3 on the 3rd

Apologies for my poor blogging lately. Expect a few forthcoming blogs this week with interesting info...or not.

Monday, Labor day (how appropriate) Karter turned three. Three! My baby is three already. Holy cow. I now, no longer have a toddler, but a preschool age and a school age child. Wow. Time flies for sure, when kids keep you busy. I'm having some strong baby fever now that I am completely done with diapers and all things "baby".

Yep, that's right. No more diapers at all. Karter has been potty trained for almost a year (last November) and only in diapers at night. Over the last few months he has wanted to be done wearing diapers at night. I kept telling him, if he could stay dry a few nights, then i wouldn't put them on him. He kept saying when he was three he wouldn't need them anymore. He'd have a dry night here or there, but lots of really wet ones too. About 2 weeks ago he told me that he wasn't peeing in the diapers at night. But, he was taking them off himself and throwing them away. I didn't check, until I went to empty his garbage for the week, on Monday, that there was a week's worth of DRY, pee-free diapers in there. All of them. I took the one off him, and yep dry. So, buh-bye diapers. No accidents at all this week. I anticipate there will be a few here and there, he's just three after all. Kian was just over 4 when we finally got rid of them. I'm so happy, for him because he feels like such a big boy lately and to not have to buy diapers at all. Of course, it was the day after I bought a new package...

Karter is enjoying being "sree". At first, I told him he wasn't born until 7:30pm, so he kept saying "No, I'm still two, tonight I will be 3". He is still snuggly, loving my hair, his thumb and his pillowpet. He hasn't napped since just before Easter, which is fine, because he goes to bed right around 7 and sleeps until7 or 8am.

He's silly, saucy little imp. He keeps up with Kian and anyone else no problem. Attitude is coming out more and more lately, and is sometimes funny but equally annoying. The things he says and does are hilarious at times. Which has made it so that most people in his life just give in to him all the time, and leave me to break that cycle. Sigh. He says the funnies things, his best friend is Kiela, my sister's dog. He was "texting" her on an old play cell phone today. I informed him that Kiela is a dog and can't text. His answer was "Okay, I'll just call her" and proceeded to have a conversation with her apparently. He was not happy she wasn't here and was away with Aunt NeeNee. Sometimes deciphering what he's saying is tricky as his f's and other sounds don't come out great yet. Finn is Sin, and when he says 'sunny' I'm left trying to figure out if that's really sunny or really funny?

He loves the cats and Finn, and Kiela. He is gentle with them most of the time, more so than Kian usually. But, pretty rough and tumble otherwise. Jumping off several stairs, climbing on top of the swing set and all the playground equipment with ease. Not to make many predictions, lest they become expectations, but he's definitely our athletic child. Running, soccer kicks and moves, baseball seem to come so easy to him. Kian was blessed with his mother's ability it seems, but that can change! Karter's not as interested in letters and numbers as Kian was at this age, but surprised me the other day with how much of the alphabet he does know, and by sounds. For some reason, he doesn't like the number 5 and leaves it out every time he counts.

When we asked Karter what he wanted for his birthday, his answer always was "a real peanut butter sandwich". Like I usually give him fake ones? Then he asked me for a new crochet blanket. The one he had, my grandma made for Kian, and he's outgrowing it, as it doesn't cover him as much as he'd like. I naively assumed I could make one in the few days before his birthday. Ha! It's a week later and I have just under half of it completed. I forgot to add in household chores, day to day routines, meals and childcare, you know the usual things that interrupt my hobby time. He picked out the colors when I took him to Joann's. He originally wanted orange and yellow and I just couldn't do that. So, he went with blue and yellow, and a yarn that is mixed blue/white/yellow to offset them all. Being my first blanket project, I'm pleased with how it's going thus far.

Part of me is enjoying this stage of no diapers and independence in both boys and the age of being able to do so much more. But, they both insist they want a baby sister, and I'm inclined to agree...

Karter-isms

Karter started to sneeze but it never happened. "Mommy my bless yous didn't come out". 

"Kian, I told you..." is another one I'm hearing a lot.

He crawls in our bed early every morning. He rolled over yesterday, says "mommy I'm going to kiss you on the lips because you love me".  Love him.  Melts me. Too bad I don't get much loving from Kian!

The boys were having a ball war with NeeNee and Karter stops, looks at her and tells her "I won't get you NeeNee, I won't throw balls at you".  Takes a few steps closer and throws them right at her head. Trickery already?!

He's got a little devil laugh when you're trying to discipline him. Real helpful.

If you tell him he can't do something, his automatic answer is "Well, I'm big now, I can."  But when I tell him he's big enough to carry a grocery bag or some other chore suddenly he's "stil l little mommy".  Ahh figured out already! 

Markers, misalignment, and misadventures of Karter

Karter's still on those "girl(s) in the wall". Last night he informed me that they sleep and play basketball in the wall. Hmm.... imaginary friends eh? Of course Kian had to get in on the deal and claim he has boys playing soccer in his wall. boys.

Karter definitely keeps us on our toes, waaaaay more than Kian did at age 2. He's constantly climbing into everything, getting into everything, he's kind of insane. Today, he wanted me to cut him more cantaloupe. He got the rest of the melon out of the fridge, put it on the table and then I turn around in my chair at the table, and he almost stabbed me with a huge butcher knife in the face, because, obviously, I needed a knife to cut it, and he climbed up on the counter to get it out of the knife block. ahh, seriously kid?!

This morning, after breakfast, the boys were coloring at their little table. (I have kids table set up in the kitchen next to the big one, that always has crayons, paper and coloring books on it, easy access for them.) They were using their new markers. Usually, this is no big deal. They use them fine all the time. I picked up from breakfast and went up stairs to get the laundry to throw in the washer. I came downstairs to find
Yep. He was being a "hoodie ninja". He apparently needed a ninja mask, that black hat wasn't cutting it. Thankfully, all markers are washable and came right off with water. Kian even gave him a "hoodie ninja tattoo" on his back in blue. Lovely. Like, 70 seconds upstairs. Creative, smart, and fast. Sheesh.

Monday he decided to be his usually crazy, fearless self, by climbing on my bed (where I had dumped 2 baskets of clean laundry and was folding it) then climbing onto the laundry basket. As he's standing on it, at least 4 feet off the ground, I started to say that he should be careful and get off the laundry basket. That moment, where you know what's going to happen, and it starts happening, but you can't do anything about it. Sure enough, he fell off, and since my side of the bed is about 2 feet from the wall, he flew back, whacked his head on the wall and dropped straight down...onto the baseboard heating...on his back. Ahh! He was in serous pain and really freaking out. Head-fine, spine-not. Immediately it was already huge and purple by the time I got to him. Right on the spine, on his lower back. We iced it for a good while. The lump subsided, but still swollen and bruised and he kept complaining it hurt.

I debated calling the pediatrician, I figured their answer would be to drive up there (45 mins as I haven't switched yet) with possible x-rays, or they'd say to do what I already was doing (icing it, arnica cream for the bruising, swelling and pain, and tylenol). Then, I remembered Kevin just told me he knew a chiropractor. A traumatic fall to the spine definitely means it's out of alignment. Better option, as it was only ten minutes from our house in Victor. Also, I had toyed with the idea of taking Karter to a chiro for oh...about 2 years now. So, so, so glad I did.

Some people think chiropractors are kind of kooky, or just for back pain, but I have heard a lot of success stories, and had a great experience with them fixing a lot of my pregnancy ailments and made me have a super easy, fast labor. (I have a problem with run on sentences on my blog, sorry.) Well, with Karter's sleep, digestion, reflux issues, I know a lot of people say chiropractic adjustments can be helpful. I really liked the chiro and we had a good discussion about a lot of things, as well as the injury to the spine/back. He said Karter was "off" in some critical areas for sleep and reflux. He adjusted him in the neck, and all down the spine. Karter laid, facedown, on the table, completely relaxed while it was done. The trauma to the spine and back are just superficial and mostly intense bruising and soreness. We will ice it and continue the arnica cream, and then some heat maybe to keep it loose. The doctor said that he wouldn't be surprised if Karter slept well later that night.

