update on Nate's allergies

Forgot to post about the visit at the specialist. The whole week being off meds for Nate was horrible. He lost his voice and the sneezing was over the top. So we tested him for milk, dust, dog, and something else. He was allergic to dust and dog. So basically we had to get all these covers for his mattress and I bought new pillows and put covers on them too. I had to clean his room from head to toe. I have to watch and make sure that Gabbie doesn't come in the room. Also limit his play activity with her which he doesn't really play with her anyway. He has to take allergy medicine daily along with Cingular. That is to help when he gets sick and the wheezing. This is to prevent the wheezing. We all got sick a few weeks ago and he is the only one that didn't get the cough like we did. So it is working! I am now on that medicine too! We have only had a few attacks since then but that is because I was slacking on the nose spray. We go back in November for a recheck. Also he isn't allergic to milk but I have to be careful with his eczema. Daddy gave him whole milk on accident and later that day his butt was covered in hives and eczema. I got it under control but now I know what can happen when he has the heavy milks.

Burt's pumpkin patch 2011

This year we had to go earlier due to our busy schedule for Oct. The weather was beautiful and the leaves just starting to change. I was under the weather but was determine that our family was going this year. It is a family tradition.
We brought the wagon again this year. Nate saw all the pumpkins and got so excited. He loved climbing all over them. Wes liked them too but like it better being pushed in the wagon. He loves to ride! What a great family day!

20 new things about Wes

So I have been slacking on my duties and decided to just skip 19 months. So many changes in the past few months. He has to be one of the sweetest, kindness child I know. He just melts your heart all the time. But don't get me wrong he has his moments. When he is hungry WATCH OUT!

20 new things about Wes
1. Both tubes are out. There are little holes in his ear from where the tubes use to be and we have to make sure they close. Dr Penny said if he didn't have those holes he would be having ear infections again. We go to the ENT in Dec for a check up.
2. He will answer your questions "yeah" or "no no no".
3. He now knows how to open doors. He also loves to close doors.
4. He still loves to read books. When you put him in his crib, he will hand you one more book and say "read"
5. Favorite food is buddy fruit and mac and cheese. He knows how to say both of these words.
6. He has gotten about 8 teeth in the past 2 months. So glad that is over with because I didn't know what happened to my child. All molars and eye teeth at the same time!
7. Loves to brush his teeth all the time. I think he just really likes the feeling on his teeth.
8. He ask for wawer for something to drink.
9. He now walks into his class room when dropping off without hesitation.
10. He always gets good reports from school and brings home lots of art work. Loves to color!
11. He knows how to do puzzles now without help
12. Really good at using his knife and spoon and will ask for them.
13. Likes to point to my ears, eyes and nose and tell me what he is pointing too
14. He now calls Nate by his name "Na"
15. You ask him objects in a book and he can point to them.
16. He doesn't like to get his hands dirty and hates when he falls outside. I have now taught him to dust his hands off and he will do it.
17. Still loves to swing
18. He can sit in the booster seat like a big boy.
19. He tells me when he goes poop and pee.
20. He picks his nose all the time. So gross!

zoo end of summer 2011

So I decided we all had a day off and we would go to the zoo. It was HOT! But we had a blast and they both loved it. Nate liked more that he wasn't in the stroller and walked the whole park. We packed a lunch and had a picnic there too! After lunch we went on a train ride. Wes was so excited about the Choo Choo. The tunnel he wasn't too sure about.
Nate's favorite animal to see was the Elephants.

First day of school for Nate and Wes

I have been counting down for this day all summer.

First day of school was awesome. We had to put together a collage for Nate "All about me". Daddy even got to go with us too.
Wes's teachers are awesome. I actually know one of his teachers Mrs. Niki. Her son was in Nate's class last year. She is a great mom and I know she is a great teacher. His other teacher is new to the school too and she is great!
Nate only has Sara from last year in his class. His teachers are Mrs. Candance and Mrs. Michelle. They are both great from what I hear.
Drop off went great for both of them. Nate wanted me to go in with him and I sat with him for a little bit. Then Sara walked in and he was so excited to see her. She was excited to see him too.
I went back a couple times to check on Wes to make sure he was OK since this was his first day. He did so well and loved all the attention.

