Allergies

So, the first allergy Elise had was to the Target diapers. First I thought it was detergent or the elastic on her underwear, but as I watched it more closely, it was higher up on her back and showed up the most after sleeping (when she wears diapers). She's worn those diapers for awhile now, so I don't know if they changed something in them or if Elise's skin has gotten more sensitive.

The next allergic reaction showed up on Sunday after Elise and I shared some peanut butter crackers. I took off her clothes to change her into pjs, and she had hives all over her body. I literally could watch new ones appear! This isn't the first time she's had peanut butter, but it is the most obvious thing she could have reacted to. We go to the doctor on Friday for her to have some blood work to determine if it is indeed a peanut allergy. This is totally selfish, but I will be so sad if she has a peanut allergy - I love all things peanut - desserts, Chinese dishes, on crackers, on sandwiches; basically, I love peanut butter. Depending on the intensity of the allergy, we may not even be able to have it in the house. Ahh! On a less selfish note, I would hate for Elise to have to go through life with such a strong allergy. I know lots of kids do it - at least three of the kids in the church class Wes and I teach have a food allergy they've told us about. So, if it is a food allergy, we'll survive, but we're praying for a better outcome.

Baby Update: Little Baby Erwin is doing well - s/he is getting quite active. I can feel lots of movements these days. Babycenter says s/he is about five inches from head to rump, so definitely gaining some size. At the next doctor's appointment (mid-March), we'll get to find out what we are having. I had been thinking boy, but then had a very vivid dream that it was a girl, so I'm back to not really having a feeling either way.

Here are a couple recent pix - Elise in her Christmas outfit from Uncle Tim and Aunt Molly (Happy Birthday Uncle Tim) and doing crafts with Daddy.

Snow, snow go away!

I really shouldn't complain about the snow - I know others have it far, far worse than we do in Indiana. But, I won't lie - I am longing for Spring. I'm starting to get antsy from being inside too much, which means I'm tackling projects like closet cleaning. It makes Wes a little antsy when I get on an organization streak.

So here are the Elise anticdotes fro the week - I have to write these down here so that I'll have them to share with Elise when she's older - it is amazing how quickly I forget. Sometimes Wes will come home from work and I'll say, "Elise said the cutest thing, but I can't remember what it is."


At the car wash - Now, I kind of tortured my daughter because I know she doesn't like the car wash, but it needed cleaning and she was in the car, so she didn't get a choice. I was trying to play the car wash up like a fun adventure, so Elise said to me, "This is not my favorite adventure, Mommy!" Apparently, when I don't like something, I say it isn't my favorite - I guess she picked that up.


The other night while eating dinner, Elise said to me, "Mmm. This food is good, Mommy." Not only was it adorable; it was a huge compliment - I'm not known as the chef around the house, but I've been doing a lot of cooking since Elise eats what we eat now - have to have well-balanced meals. If I'm being honest though, when Elise said this, she was eating red peppers dipped in ranch dressing, so I can't really take credit.


And finally, yesterday we got out a Uno Barn game that Elise got for her birthday. In the little barn, there were the directions to the game. I have NO idea where Elise learned this or why she associated these together, but she grabbed the game directions and yelled, "20 dollars for me!"

Here are a few pics from the snow and from the Super Bowl - even though the Colts didn't pull out a win, I had to post Elise's support of the Colts.

New baby

As I aluded in my last post, Wes and I are excited to announce we have a new baby on the way. I hadn't told my boss, so that is why I've been waiting so long to announce it. My boss is completely supportive; I just wanted to have the opportunity to tell her myself rather than learn from Facebook or a blog.


So, Wes and I are excited about the new baby, but we've been a little scared as well. We remember very clearly all the hard things about having a new baby... like the no sleep. I won't lie - I sometimes border on panic attacks when I think about sleep deprivation.


But, on Sunday, Wes and I went to visit our friends Andrew and Leah in the hospital - they had just welcomed their new daughter, Jane, into the world. Holding that little girl, the joy part of new parenthood all came back. Oh my, new babies are just so sweet. Irresistable!


Elise knows Mommy has a baby growing in her tummy, but she doesn't really understand the concept. We've been downplaying it, rather than trying to get her excited, because it is such a long time for her to have to wait for the baby to arrive. But, one very sweet thing she likes to do is "listen to the baby." She puts her ear on my belly and listens. I ask her what the baby says, and she says things like, 'Hi Mommy!' Of course, when she wants to listen to the baby in the grocery line, it is a little awkward, but still so sweet.


So, the details are I believe I am about 14 weeks along and the due date is August 2. Nausea and sleepiness were present, but not quite as bad as the first time around. The days go fast and I don't get to think about being pregnant as much, so I am sure the time will fly by.


Okay, here's your funny Elise story for the day. One day, I put on Sesame Street so I could take a shower. Elise ran in my bathroom and said, "I went to the potty by myself!" I was a little worried, but what could I do at that point? When I got out of the shower, the sink was running, but everything else looked in order in Elise's bathroom. Then I went out in the living room and found Elise like this, nude except for cowboy boots - oh my! I couldn't bring myself to post the picture on the web, so here are a couple other pictures to enjoy. The first one was from dinner the other night - for some reason I made her an adult size burrito - she looked so funny eating it.