I'm back!

Well, it's been a long month...to say the least.  Grady has been teething for weeks now with little progress.  I can see it just under the skin, but it just won't come through.  This makes for a very cranky little baby.  And Ainsley has just had all sorts of problems!  Let me explain...

Somewhere around the end of August I noticed that Ainsley had a rash in her left armpit.  The kid is very sensitive to anything we put on her and allergic to something as common as grass, so she has rashes all the time.  A couple of weeks later, it started spreading down her left side, but still not much to worry about.  In all, she had about 15 little, red bumps.  So, on Monday (10/6) I had taken her to the doctor for another issue and said, "While I'm here, can you look at these bumps that just won't go away?"  The doctor took one look at them and said it was "Molluscum Contagiosum" - a viral rash that is extremely contagious.  They looked like over-sized zits and the white area in the middle was full of thousands of viruses.  (Is that the plural form?)  In most kids, it takes about 6 months to 2 years to go away,  but may be faster if you treat it with this cream called Aldara.  So, we got the cream.  

We only applied it with a toothpick to the individual bumps because it burned a bit, but after just 2 treatments, she had gone from the measly 15 bumps (now 6 weeks old) to a whopping 200 or so!  We did one more treatment on Sunday night and when she woke up Monday (10/13) morning, she had about 300.  They were spreading like wildfire!  Now, I have to tell you, they are NOT pretty.  It was SO, SO sad.  They itched, they burned, they looked scary.  So, we went back to the doctor.  This time we saw our pediatrician.  She took one look at just Ainsley's knees and said it was the worse case of Molluscum she had ever seen in all her practice and that there was nothing else she could do for us.  So, she made a referral call and got us in with a dermatologist the next morning.  

We saw Dr. Summerlin - a fantastic dermatologist if you need one.  Ainsley loves him.  (We still see him weekly)  He immediately diagnosed Ainsley with Atopic Dermatitis.  It's a skin condition that causes an immune deficiency (which is why the molluscum took over), causes her body to not create it's own moisture, and also causes all of her heat to escape from her head because her pores are too small to sweat everywhere else.  It explained so much...the super high fevers all of her life, the random rashes every week, the wet hair all of the time, slow hair growth, etc.  Before you think your child might have it, you should know that the parents have to have a combination of a penicillin allergy, asthma, and hayfever allergies in order to produce a child with AD.  Because of her immune deficiency, her body was just not able to fight off the molluscum.  It continued to get worse for the next few days.  We began treatments to burn the spots off with acid and a toothpick.  It was very painful and required Clint to come home in the mornings just to help me hold Ainsley down.  Needless to say, we didn't leave the house for several days.

So, it's been a long process, but we're finally seeing results.  ALL, I repeat ALL of the molluscum is dead.  She's no longer contagious and only has some dark red spots that might scar, but they're under her arms and on her knees so a scar is not the end of the world.  We're still treating her skin for the AD outbreak, but this is something we'll have to do for the rest of her life.  We go to the dermatologist weekly and he's going to start training Ainsley on how to take care of her own skin.  Since she can't really moisturize herself or sweat like she should, she'll have to learn how to artificially apply these things.  I can't tell you how humbled I am about her recovery.  It truly was a miracle.  It should have taken up to 4 years to heal on a child with AD, but her's are already dead and healing in less than a month!  (I'm trying to upload some pictures of what it looked like, but blogger is being especially stubborn tonight!)  

So, my sweet baby girl is back in school and in the public again.  We know what to look for and how to treat it if it happens again.  Our only fear is that she got it from someone who she's in regular contact with and could get it again.  In most kids it just looks like 2 or 3 chigger bits and goes away on its own.  In Ainsley, however, it can take over her body.  So, prayers of protection over her little body are much appreciated!

