Poor James

Just two weeks after getting adenoids out and ear tubes James ran into the fence tach and needed one staple to close his cut :( Took it like a champ. The nurse checked his oxygen level on his finger and he asked "what.. Do u really need to know how much my finger weighs?"

James for president

"I really wanna be president someday but I just don't wanna make all those speeches."

Abbie turns 1

Abbie started walking at 10 months. At 1 she can cross the room and get whatever she wants. Her words are dadee, mama,
Uh uh, uh oh, eeeee(Ellie), gugee (cookie)

She turned one last week. She had fun eating cake but didn't like being sung
To, she had no clue what was going on!

James' Self Portrait

This is James' first real drawing of a person. I love his hands. Pictures like this make me want to keep them little forever!

My loves... Well 2 of them

James

I'm never tired!!! I shouldn't even have a bed! (Screamed at mommy after a long tantrum)

Yay for Ellie

She finally lost her first two teeth tonight!!

Life according to E and E

Ellie "mom, look... This magazine tells you how to get your kids to behave in public."

Eric "mom, maybe when Abbie gets friends and you meet their moms, then you'll have as many friends as me."

Abbie at 6 Months

Abigail is a very sweet baby. She loves bouncing in her jumper and zooming around in her walker.
She can sit up now and loves playing and interacting with everyone with big smiles.
She took her 6 month shots like a champ with a little fever and fussiness and fine otherwise.
At 6 months she is 13 lbs 10 oz (10%)
And 26 inches (65%)

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."