Cell Phone Picture Post

I am not so good at taking pictures...I'm not so good at keeping the camera handy with some good batteries just in case. That is why I LOVE being able to take pictures with my phone. Yes, it isn't he best quality, but at least in those "I wish I had a camera" moments I can almost always count on having my phone in my pocket and at the very least get a record of some of the many cute moments that happen. Here's a review of the end of 2010-2011. We've had such a fun year!

QUICK LOOK AT SUMMER/FALL AND....

HOOGLE ZOO

CAMPING

LAGOON

ANNOUNCING BABY#2...DUE APRIL 13th

Allergy Appointment

So, we had Chloe's 2nd allergy appointment last week. I actually didn't even blog about the first visit, so here's a quick little recap. The first visit they did a skin test and decided that eggs and nuts were two very definite allergies. The dr said that because Chloe would not drink milk that she was probably intolerant to milk so she advised us to eliminate milk from her diet. She said that wheat was questionable but said that we would see how she looked in 6 mo. So, six months later (last week) the dr looked at her skin and was pretty happy with how clear her skin was. I've been doing everything she said to, but noticed that the more wheat she had (and especially gluten) the more she'd break out. So, with that in mind I had taken some wheat foods out of her diet. I've pretty much eliminated bread, but I give her crackers and tortilla's. Anyway, the dr sent us down to the lab so they could do a blood test and they called later with the results. They said that she is mildly allergic to wheat and suggested that I continue to do what I've been doing. One big question I was hoping to get answered was what types of chemicals or environmental things make her break out. I've noticed that she is very sensitive to soaps. She told me that she is too young to test her for soaps, but she suggested that I wash her hair with soap and let the soap run down her back. She said not to put it directly on her or even in her bath water and to only bathe her 2-3 times a week. I had pretty much been doing that except that I would put it in the water. So, Chloes misses those bubbles, but I do think her skin is slightly better then it was before her dr's appointment and every little bit of improvement makes her and me happier.

Father's Day

So, Father's day Chloe and I were extra happy, because Scott had just come back the day before from Scout Camp and we REALLY missed him. He is such a wonderful husband/father and I feel incredibly blessed to have him as my guy.

Birthday Party for Chloe

So, this post is late, but we had a birthday party for Chloe Memorial Day weekend. I was so happy to have found a really yummy chocolate cake recipe. It was so fun to have both sides of family there. Scott's parents we're nice enough to let us move the party over to their house since we weren't sure what the weather was going to do and we'd really only have enough room for everyone if we had it outside at our house. We had hamburgers/hotdogs with grilled onions, guacamole, and other toppings (so good). She got lots of fun presents. We sang happy birthday and lit her candles twice, because she was having so much fun blowing them out. She's been singing the happy birthday song ever since. 

 

Here she is jamming out in her room

She's a growin' up

 These last six months Chloe has been growing up way too fast. She's moved on from the baby stuff and it gives me mixed emotions.

It really was only six months ago that Chloe stopped using a binky completely.

Four months ago I started "pre-potty" training and two months ago we started the real thing, because she seemed so interested. She still has accidents now and then and she still wears a diaper at night, but she is doing so well.

Last week we introduced her to a big girl bed and she was so excited when we put it in her bedroom. She was bouncing off the walls. That first night she was a little scared, but she got over it quickly.

According to Chloe

So, I've been planing this post for a long time...I hope it sounds as good as it has in my head. Anyway, I've been wanting to give everyone (who doesn't get to spend all day with her like me) a little view of who Chloe is. So here it goes...

According to Chloe necklaces, sunglasses, and layering your clothes, are cool!

According to Chloe...

According to Chloe if you want to give someone a raspberry, zurbeck or whatever you call it...you must have your face at least 4-6in away and spit at that person's stomach.

According to Chloe when mom and dad get home the most important thing is to first talk about all the things she was doing while you were gone...hugging and giving kisses takes to much time (this doesn't mean she doesn't give hugs and kisses throughout the day)

According to Chloe it is very important for her doll to have her binky in before she is willing to lay down herself and go to sleep.

According to Chloe the toilet is super cool, so cool that a boring history program (as long as it is about toilets) can keep her attention much longer then some kid shows aimed at entertaining her age group.

According to Chloe it is important to show off her new accomplishment (using the potty all by herself). When our next door neighbor (the bishop) comes over, she QUICKLY brings her potty over to the front door and...well, let's just say she is very proud of what she can do. I am proud because she's doing such a good job, but I guess we need to teach her some bathroom manners;).

