Our Week

So I woke up on Monday morning to this....

 I was very freaked out to say the least.  I immediately called the Dr. to see if I should bring Archer in early (he already had an appt scheduled later that day for his 4 month shots.)  They said he could wait, as long as he wasn't having trouble breathing which he wasn't.  So I waited (and obsessively watched his breathing).  I sent out a picture to all the Moms I know to see if anyone knew what the rash was and I forced myself to stay far, far away from google.  Some people thought hives, some thought yeast, but it turned out to be hives that were brought on by an allergic reaction to toxins emitted by a virus.  Not the worst thing in the world, but the rash was awful and it was pretty much all over his body.  The Dr. wasn't too concerned and gave him his shots anyway because he didn't have a fever.  Well, that night poor Archer was absolutely miserable.  My sweet baby that rarely cries, was screaming every time I stopped walking with him and this went on until about 1:00 am.  I finally got him to sleep from 1:00 until 5:00.  When we woke up, the rash was gone, but he was still not feeling great (probably from the shots).  Anyway, it was a rough couple of days, but I'm happy to say that he's back to his sweet, amazing self.

He weighed in at a whopping 19lbs 6oz....in the 97th percentile.  He's getting too big for his bouncy chair and pretty much everything else. 

 My last post was about how wonderful of a cook I'm getting to be and how amazing I am getting at gluten free cooking, well the Universe felt the need to humble me.  Dinner two nights ago was a disaster!  I burned the Salmon so badly that the pan just got thrown in the garbage.  The whole house reeked! I think I won't be bragging about anything on here for a while.

Austen and I made some gluten free chocolate chip pancakes the other morning and he loved them!  He wanted to eat them for lunch and dinner too.

Living With Celiac's Disease

It's been a couple of months since Austen was diagnosed with Celiac's and I have to say that he is adjusting quite well.  He's doing great with the eating part and he never forgets that he can't have gluten even when he's at other people's houses.  He really misses chicken nuggets though....I am going to try and find some gluten free breading and see if I can make home made ones.  This whole thing has forced me to learn to bake.  I've made him gluten free banana bread a few times which turned out pretty well, so I decided to attempt to make him some gluten free pizza crust the other day.  I was scared because I've never made dough for ANY reason and I'm not known for my baking skills.  I'm happy to say that it turned out great and Austen LOVED it!!!  I need to figure out how to bake bread and cookies and other treats for him.  Luckily our local grocery store has a big gluten free selection, but I haven't been able to find bread that isn't scary.

The one problem he has with the Celiac's is that he is really afraid of the sickness that comes if he gets glutened.  (I made up that word just now, but it makes sense.)  This fear has lead to some anxiety issues with him.  No kid likes throwing up or having digestive issues, but he is quite fearful of it, so we've decided to take him to a child psychologist to see if he can get some professional help dealing with it.  I know we're probably over reacting here, but I just want to make sure it doesn't get worse.  Plus, it really breaks my heart that he is constantly worried about consuming gluten.  When I made him the pizza he kept asking me if I was sure it was gluten free.  When I told him he could eat it without worrying about getting sick he said "even the crust?"  I felt so bad for him, but Brian keeps telling me I shouldn't pity him or baby him about it, so that's what I'm trying to do.  I have to remind myself sometimes that this is a forever thing for him, so we want him to know how to deal with it now and have him be ok with it on his own terms before he starts real school and it gets more difficult. 

The thing about eating gluten free is that it takes a lot of preparation and planning ahead.  No more waiting until the last minute and then scrambling to come up with something for dinner and no more quick trips through a drive through.  We never really did that a ton, but having that option when you've been busy and your child is starving is really nice.  Now I have to make sure I have things on hand that I can prepare.  It's a lot of work (some days I feel like all I do is food prep) but to see him feeling good again is so worth it!  He has also gained back all the weight he lost when he was sick plus 5 lbs, so obviously the new diet is working!

I can't tell you how good it made me feel to see him enjoying one of his favorite foods again!

You Are NOT Going To Believe This

So this happened yesterday.....

 Yep, that's a baby kangaroo!

 The bag is his "pouch".

 Even Archer got to pet him.

