Test results are in...

and they are "normal". Zack's biopsy results for Celiac Disease all came back normal and looked good. Whew! That was good news to hear. The "plan" of action now is to increase his calorie intake and to get him weighed again. Not much of a plan really, but I guess that's the key to gaining weight - no rocket science needed. We're going to give him that Carnation Instant Breakfast powder in his milk. Hopefully someday his diet will be broadened to include something other than chicken nuggets and dehydrated corn! :)

Snow! Finally!!

We had the first snowfall of the year today. That's right, actually the first real snowfall of the season, and January is almost over! It's been a pretty sucky year for snow sports around here, but at least we got to go out and enjoy it a little bit, dispite the low temperatures. Unfortunately the low temps have kept the snow from packing, so we didn't get to make a snowman. It was perfect for pulling the sled and making snow angels.

Funny words of the week

It's so cute when Sydney says "try-dangle" instead of "triangle". Zack is getting better at saying "ball" and all of his animal sounds, but still not very good at any words in general. Hope he spits some of them out soon... "bbbbbbBBBBBBBAAAAAA!!!!!" is getting very tiresome :)

more COSI...

Dancing on the keys!

COSI trip

Today we explored the fun and mystery of science! We went to COSI Toledo and had a great time. Here is a picture of Sydney and Daddy making a ball float in the kids area. Both kids had alot of fun and Mommy & Daddy did too. Us big kids got to rid across a tight rope on a bike, and become a human "yo-yo". Zack's favorite activity was pushing around a Little Tikes lawn mower. Maybe we'll have to get him one for the summer... We'll definately go again!

TRRRR BUUUU !!!!

We got Zack a plate set last night, it's a Tonka one with trucks all over it. We thought he'd really love it... little did we know that he would act like it was a book and point at the trucks all during the meal and want us to acknowledge every truck, over and over! All during dinner he just pointed at the trucks saying "TRRRR" and "BUUUU". Who'd thunk it!

Trucks!

**~~~ Happy New Year!! ~~~**

Zack just can't get enough of his trucks, cars, and tractors! Here is his intensely reading his truck book while he gets his diaper changed!

The latest obsession...

is sock fuzz!! yep, that's right, that leftover sock fuzz that congregates under your toes - that's what Zack is really obsessed with right now. The boy will just pull off both of his socks all of a sudden and spend 5 or 10 minutes just deeply engrossed in pulling little bits of sock fuzz out from between his toes! He's also a very neat kid, so he'll give me the bits of fuzz instead of just putting them on the floor.

No buttons!

Just as the fads in fashion pass each year for adults, it seems that Sydney has her own fashion rules to live by. Recently it's "no buttons!". At first I thought the fashion faux pas was only buttons on the back of the shirt (for the neck) but now I've been told that it's buttons up the front too! Apparently Sydney has come to associate buttons on shirts with "baby shirts" like ones that Zack might wear... however she still has not been convinced that only babies suck their thumbs. Maybe someday she'll listen. Remember the "red boot" fad of toddler years, and the "party dresses"? I wonder what else this year will bring - other than "pink" clothes of course.

Blood test results

We finally received the results of the blood work and the test came back negative for Celiac Disease. In all reality, this doesn't really answer any questions because the "real" test for Celiac will be the endoscopy which is scheduled for January 12th. In the mean time is just life as normal, waiting until January 12th.

Sydney is getting very excited about Santa coming soon. This should be a very fun Christmas! We had a lot of fun making Christmas cookies this past weekend. Zack really got into cutting them out - he was so good at cutting them out that he didn't want to stop - he decapitated several gingerbread men!

The good and the bad

This has been a kind of rough week for Mom. We took Zack to a Pediatric Dietary and Gastroenterology Doctor this week because his weight curve has been declining, even though he has been getting taller and following his curve. We thought it was just going to be a blow-off visit and they would tell us that Zack is just going to be small. We were surprised to hear that the first thing they will be checking Zack out for is Celiac Disease. In case you've never heard of it (we sure hadn't), the body is intolerable to gluten and when gluten is digested, nutrients are not absorbed properly and growth is stunted. We were shocked. They drew blood and want to perform an endoscopic exam in mid January. Mid January is a long time to wait. Even a week is a long time to wait as we are waiting for the results of the blood test. In one respect it would be nice to pin down the problem with Zack and eating, but unfortunately the fix is to change to a gluten-free diet... for life! But when you consider all of the terribly serious other problems that could be wrong, one that requires you only to omit certain food is not bad at all. So for now we wait.. and watch Zack continue to be a very picky eater...