Allergies and Nate

So I have been worried about Nate for a while now and his allergies. After the spring has sprung he is still having allergy attacks. They consist of major sneezing and nose issues. Also I have been noticing that his eczema has come back. I figured out that I have been giving him regular milk in kids meals or ice cream. Well I took that out of his diet and it is going away. I know they are all related in some way so I took him to the dr when Wes got his check up. We finally got paper work to go get a blood allergy test. This was the worst experience EVER! Went to CHOA to get the blood work and the waiting time was 45 mins. Well we waited a total of 1 hour and 40 minutes. So glad I dropped Wes off with Daddy. We get back there and they couldn't find a vein. It was now 12:30 and we have been gone that day since 9:30 and I didn't pack anything to drink for him. So they said he was dehydrated and to come back. I told them no because I have already missed so much work and I am not bringing him back another day to get stick again. So it took 3 nurses until we finally torture his veins. When I saw the blood come out I started crying. I felt so bad for him. He couldn't even lift his arm and kept saying he had a boo boo. Gave him some tylenol and sent him to bed for a long needed nap.

Got the results back today from the Dr and he said he has various things. He is allergic to various molds, some dog dandruff (not very high), small % on egg whites, and soy bean. Soy bean really surprised me because he drinks soy milk on a daily basis.

So the Dr said it is time for him to go to an allergist to get more testing. I am really worried about the results. What if they tell me now more soy milk or products. How do I tell this to him they we have to take his favorite things away. This already breaks my heart. Saying lots of prayers!

18 New things with Wes

The other day I said he was 17 months old and he was actually 18. This month went by way too fast. He is really getting his own personality and doing so many things. I am amazed everyday by how much he is learning from his big brother.

This week we had his 18 month check up. We found out his right tube is not in place anymore. It hasn't fallen out but it is sideways. I am just praying the winter months are good to us and we don't have to get them replaced.

height 32.5 50-75% (has grown an inch in 3 months)
weight 25.8 50% (gained 3lbs in 3 months)
head 49.25 cm 75-90% (grew over an inch)

Here is what Nate's stats were at that age:
Height: 34 1/4 inches (90%) grew almost 2 inches since Aug
Weight: 26 pounds 4 oz (50-75%) gained almost 2 pounds since Aug
Head: 51.2 cm (95% +) head grew little over an inch since Aug

Wow I can't believe they are like almost 2 inch difference but almost the exact weight.

1. Hitting and kicking. These are the bad things that have entered in our world. He does it really bad when he is teething, cranky or really mad about a situation.
2. Teething is horrible right now. I have been saying for almost 2 months he has been teething. I looked in his mouth the other day and it grosses me out! He is getting eye teeth the same time he is getting molars. I am seeing white tips so we are close! Diapers and waking up at night crying are happening so I know we are close.
3. New words all the time. He will repeat words for you all the time. We are up to 3 word sentences. His new favorite word is "that". He will point to something and say "that". Or if you ask him if he wants to do something he has the cutest answer ever...Yeah.
4. Loves to talk on the phone to everyone. Gets mad when you take it away.
5. He loves to go bye bye. He gets so upset if I leave without him. He goes to the door and says bye bye.
6. His other favorite word is outside. He loves to be out there. The weather here has been so hot. Also the mosquito's have been awful and love to bite him. The other day I sprayed "off" on him. The only place I didn't was his face and now he has 2 huge bites on his forehead. Looks like he got beat up.
7. Fearless with water. Took him swimming for the first time at Lauren's. So glad she was there with us because he had no fear. He wanted to do it all by himself and didn't care if he was under water. He would walk down the stairs and go straight in. I can never go to the pool without help.
8. Time out. He has seen this a lot of times the past month. He will go in it and sit for a few seconds. Sometimes he will put himself in it. Pretty funny stuff.
9. He loves to pet Gabbie and give her loving.
10. His favorite show to watch now is Dora. This is due to his brother Nate. They scream when it comes on. He says this word that I don't know what it is yet...ADAT. Nate will now say it with him when the show comes on. Maybe he is saying DORA. Who knows.
11. He still loves to play with cars and trains when his brother doesn't hog them all the time.
12. He loves to color. He asks for the big Tupperware of colors.
13. Nate and Wes's favorite thing to do is take all the cushions off the couch and climb and jump on the chair. I just hope we don't visit the ER soon. They get wild!
14. Poor thing gets beat up by his brother all the time. He will start crying and come in and rub his head. I ask Nate what happened and he said he hit him. Poor baby!
15. His favorite food is still buddy fruit! He eats it like candy.
16. I ask him to do little things like throw something away or get me his shoes and he does it.
17. I will ask him at times if he has pooped or pee pee in his diaper and he will say "yeah" and he will go over on the floor and lay down for me to change him!
18. Loves to be in the bathroom with his brother goes potty and wash his hands just like brother too! I hope this is a great sign of potty training!

