My Visit to Dr. Alexander

Jayden's allergist, Dr. Alexander, is now my new allergy doctor. She is such a great doctor and I am looking forward to getting my new set of allergy injections! After 5 years of injections from my old doctor, no apparent improvements were made. Dr. Alexander is sure that her injections, which are much stronger, are going to help. Now I just need to figure out how to fit her injection hours (8:30-4:30 Mon-Thurs) into my schedule.

I visited with her for two long hours tonight and after 42 test pricks of allergens, she quickly discovered how allergic I am to......everything! I even developed a new allergy to peanuts which surprised me. Previous to my visit, I was instructed not to take any allergy medicine for 10 days before testing. Yeah right. I cannot live without allergy medicine. My last dose was on Sunday, so you would think my reactions wouldn't be as bad as they were! Wrong!!

Due to the immense swelling---after only a few minutes (I had to wait 15 before I could wash my arm, which is STILL swollen)---she gave me a dose of predisone (steriods). This means that Aaron, Jayden, and I were all on steroids this past month. Aaron had a run in with poison ivy, Jayden's milk reaction, and now mine! At least this all didn't happen at once!

She told me everything I know that I am allergic to: very allergic to cats, dogs, cockroaches, mold, dust, very allergic to dust mites #1 & #2, very allergic to pollen & ragweed, grass, trees (which causes my weird reactions to carrots, celery, and bananas). Maybe I need to hire a housekeeper??? My peanut allergy was the biggest surprise, but she told me to pay attention to food with peanuts in them and see how I react. I have not eaten peanut butter or peanuts in such a long time that I don't even know how my body would react.

All ready for Fall

The weather started to change this past weekend from the late summer warmth to a cool fall breeze. It was the perfect weekend to officially welcome fall. We spent some time putting away summer clothes and getting out our jackets to prepare for the changing of seasons. Jayden wore his new jacket this morning due to the cool 46 degree temperature at 6:45am. He looked like such a big boy in his jacket and tennis shoes. He was happy to go see Grandpa.

We also brought out our fall decorations and Jayden is lucky to have two little pumpkins. His new word of the week is "two". He generally says it after he hears the number one. I was so excited when he counted to two the other day! I did not expect it at all!!

He also has his collection of Halloween pajamas to wear for the next four weeks. He was pretty happy to be a skeleton last night!

Good bye to summer and hello to cool fall nights. Looking forward to our nights by the fire and football games!

A visit from Great Grandma and Grandpa

Jayden had a special treat today. A visit from Great Grandma and Grandpa Acree! Jayden was sleeping when they arrived, but woke up shortly after. He was pretty shy at first but then started to warm up. He ran around, played with his different toys, screamed, and got a present! He received another copy of one of his favorite books which brought a huge smile to his face as soon as he saw it. Grandma had a chance to read Jayden a book which made her day. He loves books just as much as she does and it was very evident today as he was totally engaged while being read to.

We will see then at the end of October at Deer Camp!

14 Months Old!

Jayden is 14 months old today which is hard to believe! He sure has changed a lot since my last milestone update at 12 months!

1. Jayden weighs 22 lbs. and is around 30 inches long. He went to the doctor today for a possible ear infection. He didn't quite cooperate when they measured him. He ended up having one red ear. The doctor said it isn't an infection yet, but gave him antibiotics just in case. I was happy that he made this decision. The picture above is him in the car right before visiting the doctor. I guess this was our sign that his ear was hurting.

2. He is still wearing size 4 diapers and 12 to 18 month clothing. I have started to buy some clothes 18 to 24 months and he even has a pair of Halloween jammies size 2t. Size 5 diapers are around the corner!

3. Jayden loves to run and walk everywhere! He started walking officially on my birthday, but he really has taken off since then. He gets to where he needs to be and gets there fast!

4. Jayden loves every toy he has and he has a lot. He is in love with the purple horse again and in love with any new toys that come home such as his new Weeble Wobble toy from Marcy. He is especially in love with his blanket--which is not a toy!

5. Jayden is drinking step two formula, apple juice, and water. He isn't picky about his cups anymore which is a relief!

6. We recently gave Jayden hot dogs and McDonalds. He loves them both. He also likes to eat Cookie Crisp cereal as a snack.

7. 6 teeth and counting!

8. J loves to swing, ride his 4-wheeler and play chase. He also likes to throw toys away in the trash can and get into toilet water. We are working on changing the last two behaviors but he is a boy, so it is expected!

9. Sleeping is awesome. Jayden goes to bed around 7:30 and I wake him up at 6:35 each morning. He takes great naps during the day and still likes to take his first nap about 2 hrs after he first wakes up in the morning. He has had some bad dreams at night, but he grabs his blankie and back to sleep he goes.

