'Tis the Season!

Well, we had a not so successful visit to Santa this year. Last year went so well! I guess we made up for it this year. Frances flat out refused to be in the picture. Grace was scared. And Moses screamed.

Santa being a good sport!
Moses screaming, Grace scowling and Frances a no-show

It was at Bass Pro Shop. The store is pretty fun for the kiddos. They like going to the big fish tank. Checking out the big animals: moose, bears, deer, etc. Seeing the waterfalls. They saw one of those fake owls and Frances, who had refused a picture with Santa, says, "Ohhh Mommy! An owl! Take my picture, pretty please!?" Wha???? Crazy girls.

I should have brought a Santa hat for the owl!
Frances in pink beads, Grace in blue beads

When we left the store it was snowing! First for the season in our part of Maryland. The girls were so excited. We went outside twice!

Frances in pink and Grace in brown
On the trail behind our house.

Moses does not like snow!

16 Months Old and Allergy Follow-up

Moses turned 16-months old on Sunday. Crazy how time is flying! He's still having his language explosion. He like copying things we say. He also has discovered how to climb up in the dining room chairs.

I took him for his allergy follow-up at Johns Hopkins. He last went back in April. We had blood drawn at the beginning of November. So today was the day we got the allergy results back.

His soy allergy is low enough that we can do an at-home challenge on soy milk. One teaspoon mixed with formula (I'm assuming the morning bottle), for 3 days. Then we can up to 2 teaspoons, continue for 3 days. Then up another teaspoon. He said it may take about 3 weeks to get to a full 6 ounces of soy milk. But if he gets to a full six ounces, without problems, we can stop the formula!

He is also approved for an at-home challenge on wheat. I voted that we do this challenge AFTER the soy (since formula is expensive, we don't want to continue into the new year, with a new deductible, if we don't have to!). With the wheat, we can introduce an 1/8 of a serving of wheat per day for 3 days, (like the soy regimen). Once he gets to a full serving of wheat, with no problems, he should be okay on it.

Since he ate a handful of Cheerios without any problems (he got Grace's bowl), they said he should be fine on oats. And that even Cheerios have some wheat in them. So we'll still stay clear of the Cheerios while we test the soy.

He said to look out for eczema flare ups as a sure-tell sign of an allergic reaction - would typically show up within 3 days of ingestion.

His milk allergy level was the only one that went up. :-( But it's still low enough in-general that he's been approved for an in-clinic challenge on baked milk. And his peanut allergy level is really low. He was approved for an in-clinic challenge on it, but I decided to skip on that one since we're nut-free anyway. Maybe once we start thinking about putting him in daycare, we can do the challenge on peanut.

And Dr. Wood said the kids should be fine if they are in the vicinity of someone eating peanuts. It's the direct contact that could be troublesome. Like if a kid is eating peanuts, touches a railing and then the girls touch that same spot. He said they may break out in hives where the contact occurs, but not much more than that - as long as they don't ingest any of it (aka put their fingers in their mouths). The direct ingestion is much much much more severe.

On a sadder note, Sra. Esther's husband suffered a heart attack over the weekend. The doctors are recommending a bypass surgery. She wants to head back home immediately to be there for her family at this time. I feel so badly for them. In Peru, you have to pay for a lot of medical treatment up front. I don't know how they'll swing it, but I'm praying for them. He had just suffered a stroke in August, which left him with partial facial paralysis.

So right now we're trying to coordinate childcare for the interim. We'll get it figured out. Just wish she didn't have to be going through this -- It's hard emotionally, financially and physically.

Turkey Day 2013!

Well, last year I did not partake in the Thanksgiving feast as I was breastfeeding and on a very restricted diet -- no wheat, dairy, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts, fish, shellfish, soy, pork, or corn. I brought some stewed beef with carrots and peas (only, turns out, Moses was allergic to peas too! doh!).

So this year, I made up for it. :-)

We had a lot of fun. We went to Great and Uncle Freddy's house. Glenn, Tiana, Sega and Ajanja were there. And Tiana's brothers, Joe and Jean-marc came with their families. It was nice to catch up with everyone. And it was really nice to see all the kids together. Feels like we were all kids not that long ago and now there's the new generation.

Playing with the stickers on the trim.