Nate is a BIG BOY!

WOW! AWESOME! Those are the words I have been saying over and over again this past week due to Potty Training Nate!!! He has done AWESOME! I took a week after July 4th off to do it. By the end of the first day he got it. He has only had 2 accidents the whole week which is terrific. He now tells us he has to go. On the first day he even pooped on the potty was a big WOW for me! He was a little scared the first two times but the cheers I did at the end he saw how proud I was of him.

Nap time is a little frustrating because he will have to go and he will panic and I have to run in there and take him. I have pull up's on him but he doesn't know he can pee pee in them. I am OK with that. I have been trying to teach him he is allowed to come out of his room and come and tell me. He has never come out of his room before on his own. I don't know why either, but now I need him to tell me in case I don't hear him because I will be working. Pull up's are not working at night. He leaks right through them. So we have to resort back to the night time diapers until we start seeing changes. He even still overflows night time diapers too.

All in all I am so proud of my BIG BOY! He amazes me all the time. GO NATE!

Father's Day 2011

I just noticed that I totally forgot the Father's Day post. I seriously didn't know what to get Brad this year and my ATL Bump mom's board posts their pics every year of the "dad" pics. I have no idea why I never did it before because it is a super cute gift. But let me tell you it is the hardest gift due to the fact the boys didn't want to take pictures and it was so HOT outside. I had to bribe Nate with M&M's to get him to stand still and hold the letters. When given to Dad he actually got emotional. One of the best gifts ever and I will do it every year to watch them grow!

17 New things with Wes

I can't believe next month Wes will be a year and a half. My little piglet is growing up and really understanding so many things. I know Nate was this age once but it still amazes me all the time.

1. He has more words and now some 2 words. downstairs, snack, I stuck, duck...
2. The other day he was going to bed with Daddy and I said "I love you Wes". He turns around plan as day and says "I love you". Daddy and I just looked at each other with amazement. Awesome words to hear from your child!
3. He loves eating with a fork and spoon and is getting really great with it.
4. He goes to fridge and says snack. He will open the bottom draw and get a buddy fruit.
5. He loves to play with Nate's trains. He will connect them and say "Choo Choo"
6. He also loves to play with Nate's cars. He will take them and do car nois.es.
7. Says "Mama" non stop. Mama for everything.
8. He is one of the best eaters I know. He will eat almost everything and all.day.long.
9. I can't not eat anything without him coming over to me and says "Mmmmmmm". And will point that he wants a bite. If I tell him no he will have a meltdown.
10. He loves to put on his shoes. He got his first pair of shoes in June and wears them non-stop.
11. When Nate does something to him that he doesn't like he screams and says Mama
12. I tell him it is time to Clean Up and he starts helping me put away things.
13. He loves to sit at the kitchen table and play with toys. We might be getting close to a booster seat but haven't tried it yet.
14. He is teething big time with his molars. Still none but it makes one cranky boy and messy diapers.
15. We will say UMPH and he will cross his arms and say "umph". He learned this trick from cousin Jace.
16. He tries so hard to get up on the couches to sit. It is his favorite place to be. He likes to stand and jump and say mama. He does this to get my attention so I tell him to sit down.
17. When I am getting ready he comes over to me and reaches up so I can give him my makeup brushes. He loves to hold them and walk around with them.

Mr & Mrs Roger Bryant

Kristin and Roger got married on July 2, 2011. It was a beautiful wedding and a great party afterwards. The boys did go to the wedding but I did not have time to take any pics of them because I was so busy. They were so PERFECT! No crying and no meltdowns. Gammy and Papa brought them there and took them back to our house and spent the night with them. We are truly blessed we have such great kids! I will post professional pics of the boys once received.

July 4th Steam Engine Parade

What a HOT steamy 4th of July. The family plan was for all 4 of us to go see the Cumming Steam Engine parade. I was so excited because it would be Wesley's first time. Well that didn't happen because Wesley had a very bad diaper rash (due to his molar's coming in) and we couldn't let him sweat and get hot with that. So I still ended up taking Nate while Daddy watched Wes. We only lasted an hour because it was that hot and Nate asked to go home. He totally loved seeing the trains and the police cars. We were both excited about air conditioning. I hope next year is much better than this year!