10. Jayden's vocabulary has increased by leaps and bounds. He doesn't necessarily talk on command, but he babbles all the time. He loves to sing "Wheels on the Bus". We just love listening to what he has to say.

Happy 14th month birthday, Jayden!

What to do at a football game....

Jayden is a busy man when it comes to football games. He has a lot of choices.... He can visit with Emlyn and Ellee who are just 1 year and 1 day older than him. They love to watch their daddy work.

He can spy on the other team and learn some plays for when he gets big or maybe even practice running on the track.

He can climb the stairs a million times while his Daddy chases him and visit his Momma at the fence while he checks out the pretty cheerleaders.

He can watch his cousin Lilly pretend to be a cheerleader and do the moves just like the big girls.

He can even talk his Momma into letting Lilly come sit on the track with the cheerleaders and hold the poms!



After all of that, he can fall asleep while sitting up and sleep all night long and take a long 3 hour nap the next day. Football games are a lot of fun and a lot of work when you are ONE!

New Toy

We bought Jayden this ball pit for his birthday but decided to bring it out tonight to give him something new to play with. As soon as he saw it, he loved it. He can climb in and climb out all on his own. He had so much!

MESSY mac n' cheese :)

Saturday evening Jayden enjoyed some Spongebob macaroni for dinner. He actually enjoyed it too much because he ended up smashing it in his hair and it immediately turned to bath time rather than friend time. Our babysitter has mentioned to us that Jayden has had bath time during the day due to smashing food in his hair and the trend is now continuing at home.

He thought it was pretty funny that I was taking pictures of him while he smashed his food and he couldn't stop laughing.

And there goes more mac n' cheese in his hair...oh well!

Ready for Deer Season

October 1st, the first official day to deer hunt, is just around the corner. Jayden is all ready to go with his new camo from Grandma Nieves. He was pretty happy to try on his new gear and then he headed to the door ready to go (with some prompting from us, of course).

Poor baby isn't going to be able to go hunting with Daddy for a few more years, but at least he has the clothes to get dressed and wait at the door in hope that maybe Daddy will take him or at least come home with something.

Jayden's First Haircut

Jayden got his first haircut tonight at the Upper Cut Salon in Taylorville. Aaron, Jayden, and I went out on a walk/run and ended up heading up town to finish up our route. We decided to stop by the salon to see if we could make Jayden an appointment for later in the week. Jamie ended up having time at the moment we were there and gave J his first hair cut! I made Aaron run two blocks home and get the camera so we could have some pictures. As you can tell from the pictures, he wasn't a fan of having his hair cut, but he sure looks cute with his new hair style. No more little curls for J man!

SIU vs. Illini

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the SIU/Illini game over the weekend. Block I, the student section, always uses colored cards at half time to create pictures. I remember sitting in Block I a few years back. It was so much fun! You never really knew what you were creating, you just knew it was going to be something cool.

I am looking forward to going to another game, but I am sure it will not be until next season. Maybe J will be old enough to go with us!

Our Little Illini Fan

Finally after running around the house like a crazy man, Jayden crashed for a nap!

"Hey, Mom, I will NOT sit in this chair for a picture!"

"Catch me if you can...I am a little Illini fan!"

Over the weekend, Aaron and I headed to Champaign with the Doan's to watch the Illini and Saluki's battle it out on the football field. We cheered on both teams so it was a great time. The Illini ended up winning the game. More pictures from the game to come later this week! It was a lot of fun to get out of the house and have some fun with friends!

Mickey Mouse Breakfast

Jayden really enjoyed his breakfast today--Mickey Mouse style! He watched an episode of Mickey Mouse, while eating a Mickey Mouse pancake, and drinking out of his Mickey Mouse cup. He loved his pancake and almost ate the entire thing!

Blankie

Jayden has become attached to a blanket..finally. It only took 6 months of sleeping in his crib with the same blanket to get attached. I never bring it downstairs or out of his crib because I want it to be something for sleep comfort, not for play. He does have one at the babysitters in his pack and play as well. He was so excited to see me bring it downstairs the other night that he took it all around.

Jayden, Henry & Layne

Jayden's buddies came over last weekend so the the girls and I could have some fun. Jayden gets to see his little friends three times a week at the sitters, so I think they have become pretty good friends. Little Henry likes to "copy" Jayden at the babysitters by having a blanket and a cup with an orange lid. Jayden cried on Thursday when Henry left the babysitters. We think it is pretty cute. Layne isn't far behind Jayden and Henry. I can't wait for all three of them to walk!