The Allergist-The Long Version

Like mentioned earlier the time had come for Carter to visit his allergist. I always get my hopes up when we visit that there will be good news. The odds are on his side to outgrow both his egg and milk allergy, as the majority of kids do. But then again, he is my flesh and blood and medical luck doesn't seem to always be on my side..........

Carter was SO brave this trip. He use to scream bloody murder at the sight of a doctor or a room but he has really gotten over that. (It helps that he had no idea what they were going to do to him.) When the Dr. came in he sat so nicely on the table and let her look in his eyes, nose and mouth and even said "AHH" without prompting. Then came the hard part.

We had a great nurse who gave Carter the whole bin of stickers and a sack to decorate to his hearts desire. And he used enough stickers for a small group of children. This really helped to distract him as she had to write on his back and put drops of the allergens on him(she called them rain drops!) Then she told him that he would get some little "cat scratches." And if you've ever been scratched by a cat, you know that doesn't feel good..............

He did start to cry and said "OW, that really hurts me." But after a quick hug from mommy (am I bad for taking pics of this?) and more stickers he was back to his happy self. Thank heavens for McQueen and Mater stickers. He preferred them over a sucker. The nurse said she would be back to record the results in 10-15 minutes. Poor guy, it only took him about 4 minutes to produce "Highly Allergic Results."

It's hard to see but he had huge welts on his back but was very good about not scratching them. So no good news this time but our allergist is VERY hopeful that he will at least get on eggs someday. The FDA is in the process of approving and finishing up a study that introduces food allergens into people's bodies at microscopic rates until they can handle them. Much like seasonal allergies. So we wait patiently for this study to be approved so 1) the Dr. will administer it and 2) insurance will cover it. Which is the most important.

It's hard for me to think about my little boy dealing with serious food allergies the rest of his life so I keep hoping and praying he can outgrow them. I worry constantly about him and him growing up and being away from me where I can't protect him. I already have nightmares about school and school lunches even though that is years away.

He has such a positive attitude about his allergies(even though he only understands them at a 2 yr old level.) If you ask him "What are you allergic to?" He will respond "Milk and eggs. If I eat milk or eggs I get really sick and i have to go to the hospital and they have to give me shots." His last "episode" in November, although scary, was really a blessing to us. He remembers it vividly and can describe the events with perfect memory. He knows that eating "Yuckies" has a very negative effect on him. I'm hoping those memories will keep his curiosity to a minimum. He knows that he is "different" and drinks soy milk, eats "special ice cream" and can't have eggs. He even asks for soy milk when he asks for a drink.

Although a pain, we are certainly grateful that allergies are the worst of Carter's health problems. We know it could always be worse. The allergist did tell us that Baby Boy #2 has a 50/50 chance of having food allergies too, since they are highly genetic. We have to take special precautions with him in the future and are hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.

The day wasn't all doom and gloom though. Since the allergist is in Ogden we decided to buy a season pass to the Treehouse Children's Museum. And we plan to use it frequently and always after a Dr. appt as a reward!

He loved every minute of being there and kept true to his age.....we were in about each section for about 2 minutes before he wanted to explore something else. His pregnant mother would just have gotten comfortable when he was ready to move!

We were lucky to have Grandma E with us on this trip and Carter loved showing her all the neat exhibits. Plus she had a magic Mary Poppins bag that would magically produce candy-and never seemed to empty (much to my dismay and his delight!) Thanks for coming Grandma. Let's do it again in 6 months at our next appointment!

Perks of Being an Only Child

I decided to do an update without any big news or events. Just some cute pictures of Carter and funny things he does or says.

While at a friend's last week, she very nicely gave Carter an old tractor/trailer and excavator that is no longer played with at her house. (thanks Mary) Carter was of course in love with them and didn't put them down for about 3 days. He was begging to take the excavator outside to dig in the snow or dirt but after eating the snow from the front shovel I put a stop to that. I got creative and filled a cookie sheet with rice and let him dig and dump for hours. He was in heaven and played quietly for hours. I'm still sweeping rice off the floor though days later. There was a price to pay for his fun!

He's still in love with the garbage truck and the other morning while using the potty, he heard it at the library and came running. At least he managed to get his underwear up first!

We've kind of taken a step back in potty training and according to others this is totally normal but still very frustrating. He potty trained so quickly and with almost NO accidents and went a good 2 months with almost a perfect record. But this week he has kind of gotten "lazy" I guess and has an accident or 2 about every 3 days. And the frustrating part is that it doesn't bother him in the least. He's very nonchalant about it. We're really pushing sticker charts and positive reinforcement hoping that motivates him to convert back to my "perfect record boy!" Because truth be told, he will do just about anything for a stamp or sticker on a little piece of paper!

