This is definitely one of those "You had to be there" stories, but I am going to tell it anyway.
Noah is starting Sunday School this year...hard to believe he is that old already. Tonight was the introduction for parents and kids so they could learn about Sunday School...they got to play with toys, sing songs, eat ice cream, and meet a friend or two.
The most memorable moment of the night (for Jen and I) was when they had gathered all the kids around, and the leader was telling the kids about different things they would find in Sunday School. Each kid got to pull something out of her bag and she would explain that they would find this it at Sunday School. Noah, for example, pulled out a glue stick, a book, and a CD (most kids only got to pull one or two things, but Noah thought he needed three)... Anyway, one kid pulls out a sheet of stickers, and when she asks the class what they were, Noah (with the biggest, silliest grin on his face, practically yells, "Stickers for going pooottttyy". Hilarious and embarrassing. Then of course, as she recaps everything they had pulled out of her bag, he has to reiterate these were stickers for going potty when she got to those.
At least we can say the potty training is going well!
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Baseball and more
Well we finally had our first weekend as a family this summer. It was refreshing to have Greg home. I took the opportunity to go for a longer run and to go to the grocery store by myself.
Greg had some quality bonding time with the boys including some nasty diapers from James and playing Wii Sports Resort with Noah.
Friday night Noah got to go to Seasame Street Live with Grandpa and Grandma Davis. He LOVED IT! He has been talking about Elmo and his flower non-stop! Pretty sure he was able to recite in detail the entire story line... well up until intermission anyway.
Last Spring Greg got Twins tickets for a variety of games. Sunday was the first of the tickets that he and I went together. This was also the first game that I've made it to all summer...
The game got to be pretty long but it was great to spend time together and enjoy doing something out of the norm. While we were at the game Noah and James got to play with their cousins (Greg's cousins) Andy and Krista. From the smiles on their faces when we got there we're pretty sure they had a great time!
More exciting news was discovered while I was putting James to bed tonight. He was just so much more fussy than usual and wanted to keep nursing way past being hungry.... he then attempted to eat my face and hair and anything else he could get near his mouth. I started feeling his gums to see if there were any teeth coming through. Well after a couple seconds his chomped down and sure enough there it was... a slight little tooth cutting through his gums on the bottom! Hmmmm.... this makes me wonder if this could be where his diaper rash and running nose have been coming from? I know, most docs say there isn't a connection... but I would argue that with them 100%. It's so funny to me how babies and kids tell you long before something is going to happen with the changes in their mood and demeanor. More often that not we are just too preoccupied with other things to "hear" what they are saying and then we wonder why they get so crabby!
Greg had some quality bonding time with the boys including some nasty diapers from James and playing Wii Sports Resort with Noah.
Friday night Noah got to go to Seasame Street Live with Grandpa and Grandma Davis. He LOVED IT! He has been talking about Elmo and his flower non-stop! Pretty sure he was able to recite in detail the entire story line... well up until intermission anyway.
Last Spring Greg got Twins tickets for a variety of games. Sunday was the first of the tickets that he and I went together. This was also the first game that I've made it to all summer...
The game got to be pretty long but it was great to spend time together and enjoy doing something out of the norm. While we were at the game Noah and James got to play with their cousins (Greg's cousins) Andy and Krista. From the smiles on their faces when we got there we're pretty sure they had a great time!
More exciting news was discovered while I was putting James to bed tonight. He was just so much more fussy than usual and wanted to keep nursing way past being hungry.... he then attempted to eat my face and hair and anything else he could get near his mouth. I started feeling his gums to see if there were any teeth coming through. Well after a couple seconds his chomped down and sure enough there it was... a slight little tooth cutting through his gums on the bottom! Hmmmm.... this makes me wonder if this could be where his diaper rash and running nose have been coming from? I know, most docs say there isn't a connection... but I would argue that with them 100%. It's so funny to me how babies and kids tell you long before something is going to happen with the changes in their mood and demeanor. More often that not we are just too preoccupied with other things to "hear" what they are saying and then we wonder why they get so crabby!
