Cashew Reaction

Last Thursday was a typical day, actually a better than average fun morning! James and I played in the basement since it was raining and the big kids were at school. We found some old toys and played for a while-- Dora's Lego house, Thomas tent, train tracks. We played with Abbie too. When we put Abbie in for a nap I suggested a snack. He asked for cheddar goldfish-- good old standby, should have left it at that. He also had some milk.
I took out my favorite Trader Joe's trail mix.. Simply Almonds Cashews and Chocolate. James asked if he could have some peanuts. I said "no these are cashews. Actually these are the ones Liam is allergic too." (Liam=best buddy) he said "well can I have some." I said sure and put three in his bowl with his goldfish, and some chocolate chips too. (10:30am)
He put one in his mouth and said "I like it.. It tastes like peanuts." then all of a sudden he said "it hurts my mouth.". I thought he was joking seeing that we JUST talked about Liam's allergy But then he said the nut was stuck in his throat. I poured him another cup of milk and he drank it in seconds then got up and ran over to get some water. I got a flashlight to look in his throat and didn't see anything.
He asked me then if he could take a shower and I said fine. I thought he was forgetting about it and maybe he choked on it.
I really was in denial. The phone rang and he said he was gonna go upstairs and get undressed for the shower. I talked on the phone for a couple minutes with a friend and then went to check on him and turn on the shower. He was lying on the floor of the bathroom and asked me if the shower could help him.
I freaked at this point asking him why.. He said everything hurts.he said mouth, throat, legs. I gave him a teaspoon of Benadryl hoping that would help. (11:00am)
Then he was crying that his stomach hurt and getting on and off the toilet. I ran downstairs and gave the baby to daddy who was, thankfully, working at home. he was coughing on and off and I kept asking him if his throat still hurt and he said everything does. He kept trying to lie down on the floor.
After a quick shower I got him dressed and went downstairs. I sat on the couch with the baby on one side and James on the other. He was lethargic and I was thinking is he coming down with something... Could it really be one nut??? All of a Sudden he stood up and started projectile vomiting everywhere, all over me, the baby, couch, floor.. Andrew came running and we were both in shock about how much he was throwing up. (11:30am)
I called the doctor and said that I think my son is having an allergic reaction to cashews. They asked if benadryl seemed to be working and since i said said yes come in at 12:30, they said if breathing was compromised go to the ER but he seemed to be breathing fine.
He was scratching his head, face, belly. Hives started appearing on his arms and belly (just like Disney except then they were everywhere)
Decided to leave Abbie with Daddy and rushed over to the doctor's office with James. He seemed so
Much better at this point, staring at the fish in the waiting room and chatting away. When we went in he was intrigued by the diagrams of the inner ear so we spent the whole time talking about ear infections.
When the nurse practitioner came in James had hives popping up everywhere. He kept asking about what was in his ear, laughing and chatting with her.. Total cutie. She said it was an obvious allergic reaction, almost definite to cashew. Gave us Epi pen and steroid prescription and sent us off to the lab for testing on cashews and all nuts.
She said the Benadryl must have gotten into him just in time to take effect before he started vomiting... THANK GOD!
Daddy took James to the lab for a test and he got a sticker that said "Hero.. Hug me because I was brave today"
I wanted to cry everytime I looked at him. Did I do the wrong thing giving him the cashew? Should I have taken him to the ER right away? How could he possible have nut allergies at age 4 1/2? Why didn't we have him further tested after his Disney reaction?
He just kept improving after that.. And aside from being really tired and having no appetite he was back to himself that night.
On Monday, we got the results. Allergic to cashews and pistachios, with pistachios being more severe.
James has "tree nut allergies."
What!!!!????!!!!
The next step is seeing
An allergist on tuesday.. So many questions.

James again ;)

James "I don't really like my white skin."
Ellie "well do you want to get a tan?"
James "no I want to be black."

Purple Lips

Ghost Hunters

Ellie "Amy and Jon are so lucky they live near the cemetery, they probably go there all the time."
Eric "to do what?"
Ellie "hunt for ghosts and read all the stones."

Abbie's Future

Eric says "mom, I think Abbie is gonna be a model when she grows up... Because she always has different clothes on every time I see her and then I never see those clothes again."

