Heidi, Tyson, Calan & Evan

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Highlights

• Calan turns 5 and has a pool party!
• The Grans visit and help celebrate Calan’s birthday
• Calan gears up for the “start” of school
• Evan gives up crawling and takes up walking!

Calan

Calan turning 5…
It’s become a tradition…the days leading up to Calan’s birthday on August 10th are filled with Calan counting down the days with happy anticipation and the arrival of Gran and Grandpa. Warm and fuzzy stuff for sure. While excitement is in the air, Mama and Dada are sure to temper it a bit (building things up to over-excitement can have it’s disadvantages at this age!). Nonetheless, Calan did great getting ready for both his backyard pool party on August 8th and his actual birthday celebration with family.

His party was just right. Perfect weather, and just the ideal amount of friends coming to have some fun in the backyard. This consisted of swimming, some sidewalk chalk and bubbles, pizza, a zip-line, and of course some fun presents and an amazing cake that Heidi made. As it turned out, many invitees had conflicts this year, but as with any party of this type, there is a sweet spot…not too many but enough to share with and make it festive. Calan had roughly 10 friends come including their siblings, from old buddies like Jake and Declan, and Josiah and Devna from pre-school, to new buddies from his swimming class this summer, Anthony and Jude.

For Mama and Dada, it was nice to have Joe August come for most of the event and Moshe with daughter Shayna, who came at the end and for the “after” party. We had a good time hanging with Moshe, and Calan fell back in love all over again with Shayna. He just loves pal’ing around with her when she visits. Josiah, Raya and Jose stayed awhile too, enjoying some grilled marinated chicken. As usual, Gran and Grandpa’s help at the party was invaluable – jumping in to prepare and set up, get pizzas, and the big task of watching “baby” Evan.

On his actual birthday, we kept it low-key. We revisited Heidi’s really cool, homemade cake, opened some more presents, and spent some more time in the pool (Grandpa and Evan included). Calan’s reaction to his presents unveiling was priceless as caught in this video. Among his favorite presents were some of his very own copies from the Magic Tree House series, a new Mickey Mouse and Mickey pajamas (setting the stage for his first trip to Disneyland coming up next month!), a microscope and of course the tickets to Disneyland. Somehow, we don’t think he’ll quite get that gift until the day of the trip in September. Thanks to all the “gran-parentals” for their gifts and bringing lots of smiles to Calan’s face. 🙂

Getting ready for school
With school just around the corner, Calan more or less decided not to wait for it officially. With Mama’s help, he delved back into some of his books from earlier in the summer, and geared up in his core subjects of Math, Reading and Science. We also met with his teacher Leina at River Oaks for the first time to go over the process and expectations for school away from school. Calan donned his new Cars backpack, filled with pencils, books and paper as he took on the full school spirit.

Getting stronger emotionally
Finally, something worth noting as Calan adds a year to his age is that he is definitely maturing when it comes to handling emotions and reactions. Simplifying it down, we’ve noticed the last couple of months that he is able to let certain desires or expectations go if they don’t work out in his favor. For example, in the past he would easily fall into a tantrum if he didn’t get to close the big garage door or lock the front door after someone leaves. Nowadays, he’s learned to be “okay” if the situation isn’t such that he does this. In fact, he’s conscious of it enough to verbally say “I didn’t get to close the door, but that’s ok. Mama did it.” He also has a bit more patience if he’s working on something; building a complex train-track for example. If it falls or stay connected just right, he’s more apt to use some of his intensity to solve the problem instead of just discharge anger over it.

As his brain develops, it seems that those specific types of situations where he wants to show his power and/or independence don’t 100% have to go his way for him to maintain a steady state. It says a lot about him growing, because we have worked on these things with him, talking and problem solving, and he’s gradually responded positively. But also, the fact that he’s aware of his new reactions in those moments shows that he is truly developing in the best way with these challenges.

