There is not much of interest going on, so feel free to stop reading and skip to the pictures/videos if you must. We decided a while back to delay some of Asher's shots for multiple reasons. We took him in last week for two shots that he was supposed to get a long while ago, but we delayed due to previous adverse reactions, illnesses, etc. He had pretty bad local reactions to both shot, and a fever that wouldn't break for over three days. We took him back into the doctor per her request, because when we called to make sure his reactions were "normal", she was afraid he might have an infection/cellulitis from the shot, which would need to be treated ASAP. We took him in to see her and it was just so awful. He's been developing an aversion to the pediatrician that's been worsening with each visit. He's never loved her, but lately he's completely intolerant and goes absolutely CRAZY literally the moment she enters. Like, hysterical and screaming and convulsing to get out of my arms and away from here, even though she's still standing in the doorway. I'm not sure if it's due to her race, her loud voice, or the association from his first ear infections (that were horrible) when she looked at his ears and it hurt him so he came completely unglued. He's fine with the nurses (some of which are the same race as the doctor). He was SO much better with a different pediatrician at the practice we saw in the winter when our doctor was out of town. It's getting really bad and it's absolutely impossible for me to take him in alone now because it's impossible to speak to the doctor when he's FLIPPING out, and he doesn't stop until she leaves now. He used to tolerate her but not so much any more. It's frustrating and disheartening because he absolutely adored his first pediatrician that we had back in Chicago. I think this was largely in part due to the fact that he had a MALE doctor previously, and he seems to tolerate male strangers much better than female strangers. He LOVED Dr. Christensen... absolutely loved him. He would babble to him, smile at him, play and laugh with him, and he was silent when Dr. C would touch and hold him. He would happily let Dr. C do anything to him... This may have been partially due to the fact that we saw Dr. C allllllllll of the time early on with Asher's ailments. I was so so so sad and worried when we had to leave Dr. C :( Dr. O, Asher's new ped, is very nice and knowledgeable and a great doctor, but Asher hates her more and more with each visit. We may have to end up switching to the other female doctor at the practice who we also like since he tolerates her much better. I initially wanted a male doctor for Asher when we moved her since he loved Dr. C so much, and also so he'd feel comfortable with the doctor when he was older. I only had a male doctor growing up. Ross only saw a female doctor as a child. We both hated this and felt very uncomfortable with physicals and would've been far more comfortable with someone of the same sex. The problem is, in good old Indiana, it's like still in the 1980s or 1990s medically (or so it seems), and there are also VERY VERY few pediatricians here who will allow you to alter your child's vaccination schedule whatsoever. So rigid and stupid, in fact, that when we called some practices to set up meet and greets, they told us that "if we even had to ask that question (if they allow flexibility in vaccine schedule), then we couldn't go there". Seriously. I mean, it seems so ridiculous. Pediatricians in Chicagoland can be the same way, but even very well educated pediatricians who were very pro-vaccine (Asher's original pediatrician in Wheaton) would allow you to flex and alter the schedule in a way you were comfortable with, as opposed to doing EXACTLY what the AAP recommends. Shots these days are entirely different than when I was a kid, and kids now are "required" to have many many more in a short amount of time (as well as newer shots that haven't been around long enough to know the full ramifications). We agree with vaccines to a certain extent and appreciate the benefit of "some" of them, but the newest recommendations have gotten WAY of out hand. For example, Hep A is already required in some states for school enrollment, and might be soon in IN as well... ridiculous. The HPV shot is recommended for PRE-teen girls now, and it's going to be recommended for BOYS soon too. Yeah, NO. Insane. My kid, my decision. All that to say, in IN it's hard to find a reputable doctor who isn't considered alternative (and thereby not covered by insurance) who will let us flex the vaccine schedule a tiny bit... so we've found a practice that will allow that, so we feel like we are kind of stuck with them even if he hates the doctor. ;( I miss Dr. C often, and I wish Asher could have seen him throughout his whole childhood, especially with all of his struggles.
