The Results Are In...

Since birth, Avery has had skin problems.

When he was a few months old and started to move around a bit, he lost his soft baby skin and has since been plagued by a rough, red, blotchy rash on his arms, legs, and the back of his neck. His pediatrician diagnosed him with 'seborrheic dermatitis' (pretty much a form of 'cradle cap' -dry skin- that affects other parts of the body) and said it should clear up on its own by the time he turned one. Until recently, we were able to deal with the rash pretty easily by slathering Avery in lotion numerous times a day and bathing him with a skin calming wash. Then the itching began. For both Avery and his mama this was like a form of slow torture. Avery got frustrated because he can't quite soothe the itch by scratching (the scratching only making the rash that much worse) and his mama was going mad watching this cycle continue.

When we took a trip to Tennessee for 4 days in May, Avery's rash miraculously cleared up for the time that we were gone. Then we returned home and within 24 hours and it had returned. This got us thinking that there may be something else causing Avery's skin irritation - something clearly environmental and something in our house. We brought this up to his pediatrician at his one year appointment and allergy testing was suggested. This was somewhat of a foreign concept to me as neither Justin or myself are allergic to anything, so the fact that our child may have one didn't seem very likely but I was willing to do just about anything to get some answers.

So to the allergist we went.

Spot #29 is the control (it was supposed to cause
a reaction). Spot #3 on the left is peanuts
and spot #19 is dog.

We'd heard horror stories about this scratch testing business, so I was a little apprehensive about going through with it (but like I said, we NEEDED some answers). To my surprise, Avery handled it very well, only crying for a few seconds and then was back to his happy self (it was comparable to how he reacts to shots). 

He was tested for 12 common allergens: 6 high-risk foods, dog, cat, and 2 types of dust mites. We then wandered around the office/waiting room with a semi-naked baby (who was extremely good-natured due to the fact that he was semi-naked :) for 15 minutes or so to see how he reacted to the irritants. After a few minutes, we started to notice one of the spots clearly showing a reaction. When we wandered or way back to the nurse, she informed us this spot was... *drum roll*...  PEANUTS. Of all things. (He also reacted slightly to dog. Thankfully, not enough to cause us to find a new home for Bella.)

We are now the parents of a child with a peanut allergy. Deep breath. I will resist the urge to place my child in a bubble for the rest of his childhood and/or never leave our home to venture into the dirty, peanut-infested world. Deep breath.

I wouldn't in a million years have guessed peanuts. #1 because we don't really eat many peanut products and #2 because I don't know a single person in our family blood line with a peanut allergy. (seriously, what IS it with the crazy increase in peanut allergies in recent years?!) The allergist assumes that his exposure is from my breast milk and/or from coming into indirect contact somewhere in our house. Since his reaction to the test was so severe, he sent us home with an Epipen and instructions to clear our home of all things nuts. (all peanuts AND tree nuts for now, until we can better narrow it down) Since he's never actually ingested any peanuts/peanut butter, we really have no idea what would happen. His rash may just flare or he may have trouble breathing. Yes. Peanuts may cause my baby to have trouble breathing. (...Deep breath...)

So, as we allow this information to sink in, I'm doing my best to do some research, read food labels, watch what Avery eats/touches, wipe down everything, and am doing my best to not become a crazy worried, over-protective, peanut-fighting mama ninja who views every outing as a possible catastrophe.

I give parents of children with allergies (or other conditions that are affected by environments they can't always control) a ton of credit. Parents have enough to worry about without having to think about the fact that coming into contact with a little nut may potentially cause babies to stop breathing (Ok. Enough doom and gloom already, there are FAR worse things we could be facing.)

Anyone out there dealing with a child with a nut allergy? I guess only 20% of babies grow out of it, so it may be a lifelong thing for Avery but my hope is that it continues to be mild and only irritate his skin (and our Epipen remains unused.)

On a good note, Avery's skin has been beautifully clear and smooth for the last couple of days! I hope this is a sign of how it will be now that we've pinpointed the problem :)

Chicago!