Now, we’re not out of the woods yet… One big obstacle we still deal with, but is certainly getting better is when Evan is “on the loose”, that is moving freely on his own around the house as we all play together. At times, Calan may have toys, books or schoolwork out that he doesn’t want Evan to get to. He has a tendency to react intensely to this possibility, but these “explosions” are becoming less and less depending on the day as we work with him to both prevent and respond in calmer ways. As he revs up schoolwork, he’s also learning that it’s okay to move on from or fix his writing or drawing mistakes, (i.e. use an eraser!) instead of always getting upset. We’re not there yet, but it’s good to see him going in the right direction.

We’ve also been tested on this subject with the introduction of the food allergy therapy. Having to do the daily doses of SLIT, nuts, yogurt, nasal spray, etc. is good for his immune system development but it does create a power struggle since it’s just one more thing that he HAS to do. No one would want to feel forced to eat or take things every day that you might not necessary love, but Mama has gotten creative, learned some valuable patience and is the main one helping Calan adjust to the daily routine as smoothly as possible. It does come with a good share of struggle, but it’s a chance for Calan to become even stronger, right?

Evan

Our little baby made some big strides (literally) this month towards as he moves into toddlerdom. As we entered August, he was becoming more comfortable getting up on his feet by himself for a few moments. As each day went by, these moments became longer…3 seconds, 5 seconds and even 10 seconds or more at times. It was only natural that he practiced taking steps in these attempts to stay standing, and so it went; stand, step, plop…stand, step, step, plop…stand, step, step, step and plop. The extra padding in his diapers surely kept his rear end from getting sore. By the second week of August though, he figured out how to keep his steps going. His two or three steps lead to more and more until he was able to toddle across the family room on his own, reaching a destination where he could grab a hold of something. He always smiled and chuckled with glee as his legs rocked him from one point to the other. It was fun to watch, especially as he learned to make turns and would sometimes find himself going in circles around Mama or Dada or playing a chasing game with Calan. As the month continued, he started applying his new walking skills in place of crawling, and by the end of August crawling had nearly disappeared as his first choice of transport was to be up on his legs, waddling from place to place.

As Evan officially began walking this month (at 14 months), he also officially stopped nursing. He’d been waning for some time, drinking mostly Goat’s milk in the day with some breast milk interspersed and at bedtime for soothing. But he became less and less interested in what Mama had to offer, drinking less and less. This made it harder for Heidi to pump and keep up any kind of supply. Towards the end, it just became apparent that it would be too much extra work to try and keep it going for what it’s worth. With his age and clearly not wanting for it, breast feeding came to an end. It’s always interesting to see the difference in the kids, such as milestones and personality traits. In this area and at this age, Calan definitely still benefited from nursing to help supplement his diet and to help calm and soothe at bedtime. But Evan was perfectly content to move on at this point, stopping at about half the time as compared to Calan who was almost 2 1/2 when he stopped officially.

In the “speaking” department, Evan likes to let us know he likes balls as it’s a word he likes to try and say frequently. Often, when we’re playing around with a ball he’ll reach and say “Baaaaauuu”. It always causes us to pause a moment to absorb the cuteness of his attempt at saying the word. He also loves to say good-bye to people when they leave, including sitters. He seems to sense when it’s time, and will move towards the door and reach out as if to wave and say “ba-ba”, often repeating it a few times. Very precious.

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• Calan continues swimming…and excels
• Calan discovers some new books
• Yard project takes over (but Calan helps)
• Evan continues to eat and grow 😉

Calan

For Calan this month, and for the family at large really, we mainly focused on swimming…and well a small outdoor project we referred to as “the yard project.” Despite those two themes for the month, we still managed a few notable highlights.

Swimming Lessons:
Swimming was by far Calan’s most consistent activity for the month. It also propelled him from a semi-timid kid wearing a safety vest and mostly splashing around in the water to one with confidence and new abilities that could take him gliding from one end of the pool to the other. The transformation was fun to watch, and comes with a pretty nice feeling of accomplishment (at least for his parents).

