Three deer under our deck. I hurried to get the camera and was able to get two pictures before they saw me and ran away.
James was so excited that Santa's reindeer were in our backyard.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Reindeer
James has been really excited for everything Christmas this year. Yesterday, I was reading a book while James was playing. He said, "Reindeer!" and was very excited. I looked up at the TV, but it was just Umi Zoomi. I was a little confused until I looked out the window and saw this.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Jacob
Jacob is growing so quickly and changing so much. Here are a two more random pictures to see him changing. Loves the bouncy chair.
"Don't even think of taking my Binky!"
Monday, December 12, 2011
3 Years Old
On November 29th, James turned three! I can't believe he is three. We had some special visitors for James's birthday. Jenni and Robby came from Toledo to visit us. James and Robby had a lot of fun playing together, but I don't think Robby like James's way of eating. I have lots of pictures. Friends together again.
They love to pull/push each other around on this bus.
Playing with some spinning McDonalds toys.
Of coarse we had cake.
James requested the train cupcakes again this year.
Must have been good.
Presents!
New car from Cars 2, train tracks, a new shirt.
Choo choo!
Bed time. Robby helped James brush his hair.
More playing with the trains.
New bike.
Hard to say good bye.
James stood at the window and watched until they drove out of sight.
We are so glad that Robby and Jenni could visit and celebrate James's birthday with us. James had lots of fun playing with Robby. We hope you come again! Maybe next time it will be warm enough to enjoy playing in the backyard.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Long Over Due
Warning: Some of my readers will cry when they see this picture, but it was long (no pun intended) over due and it needs to be done again. Jon helped me cut Jacob's hair.
It was getting too long! His highlights are gone now, but I hope he is less likely to be mistaken for a girl. I wish I had gotten a before picture, but oh well.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Thanksgiving
We had a good Thanksgiving! The Sunday before, our plans changed. Then the Monday before, our plans changed. Then the Tuesday before, our plans changed to what we actually did. Jon had to work from 6:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (he was supposed to be off at 7:15 p.m.) Originally, I was planning to just stay home and have a normal day on Thursday, and then we were have our Thanksgiving feast on Saturday when Jon was off work. James, Jacob and I ended up going to the Richmonds home for most of the day. It was a pretty relaxing day. There was lots of good food! James of coarse did not eat much. Someday I will get him to eat when we are at other peoples houses. James did have a lot of fun. Jacob also enjoyed it, because he was held almost all day. After dinner, we went for a hike at a nature center near their home.
It was so nice to be outside and the weather was really nice. James and his friend Sheridan.
Going out on the dock made me sick, because it moved. I think my motion sickness is getting worse the older I get. After our hike, we had dessert. Yummy pies! Here is a representation of the two pies I brought.
This is all that was left a few days later when I took this picture. I made two pumpkin pies, and one experiment pie. I did not want to fill the pumpkin pies too full because then they would spill in the oven, and there was not enough filling for a third, so I did a pie that was layered. Pumpkin pie on the bottom and cheesecake flavored pudding on the top. It was actually pretty good. I took the experiment pie and one of the pumpkin pies to the Richmonds. After pie, we just relaxed, watched football and played games. It reminded me a lot of being at my parents house for the holidays. Here is James playing with the Legos.
He had so much fun it was hard to get him to go home. We did have lots of fun, and we all slept well that night. I just wish Jon could have shared the day with us.
Friday, December 9, 2011
5:30 a.m.
At 5:30 this morning, Jacob was hungry and needed some more Tylenol, since he is teething and seems to be in pain. James was also crying and yelling for Mom at this time. I fed Jacob and got him back to bed. Then I went up stairs to see what James needed. He was cold and wet (this is the third morning in a row that his diaper has overflowed). I changed James and his bedding. Luckily, James was willing to go back to bed with some chocolate chips and some cereal. I put his wet bedding and clothes in the washing machine.
At this point, I was hungry. I ate a bowl of cereal in the dark kitchen. I could have gone back to bed at that point, but it was only 45 minutes until the alarm would be going off and Jon would be getting up. Not really worth trying to go back to sleep at that point. Needless to say, it is now almost 10:00 and I have done four loads of laundry, bathed Jacob, fed him a second time, gotten myself ready for the day, and blogged a little. Productive day so far, but I am sure I will be tired before it is a reasonable bed time.
I am having a hard time remembering what we have done in the last while. I know there were things I wanted to blog about, but all I can remember are the things I have pictures for, so I guess I will start there and maybe I will remember other things as I go. Posts will appear over the next few days if I get more done today, which is a goal.
