Happy HallowAnnivThanksgivMas

Blogging hasn't been my thing the last couple of months.  Between all my travels (six out of 8 weeks was WAY too much) and having company in October, finishing up the racing season and stuff, it's just been a little nuts around here. I'll try to be better as we close out the year, but no promises!

I can't even remember September, so I'll skip it.  In October, I finished that darn half marathon that made me start to hate running. Between the pain, the asthma and the other problems that got in the way of my training, I can only take pride that I finished 2 half marathons in a year.  I even finished both of them without an ambulance...the second required a stop at the medic tent for an unyielding asthma attack, but other than that, I finished on my own two feet...just a little slower than I would have liked.

We had Bryan's 18-month check up in October, and he grew up, but certainly not out.  He likely reclaimed his label, but nobody cares in that developmentally, he's "measuring" closer to 27 months than 18 and has a rapidly expanding vocabulary.  And his fine & gross motor skills are developing quickly too! Who cares if he's really skinny?  He's otherwise very healthy.  I'll take it!  Thankfully, my sister-in-law is willing to let us have the 12-month pants back for Bryan.  I have a feeing my nephew and Bryan will be in the same size pants by April!  That's OK.  I'll take smart and skinny any day of the week!

After all that and celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary, we rounded out the month with Bryan's first Halloween costume (he dressed as his lovey, "Frasier") and his first trip into the mountains.  And his first real snow experience.  It was so much fun.

We are gearing up for a small Thanksgiving at our house, followed by first Christmas here and then we head to MI for a week to celebrate second Christmas.

Bryan's list of words include: Abby, apple, baby, bye bye, hi, night night, no, yes, uh-oh, beep beep, moon, cracker, juice, cheese, more, please, thank you, Elmo, Dur Dur (Frasier), Bert (as in Bert & Ernie), and by the time I pick him up from daycare, there will be another, I am sure.  Seems like a word a day lately.  Some more decipherable than others!

Here are some pictures of the last couple of months!  See you all soon!

Contentment

We are a happy family.  But like all families, I think sometimes we take for granted how wonderful our lives really are.  How often do you take a step back and count your blessings?  Which, BTW,  is one of my favorite Christmas songs.  The Rosemary Clooney and Bing Crosby version only, though.

I think the answer for all of us is, "not nearly enough."  While I keep a happiness journal of one good thing that happens every day, I still get lost in the daily grind, routine, rut. Whatever you want to call it.

Friday night, I was one of the very privileged Coloradans to see Keith Urban play at Red Rocks.  Red Rocks Amphitheater is only about 20 minutes from my house. It's a park. People exercise there. It hosts high school graduations and Easter sunrise services.  And there are concerts several nights every week from mid-May through late-October.  I've been several times and it's fun.  It wasn't until Keith Urban moved into the middle of the crowd, about four rows down from me and told us WHY artists have Red Rocks on their bucket list of performances that I really began to appreciate how fortunate I am to have this in my "backyard."  It really is an amazing venue and no place on Earth has a better view.  From that point on, it seemed that my blessings flooded my thoughts.  And in that moment, I felt utterly content.  Completely happy. And so incredibly blessed to have the life I have, and I wouldn't change a thing.  I wish I could have captured the next several minutes on camera, but I got bits and pieces:

And just after we took this "selfie," Keith Urban sang my favorite song of his, "Without You" when I saw fireworks erupt from three places in the south-Denver metro area festivals.  It was breathtaking.  Absolutely breathtaking.

And the weekend didn't end there! I've been on new Asthma medications (two new ones plus my rescue inhaler) which helped me have the best long run I've had in a LONG time.  After I logged seven miles, I called my mom and told her of my dream that my sister-in-law had gone into labor that day.