I'm a believer. Karter didn't nap, which sometimes makes him go to bed great, or makes it worse. I put him to bed at 7pm. He didn't get up. He didn't wake up til 7:15am. Amazing. Okay, coincidence? Today he only had a short nap, about a half hour. I put him to bed at 7:30, again, he hasn't gotten up once. No coming downstairs, no running crazy, no asking for more food, no hyper silliness. It works.

Some of the things we talked about were that the misalignment in specific areas can bother reflux, digestion, which can also lead to not being able to sleep or settle. Another thing the chiro mentioned was that people who can't settle down to sleep are usually low in alkalinity in their bodies, could be due to the digestion issues, not being absorbed well. He was speaking my language. It was as if he knew Karter's history. I told him how Karter 's stool samples had shown high acidity (aka low alkalinity), that he had shown malabsorption problems as well, etc. I told him how I had long thought that Karter's fast birth (labor exactly one hour from when they broke water to get it started, til he was out) and somewhat traumatic delivery (out in 5 minutes, severe bruising, ie injury) was hard on him, more than we knew and that he should have been treated/aligned right away. He agreed that a quick labor and delivery like that does make the bones pop out of place in the neck, shoulder, spine, etc. Ugh, maybe we could have avoided some of this stuff over the past 2 years. Oh well, either way, we're addressing it now. We will be going back next week to just make sure the back and spine have healed well and that he can do another adjustment with the swelling gone.

I think I'm going to have him put my hip put back in place, so I can stop having fire nerve shocks down my leg. Sigh.

Lesson learned: don't let Karter play with markers unsupervised even for 60 seconds. Keep laundry baskets on the floor so children can play with them there instead of on the high bed. Chiropractors are magic and an answer to prayer. My boys are crazy, silly, oh so fun, and tiring =)

Girls in the hole in the wall saga continues

Karter must have a really great imagination. I choose to believe this, over anything weird and scary. =) The other day when he said he wanted to p ray for the girls, then pointed and told me they were in the hole in the wall. Okay...

Tonight, I again, asked him who he wanted to pray for, again it was the girls...in the hole...in the wall. Hmm. I did some more investigating, like this:

Me: Are the girls big or little like you?
Karter: little like you
Me: How did they get in the wall?
Karter: djen (that's what it sounded like, I have no idea!)
Me: Who put the girls in the wall?
Karter: kids
Me: Kids put girls in a hole in the wall? Ooookay!
Me: What do the girls do?
Karter: um...soccer ball!
Me: They must be little to play soccer in the wall.
Karter: yeah.
Finished covering the boys up, said goodnight and went to leave the room.
Karter: goodnight girls in hole!
Me: You want me to say goodnight to the girls in the hole in the wall?
Karter: yesh, good night girls.
Me: Uh...good night girls...in the hole....in the wall....

Uh huh... He also played that he was a puppy all afternoon, I named him Ruffy. He and Kian thought it was great fun. I do not let this child watch dateline or Law and Order SVU or anything, to get these weird ideas from.

Conversation with Kian and Karter

While getting into the shower the other day, Karter was with me in the bathroom and says "You a popotamus?" I said, "no, why? I'm not a hippopotamus." He says "you popotamus. you have popotamus butt!" Um, thanks kid! That's why I worked out again this morning, and he obviously believes I still have a hippopotamus butt, as he was yelling "push! one more! is it burn yet?" haha!

Karter is just like Kourtney and cannot stand his socks being on sideways or even slightly twisted. I remember her always taking off her shoes and realigning her tights and socks so the toe seam was just right and straight. He's the same way! "twists! fix it!" ahh.

Kian, was having great manners at dinner and I complimented him on it. He answers, "yes, I am being a man. I'm doing what daddy and men do."

Me: Karter, who do you want to pray for?
Karter: girls.
Me: Girls? what girls?
Karter: big girls.
Me: Where are big girls?
Karter: in the hole, in there (pointing to his bedroom wall)
Me: you have girls in a hole in your bedroom wall?? (laughing hysterically) every man's dream eh?

Overheard:
Kian: Gingerbread! Use your manners! Pickles, say your sorry to Gingy. (Apparently they weren't being too polite at meal time haha)

And another time, chasing Gingy around the house, Kian says "Gingy! I'm your hero! Gingerbread! I'll be your hero!"

Kian: here Karter, you were nice to me so you can use my leapster. <3

And: Karter, I will read you a book for nap today. double <3

Exciting reruns

I admit that I didn't think that living through all the baby and toddler accomplishments and milestones for a second time, wouldn't be that thrilling. But, guess what? It IS still as exciting and fun the second time around. The crawling, walking, was fun, and expected. This toddler stuff, the conversations he comes up with though, are entertaining and so much fun.

I remember Kian as this same age, just over 2 years old, because I really thought of him in depth as he became a 'big' brother. It's interesting to see Karter in a different light, because he's a different person, but also because he's not on the verge of becoming a big brother (no, not yet, despite what Kian and I hope for!) so he still has time to be that "baby". He knows he's still small enough and adorable enough to ask for skittles after each potty trip. And to snuggle in with mama, twisting my hair and making his big blue eyes just so, to get to stay up later.

But, he is making sure we all know he is not a baby. His favorite thing to say is "I not baby, Kian a big boy, I a little boy". So true. His second favorite, and most often heard phrases are: Me do this, and No me! He wants to keep up with everything Kian does. He scales counters and playground equipment like nothing. This week, he decided he did not want to be dressed any longer. So, he taught himself how to get dressed. Underwear, pants, undershirt, shirts, socks, babylegs, shoes, everything. He just decided it and it was done. I was pretty impressed. I didn't think I'd be impressed as I was watching my firstborn accomplish such things, but nope, still very much impressed! Also, impressive was his choice of outfit today: not one, not 2, but THREE pairs of babylegs (two football and one fire truck) on each leg. Thomas pj shirt, no pants. And he refused to let us help him put each pair on. The first time I've seen his legs look chubby!

When Karter is mad at me, he calls me "mean old man mommy!" No idea where he got that from! It's hard to not laugh at that one. He's learned the word 'stupid', which is so bad, and he knows how to use it appropriately. He also uses it as a term of endearment--'thank you stupid mommy'. Um, no! Ignoring it is the only thing that works, seriously, even acknowledging it makes it 100 times worse.

Watching Kian and Karter play and interact, just gets better every day. They can actually play for a long time, creating scenes and plots and dialogue. It's wonderful to watch, and sometimes they even let me in. He's very much his own person, with likes and dislikes apart from the rest of us (can we say peanut butter every hour of the day? tractors and hair!) and is full of it and definitely lets us know what he wants and when and how. He's joining Kian's "baby sister bandwagon" and even wanted to bring our friends' new baby home with us last week. But, he's still the little boy for now (don't call him a baby!) and we're enjoying watching his new milestones and conversations develop, as his own, apart from Kian's accomplishments, even if they occur at the same age. I know why people want a lot of kids, these are the ages that aer so enjoyable and to think it could be the last time to experience that would be sad! Luckily, it's 3:1 for another baby in this house, poor Kevin.

Fall Happenings

We seem to go through spurts of busyness and quiet times. Kian has been in Great Start preschool since second week of September and really enjoys it. Fridays are the more kindergarten type focus for the older kids, and Mondays and Wednesdays they do more group and art work. He's making some friends and loves his teachers. My only complaint is their excessive use of purell on every child all day long. Ugh. Especially at snack time. They've had a field trip to the apple farm and yesterday was the pumpkin patch trip. I left Karter at home with NeeNee for the pumpkin trip. Less for me to watch and easier for Kian to hang with the big kids.

