Who knew a doctors appointment could make me so happy??

Ok, now for those of you who DON'T know the story of our past year, that title probably sounds just a little on the odd side. No worries, I'll explain. At schnitzel's 9 month well-baby appointment, his pediatrician was a little concerned that he wasn't gaining weight as quickly as she expected him to and advised me to "add more fat" to his diet in the form of cheese, yogurt, butter, etc. No problem, I did just that. Well, at his one year appointment, things kind of "hit the fan" as it were. He had only gained 10 oz since his 9 month visit and hadn't grown in length at all! He only weighed 15lb 15oz and was still 27 1/2 inches long. For my fellow mothers out there, you know that's not good and for the non-mothers, let's just say he had fallen off the bottom of the growth chart and you can imagine that's not exactly what doctors are hoping for!

So, blood tests were ordered and luckily they all came back normal except for slightly elevated eosonophils which normally indicate that some kind of allergic reaction is occurring. Since Brad and I both have seasonal allergies, this wasn't all that suprising.

At the same time, I had started giving him whole milk because that's what everyone says you're supposed to do when your kiddo turns one (and we all know what a rule-follower I am!) Well, very quickly he went from being an easy-going child who slept like a dream to a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde impersonator with incredibly erratic sleep. I almost lost my mind trying to figure out where all of THAT was coming from, but thought that maybe it was just that whole toddler thing coming into play.

Fast forward one month. One Friday night, I made the schnitz some creamed corn with sour cream for dinner. He ate two bites and wouldn't touch the rest of it. The next morning he woke up with some rash around his mouth and I just figured his skin must have been sensitive to something he'd gotten on it. I left shortly after that to drive to Scottsbluff (NE) for my grandfather's memorial service and didn't get home until around 9 that night. Brad told me at that point that Rusty's rash had been spreading throughout the day. The next morning, he had hives over most of his body and we took him straight to Urgent Care. The doctor there said that it looked like an allergic reaction, told us to give him Benadryl immediately and referred us to a pediatric allergist.

A week, a consultation with the allergist and one blood draw later, we received a call letting us know that he had come back positive as being allergic to wheat, eggs and dairy (so much for trying to get him to gain weight with the dairy products, huh?). Ok, a little on the shocking side, but a relief in an odd kind of way because at least now we knew what the problem was and could actually begin addressing it. Surely now life could calm down a bit, right?

Nope.

About two weeks later, Rusty started developing bruises all over his body for seemingly no reason. Now granted, kids that age get some bruises, it comes with that whole "discovery" phase, but this was going beyond the pale. Honestly, he looked like he was being beaten on a regular basis! So, back to the doctor. She took one look at him and got really concerned. This is definitely an argument for having a good relationship with your pediatrician because her first thought was not to blame me or Brad! In fact, I heard her on the phone with the specialist from the Childrens Hospital actually having to assure them that this wasn't an abuse case. Talk about a conversation I never thought would be connected to me!

Now our pediatrician's office is located at a hospital and so they finally decided to send him down to the lab to have some blood drawn and find out what was going on. A few hours later the results came in: extremely low blood platelet count. My heart stopped. And it didn't help when I went online and started seeing all of the possible causes of low blood platelets that included leukemia! We went back into the pediatrician's and were told that he had developed something called "idiopathic thrombocytopenia". In my opinion, there should be a rule that your child should never develop anything that hard to pronounce! Apparently, his immune system had been so hammered by the food allergies that he had contracted a virus that was destroying his platelets. His numbers were down to about 3,000 and they're supposed to be at least 30,000. They started him on steroids and said that it could take anywhere from 1-6 months for his levels to go back to normal. In the meantime, he had to have his blood drawn once a week to check on him. A LOT of fun, as you can imagine. Fortunately, he was actually back to normal within 2 weeks...praise GOD!

This gives you just a bit of an idea of the issues that we have been dealing with this year. Not to mention the fact that since the first allergy diagnosis he has also developed allergy issues with soy and beef. It's taken most of it to get a handle on what to feed him and how to protect him from getting food that he's not supposed to eat. Plus, the stress of knowing how much "catching up" he has had to do both in weight and height. I mean, the rapid growth generally happens when they're babies and a lot more stationary not while toddlers and in perpetual motion, you know what I mean?

Which brings me to the reason for my happiness today. Never mind the fact that this 2 year appointment involved the last vaccination until he's 5 which is a reason to be happy in and of itself! The biggest contributor to my happiness has to do with the measurements that they took!Take a look:

1 yr

Weight: 15lb 15oz

Length: 27 1/4"

2 yr

Weight: 22lb 4oz

Length: 34"

Woohoo!!! Six 1/2 pounds and 6 3/4 inches in basically 11 months...he's on the charts!! This may sound ridiculous, but I can't even begin to explain what a relief it is to go in for a well-baby check and have a well-baby! I'm SO looking forward to what I hope are now going to be years filled with good health and just the occasional "normal" childhood illnessess that are pronounceable and don't require specialists! I wouldn't wish stomach bugs or ear infections on my child for the world, but in comparison....they seem pretty manageable:-)

Thanks for bearing with me through this very long explanation for my overwhelming feelings of relief and happiness today. As a reward, here's a rather entertaining series of pictures taken last night when we were testing him to fill out his development questionnaire for today's appointment. (FYI: this particular task was to stack 7 blocks...as you can see, I was pretty comfortable checking this one off the list;-)

One more....