As soon as I got off the phone and out of the shower, we took Bryan to his Mimi and Poppy's house for his first sleepover there while Chris and I went into the mountains.  It was a perfect escape from the heat of the city.  We went to the Breckenridge Spice shop and grabbed refills for our Black Truffle Sea Salt and bought a sample of their Smoked Bacon Sea Salt.  We took the long way home and just before we crested Loveland Pass at 11,991 feet above sea level, we drove through a little rain shower.  But when we came out of it, we were ABOVE the rainbow.  Wow.  That's all I can say.  I yelled "we're above the rainbow. ABOVE THE RAINBOW!!" until Chris could pull over so I could capture this picture. You can't just pull over anywhere on the two-lane S-curve highway.  But in return, this is what I got:

It was absolutely breathtaking.  And twenty minutes later, Mom called to tell me Shannon had gone to the hospital and was in labor.  See, sometimes dreams do come true!

Chris and I tried a new restaurant close to home and were 100% impressed with not just the remarkable food, but the low (relatively speaking) price.  It was a fantastic night.  And as soon as we got to the car to go home, I got a call from Mom that my little brother was a Daddy!!  I know he has the two older kiddos, but this is his first baby.  And I am in awe.

By the time we got home from dinner, my mother-in-law had texted me to say that Bryan was a perfect angel and they wish they could do this all the time.  Bryan loves his Poppy as much as he loves his Papa!  

And we slept.  And slept.  And slept.  Until 8:00 a.m.!  It seemed like we had wasted half the day by sleeping in that late!  It was wonderful.  

So today, I started my day with a renewed sense of purpose and perspective on what really matters.  And that list is short.  What matters most to me?  My family, my friends, and love.  That's it.  With those three things on my side, I will conquer all.  

Simplicity

We've taken Bryan to all sorts of places.  Airports, rec centers, malls, Ikea, the pool, restaurants, Target, Home Depot, Ace Hardware, grocery stores...you name it.  It occurred to us last weekend that we haven't taken Nuggs to a park.  This summer has either been too hot or too rainy in the afternoons to enjoy a park.  We finally caught a break on Sunday.  Rain threatened our plans, but we managed to avoid the downpour.  We passed more than an hour in a perfectly grassy park (with playground stuff Bryan wanted NO PART OF and a sandbox his mom and dad wanted NO PART OF).

I was smart enough to grab the camera before we left.  Something I've been neglecting lately.  And while I see my errors in some of the photos, I managed to snap a few that I think could be frame worth. It also helps when the subject matter is so beautiful.

I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed being lazy in the park!

Brave little kiddo. This was about 20 yards from where we were sitting.  He's pointing out a "car car" which is Nuggs code for airplane (two syllable mode of transportation is a car car)

A loud car passed by. He demanded an explanation!

Nothing sweeter than when he crawls in Chris' lap and wants to hold hands.

Juice please!

I am going to spit out the juice please!

My little Nugget of perfection.  I love him more than anything I could ever have imagined!

playtime

There is absolutely nothing better than watching a toddler play!  

Lifting weights

Last week, Bryan weighed in two ounces heavier than he did at the end of July.  So, he's gaining (on average) about an ounce a week.  I have no idea if that's good or not, but he had a major growth spurt in the last few weeks.  His diapers are too short in the rise (he looks like a little plumber running around sometimes!) and a few of his t-shirts that he's worn all summer are showing his belly now. I think his weight gains are exceeding his height gains finally!  I have no idea how much weight a 16 month old should gain in a week. The doctors stop talking about that stuff when you stop measuring age in weeks.  But here's the really good news:
1.  He weighs enough that he looks like the other kids in his class.  You can't see his ribs anymore which has been our benchmark for a while now.
2.  The somewhat inaccurate questionnaire to determine developmental age based on achievements measured Bryan at approximately 19 months, 2 weeks.  Which is a very non-scientific way of saying that my kid may be on the little side, but he's strong and really smart.  Uh oh.  I'm in HUGE trouble!!
3.  Nobody's worried about anything, except maybe that GI doctor, but he's just one opinion.

So, for now, I have a toddler that runs everywhere, is getting louder by the day, eats like a typical toddler, has a mind of his own, loves art, loves to play outside, loves to push things and climb stairs, is almost completely done with bottles (he would be if his Mom wasn't hanging on to them for dear life!) and is talking up a storm with words and non-words alike.  He only takes a few minutes to warm up to new people and loves his school so much that when I drop him off, he pushes me out of the way to go play. Nothing warms my heart more than knowing my son is so happy.

