Holiday Cards

I love this time if year when I can take our newest family picture and create a fun Christmas card on Shutterfly and send it to everyone to wish them a wonderful Christmas and holiday season!

I'm thinking about something like this:

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards/elegant-damask-noir-holiday-card-5x7-flat

Or this:

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/swirl-damask-noir-holiday-card

I loved our Christmas cards from Shutterfly last year and can't wait to order matching address labels and get them out! So fun!

Do you like to send out Christmas cards? My mom did a few times when I was growing up but I think it was more of a chore. I love receiving them as well. Seeing everyone in their family pictures or just a pretty card that comes from the heart.

Here is a link to their 2010 holiday collection.

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards

They are running a promotion right now. If you're a blogger and write a 150 word post about their holiday cards and put links to their website, they'll send you a code for 50 free cards! What a deal! Thanks Shutterfly :)

Ashley

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!!

Jack's 1st Birthday

It has been a while! Jack turned one last month and he has definitely been keeping me busy! He is walking now and getting into everything. He has also started throwing toddler fits. Yikes! He has had two colds in the last month and an ear infection, as well as getting his molars. Poor guy!

We had so much fun at his two birthday parties. We had one for friends and one for family. He wasn't too sure of everyone at first but eventually warmed up and was enjoying being the center of attention. He got great clothes and toys and we enjoyed having everyone together! I don't have all of the pictures yet and it's only letting me add one. So here he is waiting for his guests arrival! We have had the best, craziest year of our lives and wouldn't trade it for anything!! Love you Jack! Can't believe my baby is a toddler!

Milestones and Memories

Hello friends!

Tomorrow is Jack's first birthday. I can't believe it. One year ago today was my due date and Kevin and I were on our way to have one last good meal before we went to the hospital and I couldn't eat for a while. We ate at Mimi's and had a wonderful dinner and dessert. I was having contractions but they weren't regular. I was dilating and effaced though so they gave me just a drop of Pitocin to get things started :) About 8 hours later we had our sweet man!

He is almost walking, he just doesn't have the courage to let go yet. He will get there soon! He's loving being a rambunctious boy. He's feeling much better off gluten and cow's milk. We're going to see Dr. Donovan in December, hopefully sooner.

I can't believe my baby boy is a toddler with 6 teeth and independence! I love him so much. We're trying to go from the bottle to only a sippy cup but he's not really having it. All in time.

Ashley

Gluten Free, Casein Free?

Hello all,

We got the results back for Jack's gluten test. It came back negative, which we suspected, because the doctor said he's probably too young for it to come back positive. He said he's also only seen one test in a kid or baby come back positive. He referred us to Dr. Donovan, the only pediatric gastroenterologist in Tulsa, so we'll see how quickly we get in.

The doctor also wanted us to introduce him to cow's milk since he is almost 1. He has been crying off and on over the last few days and we weren't sure what the problem was. Today, since we were home with him all day, we got to see what it was doing to him. He pretty much screamed all day from stomach and gas pains. I could hear and feel his tummy rumbling :( It was very sad.

I was reading a gluten blog and came across a good piece of information. Doctors think that as much as 50% of Celiac patients are also allergic or intolerant to casein and/or lactose, which is basically in cows milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.

So we will see what Dr. Donovan has to say and see what tests he wants to do. I'm going to share all of my research with him so he can have all the information up front. I hope we get the answers we need so we can move on with a happy child.

I guess I will be making a gluten free and dairy free cake for his birthday!!

Keep us in your prayers,

Ashley

Doctor, doctor give me the news!

Hi everyone! I finally got my blog up and going after having it for a while. I thought it would be a good way to keep everyone updated on our life!

Today, I took Jack to the doctor...again... to have his blood drawn to test for Celiac disease. We're pretty sure he has it and that's what's causing him to be uncomfortable, nauseated, malnourished, etc. It's pretty sad. I can't wait til he feels better. It took them foooorrrreeevveeerrr to get the blood out that they needed. Therefore, he was screaming. It was traumatizing for both of us. But we loved the new doctor and we think he will be a great fit for us.

Jack is loving school. He is almost walking and loves to "cruise" along couches, tables and whatever else he can find. He has also started fake crying and knows how to work mom and dad. He's going to be a strong willed child. I'm not sure when I'll have the time or energy to have the next one.

He has also become a very picky eater. The only things he'll eat right now are fruit, cheese, rice crackers, yogurt and sometimes meat. We gave him rice tonight and he frantically shoveled it out of his mouth like it was a mouth full of bugs or something. I'm sure it will be funny looking back but it's kind of a pain when you fix them a meal and they hate it! He was also being dramatic and gagging on little pieces of chicken. I think with his tummy hurting it affects his appetite.

Jack turns 1 in 2.5 weeks. I can't believe it! It has definitely been a challenging year but worth every bit. We love our little stinker!