Allergies & Flu Shot

Today E received his very first flu shot. I'm not sure if I've mentioned it on here or not, but E has multiple food allergies. He was tested when he was 11 months old, per his pediatrician's suggestion after a bad reaction to yogurt and his eczema. We discovered that he's allergic to wheat, soy, dairy, eggs, peanuts, walnuts, dogs and cats. As you can imagine, it's been hard finding new foods for him to eat. Currently he eats a lot of rice products (milk, noodles, cereal, etc). When he has a reaction to something he breaks out into hives where the food touched his skin, or (if it's been ingested) all over his abdomen. He's even had reactions so bad he had diarrhea and threw up. We're managing his allergies well and hope that he'll grow out of most of them within the next year or so. Unfortunately, the flu shot contains traces of egg white, which could cause a reaction for E. So, we went to allergists office this morning to have his skin tested to see how he would react. They started with a surface "scratch test" and waited 15 minutes for a reaction, gave him 10% of the flu shot in one arm, waited 20 minutes for a reaction and then gave him the rest of the shot in the other arm and waited 20 minutes. He did get a few hives from the scratch test, but not from the injection it's self (weird, I know), so he's been cleared to get the flu shot from his pediatrician in the future. I'm glad he's been immunized and am looking forward to a very active winter with my little guy!

E eating spaghetti - his new fave :)

13 Months

Can't believe it's been a month since E's first birthday party. I feel like he's changed so much. Every day he looks more and more like a little boy. His walking improves every day. He now chooses to walk short distances across the room and then gracefully falls to the floor to crawl the rest of the way. He's eating tons of new foods and right now, anything with spaghetti sauce on it is his favorite. He also loves going to the park, playing in the grass and swinging! He still has six teeth, two on bottom and four on top, but is getting another one on the bottom. His hair is getting much longer, but we still haven't had it cut. He continues to babble constantly in his own little language. He says many words and even waves "bye bye." He's so sweet to be around and loves everyone, even strangers. His smile is contagious...

Walking!!!!!!!

E has been taking a couple steps between us since his first birthday, but the other night he finally decided to walk across the room. He's cautious and looks like a little drunk man, but at last he's walking. He still chooses to crawl most of the time, but he's getting braver and taking tiny steps from the chair to the couch or across the kitchen. Here's a video of some of his first steps:

One Year Stats

We saw our pediatrician the other day for E's one year check-up and shots. The visit went well, overall, but the shots were a little painful (all 3). So far, E is a healthy, happy, baby boy, but he seems to have hit a growth plateau in the past several months. I'm told it's "normal" for babies to slow in weight gain due to their increase in activity (which makes sense). E is a very active little guy! The doc referred us to a pediatric dietician regarding E's food allergies (we feel like we're running out of food options), which we're looking forward to. Overall, our little boy is growing and developing right on pace. Our next visit is at 15 months.

Here are the 12 month stats:

Weight - 19 lbs 3 oz (6%)

Length - 29 3/4 in (49%)

Head Circ - 17 1/4 in (2%)

ONE year!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Elliot!

Our baby boy is ONE! A year ago today we were getting ready to leave the hospital with a new addition to our family. So tiny and precious. First time parents, rookies, scared and excited about the months to come. Several friends told us "congratulations" and said that the first birthday party is really a celebration for the parents for how hard they've worked in the past year. Though it's been a trying year, it's truly been the best and fastest year of my life! The first six months seem like a blur. I don't remember last fall. I can't believe it's been a whole year!

To celebrate E's birthday we had a party at a local park with lots of friends and family. The weather was beautiful, the food was good and being able to share it with loved ones was awesome. E played with his many friends, dug into his cake and opened presents! It was the perfect way to celebrate an amazing child and our first year of parenthood.

E is simply an amazing boy. Though he's not walking yet, he will take several tentative steps between Dr. M and I. His vocabulary is growing all the time. He now waves and says hi and byebye. His favorite word is still ball but has added black bean, baby, bucket, mom and will repeat (or attempt to repeat) anything we say. He's cruising around furniture with ease, but still stands on his tip toes most of the time. He'll walk if holding onto his walking toy or our fingers, but crawling is still his preferred mode of transportation. He's now in a "big boy" booster car seat, no longer the pumpkin seat (which he's outgrown). He's completely self-feeding now. He eats table foods, chicken, watermelon, corn, peas, carrots, broccoli, hamburger, apples, banana and noodles - all his current favorites. I'm still nursing, but we've been supplementing rice milk twice a day (which he loves!). I'm also happy to report that we're still using (and loving) cloth diapers! Over the past year we've saved roughly 2,788 diapers from being added to our landfills. We see the pediatrician, tomorrow for a full one-year assessment and shots.