Monday, August 10, 2009
August So Far
Well August has taken off and hit the ground running. Greg has been busing trying to wrap up his summer courses. He has finals this week and then will hopefully be able to breathe for a couple weeks.
The first weekend of August our good friend Jacci came to visit. We took the opportunity to take the kids to the fair and see the animals and just relax at home.
Noah also enjoyed as much chocolate milk as he could drink from the dairy concession stand. It was a good time... maybe next year we'll attempt the rides!
Update on the potty progress:
Noah is doing great staying dry the majority of the time.. overnights are a bit of a struggle yet. The best news though is that he is finally starting to be okay with doing a #2 in the potty!!!! Hurray!
Here is Noah's potty chart.. Not sure what we're going to do when that last row is filled up!
That's all for us right now. Please feel free to leave comments! We'd love to hear your feedback or even just let us know you've found your way to reading our blog!
The first weekend of August our good friend Jacci came to visit. We took the opportunity to take the kids to the fair and see the animals and just relax at home.
Noah also enjoyed as much chocolate milk as he could drink from the dairy concession stand. It was a good time... maybe next year we'll attempt the rides!
Update on the potty progress:
Noah is doing great staying dry the majority of the time.. overnights are a bit of a struggle yet. The best news though is that he is finally starting to be okay with doing a #2 in the potty!!!! Hurray!
Here is Noah's potty chart.. Not sure what we're going to do when that last row is filled up!
That's all for us right now. Please feel free to leave comments! We'd love to hear your feedback or even just let us know you've found your way to reading our blog!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Not-so-Gluten Free Chex..shame on you General Mills!
Being a husband of someone who suffers from celiac disease (aka, gluten intolerance) has been a very eye opening experience. When we first started dating, I made every effort to be supportive and eat everything she ate. I ate gluten free spaghetti, sandwiches, cookies, pretzels. I tried it all. I couldn't do it. It was terrible. The bread tasted like cardboard and would crumble into pieces if you touched it. The spaghetti was chewy and often clumped togehter to the point that it wouldn't cook all the way. Gross.
Eventually, we worked it out that it would be cheaper for me to eat "normal" food. Plus, I found that eating this gluten free food gave me a stomach ache...maybe i am allergic to not having gluten in my food! This has worked for us for years, although there are many nights where we have to cook at least two or three meals, one for her, one for me, and sometimes one for Noah cause he can't or won't eat what we are eating.
Now, the quality of the food has definitely improved over the years as celiac disease has become more widely diagnosed, but there are still some situations where we run into problems. Unequivocally, the most difficult situation is small "lunch meetings/gatherings" where lunch is provided. Think about what you usually eat at these types of gatherings: pizza, cold sandwiches, maybe the occasional sloppy joe, cookies...none of these options are viable, and Jen usually ends up going hungry or has chips for lunch. Now, this is not the fault of the host/hostess for the lunch...what is there to serve that would be gluten free? Tacos? Too difficult. Anyway, on to the real point of this post...
Yesterday, Jen had what I would call a "moment". I wasn't there to witness this, but she apparently broke down in Target when she saw that Chex cereal was now advertising "gluten free" Chex that came in several different flavors (corn, rice, honey nut, cinnamon, chocolate, etc.) She could buy them for $2.54 a box yesterday when she usually pays $4-$5 for a box of special gluten free cereal. She called me after all of this happened and was still pretty choked up. She bought just one box and brought it home. She proceeded to eat most of the box over the course of the next 24 hours. All was well in her world until she had some noticeable reactions similar to what happens when she eats gluten. Now, from what I have read, a reaction to gluten is different for each person. Some people get violently ill, others it is only subtle and hard to detect. For Jen, she is more on the subtle end of things, becoming slightly irritable, tired, depressed, and phsyically uncomfortable without knowing why.
Without knowing she was feeling like this, I was looking on the internet to see what others had written about General Mills new foray into gluten free porducts. This is when I found a post on the blog Celiac Bites outlining that while the ingredients in the Chex may be gluten free, there is a chance for cross-contamination. This can occur when a gluten free product is made on the same machinery, or even in the same facility as gluten-filled products Needless to say we were both very disappointed and Jen has been suffering the side-effects of this all day.
