We're still alive.

Another month has passed, and I haven't even touched my blog. Today my house is a mess because I have been neglecting it for a couple days. I'll tell you what has been consuming my time/thoughts in a few weeks. Until then, you'll just have to wait.... And NO. I'm NOT pregnant.

Little Brother is almost 8 months old already! I can't believe it. May was a busy month for him. He got his 2nd tooth. He has also started to pick up on some sign language (signs for "more" and "milk"). He started army crawling, crawling on hands & knees, then pulling up on things all in one week! He needs to slow down. He keeps finding himself in the laundry room and then cries because he's lost. (We don't normally take him in there to hang out). He has been finding all sorts of fun stuff on the floor to eat. Another reminder that I need to vacuum more often. Everything seems to go faster with the 2nd child. With Big Brother I couldn't wait for him to reach certain milestones. All of my attention was focused on him. I guess it's like they say, "A watched pot never boils." Since I have both Moochy & Toh-Toh, time just seems to go more quickly.

TW hasn't been sleeping very well lately. He won't sleep for more than 20-30 minutes by himself in his crib (IF I can even successfully get him in there asleep). He'll sleep great in my arms, though, or in our bed. Something we're going to have to work on....

Ugh, he just woke up. I think he actually made it 40 minutes that time.

Mooch has been waking up at 6-6:30 every morning lately. I guess since it gets light earlier, he's ready to get up and play. So long sleep for mom.

Ok, now I'm just complaining. I better try and get Toh back to sleep and head to bed myself.

Baby Food

I started making baby food for Toh, and I'm having a lot of fun with it. So far I have made pureed bananas, sweet potatoes, avocados, and applesauce. Tonight I'm going to puree some carrots. It's nice because I can make a bunch and then freeze the rest for later. Plus it's WAY cheaper than buying baby food.

Idaho

Our niece, Tayler, got baptized this past weekend, and we were able to go to Boise for the baptism. It was really nice to see a lot of Allen's family again and let Big Brother run around with his cousins (and their dogs). We wish Allen's family lived closer to us so we could see them more often. I got a few pictures of our trip, but not many...

Mooch and his cousin are 3 1/2 months apart in age.

They played with the dogs until they were exhausted.

Toh & his cousin are 3 months apart. They just kind of looked at eachother.

Toh-Toh's Allergy Testing

I guess it's been a while since I've blogged...

As many of you know, Toh has been getting really bad rashes on his face and head since he was about 6 weeks old, along with some other symptoms that led us to believe he had allergies. I eliminated dairy from my diet, which resulted in some improvement and less flare-ups; but the rash just kept coming back every few days. His doctor didn't seem too concerned about it, but I was and felt like I needed some answers. I was frustrated that I couldn't pinpoint what in my diet was causing these reactions (since I'm nursing).


Yesterday I finally broke down and took Toh to the allergist. They did a skin prick test for 8 things--dairy, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, dogs, cats, and dust mites. (The most common allergens). The test went really well, and Toh-Toh didn't even mind (though he did start fussing a little on the last poke). The results were all negative, and I was thrilled to hear it. So, after all those months of going dairy-free, I celebrated with an ice cream cone. hehe The doctor said that the rashes on his face could be from a number of things--food getting on his face, laundry detergent, etc., and that he probably just has extra sensitive skin. I have some hydrocortizone cream that I will use for the flare-ups, and hopefully that does the trick. Otherwise, we may be going back for more testing. At this point, I'm really hopeful and feel such a sense of relief that he isn't allergic to everything.

Also, last week Toh-Toh had his 6 month checkup. He weighs 19 lbs 2 oz and is 27 inches long. :)

Happy Half-Birthday, Little Brother!

Little Brother turned 6 months today. I can hardly believe it! It seems like the time is going way faster than it did with Moochismo. Maybe that's because it was just Mooch and me, and I wasn't as busy as I am now. All of my focus was on him, so I probably got to savor each little moment more than I can with Toh.

Today Toh-Toh laughed for the first time. I mean REALLY laughed. He has always kind of giggled at us, but today he was just laughing like crazy. Allen started throwing a ball around and making a rocket kind of sound, and Toh just started busting up! It was cute.

Toh also got his first tooth in the past couple weeks! Very exciting. He has also started babbling (lalala, bababa, dadada, etc). He is trying to crawl, but so far has only managed to go in circles and backwards. I LOVE this age. There are just so many new milestones he is meeting, and it's exciting to see his personality start to emerge.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

More Winter in the Spring

Right now the ground is white with hail. I know this kind of hail is common elsewhere, but I've never seen hail this big before. (Sorry for the blurry photo).

Is it Spring yet?

Not much new happening around here. In fact, we're all sick AGAIN this week. Ugh. Today my sister, Stephanie, called me and said it was snowing in Spanaway. It has been pouring rain here all day... actually pretty much all week (with a few sun breaks). I'm looking forward to the weather getting nicer and for us to be well again. Last night I went to Pack Meeting and came home feeling achy all over. Allen and Mooch Man were sick yesterday and I was hoping I could avoid it again. It's really difficult to take care of two little kids when you're not feeling on top of your game. I spent a lot of the day in bed and tried desperately to get both boys to nap at the same time so I could... It was kind of a boring day for Mooch, but we spent some time coloring and drawing, and he was actually pretty well-behaved for me. Toh-Toh, on the other hand, doesn't really "play" on his own yet, and wanted to be held a lot (maybe he's feeling sick too). He wasn't too happy about me laying around all day. LOL

A sister from the ward brought us some soup, and even though my house was a disaster, I was so greatful to her. I feel blessed to know that there are people willing to help out, even when they have their own families to take care of. It makes me want to be better about serving others.