For these most recent shots, Dr. O said she thought it was cellulitis this time around from the shots (it wasn't, because the fever was gone after three days and the redness was entirely gone before he even started the antibiotic), so she prescribed an antibiotic for him. I reminded her that he was dangerously allergic to pretty much all meds besides one, and she said that one that he could take "wasn't great" for deep tissue infection. She prescribed a new med in a different class than what he's had before without telling us what it was (she hadn't yet decided what she wanted to give before we left)... we picked it up and they gave us THREE HUGE glass bottles. I called the doctor thinking there must be a mistake, that surely he didn't need so much. The nurse told me it's such a strong med they can't concentrate it down, thus the large dosage. I did a bunch of research on it as always, before giving him any. What I found was quite horrifying (it's insanely strong and has a million very common side effects, far more than any other meds combined that I've read about). It's a severe drug, and there was no way I was comfortable with it, especially since she was giving it "just to be safe" and since Ross and I were pretty sure it was NOT cellulitis, but just a "local reaction" from the dumb shots that would subside harmlessly. We called her and told her we filled it but weren't comfortable using it, and we wanted Zithromax, the only drug that hasn't had dangerous side effects with him. She begrudgingly prescribed it for us, and we gave it to him, although we were 99% sure he didn't need it since the symptoms subsided entirely after he'd had once dose. Drama. Poor bubs. I'm done with shots for him for a long long time. We'll take our chances with measles for the next couple of years.
Aside from that, Asher is doing well and growing like crazy. He was 25.5 pounds at his last visit, and he's growing out of lots of his clothes in into the new clothes. He looks like such a big, old boy in some of his outfits these days! He's enjoying the water table we got him on the hot days, though in living next to the woods and next to all of the construction, the spider epidemic in our yard is like a mild scene out of a movie... and if you know me at all, you know I'm absolutely TERRIFIED of spiders. I'd much rather see a pack of wolves in the woods, or snakes in the grass, or lots of rats, or whatever. Just not spiders. In my defense, these are HUGE wolf spiders, not tiny little things. These are the size of kittens, people, and they are EVERYWHERE. Ross sprays poison outside, a different thing on the grass, and an organic non toxic stuff in the house to keep them out, but they are alllllllll over outside, especially after a rain. SICK. That makes our time outside short, which stinks because we have a gorgeous entirely shaded patio in our backyard next to the woods. We recently got library cards at 2 local libraries, and Asher LOVES it. LOVES IT. This kid is crazy for books, man. One library is super close but very tiny and old and kind of a dump. My sister calls it a "rat hole". The other library is a little further away, but huge and gorgeous and super fun for kids. There's a wing for kids with little play areas, but Asher's favorite part is the carpeting. There are huge numbers, letters, and shapes on the carpet, and he runs from one to the other yelling out, "W! W says wuh! W for Walrus" then to X... "X! X says kssssss... X for Xylophone!" and so on and so on. I'm aware of how abnormal and borderline problematic this is. He's known his letters and numbers forever, as well as the letter sounds. Thanks to some of his alphabet toys, he now knows words that start with particular letters, and he announces it to the entire library. At the doctor's office he was reading the exit sign "E! X! I! T!" and talking about the fishy when the girl next to us, who was many months older, was still babbling. He's quite advanced for his age with language and vocab, so much it's scary. The worst part about the library is that it's way overstimulating, and he has a very hard time transitioning out of it to go home. We let him run around freely there, which isn't something we do with him in public much, and he doesn't want to let go of the freedom when it's time to leave. He's very good about holding my hand and following me and will do it willingly if it means we don't try to carry him (which he hates). The library is nice because it's a cool place for an outing on a hot day, and if the books are lame they are free and we get to give them back and try again ;)
Ross has been busy with work and recently has been doing a ton of marketing locally. His co-worker traveled down from Naperville one day to accompany him, and it seems they had some really promising visits, which is exciting. Their office is crazy busy, so Ross is putting in many hours, but hopefully it's worth it in the long run. Working from home is pretty flexible most of the time, which is a huge switch from an hour commute each way, each day. We are planning a trip back to to the western burbs this summer, probably near the end of July to coincide with a party so we can visit friends we haven't seen in ages. It will likely only been for a weekend, so it will be quick and we won't be able to see everyone, but if you are interested in getting together when we are there, let me know! As always, you all are MORE than welcome to visit us here too! We have a guest room and a pretty spacious house ;)