Last week, we made a day trip to Chicago to spend a day at the beach with Aunt Janessa and Eric! (It was a surprise to Janessa!) Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate with those plans but we still had an awesome day exploring Navy Pier and Millennium Park (our first time to both!) and any time spent with Aunt Janessa is always a blast. 

Avery had the best time walking the pier, dancing in the park, and flirting with himself (and a fancy little girl in pink) at Cloud Gate! It made my whole week to see our little man having so much fun toddling around such a big city :) 
His favorite thing?  The manhole cover!

 

A day in the life of our One-Year-Old!

We've been enjoying every minute of summer so far, spending lots of time outside and eating lots of popsicles :)    Here are a few fun videos that help give you an idea of how Avery spends his days since turning one:

He's done LOTS of dancing (and keeps busting out new moves all the time):

'Drives' things everywhere:

 

Is such a big helper!:

...And found his screaming voice (he's is just plain SILLY!):

 
Every day Avery gets a little bigger, a little cuter, and his personality shines through more and more. I think we're going to enjoy toddler-hood :)

Avery's First Birthday BASH!

We hosted Avery's birthday party last Sunday in our backyard - it was a total success! The weather was beautiful, we were blessed to have some of our closest friends and family with us to celebrate, and our little caterpillar seemed to enjoy himself very much! (The cake smash was the highlight!) I've been planning this party for quite a few months in my head and it was so fun to see it come to life. It certainly took a village to pull together, there's no way we could've done it without our awesome family and friends to help us out. (Thanks, guys!!!) 

 
Here are some of the highlights of the party:

 The FOOD! What is a Very Hungry Caterpillar party without some fruits? (and veggies too, in our case!) We had all the fruits featured in the book, a few of the 'junk foods' the caterpillar ate on Saturday, and a few extras too. I cut out little flags with pictures of the fruit from the book and attached them to sticks to pull the theme together.  On the food table, I set up a copy of the book, a framed picture of Avery and a fun quote from Eric Carle about The Very Hungry Caterpillar along with one of Avery's fuzzy caterpillars :)

Thanks to my super talented sister, Janessa, who helped me bake up tons of cake pops late into the night on Saturday, we made up these cute edible caterpillar centerpieces for the tables. (I LOVE those little chocolate chip eyes!) We had lemonade to drink with flavored ice cubes- I cut up chunks of raspberries, strawberries and mint leaves and froze them with water in an ice cube tray for guests to make their own flavored lemonade creations!

I made all the paper garlands (that lined the tables and hung around the food table) and the pennant on Avery's high chair out of paste paper, cut them into circles and triangles and sewed them together with my machine. (The making of the paper and the sewing were relatively quick steps, the cutting was the most tedious but was a great activity for me while riding 8 hours to Tennessee and back a few weeks ago!)

 

The Favors! I found these cute Very Hungry Caterpillar paper baskets and crayons at Target months ago and snatched them up just for this purpose. I also included little coloring books that I made by cutting up this coloring sheet in Photoshop and printing it on cardstock. I also stuck a handmade pinwheel in each basket (I'm a sucker for pinwheels:) made out of the same paste paper I used on the garlands. Tutorial I used for pinwheel here. (I just used plastic straws instead of dowels)
 

 The photos! I printed all of Avery's weekly photos I took this year and hung them from a string on the wall next to the food table with wooden clothes pins. It was SO FUN (and a little bittersweet) to see all of the pictures together and to see how Avery has grown and changed.
It was a fun project to do, and even more fun to see it now completed!

The Fun! I'm a little disappointed to say that I really slacked the rest of the day taking photos. It went by so fast that I didn't get any shots of the backyard as a whole or of many of our family and friends that were there... Thank goodness my sister got a few shots of some of the fun things that were going on. Our awesome friends let us borrow their jumping castle, complete with a slide and everything! Avery loved it! (so did everyone else :)

Avery's sand/water table (sand-only today!) was a gift from his Grandpa & Grandma Wachsmuth and was a huge hit at the party! This was Avery's first experience with sand and although most of it found its way out of the box, thankfully none ended up in his mouth!