Here's to our first year of parenthood and many more to come!!!!

Grandpa Moen

Grandpa Moen's joyful spirit will always be remembered in our hearts. He was a husband, father of three amazing men, grandfather to three beautiful boys and friend to so many. His spirited, witty and sometimes crazy personality always drew people to him. He lit up any room he walked into and left with new friends. Always up for a good time, new adventure or simple chat around a campfire, he was always there to listen. He loved to tell stories, long stories and especially crazy stories. He was loved by so many and will be deeply missed. May he rest in peace.

Keith Deane Moen

August 7, 1953 - August 10, 2010

11 Months!

I can't believe our little boy will be one in less than a month. My how time flies when you're a parent. This time last year I was the size of a house and getting anxious to meet our little one. Now it's been 11 months and he's almost a toddler. He's talking all the time. Just today we were at the store buying a watermelon (E's fave) and he kept reaching for it in the cart saying "ball, ball." It was so cute. Though he's not walking yet, he's getting closer every day. He seems to have no fear when it comes to crawling, climbing and cruising. In fact, we had our first major injury today. E was crawling across the tile kitchen floor (a tupperware lid in each hand) and he slipped and went down face first on the tile, cutting his lip on his teeth. It bleed for a while and is pretty swollen, but it doesn't seem to bother him for as bad as it looks. I'm sure you won't even be able to see it in a couple days. We're in the process of planning E's first birthday. The picnic site is reserved and the invitations are in the mail. I know I've already said it, but I can't believe our little boy will be one next month. I love that we are starting to see the little boy that he will be. He's perfect.

Guess who's talking?!

Our little boy has always been a talker, in a language all his own, perhaps, but a talker. He's constantly babbling to the dogs, his toys and even strangers at the grocery store. His chatter never meant much (at least not to us) until lately...when he said his first word...DAD! It's no surprise that this is his first word, he loves his dad. He loves it when he gets home, feeds him, bathes him and plays with him. Recently, Dr. M has been working with E to increase his vocabulary. During E's bath Dr. M holds different toys up, says the name and waits for E to repeat him. E looks at the toy, thinks about it for a minute and then sounds out the name! He now says, duck, ball, bear, dog and (our fave) turtle! Seriously! It's SO cute! He's growing up so fast!

Summa summa time!

Wow, what a summer it's been! Our little boy is growing up so fast. He's cruising along the furniture, standing on everything and chatting up a storm. The three of us joined friends for a Fourth of July BBQ in Soulard. Though we missed the fireworks to get the little guy in bed, Dr. M and I poured a glass of wine and sat on the front porch watching the sky light up. The celebration continued with a BBQ and good friends again the next day.

It's hard to believe that a year ago, July 5th, we moved to St. Louis. I was almost 8 months pregnant and Dr. M was starting his career. The move has been good for us and St. Louis has treated us well. Of course our world changed the day that little boy came into it, but we wouldn't change any part of it. In fact, we're looking forward to the next couple years in St. Louis and where our lives will take us next.

We recently took a 5 day family trip to Kansas City and Lawrence. We saw Grandma K, GG, Aunt Kaps, Aunt Jamie and a bunch of wonderful friends! It was a long time to be away from home, but little E was such a trooper. He napped well, slept like a champ and made friends with everyone. Overall he seemed unscathed by the long trip, but is happy to be home.

With heat indices in the 100's we decided to set up the baby pool in the back yard. E thought this was the best idea. He had a blast. He crawled in circles, chased toys and laughed for over an hour! We had almost as much fun as he did just watching him.