Apparently a woman that works for the VA hospital keeps this baby kangaroo for therapy for the Veterans.  We have a neighbor who is a Veteran and his dog died leaving him a little depressed, so she brought the kangaroo for a house visit.  They were nice enough to let us know about it, so we ventured over for a visit.  It was so surreal!!!  The baby kangaroo (his name is Alvin and he responds to it) was so soft, and sweet, and just the cutest thing ever!  Austen even got to feed him!  This one will go down in the record book of top ten coolest things ever!

We LOVE Summer Nights

We are obsessed with summer evenings around here.  In fact, we look forward to them all winter!  There is nothing better than a nice, warm, evening adventure.  The boys are never in bed on time, but I guess it's ok to let the schedule slide for a few months.  Here's some pics of our latest.

Austen found an ant colony and was pretending to squish it.

Trying to feed some ducks that just wanted to be left alone.

They used the bread for fish food instead.

This pic is perfection....in my opinion.

 How cute is Archer's profile?

I love this one too even though there is a tree growing out of Brian's head.

Austen loves to find wildflowers and pick them for me.....isn't he the sweetest?

And this little guy always has that thumb in his mouth.

Rolling Over.....The Play By Play

My Archer man is super cute, even when he's not feeling well.  He is such a good baby, we really lucked out!  He loves to talk/yell, smile, look at books, watch his brother, chomp on his thumb, be outside, and roll over.  He rolls to his tummy the minute you put him down on his back.  I don't know what drives him to roll because he hates to be on his tummy, so he rolls, and then gets mad when he's stuck on his tummy.  Isn't it sad that he's already rolling?  I wanted to keep him little and more importantly, immobile for as long as possible.

Here's the play by play...

 Austen got to help the gardeners weed and trim the bushes this week.  He was thrilled!  He got his gloves and pruning sheers and was off to work.

A Look Back

We are all sick at our house with an awful cold!  I think I got hit the worst....thank goodness.  I have to say that my LEAST favorite part about being a Mom is getting sick.  It is just so hard to not be at 100% for them.  Hopefully I get over it soon cause it's kicking my butt.  Anyway, I was going through old pictures and noticing how different my boys look and also how much bigger Archer is than Austen was.

I saved all of Austen's baby clothes, so it's easy to see the size difference.

Archer 4 months

 Austen 5 months

The outfit barely fits Archer at four months and was still big on Austen at over five months.  I know I talk about it often, I just can't get over how huge this kid is! (Something else I talk about too much, my camera...... but look at the difference in picture quality!)

Feeding The Ducks

Remember when I got a new camera?  Just kidding, I know I haven't quit talking about it since.....I swear the excitement will die down eventually.  Anyway, that evening we went to go feed some ducks at the lake and I took some shots that I forgot to post.  It was my first time using the camera, so the focus is off in some of the pics, but they were too cute not to post.

Feeding the very tame duck.

 My sweet boy, looking way too old.

 My other sweet boy, also looking way too old!  What happened to my newborn?

 Our view....how pretty is this?!

 This is one of my favorite pictures of Austen EVER!  If only that stupid sign wasn't right there...ugh.

Since it's summer we had to stop for ice cream on the way home.  Brian thought it would be funny to push the cone into Austen's face while he was trying to take a bite.  He got a little messy, but he thought it was funny (I still get him ice cream, he just doesn't eat the cone).

Bath Time

The other night at bath time I had a brilliant idea to put Archer in the tub with Austen.  We've done it before, but this time I put him in his bumbo seat so he could be upright and see what was going on.  Well, it was a huge hit.....he loved it.  In fact, he loved it so much that I think it was his happiest moment ever.  He idolizes his big brother so much already, so he pretty much just wants to watch whatever Austen does.  He just sat there and stared, and smiled, and laughed, and laughed, and laughed.  I wish I was able to convey just how special the moment was for me, but I'm not sure how to put it into words.  I am just so surprised at the bond these two little boys have.  I knew siblings liked each other, but it's the fact that it happens pretty much instantly that I wasn't expecting.  Anyway, it is so fun to be a part of and to watch them interact.  They truly do have a bond that is unlike anything else.

P.S. How FAT is my baby? He weighs 20 lbs now at barely four months old.