So, all is well here.  We keep plugging along and with every passing day we can see our little Nugget conquering something new and leaving babyhood that much farther behind him.  Time really does fly. Here's a post from a year ago!  

Nuggs has his own little chair and LOVES it.

Such a little man.  And so big! 

That night his dinner was a cup of baked beans and a pint of raspberries. Without a doubt, he is 100% my kid! He may look like his Dad, but he eats just like his Mom.  We could each eat our body weight in fruit! 

back at it

I think I should do some research to figure out how many times I've started a blog or email with "it's been crazy around here."  I think I should accept that crazy is our version of normal.  

We are moving at warp speed around here.  Bryan is chatting up a storm.  A few real words (uh-oh, car, mom, dad, dog, ball) and a ton of pretend words.  Everything he doesn't have a word for has become a car.  At least he points up in the sky when he hears an airplane and says, "car car!"  Oh, and we get car car when the word he wants to say has two syllables.  I think that's pretty darn smart.

My job is keeping me on my toes in a lot of great ways. I still hate the travel part, but it's a small price to pay to be able to go for a run and/or hit the gym at lunch time and know that I can be home with Nuggs if he gets sick.  And speaking of sick (knock on wood...lots of it!), Bryan hasn't been really sick since we put the tubes in his ears!  BEST. DECISION. EVER!!  

He's getting a little dairy in his diet now.  We are giving him Pediasure in that real milk doesn't have the caloric density that he needs to fatten up a little.  By the end of July, the GI doc wanted Bry to weigh in at 21 lbs.  We showed up and he weighed in at 20 lbs, 14.5 oz.  Really.  We missed it by an ounce and a half.  If he would have just finished the banana before we left, we would have hit the goal.  I know he's growing like crazy.  He's out of his 18-month PJ's...they were too short and his feet too big.  So now he's swimming in 24-month PJs.  He hasn't outgrown anything else in that I had no summer clothes that fit him anyway.  He's finally growing into what we have, but most of the shorts are still too big.  That kid is perfectly proportionately skinny! With big feet.  Thankfully, they still seem to be "normal" rather than his dad's inherited 4-E width!  Keeping my fingers crossed that his feet stay longer than they are wide.

We have his 15-month check up tomorrow, on his 16-month birthday.  We waited an extra month so that we could see the GI doc before we did this follow up, then an extra week because I traveled last week and he needs more immunizations.  Chris was a little apprehensive to do that while I was out of town.  

And I am back in full swing in my training.  I have a 15k on October 6 (that's 9.3 miles) that fits perfectly in my training schedule for the half-marathon on October 20. There may be a few 5k races here and there, too, as fall weather takes over.  Over the summer, thanks to Lisa K., I realized that I have the potential to run a lot faster than I actually run.  I just don't push myself and I seem to get hung up on my darn Garmin watch. While I love the knowledge it gives me, I perform better if I don't have the instant feedback. So just go, and listen to my body, not the beeps.  Not rocket science but man, it sure is refreshing to know that I will not die if I run faster than a 12-minute mile.  How about a 10:45 minute mile.  Yep. I did that.  With a few more after that.  So, from now on, I'll turn my Garmin on and either wear it around my ankle so I can't see it, or stuff it in my run-belt.  I like the ankle idea...if it fits around my ankle, that is!

Ok, that's it.  I am excited for Bry's weigh-in tomorrow at the regular well-baby visit.  It's exactly two weeks after the GI weigh-in so we'll know if his growth trajectory is starting to correct itself or if we need to reevaluate.  My money is on trajectory correction!!    

Fear.

For the past two weeks, my alarm has been going off at 5:00 every morning for me to get up and run.  And it's been nothing short of impossible for me to actually lace up and go.  I've been excited, ready, awake enough, motivated and prepared to make a four- to five-mile loop every morning. But there's been something stopping me... FEAR.

