Happy Birthday!

Two of my bestest buddies celebrated their birthday's this weekend - one on Friday and one yesterday. Since my birthday is only about a month behind theirs, we typically all go out for one big celebration. As you can imagine, I'm REALLY looking forward to it this year. :)

Here is one of the bday girls visiting us in the hospital the day of L's birth. She came on official hospital business (a.k.a. she brought us parking passes! LOL!) I was pretty out of it due to my epidural so I don't remember much and she said I went to sleep shortly after she got there! Oops! At least she is a good enough friend that she didn't care! Oh, and her bday was a mini-milestone this year...hehehe!

Here is the other bday girl holding L when he was just a few days old. She is my other "sister." It's almost not a joke anymore, b/c we've lost count of how many times complete strangers have asked us if we were either a) sisters or b) twins. Now we just say yes! It doesn't help that we are a lot alike and tend to share the same brain!!!! And now she is well into her 30's too!!!! LOL!HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGAIN MY SISTAS! I love you both very much (and so do my little guys). I can't imagine my life without you both in it...and wouldn't want to!

Smiley Saturday

We have lots of great pictures to share today, so for once, I'll let them do the talking! :) (O.k., so I'll narrate a little, but no novels like usual.)

First, the oldest being silly. He loves to tell jokes and try to make people laugh.

Next, L tried out his bumbo seat for the first time. He isn't strong enough to sit in it by himself yet, but it's only a matter of time. All I had to do was barely keep my hand at the back of his head. At first, he wasn't sure what he thought....

Then he thought it was sooooooo funny.....Then he decided he was very happy and proud of himself for sitting up in it....

All dressed for the big game today. Thankfully, we won. It's going to be a long season.
A picture of L sleeping and smiling in his Aggie outfit - sleep smiles are the sweetest! Oh, and if it's really hot on Halloween, you may see this outfit on him again! :)

Finally, we surprised J today with a "sussie" due to his excellent behavior on his chart. He & Daddy grilled on the Bubbles BBQ - note the bubbles floating next to Daddy's head.

Sensitive Baby

My poor baby. It seems we have another sensitive child - at least skin-wise. I took L to get his next two immunizations today and asked the nurse about his skin issues, primarily his face. He had baby acne for the first couple of months of his life. Well I thought by 2 months it would be all gone. It did clear up for a week or two, but then it seemed to come back. And over the past 1-2 weeks, his poor cheeks have just been constantly red, with anywhere from 1/2 a dozen to a dozen bumps on them. Plus, he has patches of eczema on the sides of his face, in his eyebrows and right above his mouth on the left side.

After looking at him the nurse went to get our pediatrician. We were not scheduled to see him today as we were just there for L's 3rd & 4th shot from the 2 month schedule. But Dr. H is WONDERFUL and took time to come see my sweet boy. He said he is definitely past the baby acne phase, and this is a rash. He said it could even be Keratosis pilaris, which some of you I know are familiar with. I actually have this on my upper arms, which is where it is most common. But occasionally, it can occur on the face and be mistaken for acne. Learn something new every day, dontcha?

So, we now have the great pleasure of making sure NOTHING with fragrance touches L's skin. Of course, I'm most worried about his face as it is the most affected right now, but he does have eczema patches popping up on his arms and legs now too. This means:

• we have to use all the fragrance-free products to not only wash his clothes and bedding, which I already did, but also our bedding as he lays in our bed on occasion


• anyone holding him must use a burp cloth or blanket so his face does not rub against your clothing (this includes me & hubby too, although I may use the "free" detergents on my clothes too)


• we must limit our "stinkum" use (what my dad used to call perfume!)


• we will be using hydrocortisone cream on his face for about a week, along with Aquaphor or Eucherin lotion - whatever we find works

Here are some pictures of L today. I haven't taken many this week due to his teenage acne appearance. And it looks better today than it has before. Poor little guy...please do not be offended if you come over and we cover you in a blankey or burp cloth before you hold him! And we would love it if for at least the next month you go easy on perfumes/colognes too. We don't care if you smell "au natural"!