They had a mini-conversation here.

Cousins!

Dance time!

Hanging with Uncle Glenn

While they strike a Super Man pose,
Moses attempts to steal food....

All in all it was a pretty good day. I had really tried to pick food I thought was safe for the girls but when we got home, they both complained about their stomachs hurting. They were doing a lot of gagging, coughing and suffering from congestion of the noses. Frances threw up. I gave them both Benadryl (which the allergist said was okay if I was ever suspicious they ate/contacted something they weren't supposed to). And they seemed a bit better this morning. Just residual coughing and congestion. Poor girls. But they did enjoy themselves. Moses also got a hold of a spoon that had been on a plate with ice cream and a cookie. I quickly went and tried my best to wash out his mouth. I didn't notice anything bad happen. Richard is home today so he'll keep an eye on them all.

Moses has his allergy follow-up next week. Can't wait. I'm hoping he's outgrown milk (so we can save on that crazy formula!). And outgrowing wheat/gluten would be nice too! Trying to stay optimistic.

Moses is still teething like crazy. His gums are HUGE. Those molars are a bear. I can't wait for them to break through.

I am on antibiotics for a sinus infection. The girls have the residuals from the cold we all shared since our visit up to New Berlin. I think Moses has a new cold now... poor little dude. I'm sure the constant drooling and fingers in mouth brought that new virus on. Ah well.

Visit from the Weavers!

We enjoyed a visit from one of my college friends, Jessica, and her kiddos. We couldn't believe that the last time we made an effort to see each other was when Allegra was 6 months old! She's now 5. It didn't feel like it had been so long, thanks to social media. But nothing compares to catching up in-person.

Moses wasn't his normal self, unfortunately. His molars are coming in and the little dude is suffering badly. The rest of the kids had fun (when they weren't glued to the TV). Liam is such a happy baby!

Good times!

Picnic time

Liam crashes the slumber party

The only proof that Moses was there! haha.

Meeting Aunt Jenny and Uncle Mikey!

Well, November is shaping up to be a busy month! This past weekend we had a short but oh-so-sweet visit from Aunt Jenny and Uncle Mikey! For those reading, that don't know, Jenn is my best friend from home and Mike is my cousin. I hadn't seen them since their Vegas wedding almost 3 years ago (Richard had stayed home with the twins while I went to perform my maid of honor duties!). They live all the way in Arizona so it's hard meeting up. Due to our alternating travel schedules and/or lack of vacation time we haven't had a chance to get together since.

So Saturday afternoon, Joe, Carrie and the kiddos, brought Jenn and Mike up to our house for pizza. Juliet has changed a lot just in the last month. Sitting up, wanting to interact -- intrigued by hair beads. Ben and the girls enjoyed playing 'hot potato' with the adults. Great and Uncle Freddy joined us later in the evening. Jenn and Mike were good sports in getting mauled by all our offspring - a lot of pretend hair cutting and doctor checkups (at the same time!).

Nothing like a hair cut, while getting your blood pressure checked.
Not sure what good a stethoscope is on hair (does hair have a heartbeat?).

Uncle Mikey needs 20 shots (of the needle-kind).

Aunt Jenny and the girls (Grace purple, Frances pink)

Aunt Jenny and MiMo - all striped out!

Once everyone else had left and the kids were in bed, we had a bit of time to chat and catch up. Like old times. It was nice. I miss having those guys around!!!

Sunday morning, I took them to the airport. When I got home, the girls were looking for them :-( Can't wait for the next visit!!

Sunday afternoon, our neighbor, Jas, came to observe us for her psychology class dealing with families and child development. It was pretty easy, since she knows us anyway (she babysits for us). Unfortunately, the kids were more lethargic than usual. We've been battling a cold since our trip to NY. Grace vegged on the couch all day.

Waiting to see what next weekend holds...

Becky's Wedding and Upstate Travels

Me and the kiddos!

Well, we requested a four-day weekend to head up to New Berlin to attend the wedding of my dear friend, Becky, on Saturday, Nov. 9th. As usual, we don't really look forward to a long car ride with the kiddos. It's much easier to travel when they are sleeping and we've had adequate rest -- neither of which is truly achievable.