At this point, I was hungry. I ate a bowl of cereal in the dark kitchen. I could have gone back to bed at that point, but it was only 45 minutes until the alarm would be going off and Jon would be getting up. Not really worth trying to go back to sleep at that point. Needless to say, it is now almost 10:00 and I have done four loads of laundry, bathed Jacob, fed him a second time, gotten myself ready for the day, and blogged a little. Productive day so far, but I am sure I will be tired before it is a reasonable bed time.
I am having a hard time remembering what we have done in the last while. I know there were things I wanted to blog about, but all I can remember are the things I have pictures for, so I guess I will start there and maybe I will remember other things as I go. Posts will appear over the next few days if I get more done today, which is a goal.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Fall Was Here
This is the tree in our front yard.
It seemed to take forever for this tree to change colors this fall, but it finally did.
This was the first snow of the season (on November 10th).
Sadly, it melted really quickly and we have not seen snow since. It is supposed to snow this weekend though. Here's hoping! I am still waiting for the horrible winters that I have been warned about. I asked a missionary, who is serving here from Idaho, how the winters compared to those in Idaho. He said they are exactly the same, but humid here. He was serving by the lake last winter too, where it gets more snow than in Grand Rapids. I am not too worried about winters here, since I grew up in Idaho and have had some humid, cold winters in Toledo. Plus there has not been any snow yet and it is a week into December!
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Random Pictures
For Grandmas, here are some random pictures from November. The first four were taken on a Sunday evening when Jon was working. I believe I was actually blogging at that time too, so they are really old photos.
Jacob likes the swing and can often be found there.
He also likes this little frog. He either squeezes it really tight or tries to eat it.
James sitting on a blanket on our new couch.
We love our new couch! We spend a lot of time on it during the day. James has found that it makes a great trampoline and that he can get "stuck" in the cushions. Jacob tried out the bouncer and likes it, not that you can tell from these pictures.
Hopefully, there is more to come on the blog today.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Allergies
I went to a Allergist for the first time. It was pretty amazing that I have never been to one before considering all of my allergies, but I knew there was nothing that could be done about my food allergies and those are the hardest to live with, but I have been having troubles with my allergies recently and this is the hardest time of the year to have a serious allergy to ginger (even just by smelling it). I decided that maybe it was time.
I left my house at 8:00 and did not get back until 1:00. Part of that was dropping my boys off at the Harris'. My appointment started with getting my history, which took a while since I have lots of allergies and a long medical history. There was about 7 pages of paper work to fill out ahead of time too. I talked with the nurse and then they doctor about the different things I was allergic to, how I knew I was allergic, and how long I have had (or known about) the allergies. There is nothing that can be done for food or drug allergies. I just need to avoid them. I actually already knew that, but I was hoping that maybe there was something. Oh well. We also talked about the difference between allergies and irritants. The doctor said she thinks I had a combination of both. If my reaction to ginger was not so bad, she would have said it was an irritant, because normally reaction to an odor is, but she said it was obviously an allergy. All that took about an hour. Then the doctor and I decided what I would be tested for. I was tested for dust mites, cats, dogs, tree pollen, grass pollen, weed pollen, mold spores, tree nuts, eggs, coconut, banana, tomato, avocado, chicken, and latex. They did not have tests for all of my food allergies and I choose to have some tested that my sister is allergic to, just to see.
Then they start with a scratch test on the back. I had 91 scratch tests done. The nurse said that was a lot. I did not react to any of the foods. The doctor said that does not mean I am not allergic to them. With the test for the food allergies false negatives are very common. She also said that using the actual food would work better, but I would have to bring that in. She also said that I should just keep avoiding the foods that I have had a reaction to.
I found out that I just have a sensitivity to Latex, but that I should still avoid contact with it since it can become an allergy. All the other tests were a lot more exciting. With the scratch test, I found out I am allergic to the pollen of: Black Willow, River Birch, White Ash, Red Cedar (knew that one), Hackberry, White Alder, Box Elder, Sugar Maple, Poplar (knew that one), Red Oak, Bluegrass, Timothy grass, Redtop grass, Orchard grass, Medow Fescue, Perennial Ryegrass, and Bahia Grass. My back looked pretty bad. There were some good hives and a lot of red.
Then they did a test where they injected a small amount of solution under the skin of my left arm. For this one, they tested the non-food ones that did not react on my back. There were 13 of these (some were testing multiple things). I reacted for all but 3 of them. So I found out I am allergic to Dust Mites, Cockroaches (somewhere in my life I must have been exposed to them, yuck!), Feathers, Cats (I grew up with cats and never had a problem), Dogs, Russian Thistle, Pigweed Rough, Sage (knew that one), Short Ragweed.
Then they did a test where they injected a larger amount of solution under the skin on my right arm. This simulates prolonged exposure to what ever. There were only the three that had not reacted so far: molds. One reacted slightly, but not enough for it to be an allergic reaction. I am not allergic to mold. That was a shock to me. I thought I was, but the dust mites might explain what I thought was an allergic reaction to mold.