He was talking to me in this picture. Still precious despite all those bumps! You can see one of his eczema patches right above his mouth on the left side. And scratches between his eyes and on his forehead from trying to itch himself. (He now wears socks on his hands at night!)

Best Money We EVER Spent

I finally broke down and purchased something I didn't think we needed. I told myself it was an unnecessary expense because we already had something similar. But after listening to numerous new mommies talk about how great this product was, how much their babies loved it and spent lots of time content in it, I KNEW I needed the new model. What am I referring to???

A baby swing. And to be more specific, a PAPASAN baby swing. See, we have a baby swing from when J was a baby. J didn't spend much time in it b/c he didn't really care for it. Well, hubby broke it out a couple of weeks ago and lo and behold, L doesn't like it either. I think it's just not very comfortable. It's one of the traditional chair swings, that can only swing front to back. The chair is plastic with a thin, lightly padded cover. Since we make big babies, neither one of my boys looked especially comfortable in it. Oh well. I figured no big deal.

But then I realized I needed more time during the day to get things done. As much as I WANT to hold L all day, that just isn't realistic. Especially with J wanting to have some of mommies attention and hugs too. Not to mention, my house is really suffering. My goal is to have it cleaned by Christmas. Really. That's not a joke.

Anyway, by the Grace of God, the very same night I went in search of a good deal on this swing, someone in our town (only 8 minutes away) posted they were selling theirs for less than half the retail price!!!! AHHHHHHH! I emailed immediately, confirmed it was from a smoke-free home, and by the next afternoon was the proud new owner of the Fisher Price Nature's Touch Papasan Cradle Swing!!! WOOHOOO!

Here is L taking his first ride in his new swing (yes, I took off the cover and washed it...) He is swinging side to side in the picture, and the chair will also rotate to the side and swing front to back. I think we'll stick with what works for now! lol!

Here he is less than 5 minutes later...

And again this morning. He LOVES it! He not only sleeps in it, but will watch the mobile above and listen to the music play. Seriously, the best money we ever spent. :)

Boys Everywhere!

We were lucky to get to visit with Aunt J and the twins this weekend (Cousin B, J, L and Cousin O). Already 6 months old and such dolls! We couldn't get over how much they had grown...although our sweet baby L isn't too far behind them in size!!! LOL! J was soooooo excited to see them again - especially because they are interacting with him more now. He couldn't stop talking about how Cousin B gave him a hug. So sweet! He is already talking about going to see Aunt J again the next time they come down (and Uncle T - he'd like to see you too!)

Here is Super Daddy in the pool with J and Cousin O. Isn't that floating crab so cool?

Cousin B crashed out in his floatation device. These boys are already water babies. They loved the pool!My baby did NOT love the pool. :) It was a new experience for L, and the water was a bit on the chilly side. He wore a hat and swim diaper for all of about 10 minutes and I only put his legs in the water. Then he sat in the shade with his pasty white mommy and crashed. It's tough work being such a cute baby, don't ya know?

A Perfect Day for Tennis

Most of you know that J is a sports buff. After getting the traditional first words out of the way (mama, dada) he went on to say football (of course, it sounded more like Foo-baa...so cute!) Since his daddy doesn't watch many sports on TV besides college football, we were kinda surprised that he seemed so taken with every sport he came in contact with at such an early age. But ever since he could hold and throw a ball, J has LOVED sports. He doesn't discriminate either. Football, basketball, soccer, tennis, golf - even volleyball. He seems to love 'em all. And he seems to have coordination to play most of them too. Today, after the hubby got home from work, we went down to our neighborhood park and played tennis.

Check out his excellent form.
Smiling at his silly daddy on the other side of the net.
Tired boy...
Water break!

