Public Play Areas + Germs = Sick Baby

When Eli turned ONE we discovered through a "simple" blood draw that he had not only low iron, but he also had something called "neutropenia".  Neutropenia is when the neutrophils in your blood are low and this makes it very hard for someone to fight off infection. 

So over the course of 1 years we have been watching this very closely as well as drawing his blood MULTIPLE times.  I think I cry more than he does....before we go....during...and after!  It is hard to HOLD a strong little boy down on a Dr's table along with the help of 2 other RN's.  In fact after one blood draw he was so angry about the whole thing that once we let him go he RIPPED the bandaid off his arm as fast as he could...hence he had not stopped bleeding yet and the room looked like a CRIME scene!

So After many blood draws and thoroughly SCARING my little boy of anyone wearing scrubs his numbers were still too low at his 2 year well child check up (March 2012).  So we got the referral to see a Hematology/Oncologist at U of M Mott's Children's Hospital.  I was NOT looking forward to yet another group of people poking and touching my baby. 

However, about a week and a half before Eli's appt we went to the local indoor playhouse called the Tree House.  We met one of Carter's friends from preschool to play.  The kids had a blast...but out gift from that few hours of fun came later...

About 2 days following our fun afternoon at the Tree House Eli came down with a fever on a Friday night.  It was quite low, so a dose of Tylenol was given and we thought nothing more....until Saturday afternoon.  All of the sudden BUMPS started showing up all over his skin.  He had them on his bottom, legs, in his mouth, on his chin and cheeks, elbows and his HANDS were the worst.

 These are pictures of the sores after he was diagnosed, so if you can believe it they were even WORSE than this.

I took him in to see the Dr Monday morning.  She agreed with me he had HFM (Hand Foot and Mouth) but he also got a secondary infection that appears on elbows, legs and cheeks.  Not to mention all of his sores were INFECTED!  It was terrible.  He was itching so badly and saying "TING" for sting and always wanted us to put cream on for him. 

We figured that due to his constant battle with eczema along with his low neutrophils he had a hard time fight against this infection.  I felt so badly for him.  We had the Dr stumped at first when we showed up with these sores...I can't even remember the name of the other CRAZY skin infection he had.  But 10 days of antibiotics, LOTS of bacitracin cream and benadryl the sores began to improve.  But the sores on his legs have taken MUCH longer to fade.  Now about 8 weeks later they are just finally going away. 

But due to this sever break-out it further confirmed his need to see a specialist about the low neutrophils.  Now picture this...a 28lb 2 year old boy terrified of anyone in scrubs...I'm 9 months pregnant and we have to go to the hospital to see this specialist...not fun.  Thankfull Grandma Edwards came with us to help out.  Eli was glued to me and the poor guy was so scared.  I couldn't blame him...he had been through a lot.  But to make a long story short...he has something called "Benign Neutropenia of Childhood".  So he can actually fight off infection because he has good bone marrow that can produce neutrophils he just has low peripheral neutrophils.  They believe that he will and * should * outgrow this by the age of 4.  But we will just see them again in September.

He was a trooper and had been through a lot!  But came out healthy.  However ever since that experience he always asks if something will give him "OWIES"  he is is scared of things hurting!  What have I done to my son?  Lessons learned at our house...wash wash wash the hands and sanitize all the time.  And we will NOT be visiting any "INDOOR PLAY PLACES" any time soon!

RAWR...our Dinosaur turned 2!

I know this is sooo LATE, and my poor blog has seriously suffered the last several months.  But it is TIME to catch up! 

March 13th 2012 our Eli Douglas turned two!  We had a Dinosaur Party and it could NOT have fit our 2-year-old more perfectly!  Ever since he turned two he has NOT stopped!!!  NOT stopped talking....NOT stopped moving...NOT stopped making noise...and NOT stopped making us Laugh...you get the point!

We had a party here at the house with the Edwards side of the family.  Here are the highlights:

 Who doesn't LOVE chocolate cake?!