Yay...14 blocks...so cool!!!:-)

A Busy Month for the Schnitz: Part I

Crazy times for the schnitz over the past month, but a lot of fun too! At the end of June we got a visit from his Granddad and Grandma Atwell. They got in on a Thursday and we left almost immediately to go camping up at Sylvan Lake. Yes, the same one I posted about earlier! As I said before, it is absolutely beautiful up there and we were excited to be able to share it.

This time, however, we got smart and rented a cabin for the night because, well, we're just that fond of creature comforts such as a bed and heat:-) It really does get crazy cold at almost 12000 feet, even on summer nights! Had a great time cooking steaks over the fire and making smores for dessert. When we got up the next day we had a GREAT breakfast and then went hiking. Apparently all of the fresh air can wear a critter out, as you'll see in the pics!

Isn't this a cute little cabin??

Bobby hanging out and enjoying the view.

Hanging out with Grandma while dinner is cooking.

Is this where I get to sleep tonight??

Ok daddy, it's morning, now LET'S GO!!

Well, maybe I could find time for a little oatmeal first:-)

Finally...the hiking begins!

And after all of that anticipation...someone didn't make it through the whole hike:-)

Well, the schnitz may have missed a large portion of the hike, but rest assured that the rest of us thoroughly enjoyed it! There's nothing like being out in God's creation to just kind of "reset" a person, you know?

Suffice it to say that this was a great start to a really nice weekend of visiting with Brad's parents. We always enjoy having them here and Rusty loves to spend time with them whenever possible! Hope you enjoyed the pictures! Stay tuned for the next installment of "A Busy Month for the Schnitz". As the name implies...sometimes one post just can't cover everything!:-)

Happy birthday, sweet boy!

Two years ago today, our family was blessed with a wonderful little boy. It's unbelievable how quickly the past two years have passed! I had no idea before that day what being a mother would actually be like and could never have imagined the joy and love that it would bring.

July 14, 2006 - So tiny!!

He has had so many experiences over these past two years: been on a plane six times, driven to Dallas 3 times, visited several new cities (e.g., Dallas, Raleigh, Washington DC, New Orleans, Kansas City), the mountains and the beach. He loves to explore new places and seems to absolutely charm people everywhere we go. He loves them and they love him! We certainly have a little extrovert on our hands:-)

November 2006-Checking out the Air & Space Museum at Dulles Airport

January 2007 Mmmm...Cafe du Monde - New Orleans, LA. It's always good to experience the wonderful things life has to offer, right from the start!:-)

May 2007-1st outdoor concert in Raleigh, NC

June 2007-Estes Park, CO

July 14, 2007 In Dallas to celebrate his 1st birthday with the grandparents!

September 2007 - 1st camping trip to Sylvan Lake, CO

December 2007 - 1st trip to the beach! Myrtle Beach, SC

April 2008 - Hiking Castlewood Canyon - Franktown, CO

July 4, 2008 - Fun at the lake with the family - Scottsbluff, NE

July 7, 2008 - Exploring the Kansas City Zoo with his cousins - it was a hit!!

Sweet boy, you are such a blessing to our lives. You are growing up into a wonderful little boy and brighten our every day. The past two years have been full of new experiences that you enjoyed to the fullest and that helped us to do the same. You are full of energy, humor, and love and your daddy and mama love you more than we ever thought possible. Happy 2nd birthday!

Weekly Recipe #1

Ok, I was inspired by my friend Summer's last post concerning grocery shopping and the periodic difficulty in deciding what to make for breakfast, lunch, dinner, you name it. So we are asking all of our bloggy friends to post one recipe per week on their site to give us all a little assistance! I mean, who doesn't appreciate a recipe already tested and tried by your friends??:-)

So, here's my first contribution, an old favorite from my grandma's cookbook. Hope you like it as much as we do!

Chicken Rice Casserole

2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/4 C finely minced onion
1/4 tsp thyme (dried)
2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 tsp parsley flakes
1 tsp celery flakes
2 2/3 C water
2 2/3 C Minute Rice
3 C cooked chicken
1/2 tsp paprika

Combine soup, onion and seasonings in a pan, mixing well. Gradually add water. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Pour 1/2 soup mixture in greased casserole dish. Making two layers, add rice and chicken. Top with the rest of the liquid. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes (covered). Stir, cover and cook 10 minutes longer. Sprinkle with paprika. May be made in microwave.

*I usually use one large can of chicken or leftovers from a grocery store roasted chicken. Makes GREAT leftovers:-)

Books I'm Reading.....