Two years ago, during my summer of run, I was out the door every morning by 6:15.  But now with a kiddo on a schedule, daycare drop off and starting my work day, I have to get out the door an hour earlier to get the run in.  The problem with that:  The sun isn't on the same page.  By 6 am, there's enough daylight to make it happen.  But not enough time left before the routine begins.  At 5:15 there's just not enough daylight to be crossing 5-lane roads with speed limits of 45 where drivers regularly exceed 50-55 MPH.  And then there's the ongoing "investigative reporting" of mysterious white vans trying to mug women running alone, and the reports of aggressive coyotes approaching runners, walkers and pets across the Denver metro area.  One runner in Boulder County was bitten by an aggressive coyote.  The damn things are taking over our city!

And now that I am a mom, I take this stuff a lot more seriously.  I can deal with the coyotes, but the muggings and traffic are the real deal. On Saturday morning, a cyclist was riding in the bike lane along the road I want to cross when a car hit and killed him less than a block from where I'd cross.  I really don't think I need to be crossing that street on foot the dark.

So, I am faced with with two choices:  running on a treadmill; or in the heat of the day.  And to be honest, a pack of aggressive coyotes sounds like more fun than either of those two options.

But alas, I have two race registrations paid for and a knee that won't tolerate me not training properly.  So, with a little extra cross training, a few treadmill runs and (temperatures permitting) outdoor jaunts, I will keep my shoulders back, breathe deep and lace up.  Fear may change my method and time of day, but I won't let it change my goals.

Two pictures from five days

I will not be winning the mom of the year award for my picture taking during our trip to MI last week.  I managed two lousy iPhone photos during the entire visit.

A better trip update will follow. I am on the road again in sunny California and have a three hour drive ahead of me today. Right to the western edge of Death Valley.  SWEET!  It's supposed to be cooler there today. High around 109.  Good grief!

Bryan picked out a ball during our Target outing. He loved his new ball so much, he pitched a fit when I tried to put it in the seat next to him.  This is how he sat all the way from town back to the river.  What a kid!

Oh how my travels have changed.  This pocket used to have a bottle of water, an iPad and an iPhone.  Now it has water, a sippy cup, a zebra rattle, a Sohpie giraffe teething toy, a Dr. Seuss book and some graham crackers.

He was a great little traveler.  Slept all the way home and had no issues with time zones in either direction!!

It's just not a travel day without...

Fearing delays, bad weather and bumpy air.  Only this time I get to do with a toddler in my lap!  Here's hoping tomorrow is awesome and not in a sarcastic kind of way!

Nothing says "Jenna's traveling again" like large hail and strong winds!  BRING. IT. ON.  But after 2:30 eastern time, please!

The value of loyalty

It's no secret that I travel enough for work to reap the benefits of being brand loyal to hotel chains (Hilton), rental car companies (National) and airlines (United).

My United loyalty stemmed from the convenience of my home airport (Denver) being a hub for the airline and the fact that they offer direct flights to two airports in Michigan and every client I visit each year. This used to be a BIG selling point for me.  Bend, Oregon would take a day to get to on any other airline.

This week, I traveled to Detroit for the day.  No overnight bag, no luggage. Just me, my iPad, my purse, a toothbrush, toothpaste and a change of underwear (just in case!!).  I had to fly Delta because it was the only airline that could get me to Detroit by 1:00 pm and home the same night.  United didn't have the options to get me there or back.  Nor did Frontier, Southwest and American.

Begrudgingly, I booked my Delta ticket and prepared for the day. And it was a typical airport/airplane experience until the security video started.  Delta has gone out of their way to spice it up a little.  I actually giggled a couple times. I appreciated the surprise as I usually can recite those videos verbatim.

I had meetings, it rained a lot, blah blah blah for 2 hours.  And then it was time to come home.  When I checked in in Detroit for my flight home, I noticed I had a 20 minute delay in Minneapolis and my previously scheduled 42 minute layover had been cut in half.  In a panic, I went to a gate agent who said this to me, "Mrs. Rowland, I would really love to help you, but unless your delay overlaps your next departure, my system won't let me rebook you.  However, here's what I can tell you. Inside security, there's a Croc's shoe store near your gate. Stop in and get some comfier shoes.  In Minneapolis, you are scheduled to arrive at F2 and your flight home is scheduled to depart from G20.  I know that seems like a long walk, but if you keep moving and use the walkways, I am pretty sure you'll make it."

