I'm a wildebeest!

Yesterday Sam was playing next to me on the couch while I was feeding Will and excitedly announced, "I'm a wildebeest!" A few days ago it was a dog and cat. Quite a leap.

Last night my neighbor (a NICU nurse) was holding Will, and after a little while asked me if he had reflux. I'd been so focused on his milk/soy issue that I just assumed the things she noticed were because of that. Reflux started to make a lot of sense the more I thought about it. Poor kid. We took him to the doctor this morning and he got a prescription for Zantac. For all the issues his little body is dealing with, he's incredibly happy. Plus he's cute.

We ended up spending a good chunk of our day at Papa's house. We stopped by to say hi and happy birthday to Papa after the doctor visit, but Sam was having so much fun with Jane and Emily that I didn't dare take him away.




He and Jane walked in the creek (luckily I had extra clothes with me). He was completely soaked and extremely happy to be playing with one of his favorite people.

Mike was there too, working on the yard project. It's really coming along, and it's looking fabulous.

That's interesting

Sam pays close attention to what we say, and then repeats it when he has the chance. Here's a random sampling.

• The other day he asked me what I was doing. I told him and he responded, "Oh, that's interesting."
• Sam's latest response when asked how he's doing is, "Feelin' good!" Not actually sure where he picked that up, but I like it.
• When we were outside the other evening (just before the rat-dog incident), he wanted Mike to stop setting up the ladder to trim the tree, so Sam told him, "It's not a gorgeous day."
• After Will was born I was writing some thank-you notes and Sam was sitting next to me just watching for a while. He finally said, "Mommy, are you drawing numbers?" I told him I was writing letters and he replied, "Oh...it looks wonderful." We're confident he picked that up at Grandma's house.
• We were in the car and Sam asked where we were going. I told him we were taking Will to the doctor and he said, "Oh, yeah...taking Will to the doctor. That's great."

Sam loves to help us get ice & water when we're thirsty. He likes to be handed the ice to put in the cup, and he insists on pushing the water button in the fridge. Twice now he has gotten out of bed and come running when he hears ice going in a cup. He goes back to bed quite happily after he's helped.

Success...sort of

Sam had his first visit to the dentist today. If you can count as successful one slap at the dentist and complete resistance at every effort to look in his mouth, then we had a very successful morning. Dr. Larsen was great, he has four boys (and a girl) of his own, but you still cringe when your child takes a swipe at a complete stranger who's just trying to help. This hitting thing is new this week, he's only done it a few of times. Apparently he's retesting those boundaries. Fun. We even turned a Thomas video on for him, but the child just can't handle being told what to do, especially by someone he doesn't know well. Hopefully the next visit will be easier. The good news: Sam has all 20 of his teeth. And we bought the fire engine piñata for his birthday, which he's been pushing all around the house.

Rats!

We were out in the front yard tonight when our cute elderly neighbor Sis. Black walked by with the small dog she was dogsitting. We exchanged pleasantries with her, and then Mike said to Sam, "Is that a dog?" Sam replied, "No, it's a rat!" Mike tried to smooth the situation by saying, "No Sam, it's a little dog." "No," retorted Sam happily, "It's a rat!" The embarrassing thing was, it really did look like a rat. I was glad it wasn't her chihuahua. Before she walked away she asked if Sam was tall for his age. I said yes and she asked if he was 4. Nope...almost 3.

Happy Baby Laughs

I've been eagerly anticipating Will's first baby laugh, and it finally happened this morning!
But I missed it.
I was throwing a diaper away, so Mike was playing with Will and got him to laugh! Luckily he was able to get another laugh after I got back. He's 12 weeks old today.

Other good news: I was able to get a week's worth of internet service credited to my account (since our service doesn't work right much of the time). I was also able to get a FedEx charge reimbursed. Someone shipped something to us and forgot to specify that we wanted the very cheapest delivery. When not specified, the service defaults to priority overnight (which is roughly 10 times the cost). $6 service becomes $63.33 service. When I talked to FedEx they said there was nothing they could do...but wait. I was about to hang up when she noticed that our package did not arrive the next day (try 3 days). Since there was a delivery failure we were reimbursed the whole amount. Yay for complaining and getting something!!

Sam has asked every day for the last week to have a bath. His bath today was at 2:00...whatever makes him happy, right? I read an article online about parents who potty train from birth. Their kids never wear diapers at all. It was starting to sound appealing until I read about a mom who, when in a public place, has to take her baby into a restroom so the baby can relieve herself in the sink. Am I crazy for not wanting to wash my hands in a makeshift baby toilet? Other times she just has to deal with accidents. Less appealing.

You want this, Pretty Boy?

A few nights ago Mike was putting Sam in his pj's before bed. Sam was playing with part of a broken toy and out of nowhere put it up to Mike's cheek and said, "You want this, Pretty Boy?" We're still scratching our heads trying to figure out where that came from. Shrek maybe?

