As evidenced by previous posts, I’m always trying to come up with new ways my small children can help out around here.
Levi’s new responsibility is to take his diapers to the trash can (Eliza’s, too if he’s around for her changing). I came up with this one when I broke my big toe last week- and realized after throwing many diapers toward the trash can- that I have minimal talent for what I’m now calling “trashketball.”
Here he is in action:
If you want your bustle shifted, wedding planned, or bosom lifted–
Don’t be ashamed girls,
Life is full of secrets, and I keep ‘em!
I’ll discretely use my own discretion
I’ll arrange for making all arrangements
I’ll proceed to plan the whole procedure
Just leave everything to me!
Because this blog serves many purposes (scrapbook, journal, family history), I’d like to take the time to explain how my dad, whose given name is Willard, has come to be known as just “Bob.”
I’d like to tell you why his family called him “Bubba” growing up, or why his friends all called him “Bill” when I was young. I’d like to tell you how my brother came up with “Bob,” and why Dad’s wife, friends, and family now call him “Bob.” I’d like to explain how a man requests the name “Papa Bob” in place of good old fashioned Grandpa, or how even his children forego ”Dad” for “Bob.” I’d love to detail this for our record, but I can’t. I honestly just don’t know.
However it happened, he is now “Bob,” and you won’t see the grand kids complaining. Here are some of the fun things we did with Papa Bob when he braved the Texas heat this summer:
Down to one car, and up to three kids- here’s how we roll this summer:
I can seldom be found without my double stroller. I’d be lost without it.
Well, Levi was busy this week.
It all started Wednesday night- Daddy’s out on Wed nights for mutual with the young men in our congregation, so a few things fall by the wayside now and then. After letting the kids play in the rain, I hosed everyone off outside, spraying the inside of Levis mouth, too- the little dirt eater. I even broke out the shampoo so I could skip bath time later.
Then I made the mistake of feeding the boy a bean burrito without a bib. So here’s how we cleaned that up:
![Levi bean bath[1]](http://sothisisbliss.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/levi-bean-bath1.jpg?w=300&h=224 "Levi bean bath[1]")
That night finally ended, but when Daddy went into work the next morning, Mommy had yet to recover. Not long after breakast, I hear crying followed by, “help please…(pause)…stuck… (pause)….momma, momma…” Here’s what I find:
That’s him getting stuck between Sam’s mattress and footboard after performing his new “jump on Sam’s bed” trick. I think he knows I’m still frazzled from Wenesday, and he’s trying to make me crazy.
He got past the gate later that afternoon. Found him in Eliza’s swing with her binki:
![Levi in swing[1]](http://sothisisbliss.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/levi-in-swing1.jpg?w=300&h=224 "Levi in swing[1]")
You should have seen Daddy’s welcome that evening.
Since we already have a guess… In honor of our very own allergic Levi, our latest Name that Movie quote came from Finding Nemo.
Sam said this to Levi the other day. I’m not sure if she meant to say “You freak me out,” or “You crack me up.” Either way, I thought “You crack me out was amusing.
So her other new thing is to tell Levi she can’t share something with him because it has eggs in it- she’s totally lying, though. She just doesn’t want to share her treats.
Last June, I published a post about Levi’s spit up, calling him “Sir Pukes- a- Lot.” Oh, how I long for the day when he was just puking! Since then his puking has found a diagnosis. Yes, it seems Sir Pukes- a- Lot has company; others have been afflicted with the same regurgitating phenomenon: experts call it “reflux” (or GERD).
Oh, but this wasn’t the extent of Levi’s afflictions. No, Eczema soon came on the scene, a skin condition resulting in dry, rashy patches of skin. In between wiping up puke streams and puddles, I shook my head and lathered the boy with the creams and lotions recommended by our doctor.
When we went in for his 9 month well check, Sir Pukes-a-Lot hadn’t gained an ounce since his 6 month check up. I was now sufficiently freaked out. The doc seemed slightly concerned, asked us to feed him more protein and fat, and to see us in a month to check his progress.
What’s that? Did she mention the eczema and reflux may be related? Did she caution us about food allergies? No; but in her defense, perhaps she thought I had more sense. Maybe she thought I would actually pay attention to recommended dietary guidelines for infants. I wish I had. Instead (a little distracted with a new pregnancy and a new home search), I only briefly researched this GERD thing, and hoped Levi would grow out of it soon.
A few weeks later- sure that Doc wouldn’t object too much to introducing eggs early if they might fatten the scrawny fellow, I fed them to him scrambled. That’s when we learned that Levi also had food allergies. Thank heaven for Benadryl; Levi survived Anaphylactic shock at ten months old. Here he is around that time, just before the idea of Levi being in the fridge would give me a heart attack:
I crawled into the Doc’s office that afternoon mortified. She was kind, reassured me, and prescribed an epipen.
Now, if your a parent with a child like Sir pukes a Lot, I can tell what you’re thinking. You’re thinking: This is the part where she refers me to an allergist for further evaluation and testing for other allergies, right? This is the part where she mentions that dairy in my diet may be contributing to the excess vomit coming from the nursing baby, right? Surely this is where she mentions that reflux, eczema, and food allergies often come as a package deal, (along with asthma, by the way- I might want to watch out for that); she’ll explain this is all something called “atopic.” She’ll give me a pamphlet, or refer me to a web site or something…..
Sorry to disappoint, readers. Not one of those things happened. If they had, things the following winter might have gone differently….
(This post to be continued. Watch for future post on “Mr Sickley”)
