4th of July Weekend (part 1)

Well, of all the dumb things, I totally forgot to pull out my camera when the Duncan (Purdy) side of the family got together on the 4th. We went to Uncle Jim's house for lunch, and we were supposed to go swimming. We enjoyed lots of yummy cookout food - burgers, hot dogs, baked beans, potatoes, etc. Everyone decided it was a little too chilly for swimming, so we just hung out in Uncle Jim's kitchen & living room. It was the first time we saw Danny & Ali since they got married in May. Unfortunately, Ali forgot the wedding photos at home...so we still haven't seen those :(

We left at about 4:30 to head to Grandma & Grandpa Schurman's house for another cookout. That meant more burgers, brats, baked beans, macaroni salad...too much good food today!
From there, we headed out to the Lansing fireworks with Grandma & Grandpa, Uncle Greg, Aunt Donna, & Emma. Alex got a short nap in the sling while we walked to the park, so he was in good spirits. He totally enjoyed the fireworks; he was captivated by them! He got a little bored in the middle, but I wouldn't expect a 6 month old to have a 30 minute attention span, would you? He enjoyed the grand finale. Even the loud booms didn't scare him. (Although, Mama did have her hands over his ears for that part!) Daddy got a short video clip of Alex watching the grand finale. Unfortunately, dumb Mama accidentally deleted it. Now all we have is a dopey little clip from a boring spot in the fireworks. Oh well.

OK, I suppose you want pictures? Here ya go!

First teething biscuit. He enjoyed it. He made a mess, too :)

Emma & Alex
Uncle Tony took Alex on a "nature walk" around Grandma & Grandpa's yard.
Grandpa tickled a giggling Alex.
Just arriving at the fireworks. I love this sling! Thanks, Grandma Purdy!
Aunt Donna & Emma
Okay, so I love fireworks, too. Looks like Alex might take after me in that respect.

Grandpa & Grandma

Six Months Pictures by Mommy

I'm getting Alex's "real" 6 month pictures taken this coming Thursday. In an effort to save myself some money (and have fun, too...) we did some pictures at home this morning. With a white sheet & navy fleece tossed over the back of a chair & natural light from the living room window, this is what we got.

These aren't going to win any awards. They're not as crisp as a studio image. It was a lot of fun, though. Alex even enjoyed most of it. It's obvious when he's in need of a break...and he got breaks when he cried, I promise! It was nice to go at Alex's pace & not be locked into a studio's timeslot.

Anyway, here's some of our fun from this morning:

Do you like the spit up all over his lower lip & chin?

Maggie wasn't really supposed to be in these, but she barged in & Alex loved it.

Why not document the relationship between Alex & Maggie?

My somber little boy

It's awful of me, but I love this picture!

The rest are on my KodakGallery page if you're really curious.
Watch out - you might drown in all the photos I took!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=17sggki7.6ht5pyij&x=1&y=blqjle&localeid=en_US

I love CVS!

Once again, I have to thank my friend Karen for introducing me to using CVS to get stuff for free! Today was a good CVS day, and I just have to share. You can tell by what we bought that Keith came along today. We're going camping soon, so there are a few additions to what I'd normally buy.

We bought:
Kingsford Lighter Fluid ~ $4.99
Chrome Grill Basket ~ $4.99
2 Colgate Total toothpastes ~ $2.49 each
1 Neosporin To Go spray ~ $6.49
1 box of bandaids ~ $1.99
Total: $23.44

We spent $3.97 out of pocket!
We received $7 in extra bucks to spend on our next CVS trip.
YAY!

I don't remember the last time I paid for toothpaste. We get it free at CVS.
Actually, the way it works out, CVS pays me to buy toothpaste.

Keith says that he's going to work extra hard, pay off the house, and then we can live for free on what I get at CVS. Ha! I'm not quite that good.

So, thanks Karen! We definitely have benefited from your advice! *Ü*

Happy 6 Month Birthday!

Six months ago today, our world changed...a LOT. That tiny little bundle they placed in our arms is such a special blessing!


These past 6 months have been so special. At times, it's been crazy, exhausting, challenging, confusing, exasperating...but always special. We've had so many reasons to smile and laugh as we watch our little guy grow and change.



