Uncle David's Birthday

Uncle David came into town to celebrate his 25th Birthday! We are so glad he came to see us and so far we have had a great time- walk/ playground/birthday dinner.

Pictures

Baby B Gone

I feel like there is that single moment in time when you realize that your baby isn't actually a baby anymore. It could be something they say, something they do, a look they give you or even a picture you take that shows you the change. In the last two days Audrey has changed considerably (think happier, chattier and even napping!) and after taking some pictures today I see that she has broken through the baby barrier into full on toddler mode.

Duke Gardens Pictures

Train Ride

Ryan's favorite movie is polar express and therefore he is very excited when it comes to trains. We finally got back to the train that we rode last December. Ryan is so much older now and the weather was warmer then when we went in December so I think he liked it a lot more this time. Hopefully we will be able to get back and do it again soon!

Joe Dirt

I think Audrey is a super cute kid (sure I'm a little biased). However, we are in that super awkward stage of hair growth where she essentially has a mullet. For now she looks like the daughter of Joe Dirt.. Luckily girls can wear bows and hats so we can hide it and winter is coming so hats will actually be expected. Hopefully by spring it will have grown out and no one will be the wiser.

Park Day!

In all the years Don has worked I don't remember a day where the boss gave everyone a paid day off because they had done such a good job on a project. Well today it happened! It is a perfect day for it, first of all it's beautiful outside and second of all it is the 10 year anniversary from Don and I having our first kiss so it's nice to spend the day with him. We started off the day with waffles and then headed to Ryan's favorite park. The kids were so excited when they found out "dad is going to be home ALL day!" Awesome day so far!

Allergies

We finally had our appointment with the pediatric allergist for Ryan. Overall I feel better about things, as is the case with most things not knowing is worse. He was very brave and only whimpered when they gave the tests, they drew all over him with a whiteboard marker so that they could see what parts of his skin had a reaction to the potential allergens. It turns out he is allergic to a certain kind of mold (that of course is the worse where we live in October), cats and dairy. Strangely enough not strawberries.

We were told that strawberries/ citrus and tomatoes can cause flares in eczema and it's not exactly an allergic reaction but just something that causes flare ups. So we have to avoid dairy (including when it's an ingredient- so baked goods with butter in them like cookies are out and almost all processed foods) and the citrus type stuff, that on top of the fact that Ryan won't eat meat makes for an interesting diet. Essentially vegan but with eggs.

The good news is that he will likely grow out of the dairy thing and none of the reactions will cause any impediment on his airway so even if someone gave him ice cream he would likely just breakout and while itchy and uncomfortable he wouldn't end up in the hospital.

I think the hardest part is just getting used to the changes. I have to plan ahead, so if we are going to someone else's house I have to bring snacks, I have to bake him cookies with butter substitutes if he wants them, and I have to read every ingredient label until I figure out what he can have. I had already taken out yogurt/ cottage cheese and milk so to Ryan it doesn't seem like that big of a change. It's time consuming but I have done it before when I took high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils out- once you find good brands/ foods/ know what to make yourself it's not so bad. Hopefully after a few weeks of grocery shopping/ cooking I won't even notice it.

Corn Maze

Today we went with some friends to a corn maze to kick off the Autumn season. It was a really long maze (it took us a little over an hour- I think around 2 miles) but the kids made it through! It was a lot of fun and I hope to do more fun fall activities in the near future!

Pictures

I feel like I have had writers block lately on the blogging front- we have had a bout of sicknesses and it feels like we have been really busy lately, with what I have no idea but we do seem busy. So until I feel inspired again- I'll just keep posting pictures. These are from Audrey's morning alone with both mom and dad- Ryan was at school and dad took the day off.