Carter's newest toy. A total and complete impulse buy from his daddy. Good thing he has a brother on the way to pass all these boy toys on to. He even talks about how he is going to share with his brother but then is always quick to ask "Brother will give it back. Right???"

I love this picture. Captures the beauty of being an only child. Here Carter is receiving his royal treatment of arm tickles. He completely relaxes and embraces this treat.

More random things I don't want to forget:

Our house is a NO shoes house (much to the dismay of others) and Carter has been taught this from a young age. He is now the self appointed Shoe Nazi and always makes sure no one steps one step on the carpet with their shoes on. He will even double check Neil when he gets home from work to make sure he doesn't sneak on to the carpet.

Carter recently learned what Toe Jam was and loves to check his toes to see if he's lucky enough to have toe jam in there. And then he wants me to clean out his toes! That is true love of a Mother to clean out Toe Jam.

We recently purchased a Video Baby Monitor to put in Carter's room and the next baby room. I have to say: BEST PURCHASE EVER. We love being able to flip on the screen and see what he is doing and whether he is out of bed or not, without opening his door. The first day was the best when at nap time he jumped out of bed and the second his feet touched the floor I called from the other room "Get back in bed." He looked around and tried to figure out how I knew he was out of bed since he slid out so quietly!

We head to the allergist for our yearly allergy test tomorrow to see if luck and statistics are on our side and he has outgrown his allergies. We're pretty sure he is still allergic to milk but we're crossing our fingers he's at least outgrown the egg allergy. Keep your fingers crossed!

20 week ultrasound

It's official. Carter will be getting a baby brother in June. Baby Boy looks healthy with ten fingers and ten toes. There will be a lot of testosterone in the Etherington household but we're very excited. I can't wait for Carter to have his very own playmate.

Carter Isms

I decided I need to write down all the funny and not so funny things Carter does so I have them recorded. He keeps us on our toes and laughing a lot of the time.

Carter is quite the bargainer these days. He learned the phrase "2 more minutes" and uses it frequently. And when he gets really desperate he will use other phrases he doesn't understand like "2 more weeks." He uses these when it's time for bed, naps, or going somewhere he doesn't want to go. He always wants 2 more minutes to play. When 2 minutes is up, he wants 2 more minutes. It's a vicious cycle!

"What happens if....." I hear this question about 4 million times a day. And that is NOT an exaggeration. Carter is really getting into testing his limits and wants to know the consequences. Everything that is said he asks that questions. I'll tell him it's time for breakfast and he'll respond "What happens I don't eat breakfast?" Even though he's starving. Or I'll ask him to not scream and he'll say "What happens I don't stop screaming?" Or "What happens I throw my truck at you?" I use to tell him all the consequences/happenings of his questions but I try now to just ignore them. Because he already knows the consequences. A lot of it is just curiosity like when he asks "What happens I pee on the floor?"

Carter still talks about the baby in his stomach. Without prompting from me. He will be playing and then tell me he needs to lay down for a minute because his baby is hurting or his baby is burning. He even tells me when his baby has gotten bigger overnight. At first he was convinced that his baby was a girl but then I decided to prep him for the possibility of a boy. So now he thinks its a boy.

He's having a great time learning about the different genders. It's sometimes embarrassing but I know it goes with the age. He knows that girls sit down when they pee, while he gets to stand up.

He also equates long hair with girls and short hair with boys. There is a nice lady at the gym who gives the kids candy each day and has REALLY short hair. He kept calling her a HIM and I told him that Michelle was a girl. He looked at me, laughed, and told me that Michelle was a boy. I can't convince him otherwise. Then we saw a boy with a long ponytail and he called him a HER. We're still working on that...

Carter had a touch of stomach flu and I got the trusty silver bowl out to try and catch some of it. Of course by the time I got the bowl, the pukes were over! But he did allow his baby to try out the bowl. He said "Uh oh-Baby needs to puke." He held her over the bowl and made life like noises. At least baby can hit the target! (Grandma E got Carter this baby to help him prepare for his new sibling. Neil was/is mortified at how Carter took to this doll. But he only sleeps with baby. Has no interest in really playing with it.)

After baby threw up he made sure to give her some cuddles. He loves giving snuggles as he calls them and loves to lay on the couch by me and have me tickle his back, tummy, legs and arms. He would lay there all day if I let him.

He's at such a fun age....and exhausting age all at once. But we sure have fun together

Carter Singing

Apparently Carter does listen in nursery. He came up to me a few days ago and asked to sing "The Rock" song. I didn't know what he was talking about until last night when he just busted out the song. It's his new favorite. Apparently he doesn't feel the need to say the lines that are repeated. He goes right to the good stuff. His other favorite songs are "I Am a Child of God," "Snowman" and "The Monkey Song" (teasing Mr. Alligator). The poor boy has his mothers musical abilities.