He definitely showed his “good student” skills throughout the six weeks of lessons with Coach Lynn. He was always an attentive listener and followed Lynn’s instructions willingly with a no non-sense attitude. In fact, you could call Lynn the “Calan Whisperer” when it comes to the pool, since Calan responded so well to her firm but supportive orders. This was unlike any direction he was responding to when Mom or Dad gave him the tips Lynn wanted him to work on before lessons started. His listening skills with Lynn definitely paid off as he really surprised us with how well he did in the water even after the first couple of lessons. Lynn told us on the second lesson, “this is right where I want him.” She said, he’s confident and ready to really learn now, but obviously we have to watch him more as he ventures out in the water with a lot less fear.

So, from the end of June until the first week of August, Calan did 30 minutes of instruction four days a week. The first two weeks were at our pool, the next two at someone else’s house, then he finished up the last two back at our pool. Most of the weeks, he had he friend Jacob with him but he met a couple new friends too – namely Anthony and Jude. The other boys made big strides too, but Calan was the one that stuck out among the group. In fact, one week Lynn invited Calan to the more advanced class with some slightly older and more advanced kids. He handled it really well. All in all, it was one of the most positive and growth experiences we’ve seen with Calan in such a short amount of time, and we can’t wait to meet up with Lynn again next summer.

New Books:
On the reading front, Dada made an in the moment decision one night at reading time and grabbed the first book of the Harry Potter series. Calan was showing an interest, so why not? Well…as would be obvious to anyone who’s read the series there is definitely some content and themes in these books that are geared towards a more mature audience. Mama saved the day though by finishing up the first book with him, editing some of the facts and events as she went. Then, with a little research found two new book series at the library that Calan would surely get into. The Magic Tree House and Mr. Putter and Tabby book series were instant hits. They are just the right level for Calan for their stories, imagination and book length. In fact, we’ve learned that Calan is a lot like his mama where it becomes hard to put a book down that you’ve become all enraptured with…right at bedtime. 😉

Allergy Treatment:
On the allergy front, Calan started his SLIT treatments this month. He’s started off doing well with this, carefully taking the couple of necessary squirts under his tongue and holding it there in his “well” for a minute or more. He does this each morning at the same time, along with his nasal spray as we set out on our plan to tackle the less offensive enemies of his immune system. The SLIT will give him a dose of environmental allergens as a way to get his body to accept these better over time. Then, when it comes time to introduce peanuts, his system will be more ready.

“The Yard Project”
For the yard project, there were weeks of digging and digging and more digging, then weeks of  hauling and installing and more hauling as grass and dirt was uplifted to make room for artificial grass and landscape rock. As this went on (Dada doing most of the labor), there wasn’t a week that Calan didn’t help out during a day or two.

Early on, he would help “dig holes” in the yard as we worked to remove dead grass, soil and old sprinklers. His favorite tools was Uncle Brandyn’s old rock pick from childhood we keep in the shed. When it was time, huge piles of sub-base materials for the artificial grass piled up high like small hills in the driveway. Then, a couple of large mounds of landscape rock were delivered. Calan was great at shoveling this stuff into his own little yellow sand bucket and transporting it to a place in the yard. By the time we got to the landscape rock (gravel), Calan had graduated to using his large, plastic sand shovel to scoop rocks into a mortar tub, then pushing it to the back yard on a four-wheeled dolly. “This is hard work”, he would often exclaim. Calan was especially good at placing the rocks one-by-one into the smaller areas where the rock was designated. Calan also liked going to the base of Conejo Mountain to gather small boulders used in the front yard and for the future waterfall. His favorite job though was testing out a patch of newly installed artificial grass, getting down on it and rolling all around to feel it’s soft and tingly texture. It gave Dada an extra incentive to finish each section, knowing the little guy would be the first to take it for a spin. After some finishing touches like adding a new hammock, a 60+’ zip line for Calan and moving the cantera fountain, we’re all glad “the yard project” is over. 

Some notable quotes this month:

Curled up in window seat, reading one of his Magic Tree books, Calan released a loud and stinky fart. Then he said, “Did you know that toot toots tell you it’s almost time to go poo poo?”

