A Day at the Museum

Today Erin, Owen, Joshua and I headed downtown to visit the GR Public Museum, thanks to Erin's bright idea! Joshua and I happen to have a Children's Museum membership and they do a "cultural exchange" with the Ford Museum, the GR Public Museum and the Frederik Meijer Gardens and the zoo. For the month of July the cultural exchange was with the public museum so we all got in FREE! We also bought the boys a carousel ride ticket and the guy who gave us our tickets also gave us a ticket for a free ride! The boys had a blast walking around the museum, looking at the exhibits and touching all of the kid-friendly things they have there. It's amazingly more kid-friendly than I ever thought it was. The animal exhibit was where we spent most of our time because the boys were just amazed by the big creatures they could see up close. They also loved riding on the carousel! We even ate lunch there looking out the window at the river and bought the boys little treats at the gift shop at the end. The boys had a fantastic time! Owen was so worn out he fell asleep in the car only moments after we got in and Joshua is peacefully napping now.

Oh Nuts . . .

or shall I say peanuts. I called the Joshua's pediatrician's office to get the results of his allergy test. His pediatrician is on vacation this week so another doctor had to review the test results before a nurse could call me back with the results. She called me back this afternoon and told me that Joshua tested negative for an allergy to milk, egg and soy, but has an allergy to peanuts. I asked how intense the allergy was. The nurse told be a 1.3 which she couldn't really explain the signficance of so it means nothing to me. Joshua's pediatrician will call next week to explain the results further. The results of the allergy test do explain his reaction to the peanut butter and jelly sandwich he had a couple months ago (he never had anything peanut until after he turned two - he has had other food items that have touched peanuts and had no problem). He hated it, cried and kept wiping his tongue and mouth. I immediately gave him Benedryl thinking he could be allergic, but I had a suspicion that it could be just a texture issue with this finicky boy too. A couple weeks ago Cory had some toast with peanut butter on it and Joshua FREAKED out! He didn't want to be anywhere near that peanut butter. Smart little cookie! I have a feeling he isn't severly allergic to the actual peanut, but rather a concentrated amount of peanut oil which you find in peanut butter, but I'm just going on what the nurse told me. Hopefully the pediatrician can clear up our understanding of this next week. I have a feeling a visit to an allergist is in Joshua's future.

Update

Yesterday Erin and I headed downtown to the Devos Women's and Children's Clinic for our second try at getting the boys' blood drawn. This time Owen went first, he didn't like it, but he did very well. Joshua was second to go and as soon as the cuff went on his arm he started screaming! The nurses were horrified at what the lady at Quest Diagnostics had done to his arms. They poked Joshua's right arm, but the vein kept rolling so she took the needle out pretty quickly (and left NO bruising- YEAH!) and went to the left arm. Needless to say, Joshua wasn't happy about being poked again and was screaming, crying, saying ouch and bye bye in between hysterics. It took a few seconds, but almost immediately the vial filled up. I felt so bad for having to put Joshua through this, but we need to know if or what he is allergic to. At least it is done and the results should be in by tomorrow.

Joshua's pediatrician also referred him to a dermatologist to get to the bottom of these bumps all over his cheeks. Today Joshua and I headed to the dermatologist's office, special thanks goes to Toni for working us in to today's schedule so that we didn't need to wait another month. After about a minute of looking at Joshua's cheeks and arms the doctor told me he had Keratosis Pilaris - it usually needs treatment for cosmetic reasons. She said Joshua just has very sensitive skin. She also prescribed a lotion that should clear his face and arms up. Glad we have some answers now!

BAD Experience!

