Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Allergy update

Ethan had a reaction to peanut butter when he was under 1(he took a bit of my pb on toast when I wasn't paying attention), maybe 11 months old.  He got a rash on his cheeks and a little bit on his tummy.  I made sure he avoided nuts (of all kinds, except his parents haha), and he had another reaction a  few months ago when Mike gave him a "coconut" chocolate, which turned out to be a Ferrero Rocher, (hazelnut chocolate).

I got him referred to an allergist, just so I could know one way another if he was allergic to nuts or if I was being paranoid.  Turns out he IS allergic to peanuts.  The allergy specialist said he might outgrow it.  Kids with a mild rash like allergy have a 20% chance of outgrowing it.  the good news is that he's not allergic to tree nuts (peanuts are in their category because technically they're not tree nuts).  And he's not allergic to anything else.  His banana problem is a food intolerance, not a true allergy.  I'll keep him away from bananas for another few months and try again in the fall (if we ever get a quiet weekend to test it out).

Saturday, June 25, 2011

He's Two...

Every time I get exasperated with Ethan's not listening and testing his boundaries, I have to remember he's two. 

He was saying no all morning, and when I asked him if he was going to say no all day, it was the only thing he didn't say "no" to.  He must be two...

He was sitting on my lap reading a picture book called My First Words, and he was saying all the words very nicely.  He must be two..

Ethan is getting so much bigger, he is acting less like a baby each day.  He must be two.

He has been two for just over a month, and just like his previous 2 years, he is changing every day.  Watching him grow is amazing, and even though he is testing his boundaries (and my patience!), I am proud to call him my son.  I am looking forward to all of his new achievements and even his disappointments (since they will help him grow too), and watching him grow up to be a big boy.  It's sad to see him need me less and less as he explores his world.  I love watching him grow and explore, and the "drive by" hugs and kisses are even more special now.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Carnivals!

Ethan went to his first carnival this past weekend.  He was really overwhelmed and wasn't sure about what was going on, but he wasn't crying, so we took advantage and put him on some rides.


The first one we went on was the merry go round:
He wanted to get off right away, but I told him he'd be fine.  When we done, he said by to the horsie and seemed glad to be done.
Next, Mike took him on the helicopter ride:
 He seemed to enjoy that one, but didn't want Mike to make the helicopter go up high.

Next, we decided to all go on the Ferris Wheel.   Ethan was allowed to sit on my lap, and we showed him how small the cars looked.  It was a different kind of Ferris wheel, not as open as the ones we normally see:
We walked around a bit after that, and I won Ethan a stuffed fish in the balloon pop game.  We used the rest of our tickets on mini donuts, cotton candy, and a small drink.  We had two tickets left, so Mike took Ethan down on the slide just before we left:

Ethan was pretty quiet about the whole thing.  Until we got home.  He would NOT stop talking about the horsies, and the helicopter, and the Ferris wheel, and the slide.

He also threw up around supper time.  I am assuming it's from the tremendous amount of sugar he ate.  He gets sick from store bought cake, so it must be the same thing.  Must remember to not feed him so much sugar.

The next day, the carnival was still on, so on our way in to the city we stopped and asked Ethan if he wanted to go on any rides, but he made sure we understood that he didn't want to go on any rides.  He still seemed scared.

It is Friday now, and he has talked about his carnival experience all week.

We are going to the States (Grand Forks, ND) tomorrow, and then up to Sandy Hook to visit Mike's parents on Sunday, so this weekend will be a busy one as well.  Not sure if it will top the carnival though....

Monday, June 6, 2011

Another Picnic!

The day after Ethan's birthday was kind of chilly, but with my Mom and brother visiting from Alberta, we decided to take all the leftover food from the party and head out to the Sandilands Provincial Forest for a picnic.  Ethan was really out of sorts, since his routine was all mixed up, but we figured it was probably best for everyone all around if we left the house (he tends to be less cranky when we are out).

My brother gave Ethan 'airplanes', which Ethan really seemed to enjoy.

My Mom and brother seemed to have a good time.


Ethan ended up enjoying himself too.


I even took a video of the fun times :


Sunday, June 5, 2011

Birthday Boy

Ethan's second birthday was on May 22.  Mike went in to get him when he woke up and said "Happy Birthday" to Ethan, and Ethan smiled and said "Happy C-U".

We had a little party for him, pretty much just the grandparents (and my brother visiting from Alberta).  He really enjoyed himself.  I was starting to regret not inviting more people, but he was pretty overwhelmed with the amount of people we had there, so it was a good thing it was that small.

Here is Ethan with his birthday cupcakes as we sang to him.  He loved his "Happy C-U" cakes.



Grandpa Ian and Olive got him a slide and climbing set for his birthday:




Grandma and Grandpa (Mike's parents) got him a Toddler Bed (which we are all excited about!).  He also got a big gift bag from Grandma and Grandpa, and on the top were clothes.  He grabbed the clothes, looked at them, then chucked them on the ground until he found a toy.  It was super cute :)

He got some more really great presents from everyone else too.  His Great Grandma (Mike's Grandma) got him a lantern for camping and a Bubble Lawn Mower.  My brother got him a neat chunky puzzle.  My mom got him some good books, including kid stories from the bible, and a book about castles.  We got him a sleeping bag, a few little gifts, and a Wagon.

Mike ended up having to go to bed early (he had been feeling sick all day, then got acid reflux and couldn't take it any more).  Ethan stayed up until 9:15 - I figured we'd wait until the last guest had left.  When I was getting him ready for bed, he wanted to read a few more books, but I convinced to just relax for a minute and sit with me on the glider/rocker.  He was out in seconds :)