And here is what L thought about his first trip to the tennis courts. :) He slept the entire time we were there. The weather today was incredible. No wonder L stayed sacked out. As the Hubby pointed out, what better place to take a nap than outside under a shade tree with a cool breeze?

Quite the Pair

We had a visit today from J's best bud, EK. The two of them have been pals since birth and are so funny together. We played a song for them by the Imagination Movers (from the Disney channel) and luckily, I had my camera ready to go. As you can imagine, the mommies were quite entertained. They are just too stinkin' cute!

Peanut M&M's Please!

We took J to be re-tested for allergies last Wednesday. He tested positive for a peanut allergy at a very young age. The only reason he was even tested so young was due to the fact that he broke out in head to toe hives from his first exposure to cow's milk in formula at around 10 weeks of age. At 6 months, our pedi-allergist, Dr. L, tested him for 6 basic food allergies. The peanut test turned red and puffy. So for the past 3+ years, J has not had one single peanut. No peanut butter. Nada.

Fast forward to last week. Dr. L decides to test J for peanuts, cashews and pecans, as well as eight other seasonal allergies. This is the most they will test a child J's age for - the "big" panel is usually not done until the age of five. So the nurse starts writing on J's back, marking each area she will prick. He thinks this is funny and tickles. So when she starts the actual tests, at first, he doesn't mind. By the fifth poke though, his little face starts to crumple and it went downhill from there. Poor baby. I am sure it hurt and he was a champ. Almost immediately, a couple of spots start to redden and swell. We know that one is a control - it is suppose to react. The other is a seasonal allergen. It starts to get really red. And really puffy. I keep my eye on the test marked "peanut." So far, nothing. Ten minutes pass. Dr. L comes in . He tells us that the spot that is getting so big and red was a test for Oak. Ahhhh. Makes complete sense. J's allergies are the worst in the spring, and that is Oak season. So now we know Feb - May what to expect. Still no reaction to the peanuts. But we look down a bit and what do we see? Another nut reaction? To Pecans? It wasn't as bad as the reaction to the oak, but it was there. And after waiting a couple more minutes, it got a little bigger. So they measured that spot too, and we were told to go ahead and give J peanuts b/c he had NO reaction to the test. But now, we cannot give him TREENUTS, due to his reaction to pecans. Sigh. We traded one for another.

As far as J is concerned though, he is loving life. And waking up every morning saying, "More peanut M&M's please mommy!" :)

Oh, and we took pictures of him eating his first peanut (in the form of a peanut m&m of course). I'll post as soon as I download!

Chunky Monkey #2

L's 2 month well-check was today. It's official. Our little RockStar is chunky monkey #2. L's stats are as follows:

Weight: 13 lbs 11ozs (90th percentile)
Height: 23.5 inches (75th percentile)
Noggin: 40.9 cm (75th percentile)

He is 11ozs behind J's weight at this age, and 1/2 inch shorter. Obviously, L is determined to catch up. :) Here he is, excited to hear that Dr. H was happy with his check-up!

Here he is a minute later after finding out he had to get shots.


He did great during his check-up. All is well, and Dr. H was very impressed with L's sleeping and eating schedule. He was also excited to hear about J's first day at preschool and J was excited b/c he didn't have to get any shots!!!! LOL!

L is sleeping right now, but has been fairly fussy since getting home. He had to get two shots today, plus an oral vaccine for the Rotovirus. THANK GOODNESS this vaccine exists now. Not sure if you remember, but when J was just 13 months old, he got it and we ended up spending the night at the Children's Hospital b/c he was severely dehydrated. He had spent the three days prior to that expelling the most horrid smelling liquids ever from both ends. Seriously, it smells like nothing you will ever smell in your life. Needless to say, we are PRO-Roto vaccine (and all the rest too). But, we did decide to put L on a delayed vaccination schedule. All this means is that instead of getting 4 shots today, he only got 2 and we'll go back at the end of the month and get 2 more.