One day in the kitchen:

Dada: “You need to finish your eggs and sausage please.”

Calan: “Well, I’m sorry Dada…sometimes you just don’t get what you want.” This last punchline being one of Mama’s go-to sayings when Calan is insistent on something he can’t have. 😉

Evan

Evan continues his slow n’ steady pace in development. We’ve spotted him taking a small step here and there (and maybe up to two), but in the end he plumps right back down on the floor without any concern that he could’ve kept going. This “looking like” he’s going to walk maneuver feels like a sure sign that more steps are just around the corner. The days of always carrying him around or watching him crawl from one place to another are certainly numbered.

When it comes to making sounds, we’ve noticed a few accidental syllables he’s recently put together that could pass for an attempt on a word, but we did get to hear him repeating the word “baby” after pointing to the “baby” character in the Mommy Loves Me book. He seemed to want to say what we were saying, and more than once, sounded out a “Be-be”. On the non-verbal side Evan went through a phase where he would flutter his tongue and hum during play time and even in moments where he was struggling against something. With his high-pitched baby tones fluttering across his lips, he sounded like some small animal from a magical place in the wilderness. We dubbed him our “small woodland creature” for a while.

Evan still loves to eat, there’s no doubt about that. Aside from trying new foods like blueberries and roasted veges (broccoli and cauliflower), Evan is migrating more to finger foods for his meals instead of us spoon feeding him everything. We’ve learned that when he’s done with something, say a banana, he simply picks up a piece, dangles it over the side of his tray and lets it drop to the floor. He’s completely unemotional as he does this. After it hits the floor, he eases his head over and peers down at the fallen parcel of food. That’s mama and dada’s cue to put the rest (if any) away!

This month, Evan also got in the pool more with Dada. He not only doesn’t mind the water, but he gets a big grin on his face as soon as his body submerges beneath the surface. We haven’t gone under with his head yet, but he seems to enjoy experimenting with what happens when he puts his mouth under. At any rate, I think Evan is one who will really like the water as he gets older.

Something Evan didn’t care for so much was his first dental visit this month. Despite Calan showing him how easy it is, Evan struggled a bit with the dentist handling his mouth and messing around inside. He got through it though and was instructed to begin brushing the little baby teeth he has so far.

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• Calan graduates preschool
• Our big trip to Long Beach
• Evan turns ONE!
• Swimming lessons begin

Calan

The end of preschool
This month kicked off with A LOT of activity. No sooner did we get done celebrating Heidi’s 40th birthday did we jump right into June and Calan’s last day of preschool (forever) along with his graduation ceremony. June 2nd was always the date on the calendar for Calan’s last day of school, but when it arrived, it just felt so final. It was hard to believe we wouldn’t be taking Calan to the school he enjoyed attending the last two years. Even Calan spoke about a “next preschool day” and seeing his friends more as the last day played out. It was a mixed bag of emotions, but exciting nonetheless to know “Little C” is growing up just a tiny bit that day… as he should be.

Both Mama and Dada dropped Calan off at school on a bright, warm morning. As irony would have it, Calan portrayed characteristics of the very first day of preschool two years prior. He was a little apprehensive and not wanting to go along with much. For example, getting him to pose by the preschool grounds entry gate was mostly a bust. Seeing his favorite teacher Mrs. Burns from Monday Funday didn’t help either. Perhaps he sensed how his parents were feeling or was just expressing in his own way that he was a little sad about it being his last day. At any rate, as he entered his classroom, we hugged and said our goodbyes…but not for long.

His ceremony with his class and family was held in the late morning. It was made extra special because Gran and Grandpa were still here for the week to take in the event (and to help with Evan). It was nice to see all the kids “grow up” that morning, standing in a line at the front of the big group of proud onlookers. The kids sang songs together, and Ms. Bosch shared some heartfelt sentiments about the year coming to a close.