Wow.  I did not buy the shoes (although I wished I had!!), but I appreciated the suggestion. And I was thrilled to know exactly where I was scheduled to be going, even if F2 and G20 were subject to change. When I got on the plane in Detroit, I noticed how roomy it seemed for an MD-90.  I know my butt is getting smaller, but I really felt like I had plenty of butt AND leg room.  That's an airplane rarity these days. We departed on time for our 20 minute delay.

After landing in MSP, everyone was in a hurry.  The gentleman behind me was also connecting to Denver and offered to ask the gate agent to hold the plane for me.  He was wearing sneakers and was dressed as though he were a physically capable person.  Apparently I am a bit more physically capable in heels than he was in sneakers. I beat him to the gate.  They were just beginning the boarding process when I got there and then they announced the maintenance delay of 30 minutes.  Phew!  Me and  my new foot blister had time to grab a bite to eat, a bottle of water, use the restroom and see Kelsey Grammer!  No joke! I saw Frasier (and not the flat giraffe!!).

We boarded exactly 30 minutes late.  But then we sat. And sat. And sat. And sat.  For another 60 minutes we sat on that plane.  But hey, I was doing a there-and-back day trip...this is a small price to pay to sleep in my own bed and get Nuggs ready for school in the morning.

While on the plane, I felt comfortable and content.  I never feel comfortable and content on airplanes. Maybe it was the captain keeping us updated and referring to maintenance as "those knuckleheads" that had me at ease.  Maybe it was Delta paying for a drink for each passenger.  I did not partake, but I could have had a free glass of wine at 30,000 feet!   Maybe it was the comfort of the seat? Or the legroom? Or the cleanliness of the plane?  I guess I don't care.

And then today I received this email from Delta:

We are very sorry that your flight was delayed on July 1, 2013. Your feedback on this experience is important to us. We ask that you please provide feedback on your experience while at Minneapolis/St. Paul Intl Airport using the survey at the link below. The survey is between 4 and 12 questions, targeting your specific circumstances, and should only take a couple of minutes to complete. We thank you in advance for your feedback and again offer our deepest apologies for this inconvenience

Really?  United has stranded me in a dozen different airports and delayed MOST of my flights, and never...NOT ONCE...have they ever asked for feedback on my experience. I have held status on United for seven years. I don't even have a frequent flier number with Delta.  I have only one word...WOW!

This service, level of communication, commitment to traveler satisfaction, and recognition of loyalty has me questioning my own loyalties.  Is it time to switch?  Switching to Delta will get me direct to Detroit, but have me connecting in MSP or ATL for every other trip I make.  Is it worth it?  Thoughts?

Water Bug

Bryan loves water as much as I do.  Splash Day at school was a huge success.  Bryan's classmates hated the water so he got the table to himself.  As the story goes, Nuggs was very disappointed that he couldn't climb into/onto the water table.  According to his teacher, they just wanted to know if he'd like the water before they have him get in the kiddie pool.  While his classmates sat in the shade and cried, my kid laughed and splashed in the water.

Starting next week, he gets to "swim" with the bigger kids!

We really aren't surprised by Nuggs' reaction to water... do you remember this? Sometimes I forget how far we've come!

You know you are doing alright when...

The trainer leading the class at the gym pulls you aside and says, "Jenna, I am so proud of you.  Look at your heart rate!  You are recovering so quickly... athletes work long and hard to get to this point and you just had a baby 14 months ago!"

She called me an athlete.  I think I recovered quickly and had to work harder to get my heart rate up in the first place because I was on the spin bike. I HATE that thing.  But talk about awesome cross training.  And who cares.  I am an athlete that had a baby 14 months ago.  I'll take it all as a compliment :-)

Faster!!

I have always had a knack for learning lessons the hard way.  And in May, I learned that if you run four miles  once a week then every Saturday run one more mile than you did the Saturday before, you can finish a half marathon...and get really close to a personal record (darn side stitch got me at mile 13!).  So, yeah, that was good to know.  But did you also know that this lack of running and lack of at least decent cross training can also lead to patellar tendonitis?  Yeah.  That's not so awesome.

My racing in started on April 28 with a 10 miler, then two more 10-mile long runs followed by a half marathon on May 19, and a 10k on May 27.  After that I took a much needed three week break to heal my achy knee and feet and ankles.

