas? Really, that's so odd. But we now know not to give him bananas, which also happen to be a very common first food. And did you know bananas can be related to a latex allergy? We're going to ask about that at his next appt.

Roo loves bananas, has one every single morning when we leave the house. We'll have to worry about how we'll manage that later on. For now he can keep eating his bananas.

And Baxter, we're going to pick him up from the kennel tomorrow. Hopefully he enjoyed his all expenses paid vacation.

Oh, and if you happen upon this blog and wonder what skin products have worked best for the eczema, because it really is a battle of trial and error...we've found that applying either Vaseline or Aquaphor Ointment and then putting on the cortisone/Eucerin mix has worked very well for the itching and healing. We're using Cetaphil for his soap/shampoo.

Welcome home B, we missed you!

3 Months and 2 1/2 and a Pet Named Pet

Love Bug just turned 3 months old this week. It's hard to believe how fast he's growing. And Roo turns 2 1/2 next week. It's hard to believe that earlier this year we were worried about how much he was talking...now he's talking up a storm and his words are so much more understandable.

Love Bug decided to go through a growth spurt this last week. It's been a bit rough for mommy because he likes to eat his extra at night instead of during the day. In fact the sitter said that he doesn't eat much at all during the day. He seems to eat less than Roo did when he was a baby, but still at 3 months he's starting to wear his 6-9 month clothes!

Love Bug has also hit a few milestones. Not only does he smile all the time, he talks up a storm and he laughs now too. He can hold his hands together and even do little baby push ups. You wouldn't believe that even just last week he would only be happy on his tummy for a few moments, now he doesn't mind being on his tummy for a few minutes. Soon enough he'll be rolling over.

Love Bug is still spending his nights in the swing. Mommy tried him in the crib last night and he did ok for his first stretch of sleep but couldn't fall back to sleep after he got up. Tonight mommy decided that she's too tired to even attempt the crib. Maybe when he's 4 months old!

Roo also appears to have gone through a growth spurt. He looks taller and a bit leaner..this would probably explain all the eating the past couple of weeks. Roo has also started to show a lot more affection towards his little brother. He makes sure to give him a big hug and kiss every night before bed. He hugs are great too, they come with him saying awwwwww......

Roo also got a new pet, a male beta that he named Pet. Mommy and daddy got it for him while we were out and about skipping work one day. We called Uncle Matt to get help with a name. We all decided Nemo would be a good name....easy to say because it sounds like Elmo. But, Roo had other ideas and likes to call him Pet.

We also finally made the trip up to see Grandma and Grandpa. We had a good visit and the boys got to see their Bubbie (Great Grandma). When Roo woke up the next morning the first thing he said was "where's Uncle Matt?" We're pretty sure Uncle Matt is his favorite person! It also occurred to us the other day that Love Bug is going to look up to Roo.............

Sneaky B!

So over the holidays we got Roo a cool little Wall-E table and chairs. We put it in the living room and hooked up the VCR and it's now his own little Elmo viewing room. A lot of nights he'll like to have his dinner and watch Elmo at the same time. The only disturbance is Baxter....because, you're not a real lab if you don't beg or try to steal food constantly! However, since Roo can be a lot like his mommy sometimes he has a bit of a love/hate relationship with B (that's what Roo calls him). He gets pretty upset when B steals his food....unless of course he would rather have a snack. For example, just last night mommy and daddy spent a lot of time preventing Baxter from stealing his food. Baxter tried sneaking through the dining room around the table and also sneaking in down the hallway. But, mommy and daddy were on top of things last night and thwarted his efforts. Sure enough, after all of this effort to keep Roo's dinner in tact, Roo decided he'd rather have a snack than a meal. Daddy told him to eat more of his dinner at which point Roo called B to eat his food.

Roo likes to make sure B is fed. Mommy is guessing that when she put Baxter on a diet a while ago, that he had a conversation with Roo to make sure that he wouldn't starve. And sure enough, Roo likes to make sure on almost a daily basis that he saves some of his food to feed to B.

Back to Work...

My New Year's Resolution was to update the blog with pictures of the kiddos at least once a week. Well, I haven't updated since 2 January so it looks like my one and only resolution for the year is a bust. That won't keep me from at least attempting to update the blog that frequently though.

Mommy returned to work for two days last week and it was definitely no fun leaving Love Bug. He's just a really sweet happy baby. Roo did really well adjusting to sharing his time with his friends at the sitter with Love Bug. This weekend Roo has been especially loving towards Love Bug. Mommy forgot to bring Love Bug's socks when we went to Aunt Jill and Uncle Nate's on Sunday (don't worry, Love Bug was all bundled up) so Roo decided to take the socks off his feet and give them to Love Bug. It was really sweet.

