Whew!

Lily had her 12 month appointment this week. Aside from her actually loosing weight (a few ounces) from her last visit (at least she grew in height and head circumference or I'm sure they'd be discussing how horrible a mother I am!!) we got her tested for allergies. The good news is that she is not allergic to wheat. The bad news is that she is allergic to milk. And really, her levels were low enough that the dr. is fairly optimistic (I hope I can put those words in your mouth Shar) that she will grow out of it by age 2 or 3. That's the hope anyway. Soooo.... that means I can drink beer! However, we still need to read labels to make sure nothing has milk or casein in it. Nothing but soy cheese, soy yogurt and soy milk. Oh yeah, did I mention that there's a 10% chance that she would be allergic to soy as well? Sheesh! I guess we wait and watch on that one. In addition to taking milk out of our diet, I need to work on fattening her up. Since I don't want to give her junk and unhealthy stuff, I need to work on including healthy oils in her diet. Apparently coconut oil is really good, as is fish oil.

On a totally different note (in an attempt to make this less of a nutrition blog) we got the most adorable pictures taken last week. We got Addie and Lily's pictures taken with real live bunnies. I cannot believe how well behaved Addie was! Not that she's a badly behaved child, but when you take out a camera and ask her to sit still she just gets totally wild in a way that only a 2 1/2 year old can. However, you dangle the carrot of petting live bunnies in front of her, and she becomes a very well behaved little girl. I would love to show the pictures to you... unfortunately because they're professional pictures, I can't. Bummer. I haven't downloaded the pictures from Lily's birthday yet either... bad Momma!

A Wheat Free World

Lily and I are on week 3 of our Wheat-Free, Dairy-Free diet. Lily has had a red, puffy and raw diaper rash for several months. Lily has been prescribed several different broad spectrum diaper rash creams and nothing has done the trick. We finally saw a dermatologist who did a culture 4 weeks ago. The cultures came back negative for yeast and bacterial infection. On a hunch, I took Lily to see a friend who is a naturopath who suggested that yes it might be an allergy. The only way to rule out an allergy is by going on an elimination diet.

I can't begin to tell you how hard it is at first to eliminate wheat and dairy from your diet. We do not live in a wheat free world. Try going out to eat... no soy sauce, no bread, no breading, no pizza, no beer, no pasta.... I could go on. Try eating on the run, same senario. Everything you eat has to be thought out - did they use flour to thicken the sauce in this? Can you leave the cheese off? Not to mention constantly policing the house making sure Addie doesn't share her Goldfish crackers and milk. I spent probably 2 of the 3 weeks mad at the world. I will do anything for my children, I love them and want them to be healthy but I admit I spent a lot of time whining! Since Lily's diet consists mostly of fruits, vegetables and some meat, this was relatively easy for her. For me it meant a total change in my thinking.

Now, since I've finally seen progress I'm feeling better about the whole thing. Lily's butt has been consistently clear for a week. We did have a setback when she chugged some of Addie's milk, but it cleared up quickly. Today I start to challenge wheat. I am to start eating wheat again to see if it is being transfered through breast milk. I admit that I'm scared to try it. I don't want Lily to be hurt again, I don't want her clingy and whiny because her bottom (and maybe her tummy) hurt. I don't want to rock the boat, I want to leave things as they are. But I really want a beer!

So the challenging begins. Wish us luck.

Happy Birthday Lily!

Lily is one year old today. Well, technically she won't be one until 6:35 tonight, but who's splitting hairs? Wow, my baby is one.

Last night I caught Lily scaling the baby gate at the base of the steps. We had the gate leaning against the steps at about a 45 degree angle. This has always been enough to deter the girls in the past. However, our little Lily saw this as a challenge. When I walked into the room, Lily had her feet halfway up the gate and was clinging to the top. I watched as she found the holes in the gate and used them as toe holds. She struggled to get her feet over the top of the gate. Finally she pulled herself over and onto the first step of the 2nd section of steps. Such determination and focus in that girl! Pictures of the feat will be forthcoming... as soon as I can download them... which means after the birthday party this weekend.

Snow Cave - Fun For Daddys.

The girls don't appreciate Daddy's snow cave yet. Neither one wanted anything to do with it!

I'm not sure this is safe

Seriously Momma, do you think you should have me on top of this 4 foot tall drift? Is this safe? Remember, I'm not quite one year old yet!

Beautiful Blue Eyes

What Do Clouds Taste Like?

Last night Addie and I ran to the grocery store for wheat-free soy sauce (long story that I will probably blog soon) while Adam started dinner for us. While we walked to the car I got the long list of "What's That?" "That's our muddy garden." "That's melted snow." "That's the driveway."

Then, "Momma, there are clouds!"
"yes, honey."
"I eat clouds?"
"No honey, we can't eat them.... What do you think they'd taste like?"
"Toast."
"Really? They'd taste like toast?"
"Mmmm... like crackers."

There you have it folks, clouds taste like toast - or maybe crackers. I always wondered...

Ugh

Ugh. It's March. We've still got some snow left, but it's rapidly melting. It's melting so fast that we're worried the basement will flood. Adam took Addie for a walk down to Brad's house last night. I guess she ran and splashed in the puddles the whole way. By the time they got home she was soaked to her knees and cold. However, as soon as she warmed up she wanted to go right back out again.

March just seems like one of those ugh months. It's not quite sunny enough for spring, not quite snowy enough for winter. It just is. We have so much going on this month; Adam's birthday, Lily's birthday, I'm leaving the girls with my parents and Syren next weekend, it's just busy. And yet I have no ambition. I can't believe my baby is turning One. I just can't believe it. She's just too much of a little peanut. She's so silly all the time - playing and dancing, laughing her little belly laugh.

Daddy Did My Hair

Seriously? You're going to do my hair like that? All the other babies will make fun of my lopsided ponytail!

Snow, snow and more crazy white stuff that my child wants to eat

I'm supposed to put more pictures up so Grandma and Grandpa Argh (who are in FL enjoying sun that we will not see for several more months) can see the girls in the 5 feet of snow we got last weekend. I downloaded the pictures, I uploaded them into Memory Manager 2 (CM software that rocks) and tried uploading them to the photo website. "Tried" being the operative word there. www.cmphotocenter seems to be down. Which means I cannot access my pictures from here. I couldn't even access the internet last night so I was totally stuck. Maybe tonight, assuming our playdate goes well and I get the kids in bed at a somewhat reasonable hour.

So... you get to imagine the kids in the snow. Imagine Addie making snow angels in a snowbank. Imagine Lily sitting on top of a 4 foot drift, totally terrified. Imagine Addie's mittens completely covered in fluffy cold white snow (not the snowman making type) as she puts yet another ball of snow into her mouth. Imagine Lily terrified as Adam puts her into the snow cave he built.

And speaking of white stuff... I just found out that Addie ate some diaper rash cream today. I don't think zinc oxide is toxic... is it? When will everything stop going in that kid's mouth!?

Lily Eating Freeze Dried Fruit

It should be a snow day today. The town is pretty much shutting down due to near blizzard conditions. 40 mph winds with white-out conditions yet to come. Bring on the 2 feet of snow!

Unearthed

Much like the worm he is reported to be, Wormy resurfaced yesterday for a brief period. He was found deep in the depths of the green recliner. Much rejoying and merriment accompanied his reunion with Addie. By the time I returned from work at 4:30 pm, Wormy had once again r-u-n-n-o-f-t.

A search and rescue mission will be started today or tomorrow, weather permitting.