This was the surprise favorite at the party - the 'Water Blob' made out of a sheet of thick plastic, a roll of Gorilla Tape, and water! (tutorial here) A big thanks to my brother, Josh, for taking on this project the morning of the party! What fun it was!!

It was such an amazing day - we are so blessed to have so many awesome people in our life that love and care for our little Avery so much :)

Our sweet baby boy, the One-Year-Old!

Oh, I almost forgot! I've been working on a little sewing project for the past few weeks too! We got Avery a circus tent for his birthday (from Ikea) and to go with the theme, I made some pouf cushions and a cloth ball for Avery to make the inside of the tent more comfy :) I used this tutorial for the poufs and this tutorial for the ball. The poufs were SO FUN to make, I may make more of them in the future! The first one took me a while to figure out, but I finished the second one in TWO naptimes! (I time my projects in terms of how many naptimes they take me ... and TWO is really good!)

 The happy boy lovin' his new playspace!

 There is NOTHING cuter than finding him in here reading books... my heart may burst.

-xoxo-

The Big ONE!

12 Months 

52 Weeks 

365 Days 

8760 Hours 

525,600 Minutes 

31,536,000 Seconds

My baby is one year old today!

This past year has been such a whirlwind. One amazing whirlwind. It's hard to believe that just one year ago, a 9 pound, 6 ounce bundle of precious joy came into our lives and made us the happiest, proudest parents ever. It's equally unbelievable how much he has changed in that time. He is now a walking, babbling, curious little boy sporting 7 teeth, a head of curls and the sweetest personality. Nothing compares to watching that happy, proud face toddling towards me in search of a cuddle :)

He now points at things with one finger, mimics sounds, waves, blows kisses, throws food on the floor, snuggles, climbs the stairs, throws tantrums, gives kisses, falls and gets bruises, smiles <almost> nonstop, giggles, dances like it's going out of style, explores everything, eats dirt, drinks from a sippy cup, still eats like a champ, tries to climb out of the bathtub, 'reads' books to himself, flirts, and is the worlds biggest lover :) 

I'm excited for what year #2 will bring, but I doubt it will be as life-altering as year #1 was. I've never before felt so much love, so much exhaustion, so much joy, frustration, happiness and pride. I am forever changed by this little man and I just can't get enough :)

Although a part of me will miss taking a few minutes out of our Wednesdays to have these little photo shoots, I think this is a good place to put this project to rest - it's getting SO hard to keep this little weasel on his back long enough to snap a few quick pictures (and even then, he usually needs some object to keep him happy :)  Here's a video that I took last month during one of our shoots so you can get an idea of what the process is like 'behind the scenes' ;)

4 minutes, 24 seconds. 

113 photos. 

Mom takes on the role of circus clown.

There should be a girl scout badge for entertaining a baby, smoothing the backdrop and taking photos one-handed all at the same time!
(yes, he does have a vibrating back massager in his mouth at the beginning... he loves feeling it rattle against his teeth :)

Just in case you don't remember, here's the winner:

We are getting REALLY excited for the arrival of family and Avery's little birthday party on Sunday. I'll be back next week with some pictures from the big day! :)

Summer Begins: Road trips!!

This last month, we went on two pretty big adventures! 

The first one took us to St. Louis, MO for a weekend to watch Justin play baseball (directly under the arch!)  We also took in the zoo and a Budweiser tour! 

 
I celebrated my FIRST MOTHERS DAY with my amazing family, waking up in St. Louis and ending the day watching Avery walk across the floor for the first time! Such an amazing day!

The next week, we returned to Gatlinburg, TN and the Great Smoky Mountain National Park almost exactly a year after our trip last year, when I was 35 weeks pregnant!

We took in the sights, had dinner with woodland creatures, took a dip in some mountain streams, visited both a moonshine 'holler' AND whiskey distillery, made a couple of short hikes and a 5.5 mile one - Avery LOVED being in the backpack!! He's an adventurer already!