Now what really made it special was watching Calan and his performance…or shall we say lack of performance. Ms. Bosch had actually informed us the week prior that during the songs, the kids would not only be sing together but also doing a little choreography, mainly signing the letters during the alphabet song. She mentioned that Calan chooses to just stand there and not participate, even though he’s completely capable. So, in fact, during the performance Calan did just that…nothing. All the other kids singing and gesturing… Calan, nothing.

Our favorite part was near the end though, when each child came up to the front with Ms. Bosch at the microphone and answered the question “What do you want to be when you grow up?” All of the kids stated either real jobs like doctor or teacher, or they came up with something more clever and from the realm of fantasy such as a mermaid. Calan’s was simply the best as he caught everyone off guard and gave the room quite the supportive chuckle. This video says it all.

Trip to Long Beach
Just like that, preschool was over. And just like that, the next big thing of the month kicked off: heading to Long Beach for two days and two nights. Scheduled in April, the trip this time involved Calan enduring a few more tests and collecting data for Dr. R to review and give us a more concrete recommendation on how we proceed with our therapy.

After a lunch all together, Dada went back to work and Mama and Calan gathered all the things they had packed in the days before and headed south for a late afternoon drive. Gran and Grandpa stayed back with Baby E. Mama and Calan knew they would take their time, but after running into much traffic and taking the “scenic tour”, they didn’t actually arrive until 7:00pm.

They had a welcome destination at least, checking in at the Ronald McDonald house, a walking distance from the hospital. This place was truly amazing. It was clean, up-to-date, full of warm, happy staff and volunteers, and came with all the amenities and comforts you would need if you really had to stay there long term with a sick child across the street at the hospital. Mama and Calan had fun the first night, unpacking, setting up the bed, exploring, reading and making their meals in the kitchen/cafeteria.

The rest of the family came down the next day, after Calan completed his tests. The tests included things like a breath analysis and of course wearing a patch for 24+ hours that contained doses of several nuts, including peanuts. Gran and Grandpa ventured down to see Aunt Billie on Calan’s second night, while we played in the game room and visited with Uncle Colin who came over for dinner. Tons of food was donated (cooked and prepared in the kitchens), so there was definitely no shortage of food.

While Calan, at age four, could make staying in the new room an adventure akin to camping, Evan was not so thrilled for his first night away from home in nearly a year (when he was a day old!). He had a hard time going to sleep in his pack-n-go we had set up in the room there. It wasn’t until we pulled the pack-n-go close to the bed and laid there quietly next to him that he calmed down and let himself fall asleep. It was like Evan was saying ” c’mon guys, why did you put me in this crib and not leave the room, and then just ignore me?”

The next and final day for Calan was when we saw Dr. R. Originally we had a mid-day appointment, but due to the doctor’s tight scheduling he actually had to reschedule for what amounted to early evening. We said goodbye to the Gs and Evan as they headed back home. We rested in the afternoon until it was time to get packed up and head to our delayed appointment. Dr. R gave us mixed news; in that, it wasn’t a slam dunk that we should go forward with treating this peanut allergy in the way that Dr. R practices. Other factors are playing in such as this doozy of a name: “Transient hypogammaglobulinemia of infancy.” It essentially means Calan has an immature immune system at this stage of his life. Could this be why he’s showing he’s allergic to peanuts?

It came down to wondering if Calan’s immune system could actually fix itself without manipulating it through this intense therapy. We learned that Calan’s immune system is greatly underdeveloped, so in a sense his body hasn’t gotten to the point where it can possible just beat the food allergies on its own. If we intervene, we have to wonder what the consequences are of revving up the immune system unnecessarily – it’s unknown because it hasn’t been studied like a lot of this stuff. If we do nothing, then we’re essentially missing out on the time-frame when Calan’s system is most changeable with the process, and more, he could actually get worse overall with regard to food allergies. He’s clearly at a fork, where he could go either way, and it’s our job to figure out what the best course of action is! Whew…