Joshua and Owen do lots of things together, so today Erin and I figured they might as well get their blood drawn together too! Joshua's pediatrician ordered a blood draw for an allergy test to see if he is allergic to milk, soy, peanuts and eggs due to the weird bumps that have been on his cheeks and arms for the last 6 months or so. Owen had an order to have a test done to see if he is allergic to milk like we have all suspected for quite some time. So off to Quest Diagnostics we went (due to a program through insurance I was to go here). It was Joshua's turn first and he did very well through the lady finding a vein and then putting the needle in, but after about 2 minutes of her poking the needle around under his skin he started crying, HARD and saying "OUCH, OUCH". She then tried the other arm and poked the needle around under his skin for another minute or so and by this time he had had it and started screaming! She got a bit of blood out, but not enough for the testing that needs to be done. So, now it was Owen's turn. Smart boy that he is, he started screaming right away and wanted no part of any of it. The lady told us to come back on Monday when someone else would be there to help her. Ahh, I think NOT!!!!! We immediately came home and I called the insurance company and asked them if there was any way to have his blood drawn by a pediatric specialist (who can actually draw blood instead of fish around in his arm and cause trauma) in the DeVos Children's Hospital. Thankfully it can be done this way and the specimen sent to Quest Diagnostics for insurance purposes. We knew it wouldn't be easy to draw blood from toddlers, but that was ridiculous!!!! Joshua now has a bruise on each arm! Please pray with us that Monday things will go much better and the tests can be completed for both boys and our allergy questions answered. Note the progression of Joshua's expressions in the pictures below. He was not a happy boy by the end of our experience.

These Shoes Are Made for Walking. . .

Just had to share these pictures of Joshua I captured today because I thought they were so funny! Lately he has been trying on every one's shoes - mine, Cory's, he even put Owen's on the other night and ran around in them for a while. Perhaps he has an affinity for shoes. Hmmm, I wonder where that could be coming from?!?! It was just hilarious to watch him try to walk around in my big ol' flip flops today! He even had to show the cat!

July Birthdays

This weekend we headed out to the Pioneer park where Cory's parents and his sister and family were camping. We celebrated Allison's 2nd birthday! We had fun hanging out at the campground and look forward to camping not only with Cory's family, but extended family in a couple weeks!

Last night we headed over to my dad's to a little celebration for Phil's half-birthday. I think I'm the only one, but I've kept with the tradition of celebrating his half-birthday and not his real birthday. We gave him another beanie baby to add to his collection (we give him one every year). Joshua got to play with uncle Phil and Papa which just made his night!

A Trip To The Gardens

Today Erin and I thought it would be the perfect day to take the boys to Frederik Meijer Gardens to play. Neither of us had seen the chocolate tree exhibit either, so we thought we could check it out. Unfortunately the chocolate exhibit was very disappointing - it's sprawled all over the gardens and the parts that are supposed to be interactive aren't very interesting. Joshua and Owen had a great time in the children's garden! They loved getting wet in the water and playing in the sand. Below are a few snapshots of our time there today. Love a day at the gardens!

Catching Butterflies

So even though the temps were in the mid 90's today we spent a good portion of the day playing outside. The purple cone flowers along our front walkway have been attracting the butterflies frequently this summer. Of course every time an active little boy runs over to look, the butterfly flies away. Yesterday however there was a pretty slow-going butterfly. I was able to catch it and put it in Joshua's bug box. He kept giggling every time he looked at the butterfly. After a few minutes we told him the butterfly needed to be let go. He agreed and we took the lid of the bug box off. However, the butterfly didn't want to leave! So, I put my finger down by it and the butterfly crawled on. Then I had Joshua put his hand on mine and the butterfly crawled onto his hand. Joshua was awestruck that the butterfly was actually on his hand! After a few minutes the butterfly finally flew off. Who needs Frederik Meijer Gardens and their butterfly display when you have a beautiful summer day and plants that attract butterflies?!?!

Splashing at the Park!

Thanks to Brenda (one of my brother's good friends from high school) I became aware of a new water playground that was opening at Lamar Park today. So, Erin and I took the boys over to see what is was all about. It was jam packed with people, but we were able to meet up with Brenda and her daughter Emma as well as Brenda's friend Bradi and her girls. Before we could even get into the water we were approached by someone from WCSG radio and Erin, Brenda, Bradi and myself were all interviewed about our thoughts on this new attraction. Once we got to the water Joshua wasn't so sure of the water shooting everywhere and spent most of his time up on my hip, while Owen was walking around checking everything out and getting soaked in the process! It's a fabulous place! We'll have to head back some other time when it's not so packed with people.

