You've Come a Long Way Baby!

Two years ago, we got the best news ever! We had been trying and hoping and wishing for a baby for 11 long months and on January 25, 2010 we got our wish! I remember it like it was yesterday. It was a Monday, I had a teacher workday and came home feeling "different." I took a test and it showed a question mark. I jumped in my car, ran in the store and bought another test. I called Kary and peed on the stick without telling him. He was mid-conversation when I screamed out, "Holy shit!! There are 2 pink lines!!!" Then it was a blur of cheering and jumping up and down and calling family. I could not have asked for a better little person to join my life. We never imagined such an adorable, smart, fun little baby. He reminds me of what is beautiful in this world everyday. From a piece of rice to a little boy who can laugh, talk, run, play, and love me to pieces...what a fantastic miracle!

MMRV.....yikes!

London had his 15 month check-up and along with that he got his MMRV vaccine. London was screaming through the entire exam so when it got to shot time, I consoled London while Kary looked over the paperwork and signed. We thought nothing of it and went home. Over a week later we noticed London was running a fever. He was on antibiotics for a sinus and ear infection so we thought that was weird. The fever continued every 4 hours and we had to administer tylenol constantly. After 2 hours the fever stopped and then we noticed a rash. The rash started mild but within 2 days he was completely covered. It looked bad. The worst part is he would not eat or drink that morning. Kary's mom texted me at work and I left and took him to the doctor. He screamed through the exam (male doctor) and it was sooo bad that we had to meet in the waiting room to talk. The doctor said it was a "mild" rash and we had nothing to worry about. I took him home and after a huge poop he started to eat and be happy again. We think the antibiotics may have messed with his appetite and being the high-maintenance kid he is, he was lucky enough to be that 20% of babies that get a reaction like that. The doctor doesn't seem to think he'll react the same when he gets the second dose when he's 5...I sure hope not!

Trip to the Biltmore

We took London to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC on Sunday, January 15th. Kary's parents had guest passes and we figured we'd take a chance and bring London along.
The few days before we went London was running a fever every 4 hours. He actually woke up the night before at 2am and still had a fever. We decided we weren't going to go. But, he surprised us by waking up feeling great so we took off.
London was fine in the car on the way there but did not nap. When we got to the estate he was mesmerized by the lion statues and all the people. We ate at the stable and he was in a good mood but barely ate anything.
As we were getting ready to start the tour, London became very cranky and started to totally lose it and scream as we were strapping him into his stroller. It was embarrassing since the house is so quiet but luckily he passed out after a few minutes and slept the entire tour. We were able to take the elevator a few times but unfortunately a sleeping London in the strolled meant we had to carry his stroller up and down a lot of stairs...I think I got a good workout from it.
After the tour we hung out a bit and took some pictures in the garden. We also stopped at the winery and London enjoyed walking around The drive home was awful and London was starting to feel sick again. Luckily, Kary's dad had his iphone and we played elmo videos pretty much the entire way home.

15 Month Check-Up!

London turned 15 months on January 5th and had his 15 month check-up the next day. I took the afternoon off to be there and met London and Kary at the pediatrician's office. When I got there London was playing in the playroom with cars. He was excited to see me. When he got called in, he started to cry as he was walking toward the door. We thought he was upset because he didn't want to stop playing. We were wrong. He remembered....he remembered the last time he was there and was poked and prodded by his nurse who was currently smiling at him but he wasn't fooled.
He clung to my neck in the patient room and continued to cry and turn away every time the nurse spoke. He acted as if being measured and weighed was some form of torture. He still weighs in at 24lb 7oz. He hasn't gained any weight in 3 months. He is taller now and is measuring 32 inches. He is in the 75th percentile for height but considered average for weight. He's going to be a skinny lank like his mom and dad.
It was stressful trying to talk to the doctor through screams. London was miserable. Maybe it was because he had a sinus infection and double ear infection..yikes! We felt so bad but he had only been sick about a week and we figured his appointment was coming up and he didn't seem very sick and we just chalked it up to teething. We know now to be sure to bring him in right away if he gets a cough and stuffy nose again.
His doctor is awesome and she checked Kary and my heart before London so he wouldn't be so scared. It was cute. She asked us a few questions about his development and verbal skills. We answered a few questions and she said he's on track for a 18-24 month old as far as speech development and building skills. That is exciting. She wants him using about 50 words by 18 months. He currently has about 20 words. So far the words he uses on a regular basis are:
dog, dada, mama, cheese, car, milk, cat, juice, fish, yuck, no, whoa, cool, stop, down, done, step, ouch, muah, up, and a few phrases: what's that? all done, stop dog. He also shakes his head no, kisses and says muah, blows kisses, waves bye, scribbles with a crayon, and can stack about 6 blocks.
He had to get a few shots too and I hate holding him down. It is awful and I know those things hurt. We took him out for pizza (well he had mac n cheese) afterwards and he felt much better.
We are so proud of how far he has come in 15 months. He amazes us everyday. He is a happy, well-adjusted, funny, little man. We couldn't have asked for a better baby (toddler...sniff sniff) to join our family.