All in all it was a good visit, despite the shots. It's always reassuring to hear that L is perfect and growing and developing just as he should!

J's First Day of Preschool

Yesterday was J's first day of preschool. It was so nice and helpful that he had already met his teacher on Tuesday. He was looking forward to seeing her again. As soon as we got there, he went to his seat and started on his "assignment." Every morning when they get to school, before they begin to play, they are to go to their seat and work on their name. The teacher has a lamented sheet for them to trace the letters of their name...J did a great job! He has already been practicing this, and his teacher was very impressed. She said at this age, most times, the girls will sit down and try to trace their names, but the boys just scribble. Oh, our sweet over-achiever!

Here is a picture of his handy work. You can see in the second picture, he even showed his teacher how he can write the letters in his name freehand.

When I picked him up, he said he had a great day and that there were not any mean kids in his class. :) He couldn't remember any of their names yet, but with 6 other boys and 5 girls, it may take him a couple of weeks to get to know everybody. So far, his favorite part of the day is playing on the playground, but he did tell us a very long and excited story about marching around in his classroom and pretending to stomp on spiders and wiggling all over. We're not sure what that's all about, but it sure was great to see him so excited!!!!

P.S. Mommy used her first "free" day to go get a haircut - first time since mid-May. Yikes. L was an angel and SLEPT the whole time in his car seat. We are hoping (knock on wood) that he is getting over his dislike of being in that thing. At least he gave me one hour of pampering!!!!

A BIG DAY PART TWO!

Awww, brotherly love!!!!

The other reason it was a big day today is because L is Two Months Old today! Really, it has been a great day. First, with J's new preschool experience going so well (see post below) and then with our sweet baby hitting his two month milestone. Not to mention, they both woke up in such great moods this morning. And I got us all ready and out the door ON TIME! I'm still smiling about that...lol!

Now it's L's turn. Here are some pictures from yesterday and today. He is growing so fast. It seems to surprise everyone else, but not hubby and I. We had a chunky monkey the first time around - why should it be any different now? We will take him in on Friday for his well check and official weight, but we think he is nearing the 14 lb mark. No wonder carrying him in that darn car seat is so difficult!

A BIG DAY!

Today was an exciting day in the McD household. Our big boy, JWM, went to his new preschool for "Meet the Teacher" day. As some of you know, we've tried preschool before. Last year, there were many reasons we ended up pulling J out - he wasn't really thrilled to be there and didn't seem "ready" for it; the school and teachers were very nice, but it wasn't what I was looking for; he got sick twice in the first month of being there (his whole class did), etc. In the end, it was the perfect decision, because we were able to spend some quality time together before his baby brother came along.

Well this year, I think we have found a winner. From everything I have heard, it's an amazing program that teaches kiddos both a classroom AND Bible curriculum. The theme is "God's Garden" and he is in "The Bug Class." Back in March, I could see that many others had heard how great it was too, when I went to register him. I was praying he would get a spot because I heard people would be there early to line up. I was there around 7 a.m. - the doors didn't open until 8 a.m. - and there were already people lined up that had been there since 5:30 that morning! In the rain! Luckily, when I got up to the registration table, there was ONE more spot in J's class. Whew. After this morning, I can see why. While J spent about 45 minutes with his new teacher and classmates, the school held an orientation for the parents, which was very organized and informative. Such a welcome change from our other experiences. Our prayer now is that J will learn and thrive in this environment. He is the biggest sponge right now, and both hubby and I think being around other kiddos his age on a regular basis will be so good for our little man. And more importantly, he seems REALLY ready to be there now.

Enough blabber, here are some pictures from this morning. This is about one minute after getting into his new classroom. We could tell he felt right at home.


And after the meeting was over, he took a ride on the Wiggle Worm Train in the parking lot of the church. It helped to seal the deal in this little boy's eyes - Preschool is going to be a blast this year!!!! (His first day of class is on Thursday. I hope he still feels this way when I pick him up that afternoon!)