The tests revealed to Dr. R that Calan is a food allergic kid. Essentially, peanuts aren’t the only food he’s significantly allergic to. It’s just that peanuts cause him to be anaphylactic. Dr. R found foods like egg whites, soy, and milk to be high and other foods like wheat to be at the cusp of being over the threshold of allergic. We talked about how some of these foods he gets every day, like wheat, and in high amounts. So, his body is more adjusted to these. Eggs and milk consumption aren’t as consistent and in high enough volumes, so his numbers reveal he needs more. He also has an extremely high airborne allergy to alternaria (fungus). Our conclusion for now is to go one step at a time in that we can tackle these foods he’s already eating and get their levels down to zero, and start working on others like the alternaria through SLIT. And finally, see if we can help him feel better in general by helping his air path issues with a daily spray. Then, start checking his levels again and see how his body is responding. We’re hoping these future tests (later this year) can tell us more about which direction to take.

Calan also started swimming lessons at the end of June with instructor Lynn. But more on that next month since most of his swimming lessons will take place in July. 🙂

One funny quote this month from Calan:

“Can you take a break from saying that? I’m afraid you’re going to say it forever.”  Said while Heidi was practicing her script for a Semtech video shoot

Evan

While Evan didn’t have any big, involved events this month he did have one major event come up on the calendar. Turning one is somewhat anti-climatic but still super special. Gran and Grandpa got to spend part of the morning with Evan on his birthday before heading back to Oregon. Evan had a pretty typical day until it came to a special dessert that Mommy made: a chocolate crash cake that was wheat and egg free of course. It was Evan’s first cake, and the four us got to take part in watching him experiment with and learn about the new textures. By the end, he lived up to the hype of a crash cake and had produced quite a mess on his tray and his face. We also had a brief present opening session as a family. Here, Calan opened up the present he had wrapped up for his brother in a box- a few toys that Evan already had. 😉

Evan continues to grow in all the ways he’s supposed to. Just doing his easy Evan pace. We have lots of fun during play time; watching Calan and Evan interact together is a treasure. Evan especially likes to roam free around the house with Calan and Dada in tow. He loves to crawl around and discover new objects to grab, hold and play with. He still shows no real intention of walking…it’s as if he’s just happy enough to crawl and furniture surf to get around. What’s the hurry, right?

[Show as slideshow]

• Gran and Grandpa come to visit (for Heidi’s 40th, Calan’s graduation and Evan’s 1st)
• Calan enjoys his last days of school for the year…and beyond?
• Calan goes to Sky High (trampoline park) for the first time
• Evan continues honing his physical skills and communicates more
• Uncle Joe comes over for a BBQ
• We celebrate Heidi’s 40th birthday

Calan

Whether Calan understood his pre-school stint was nearing it’s end or not, he showed no outward signs that he was sad or glad that May was winding down the school year and his pre-school career. He kept busy, participating in his second Trike-a-thon (a fundraiser for the school) and preparing for his first ever class presentation (a Q&A on the Humpback Whale). The presentation consisted of learning some key facts about the Humpback Whale, memorizing a few questions about where they live, what they eat, etc. and then asking the class to try and guess which animal he is. We’re not sure just how he did, just that he did it. School can feel so secretive sometimes.

We also continued our Tuesday carpool routine with his friend and our neighbor Josiah, giving him a ride home after Lunch Bunch. Calan really enjoyed the couple of times we ended up staying at Josiah’s house for more than two hours in the afternoon so he could play. 

Despite pre-school winding down, Heidi ordered some pre-school level home-study books for Calan. He actually really got into starting some of the books – just simple-lish tasks with easy to follow directions for now, and with no pressure to do them. It’s kind of fun to see him read instructions and then follow the simple steps required to complete the little assignments.

We all know kids say funny things. This month Calan gave us a couple of memorable lines:

One was when we were picking up his room a little before bedtime and Heidi found his baby pillow “Bobo” and teddy bear he used to sleep with every night up until about a year ago. They were on the side of the bed, lost in the dark crevasse between the bed and wall. Just as Heidi pulled them free, Calan took notice and said, “I don’t sleep with those guys anymore.” Heidi asked, “Why not?” Calan replied, “Because I started to grow up.”