16 New things with Wes

16--WHAT...seriously. When someone asks me how old he is I want to say 10 months. I can't believe it. Way too fast the 2nd time around.

This month we have sprouted.

1. WE HAVE A WALKER!!!! And let me tell you I totally forgot how cute first time walkers are. I have dusted off my running shoes! I was sitting at my office May 20th and I see this little head walk by me and I did a double take and he was walking out the playroom door.
2. I will ask him if he wants to go Nite Nite and he walks to the gate of the stairs.
3. He will go to the door to go for a ride.
4. He will go to the fridge or pantry when he is hungry and pick his food that he wants. He loves the bottom drawer of the fridge because it has buddy fruits.
5. If the milk is all gone from his cup he will hand it to me and grunt for me to get him more.
6. He loves to say MAMA all.the.time.
7. He will put the phone to his ear and say "HI". Or he will come up to you and say "hi". So cute!
8. The animal noises he makes are cow, dog, monkey, pig, lion. When he sees any of these animals he goes wild with the animal sounds (esp the dog).
9. He wants to learn how to use the spoon on his own and I will help him scoop and assist to put it in his mouth and he laughs.
10. He loves music. He loves to dance and clap when it comes on.
11. He is learning how to do the cookie jar and put shapes in and he gets all excited when he does it.
12. He is showing interest in puzzles and trying to put pieces in.
13. He has learned how to climb onto the kitchen chairs and his brothers bed without assistance. Couches are still a little too high but he will use a pillow to help him.
14. He hates it when his mama leaves the room or goes bye bye. When I get my keys or shoes he starts crying instantly.
15. He loves Gabbie. He wants to pet her and play with her. Gabbie seems to like the attention.
16. He has learned to blow. He will try to blow bubbles or the leap frog birthday cake.

June Summer 2011 Cousin visit

We were so excited about our cousin visit with Kendall & Jace this year. Couldn't wait to see how the kids interacted. They all got along so well. We even went and painted pottery and they did so well.

The cutest thing is Nate picked up on things that Kendall and Jace were doing. The cutest one is he will fold his arms rapper style and say UMPH NO. Every time he does it, it makes me laugh and think of those precious kids every day.

First day of swimming 2011

So today it finally got hot enough to bring the pools out. Thank goodness I borrowed the blow up machine from my neighbor because I would of lost a lot of brain cells if I did it on my own. I was thinking that Wesley would love it so much and splash. That is what he does in the tub with Nate. But for some reason he didn't want to get splashed at all and was more interested in staying out of the pools. He got so muddy and dirty from crawling around in the grass. This is something that Nate would never do because he doesn't like to be dirty.
Nate of course spent the whole time in the pool and didn't want to get out. I am hoping I can still get him into swim lessons sometime this summer.

Peacemaker and Hugger

May 19th was Nate's last day of school for his 2 year old class. They had an award ceremony at the school. The kids did a couple of songs and then the teachers gave each child an award. Nate was known as the Peacemaker and hugger in the class. I did get a pick of him and Isabella together one last time. Her mom told me that last week she saw Nate holding another girls hand in the class. I think I better watch out for him in the future. I see Mr Romance on our hands.

What a great school year we had. Loved his teachers Mrs. Jean Marie and Mrs. Rene. We can't wait to see what next year brings!

Wesley 15 month stats and 15 things

I can't not believe that things are going faster this year than last year. Every time I turn I feel he is has grown another inch! Wesley brings so much joy to this family. He is so loving and makes you crack up all the time. He is changing weekly on his skills and speech. He is up to 3 steps and each week he will do something new.

Wesley had a great checkup. He got all green checks and also he has checked off some for the 18 month bracket (great for not having autism). Here are his stats

Weight: 24 pounds 1 ounce (50%)(gained almost 3 lbs since Feb & went up in %)
Height: 31.5 inches (50 - 75%) (grew over an inch and went up in %)
Head: 48 cm (75%)(grew little over an inch)

Here is where Nate was at 15 months:

Weight 24.8 lbs
Height 32.5 inches
Head 50.8 cm

15 new things with Wesley

1. He is up to 3 steps. He pushes everything he can (even the garbage can).
2. He stand on his own more for a few seconds.
3. When I change his diaper and ask for his toes to put his pants on, he lifts his toes/legs and puts his toes in the hole.
4. He would still rather do anything in the world than to get his diaper changed. He is just to busy to do it.
5. New words is Mama, Dada and Thank you.
6. He now knows how to push his brother out of the way. Watch out Nate!
7. He screams on the top of his lungs if something gets stuck and he can't move it.
8. He loves oatmeal raisin cookies
9. When he gets pumped up he has different laughs when he gets excited
10. When he can't do something on his own he will hand it to me and grunt. Basically to tell me to help him.
11. He loves to be outside. If I open the door to let Gabbie out he cries if he doesn't go either.
12. If he doesn't get his way and totally melts he lays on the floor with his head down and pitches a fit
13. He can get on and off his bike and moves fast with his feet
14. His favorite toy is the red little tike car
15. He saw his first hot air balloon and went crazy. He thought he was able to touch it. lots of pointing and grunting.

Nate's 3 year old stats

Nate has been such a great little man this past year. He has had it tough with his ears and things have been challenging there but it is going to make him a better boy. I love that when he needs me he will say "great big hug". Or that his best buddy is Toodles. Toodles has become our other child where he has to be with us at all times and Mommy and Daddy have to make sure we don't leave him behind anywhere. He loves school and talks about his girlfriend Isabella. He still loves his milk and drinks his meals. He is still a picky eater but his Mommy makes sure there is a vegetable on his plate at dinner. His favorite food is Velveeta Mac and Cheese or a Buddy Fruit. His favorite TV shows are Mickey, Yo Gabba Gabba and Dora. At night time after Daddy reads him a book and puts him to bed, Mommy comes in to spend some one on one time with him. We sing songs. He always asks for EIEIO (old McDonald) and ABC's. When I sing ABC's at get to the end he will say "one more time". I love this little man and I can't wait to see what the next year brings us.

Nate had a great check up with Dr Penny. We discussed his allergy issues with his coughing and running nose. We were doing everything correctly. Then we talked about his tubes and speech. Dr Penny did say that he should have more than 3 word sentences and we should be able to tell everything he says. Well unfortunately we don't have more than 3 word sentences and if we do we are not able to understand. Dr Penny said this is very common with the amount of ear infections and the failure of the hearing test due to fluid on the ears. He wants him to be evaluated for speech therapy testing. We have our evaluation set up for May 20th. On a good note he is growing great and is excellent. At 3 years old he is a size 4T top and 2T bottom.

Last Year Stats:
Height: 34 3/4 inches
Weight: 26 pounds


His stats:
Height: 37 3/4 inches (50-75%)
Weight: 31 pounds (50%)
Blood pressure : 78/40

Nate's 3 year old Snoopy Party

OK so when I asked Nate what kind of party he wanted I gave him options...Toy Story and Snoopy. He picks Snoopy. I am excited. This is a character that me and my Memaw use to love. She would have a Snoopy plate and bowl for me to eat out of when I came over to spend the night. Then Nate came and she would call me to let me know Snoopy would be coming on TV. So when he was little he would watch about a good 10 minutes of it. Which was odd because he would never give that much attention to anything. Then this Christmas I taped Snoopy shows and Auntie Kristin gave him Snoopy DVD's. Well he loves it.
Then I started shopping for Snoopy stuff. Can't find the character anywhere. All the plates and cups are not sold anymore but only buy a package that doesn't give you a lot of stuff. Not worth the money. So I searched and had help with my bump mom's to find things for the treat bag and the party. I found balloons that I had to order and get blown up at a store. Then I did dog bowls for table food decorations. The treat bags I did on my own and had help finding the goodies for that from a few friends. I found someone who would make a cookie cake. So this party wasn't easy but I did have so much fun with it.
Here are all his party guests: Benjamin, Noah, Adam, Trevor, Emily, Bella and Spencer. We all had a great time at Fowler Park and I will definitely have a party there again (knowing I have to make reservations for the picnic tables next time:)).
The best part of the party is after we sang Happy Birthday and he took the Snoopy off the cake and ate the head off. Then he put it back on the cake. Awesome!

Nate's 3 year old school party

I decided not to do the traditional cupcake for Nate's school party this year. Instead why not do the Publix sugar cookies with icing. Did Nate even eat it? Nope. I swear this kid is not my child because he barely has a sweet tooth in his body. All he liked doing was smear the icing all over the place. But I had a great time watching all the kids and singing him Happy Birthday.