Summer Ending

So sad summer is ending. To day I Took the kids to wards Berry farm. I thought we would pick blueberries but we did that and picked potatoes. We used pitch forks and shovels to dig for potatoes and the kids got really into it. They had so much fun and best of all no fighting. Now what will I do with all these potatoes???

Worms

James has been doing a lot of worm digging lately so today at the park he came running up with a huge worm in his hand. I asked him where he got it... "from a bird."

Love him!!!

James "mom... It's so weird, you look like a sister not a mom!"

Geography lesson needed

Tonight Ellie asked me if China and Japan are in Virginia ;)

Amtrak

James "mommy can you draw me a picture of turtles eating broccoli on the Amtrak Acela Express"
That was a tough one!

Worstest

James can't help gagging everytime he sees Abbie's diapers... Today he called her the "worstest pooper ever."

Worst

James "Eric is the worst brother I ever had... He's even the worst brother in the United States of America!"

James at the airport

"mom does Abbie like looking at the planes... Ask her... Make her say yes."

James' Friend

James has been having trouble with a boy, Langston, in his class. We saw him at Eric's soccer game and James said "hey Ellie, wanna see my friend that I hate!"

Abbie's hair

Poor Abbie keeps making herself cry. She will be waving her arms around and get a fistful of hair and then start screaming because she's pulling it herself!

Amtrak Commercial

James' love for trains continues!! For his bday he got Amtrak shirt,hat, and daddy got him a real H O gauge train and train board.
He can quote the Amtrak commercial and keeps repeating "from the desert southwest to the regions of the sunny south."

Abigail Anne's Arrival

On Friday night Andrew and I watched a movie and I just kept eating Tums..didn't feel like eating but had a lot of heartburn. Had a few contractions but nothing regular. Woke up at 3am with real contractions and realized they actually were pretty close together. Andrew called Dr. Shen (my doctor, yay!!) and she said she would meet us at the hospital. We got there around 3:30 and everything started to happen really quickly... The anesthesiologist came to give the epidural but by then Dr. Shen was already getting into her delivery clothes. The nurse said "will it be that soon."
Well, she was born at 4:59 am... Naturally since the epidural never had time to kick in. It was really hard but over fast. She was our biggest 7 pounds, 10 ounces and 21 inches long. She was born on March 17, St. Patrick's day and Eric's 8th birthday!!
He wasn't too excited to share a birthday but hopefully lots of attention and gifts this weekend made up for it.
James is very excited about "the baby sister." he is behaving very well and being so loving. He even gave Andrew his little koala bear for me to sleep with at the hospital.
Both times Ellie visited the hospital she has practically held the baby the whole time.
Everyone is very excited now and so far so good with baby Abbie... We'll see how things go when we go home tomorrow. Luckily we have grandmom visiting to help us and a whole week of 70 degree days (in march!!) to keep the kids busy!

James

Are ducks chickens' moms?

911

Poor James was so upset today. He was having a huge tantrum and screaming so I put him in time out. When he calmed down he was crying and he asked "are u gonna call 911 on me"
Somehow he got the idea that if you get in big trouble someone calls 911 and the police pick u up.

Kids Getting Excited for Baby

The kids are getting excited for their little baby sister to arrive. 2 weeks ago I had a false alarm and the doctor said it would be soon so everyone is getting anxious!
Some thoughts from the kiddos:
Eric "I know you didn't have the baby last night but you look way skinnier today." loooooved that one ;)
Ellie "if you had the baby 3 days
ago Then you wouldn't have to walk so slow today."
James "when the baby sister comes I'm gonna let her look at Amtrak trains with me on the iPad and she's gonna love it."

"Be quiet!"

I thought James was just being fresh tonight when he was screaming "be quiet, it's too loud in here" at everyone during the Superbowl. Then he stuck his finger in his ear and pulled out his ear tube! I remember when Eric had to have his pulled out he said it was buzzing really loud... Poor James!!!

Ps. The patriots lost but we won't get into that in this post!

Judy Blume

Eric just read Judy Blume's Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and then got the set of Fudge books for Christmas. He told me "mom, our family is just like the family in my books... Crazy and late for everything."

Ellie Goes to Jail

Ellie went with the girl scouts to see the fire station and police station and then to Papa Gino's for dinner. She came home asking me if I ever got arrested and went in a cell before. Then she said it looks boring in there but she would bring some markers with her if she had to go.

