Grady's First Rice Cereal

We've been waiting to give Grady his first taste of rice cereal until we pin pointed some of his allergies. We found that babies are rarely allergic to rice so we got the "go ahead" to give it a try. The only reason we've been so anxious to try this is we're hoping that it will make him more accepting of the bottle if he's doing something besides strictly breastfeeding. And this will make it easier for babysitters to feed him until he takes the bottle.

He made a little funny face on the first bite...

...then he was grabbing for the spoon and bowl anxious for more!

A success - YUM!!

Stoney Ridge 2010

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Finally, an answer!

As some of you know, we have been dealing with trying to figure out what is making Grady's skin so horrible for the last couple months. It's such a sad and helpless feeling to see his skin break out in red rashes and not know what is causing it or how to make him better. It was obvious that it was making him miserably uncomfortable. Our doctor first referred us to a dermatologist that diagnosed him with severe eczema. That helped a little but didn't give us any answers on how to make him better. Our next step was seeing an allergist. Originally our referral appointment was over a month away until I decided to call Dr. Elkayam (who is ranked in the top 10 allergists in the country!) last Friday just to see if there was any possiblity of getting in with him. That was our lucky day! The receptionist had just gotten off the phone with a cancellation and if we could get there in 45 minutes the appointment was ours. It broke my heart when I stripped Grady down and even the doctor was surprised by how horrible he looked :(. Long story short, after a 3 hour appointment we discovered that Grady is severely allergic to eggs and slightly allergic to milk and nuts. Initially I felt even worse that he had been constantly getting all of those things through my breast milk and it was because of me that he was in so much discomfort. I just had to remind myself that I had no way of knowing...until now. In this last week Grady has been on an oral medication as well as a few prescription ointments to try to get his skin under control. Obviously I have had to drastically change my diet as well. I never realized how many things had egg in it until now that I have to read the labels on everything! It is amazing how much of a difference there was in just the first couple days. His skin looks perfect, like a little 5 1/2 month baby's should and he has been SO much happier. I am going to do the absolute best I can to cut those foods out of my diet but the doctor highly recommends switching Grady over to formula so my accidental slip ups won't effect him. So, our next step is to try to get Grady to start taking bottles :). In the meantime I welcome any tips, advice and recipes for egg & dairy free foods (especially desserts!).

This was a picture of Grady a few days before his appointment :( And this is a picture of him a few days ago, a happy healthy sweet baby boy!

A Day in Federal Way

We went to a World Sand Sculpting Competition over the weekend. I had heard about it on the news and thought it might be kind of fun. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting...mainly because it was just in a big empty parking lot, but it was amazing to see what people were able to create from a pile of sand.

The is the only one we saw in progress, the rest had already been completed in the week.

There were a lot of them but here are a few of our favorites: Look at the detail in the Indian's face - amazing!

This sweet face melts my heart!

Afterwards we had no idea what else there was to do in Federal Way but luckily someone pointed us to a beach. We walked out on the pier and watched people fish.

Of course Dawson couldn't just "look" at the water, he had to test it out. Notice in the following pictures the outfit change. To no surprise Dawson ended up soaked head to toe.

There was a playground right up the street that we stopped at to play before packing back into the car.

In this picture Dawson is telling me to turn the camera "off". Do you think he's finally sick of all my constant picture taking? :)

We took Kate's recommendation on the way home and stopped for dinner at the Rainforest Cafe. I haven't been to one in years and forgot how fun of a restaurant it is! Dawson was a little hesitant at first, it could have been the chomping alligator out front or the snake hissing above him but he did LOVE the huge fish tank.

We got seated at a great table right next to this water feature - a great distraction for Dawson and Grady.Every so often the restaurant has a "storm" and the lights flicker and apes near our table danced...Dawson was so quick to grab onto Daddy!

Daddy & Grady monkeying around.

Mmmm...the food was delicious.

Despite it being way past bedtime, Dawson was so good and our day in Federal Way was a huge success!

"Firemen up high"

That is what Dawson has been saying all week. Last weekend there was a firefighter competition at the Ferndale Haggens and we thought Dawson might enjoy it. We geared him up in his firetruck shirt and fireman boots and off we went. Dawson was mesmerized watching the fireman in full gear climb up "high" on the ladders.

Dawson's other current obsession is motorcycles. He got a huge smile when this guy asked if Dawson wanted to hop on his. Although he wasn't too sure when the guy started it up, it was loud!

Checking out the firetrucks and gear.

I'm thinking someone might end up being a fireman for Halloween this year :)

Dawson got a free bike helmet while we were there too.

Dawson even got to help Daddy put out a fire!

Growing, Growing, Growing!

Dawson & Grady both had their check ups with the doctor last week.

They are healthy growing boys!

Here is Dawson checking out the fish tank before his appointment. Notice he had to bring his drill :)

Dawson's 2 year stats:

Weight: 29 lbs 12 oz (65%)

Height: 35 3/4" (80%)

Poor Dawson had no idea what was coming...he had to get a shot, but the tears immediately stopped when the nurse gave him cookies.Grady is doing great, except for some skin sensitivity. We were unable to pin point exactly what is irritating him but after a few days now of "special cream" his skin is nearly flawless. Grady's 4 month stats:

Weight: 18 lbs 5.5 oz (95%)

Height: 26 3/4" (95%)

Here is Grady's 4 Month (8/24/10) picture that I forgot to post earlier:

Home Depot Kids Workshop

Chad and Dawson went to Home Depot's September kids workshop and this time made a football stand. I can't get enough of Dawson in that little apron using his hammer and screw driver!

(Braxton was there too! See him behind Dawson? No, not the big black thing bending over, the cute kid to the left) Working hard!

All done!

Family Day at Stanley Park

We spent a family day up at Stanley Park over Labor Day weekend and had so much fun! I only wish we would have done this earlier in the summer so we had a chance to go back while the weather was still nice. Our first stop was the family farm and petting area. Dawson was surprised when we walked through the gate and there was a big goat laying on the ground right in front of him.This was pretty cool. There must have been over a dozen goats walking all around for us to go up and pet. Dawson was trying o figure out what was on this guy's head.

Next up was a "choo choo" train ride through the forest. Dawson was so excited getting on and having his own seat. Both him and Grady were all smiles the whole ride.

Then we went up to Prospect Point to enjoy the beautiful views...and some ice cream :)

Time to go swimming!

I was impressed with this pool! It's huge and it gradually gets deeper so there's lots of shallow area to play, there are a few slides, it's right on the beach AND it's heated so the water was 80 degrees!

Dawson about to go down the seal slide.

After swimming we had a picnic dinner then played on the beach before heading home.