Yesterday Sam went in to the bathroom to get ready for a bath (unbeknownst to me). He came out wearing only a shirt and Thomas socks, and holding a sunblock stick. He somehow got it into his head that the sunblock was "car wash" and went into the garage to clean my car. He rubbed the sunblock on several areas of my car, and it is indeed cleaner...because I had to wash it all off.

These are a few of my favorite things...

Mike is home, we're so happy! I celebrated by having butter on my corn on the cob. It was heavenly. I can't remember the last time I ate butter (or margarine for that matter). I await the day I can eat again. At the grocery store today I checked out the formula I would have to buy for Will. Only $25 for a tiny little can. It's more than double the price of the most expensive regular formula in the same size. There are two main reasons I'm glad I can nurse Will: 1) I don't have an extra $6,000 to spend on formula this year, 2) He won't take a bottle. I've got quite a supply of breastmilk in my freezer. I hope to use it someday...I could really use the space!

I've been asked what I can't eat, but I think it's easier to list what I can.
Approved foods: Mayo (made with canola oil), pasta, meat, fruits & veggies, some cereal, rice, rice milk, oatmeal, mustard, Brianna's poppy seed dressing, tortillas, some bread (I should just start making my own again, it would probably be easier), some bagels. Can't think of anything else off hand.
Foods I'm saddest not to eat: chocolate, milk, cheese, yogurt, arby's sauce, campbell's cream soups (for cooking), sour cream, crackers, ice cream, & milkshakes at Le Beau's (at Bear Lake). I'm also sad not to eat the mini cheesecakes I'll be making for Tami's baby shower. They look so good. I have to be a label nazi now...it was sad to put the ginger thins back on the shelf at the store today. Stinking whey. And casein. And soy.
I might complain a lot, but I really am grateful I can nurse Will. He's such a cute baby, and happy too. He almost laughed today--an audible smile, if you will. He's also an amazing sleeper. He's only 11 weeks and he's been sleeping through the night for over a month. Some consolation for the forced diet. (I guess the other major consolation would be the weight loss...)

Will puked on me (and the couch) a couple of times today, but at least his diaper didn't leak all over the front of my shirt again. That was sad, especially since I wasn't home. We had lunch with Nana/Mama Jane, and I had to borrow a shirt. I always take extra clothes for the kids, but I've learned that I should have extras for myself too. We saw Eric and Renee for a few minutes while we were there. Soon we'll see them every day, since they'll be moving in with us in a couple of weeks. I'm pretty well stocked on cereal now (Macey's had a good sale, plus I had my coupons), so they'll have something to eat when they get here. Sam is going to love having them around, they're so fun to play with. Mike and I are excited too...built in babysitters!! Eric totally owes me for all those years of teasing. :)

BFF

The last couple of days when Mike comes home from work, Sam will run into the garage and yell, "Daddy, you're my best friend!" Today Sam also told me I was his best friend. It will be very sad to have Mike gone for the next three days on a business trip. Especially at bedtime. Usually it's one-on-one, but without Mike around I'll be outnumbered. At least I get to go to the dentist tomorrow. And the pediatrician, if I can get an appointment. Poor Will, I hope he'll be like Sam and outgrow his eczema. I don't think the current spot is because of me, I've been vigilant about my diet. That's kind of what has me worried...maybe it's getting worse all on its own. Oh, and the banana bread was good. A little better with some shortening in it, but definitely an acceptable alternative.

Banana Bread

I tried my banana bread recipe with applesauce instead of shortening. It hasn't come out of the oven, so I don't know if it's any good yet. I can't eat anything with shortening in it because of my poor milk/soy intolerant nursing baby. He doesn't like it, so I don't get it. It's pretty sad since I've had to cut out more than half of my normal diet. No milk, cheese, oreos, peanut butter, cream of chicken/mushroom soup, pretzels, crackers, some breads and bagels, cream cheese, most mayo, sour cream, cottage cheese, yogurt, milkshakes, granola bars, fried foods, etc. Basically all processed foods are off limits. Even pancake mix, and at least half of the cereal in my cupboard. It's amazing how much stuff has milk and soy in it. I guess I've been eating more healthy (when I find foods I can actually eat). It's pretty hard to make dinner that everyone can enjoy. I am getting more creative though, so I guess it hasn't been all bad. Last time I checked I'd lost 5 pounds since the revelation of Will's intolerance. If I have milk he breaks out in a rash or develops big eczema spots. If I have soy he can't keep anything down. It goes in and then right back out again, usually all over me. It's easy to figure out when I've accidentally eaten something with soy in it. Most babies outgrow this kind of intolerance around 6-8 months. Pray for us. He's 11 weeks old on Monday.

Oh, Baby!

We just blessed our 9 week old baby today, and it was so great! We had lots of family join us for this special day, and we got to spend a fun afternoon relaxing and eating. All I can say is thank goodness for paper plates. I feel pretty lucky to have 3 awesome men in my life!

Mike and Sam with our pretty flowers

New Blog

I've finally done it. I'm officially a blogger. With two kids and a house to clean it could mean a lot of late nights. Not that I go to bed early anyway, but I've intended to for several years now.