 He loved all of the gifts.  Especially the baseball bat and his new Dinosaur Hooded sweatshirt.

 I found these party hats HERE and they were so easy to do.  The kids loved them!

It was a great day and our little "DINO" loved it!

Eli weighed 28 lbs and 3 oz and his height was 36 inches at his 2 year check up.

On his birthdate he was saying some words....very limited...Mom, Dad, Papa, woofy (dog),"Ahhhhh" - that is what he uses for pacifier or anything to drink, he says Rawr for dinosaur and probably some more words that I am forgetting. 

2 years flew by so fast...seems like he was our baby not too long ago and now he is going to be the BIG brother!

Winter Cabin Fever

Though this winter has been extremely mild we still seem to have caught a bit of the "Cabin Fever" bug.  It's too cold to play outside and there is no snow to play in...so here we sit...stuck inside with toys the boys are tired of playing with and our own creativity to entertain us. 

So here is what we have been up to...

 It was "Animal Week" at PAT (Parents As Teachers) which is a local playgroup we attend.  So the boys had spent the morning playing with all the animals in water at playgroup.  It continued at home when the boys had not gotten their fill of being "WET" for the day.

 So I filled up a few LARGE mixing bowls and put all of their rubber/plastic animals in the bowls for them to play in.

 As you can see...that is where is started, but by the end they had stripped down and put on their swim trunks and were "swimming" in the kitchen WITH the animals.

They had a ball and must have been entertained for over an hour.  Nothing a few (10 towels) couldn't clean up!

Eli got a whole Playdough kit from Santa this year for Christmas!  It has been so fun to play with during these last few months.  It has reminded me of my Playdough days when I was young.  This is ONE of the few things that entertains the boys for more than a few short minutes.  I can at least get about 20-30 minutes out of this activity.

 They love SQUEEZING the dough through this contraption...if only they could figure out how to share it and take turns!

 "Mom...look at my mustache!"

 Eli insisted we turn his "snake" into a necklace!

 We have fun with it, but the aftermath and crumbly mess of dried playdough is not always "fun" to clean up.

Anyone who know our boys also knows how much they love when Daddy comes home!  Chris usually gets home a little before 6pm and sometimes around 7pm (depending on his schedule).  And the boys can hardly wait to see their dad!

 Then the "rough-housing", tickling, bear rides begin.

Here is the backside of this bear:)  We are all so glad when Daddy comes home! 

We cannot complain to loudly this winter, it has been very nice!  But coming up with new activities for these two busy boys is always tricky.  But worth it!

Day in the Life...

 Does the scab on this lip tell you what goes on at the Edwards's household?  Lots and lots of boy craziness including rough housing, messes (and lots of them), shooting with anything that can be imagined to be a gun and of course fabric sorting!  I just wanted to fill you in on the happenings of this week which included some of each of these!  (Since I am trying to do better at blogging).

We have been on an organizing/goals kick around here.  This usually happens every january, but it has been very successful this year!  We have gotten much done including in the fabric room.  I sorted all of my patterns and put them in an organized binder where I can find them.  I organized my thread and notions including way too much piping and bias tape.  We even sorted and listed many fabrics this week.  Chris and I spent an evening just him and I on a date night between MANY bolts of fabric.  We were checking and double checking our inventory to make sure it was all up for sale on our site and available for purchase.  It was a long night but very successful!  The fabric business is going very well and keeping us busy.

 Between me being ill for months at a time, my busy season for HBC orders, the holidays and family in town for a few months the boys have watched way too much TV.  Carter especially!  No one is to blame, but me as it was easy when I was puking my guts out and feeling so sick to just turn on the TV to entertain the boys.  Or for me to just finish this one last order.  Well, with my sweet Carter's imagination I have found that he turns into whatever character he is watching on TV.  He becomes a dinosaur, super hero, peter pan, or whomever it may be and he gets very excited and starts acting out when he has spent too much time there.  So...this week we are back into the groove (finally) and we have limited TV to 30-60 min per day and NOT the first thing of the day.  Plus No iPad all week.  What an improvement in everything!  He has found other things to do and things that he has come to love! 

