Random Odds And Ends

It seems like we've had a really busy few weeks since my last update, but when I think back about it I can't remember what all I've been busy doing. I know that my phone is a piece of crap and I've had to make several trips to Verizon to have it switched out. I know that we've had several doctor appointments. I know that having two sick babies made things more chaotic for a bit. Poor Avery was so unhappy for those few days while she was sick. I tried to get her 5 month picture, but she just wasn't into it. This was the best we could manage.

A few of our doctor appointments were to see the pediatric allergist. I've suspected for a long time that Nicholas has allergies and he seems to constantly have red, puffy eyes and a runny nose. They did some testing and we found out that he is allergic to oak, maple and box elder trees. He also tested positive for egg whites. You can imagine my joy at hearing that news, especially since the nurse that delivered the news told me that we'd have to put Nicholas on a special egg-free diet. Ugh! Eggs are in a TON of foods! Since he's never had any severe allergic reactions, I asked the nurse to consult with the doctor again on just how necessary a special diet was. Thankfully, his allergist said that we could just avoid anything with raw eggs and not feed him eggs as a meal (no problem since he won't eat a scrambled egg anyway!). We still have to follow-up with a tolerance test at some point. I guess to see just how much egg he can have before he starts having symptoms. I'm not sure exactly how this works...I picture them bringing him a plate of eggs and someone trying to make him eat them. This makes me laugh because I'm thinking who makes the eggs and where do they make them? I don't remember seeing a chef or a kitchen in the doctor's office, but in my mind, I picture someone coming into our exam room with a big white chef hat on their head and a silver platter of eggs. As the scene unfolds, I picture this person trying to make my 2 year old eat the eggs, which, I know he won't do. He hates eggs. This scenario has disaster written all over it! There must be another way that they do this! I guess we'll see.

Avery also recently started using her jump-a-roo and her exersaucer. She'll hang out in either one for about 10 minutes and then she's over it. It's so funny because Nicholas loved the jump-a-roo. I'd put him in it and he'd go wild! Avery just kind of sits there and plays with the little bead things. She's not into jumping a whole lot. My sweet little Avery Grace is still content to sit in her swing (which Nicholas didn't really like), watch what is going on around her and play with things that she can pass back and forth between her hands. She has very impressive dexterity for her age! She also likes to roll around on the floor. I really have to watch her now because, in the span of a few short minutes, she can roll all the way across the room!

The girls were off of school on Monday for MLK day. All day on Monday there was big talk about a snow storm that was supposed to hit Charlotte and the surrounding areas on Tuesday. The forecasters made it sound like a sure thing--the biggest snow fall in 5 years, they said! According to the weather experts, it was going to start snowing on Tuesday at midnight and snow all day until 5 pm. We were going to accumulate 2-4 inches, depending on where you lived. Of course, this is very exciting to the children, not only because it will be a day off school, but also because it means an opportunity to play in the snow! Since everyone seemed to be so sure about this snow storm, I told Nicholas all about how it was going to snow while he was sleeping and that we would play outside and make a snow man in the morning. Imagine our disappointment when we woke up to this...

School districts and business all over NC began announcing closures by Monday evening. I knew that CMS (Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools) would be cancelled, even when I woke up at 4:30 and it had still had not begun snowing. Sure enough, at about 5 am, I got a text message that school was called off. I took this picture at about 9:30 yesterday morning. By 11:00, the sun was out and by noon, the snow was all melted. No snow men or sledding for us! The lack of snow did mean that I was able to watch the inauguration, which was a treat. I forced Nicholas to let me take his picture just after Obama was sworn in.

That brings us to today. Today is a big day because Avery tried rice cereal for the first time! I think she really enjoyed her breakfast and had fun playing with her bowl and spoon afterward. She's such a big girl! I can't believe in just two short weeks she'll be six months old!!!! Oh, how time flies! Avery has also started smacking her lips (last pic). Eventually she'll let me get it on video.

One more exciting thing about today is that Lost is FINALLY back for its season premiere tonight. I'm so excited! It's such a good show but I do get so frustrated with it's schedule. It seems like they start the season in Jan. and then in March they're like "new episodes next year." Of course, this is a slight exaggeration but still, it annoys me. Lost is one of those shows that always leaves you hanging and I hate waiting so long between season. Oh well. For now I'll just focus on the joy of having the whole season ahead and all of the crazy, twisted story lines that are to come in the upcoming episodes. Yeah!