The weather is a constant change, some days 70 and sunny and other days 45 and blowing rain. We get out when we can, and have been utilizing all our craft supplies as well as the library a lot more. Kian can't wait for snow and Christmas, I can definitely hold off on snow for awhile yet! The boys think it's the greatest thing when I let the put on their rubber boots and go stomp in puddles. So do I, actually.

The weather hasn't changed the chicken's laying habits yet though. Despite the creeping darkness earlier eacfh night, they're still laying regularly. I get 6-8 eggs per day. They each lay almost daily, which I keep reading isn't always the norm. I credit their free range ways. Although lately, they've had to be locked up more, as they keep running in neighbors' yards and fly out of their pen! We keep the well fed from the house-their favorites beign squash and watermelon. They also love pasta, beans and grapes. They ate the pumpkin seeds like little cyclone vacuums! Still very sweet and friendly and easy to pick up. Now they will stop and squat down if you come to pick them up, instead of running away. I tell them to run from the boys, but they don't' listen.

Karter now has quite the vocabulary and little running mouth. The downfall is that he has picked up the word stupid (our downfall when yelling at animals or drivers) and constant ignoring it is the only thing that works. Unfortunately he knows how to use it properly. Ugh. He's quite the athlete already, spiraling footballs and catching them, begging to go to Kian's football camp when Kian does not want to go. He loves puzzles and animals and tractors. Oh the tractors. He sleeps with 1-3 each night. Usually I make him park them under his bed. But, sometimes I find them in his bed with him. I love seeing the differences in their likes/dislikes, as Kian was more into trains at this age, maybe because he didn't have any tractors yet, but he didn't form attachments like Karter has. He's been going on some bad sleeping patterns the last couple weeks and now that he can open doors, makes it harder to keep him in bed!

Kian, ever the great sleeper, has been starting to read. Forget that dumb flashcard stuff, we haven't forced him into anything, or pushed him, other than when he asked, and he does well with the phonics type learning. He is reading and sounding out words in all the Dr. Seuss books and is quite proud of himself. He also began reading the bank drive thru signs and other things around town. There goes spelling things and keeping things hidden from him. It's amazing to see these growths and changes and milestones. It's a bittersweet type of thing, because then he's not a baby anymore, and to realize how things change and open up once you become a reader... Craziness.

Kevin's still busy, eye deep into 5linx and training. He's building quite a team of reps under him, which eventually will pay off for him/us. He'll be happy once it does so he can stop getting up at 4:30am. We'll be happy to have him here more often. Last night, he got home early and after dinner he and the boys went to the garage to build a cat tree/stand. Karter insists on playing football with him all the time. Kian just always wants to help him and be wherever he is. The boys spent the past weekend with my mom while we went to a wedding. It was Karter's first time away from me/us for more than a few hours. He did great and enjoyed it, they both didn't want to leave. It was nice to wake up ourselves instead of by jumping children, and to eat breakfast in quiet and hear ourselves talk. We did miss them though. The weekend before, I had a chance to help out a photographer at a wedding. I had so much fun! I don't know if the pictures I took were even good, but it was a learning experience and fun to play around and do something grown up, with all adults all day, and feel like I was working again. =)

We're rounding the bend into the holiday season, and with that comes a lot more changes. There's been a lot of changes in both sides of the families and therefore, changes to holidays were necessary. We're going to host Thanksgiving here with our immediate families, smaller than past years, but for Kevin and I, it will be less stressful and incorporate the immediate families and be easier for us to handle. His working so much and having to worry about animals and such, gets hectic, let alone the boys all over into everything.

Speaking of animals... Finn hates us. He has been banished indefinitely to Kourtney's house. I brought him back to our house last Thursday morning. He and Karter were happy to see each other, but then Finn just laid around and wouldn't play with Windsor. He behaved well, as long as he knew the remote/shock collar was on. I didn't have to use it at all, just put it on. Friday night he was testing me and not listening to come back in the house so I did buzz him. Saturday, right as we were leaving for the wedding he acted like he had to go out, and I had taken the collar off, no big deal I thought. Except, he looked at me and took off. That was that. WE had to leave and my mom was worrying about the boys and car seats, so when the humane society called the house to say they had Finn, AGAIN, he was stuck there. We asked Kourt to go get him, and they gave her some threats about fines and judges, etc. since it was his third (at least) time being there. He just doesn't seem to want to stay here and we have 6 stinking acres for crying out loud! So, for now he's back with his doggy parents and Kourt and Jeremy. I miss him some. It's definitely quieter and more relaxed with just one lazy dog, but Karter can't climb on Windsor like he can with Finn. I mean, he's a couple miles away so it's not like he's gone forever...but more changes.

I have also put away dozens of apple filling, grape filling, grape jam, salsa, pickles, banana peppers, apple butter, and more in my 'canning cellar'. It was a lot of work at times, but worth it. So much cheaper and tastes much, much better than store bought, factory stuff. The grape jam is delicious, but not that thick, jello-y glob stuff, smooth, soft, yumminess. The boys have helped a lot and enjoy making dried apple rings in the dehydrator. We're now moving onto pumpkin baking, and with fresh pumpkin! Then, it's onto Thanksgiving menu planning!

My baby, 2 years...

First, let me just start off by saying I have had this blog open for a long time (at least 2 weeks) trying to blog things and put pictures on, but I just haven't been able to finish it. I get sidetracked and the only time I get to sit down is after 9:30 at night. By then, my creative juices are evaporated and I find myself not wanting to blog about mundane things.

Then, I realized that I absolutely must post something for Karter's birthday. In 2 days he will turn TWO. I remember as my due date was approaching thinking "Kian and Karter will be 2 years 2 months and some odd days apart." They ended up being exactly 2 years, 2 months and 2 weeks apart. Both babies born on a Thursday; although Karter was the evening and Kian the morning. Their labors are about as alike as they are..not so much. Labor with Kian was horrible, long, chemically induced, painful. Labor with Karter was short, one hour, not that painful, more relaxed. Guess I knew what to expect the second time around with labor, not quite the same with the actual child!

Kian and Karter are as different as chalk and cheese. =) I had a child client who's father was straight from Ireland and his thick accent told me that my boys would be as different as chalk and cheese, as sure as he be. He was right. Irish always are, should have known! Not only do they look different, but they are different in mannerisms and activity levels. Karter is a hurricane. And a tornado. And a bull in a china shop. All at the same time. Literally. Picture that for a second. A bull in a china shop during a hurricane while a tornado touches down. Yep, that's him. You cannot for a split second take your eye or ears off of him. Probably the best bet is to always keep your hands on him as well. My mom and my friend Amy saw/see how it is. Spend a little time and you'll agree with his Houdini nickname. He can scale anything, no matter how high; he can get in, on, under and through anything, seriously anything. It's exhausting! Kian was definitely NOT this physical at 2 years old. Karter is content to play and sit for awhile, but he just has to push the limits every single minute of every day.

Thankfully, he's cute and sweet and snuggly. He still is stuck on his thumb. He still loves my hair, or his pillow pet's ear when he's sleepy, and still pulls on my shirts' necklines like a lovey blanket. His hair went from jet black at birth to the whitest blonde this summer. I did give him a decent haircut in July because the top wasn't growing but the sides were "clownish" as certain someones called it. He is silly and loves to make us laugh. And can still be shy around new people or when first coming into a place. They get that from me...

(I failed. I again, did not finish this blog. I guess real life was more important, like opening presents and having cake and parties for a certain little monster.)