Then I got to watch some movies on how to use an Epi-Pen, sinus irrigation, and how to make my home allergy free. They gave me a binder full of papers and pamphlets. The nurse also went over them with me. There is a ton of information there, so I will not go into much detail here, but I can answer specific questions if anyone is interested.
We also talked about Immunotherapy. I can have shots that would likely make my seasonal allergies not so bad. There are two different way they do it. There are different concentrations of the allergen in saline. Starting with the lowest concentration, you would get a shot each week gradually increasing to the highest concentration. The other way is just "rushed" where they do multiple injections in one day. I will likely not do this since it is a five year commitment that might not help at all.
It was really interesting. I learned a lot that I need to digest and reread. My arms looked funny for a long time, and I bet my back did too. There was pen all over (they write different things so they know what you are reacting to) and little prick marks. I'm really glad the hives and itching went away so quickly. These pictures were taken after I got home and James down for a nap, so it really does not look bad.
My arm did itch for a few days. I had hives come and go there, and had to take some benadryl for a few days.
I left my house at 8:00 and did not get back until 1:00. Part of that was dropping my boys off at the Harris'. My appointment started with getting my history, which took a while since I have lots of allergies and a long medical history. There was about 7 pages of paper work to fill out ahead of time too. I talked with the nurse and then they doctor about the different things I was allergic to, how I knew I was allergic, and how long I have had (or known about) the allergies. There is nothing that can be done for food or drug allergies. I just need to avoid them. I actually already knew that, but I was hoping that maybe there was something. Oh well. We also talked about the difference between allergies and irritants. The doctor said she thinks I had a combination of both. If my reaction to ginger was not so bad, she would have said it was an irritant, because normally reaction to an odor is, but she said it was obviously an allergy. All that took about an hour. Then the doctor and I decided what I would be tested for. I was tested for dust mites, cats, dogs, tree pollen, grass pollen, weed pollen, mold spores, tree nuts, eggs, coconut, banana, tomato, avocado, chicken, and latex. They did not have tests for all of my food allergies and I choose to have some tested that my sister is allergic to, just to see.
Then they start with a scratch test on the back. I had 91 scratch tests done. The nurse said that was a lot. I did not react to any of the foods. The doctor said that does not mean I am not allergic to them. With the test for the food allergies false negatives are very common. She also said that using the actual food would work better, but I would have to bring that in. She also said that I should just keep avoiding the foods that I have had a reaction to.
I found out that I just have a sensitivity to Latex, but that I should still avoid contact with it since it can become an allergy. All the other tests were a lot more exciting. With the scratch test, I found out I am allergic to the pollen of: Black Willow, River Birch, White Ash, Red Cedar (knew that one), Hackberry, White Alder, Box Elder, Sugar Maple, Poplar (knew that one), Red Oak, Bluegrass, Timothy grass, Redtop grass, Orchard grass, Medow Fescue, Perennial Ryegrass, and Bahia Grass. My back looked pretty bad. There were some good hives and a lot of red.
Then they did a test where they injected a small amount of solution under the skin of my left arm. For this one, they tested the non-food ones that did not react on my back. There were 13 of these (some were testing multiple things). I reacted for all but 3 of them. So I found out I am allergic to Dust Mites, Cockroaches (somewhere in my life I must have been exposed to them, yuck!), Feathers, Cats (I grew up with cats and never had a problem), Dogs, Russian Thistle, Pigweed Rough, Sage (knew that one), Short Ragweed.
Then they did a test where they injected a larger amount of solution under the skin on my right arm. This simulates prolonged exposure to what ever. There were only the three that had not reacted so far: molds. One reacted slightly, but not enough for it to be an allergic reaction. I am not allergic to mold. That was a shock to me. I thought I was, but the dust mites might explain what I thought was an allergic reaction to mold.
Then I got to watch some movies on how to use an Epi-Pen, sinus irrigation, and how to make my home allergy free. They gave me a binder full of papers and pamphlets. The nurse also went over them with me. There is a ton of information there, so I will not go into much detail here, but I can answer specific questions if anyone is interested.
We also talked about Immunotherapy. I can have shots that would likely make my seasonal allergies not so bad. There are two different way they do it. There are different concentrations of the allergen in saline. Starting with the lowest concentration, you would get a shot each week gradually increasing to the highest concentration. The other way is just "rushed" where they do multiple injections in one day. I will likely not do this since it is a five year commitment that might not help at all.
It was really interesting. I learned a lot that I need to digest and reread. My arms looked funny for a long time, and I bet my back did too. There was pen all over (they write different things so they know what you are reacting to) and little prick marks. I'm really glad the hives and itching went away so quickly. These pictures were taken after I got home and James down for a nap, so it really does not look bad.
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