So after packing on Thursday, Richard and I hit the hay to get an early start Friday morning. We woke up around 3:20 a.m. Got ourselves cleaned up. Finished packing the last few things. Loaded up the car. Got the kids locked and loaded. And we were on our way at 5 a.m. We made one or two stops total (amazing how it's a blur even though it was just a week ago). We got to New Berlin around 11:30 ish. Moses was the only one who fussed and it was only the last 12 miles of the trip! Lucky!

We spent Friday hanging with my niece, my brother and my folks. It was snowing when we were there. I took the girls out to traipse around my parent's backyard, and Alex's old yard. Good times and good memories.

Grace, Francie, and Savannah reading with Grandma/Nana

Savannah and MiMo

Aren't we a chair full of cuteness!

Saturday morning Alex, Sarah and baby Roaran came to visit. It was my first time meeting the little guy and their first time meeting our little rugrats. Roaran was a BIG hit with the kiddos -- whether he liked being mauled or not? Well, that's a different story haha. Moses was very intrigued with "baby" and Frances spent a lot of time sitting with him.

Aunt Sarah, Uncle Alex, baby Roaran and Frances

In the afternoon, Richard and I got gussied up to head to my friend Becky's wedding at the Catholic church up the road. The ceremony was short and sweet. The priest was hilarious. It really was such a lovely wedding. After the ceremony we headed outside where the bride and groom were greeted by a horse-drawn carriage ride! So romantic!

We carpooled with Sarah and Alex over to Oneonta for the reception. Made one false stop. And managed to avoid going through the "scariest trailer park on earth." At the wedding we caught up with some familiar faces from our school days: Angie, Rob, Kristen and Allison. It was also nice to catch up with Becky's mom and to see her dad again. The father-daughter dance was probably the best I've witnessed. I only wish I had caught the whole thing on video - classic! AND all the toasts were superb. Man. I was in tears (Thanks be to waterproof makeup!).

Becky and Josh looked amazing and super happy! I was so glad to be there :-)

Me, Alex, Becky, Josh, Angie and Allison

Me and my old man

And I was super thankful to my parents and Lori for watching the kiddos while we were out celebrating. You guys rock!

Grace, Grandpa and Frances picking crab apples
on Alex's old property.

Grandpa and Gracie on the big trucks!

On Sunday, my bro, mom, niece, the girls and I headed up to the Fly Creek Cider Mill. I used to love going to that place as a kid (and as an adult). It's a lot more nerve-racking now that I have kids. I was afraid to let them touch anything in the food area (they even had peanut brittle out for sampling - scary for me!). And in the upper area, there are so many breakable items. Ah well. I hope it gets easier and less stressful for me as they get older. The kids all had fun feeding the ducks and playing in Tractorland.

Grace, Frances and I - silly girls!

Frances, Savannah and Grace with the cider press

Francie, Grandma, Gracie, Savannah and Tom feeding the ducks

Frances (climbing), Savannah, and Grace (sliding) on the tractor

Sunday evening, Grandma and Grandpa prepared an early Thanksgiving dinner since we won't be together on the actual day. It was lovely!

Mo in high chair, Frances at head, Grace, Grandpa, Grandma, Tom, and Savannah
Turkey Time!

Monday morning we left at 5 a.m., in snow flurries. We stopped around Harrisburg for about an hour and a half to let the kids eat and stretch. Made it home around noon - to nice comfortable weather!

All in all. It was a nice trip. I miss everyone. But, we have more company coming this weekend! Yay!

Moses' 15-month Checkup

Moses had his 15-month check up today.

First, the stats:

Weight: 26 lbs. 4.5 oz. (88%)
Length: 33 inches (95%)
Head circumference: 49 cm (94%)

Almost 2 pounds heavier, and 2 inches taller, than his sisters at the same age!

He didn't cry at all during this appointment. Nice! He has a cold right now but no fever, so he was still able to get his 2 vaccines.

One of his 1-year molars has broken through, the others are simmering below the surface.

The doc said he's dropped a bit off the curve for his weight. I assured her that he is eating when he wants to and doesn't seem to complain too much. But he definitely doesn't chow down like his sisters used to. He's still heavy for his age though, so there are definitely no worries that he's malnourished or anything! Haha. He did have a growth spurt for height. We had been saying he looked "skinnier" so I guess it was the lengthening that made him thin out a bit.