Has Santa Already Comed?

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. Having a 2 year old to celebrate with is so fun. Christmas Eve started a little rocky with Carter waking up at 4:30 am. He was a major grouch at the end of the day so we didn't get to do as many things as we planned, but we still had fun. We had Grandma and Grandpa E over for dinner, then Wii bowling, then made Santa's treats, and then put a tired boy to bed.

This is the only family shot we got during Christmas. Sad.

After Carter went to bed the stockings were stuffed,
and Santa made his Grand drop off of the much anticipated train table. Neil and I were so excited for Christmas morning and for Carter to see his table. We didn't have to wait long for that.....Carter was up at 5:15 Christmas morning. He didn't remember it was Christmas so we snuck him downstairs until Grandma and Grandpa made it over at 6:30.

When he walked into the room and saw the train, he stopped, then said "What is it?" Even though he knew exactly what it was. He loved it. We let him play for awhile and then tried to persuade him to look at other presents. He finally agreed, would open one present, and then head back to the train table.

Excited to find an orange, Toy Story 3, candy, toothbrushes and toothpaste in his stocking.

A quick pic of Carter and some of the things he received for Christmas. He got so many fun presents from everyone. He loves them all.

I had to carry him, no joke, kicking and screaming to the car later that day to G & Grandpas house to open more presents. And once we got there he kept asking to go home and play with his train. But once he saw all his other presents he was alright with staying for a bit. We now own life sized Buzz Lightyear and Woody. We need a bigger house to keep all his toys.

Carter still asks daily if "Santa has already comed?" and "Where is Christmas, and Santa, and his sleigh." He even fake cried for a minute when we took down our tree.

The best present of Christmas was having Daddy home for 11 straight days. We used one of the days to head to Ogden and meet some friends at the children's museum. We loved it so much we are now Members of the Treehouse Museum!

Carter met his girlfriend Lilly there and they enjoyed making messes together.

He loved the baby hospital where he practiced his medicine knowledge with the babies. Carter is really getting into babies, as much as a 2 yr old boy does. He now has a baby in his stomach that even makes him sick and he says its a "grill." One day I hugged him tight and he yelled "stop, you're hurting my baby!" So it looks like we will be welcoming 2 babies in June.

Another highlight of Christmas Break was having Aunt Cath and Uncle Steve over to visit for a bit. Carter loves to give "Naked Hugs" and will streak around the house in the nude, stopping to hug anyone in sight. I happened to capture steve and cath on camera.

Naked Hugs embarrass Steve a little bit but he'll get use to them. Can't wait to show Carter these pics when he is 16!

We had a great Christmas and break. Lots of food, family and fun. Happy New Year!

Visit with Santa

Carter has been more into Christmas this year than last(obviously). We talk about Santa a lot and from day one he knew that he wanted Santa to bring him a train. I hoped he would sit on Santa's lap so last night we went to the mall and gave it a try.

Here is a flashback from last years experience:

Pure Terror. Screams and Cries. Luckily I was quick with the camera.

2010 was nothing but smiles! He was a little shy but told Santa what he wanted(quickly and in a quiet voice, but he did it!) He told him he wanted a train and a tunnel. What? A tunnel? Guess I'll be making a quick trip to the toy store to get this tunnel he talks about.

(I'm pretty sure this Santa is the same Santa from last year...the eyes look the same.)

He didn't want to get to close to Santa. I'm guessing it was Santa's breath.

A quick family picture where Neil and I took a quick second to ask Santa about our gifts. I (obviously) asked Santa to please make my ever expanding Baby Belly slow down just a bit. People always say your stomach grows quicker with the second baby, and boy are they true. I don't think I was this big with Carter until well in to the 20+ weeks. Here I am 15 weeks.

Granted, sitting down and being slumped over makes it look worse than it is.

Onto Potty Training: It has been going great. He was so easy. I can take little credit. He is a natural. He's only had a couple of accidents in the 2 weeks and most came from playing and not wanting to take the 30 sec break and use the bathroom.

After his first poop in the potty he got his first ever Ice Cream cone. And he is hooked. It only took him a few days to realize that pooping on the potty was no different than pooping in his diaper. The first time he pooped on the potty happened to be when our home teachers were here......I sent him in the bathroom to do his business and within a few seconds we heard "I did it Mommy....and it's a HUGE one!" He had sat down earlier to go but just did a little pebble and I told him that that wasn't enough.....I knew there was more. So he made sure to let me know this was the real deal! He's even been staying dry at nap time and getting better at night. So hopefully we will be completely diaper free in a couple of months! Way to go Carter!