 Playing Playdough has become one of our favorite things to do.  We have made snakes, fish, and even a few necklaces and Mustaches!  The boys love it!

 Oh and the messes that we can make with it! 

 I don't know how many times I have swept up playdough crumbs that have dried on the floor this week!  It was funny, just yesterday Carter sat down on the floor and said, "Ouch...I just hurt my foot!" I said, on what" as there was no object capable to hurting his foot from what I could tell!  Then he pointed to a dried up, crist and now sharp piece of blue playdough I had somehow missed on the floor..."Mom I steped on the playdough and it cut me!"  It didn't cut but yes it was sharp and hurt.

 Eli has been asking his brother to take him to the potty this week. Which I am just fine with!  I love the extra hands.  However, Eli was gone and quiet a little too long Friday afternoon.  I walked into the bathroom only to find this...

 Hard to tell, but he was taking the cup form his small potty chair and taking cups of water from the actual toilet and dumping them onto he floor of the bathroom!  He was in this picture standing in about a 1/2" deep of water!  Toilet water at that!!!  Yuck....i disinfected right after that!

 When Daddy comes home the boys love to play with Dad!  Riding horse is just one of the many Dad plays with them.  They also like going on "Bug Hunts" where they take the fly swatters and flash lights and hunt for bugs in the dark with dad! 

 These boys (all three) are the lights of my life...boy BOY do they wear me out!!!  Constant chaos over here at our house...so if you happen to just stop by...please don't be surprised if one is wearing nothing but undies and the other is in a super hero costume!  Just another day in the life of a mom with 2 wonderfully BUSY boys!  I love it!

Looking Back on 2011---Eli Douglas

I know it has been WAY too long since I last updated this blog.  Whenever I think about updating I get overwhelmed with how much I need to catch up on...I get filled with guilt...and then I just say, "Forget It!" 
But...now its a new year.  Time to start over and do a better job recording the simple happenings of our lives so one day I don't look back with regrets.  So lets just wrap up some favorites happenings of 2011...

Starting with Eli Douglas...
This kid has grown more than I can even believe in the last 12 months.  Just last year he was pulling himself up to things and just starting to get around.  And now...I can hardly keep this kids' pace.  He is into everything and at times looking for trouble.  Eli had his first birthday in March and started walking around that same time. 

He has been a slower talker than his brother was, but don't think for a minute that we don't know what he is saying despite his lack of words.  Between signing, grunting, pointing and the few words that he knows he is very clear with what he NEEDS!  Or maybe it is because he is so LOUD!  He is learning new words every day...some new words he has picked up in the last 2 months..."Nana", "Poop" (always a good one), "Toot" (another essential in a little boys world), "up", "Woof", "ME!", "Ah!" (which stands for his pacifier, a drink of water/milk, or anything he would like to put in his mouth)...and I am sure there are others that I just can't remember.

Eli had a rough couple of months back in the fall with getting his blood drawn.  At his 1 year well baby check-up they found his iron was low so we started a Multi-Vitamin with iron.  Then they asked to re-draw the levels in a month or two.  So they checked it again in the summer and found that the iron levels were still low.  So he started taking "Ferrous Sulfate" (straight iron...I mean you can smell metal when you open the bottle).  But in the meantime we found out that he had abnormally low neutraphils.  Whick is part of the white blood cell count.  They did not know why this was since he is a very healthy boy...which required him to come back for blood drawns once a month monitoring the levels.  Talk about a moms worst nightmare...taking her 18 month old to get poked...watching him bawl and cry using one word he knows very well..."Momma" when there was nothing I could do.  After months of blood draws and about $200-$300 worth of lab costs and co-pays his levels have ever so slowly improved.  For now we are just going to watch it.