Koalee

One of James' many favorite stuffed animals is koalee the koala bear. Tonight when we were tucking James in he said "I can't sleep without koalee daddy."
Daddy asked "well where is it?"
James "his name isn't 'it' daddy, it's koalee."

Ellie

Today Ellie asked me "mom, what to the people on the radio do if they have to cough while they're singing."
So I launched into a big description of recording studios and lost even myself in the conversation!

Soccer Pic

One of our soccer stars on picture day

Door Slamming

Clearly James has learned from the masters Eric and Ellie how to slam his door. He slammed it yesterday and I said "I'm sorry but if you do that again Daddy will have to use his tools and take off your door for a while."
He responded "Well then I'll take Daddy to Home Depot and get a new door and then I'll slam that one."

Dreams

I checked on all the kids before bed and James thrashed around a little bit saying "I can't see the train."

Then at 5am I heard James screaming and thought it was another bad dream. When I went in there he was half asleep so I asked what was wrong and he said "I don't like spicy dinners and you almost always make spicy dinner."

Missing the cousins

Eric can't wait until we go to Asheville to see Marley, Ally and Ayden. Tonight he said "why do we have to wait till august, why can't we just go right now."
I said "Well... daddy is in California." and he responded "but you know how to drive."

Love from James

"Every time I come to this house moms and dads are mean."

Kids' Take on the Royal Wedding

Eric and Ellie watched some of the royal wedding. Eric said "prince Harry looks like a really cool guy." and Ellie said "prince Harry is the handsomest guy I ever saw... If he asksme to marry him when I'm a grown up I'll say yes."

Jamesisms

Mommy "love you James."
James "mama you're on my team."

What's your name? "Jamesy Drew Gregory"

Happy Dirt-Day

Just celebrated James and Eric's birthdays. Love how James sings "Happy Dirt Day." Eric had a bunch of boys over for a beyblade celebration and James had a few friends over for pizza and cupcakes. We had a family party for them combined over the weekend. James blew out the candles like a pro. He was adorable running around in his new construction vest and hat fixing everything in the house.

Little pumpkin

James is getting so big! In a month he'll be 3. We finally took the side off crib to make a
Toddler bed and he loves it. It was a big moment the first time he walked
In to get me out of bed instead of calling for me to get him.
Tucking him in the other night I said "good night little pumpkin."
He said " I'm not a pumpkin mama I'm james Gregory."

Monster Jam Minivan

Today Andrew said maybe we should have the plugged tire moved to the back so in case the tire went flat the car wouldn't go off the road. Eric "that would be soooo awesome... just like Monster Jam."

You Mean

James "Daddy.. you mean."

Mommy "James, that's fresh, we don't say that."

James "Daddy you not cute."

Townie

was just driving through Norwood Center and Eric said "I'm probably not gonna move out of Norwood when I grow up cause I'm definitely gonna wanna see what it looks like here in 30 years...." Oh boy....

Prince and Princess

Andrew was being funny and put a screensaver of Prince William and Kate Middleton on my computer. James thought it was Auntie Lindsay and Uncle Jon. I guess that's a compliment!

Funny Day

The kids had some finny stuff to say today:

Ellie -- "When I am 17 and James is 16 I bet he's gonna talk a lot better than he does now."

Eric -- "Mom, how many liquor stores are there in Times Square?"

Christmas Vacation

What an awesome week we had hanging out as a family. Andrew was home all week and we really didnt have a lot of plans but ended up having so much fun.

Thursday- Took James to lunch at Panera and LLBean while the big kids were at school
Friday- Eric went bowling, Ellie spent the day baking with Nannie, Xmas Eve dinner at Lindsay and Jon's
Saturday-CHRISTMAS... barbie house, beyblades, monster trucks, wonderpets beanies, trains... breakfast at Auntie Carole's, Dinner at Nannie and Papa's
Sunday/Monday-big blizzard, 18 inches, they loved making snow balls and looking for animal footprints
Tuesday-Kids go to work at Oracle with Daddy
Wednesday-Sledding, Afternoon movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Thursday-watched Madison, Ellie playdate with Leanne, Eric playdate with Mikey
Friday- Train to Boston for First Night Sculptures, Westwood Fireworks, Lindsay and Jon's party
Saturday- Rob and Anita visit
Sunday-Patriots Party

Blizzard

We were outside playing in the snow storm today and it was really windy. James yelled "mama the snow is making me sad."