This week I am "easing" back into it.  I have another 10 mile race on Labor Day, a couple of fun 5k races and another half marathon in October.  This time, I am committed to the cross training.  And by "committed" I mean my orthopedic surgeon said that if I, "don't get in the gym and do SOMETHING other than run, then I am not a committed runner and will never be able to do this for the long term because it will ruin my legs."  Ok.  That's all I needed to hear! YIKES!!

Our air quality has been really poor so I have been hitting the treadmill a little more than I'd actually like to.  But at least I got two shorter runs in.  And two other cross training workouts that included an eliptical and a spin bike, each followed by some circuit strength training.

I know it's only been a week of effort but I feel really good.  Like "running five miles on Saturday will be pretty easy" good.  I feel stronger and faster than I did in May.  Maybe I just needed a little rest to recharge the batteries and heal my legs.  BRING. IT. ON!!

We pulled back the curtain and...

So the Wizard of Oz (our pediatric gastroenterologist) totally redeemed himself yesterday.  It was a rough start, though, so we were wondering how this conversation would go.  Our appointment time was 11:20 and at 12:40 we were still in the waiting room with a hungry toddler.  Thankfully, as any smart mom would,  I came prepared for the hungry toddler part!

We told the Wizard of our troubles with getting information from his medial assistant.  We also spoke of the waiting times in the waiting room.  The office manager was promptly called in and assured us that not only would we not be charged a copay for yesterday's visit, but our insurance company would not be billed either.  I didn't even know a doctor could do that.  I guess it's considered pro bono work. Regardless, after the discussion of our frustrations and his office staff not measuring up to the reputation of the doctors, we were more than satisfied with the outcome.

Now on to the results.  Nugget tested negative for all food allergies.  That's awesome.  But his labs came back positive for inflammation, and the upper portion of his small intestine was inflamed and irritated which is typically indicative of a food allergy.  The Wizard believes that Nugget was born with an allergy to something (most likely dairy...which explains all the formula issues we had) but has outgrown it.  Unfortunately, until the inflammation and irritation in his small intestine subsides he will not be asymptomatic even though he's outgrown the allergy.  Sounds confusing, huh?!?!

So here's the plan.  We've switched Nuggs from Prevacid (there is no evidence of him ever having reflux, but the symptoms of reflux and a food allergy in infants are very similar. Without testing there's no way to know for sure.) to an antihistamine that will help calm the inflammation in his small intestine as well as a combo medication that is another form of antihistamine combined with an appetite stimulant.

His growth trajectory not only did not improve, it actually got a little worse (he's under the 2nd percentile in weight) because he is growing taller but not gaining weight.  Everyone is hopeful that these two medications for a short period of time will right the ship.  We have six weeks to put a pound and a half on the little man.

So, how are we going to do that, you ask? That's the fun part!  We've been asked to turn Nugget into his Papa.  Per the Wizard's orders, "put peanut butter on everything.  Anything that you can imagine would be good with peanut butter, spread it on, including spoons.  And don't use the healthy, grind-your-own, all natural, Boulder-esque peanut butter. I want you using Jiff or Skippy or another brand with added fat and oil."  Ummm...OK!

Here's why. You make 19% of your brain cells after birth.  In order to make lots of them (according to the Wizard, this can equate to up to 9 IQ points), you need fat and protein as an infant and toddler.  Especially the fat.  Lots and lots of fat! And because there isn't much irreparable harm caused with food this early in life, its' best to load kids up on fat from sources like avocados, peanuts, almonds, and olive oil.  BTW, for you naysayers out there, in April of this year, the AMA and the American Association of Pediatrics released new guidelines with regard to peanuts and children.  And the new ruling is to feed your kids peanut butter much earlier in that it greatly decreases the likelihood of a peanut allergy.

Maybe we should rename Nugget to Skippy!  Nah.  We like Nugget.  Here's hoping that in six weeks we have a chunky Nugget!

The hope of an angry momma bear...

Today is the day we've been waiting for since May 20.  Actually, this dates back way farther than that...like months and months.  Maybe even 9 or 10 months.  