At 6 months, Alex is:

• sitting up independently
  
• rolling both ways
  
• cutting his first tooth
  
• laughing easily
  
• playing independently for short times
  
• enjoying solid foods (pureed or very tiny pieces of "real" food)
  
• sleeping through the night (for now...)
  
• waking happily in the morning and playing in his crib
  
• recognizing his name
  
• taking in everything around him
  
• loving the outdoors
  
• petting his puppy
  
• pouring sippy cups of water on his high chair tray
  
• learning that crying gets him attention
  
• eating paper whenever he gets hold of it
  
• still loving diaper changes
  
• learning to splash in the bath
  
• a little attached to mama, but not afraid of strangers
  
• favorite toys: ladybug busy bead toy, plastic/rubber keys, anything he can bang on his high chair tray

I wrote this on the 26th, but didn't get a chance to add pictures. His 6 month appt was on the 27th, so I'll can add his weight and height now. At 6 months, Alex weighs 16 lbs, 14 oz. He's 26.5 inches long, and his head circumference is 17 5/8".

Then and now...

Happy 6 months, my big boy!!

Go Railcats!

Friday night was a US Steel employee night at the Railcats game, so Keith was able to get $5 tickets. He waited until the last minute to buy them, not knowing what the weather would hold. It turned out to be a very nice night, and we all enjoyed Alex's first trip to the ball park.

With all the activity and loud noises, I thought Alex might be scared or upset. He didn't cry the entire time we were there...from 6:30 - after 10:30 PM. I'm impressed, little boy! :)

He loved looking around, taking everything in. He watched the traffic outside the stadium, the colorful scoreboard, the people around us, the mascots walking around...everything. He got sleepy around the 6th inning, napped in Mama's arms, and woke up in time to see the fireworks show after the game. Amazingly, the noise of the fireworks didn't startle him one bit.

He slept the whole way home, and slept the whole night once we got home. Since he hasn't been sleeping well for the past week, this was a much-needed night of rest. Maybe we should take him to Railcats games more often! ;)

Well, It's Official :(

Alex had some diaper issues that led us to believe something was wrong. Lab tests ruled out most possiblities. When the pediatrician decided it was "just one of those things", I couldn't accept that as an answer. Internet searching led me to the conclusion that we might be dealing with a dairy allergy.

This is a milk protein allergy. It's different from lactose intolerance. His system mistakenly believe that the milk protein is harmful and tries to fight it. This causes an allergic reaction that leads to (among other things) runny/bloody stools, eczema, and bright green stools - all things that Alex has dealt with.

Keith & I decided that, right conclusion or not, it couldn't hurt if I removed dairy from my diet for a few weeks to see what happened. That was far trickier than I thought it would be! Dairy products are in EVERYTHING from brownies to salad dressings to hamburger buns to candy bars to spaghetti sauce. Even Cool Whip (a non-dairy product, according to the label) contains dairy. Go figure. I've been learning to read labels very carefully!

Anyway, after trying the no-dairy diet, Alex's eczema cleared up entirely within a few days. His diaper issues cleared up a few days later. We had no problems at all since then.

Over the weekend, I chose to purposely eat some dairy products and see what happened. I just found out about 30 minutes ago with the nastiest diaper I've ever changed. We also had some serious sleep issues the past few nights, and Alex hasn't been nursing well. He acts as if his tummy hurts. I'm wondering if these things are due to my adding dairy back into my diet.

I still need to go over this with the pediatrician at Alex's 6 month appt, but I think our own little 2 week test has yielded some pretty definite results. On the bright side, most infants outgrow this by about 2 years of age. Let's hope so!!

While I'm glad we found the problem, I'm a cheese-lovin', dairy-lovin', ice cream eatin' chocoholic! It's a good thing I love this little boy...'cuz I'm giving up all the yummy stuff for him! At least chocolate syrup is dairy-free...and it makes soy ice cream a tolerable alternative! :)

random photos

playing with Papa
Derek & Aunt Deb babysat while Mama got a haircut
Alex is currently fascinated with feet. Any feet.
Sitting up :)
Fascinated with what we eat or drink, especially straws