I love all my people

Tonight I was putting James to bed and I said I love you… he responded with I Love mommy, daddy, sissy, brothy… I love all my people.

Shower

Tonight they wanted to know if they could wear their rainboots in the shower.

Halloween

Darth Vader
Buzz Lightyear
Wicked witch of the West

Barbie Day

The last day before school starts so Ellie and I spent a long time together playing Barbies. Her story was so cute that we were acting out. Barbie (Viveca) was getting married to Brian (the African American Ken doll.) She dressed all the bridesmaids and even little flower girls. Ken (the best man) got hurt in a surfing accident so one of the Barbies was his nurse in the hospital. Since his wife, Cheryl, was the maid of honor she asked the videographer to take a video so she could bring the DVD to show Ken in the hospital. The nurse fed Ken orange soda and watermelon to get his strength back. (contents of Barbie BBQ set) Viveca and Brian went to Hawaii on their honeymoon. I asked how long the flight was but she said let's just pretend it only takes two hours in the Barbie car. In Hawaii they met another couple (Ken2) and another Barbie. The realized they are both from Norwood and they are neighbors.
Viveca got a couple phone calls on her cell phone... one was Cheryl calling to say Ken was ok, and he liked the DVD. And one was from "Auntie" who babysitting the doggie but the doggie wouldn't drink anything. So Viveca told Cheryl "believe it or not all that dog drinks is orange soda." (Ellie herself hates orange soda but the Bbq set came with 3 bottles)
Then Viveca and Brian went to the beach to go suntanning (we discussed the danger of UV rays) and they met a mermaid! The mermaid's pet dolphin got a "stubbed flipper" so Viv drove the mermaid and the dolphin quickly to the vet in the convertible.
The vet put the dolphin in the pool and put a bandage on the flipper. Then Viv and the mermaid took the dolphin back to the ocean and Viv said she would come in 2 weeks to help bring the dolphin to get the bandage off.
Later, Brian and Viv ran into the mermaid again and she told them the dolphin was ok so they didn't need to go to the vet.
So, they get back from the honeymoon and Viv has a baby girl at the hospital. ("She didn't know she was gonna have a baby and it didn't take 9 months")
Ken comes to visit now that he is out of the hospital and brings a new carseat and a new hat for the baby.
The new baby is named Elizabeth and the baby's older cousin Dorothy came to see her in the hospital. DOrothy couldn't stay because she had to go to her first day of Kindergarten.
Then Grandma Midge (the short haired Barbie from the 60s my aunt gave Ellie) came to see the baby too. This is the same grandma that held the flower girls on her lap during the wedding.
And that's where the story ended... with Dorothy off to Kindergarten.. and that's where Ellie will be tomorrow. What an imagination... and wow.. can you tell what's going on in her life!!!!

Eric's Eating

Eric was unimpressed with the turkey sloppy joes I made for dinner. I told him to tell me 3 things he would eat and of course, chicken fingers, hot dogs and pizza were his choices. He also told me he likes vegetarian food better so I asked him what about chicken fingers and hot dogs and he said he could be a vegetarian except for those 2. We had a similar discussion when he was 3 but I thought by 6 he would have changed his tune.

Awww

Worth mentioning that the same six year old in the previous post just called me upstairs (he's in bed for the night) to tell me to close the sandbox in case it rains. So responsible.

Uh Oh

So tonight my innocent 6 year old said " can you hose me off... I'm really freakin muddy."

No Song

James hates whenever I sing. Whenever I sing along to anything... he screams "no song, no song." Aren't all kids supposed to love their moms singing to them?

More Jamesisms

Gotta love this sentence... "Water, messy, James did that one."

When he doesn't want to get out of bed "No James another one sleep."

Ellie in the Mud

Ellie loves dirt.. no matter what kind of dress she is wearing. So when she was at Nani and Papa's in a big mud puddle in a pretty dress I said "oooh Ellie..." And she replied "what... I'm washable."

Ellie at Oracle

Ellie went to Oracle one afternoon. Amazing what a kid can do at an office. Free apple juice, a whiteboard, phones, paper, staplers, long hallways, elevator. Wouldn't it be nice if we could all have that much fun at work?