10 Months!

Our baby boy is now 10 months old. He's always so happy, laughing and smiling and fun to be around. So interested in the world around him. He takes on new challenges with such stride. The changes in his development over the past month have mainly been in perfecting his motor skills. He can go from sitting to standing and back again, with such control. He's pulling up on everything (even the wall). His legs and arms have become so much stronger and he's much more confident on his little chubby feet. He's also started "cruising" along furniture. His main form of transportation is still crawling but then pulls to stand on the nearest wall, toilet, couch, table, dog, chair, toy, etc. His fine motor skills have also increased greatly. From picking up cheerios to toys, passing them between his hands, dropping things and picking them up again. Actually, dropping things on the floor may currently be his favorite thing to do. He loves dropping cheerios off of his highchair and watching his brothers (the dogs) clean them up. He thinks it's hilarious! In fact, he drops everything, just to hear it hit the ground and watch you pick it up. This is a really fun game for mom. He's recently become a bottomless pit. Eating everything you put in his mouth. It's amazing how much food fits in that tiny belly of his. He's now eating finger foods of all kinds, three times a day, but cheerios are still his favorite. He also babbles non-stop in a language all his own... Well, it sounds like someone just woke up from his nap, standing in his crib, peeking over the edge. Such a sweet little face.

First Father's Day!

At 6pm the day before his first Father's Day, Dr. M returned from a three week business trip in Spain. Needless to say, E and I were counting down the days until he returned. Considering the time difference and Dr. M's jet lag, the only plans we had for Father's Day was spending time together, all three of us, and that's exactly what we did! It was perfect. Dr. M shared stories from his travels and E performed his newly discovered skills to his proud dad. We stayed in our pj's most of the day, ate at Dr. M's favorite restaurant and took a family walk around the neighborhood. A perfect family day together.

4 years

Yesterday was our 4th wedding anniversary. Good thing we celebrated a couple weeks ago because Dr. M is in Spain, E has a bad virus called "hand, foot and mouth" (gross name for a common virus), Stewdog had surgery a couple days ago and we've spent the last 4 days at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Our life is crazy, but I wouldn't change it for anything. The last 4 years of our life have been awesome and I'm looking forward to many, many more!

E and Grandpa hangin' out.

9 Months

We met with Dr. E yesterday for E's 9 month check-up. Overall, he's a happy, healthy little boy. Despite the fact that we've been through two ear infections and two rounds of antibiotics last month, E looked great yesterday! Dr. E was most impressed with the great improvement of his eczema. E received just one shot yesterday and cried for only a second. He's still a long and skinny boy (just like his mom was as a baby). His weight has leveled out due to his increase in mobility, which doc said is normal. He's also pulling up to stand on everything, Stewdog, the dishwaser, etc. He'll be cruising and walking before we know it. E has been eating so well lately. He loves steamed squash, broccoli, bananas, mango, black beans and can even feed himself cheerios! We tried yogurt for the first time yesterday (per Dr. E's okay) and poor E had a horrible reaction to it! He broke out in hives everywhere the yogurt touched his skin :( After a quick dose of Benadryl he was back to normal. Needless to say, we'll be avoiding dairy products until we've had a chance to meet with an allergy specialist. His next well-check with Dr. E isn't for another 3 months for his 12 month visit and shots. Can't believe our little boy will be one so soon. He's grown so much in the last 3 months it will be fun to see what he's up to in 3 more.

The Stats:

Weight - 17 lbs 14 oz (10%)

Length - 28.5 in (57%)

Head Circ - 17 in (7%)

E loves swimming and being outside!

He also likes to help with the dishes ;)

On the move...

Little E started crawling a month ago. Now he's all over the place! Which I have to admit, I actually like. He follows me all over the house, even in the bathroom. He thinks the measuring cups and spatulas in the kitchen are the greatest new toys. The world has grown exponentially for E since he started moving. He's no longer confined to a small corner in the family room. Everything he finds is so new and exciting, an adventure...the knobs on the bathroom cabinets, the toilet flushing, the dog bowls, the different floor textures, the air conditioning vents (particularly when the air blowing). He's also started pulling up to standing on everything including the dishwasher, the couch and even Stewdog. This is such a fun and exciting time. E is so much fun but watch out, he's fast!!

