Be Positive...

So here I am. Being positive. Although I really would rather cry and drown my sorrows in (coconut milk) ice cream. 

Ok I did do the coconut milk ice cream part. Chocolate chip cookie dough. Delish. 

Elias has had a lot of rashes building up this week, all on his face, and my food intolerances radar was sounding. When he started incessantly rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands I just had to take him in to be seen, and sure enough...eczema. Ug. 

He just happened to fill his diaper while we were there so we tested his stool and it was positive for traces of blood, which means his gut isn't healthy. Ug. 

So, here we go again. 

But the positives that I promised you:

- It took a solid 5 weeks longer for him to show signs. 

- His signs are more mild so far. 

And the rest I'm not writing down for fear of it all going downhill because I've said it out loud. I'm not superstitious but it seems to never fail if I say something out loud, within a day it changes for the worse. Suffice it to say I see other positives. 

Dairy is first to get the boot, and honestly, I couldn't care less. The diet doesn't intimidate me anymore. I've done it before and survived it and gotten really skinny because of it, so there's another positive for you. College jeans here I come!

What I can't stand is seeing my baby suffer. His pudgy little face is just covered in eczema and it's hot to the touch. That can not be comfortable. It makes me want to rip the rash off of their sweet skin every time. And it makes me want to cry when they cry because I know I've met all their needs and they are crying because they hurt. 

Please say a prayer that it's just dairy and maybe soy...easy fix if that's it. 

And if you hold my baby, please don't touch his face. 

Two days before his whole face broke out. 

Family 2016

Notes

I often jot down things the boys say that I want to remember, only to find lots of little notes on my stack that are months old. Here are a few I found this morning. 

"Mom, what I like about milk bubbles is they stay. It's amazing how milk can do that." - Augustine

"Look how big my ice cream is!"

- Augustine referring to his milk bubbles. 

#lifegoals

Check!

40 Years

This weekend was full of fun celebrating my parents marriage! I'm so grateful to be a part of their life, and look forward to many more years to come. 

Wedding albums, wedding planning notebook, and we collected 40 memories from guests for the happy couple. 

Wedding pictures

Mom's wedding dress, along with my grandma's dress she wore to the wedding, my great aunt's dress she wore to the wedding, and a bridesmaid dress. 

Center pieces...peonies from the garden. 

Guest book table...their original guest book still had plenty of room so we just added to it. 

Lisa, Mom, Dad, me, Beth

Cookies

Fruit/cheese/crackers and cake made by a good family friend. 

Gianna's Java & Gelato catered coffee, tea and gelato. 

Coconut/chocolate chip, French vanilla, raspberry cheesecake, lemonchello sorbeto...so good!

This is the closest I got to a photo of my family with mom & dad. I just didn't think of it in the midst of everything else. 

Cutting the cake. 

I love little Lewis peeking up at G&G. He was very concerned about getting a slice of cake. 

Kid corner

Later that evening we had a family dinner at my parents house. My aunt Carol hosted dinner. Since she didn't give a toast at the wedding reception 40 years ago, she decided to give one at the dinner. She did such a nice job! Logan said a few (very funny) words and then lead the meal prayer. 

Dinner was delicious!

My sisters and I gave our parents these beauties. Dad's shirt: Chemistry is like cooking, just don't lick the spoon. Mom's apron: cooking is like chemistry, only you can lick the spoon. We also gave them a night at a B&B of their choice. 

After dinner I arranged for a small surprise. They don't really like surprises so I kept it simple, but they were good sports about it and really enjoyed it!

We took them to St. Patrick's Parish where they were married, although the church has recently been completely rebuilt. My parents have a photo from their wedding day standing outside the church under a black umbrella waiting for their ride.

I arranged for the priest who married them, Msgr. Witt, to meet us at the church and renew their vows. 

Carol made my mom a bouquet and my dad a boutonniere. I only have video of the renewal of vows at the altar, so no photo. 

Guess who caught the bouquet!

It was a very fun day! Congrats Mom & Dad! We love you!

Six Weeks Old

Elias is six weeks old tomorrow! He is smiling at us, cooing, and kicking up a storm - especially in the bouncy seat. 

Weird angle but such a sweet smile! My mom said tonight that he's outgrowing his hair and that's a really good way to describe it. His head is growing and his cute locks seem to be moving further and further back on his little forehead. 

He's noticing anything that's in front of him. Sometimes we attach the toys on the bouncy seat now. We also put the bird mobile above the changing table. He notices when we read him books. 

He has been wiggling out of his swaddle blankets too. Arg. 

This is his super happy face. He loves it when we talk to him. 

Here he is in the middle of a kicking session. 

He likes to look at these guys on the changing table. He seems to bat at them too, but it could be coincidence. 

He was really really fascinated by the umbrella tonight!

Middle

It just dawned on me that Lewis is having a rough time transitioning to middle brother. He's never been a rule follower so it didn't quite click in my head. His behavior lately (but now that I look back more like since Elias was born) has been really terrible despite my best efforts. Like I said, he doesn't care much about rules, but he's been off the charts lately. This week I found him at the next door neighbor's helping make brownies. He's gone in a flash and I can't keep up.

He so desperately wants to have everything to do with his baby brother, but can't quite resist the urge to push on his head or squeeze his feet or talk too loud at him. 

(He is "mowing" here. He had Augustine and I laughing pretty hard because the bouncy seat isn't easy to push on carpet and when it would get stuck he would be so irritated and say "Me mower not working!" and give it a little kick.) He wants to like Elias and help with him but in the midst of helping he is a bit too loud or a bit too wild. He's trying. He really is. 

It'll just take time. And now that I see his struggles maybe I can help him more and be frustrated less. It always baffles me how little perspective I have on my own kids.