He has been having this chronic tearing issue for the past month or so. I had called the office two weeks after it started and they told us to massage the tear ducts and hopefully it would clear up before this appointment. Well, he's still tearing, out of both eyes. The doc said I should take him to a pediatric ophthalmologist -- hopefully it's something easy to remedy.

Since the last time I posted, his vocabulary has expanded. He says: "I did it!"; "peepee"; "poopy"; "thank you." He loves the "Wheels on the Bus" book/song. He'll sing and do the motions.

So he'll have a busy time coming up. He has the eye appointment on the 25th, a follow-up flu shot on the 26th, and his allergy appointment on Dec. 3rd.

Moses is 15 Months Old

Moses and his baby

Moses is 15 months old today. He's changed a lot in the last month. I swear within a few days of writing my post for his 14 month birthday he was walking like a champ! Now he's on the move. And climbing on everything. Seriously, Frances & Grace didn't do that much climbing at that age. He loves making the big circle through the kitchen and dining room doorways, like the girls used to do when they were his age. The girls will play peek-a-boo with him, like we used to do with them in the doorways. It's so cute, but I have yet to capture this interaction on video.

He officially has that 8th tooth in and has become Mr. Chompy-Drooly baby lately - me thinks this means another tooth is coming.

He has had a language explosion this month. He's saying a lot - not that it's perfectly pronounced but we understand him. New words/phrases include: go, up, no-no-no, uh oh, don't touch, more chip, nana, duerme, grandma, peek boo, apple ... and more I am forgetting at this moment. He is really good at copying us. This morning I gave him a sticker and he repeated it clear as day "Sticker!" He likes to hold the baby doll and swing it back and forth saying, "duerme" - Spanish for "sleep." He loves Dora. When ever Dora or Boots ask a question he replies, incoherently, but he replies.

He has been tearing up a lot the past few weeks. At first I thought maybe it was allergy/pink eye. But it never got red. Just keeps tearing. The nurse said it could be a blocked tear duct even though it's more common in young babies. Right now we keep massaging the area. If it doesn't improve before his 15-month checkup, we'll have the doc check it out. Doesn't seem to be bothering him too much though.

The weirdest thing about hitting this 15-month milestone is that he is now the same age the girls were when I got pregnant with him. I can't believe I had the equivalent of two of him running around while preggers. Maybe I am crazy...?

Here's a few cameos from this past month:

Moses (the tear is due to a blocked tear duct - we think)

Frances, Moses and Gracie at the Tot Lot near our house

Hug fest!

Halloween 2013!

Grace, Moses and Frances

All three kids got dressed up for Halloween. Moses was a little devil. My mom picked up his costume at a yard sale. And the girls were each Tinkerbell. I got their costumes at a consignment sale, and used wings & wands from their birthdays.

Ready, set, Trick or Treat!
Frances, Moses and Grace

Here's a video of Moses rocking his devil costume:

I took the girls out trick or treating in the cul-de-sac of our townhouse complex. Moses stayed home with daddy. We were out for about 30-40 minutes. The girls got a lot of candy. I had to take about 3/4 of it due to allergens. Being as they are not candy fans (sacrilege!) they didn't even like what was left (smarties, skittles, twizzlers, tootsie rolls, tootsie pops). I saved the Dum Dums lollipops, since those seem to be the one candy that was a winner.

We got home before the rain started. Trick or Treaters still came to our house between 7-9 p.m. That's when I shut off the lights for the evening.

At 10:05 p.m. I hear LOUD, rapid banging on our front door. It sounded urgent. I tried to peek outside but it was too dark to see through the peep hole. So thinking maybe it was one of my neighbors having an emergency, I opened the door... only to see 3 teenage boys (16-17 years old) standing outside. They were dressed in plain clothes with back packs. I just kind of looked at them like, may I help you? And one of the boys says, "Trick or Treat." I thought to myself, really, this late, come on. I said to them, "Hmmm... y'all don't look like you're wearing costumes." One of the guys says, "Uhh, I'm a college student." Touché Mr. Smarty Pants! We still had a lot of candy left, so I gave them each a handful, and extra to the kid with spunk.