According to Chloe mommies arms and hands are nice (she'll hug my arm/hand and then lay her head on my hand and says "nice")

According to Chloe "MAMA WHERE ARE YOU," is the best phrase ever, because mommy answers back no matter where she is

Can You Believe this Cute Little Girl is TWO???!!!!

I am such a lucky duck to be Chloe's mother!!! She is such a cute little girl, with a cute little personality, plus she is a sweetheart!

We've been celebrating today! We sang her happy birthday, then grandma and grandpa Thompson called and sang her happy birthday. We went and flew a kite and played at the park. Ate lunch at Burger King. Fed the ducks and plan on getting a present tonight for her after we eat Potatoes and Gravy (one of her favorite meals).

 

Her new toy

She REALLY wanted to keep swinging all night long

I tried making a brownie mix with a substitute egg, but it didn't work. So we tried a marshmellow  instead . Chloe was just as happy with a  marshmellow....it's all about blowing the candles out:).

So, last week I posted a really long post about what Chloe likes...but I was trying to make it all fancy and in the process deleted it. So, instead here are some pictures of things Chloe likes to do:)...

She is always finding new ways to play with her blankets.

She doesn't have a favorite blanket...she likes them all.

She loves Whinnie the Pooh.

She loves anything and everything in the office.

She loves books and the potty:).

She loves to laugh!

She's loves to dress up

She loves to "keen" (clean).

She's so proud of her cleaning job!

She loves to watch "shows." Her favorite at the moment is Pooh, but it use to be Dora and before that Elmo.

She's a girly girl.

She loves to draw,  but she insist that I draw with her.

She loves her boots.

Not only doe she like to clean the kitchen, she likes to mess it up.

She loves to sing songs like "Once there was a Snowman," and "Itsy Bitsy Spider."

She loves to be outside.

and go for walks.

She loves strawberries

She loves to organize...yes she did this with out any prompting from me or help .

I guess I need to catch her in the act, but she usually does it when she's playing by herself.

She LOVES ketchup

Uh-Oh Allergies

Chloe has had eczema since she was about 3 mo old. Unfortunetly, as Chloe's allergist and pediatrician said eczema can cause allergies and that's what we are dealing with right now. I knew Chloe was allergic to egg whites and then found out she was allergic to peanut butter. So, at Chloe's 18 mo well-child checkup I had them test her. So, they took her blood (which was not at all fun, but that's another story), and got a call a few days later. Her pediatrician confirmed that she was allergic to peanut butter and eggs, but could also be allergic to milk, wheat and oats. WHOA...what in the world was I gonna be able to feed her???? I went to Wal-Mart that night and got rice milk and chex mix for breakfast, but was at a loss when it came to what to make for lunch and dinner. I set up an appointment with an allergist and she did a scratch test. We found out that Chloe was EXTREMELY allergic to egg whites...I guess 0.35 is normal level for foods and Chloe test at a 8.86. She told us to eliminate of course eggs and peanuts, but also tree nuts and milk. She didn't test high for milk, but Chloe has refused to drink milk ever since she switched from a bottle to a sippy cup. The allergist said she was afraid that milk was making her tummy not feel to well, but couldn't communicate that to us. So, that means no cheese, yogurt, chocolate chips and anything that says natural flavorings or Carmel coloring and well a few other scientific names that could mean milk.

 I've had a few misconceptions about how to tell if something contains an allergen. I thought that all I would have to do is look at the very end of ingredients and I would see "contains: such and such allergen" in BIG BOLD LETTERS. Nope, not so true...there are some companies who do that out of the kindness of their hearts, but that is not the standard for food companies. So, I've been reading a whole lot of nutrition facts and I have to admit I;m sick of it...so, I just try to cook from scratch. Reading nutrition facts just make me REALLY frustrated and sad because most things I pick up I realize she can't have and I feel deprived for her. It makes me sad that she can't enjoy food I know would taste good to her and that she would love. However, I realize there are blessings. Chloe will be eating healthier and because we are catching this at such a young age she will be able to start habits that will help her to eat the way she needs.

So, cooking things from scratch not so bad so far with http://www.foodallergykitchen.com/pages/recipes.php. I've been making sure that I save a little extra dinner so I can feed it to her for lunch, which makes meals a little more simply than they would otherwise be. I've been thinking about either making a new blog about foods I make that work for Chloe or just talking about them on here...will see. I don't know why but I think I've gotten a little bored with writing on my blog...sad but true...maybe I can find some new motivation somewhere to keep writing. Funny thing is I think my new hobby is reading other people's blogs. Well at least  these two family blogs...Nie Nie's Dialoges and the Sullengers. Their stories just suck me right in and I can't help but wonder what they are going to write next. They make me realize that my trials are REALLY not so bad and to treasure my little girl even more.