Karter had a great birthday. He got fun gifts and enjoyed his Big Red Barn cake. (that was a feat in itself, first time making and using fondant! But it came out decent.) I tend to think about the past, his birth and first year, etc. But, when Kevin and I were out to lunch alone Monday, we discussed briefly, the future of the boys. It seems Kian has inherited my not so athletic ability, but easy smarts. Karter, we both agree, seems to have inherited Kevin's natural athletic ability, that sports will come easy to him, and we'll see if he will love school or hate it. I think I avoid thinking too much about the future because I don't want my boys to grow up so fast! But, it happens anyways. I love this age, all the new words, the new abilities they learn and things they realize they can do. Karter is talking non-stop, just like his brother, my ears never get a rest. He's using some good sentences lately (mommy, where baby kitten at?, no shake me Windsor!, etc.). He definitely tries to keep up with Kian, and usually does, in pretty much everything! I love how they're playing together now. It's so fun to watch and makes my heart happy to see them being nice and sweet and together on something.

I love two, so I hope it's a great year for us and Karter, because 3 is usually a difficult year and I'll be dreading it ;) Happy second birthday Karter.

conversations with Kian and Karter

Playing with Legos today, Kian is having 2 Lego men talk to each other: "Geico saves you money. It's 15 minute driving commercial. You just drive for 15 minutes and it's Geico driving insurance money." ha!

Kian called Karter a "bad name" (stupid) and after a break, I told him to apologize to Karter for bad language. "Karter, I'm sorry for Bad English." haha! Immediately the band popped in my head and I burst out laughing.

After the playground, I went to get Karter out of his seat and he scrunched his nose all up, closed his eyes and whispered "hungry, need eat". Too funny to see in person.

Karter can't say f sounds, so foot is "tut" and food is "tood". He asked for 'tood' so I asked him if he was giving me attitude, joking around with him. He says "I no a-tat-a-tood mommy".

He also calls Finn, "chin". Windsor is "Winza". Kian still pronounces girl as 'gril' and magazine as 'mazageen' and caterpillar as "callapitter". I haven't forced his changing it yet as it is just too cute and one of the last remnants of toddlerhood.

Kian let Finn and Windsor out of their kennel and told me "they randomly got out". Uh huh, sure.

Putting Karter back to bed, he asked if daddy was in bed, I said almost. I said daddy had to go to work in the morning. He looks very thoughtful and finally says "daddy work dump?" HA! He thinks Kevin works at the dump apparently. I said the gym, but he's only been there once as a baby, so has no clue. Tried to explain it, as best I could, but it was pretty funny. We'd probably still have insurance though!

Kian: Mommy, is Windsor going back to NeeNee's house and Finn staying here? Me: No, why? Kian: Because, two dogs are exasperating! They're exaspooperating.
I laughed so hard, but was so impressed he used that word properly. Must be tv is teaching him something ;)

Burn baby burn

My poor baby. We were trying to do a project and were using the hot glue gun. Of course all warnings fell on (selectively) deaf ears. Ugh. Karter reached up and into his project before I could help him. Right where I just put a line of glue, straight out of the gun. Ugh! I ran it under cold water immediately, but he wouldn't let me pull the piece of glue off (becomes like a plastic cap on your finger) so it was continuing to smolder under there. Finally, after an ice cube, I got the glue off and there was a nice, white blister.

Of course, the worse part is, it's his sucking thumb. Poor kiddo. I don't want him to suck his thumb forever but neither of us are ready for that to be over, and not via a craft injury. I rocked him and had to help him get to sleep for nap. It was so sad to see him trying to suck his left thumb and not figure out quite how to do it. Then try to stick his right thumb in his mouth and cry "burn!" and ask me to blow on it, all over again. He finally gave up and just snuggled his pillow pet and drifted off. I think once he wakes up it won't be as painful, but with the blister I don't know that he'll be able to suck on it tonight either. I hope this does NOT interrupt his great sleeping habits he's been accruing this week!

Boys stats

We are loving this summer, the sun, the heat. It's great. The boys can't get enough of water and outdoors. They both have some awesome tans, and have for a month already! Karter's hair is getting blonder by the day, love that too. And both boys have the curliest hair in this heat, it's fantastic.

Karter, 21 mos, just a few short months from his second birthday--already! He was supposed to have a weight check this week, but I didn't feel the need to drive all that far just for a quick sit on the scale. I know he's been growing, taller for sure, still thin though. I weighed him and he's 22.5 lbs, up almost 2 pounds from March. They were happy when I called it in and also that he is growing into the next size clothes. We're up to 18 months now, still a lot of 12 months that he wears, but he can finally wear some of the other things!

We're doing much better with the sleeping. Finally, I can put him in bed and close the door and he might cry for one minute but he goes right back into his bed and goes to sleep. Lately, he doesn't even cry, and half the time doesn't even get out of bed. I couldn't handle anymore sitting in his room or rocking him or trying to lay down with him, etc. So, I am glad he's been able to do this finally. He still might get up once a night, or come in our bed, but I can handle that so much more than the not going to sleep part. Even eating lately is improved. I don't' know if it's because I switched to coconut milk, which he loves and asks for a lot (water is still his main choice) but he's also been chowing like crazy lately. There's a different chain of fatty acids in coconut milk that's easily digestible, so whether or not that's the connection, I don't know, but we'll take it. I'm really not concerned with his weight, just that he is growing; if he's thin or smaller, so be it. We're continuing the enzymes and iron (multivitamins when we remember to buy them) and will keep that up til his 2 year appointment and decide from there.

He's talking up a storm lately, but I wish he was doing more 2 word phrases. He says simple sentences like "mommy jump" and "hop up" (my fave) and "doggy barking". He gets his point across "Jeremy, dada, car, dump" (daddy and Jeremy went to the dump) and I know I have to stop remembering that Kian was the verbal king at this age and saying like 5 word sentences. Karter's definitely more physical than Kian was at this age. I know I say that all the time, it's interesting to see the similarities and differences. A lot of differences, more than similarities I think! He counts 1, 2, 3 and knows his colors! But, he pretends he doesn't and will say 'purple' for everything. He picks out his cloth diapers by telling me which color he wants "ahnge" for orange is super cute, a slight Boston dialect.

He definitely keeps up with Kian for the most part. He doesn't get why Kian isn't napping or going to bed when he does and asks "where Kian" all the time. Loves the trampoline, slides, can maneuver any playground equipment he wants to, all by himself, They are playing together a lot more, blocks and cars and it's great to watch.

Kian still gets frustrated with him at times, but usually there's happy times. Kian was sad about preschool ending and I wasn't able to get contact info for the friends he wanted to hang out with. Half of them are going to kindergarten and he believes he is too, so he was bummed about that. I am going to find some things for him to do over the summer, vacation bible school, sports, etc. He seemed to really like school and he's signed up for 3 mornings in the fall. He is my social one, even at the lake today he was making friends and trunk to keep up with these big boys out in the deeper water. He then told me he wanted to invite his new friend from the beach to his birthday party. Ah yes. The teachers told me he did very well in school, just one day of not being able to listen and such, which he had good reasons for he told me, he wanted to let them know about some things he found exciting but they wouldn't let him talk. =( I struggle with this school thing... I don't really want him to go to full-day kindergarten in a year, ahh!!

Today, on the trampoline I told him he had to the count of 10 to finish jumping before we had to go in. He told me "not to 10" then started counting from 1 all the way to 110! I had no idea he could do that. I'm not obsessed with all these educational things so early. We work on some basic "you have 2 carrots and I gave you 2 more" kind of math. A couple of days ago, we were eating lunch and he randomly started counting backwards from 100, by 10's, to 1. Again, never knew he could do that, I counted up by 10's a few times, and we count backwards from 20, but... hmm, maybe it's those tv shows I let him watch while I put Karter to bed... ALso, why he sings every insurance song ever! Tonight was "we are farmers, dun dun dun dun dun" the other night was nationwide...that's Animal Planet, obviously Disney or PBS does not air those commercials.