First Mother's Day

Sunday was my very first Mother's Day (though we sort of celebrated last year, when I was pregnant). My Dad was in town, still celebrating Dr. M's birthday and helping us with some much needed yard work. Dr. M surprised me with a beautiful tree to plant in the front yard. It symbolizes the start of our new family and my very first Mother's Day together. I'm looking forward to watching it grow along with our family. I received so many beautiful flowers and cards and went to a wonderful brunch. I may, however, be looking forward to using the overdue and much needed one hour massage gift card that Dr. M gave me. Being a mother is amazing and exhausting at the same time. Every day is a new challenge, unlike the day before. Watching my son thrive and grow and my husband become a father is so rewarding. We are learning from each other everyday and growing as a family. I always thought that I would feel "different" as a mother and, to be honest, I don't. I feel better. Like myself, but complete. I love caring for my family. My respect and understanding for my own mother has grown so much. The bond between a mother and her child is indescribable, like nothing I could have imagined. I love that little boy so much and am so lucky to be his mother. He has changed my life forever. Thank you, little E.

30th Birthday

May 5th was Dr. M's 30th birthday (he's finally catching up with me!). To celebrate we had a house full of family (and dogs!). His mother, my mom, her husband, my dad, his wife and a good childhood friend of Dr. M's and three dogs all came to visit. He received 3 birthday cakes, many beautiful cards, cash, some much needed items, steaks and a new gas grill! The weather was beautiful. We ate outside three nights in a row. The celebration continued for almost 5 days and into the weekend. Little E was a trooper and, quite honestly, he loved all of the attention from the grandparents! As Dr. M always says "A PhD and a baby before I'm 30." I can't wait to see what he will accomplish in the next 30 years...

8 months

It's been a busy month in the Moen household. A month full of "firsts" for us and our busy little boy...an allergic reaction, using a highchair at restaurants, really crawling, tornado sirens, picnic in forest park, first b-day party, fever, antibiotics and ear infection. Things started with a bad allergic reaction to something unknown, he had hives all over and even his ears swelled (Benadryl works wonders). We started using the "big kid" high chairs at restaurants, which E loves and so do we, as it keeps him occupied while we eat. The past two weekends we've experienced April showers, severe spring weather and tornado sirens...the three of us and the dogs camped out in the basement last weekend for over a half hour. A week ago it finally happened....E got his very first fever. We were in the car, on our way to Chicago for the weekend and turned around when we realized that E wasn't feeling well. A green runny nose, fever and few days later we discovered that E had a double ear infection. He received his first dose of "the pink stuff" amoxicillin (and loves it!). E also attended his very first birthday party for a friend and a picnic in Forest Park last week. He loves being outside, playing in the grass and all the other kids in the beautiful spring weather. He's been working on crawling for some time now, but decided to take a break and work on transitioning from sitting to crawling and laying down to sitting, which he's mastered. But tonight, for the first time, he actually crawled...across the room, forward! He's getting so big (almost 18 lbs now). He's so much fun. He's always happy, laughing, babbling and smiling at everyone. So far, we haven't experienced any separation anxiety or stranger danger. He's just perfect. In every way....

Food

Our little boy is getting so big, He has been eating solid foods every day for the past month and even drinks water from a sippy cup. He eats two meals a day (lunch and dinner) and I've made every one of them from fresh, cooked and pureed veggies and fruit (pour them into ice cube trays and freeze them - so easy!). So far, he's tried: avocado, banana, mango, pear and sweet potato. I've just made carrots, broccoli and green beans to try next. So far, banana is his favorite, followed closely by his new fave, mango. He gets so excited when it's meal time, he squeals and kicks his legs. He's growing up so fast :)

More Videos!

I've uploaded all of our videos to a shared site, so it's easier for you to view and for me to upload. The videos start at Christmas (when we got the camera) and go through some we took yesterday. We've captured him babbling, giggling, playing, rolling over, eating, smiling, sitting, playing peek-a-boo and trying to crawl. Have fun watching them! Click HERE for the link.

Easter

All 5 of us (dogs too) packed up and drove to Kansas City for Easter weekend. We stayed with Grandma K and Miss Sadie in Liberty. We arrived Friday and spent the evening with some good friends that we hadn't seen in ages (plus, I was due for an evening out with adults). Saturday, the weather was beautiful and we spent the afternoon shopping some local stores, sharing a lovely lunch and generally taking it easy. Easter morning little E was excited to find an Easter basket full of exciting, handmade gifts from Grandma K. We headed home early that morning, but had time to stop along the way and enjoy a nice picnic lunch outside. Easter weekend was nice and relaxing, but I have a feeling that next year we'll be hunting for eggs and chasing an eager toddler.