Yay for summer road trips!!  

We've got a couple more pretty exciting ones lined up,
Avery will be taking his first plane ride in July!! :)

Avery: 11 months!

Look at those long legs!! Who would've thought...?  ;)

A friend of mine commented on a photo that I posted of Avery on Facebook the other day and it has really helped me come to peace with the fact that my itty bitty baby (although he never really was 'itty bitty'...) is going to be a whole year old. She said:
 
"Time really does fly but just look at all the fun you have had!!!"   

These words have been ringing in my mind ever since because she's totally right. It's crazy to believe a whole year has almost past, but it's equally crazy to think of how much FUN we've had this last year! I was out weed whacking today and was remembering back to early last summer when I was doing that very same chore the day before Avery was born.  I was out there all big and bloated whacking weeds (to prepare for him, of course!) and thinking of how drastically life was going to change. At 9 months pregnant I was so incredibly happy. Even out whacking weeds, I remember being so at peace with my life and so ready for this next step. I had no idea that the happiness I felt that day could have multiplied to become what it is now. Not a day has gone by since Avery was born that I don't take a minute to just soak in the amazing gift he is in my life and how much love, joy, and laughter he has brought Justin and I. (All the hours I've spent nursing have been such a blessing, giving me plenty of these moments to just sit and stare at him and soak in how fast he's growing and changing.)   

So thank you, Patty for helping me put things in perspective! Avery has grown way too fast, but I have been SO BLESSED to have been able to be here with him as he's growing every single day. He's even getting more and more fun as he gets older, I'm looking forward to him being a 'one year old' :)

That being said, here's some things that Avery has been up to this month:

• He figured out a sippy cup (After trying for a while now, I watched him sit for about 20 minutes to figure it out- now he's a pro!)

• His 6th tooth (4th on bottom) popped through!

• He's taken a couple of steps on his own, but no full-out walking yet. He only needs one hand for assistance these days though, so he can carry a toy in the other :)

• This month, he tried: spinach/egg souffles, salmon (Much to my disappointment, he was NOT a fan...), watermelon, lasagna, olives, brussel sprouts, Olive Garden breadsticks, blueberry pancakes at iHop - bless his little heart, he's still an AMAZING eater!!  *fingers crossed* this continues!

• He sleeps with his butt up in the air and face squished against the bumper. 

• He turns EVERYTHING into a walker. The stroller, his little picnic table, his high chair, his rocking horse - if he can push it, he uses it to get around. Our house is constantly being 're-arranged' :)

• When he hears music, he can't help but dance. I don't even think he can control it, he just HAS to move. If he's crawling when the music turns on, he wiggles his hips, if he's in the car or his high chair, he headbangs. He's even good at switching up his moves when we play different types of music :)

• He got to spend time with both Grandma and Grandpa Olive AND Grandma and Grandpa Stewart! 

• He's started mimicking what we say/sounds we make. We were THAT crazy mom/baby duo at the store the other day saying 'weee!' back and forth to each other while cruising up and down the isles

• He still nurses 4 times a day, but for much less time - he's way too distracted with all that's going on around him these days!

• He waves at pretty much every loud vehicle that drives by our house - the garbage guys, the mail-lady, the UPS guy, and pretty much every construction truck that drives by. It's really sweet that they all wave back :)

• He is SO CUDDLY!  I will never get enough cuddles. Ever.

• He STILL - yes, still, and for most of his life- has a rash on his arms, legs, and feet. I've officially tried every cream and bath soak under the sun. Thankfully, it doesn't seem to bother him, but it looks so terrible...

• His hair curls up in the back! I may never cut it ;)

• Despite his slew of toys, his favorite things to play with are shoes, any electronics he gets his hands on when we aren't looking, Bella's water dish, and emptying out the utensil drawer and tupperware cupboard in the kitchen. Yep, the toddler has arrived! 