The facts this kid remembers about things amaze me too. Sorry, I just don't get this 'flashcard generation' and I don't subject my kids to hours of flashcards just to learn something. So, they memorize a thing on a paper, doesn't mean they know anything about it! Touching, doing, discovering, real life, hands on, makes so much more sense to me. I feel like my kids are going to be the only ones who know about things in 3d instead of just flat paper...oops tangent. My point was, that I don't do that, they do things and so that he picks up all these facts (snakes, dinosaurs, plants, birds, swamps, what things eat, how things are made, etc.) is great because I want to let him forge his own path with his learning, not what I think he should know or want him to know just because... His imagination is amazing, the things he can create in his head, or come up with to build with legos, or the steps and logic behind things...fascinates me.

I decided against a 4 year old check up this year. I mean, really there was no point in the 3 year old one. They weigh him, measure him, ask a few random questions, that I as an Early Intervention service coordinator, know about development and watch anyways. So, it's pointless for me, we have no concerns about Kian in development and I do some checklists here and there. Last I weighed him he ws about 37 lbs, which means he gained 3 lbs in the last year. I'll have to measure height of both of them soon.

He is who he is and although a lot of people don't appreciate his spunk and zest for life, because it equals loudness and boisterous activity most of the time. But, he's independent and mature in a lot of ways and yes, still challenging at times, he's Kian. Every year, it seems from his birthday to Christmas is a good half of the year, and then from Christmas to his birthday again (winter, cabin fever, fun stuff) we have behavioral change and challenges. But, we're figuring it out. He's still the sweetest kid in there, and cares a lot about what you say, do and think about him. Love these boys so much and while they keep me on my toes and challenge me daily, I wouldn't trade them for anything. However, they would like a sister or 2 as well. ;)

April pictures

Thanks to blogger, these are in reverse chronological order, I can't for the life of me figure out how to change it! So, we ended April with visits from friends; friends whom we haven't seen in about 7 years, and with 3.5 kids between us (baby Nicholas will arrive to big sister Chloe this summer!) it was a nice time!





A little Elmo and Sesame Street Live:





I needed to buy bins while shopping with karter and put them in the back of the cart. He decided to climb out of the child seat and into the back, apparently they make great forts and hiding spots.

Finally, nicer weather, so a lot of outside time!





The Sandbox in Fairport. This kid's not afraid of anything, and climbed this big bouncey slide a dozen times alone. Craziness.


Some break dancing...


Mmmm, cupcakes from Robin's baby shower!





More outside...




A little painting...





A little Simpson-inspired, Krusty the clown "me wikey da fwied wice". Sigh.




The lump...made better by cat.

Karter and his crib

The pitter patter of feet I hear lately, mean that Karter has climbed out of his crib and is running around again. Sigh. Easter morning I went in to get Karter and left him in the crib while I grabbed his clothes out of the closet. I hear "mooooommy" and look over. He is laying on the top rail, on his stomach, with his naughty grin. Then he swings his leg over and slides down. And that my friends, is the end of that.

So, from then on, he just climbs out and hops down when he wants to be out. This is the kid that has been asking to go night-night and loves his crib (unless he wants to be in our bed, but will ask to go "my room" when he wants his own bed). I know it takes him a long time to get used to things, but I half thought that maybe since he likes my bed, that he would be okay with the toddler bed. Wrong! He kept pointing to his crib and saying 'night night', so I put him back in the crib. I just don't like that he climbs out and runs down the hall and down the stairs, especially if I don't' know he's awake. I don't want him cracking his head open. Sigh, again.

I think the plan will be instead of the new, separate toddler bed, for now I will convert his crib into the toddler phase. That just means taking the one side off and putting a small, half-side rail on that matches. He'll still feel like he's in the crib, but can get in and out without climbing over the top, since it's kind of high. One of the many new phases we get to go through, again.

His motor skills are still his number one thing, climbing, running, jumping off stairs and rocks, his fine motor skills almost as good as Kian's (gulp). His speech is coming along. He's definitely saying a lot more, but he doesn't put any endings on anything yet, which drives (the former EI service coordinator) me nuts! Some sounds that I think he should have, he doesn't yet. But, we'll get there, we're working on it. And if not, then I have no qualms about calling EI for a speech eval in a few months. Eh, it is what it is.

Karter is in that easy, fun stage; which conversely makes Kian look even more like a monster...triple sigh. Everyone thinks Karter is so fun and easy, which is true at this age, also which is why we decided to have a second one when Kian was this age, he was so easy! He's definitely a ham. He knows how to make us all laugh and is so silly. He's also so sweet and snuggly still, which we love. He is into Kevin a lot now and both boys get so upset when he's gone working late, and ask for him every morning.

He likes the numbers 3 and 9, he loves the color yellow. He's wanting to know colors of everything, and can tell you animals and their sounds. He calls all shoes and boots "boots". Pajamas are "coats" too because they have zippers like his coats. This one makes me laugh a lot! He loves to hold my hair or his own and suck his thumb still. He prefers water over all other drinks, but will ask for milk sometimes. Loves fruit cups and peanut butter (pee-a buh-ah). And jelly now too, and honey and gummis.

I love that he's totally interested in the potty lately. Even with a diaper on, he points and says "I pee". I sit him on randomly and he has gone pee a little bit, a few times. Of course we made a huge deal over it. Then, yesterday he started to poop on the floor (oh joy) I stopped him and put him on the potty, and he finished going. That was a super big deal. (we were diaper free due to a rash.) I have really high hopes that he'll be almost all the way trained by his birthday in September, due to being able to run naked all summer and his high interest. I know, I'll be realistic, but I am hoping!

Still dealing with the digestive stuff...ran out of Prevacid and then heard some reflux come back a few nights, what's coming out the other end is still very undigested, loose, horrible odor--and this is with enzymes for the last couple weeks. Ugh, I give up. We're back on the dairy and egg free diets, and I am actually getting rid of the almond milk too, as I read there can be some sensitivities built up to that after awhile. I am leaning towards some gluten free diet changes as well, since I don't know what else to do. I think we need a re-do, to start over from beginning on his food intake and see what we're dealing with. Sigh. But, despite that he's healthy, happy, silly, snuggly and so much fun and loving music and outside and his 'cheeps' and his cats, can't ask for anything else.

So behind---catch up post

Busy, busy, busy. That's us lately. Not necessarily with places to be and go, but here in the house mostly. So, let's get a random update to catch us all up, shall we?

First, chicks! We have baby chicks. They are now about 2 weeks old. We had talked about getting some but never put our order in. When they came in Jeremy (my sister's boyfriend) called and told us to come check them out at Country Max. We went, we saw, we conquered. 12, yes a whole dozen baby chicks. They are still living in our house until they are a few more weeks older and we get a coop built outside. They're tough since the boys handle them a lot, upside down, squished and loved a lot. 2 Plymouth Rock barred (black and white speckled) 4 Rhode island reds, 4 golden comets and 2 'hatchery choice'--this means "a bunch of chickens got together and fertilized these eggs, we don't know what they are". We could have up to 4 dozen eggs a week if they all lay their maximum, but not for a couple months yet. So, there will be quite a bit of chicken posting and updating in the future.

Second, new routines are set up in the house, which we are following through with pretty well. We started with the preschool addition in March (which Kian loves and wishes he could attend more than 2xweek) then we started a new housekeeping/cleaning routine (I am very visual and had tried a few different routines, but found a good one that stuck and is on my fridge) also craft/school/science type stuff for the boys during our new daily routines--also posted on the fridge. Definitely the chicks fall under the "science/life experience/hands-on" category.