We're slowly but surely working on the house, but it's always a work in process. Furnishing and decorating a home that's three times the size of your previous home is no small task, nor is it a cheap one. I'm desperately trying to "settle" into all things on the interior, and Ross is doing the same with the exterior. He could care less about art work and frames and pillows and paint, and I could care less about the dumb grass and weed eating ;) It seems to be never ending and is keeping us quite busy, which might be partly why time is flying... that and the fact that we are constantly chasing and entertaining a rambunctious and intelligent toddler. We almost have a 2 year-old!!! INSANE. He's SO. MUCH. FUN. Ohhhh my goodness, is this kid a riot. We bust up laughing with him and at him daily. With him gaining language he's able to better communicate needs, but also better able to express preferences, and he has a LOT, just like his mama. He's JUST like me in this regard, and nothing at all like Ross, it seems, when it comes to having very strong opinions and preferences, and strong will. He is spirited, indeed, and most of the time I LOVE that about him... but MAN. It makes parenting an exhausting challenge sometimes. Sometimes I wonder how easy it would be to parent a "dud" kid, as Ross refers to them... but then I remember that if Asher were a dud, he'd be easy, but probably boring, and I'd much prefer his untamed spirit the way it is. He knows what he wants and when he wants it, and also knows how to work us to get what he desires (which is usually one more book before bed, grapes at any given meal, or watching the white noise apps I have on my phone). You gotta love him for trying, it's so stinking cute and hilarious. I'll tell him, "Ash, we gotta clean up, baby. We have to go downstairs to make (insert meal)". His response, "How 'bout play sausage (sesame) street??" Or I will tell him to eat his (insert healthy food), and he says, "mmmmm. grapes (which he doesn't have). want some. pweeeeeease. want some. grapes. nummy grapes". hahahaha! Crazy crazy kid. He's wildly funny and silly and dorky and LOVES to make us laugh. Asher is a handful, but at least for now, I wouldn't have it any other way. Sure, he's difficult to parent, but he's so so worth it. He is intense and passionate and can be dramatic, but I'd take that any day over being an "easy", boring kid. I can look at him now and envision what he's going to be like at 5, or 7, or 10, and I absolutely love wondering how he will change and grow in that time. Parenting is SO so hard and exhausting most of the time... but man, is it a crazy beautiful gift from God.
He leaves his little people in random places around the house... on tables, behind curtains, underneath pillows, between his stuffed animals, etc. It's hilarious!
Fish Face!
Bucket head:
His swim hat!
Water table fun
"Sausages (sesame) Street"
He thought Mary and Baby Jesus should join in the fun ;)
Drumming like Grandpa! Asher definitely has music and rhythm in his blood :)
Reading with Daddy after dinner
Mowing the driveway :)
Father's Day 2013
Playing with Titi's farm
Our entry... powder room on the right, dining room on the left, followed by staircase, living room to left, and kitchen and sunroom to the right. It's coming together, folks :)
He LOVES his flash cards... still. He's been playing with them since he was like 9 months old!
More Flash cards:
This is his Ernie toy. It has various settings and one of them is a "game" setting. The first level is Ernie asking him to find a certain letter. He breezes through it of course. Once he gets so many right, Ernie bumps him up to the next level. Ernie then gives a picture clue and asks him to find the first letter of the word after seeing a picture clue and hearing the word (Ernie shows a picture of a dinosaur and says, "this is a dinosaur. Find the first letter of the word dinosaur". No letters or written words are given as clues). If he misses, Ernie then tells him the sound of the first letter... if he misses THAT, then Ernie tells him the letter and asks him to find it on the key pad. It didn't take Asher long to master this level too. It's scary and a bit alarming how good he is at this with little effort. Granted, I've spent a tremendous amount of time over months teaching him letters, letter sounds, identifying objects, etc, but still... He's not even 2 yet! He's obsessed with letters, numbers, and shapes. So much so that he only gets his Ernie toy on occasion, and has time limits when he does. Crazy kid!
Reading his "teensy" books. He knows them all by heart and recites them to us and to himself if we are in the next room cooking :)
Mowing with Daddy:
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