Ice Cream

Andrew is in Philadelphia because Aunt Barbara passed away. It is so sad. I was just looking at pictures of us last year at her house visiting and one year later she is gone.
The kids are a bit off with Daddy away so I decided to take them to Crescent Ridge tonight with Nani and Papa. We met Lindsay and Jon there. I could not stop laughing at James screaming E-I-O to the cows over and over. Ellie tried to tell him that they moo but he was adamant. It was also so cute to see the three of them singing Ring Around Rosy together for a few minutes.
Moving on Friday... cannot wait.

Kippies Peas

Rice krispies Please

Soh-dee

How James says sorry. if you ask for a kiss and then make a sad face when he says no.. he says "soh-dee hug hug" So cute.
Eric and Ellie have become "sissy" and brothy."

memory Lane - Part II

Eric at age 2

Memory Lane - Part I

Eric wearing a shirt we got from Tony in England. Circa 2004

Eric's 6 Year

Eric had his 6 yr physical today. He passed with flying colors and amazed the nurse by guessing he would be 49 pounds, which is exactly what he was. He is 46 inches tall and has grown 3 inches in one year... wow!!
He passed vision ok and we already know about the ears.
One shot and he recovered from it very quickly, no tears!

Funny Kids

Ellie told Auntie Julie "why don't you just swallow some baby clothes and then the baby in your belly can get dressed."

James has finally named Eric and Ellie -- "inky and sissy"-- I love it!!!!!!!

James' 2 Year

James' appointment started out great with a happy little guy sitting there pointing out everything in the room with his new vocabulary. We waited a long time though so he finally started saying "done..done.. done" When he realized we weren't leaving he started his usual kicking screaming head banging tantrums. This is when the doctor came in. i was actually thrilled because I wanted the doctor to see him in action because I have been worried about the frequency and intensity of his tantrums.
Turns out that because of his ears he is slightly behind verbally and becomes easily frustrated when he can't make his wishes known. The doctor assured me this was perfectly normal so hopefully he will start to outgrow it soon.
Weight: 29.7
Height: 33 inches

He passed his iron test, I knew he would, the "carnivore" that he is.
A healthy 2 year old!

April Stuff

So I just realized that ALL of my posts from my laptop have had Andrew as the author. Not that I mind if it looks like he is the author but...Things have been so hectic lately.
We are planning for our new house to be built and it is exciting yet stressful too. I love seeing the kids' reactions when we drive by. Eric is thrilled to have so many friends in the new neighborhood. Ellie can't wait to have her own room and a little girl next door.
So to continue James' words... in the past few days he has added geeeeeen (green), mik (milk)re (red) boots tuck (truck) ec tuk (eric's truck)he can recognize the colors now when I ask him what color things are. He has an appointment on 5/2 at Mass Eye and Ear so I am hoping we can figure out why he got the ruptured ear drum even with the tubes, and whether he is having any speech delays. I thought he was having trouble but all of a sudden daily his vocabulary is growing.
Ellie's class is getting ready for graduation so I attached a video of one of the special graduation songs.

More words

hekker= helicopter
airpeeee= airplane
airbaby= not sure, some kind of airplane
mine
uh uh
yeah
mik=milk

Outside Bathroom

We are so excited to be building a new home. When we decided to move I never imagined we’d be doing this… so exciting!! The kids have really enjoyed driving by to see the progress.  Today we drove by and Ellie screamed “look!!!!! it even comes with an outside bathroom!” (porta potty)

Airport Visit

Top reasons to go to Norwood Airport:

• The kids love to do it
• Its free
• Its close
• The weather was finally nice
• James now says “Airplane” pretty well

James’ Words (almost 2)

 

I love this stage. he is learning new ones every day, here are some:

mama, dada, nani, papa, amy, elmo (yaya), meeeeee,

one, T, choo choo, bummer, ya

dida (banana), appi (apple/pineapple) acka (cracker) cook (cookie) baahh (fruit bar), baba (milk cup) bac (juice box), duck, raaaah (any scary animal including shark at the aquarium), gaaa (star), mah (moon), iaga (triangle), onge (orange) purpa (purple) booo (blue) pittie (pretty picture) bee (baby doll)

car car, dog dog, ball, block, BUZZY (Buzz Lightyear-major obsession)

feeeeeeee (freeze in freeze dance)

and today’s new word.. fishy!