Also trying to figure out Kian's preschool situation for the fall. He's in an afternoon class right now and that works well for him as he does not nap. But, the downside is that Karter is now over the 2 naps per day and so that means he either gets a very short nap or a very late one, and neither is desired, by him or us. I think for the fall we will do mornings. He can do up to 5 days/week but, I don't think I want to be running him there and back 5 x each week, every single day, blah. So, we shall start with 3 and see what happens, how it goes, and there might be an opening for more, later on. This has been a great thing for him and I, and it's getting scary that we're getting closer to kindergarten/school age. It's sooooo very different from preschool and daycare. I really am disliking the thoughts of putting my kid on a bus and not seeing or hearing from him for 8+ hours. Yes, I did that when he was in daycare. But, it's just different. I mean I dropped him off and I knew what he was doing and being taught and there was lots of napping and such since he was so young. I'm going to publicly admit, that yes, home school has entered my head...maybe just a year or two? Another post in and of itself eh?

Karter, let's see...finally putting words together-some of my fave: no all done!, no bye bye!, daddy grumpy (repeating me haha). I still am a little paranoid about his sounds and yes you are all rolling your eyes, but I've seen enough speech sessions with 18 month olds to recall what needs to be done. Kevin also pointed out to me that he thinks I probably am not sitting down as much with Karter or we're not making him talk as much as we did with Kian. Realistically, due to time, having more than one child, etc. So, I have been a little more focused and intent on remembering that.

We also got the results from Karter's complex stool analysis back a few days ago. Why do answers just make more questions?
Results:
1. Normal fat digestion
2. Elevated amounts of meat and fiber (may be that Karter is young and just doesn't chew his food well enough)
3. Low stool pH (too acidic) - this may be from malabsorption of sugars in the intestine
4. The good bacteria Lactobacilli is absent from the stool
5. There is 1+ growth of yeast which is considered to be within the normal range
6. The was the presence of fecal lactoferrin which is associated with inflammation in the intestines. Karter had a very normal sedimentation rate on his blood test in December. This normal value would make it seem extremely unlikely that Karter has a significant inflammatory condition in his intestines (such as colitis).
(as per doctor's email report)

So, what does this mean? His morning cocktails just turned into all day cocktails...sigh. First, add a good dose of probiotics to build up that 'good bacteria' and get his gut flora in balance and make sure we don't get yeast overgrowth. Also, on that note, cut back on sugars and carbs (especially white). Second, added in enzymes to aid for digestion. Third, we are still giving him extra vitamin D and iron along with a multivitamin. In the morning, I mix up some enzymes and probiotic powder in his juice/cup, give him a multivitamin chewable and a chewable vitamin D + calcium tablets. Then later on in the day I give him iron drops (can't mix them with calcium or it won't be absorbed by the body). Then, for dinner and lunch I also have to give him some enzymes. Because they are capsules I open them up and dump half the powdered dose into another drink or food. Hemp milk or almond milk, and sometimes an omega 3 chewable. Fun. I need to get him a pill holder for easier dosing. Sheesh, it's a lot to remember. I am also going to focus on getting more alkaline foods in him (fruits, veggies, complex grains-as meats and dairy make the body produce more acid during digestion). And we are going to try a true dairy and egg free diet for 2 weeks to see if that makes a difference. I have been lazy about the dairy especially. But, both of us are feeling the affects of that (thanks gallbladder!).

He was sleeping better, but then was working on those eyeteeth (I call them canines haha) and that along with a 3 week long cold (his first or second, ever) made for some crappy sleep for us all the past couple weeks! Hopefully, with some new additions and changes to diet will help us all get more sleep.

Other things? Steaming and scraping the wallpaper off the upstairs bathroom so we can paint. Maybe some baby goats coming soon. I shampooed/steam cleaned the carpets, the entire downstairs, took me almost 4 hours the other day. Sheesh. I think I might want some more non-carpet flooring! Went to some baby showers this month and more babies coming this spring and summer. It was definitely fun shopping for some girly stuff for Amy. And of course seeing what new boy stuff they have for Robin ;) Perhaps I can convince Kevin to give me a girl of my own soon...everything is blue, green and brown around here. Seriously in need of some pink and polka dots and flowers!

Well, now that Karter is crying upstairs, it's late, I'm exhausted and my computer is telling me it needs to be charged (yes my new laptop! and I scored the new photoshop CS5, going to have to teach myself that!) methinks it's time for bed!

Blood work

We got some results from Karter's blood work done on Monday to check for vitamin/mineral deficiencies. Vitamin D is pretty low...but hello! It's winter in New York, no sunshine to be had to make Vitamin D! And other one year olds are drinking Vitamin D fortified whole milk, mine is not. Also his ferritin is low. That is part of the iron, but he's not anemic, if that makes sense. Too much to explain, so just go with it.

Interestingly, low vitamin D can cause....wait for it....low appetite, diarrhea and insomnia. Huh! The low ferritin means his body isn't storing the iron well. So, we're going to supplement and treat for those. No idea if it will help with his eating, sleeping or weight, but even if it doesn't, his body needs those levels raised up. Then onto the stool analysis.

Of course, last night he slept 12 hours. TWELVE! In a row. Without waking. 8pm-8:10am. My body is in shock mode ;) And it's like, the days I forget to give him the prevacid, he sleeps better. Ugh. That and lots of talking to him about sleeping and praying a lot for sleep! I'll take it!

18 months

I Promise to have some pictures up soon. I'm having withdrawal. But, now my computer is reborn and I have downloaded a temporary photo program (since the other one died with the computer) so it shall be soon.

Just a brief note on Karter's 18 month appointment. We went Monday for the routine check. He's up to 20 1/2 pounds and 31.5 inches. He gained a pound in the last 3 months...not too bad. He's on his own upward growth curve, just not theirs. I'm feeling better about things and am actually starting to feel like we're going overboard in some areas. He is thriving developmentally, so I know some thing's going right.

Karter has at least 50 words now. I wrote them all down the other day, the ones I remembered hearing him say. He's beginning to put words together like "where___?" Always asking "whuh dada?" Sometimes it's "whuh my dada?" It's just different- and I try to remember he's within the average range and doing fine. But at 18 months Kian had very clear words and well over a 100, probably more like 200+ and was using 2-3 word sentences regularly. Yes, that's a bit above and a bit precocious, but I wish Karter's sounds were better and more developed. I'll get over my Early Intervention paranoid self, don't worry.

But, his motor skills are insane. Everywhere we go, people comment on that. We visited a preschool for Kian and the director couldn't stop talking about how Karter walked up the slide (yes the wrong way) and climbed around, a big, preschool size (not one of those small toddler ones) jungle gym things. She said they had some 4 year olds that couldn't do that yet. The doctor and nurse were surprised and imprssed when I told him to get up on the table he walked over to the step stool, and climbed up to sit on the table. He has been able to scale our metal scroll bed frame (foot board) since he was 12 months. People stop me in the stores because Karter has climbed out of the seat belt on the cart and is standing up or hanging over into the basket part. What do you want me to do? That's why sometimes I put him in the carrier on my back. I can't turn my back for one second, he's up and on and over everything. Of course, the jumping off part scares everyone--not me anymore. I'm desensitized I guess, but I know his abilities and don't worry about it. I remember Kian, while still able to do these things, be content to read and talk and sit more than Karter. I'm learning to appreciate the differences, don't worry!