Fourth of July Festivities

Hope everyone out there had a great fourth of July! We had a busy, but fun-filled day. We started by going to the parade out in Cascade with my dad, Shawn, Erin, Owen and Erin's mom and step dad. The parade was pretty good and lasted about an hour, but the amount of rude children around us convinced us we will be heading back to the Kentwood parade next year where all the people stay on the curb and don't jump in front of each other. It was so bad that someone throwing candy to Joshua and Owen actually yelled, "let the little kids get it!" After the parade we headed over to the Cascade library where they had tons of activities set up for kids to enjoy. Unfortunately, there wasn't a ton for little kids to do so Joshua rode the train with my dad and went and looked at and petted some animals. Then it was on to Shawn and Erin's house for a pool party, BBQ and fireworks with family. Definitely a good time was had by all, but we were totally exhausted today!

Excuse the GIGANITC picture below, blogger, blip tv, and our computer and I aren't getting along right now so hopefully I can shrink it later when I'm not so frustrated. Here's the bright side, the video at least plays in a larger frame!

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Too Early for the "Birds and the Bees" Talk!

The other day Joshua kept sticking his baby and his bunny-bear up under his shirt. It looked like he was pregnant! After jamming a creature up his shirt he would then pull it out, say baby and laugh hillariously! It was pretty stinkin' funny! Where in the world did he pick this up from? Who knows, kids are pretty clever. Now now, before your little imaginations take a jump let me just get it clear that I am NOT pregnant! There has been no talk of babies in bellies that Joshua has heard since before Owen was born, and at that time he was clueless. Just being a goofy kid I guess!

Father's Day Celebration at Pioneer Park

Due to every one's busy schedules we postponed celebrating Father's Day with Cory's dad and the rest of his family. Yesterday we got together at Pioneer Park as Shawn, Erin and Owen and Cory's parents were camping there for the weekend. We gave Cory's dad his gift, a metal detector. After opening it we made him put it together and search for the other two gifts that were buried! The cousins played, we had some delicious pizzas over the fire, walked on the beach and had a nice time with family. A great way to spend a beautiful Saturday afternoon and evening! When you watch the video do note Joshua and Owen's shirts. The shirts say "Monkey see, Monkey Do, Monkey Get in Trouble Too!" - pretty right on for our two little monkeys who constantly copy one another!

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10 Years and Counting!

Ten years ago today Cory and I tied the knot! We have no idea where in the world 10 years went, but man have they flown by! We have been through the good and the bad together and have leaned on one another through it all. What's not to love about being married to your best friend where you don't even have to speak to know what the other person is thinking?!?! No big celebrations here though - we've never really been the type to celebrate anniversaries in a very big way. Last night we went out to eat with Cory's parents and tonight Cory and I will go out for dinner alone (thanks Shawn and Erin for offering to take Joshua). It's been a great ten years and we look forward to many more!

A Trip to John Ball Zoo

Monday morning Joshua and I met a few of the moms and kids from my MOPS group at John Ball Zoo. Mind you the temps were in the 90's on Monday! It was a bit toasty and the animals seemed to be either sleeping or very listless. The heat was a bit much, but we enjoyed walking around and looking at the animals and socializing with friends. I'm sure Joshua and I will head back later this summer and will hopefully try the sting ray and shark touching experience (the children's museum and the zoo do a cultural exchange, meaning if you have a membership to one you can get in free to the other establishment for a particular month).