• He's a great gardening helper! He really loves sitting outside picking grass or helping me water the gardens (of course, there's water involved...)

• He listens to music during dance time bath time :)

• He throws a good old-fashioned temper tantrum from time to time, but thankfully as of right now it only lasts about 30 seconds and just takes a little re-direction to get him back smiling again.

• He got some more practice time in with the hiking backpack - we head out to the Smoky Mountains in just a couple of weeks!

I've finally jumped into Avery's birthday party crafting - I'm starting to get really excited about the little party we're going to have at our house!  I'm also excited to share pictures here afterwards - Stay tuned!

We're headed off to St. Louis tomorrow for a fun weekend complete with a trip to the zoo, a Budweiser tour, and a day watching daddy play baseball under the arch!!  We're so excited for our first little roadtrip of the summer and at only 4.5 hours away, we think it's the perfect distance for our little busy-body. :)

Grandma Connie and Grandpa Delbert Come to Visit!

Last weekend, my mom and step-dad sought refuge from the snowstorm in Wisconsin and came to visit flooded Indiana!  Avery had a blast with them and was charming as ever. He got super spoiled, took a trip to the park with grandma, showed off his sweet walking skills for grandpa, read lots of books and played lots of catch. It was so great to have them here!  A special thanks to Gram and Gramps for staying with Avery so mom and dad could get a night out with friends, too! (I don't know who had more fun, those who went out, or those that stayed home! :)

He even received his very first birthday present (grandma and grandpa won't be able to make it to his party in June) - a picnic table! He loves the table and has already figured out how to climb up AND down it all by himself!

It's becoming more and more evident that this baby is actually more of a toddler. Every time someone visits after not seeing him for awhile, they're blown away by the things he can do and how much different he looks. He certainly is growing into his own personality and I'm happy to say that it's the sweetest personality ever :)  xoxo

Grandma feeding Avery a dandelion - naturally, he tried to eat it ;)

Project Life: Avery's First Year - Month 4

Month 4 - Spread 1 - with Avery helping photo bombing :)
A bunch of photos from our daily life: fun on the activity mat and Exersaucer, chillin' with his cool Brewers gear, his first experience with a fish tank.

I added a 8.5 x 4 insert with 6 pictures of Avery flirting with himself in a mirror :) 
(Some of my favorite Avery pictures!)

A close up of the insert - I just sewed the pictures into a page protector with my sewing machine and cut the excess off. As I was doing this, I realized how ironic it is that I use 'Avery' brand pages :)

A little journaling and some pictures from 'the accident' which kept us stuck in a cubicle in the emergency room for 10 hours. Some more date-stamp-on-fabric and sewn fabric pennants.

A fun memory we have of Avery (the green and blue background is cut out of a Kleenex box!) and a family outing to the 'Feast of the Hunter's Moon'.

Month 4 - Spread 2 - Avery's current sleep habits (or lack thereof), a visit from Grandma & Grandpa Stewart, & Avery's first letter!

Avery in his sleep suit, a page out of our 'sleep journal' (this month we were tracking all his night wakings trying hard to get him on some sort of sleep schedule...) Cards with cloth details and the little sheep is a scrapbook embellishment.

Avery's first letter from his cousin Emma in Maine! I just 3 hole punched the envelope and inserted it. I also stuck in a little note that my aunt & uncle sent Avery this month.

Our little outlaw. I had a couple of extra pictures I wanted to include on this page, so I just made a little double-sided pocket out of a leftover piece of page protector and sewed it into place.

A cute shot helping dad, a family photo in our matching SOA shirts :) and a shot of Avery and Max, all captions are on cut grid journal cards with little cloth details.

These are the only 2 spreads for month 4. I guess after I got smoked in the eye with a baseball, not much happened around here. (or maybe I just wasn't spending much time behind the camera!) That's ok though, because month 5 has a few extra pages to make up for it!

And if you need a little laugh to help lift your spirits (will it EVER stop raining?!), here's a little bathtime bubble fun with Avery - LOVE that belly laugh!  :)