But I am not sure he will ever be happy about going to the Dr.  In fact...after one blood draw he was so angry that he ripped the bandaid off before the blood could cloth that blood went everywhere...the nurse said, "Wow, Eli it looks like a Murder scene in here!"  And it did, blood everywheres!  That is one strong boy!  Took 3-4 of us to hold him down each time!

Other adventures this summer...
My nephew Nikolas came and stayed with us for 2 weeks this summer.  The boys loved a playmate and we enjoyed playing outside in the warmer weather.

Spooner Family Trip to Chicago to see a Red Sox vs White Sox baseball game.  Eli enjoyed his first major league game and train ride.  He also enjoyed time with his aunts and uncles and cousins.  We walked the Magnificent Mile, saw Millenial Park and Navy Pier, ate great Chicago Style pizza, and SHOPPED!  We even celebrated Chelsea Irons birthday (Uncle Jamie's girlfriend).

(Popcorn and baseball..yumminess)

(I love the train...no carseats!)

(He enjoyed riding the luggage cart too)

(Eli and cousin Lillia at church together in the windy city)

Eli also decided in about October, Halloween time that he was tired of wearing his diaper.  He started taking off his diaper and going into the bathroom when he needed to perform his duty.  I decided that we can better jump on board and start potty training this kid.  He has done VERY well and we are so proud of him.  At times he will show up missing and it never fails...if we go into the bathroom there he is...standing up...on the stool...aiming...shooting...and firing.  Saying "PEE, PEE" and pointing at the potty.  He does not wake up dry yet, so he still uses a diaper at bedtime.  And #2 is still difficult and a work in progress, but otherwise he does very well.


Speaking of Halloween...Eli loved being "Smee" from Peter Pan and Captain Hook this year.  He even wore the glasses the whole time we were "trick o treating".  He had a great time with all of the candy and playing out his part with his brother who was Peter Pan.

Eli and I have had some great moments together since Carter started school in September.  Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday it is just he and I from 8:30am until 11am.  We both enjoy the one-on-one time together. 

Eli is a very special little boy.  He LOVES to help and will help with any project whether you want him to or not.  HE LOVES HELPING and says, "ME" to let you know that he can do the task at hand by himself!



This boy can kiss.  Eli loves to give away his kisses.  Maybe its because his dad is always telling him to give kisses or maybe its because he has the cutes most FULL nice lips..either way he melts are hearts when he shares his kisses.  Just beware...he kisses the Dog on the lips...kisses the TV...kisses legs...chairs...heads...and of course lips.  Maybe we should call him "Loose Lips"?! 

(just look at those lips...who wouldn't want a kiss from this little man!?)

He had a great Christmas.  Loved talking with "Twinkle" the elf on the shelf.  Sometimes he liked opening gifts and othertimes he could have cared less.  He loved having Nana and Pepa back in town from Romania especially when Pepa let him play on his iPad.

He also loved meeting and "helping" his new cousin Ari Hale Spooner.  He loved having a "BABY!" around and wanted more than his share of turns to hold him.

As for Santa...he was NOT interested.  He was terrified and watched from a safe distance.

(look at those curls...never had a hair cut and almost 2 years old...NO just a CURL-HOCK!)

Some of his favorite gifts this year...His brother "drill" from uncle Jon.  He must have drilled everything in the house on Christmas Day.  His remote controlled car...beanbag...police car that makes noise and his Hot Wheels cars!

Eli keeps us on our toes...but is a pure joy to have in our family.  He is getting to be a big boy right before our eyes and I wish I could just say, "slow down!".  BUt he is learning and growing so much and turning into his own little strong-willed bossy self!  You can see this when the dog or Carter gets into trouble and he goes up to her and says, "NO, NO Woof, Woof..." all the while shaking his pointer finger back and forth.  Oh melt my heart Mr. Eli!