It seems General Mills trying to cash in on those with celiac disease and those who choose to eat gluten free as a lifestyle. Shameful...
Eventually, we worked it out that it would be cheaper for me to eat "normal" food. Plus, I found that eating this gluten free food gave me a stomach ache...maybe i am allergic to not having gluten in my food! This has worked for us for years, although there are many nights where we have to cook at least two or three meals, one for her, one for me, and sometimes one for Noah cause he can't or won't eat what we are eating.
Now, the quality of the food has definitely improved over the years as celiac disease has become more widely diagnosed, but there are still some situations where we run into problems. Unequivocally, the most difficult situation is small "lunch meetings/gatherings" where lunch is provided. Think about what you usually eat at these types of gatherings: pizza, cold sandwiches, maybe the occasional sloppy joe, cookies...none of these options are viable, and Jen usually ends up going hungry or has chips for lunch. Now, this is not the fault of the host/hostess for the lunch...what is there to serve that would be gluten free? Tacos? Too difficult. Anyway, on to the real point of this post...
Yesterday, Jen had what I would call a "moment". I wasn't there to witness this, but she apparently broke down in Target when she saw that Chex cereal was now advertising "gluten free" Chex that came in several different flavors (corn, rice, honey nut, cinnamon, chocolate, etc.) She could buy them for $2.54 a box yesterday when she usually pays $4-$5 for a box of special gluten free cereal. She called me after all of this happened and was still pretty choked up. She bought just one box and brought it home. She proceeded to eat most of the box over the course of the next 24 hours. All was well in her world until she had some noticeable reactions similar to what happens when she eats gluten. Now, from what I have read, a reaction to gluten is different for each person. Some people get violently ill, others it is only subtle and hard to detect. For Jen, she is more on the subtle end of things, becoming slightly irritable, tired, depressed, and phsyically uncomfortable without knowing why.Without knowing she was feeling like this, I was looking on the internet to see what others had written about General Mills new foray into gluten free porducts. This is when I found a post on the blog Celiac Bites outlining that while the ingredients in the Chex may be gluten free, there is a chance for cross-contamination. This can occur when a gluten free product is made on the same machinery, or even in the same facility as gluten-filled products Needless to say we were both very disappointed and Jen has been suffering the side-effects of this all day.
It seems General Mills trying to cash in on those with celiac disease and those who choose to eat gluten free as a lifestyle. Shameful...
Day by Day
For most, including myself, it feels like summer is already almost over. For our family however it is just beginning. Greg completes his summer courses next week and will then have three weeks off before fall classes begin. We're looking forward to having more family time/events like going to a Twins game and being home as a whole family. We still don't have a lot of plans but just knowing that Greg won't have a lot of other commitments is refreshing.
Noah is continuing on his journey of potty training. He has been in big boy undies for over a week now, with the exception of today because I need to do laundry... oops. He has done really well thus far. Our biggest challenge now becomes having him go without being asked and being okay with not getting stars and prizes!
Our plans have officially changed for our Wedding Anniversary. We'll now being going to Half Moon Trail Resort in Park Rapids with Greg's family. They have been going there for years and I've had the pleasure to also tag along once while Greg and I were dating. Definitely a place for lots of memories and we're very excited to bring the boys up there. So although we won't be golfing on our actual anniversary we will still have the day off and be spending it relaxing.
Greg has proposed some good topics for blog posts that I am hoping he'll write soon... stay tuned!
Noah is continuing on his journey of potty training. He has been in big boy undies for over a week now, with the exception of today because I need to do laundry... oops. He has done really well thus far. Our biggest challenge now becomes having him go without being asked and being okay with not getting stars and prizes!
Our plans have officially changed for our Wedding Anniversary. We'll now being going to Half Moon Trail Resort in Park Rapids with Greg's family. They have been going there for years and I've had the pleasure to also tag along once while Greg and I were dating. Definitely a place for lots of memories and we're very excited to bring the boys up there. So although we won't be golfing on our actual anniversary we will still have the day off and be spending it relaxing.
Greg has proposed some good topics for blog posts that I am hoping he'll write soon... stay tuned!
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