The Big Girl Booster Seat

Today was another one of those unwritten milestone days... Sydney rode in a booster seat in the car for the first time. We bought a high back booster seat so we could rotate the seats - it's getting hard to put Zack into his carset with his winter coat on, so we gave him Sydney's seat. That means Sydney got to graduate to a booster seat, with only the seat belt holding her in now (no more 5 point harness!). It is a bit easier to belt her in. She really looks like a big kid now. What will be next, no need for cups with straws?!

This week's new skill...

Zack has now mastered the art of shaking his head "No!". He doesn't actually say "No", but he sure has learned how to let me know he doesn't want to wash his hands, eat food, stop playing with toys.... or pretty much do anything that I want him to do!

What table manners!

Tonight Zack thought it was really funny to stick his spaghetti on his head! He just kept taking a piece or two of it and laying them right on top of his hair, and then laughing. He was really cracking himself up. I don't know what's worse, the food on Zack's head, or Sydney showing us the contents of her mouth just to prove that she really is eating her food! Such silly kids :)

Arggghhhh!!! Waaaaa!!

That could be the sound of Zack throwing another tantrum, or the sound of Mommy or Daddy as they try to run for the door after hearing another tantrum... only to have the escape plan thwarted by toys blocking the escape route, or having the kids notice their absence! Poor little Zack is having a tough time lately because he's cutting some molars. Apparently they must really hurt because he sure cries about everything. Yikes, and it's hurting our ears! And like clockwork, the minute Zack starts crying about something, Sydney kicks it into "full whine mode" - repeating the same questions over and over again, like we can't hear her. "can I have some juice?" "can I have some juice?" "can I have some juice??????"

Sydney was a trooper though and did a great job of entertaining Zack while he was in his highchair last night. She played "monster" and jumped out from underneath it, which brought Zack great joy and he laughed and laughed and laughed! It's another one of those unwritten "milestones" like the first time she shared her snacks with him, or she said "please" and "thank you" without being prompted.

The boys of summer...

A post for August

I took a look and it's been a while since I've wrote anything. Guess it's just been a busy month. Alan started his new job this week - he took two weeks off between jobs. We enjoyed one week of family vacation by going to a water park in Ypsilanti:
(Rolling Hills Waterpark) It was big fun, although I think the kids will enjoy it a little more when they are older. We took a trip to Put in Bay - which is a lot different during the day than it is at night! We rented a golf cart, upon which
Zack fell asleep in my arms during the ride. When we went to Frosty's for pizza Sydney got to see Bud Man. We also went to the Toledo Zoo,
the park, and just enjoyed the great weather in the pool. Zack's hair turned light blond after his week out in the sun.

Right now we're trying to enjoy our last few weeks of summer. If we could just get Sydney to eat dinner faster, we'd have a lot more time to play!!

A grrrrly man

"yes, I'm Sydney's Pirate. Don't I look pretty? I think the skirt really shows off my hourglass figure."

Say what?

We went to the Wrenwood block party this weekend. The kids had a blast - there was a clown, face painting, tatoos, bubbles, and lots of yummy food to eat. There was also a band, and Sydney enjoyed dancing the night away. We also told one of the neighbors that we had just gone on a trip to Mackinaw. When Sydney was asked what we did on the Island she replied..
"Ate fudge!!"
then she said
"we watched horses poop!!"

Happy B-Day to Zack!

It was a cakefest! Zack and the partygoers got to dig into yummy Blue's Clues cake and feast on a cookout prepared by Daddy the Chef. Zack didn't realize that he was supposed to open presents, so sister Sydney and Alexus opened them instead. After a song and cake, his day ended at 6:30 when he fell asleep before his guests left. Such a big day for the big boy!

It's been a busy year for you too - you were born like your sister, by c-section, so that part was relatively easy for mommy. Fitting in with Sydney was another thing. She wasn't so sure about you at first. In fact, she really just ignored you for a long time. Then pretty soon you started crawling and touching her toys. Then she started to notice you. She's had to learn how to share, and that wasn't easy, but overall she thinks you are a lot of fun. You started out as "baby" in my belly, then "baby Zack" when you were born, and now Sydney mostly just calls you "Zack" since you're a toddler now. She even gave you her sippy cups.

We had some rough times with you, like in March when you had the flu and threw up everything. That illness made us paint several walls, and get the carpets cleaned. We were worried about you! Then all of those dots and the Hand, Foot and Mouth disease. Yikes! At least the ear tubes seem to help you out quite a bit and the ear infections went away.

You have learned how to hold a bottle, sleep through the night, crawl, eat from a spoon, hold a cup, and finally walk. There are so many other little things you have learned too, and this next year will be full of so many other achievements. We are so blessed to have wonderful son like you. Please stay little so we can cuddle and read books for a long long time. Our love always, Mom & Dad