Here's to next year!

Twins' First Allergy Appointment at Johns Hopkins!

The girls had their first appointment with the pediatric food allergy expert at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Robert Wood. He is the same doctor we took Moses to see back in the Spring. I had liked him so much that I decided to switch the girls there as well. And yes, we had to wait this long for an opening -- he's a popular guy!

We told him what we believed are the remaining food allergies. Frances: soy, egg, peanut. Grace: peanut. I told him Frances has never actually tested positive for soy, but that if she eats it she gets severe vomiting (to the point of vomiting blood) and bloody diarrhea. He said it is an allergy specific to her GI tract and probably would not show up in typical testing. Due to her having eaten a hotdog with soy protein in it over the summer - having a bad reaction - he said we should wait another full year before challenging on full soy again. She is currently able to tolerate soybean oil, but we've given her nothing else. He said we can try a home challenge of soy lecithin, as it tends to not affect the allergy. So we'll attempt that this weekend. Cross fingers!!!!! Other than that, no other soy products/additives.

Grace and Moses had gotten their flu shots at the pediatrician this past weekend (Grace didn't cry and Moses cried for 2 seconds - easy!). The pediatrician refuses to give it if the kid has an egg allergy. Dr. Wood assured us that even kids with severe egg allergies can usually tolerate the flu shot since the vaccine has improved so much over the past few years. Since we were in the allergy clinic, Frances got the okay to get her flu shot. She only whimpered a little.

Then after that, both girls had to go get blood drawn for allergy testing. Grace whimpered a little during it. But once she got her sticker, she was right as rain. Frances, having just got stabbed with a needle was more wary and started crying before she was even poked. Poor girl. A flu shot in one arm and blood draw from the other. She looked like a little dinosaur with her arms all curled up. She cried and cried. And, as has been the scenario since the day they were born, when one is crying the other one does. So Grace, who had been previously okay, started balling her eyes out with Frances.

We left the hospital at 6 p.m. - they continued crying until they fell asleep in the car. We got home around 7 p.m. and the crying started up again all the way till they went to sleep.

Anyway, we should get the results in a 7-10 days. Cross fingers the egg allergy has improved. They will get tested again a year from now.

The doctor also commented that our family would be an interesting genetic study in food allergies since we have the identical twins and the sibling. So we've got that going for us... not.

Weird thing after our visit: When we got home Frances peed while sitting at the dinner table. We have not had a pee pee accident since she was potty trained over the summer. And when I went to check on the kids before I headed to bed, I discovered she had wet her bed too! Crazy. It kind of freaked me out. I hope the trauma hasn't set her back or something? We'll see how she fares through today. I gave the nanny the heads up. Cross fingers. I hope she's okay.

Fall Fun with Grandma and Grandpa Parry

Well, Grandma and Grandpa Parry graced us with a quick visit down this past weekend. Richard was busy Saturday morning running in the Baltimore Marathon Relay with our friend, April!

Richard and April on the right.
Richard ran a 7:55 min mile!

My folks arrived around 1 p.m.-ish on Saturday. The weekend was a bit dark and dreary but we managed to find things to occupy ourselves.

Here we are at the school playground:

Grandpa helps Frances along the monkey bars

Grandma and Frances steer the "ship"

And at the nearby basketball court:

Doing a dip with the grandparents!

Racing! Frances in green and Grace in pink

On Sunday the girls helped me make an allergy-friendly apple cake for grandpa's 60th birthday (we celebrated a bit early)!!!

Gracie!

Here they are singing to grandpa (Grace left, Frances right):

Grandma made allergy friendly pancakes so MiMo devoured them with some NY maple syrup. Yum!

Grandpa helped the girls carve their first Jack-o-lantern:

Grandpa, Grace and Francie

Grace getting in the pumpkin guts,
Frances trying to clean them off.

Here's a video of them cleaning the pumpkin:

Grace helping poke out the carving pieces

Grace and Frances with the pumpkins

MiMo eats his pumpkin!

Grace showing Moses the inside of the jack-o-lantern

Grandma helped me weed through our new hand-me-downs and others we had in the attic. So now everyone has their winter clothes out and summer clothes stored away. It was a short visit and we miss them terribly! We can't wait to see them again.