Ok, seriously...how is it possible that some people don't like to read? I was just pondering this the other day and came up with no good answer. I mean, no matter what your interest...there's a book that fits. And you can take them almost anywhere; handy! Ah well, I probably won't ever get that one answered. But, since the topic of books and reading was one of a very few consistent thoughts floating through my mind today, I thought I'd share the three that I'm reading right now (why limit myself to just one, right??)

The first one is actually for a womens Bible study that I'm attending this summer. We wanted something a little less labor-intensive than what we do fall and spring semester, but this has actually turned out to be great! I actually am planning to use this with Rusty when he gets older because I think it's a fantastic way to learn the basic framework of the Bible that too often gets pushed to the side.


It does a great job of going through and explaining the purpose of the different books (eg, history, prophecy, poetry, etc), timelines, locations and the main individuals associated with each section. Amazing how much more sense some things are making and I've been in church since birth! Highly recommend this one.


And because I think it's just a good plan to always have some good fiction to delve into (especially in the summer!), I'm reading "Captain Blood" by Sabatini. If you like historical fiction at all, this guy is great! This one takes place in the 1600's during the time of King James the II beginning in England and moving on to Barbados. Very well written and fun!


And finally, a more serious book of a sociological bent that I really think is an important read, especially for anyone with sons or who works with kids on a regular basis. I tend to be of the belief that there's not a big problem with admitting that boys and girls are different. Actually, I think it works out really well because I tend to think that it's harder to get everything done and enjoy life when everyone is exactly the same. Mind you, I don't think girls are inferior in any way, shape or form, but once again, I'm not freaked out by noticing that there are differences. This book looks at the "girl crisis" that some very well-funded groups are focused on solving and how that crisis not only doesn't exist, but actually ignores the "boy crisis" that is going on (eg., higher dropout rates, less aptitude in reading/writing, etc). And worse than that, is the idea that boys are seen as bad (and not simply bad, but likely future batterers and rapists) and in need of reform, just because they're boys.

Apparently the way to deal with that is to simply raise them as girls. Ummm...what?? Here's a lovely tidbit from a conference as an example: "...one of the participating teachers boasted of her success in getting boys in her kindergarten class to dress up in skirts. Another proudly reported that she makes a point of informing boys that their action figures are really dolls."

Ok, it's late and I think it might be uncomfortable to actually camp out on my soapbox, so I will wrap this up now! If ya'll decide to read any of these books, let me know what you think!:-)

Parker Days

As most of you know, we currently live in a town called Parker which is approximately 20 miles SE of Denver. It was incorporated back in 1981 and had about 260 people at that time. Now, 27 years later the population is closer to 45,000, but the town council has worked really hard to keep a "small town feel" with a lot of different town festivals and activities which are really pretty cool.

One of the town traditions that helps keep that "small town feeling" is an event held every June that is offically the "Parker Country Fair", but is actually called "Parker Days" by everyone...old habits die hard, I guess! It is a LOT of fun because it's a combination of carnival, fair, and non-stop concert events and it's held right in the middle of town just down the street from our house. Talk about convenient parking!

We had a great time this year. It started on Friday night when my friend Janice and I went to hear a U2 cover band and they were actually really good! Topped it off with a funnel cake. Friends, music and fried food...you know you just can't go wrong with that!

The next morning was the parade which, conveniently, takes place on a street approximately 30 seconds from our front door. We decided that Rusty would probably find it more entertaining this year than last and so we headed on over.

It's starting!







This is a replica of a church right down the street...so pretty!

Oh come on...a Republican donkey...I can't be the only one to get a kick out of this one;-)



The next day we walked down after church to take Rusty to the petting zoo. The baby animals were too cute:-) He gave a few goats and a llama hugs, but spent a lot of time watching the pony rides in the next pen. You know, the ones we DIDN'T pay for because we thought he'd like the petting zoo more. Can we say "grass is always greener"??;-)

And We're Off!!!

Ok, as I'm sure you have all assumed, the schnitz has recovered since my last post and is now off and running FULL SPEED AHEAD once more! And fortunately, in spite of losing quite so much of the food he did manage to eat during that time and eating almost nothing the rest of the six days he was sick, he's been eating non-stop since and has gained back whatever weight he lost. This is a very relieved mama!

So, for just a sampling of the non-stop entertainment we've enjoyed since his recovery...here goes!

Ahhh...beans...the breakfast of champions. Oh and I'll take a cup of coffee, please!

Oh no...caffeine denied!

Cartoons with Daddy make up for the lack of coffee.

Man...I'm chilly...surely Mama will never miss her slippers (what do you MEAN I should put on some britches??)

Woohoo...Mama will NEVER find me in here!

Does Louie look a little less than relaxed to you?;-)

Our lives definitely go a mile a minute when the schnitz is healthy, but he is an awful lot of fun and I'll take the chaos (and exhaustion:-) over him being sick on the couch any day of the week!