Father's Day at the Lake

Once again this year we headed out to Gun Lake to my uncle and aunt's cottage to celebrate Father's Day. Each year we wait with anticipation of what the Michigan weather will be like. This year we were blessed with a picture perfect day - sunny and warm!!! This was Joshua's first real visit to the lake! Two years ago he was just a month and a half old so he knew nothing of what was going on. Last year the weather didn't cooperate for swimming or boating. However, Sunday we made up for it all by swimming, riding in the boat, tubing, and skiing (well only Matt, Phil and I skied, and yes I surprisingly still have that skill). Joshua didn't appreciate the life jacket he had to wear in the boat, but once he got over that he enjoyed himself. He even fell asleep on the boat while on Ciejae's lap and ended up taking a 30-40 minute nap. Our little fish loved every minute at the lake, as did we! It was a fabulous day to celebrate dads and enjoy time with family! Special thanks to Steve, Cher, Matt and Rachel for being such gracious hosts! Check out the video below to see tons of pictures captured that day.

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Tug of War

Joshua has a love-hate relationships with our cats most days. Sometimes he thinks Logan is his best friend and wants to play with him and pet him. Other days all he says is, "No kitty" whenever the kitty approaches him or his toys. Today at the end of breakfast Joshua was whipping a ribbon around and Logan was trying to chase it. Logan got the ribbon in his mouth a few times which caused a tug of war between him and Joshua. Of course, after a few minutes of tug of war Joshua did an about-face and kept saying, "No kitty. MINE!!!" Never thought my child would have a sibling rivalry of sorts with our cat!!

A Spa Escape Night

Last night I had a bunch of friends and some family over for a ladies only spa night. A friend of mine sells BeautiControl and does Spa Parties. They have a couple lines of products out that are geared toward summer - like their Margarita Spa products and their Cabana Girl products in fruity drink smells. It was a fun night filled with lots of girl talk and lots of trying out of different products while sipping frozen strawberry margaritas - YUM!

Having Fun at the Cutlerville Days Celebration

A friend of mine told me that this Saturday was the Cutlerville Days celebration. So we thought we would go check out the festivities with my dad. They had a community BBQ chicken dinner as well as some games and activities for kids. Joshua got to ride a little choo choo train and a huge inflatable slide. He tried out the inflatable bounce, but wanted out of it after only a minute. There weren't many activities for kids so it was a bit lame so we listened to the band play and ate carnival food. Then we headed over to the old South Christian fields to find a good spot for watching fireworks. Soon after settling into our spot a Cutlerville fire truck parked right behind us. Of course we just had to go check it out! The firemen were very nice and told us all about the fire truck and the different equipment on it and even let Joshua sit in the driver's seat! This along with the beautiful fireworks display (it made up for the lame kid's activities) was the highlight of the night! Although Joshua wasn't a huge fan of the fireworks, he covered his eyes! Below are a few photos from our night.

New play space!

Cory has been working hard on re-doing the area under our deck to make a place for Joshua's sandbox. We found that a plastic sandbox in the yard on sunny days makes for a HOT sandbox and HOT sand that a child will NOT touch. Last night Cory got the area for the sandbox mostly completed. So today, I hauled the sandbox over to it's new home and the boys and I played in it for about 45 minutes. It was a nice cool, shady spot on a toasty day!

Bringing Back the Old

Joshua has a few Fisher Price Little People things, but doesn't seem to enjoy playing with them a ton. A few months ago we went to my dad's and raided the storage area with all our childhood toys in it. We dug out the old Fisher Price school house, barn, camper set, ferry boat and lumber yard. Joshua is enamored with these play sets and plays with them for hours at a time. The old, or as some people now call them "vintage", little people are small and easy to maneuver within play sets. I thought he would also enjoy the old Main Street play set, but we never had it as kids, so I put a wanted post on Craigslist. A few days later a woman replied and sold us the Main Street building (she didn't have any of the other pieces that go with it, so we are still looking for those). Joshua loves his new toy! I totally understand why they changed the little people, but I must admit I love the old play sets much more than the new ones and it seems Joshua does too! Thank goodness my mom held on to all our old Fisher Price toys!