Ellie Being Convincing

“But Mom, you’re the best mom in the world and the best mom in the world would let you do that.”

Another Sentence I Never Thought I’d Hear

“Mom, help, my pickle is blowing away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Ellie’s kitchen set food was left in the car and so I was actually chasing a plastic pickle.

Temporary Quarters

So we moved out of Redwood Drive and into Gay Street while we are looking for a house. It was sad to leave but we can’t wait for a bigger place where everyone has their own space. Ellie told Nan the other night “I think we’re gonna stay a couple more nights.”

Buzzy

James first obsession is Buzz Lightyear and all things Toy Story. He seems to have skipped the typical train/car phases but he is hooked. He goes around Nani and Papa’s house carrying Rachel’s old Buzz Lightyear bank in one hand and a mini Buzz in the other. He will actually sit (or stand) and watch the entire movie which is pretty good for a not quite two year old.  Last night he was tucking Buzz into Ellie’s baby bed and lovingly saying “buzzy” over and over.  The other day he broke Buzz so that the top half of his body was hanging over to one side. Andrew put him on the table while he was fixing it and James just sat and stared saying “Buzzy” in the saddest voice ever.  Toy Story 3 is coming out in June and I think it will be his first movie!

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Fun times in NC

Kids had a blast with their cousins. I liked this pic because there us one of Eric from a couple years ago with Leah. She is the nicest pit bull I have ever met, and the kids really get along with her. Hard to imagine a dog sleeping through 6 kids running around breaking everything, but it happens.

I do intend to blog more and put more pictures on the site.

Good Boy

Eric said after Christmas “I can’t believe I got so many presents even though I wasn’t good all year!”

Santa

Santa visited school today and Ellie wanted to know where were the reindeer and sleigh!

Today’s Dinner Conversation

Eric : “Liar liar pants on fire”

Ellie: “Whose pants are on fire?”

Eric: “Yours.”

Ellie: (Touches pants) “But they aren’t hot.”

Ellie: “Is it cause they’re pink?”

Braids and Charlie Brown

Just had a really nice Thanksgiving at Mom and Dad’s.  Ellie had a braid in her hair and when I took it out her hair was all wavy.  She couldn’t stop looking in the mirror.  I always forget little things like that the kids don’t know about.

As a treat I let the big kids stay up and watch Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving. I forgot the sayings like “blockhead” and “stupidest person on earth.”

James is One

When you ask James how old he is he points one finger up to the sky. I tried to ask him how old Ellie is but she is 1 too. :)

James is Growing Up

Since James had his ear tubes in this month, he is a lot better about being less cranky and actually plays with toys.  He is currently into blocks and cars, and likes to show us things.

Eric and Ellie are playing soccer on Saturdays when it isn’t raining, and they go to school and learn all week. Ellie goes to sleep with Christmas music on (still), and Eric sleeps in our bed to radio sports.

Hug

Ellie was so excited today to go sleep over Julie and Mike's house. She got her sleeping bag ready by 2pm.. picked out a movie for her and Mikey, packed up her backpack. So cute. Julie said Mikey is still running around and Ellie went right to bed :) The cutest was when she left Eric ran outside to "give her a little hug." That's a first!!

1st day of Kindergarten!

Well, I survived the first day of Kindergarten. Eric had a good day. His teacher's name is Mrs. Mahoney. I think he is missing his Mrs. Perry's preschool friends, mostly Niko, but he was thrilled to ride the bus with Christopher. Today he didn't get home until 3:30 and the bus driver said "tomorrow will be better, the first day is always long." And Eric said "if it takes this long imagine how long it will take him to find my new house."
I was a little teary and Ellie said "don't worry mom you still have me home." Awwwww..... except she is going to school 3 days a week now!

17 Month Vocabulary

teeeeeeee- tree, flower, grass.. anything green
nigh night- blankie, binky, nap or going to bed
ma ma, da da, papa, nani
kiiiis (Eric and Ellie-kids)
baaa- block, ball, bat
nose- just points to it, knows where it is
driving noise- car or truck
airplane- reaches to the sky

Sun Roof Experience

So today I opened the sunroof of the car because I thought the kids would get a kick out of it... they responded with:
Eric "I hope no space craters crash through there."
Ellie 'And I hope no dead birds fall into the car!"