Bryan has been through the ringer. Between the dozen ear infections in 6 months, the reflux, the persistent cough and the bazillion doctor appointments, I am amazed that he hasn't tried to run away yet!  We keep telling ourselves that despite the "concerning" weight loss and frequent typical childhood sickness, we have a really happy little boy.  Not only is he really happy, he's developmentally either right on or slightly ahead of the curve.  You'd never know by spending a day (or a week, or a month) with him that he's been through so much.  Even at his fussiest, he's not nearly as fussy as his otherwise healthy "friends" at daycare.  

Here's the list of what we are really hoping to learn today (emphasis on HOPING):

1. We missed the mark on the dairy "allergy."  There really isn't one and we can start re-introducing dairy products again (or at least soy).
2. We can stop giving him the toddler formula that costs $35 for 8 bottles, smells and tastes like a marshmallow and is 54% corn syrup (no joke. That's what the label indicates!)
3. There is nothing anatomically, or physically "wrong" with Bryan.  The endoscopy tells us that he's totally normal.
4. There are no other food allergies
5. Our kid is just a really picky eater and we will have to keep trying new foods until we find what he loves the most
6. He's gained enough weight that he's back on the growth chart and is no longer considered tiny for his age.  And even if he is tiny, we will just be happy if his growth trajectory is headed in the correct direction!

And here is what we are hoping our doctor will learn today (actually, he will learn this. I am taking a list with me!):

1. When you tell parents that this is an urgent matter and that it cannot wait a month, you must also be prepared to arrange your schedule such that you can follow up with said parents in a reasonable amount of time.  
2. A month later is not a reasonable amount of time.
3. When you tell parents that you will take their call to discuss results so that they don't have to wait a month, you need to provide them with the best way to contact you. 
4. Your medical assistant is not the best way to contact you.
5. When a parent leaves a voice mail for your medical assistant asking questions two days after surgery, they expect a call-back the same day... or at least within 24 hours.
6. When parents don't get called back, they will call again and leave a second message.  They expect a call back within 24 hours.
7. If a parent has to call back a third time on a third day because nobody has returned their call, expect an earful from a pissed off mom.  
8. I am that mom.  Sorry about your luck.
9. If your medical assistant thinks it's OK to not respond to a distressed mom,  you need a new medical assistant. 
10. If you piss of a mom, she'll tell everyone she knows, including the pediatrician and managing physician of the practice that sent her child to you.
11. Make it right by the mom or she'll blog it, hashtag it and make sure the entire area knows how great you are but how lousy your practice is.  Don't expect your "best of the best" award for 2013.

I feel like this doctor is the Wizard of Oz.  He's capable of a lot of awesome stuff, but when you pull back the curtain, he's just a smart man with some fancy machines.  He's no better than we are. He just knows different stuff. But for him to perceptually hold the keys to our kingdom for a month has been tortuous.  Like flying monkeys and wicked witches tortuous.  

But in two hours, everything will be different.  I hope.

Oopss. Sorry about the delay

I think I've opened blogger two dozen times since my last post.  It's been a bit of a whirlwind since then. Some fun stuff, some interesting stuff, some scary stuff.  And most of you know about Bryan's challenges with weight loss (2 lbs in about a month is too much for a baby).  And to be completely honest, if I had blogged as we traveled this extremely bumpy road, I am not sure you would have continued following me.  It has been two months of tears, frustration, trial and error, accomplishments and setbacks.  Two "surgeries" (ear tubes and an endoscopy) and a GI x-ray and we know no more today than we did when this all started at the beginning of April.  And to rehash all of it just makes me sad.  So I am not going to.  Let's consider today a fresh start.  I'll fill you in if we actually learn anything, but in the meantime, let's focus on the good stuff!

Here's a brief description with accompanying picture and/or video that will paint the picture of our lives in the past few months (and believe it or not, they are in chronological order!)

Brown Bear cake turned out pretty well!

new bike

Blocks in a wagon.

first bubbles

digging in!

first cake

coy

cute

curious

not sure what that look is!

best friends

the day of ear tubes

what a ham!

I caught his first steps on video!

love the bunny

Nupboard in the cupboard.