Today Roo decided that Love Bug needed lots of hugs and kisses so he gave him lots of hugs and kisses.

We had a lot of fun just hanging out in the house this weekend but you can definitely tell that Roo gets cabin fever pretty easily. There's only so much flying the 'helitopter' or Elmo a little Roo can take. We're all ready for some sunny warm weather...Florida is looking great right now....summer can't come soon enough.

The biggest change with Love Bug is that he just gabs and gabs away. He is a very talkative little baby. Sometimes he'd much rather just sit and talk with you than eat, it's pretty funny. And he has just the biggest smile that will melt your heart.

So, mommy promises to get better at updating the blog and taking more pictures of the boys. Hope everyone is staying warm during this very cold January!

No!

A typical day:

Dada: Roo, would you like breakfast?
Roo: No....proceeds to wait for breakfast.
Dada: Roo would you like a banana?
Roo: No.....proceeds to eat the banana.
Dada: Roo, would you like to go outside?
Roo: No....proceeds to take off shark shorts and put shoes on....who needs any other clothing when your 2 and it's freezing out.
Baxter: Outside, I love outside, lets go...hurry up you humans I want to go out!

and so the day goes......

Needless to say, he's just now starting to say yes, thank goodness. But this keeps us very entertained and busy. And if anyone wonders, the 2 year old definitely runs the house! If you ever get bored and want some entertainment, feel free to join us for a day.

Finally, if you happen upon a pair of white shorts with sharks on them from The Childrens Place, please buy them in sizes 3T and 4T and possibly even 5. Roo spends his days at home in these shorts and sleeps in them for naptime and at night. We can't imagine what would happen to his little world if lets say, Baxter ate them.....or if mommy just decides she can't stand them anymore.

Hams...

Today we got professional pictures taken of us and the boys at Portrait Innovations. We knew keeping Roo entertained could be a challenge since he's 2 but we didn't anticipate him being such a ham for the camera. We did the family picture first to get things going and then some of the boys together and then we let them each ham it up on their own. Here are a few of the pics from the photo session....as you can see, Roo had a blast! They had to touch up the photo of the two of them, once I get it touched up I'll post that one as well.

Happy Holidays!

The boys have had fun celebrating Hanukah and Christmas this year. Roo got one big gift for both; a John Deere yard tractor just like his dada has. He loves it! He also got lots of great gifts from the rest of the family and had a blast playing with everyone on Christmas day. He's getting pretty good at saying Grandma and Grandpa and was even better at being cute to get what he wanted. If one was by the sweets he'd ask for a cookie and then when the next grandparent came by he'd do the same....he's a little ham!

Roo got the hang of driving the tractor pretty quick and enjoys picking up sticks in the yard.

We finally captured one of Love Bug's big smiles on camera. He's growing like a weed! (sorry it's sideways)

Roo also really liked the 'cheese' he got. Get it...say cheese. Grammy and pop pop got him a kid tough camera he can bring in the water with him. We'll post some of his pictures on a future update, but as you can see from how he holds the camera, they're pretty entertaining! (sorry again for the sideways picture but you get the idea!)

Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays and getting to spend time with family and friends.

Growing, Growing, Growing....

The house has been exciting lately. The Roo's vocabulary is blossoming and we're beginning to have very entertaining conversations with him. Here's one of my recent favorites:

Mama: Roo
Roo: What
Mama: I love you
Roo: Alright

Isn't that sweet! 'What' has become a lot like how Roo uses 'no' and it's just funny to hear. He's a riot though. He loves holding 'the baby' and calling baby by his name:

Dada: Roo, what's the baby's name?
Roo: Baby Of course, why would his name be anything else! In addition to talking a lot more, he's also singing a lot. ABC's, Elmo's World among other tunes. This is a very exciting age and we're having a lot of fun watching the new things Roo says and does on a daily basis.

Love Bug is 5 weeks old now. It's amazing how much he has grown. After a very long night earlier this week, he rewarded mommy with his first big smile. He's now around 12 lbs, in fact, his height and weight are pretty much tracking with Roo's around the same age. We think Love Bug will be taller. Oh, and lets all cross our fingers he keeps his beautiful blue eyes!

Welcome!

Baxter and The Roo would like to welcome their new little brother to the world! Our new little guy arrived on 4 November 2008 at 757 am. He weighed 9lbs 1oz and was 21inches long. He is 2 weeks old today and is a very happy snuggly baby. Love Bug as we often call him is eating well, learning the difference between day and night, and getting along well with Baxter and The Roo. Here are a few pictures from the last couple of weeks. We'll also begin to think about what to rename the blog....but we'll wait until Love Bug has a lasting nickname. Enjoy!

Roo meeting his baby brother for the first time.

Love Bug taking a little nap.

Together on the floor for tummy time.
Love Bug taking a nap on his two week birthday.