We're seeing less of the separation anxiety (still doesn't like when I leave) but is more social and not as shy around new people. He's started waving and saying hi to everyone in the stores now, which I remember Kian doing too. They must get this from their father. I still prefer to not be in crowds or unfamiliar people ;) oh well. He's still my snuggler and thumbsucker. He loves to hold his doggy or another soft animal, or my hair, especially when tired. I'm not worried about the thumb sucking at all right now. And he has all his molars and is getting all 4 of his canine/eyeteeth, whatever you want to call them. They don't' seem to be bothering him all that much. But, maybe he'll sleep better when they're all finally in...we shall see. Sleep is doing a little better. I've stopped all the eating/drinking at night (except for water) and though he still wakes up twice a night (whether he's in our bed or his own, it has no affect) it's less frantic and he's more easily calmed from it.

We did do the blood work for some vitamin deficiencies and will get the results soon. The last thing we are going to do is a comprehensive stool analysis just to check for any malabsorption issues--passing too quickly or too slowly through his system, meaning he's not getting all the nutrients from what he's eating. If that comes up fine, then I am done. I am done with tests and done with worrying. I am just going to go with it and stop all these appointments and whatever. The natural integrative pediatrician did give us some good pointers about different foods and diff rent timings of things, that I hadn't thought of, nor had anyone else (regular ped or friends, family, etc.) so it was worth it.

And, that's about it...i just heard a whole bin of Legos be dumped on the floor...

Deodorant, Dinosaurs and Doctors, oh my!

What, you ask, the heck do those three things have to do with each other? Nothing really. Well, except the dino and the deodorant. Confused? I was too.

I was taking a shower and Kian was playing in the bathroom (any other mother notice that the word 'play' should really be changed to 'getting into things and making messes'? good) and he told me his triceratops needed to be rinsed off. I asked why and he told me it was full of soap. I'm wondering where he got soap from. Peeking out, he shows me the dinosaur-covered in white stuff-and in his hand is my deodorant. Yep, took it off the counter and smooshed it all over the dinosaur. Lovely...because that doesn't come off easy. Whatever. It's still sitting in the tub, it can wait. Also, he took my deodorant and drew a few letters on the bathroom carpet with it...sigh.

After the shower we made our way to the preschool tour and the theme there was....ta da! Dinosaurs! I told Kian we were going to look at a preschool and he fought me, saying he didn't want to go to school, he didn't want to look, he wanted to stay home. I told him we were just going to look and see if he liked it. We finally pulled in the parking lot and he says "I like it!". Upon entering, he was all smiles, and when he saw all the dinosaurs (legos, in the sand table, posters, craft) he couldn't contain himself. We looked around for a half hour or so while he played and then I told him we were done. He didn't want to leave of course. I had to do the countdown warning (3 mins, 1 min) and get him out of there with a sticker from the director so there wasn't a meltdown. I told him he might be able to come back soon (they have openings now for 2 days/week! yay!) and that we just came to look today. He continues playing and says "I'm still looking!". haha.

The doctor has nothing to do with either of these things...well there were dinosaurs at the doctor's office, perhaps that is the segue I needed? But, I just needed to throw our update in there. Wednesday I took Karter to see Dr. Weinberg, an integrative pediatrician. Meaning she's a fully trained pediatrician by mainstream medical standards abut also trained in natural therapies, nutrition, supplementation, etc. It was nice to just be able to sit down and start from the beginning with Karter's issues, from in utero when we found out about his concerns on ultrasound all the way until today. I get to tell doctors and people in pieces here and there, so to have it completely from start to present, and get everything in there, and have someone just listen, was nice.

We discussed his allergy testing and possible sensitivities, reflux and medicines, sleep habits and issues, everything really. She commended me for the things I had been doing--adding papaya enzymes, using foods to try to boost his calorie intake with olive oil, using avocado, etc. And some things I had in my head but to hear them, and ordered in some sort of plan. She's ordering a few more blood tests and wants to check for vitamin deficiencies. We're also going to do a comprehensive stool analysis, to look at anything and everything that might "come out" from there...sure, pun intended ;)

So, our new course of action is:
1. Do a strict dairy(milk) and egg free diet for 3 weeks to see if it makes a difference with his eating and/or sleeping. The thought being that he is showing some allergies but sensitivities in the gut don't show up on tests. If no changes, then we can think about adding in some organic whole milk because--

2. He's lacking in fats, and some proteins in his diet. Not for lack of trying. I let this kid eat whatever he wants-pizza, sausage, hot dogs, etc. But, my kids love fruits and veggies. While this doesn't help his current weight status, it will definitely help his long-term health. So, we need to boost fats and proteins more. I shovel this kid with PB all day long, but adding more oils, margarine, meats if he will, and a different milk source.

3. She suggested Hemp milk. I know what you're thinking. No, he won't get high from it ;) But, compared to rice or almond milk, it has a higher protein content and full of omega-3 & 6. The other 3 have only 1 grams per serving. So, we'll try that.

4. Continue working on the behavioral part of sleeping through the night. I've been successful in getting Karter to go about 8-10 hours without wanting to eat/nurse/drink since beginning this process again on Monday. I just keep telling him he has to wait until morning. He still wakes a few times, but usually snuggling in with us keeps him happy until 6 or 7am. I'd love for him to be sleeping all night but, I'll take what I can get right now.

5. The other thing she suggested was for me to change the time I give him the Prevacid. I was giving it first thing in the morning, but she suggested I try giving it to him before bed. This way, if there is reflux it will curb it all night, and not "run out" by bedtime/overnight and have him wake up more. But, ultimately, we want him off it, sooner than later.

6. A few more blood tests for vitamin deficiencies and a few other things, just in case. Also, a comprehensive stool analysis to see if there are any malabsorption issues, what's being digested, what's not, and a host of other things. That will be fun collecting...no, really!

And whatever else I forgot she will be sending in a report to me and the regular pediatrician. Monday we have the 18 month check up, so will be interesting to see how much he's gained, since he's been on the Prevacid for almost 2 months now... And that is a random recap...

Conversations with Kian (and Karter)

Thanks to Kourt's new pup (keeping with the K traditions---he's Korbin) Kian now calls everything the way you call a puppy. He claps his hands, bends over and says 'come..., come here". Meaning, he calls me- *clap, clap* "mom, come, come here mom". Uh..woof?

The other day, Kian woke up and ran into our bed. He then pretended something was a sword to get mice and proceeded to use "in fact" and "per se", in context. "I am in fact going to get mice...I might not kill them per se". Seriously? Guess he got his mama's love of English vocab already.

Karter likes to "pee pee potty" which translates to "take of my diaper and I'll sit on there for 1.7 seconds then jump up to grab toilet paper, pretend to wipe and throw int in the toilet, then grab more and run across the bathroom with it, then ask to sit on the toilet again." Fun times. He's been pointing and saying "pee" or "poopy" in his diaper around the time he goes, so yay let the good times roll. Perhaps the second child trains faster since there is an older one to keep up with? Here's praying.

When Karter babbles things we don't understand, or a babble after a word, Kian always says "Karter said (Kian/leave me alone/bad doggy/whatever) in Spanish!" Bilingual spontaneously! Awesome!

Kian knowing how to turn on the tv is having it's drawbacks...like when he came into me the other day and told me "you need to go to Laser Spa mommy". I asked him if I was hairy, he said yes. Gee thanks!

His absorption of everything and anything also has it's high points though. He knows the differences between carnivores and herbivores, thanks to Dinosaur Train. He has learned mammals, from I don't know where. Today at lunch he told Karter he was a mammal and that bats were also mammals. Both true. Then he says "We are meat." I ask him what he means. He answers, "we are meat, our bodies are meat." I told him yes, they are, muscle, which I guess can be meat, but we don't eat people. ha.

Karter, also thinking he's funny, said "poopy" then scrunched his face...and farted. Sigh. It begins, times three.