What else is new?  I have maxed myself out, once again.  I started way too many projects.  I was making burp cloths and wipes pouches like crazy this month!  I also made both the kids Halloween costumes, a costume for a friend of mine, a dozen bows for 2 other friends, and gave several haircuts.  I have a real problem with saying no.  I just want to be able to help everyone that does so much for me, but it always seems to come all at once.

Grady had his first 1/2 birthday this weekend.  My baby is growing up!  He's almost sitting up and he LOVES to sing.  Some nights, he wakes up in his crib and sings himself back to sleep!  With the exception of the bad teething nights, he's still sleeping about 11-12 hours before waking up, then eating and sleeping another couple of hours.  He's a really excellent little boy!  We're going to dedicate him next month at church too.  Look at the blog below this and leave me a comment telling me which of those 3 photos you like best, if you have time.  The photo we send in will be in the bulletin.  We also started giving him baby food about a month ago.  He does pretty well with it, but just always prefers to nurse over anything else.  Not going to happen, Grady!  You have to learn to eat something else before kindergarten!

That's about all the time I have right now.  I'll end with a funny Ainsley moment:

Me:  "Ainsley, do you know what happens in 2 days?"

Ainsley:  "I grow up!"

Me:  "Well, yes, but it's Halloween too."

Ainsley:  "Oh, and I'm gonna say 'trick or treat' and get candy for me!"

Me:  "That's right, if you're a good girl."

Ainsley:  "What are you going to be?"

Me:  "How about this?"  I showed her my t-shirt with a pumpkin on it...

Ainsley:  "No, I think you want to be a witch."

Me:  "A witch?"

Ainsley:  "Like a witch at Wal-Mart.  You'll be so scary - ooooooo, but I won't be scared because you're my mom."

Me:  "Thanks, I love you Ainsley."

Ainsley:  "And I love witches!"

Yeah....all of this after she saw a witch costume at Wal-Mart.

  

6 Month Check-up

Weight:  16 lbs. 11 oz  --  45%

Height:  27 1/2 inches  --  75%

More to come....

Short Update - Video Link

We've had a busy month! Too busy, actually. After a month on my busy schedule, I've finally caved and started cutting some things out. Last week was the first week on our "easy" schedule and it was great! On Tuesday we didn't go anywhere until dance, so I had time to play a few games with Ainsley and some tummy time with Grady. Who, by the way, rolled all the way over from his back to his tummy today...finally! He's such a cutie! I've also been working about once a week, so I actually have a bit of money to spend. :)

I don't have much time to blog...I'm watching Heroes with my hubby...but you should check out the new update on flickr. There are several videos of the kids playing together, as well as Grady's first giggles and first cereal! Here's a little teaser...

4 Month Check-up

Weight: 15 lbs 4 oz -- 50%
Height: 26 1/4 inches -- 90%

I don't know where my kids get all of this height, but at this rate Grady is going to pass Ainsley!

Happy Birthday, Grady!

Graden Matthew is officially 4 months old! We weighed him and he's about 15 pounds...wow!

Ainsley LOVES birthday parties and loves cake even more, so we had a little party for Grady. He had a puppy dog cake. He just stared at Ainsley like she was crazy. :)
Right after this picture, he drooled on the cake plate. I guess he really could have put the candle out himself!

My sweet kids after church....precious!

Guess who?


Ainsley was 4 months here and Grady was 3 months 3 weeks. It's obvious how much lighter Grady's eyes are than Ainsley's. They're still very blue. Ainsley came out with black eyes and they just keep getting darker! :)

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. As much as I enjoy all of the Fall activities, I really hate all the busyness. I know at some point I just need to stop putting my kids in every activity available, but it's so hard to choose which one to keep! Right now, Ainsley's in school twice a week, dance, swimming lessons, and Toddler Toes. I'm going to women's bible study, home group (which involves a lot of cleaning!) and I started back to choir this week. Then Clint has Impact on Tuesday nights and choir/praise team on Wednesday nights. It gives me a headache just thinking about it! I think I might have to cut something out. Last week I worked 2 days in addition to all of that....if you could see my house right now you'd believe it! Plus, it's getting hard on Grady. I need to be home more for him to get some decent naps in instead of cat-napping in the car. At least my soccer mom car is being put to good use!