Mama

James said mama... hooray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

James' Bump

Today I took James to the doctor because we noticed a lump on the bottom right side of his head at the hair line. Turns out it is a "reactive lymph node"... his body is going into overdrive fighting off infection and making it swell. The dcotor said out of 100 1-3 yr olds 40 have this at some time. Just need to watch it.

James' Checkup

25 lbs, 33 inches. 86% for height! He is going to go Mass Eye and Ear for an ear tube evaluation just like Eric.

His latest words: night night, knock knock, (ball, bat, bottle, block= baaa), dog, da, cookie, cracker (caka)

When will this child say mama????

Oops!

 

Ellie and James had fun cleaning this mess up!

Birthday Beauty

We have a 4 year old!! Ellie had a bounce house for her birthday. Because of the hoilday we got to have it for 4 days and the kids were in heaven. She has had a butterfly theme for the 4th time. I offered her a store bought cake but she LOVES baking so she wanted to bake it with me. I can't believe how fast she is growing.. and how smart and gorgeous she is!!

Buzzing Baby James' Hair

Awwww

Lately James has been such a sweet boy. Today Ellie was overtired and in tears crying and James toddled over and held out his blankie, when she wouldn't take it he tried his binky. No luck with that either but he did clap for himself when we said good job.

Every morning James get his bottle warmed up. (He's 15 months I know he should deal with the cold) The minute it's done and I screw the top on he runs into the living room and stand next to the couch because that's where I've been feeding him every morning since he was a tiny baby. It's so cool that he is starting to really understand things.

What a rooster says

Crock a doodle doo!

According to Ellie :)

Yay for Me

James just learned to clap and he claps for himself whenever he says "mama" or stands up on his own. He is very proud of himself and sometimes just walks around clapping.
I think it is a big achievement that when I say "no give that to mommy" he passes whatever is in his hand to me.
He tantrums just like Eric did.. carefully easing himself onto the floor so he doesn't hurt himself while he is screaming.

Sportsnut

Eric is a huge sports fan, especially of the Celtics and Red Sox. He now watches Sportscenter any chance he gets. The commercials for the sports are making an impression on him too.. he told me today when we drove by a Chili's "Mom, did you know they have fire grilled quesadillas there?" and when I got a turbo shot at DD he told me "turboshots make you better at baseball." (Duston Pedroia is a Dunkin Donuts spokesperson)
Today I got him a black Nike sweatband and we colored the swoosh green to be like the Celtics. He looks so adorable wearing it.

13 Months 2 Weeks

When little James started walking, yay James!!!! I love the toddling stage with the arms up for balance.

Yo

Is a nickname for Yo-yo, according to Ellie.

Uh Uh

I think James thinks the bathroom is called the "uh uh" because I always try keep him out of it. Now he crawls up to it or in it if he's fast enough saying 'uh uh, uh uh, uh, uh"

One Year Old

We have a one year old!! The cake was an bit of a let down, James wasn't overly impressed and ate it with little fanfare. He is obsessed with his solid foods now and happily kicks his feet while he's eating. I love his cute words: na-na (banana) Mum mum (mom) da da (Dad) na na na (NO NO NO)
His best skill is waving hello and goodbye and knowing when to do it. He waves and makes a noise that sounds a bit like haaaaaa. When you put his jacket he waves or if the door opens.
He can stand and cruise around and lets go for 10 seconds or so but not quite ready to go. Speed crawler!!!!
No more formula! He has en ear infection and is getting better thanks to Zithromycin, the only medicine that seems to work for him. He weighs 22 lbs.

Stuck Plane

I told Eric and Ellie that they wouldn't see Grandmom tonight because her plane was stuck in North Carolina and she was going to be 5 hours late.
Ellie said "What's the plane stuck to?"

Tea

Today we went to the Four Seasons for tea to celebrate Mom's birthday. Ellie, Mom, Julie, Lindsay and I went. We had tea and pastries and Ellie dressed up in her beautiful dress. My favorite part was when Ellie said "Is this what real princesses do?"

Ellie's Wish

"Star Light, Star Bright... I want the wish I wish tonight. I wish I had no brothers."