Having an older child, one who only began saying "mine" in the last couple months (yes I got 3.5 years FREE of 'mine, mine, mine') the younger one for the last month has been saying "MINE!" and really, truly knows what it means. Ugh! We were sharing a drink and I used his straw, he pulled it away and..."mine!". Replacing the "me, me, me" he was doing a few months ago. That was much cuter.

Tricks and tweaks for Karter

As I'm beginning to type this, I am waiting for the doctor's office to return my call about the gastric emptying test Karter had last Friday. There are a few things we've been trying out and trying to get done or get over in the last few weeks: more solid sleep at night (maybe less during the day), improved eating, removing eggs, etc. Some days it seems to work, other days, not.

Sleeping through the night: I admit, I really just would like to sleep more than 3-4 hours in a row. Like, 6 would be nice. And it's not like he even wakes up quietly or nicely, which I could deal with better, I think. He wakes up and yells. If he's in our bed, he kicks and rolls around and has a particular side and way he wants to lay next to me and gets mad if I move. Can't win. And no, we can't cry it out--he shares a room with Kian, and I don't want to, and he's not the kind of kid who would even do that--okay sure if I wanted to let him scream for 12 hours straight. Anyways, we were hitting some longer stretches and no eating during the night and I was feeling like we were on a good path, but there's always snags. Of course, I started watching a couple kids for a couple weeks so, I changed his routine again. He's sensitive to that sort of thing. But, amazingly flexible about other things.

Removing eggs: We got the allergy test results few weeks before Christmas and it surprised us with the allergy to eggs. The doctor told us the results were "mild-moderate" and that straight eggs would probably be best to stay away from, but in baked goods would probably be fine. Just before Christmas I had also introduced some organic whole milk as it seemed dairy issues were diminishing. But, of course, why would we not get a stomach bug the week before the holiday? We all got over it in a day or 2, but Karter's diarrhea lasted for just over 2 weeks. Ugh. Kevin finally said to me "Stop. Just stop. Stop the milk. Stop the eggs. Don't give him the things we think might be bothering him." So, I did. No eggs, no mayo, no eggs in other foods, no milk, no yogurt, nothing. And, lo and behold, the diarrhea stopped within 2 days. AND, to top it off, since stopping the eggs, it's been a week and a half, Karter's appetite has improved immensely! He's been eating like crazy, not a huge first-thing-in-the-morning eater, but asks to eat all day long. I give him what he wants and them some. It's a huge struggle but I've been able to turn down more fruit and give him -sigh-potato chips haha.

Another thing with the weight, is that, Kevin's side is thin. His father's side is very tall and thin. Kevin has a high metabolism and has a hard time keeping weight on. Also, it's what we eat. We don't do processed foods hardly. Lunches are lean meats, veggies and fruits. Sometimes it's just hummus and veggies and pita chips (hummus being beans) or guacamole with tortillas and more veggies. We do pizza like once a week, or eat out maybe once a week, but even then, it's not overly fried, fatty foods. We're just healthy eaters, and the foods Karter loves (bananas, apples, beans, etc.) aren't foods that are going to put weight on him, except the peanut butter.

Okay, doctor just called back. Karter's emptying was slightly delayed. Not a lot he said, but it showed up a little. I don't remember the numbers. Also, he did show some reflux. Now, to be fair I gave him yogurt for the test. Perhaps it was the dairy, perhaps it's the reflux. Perhaps, it's both. We agreed to try the reflux meds again and when we meet for his 18 month check up in March we'll assess how it's going. I think this, combined with the egg free and minimal dairy diet, will really help. Well, I'm hoping it will really help. This guy needs some weight on him and to get taller. So, that is that for this week...we'll see what happens once he's back on the reflux meds.

Day 4 and the test update *and an edit

Last night, Karter slept from 8pm until 4:15 am. He wanted a little snack (couple bites of Kevin's danish again) then back to sleep until 6am. That's when I let him come in my bed and/or nurse. Good deal. That's success to me. That's the longest he's ever slept. That's considered overnight. I'm happy for now. I, of course, couldn't fall asleep for over half an hour, laying in bed at 10:30 just waiting for him to wake up, but he didn't!

I can tell it's been good for him sleeping longer stretches because today he only had a 20 minute nap due to his test at Strong, and he was fine. Not even crabby....well, until he had to be velcro-strapped onto a board under the machine. Ugh! They wanted him to drink his cup of juice or milk or whatever, after not eating for 2 hours (that was not fun, Kian and I sneaking lunch before we went, with Karter following us around "eee! eee!" to eat). Karter's not a big drinker, unless he wants to be. I brought a yogurt and talked to the tech. She told me "you're the mom, you know him best, whatever you think he will get the most in, give him that." So, we mixed the radioactive stuff in his yogurt. She told me not to get it on his shirt or it would show up in the test. Here's me, feeding radioactive yogurt to my kid, getting it on my hands and there's Kian, sitting in the midst of all these machines and chemo signs. Hmm...felt a bit odd, like I hoped they weren't getting poisoned. ;) But we found out Karter can say "out" and/or "off" as he lay there screaming those words, trying to rip the velcro vest straps off. More words-yay!

They had to take a picture every 5 minutes for the first 30 minutes, then he could get down and it'd be every 15 minutes. Well, having your already tired, hungry, thirsty, annoyed 16 month old strapped to a papoose board under a big x-ray machine...not fun. He screamed and thrashed and cried these big, wet tears. But, the boys made out like bandits with all the stickers from the receptionist and tech. Cool ones too, not cheap tacky ones. Farm scenes to create on stickers. Cool, I tell ya. So Karter took to chucking the toys at the tech, from under the machine, being velcroed down. Luckily, she thought it was funny. She complimented his 'good arm' and said he should be a quarterback and she didn't blame him. His aim, super good, he almost hit her every time. Ah it was funny. But, anyway, the test only took about an hour, so I'm assuming he didn't have slowed digestion...we'll see if it's fast (which we were thinking) not sure about the reflux. We could have had results later afternoon or definitely by Monday, but I'm not stressing about it.

Oddly enough, this week I stopped milk, cheese and eggs. His diarrhea cleared up the next day. I gave him the pillow back in his crib-it was mine, so my smell plus the raising of his head, and he slept 8 hours the next day. I'm just tweaking things here and there to see what we can figure out. of course he's been eating a lot the last few days. He looks a little chubbier, I tried to weigh him and it looked like about 21 lbs. I hope that's right, but I'm skeptical since he was 18.8 2 weeks ago, but stranger things have happened. We're getting there, little by little...

I took them to Build-a-bear to get clothes for their Christmas bear and owl, and we got Moe's Southwest grille for dinner, mmm! Hopefully that made up for the crappy 2 hours in a hospital being velcroed to a board. Poor kid. Moe's is my new love...Kian's too, he always asks for "moo moo Mr. cow" meal. ha!

On a funny note--Kian asked for a new pet in the car. He asked for a turtle. I said no, turtles are boring, disease-ridden and don't do anything fun. He informed me that they "go in their shell for 3 hours in the morning, then come out and swim and talk to me, then go in their shells at night, they are too fun Mom." Right. So, the answer was no. "Okay, then I want a baby sister. A tiny one, not a big baby sister, a tiny baby sister. She has to be tiny so I can hold her." Agreed, done. I said "well, you'll have to tell daddy to put one in my belly." His answer? "No, I will tell God to put her in your belly." Touche! Kid knows it. His daddy's just refusing to see the writing on the wall ha!



Also the other highlight of Kian's day, seeing the Mercy Flight helicopter right over our heads and land on the roof next to us. We got out of the car in the garage and all of a sudden we were about deaf. We ran to the open windows of the garage to watch the helicopter land on the roof. He was in awe. It was pretty cool, but I had to tell him it wasn't that cool because it meant soemone got hurt bad. That thing is one heck of a copter!