So, this is random, but the other night Ainsley looked at Clint and said, "Daddy, can I watch the Tit-munks?" He kept asking her to say it over and over. It was so funny! Maybe it's just the age, but she also plays with the oddest toys. Yesterday she played the ENTIRE day with a little cup full of hair clips. They were all different colors so she had a daddy, a mommy, a teacher, a kitty, etc. She took them in the car and everything. She's also WAY into Peter Pan. We got her the "Return to Neverland" movie for Christmas and she's watched it probably once a week since then. But a couple of weeks ago Clint came home with the original Disney Peter Pan and, no lie, we watch it at least twice a day. It's not a bad movie at all so I really don't mind too much. She gets all of her toys and fairies in the floor and acts out the movie with them. Then when it's over, she makes up new stories about Peter Pan's adventures. As a result, everything, including her sandwich, can fly with a happy thought and a little pixie dust! She even lays in the floor and tells Grady that he can be a "lost boy" when he grows up. :)

Grady is still growing like a weed! As of last week, he's officially in 3-6 months and just yesterday we moved up to size 2 diapers. He's rolling over from his tummy to his back, and from his back to his side, but that's as far as he gets. I think Ainsley was probably rolling much more at this point, but then again she had much more opportunity. I don't put Grady in the floor much because he might get squished! Yesterday I left the room for 2 minutes and when I came back he was wearing a cinderella hat and chewing on a barbie dress! I will be SO surprised if he doesn't get some teeth real soon! It still amazes me how much the kids are alike too. They both LOVE to cuddle and sleep best when they're next to me. Grady even likes to play with my fingernails to go to sleep just like Ainsley did. Oh - we finally got a video monitor too and I LOVE IT! I'm a little addicted to it though. With any little noise at night, I find myself watching it. It was supposed to help me sleep. Ha!

I'll close with a little video of Ainsley's first tap lesson. She was as graceful as a 3-year-old can be!

First Day of School

First of all, isn't this the cutest little boy you've ever seen? :)

Ainsley had her first day of school today! She's going to a pre-pre-K program 2 days a week. She was very excited about her new school! There were a lot of changes this year because they moved to a new facility. One of the changes was that they no longer provide a hot meal so we had to pack a lunch. Ainsley thought that was especially cool!

Ainsley with her teacher, Mrs. Loretta. She looks scared here, but I promise she wasn't. She loves school and threw a huge fit when I picked her up because she didn't want to go home! She really loves Mrs. "Loweda" too!

That kid has really been cracking us up lately! First, Grady was in the bouncy seat in the bedroom. When I turned around, he had 3 naked Barbie dolls laying with him. So, I sat them to the side and transferred him to the swing in the kitchen. A few minutes later Ainsley comes running in screaming, "No, no, no! No ma'am! You say sorry!" I had NO clue what she was talking about until she came running back into the kitchen and placed all 3 naked Barbies back in the swing with Grady. (That poor little boy!) She never let up until I said I was sorry and insisted that "Gwady wants his Barbies!"

Then she decided she'd set the table tonight. Just out of the blue, she went to the pantry and got a handful of napkins. She said, "I just got us 3 napkins for Ainsley, Mommy, and Daddy. Ok?" Then she says, "Forks, Mommy?" I tell her that yes, we need forks, so she got plastic forks and laid them on the napkins at each place setting. She even tried to cut up my food for me! It was so sweet!

She always has some wild prayers, but tonight was just ridiculous. "Thank you God and Jesus..." (She's started that on her own...maybe starting to understand the trinity?) "...for my family and for lots of Never Land, and my heart, and thank you for my best friend Peter Pan, and for pixie dust! Amen!"