Another time this month was on Mother’s Day, as he was preparing to take a nap. Looking up at Heidi he said, “How about while I’m napping you run over to Trader Joe’s and get one bouquet of Mother’s Day flowers for yourself. Can you go do that?”

Evan

What stood out this month for Evan were the signs that he’s slowly becoming a person – not just a cute, helpless baby we take care of, but a guy who will soon be communicating more like we do. We noticed this fun development a few times during the past weeks.

• Several situations came up where he would make a small sound or put up a hand while playing, and when you made eye contact you realized he’s actually trying to get your attention (very calmly). These gestures sort of beckon you over so you can give him a hand. The needed assistance is usually straightforward, that he wanted to be stood up to walk with his walker or seated up on his alpha train riding toy.
• Another instance that stood out was on our play-date at Josiah’s house. Calan and Josiah were off playing, and Evan and Dada were hanging out in the living room with Josiah’s mom Erica. Erica had gone to get one of her 18-month old twins, Eli, up from his nap. Eli was a little out of sorts and chose to just sit quietly in Erica’s lap sucking away on his pacifier. Evan crawled over to their chair several times, and pulled himself up in front of Eli. He would just stand there, caressing Eli’s blankie with him, and begin sucking his thumb while Eli sucked on his pacifier. It was as if the two were taking a break from the hard day and sharing a drink together.
• One more to note was just after a nap. He’d awakened, and after a few minutes Dada went to get him. Since the room was dark Dada decided to rock in the chair for just a few seconds to let him wake up a little more and adjust to the brighter afternoon light before heading downstairs where Gran and Grandpa were playing with Calan. A few seconds after sitting down though, Evan looked out at the open door to his room, and started pointing with his hand, waving ever so slightly. He was simply saying “No, I’d actually like to go downstairs and play right now.” And sure enough, as soon as he got down into the action, his face beamed, and he went to full-on play mode. His eyes adjusted instantly. 😉

Speaking of pulling up to stand, Evan completely mastered that this month. He can pull himself up to just about anything (his walker, the couch, the wall, etc.). He can also stand longer after being propped up with his back against something. His crawling has also become more refined too, looking more like a regular baby crawl and not as much an Army crawl. He’s learning to come down the stairs on his own too, on his belly while being spotted. Going up is a breeze, as he crawls up the steps effortlessly. He’s a little more tentative going down, which we don’t mind. He’s getting used to it.

Evan’s become pretty speedy with his walker now too, although not steering yet. He especially liked “showing off” to his grandparents shortly after they arrived for their visit. He’d taken a break from the walker for a few days, but he talked Grandpa into following him around the house lap after lap to help him steer and spot him. It was clear he was proud of his abilities and wanted Grandpa to see it over and over.

[Show as slideshow]

• Calan, Evan and Dada go on a hike in the clouds up by Mt. Boney in Newbury Park
• The kids have fun with Easter traditions (finding baskets and eggs)
• Calan can practically make his own breakfast now
• We do a family trip to Long Beach to meet the allergy doctor
• Evan learns how to use the walker by himself and stay standing by himself
• We have two fun dinner parties with friends (Bosmans in Ventura and Rodriquez family the next street over)

Calan

Aside from Easter, the most anticipated event this month came on April 15th. (No, not taxes…). This was our appointment to go meet super allergy guru Dr. Randhawa at the children’s hospital in Long Beach. It was a long day for everyone, but certainly a success. For us, it was a chance to visit with the doctor and get some direct information on how Calan’s peanut allergy can be treated with immunotherapy (OIT) using Dr. Randhawa’s system. The visit itself lasted over two hours: Some vitals recorded for Calan, profiling, the doctor’s background and description on what he does and what the OIT process would entail, etc…and lots of questions answered obviously. It’s the sort of topic that the more information you get, the more questions you have. Plus, since it concerns our son, we tried to understand as much as we could as well as learn how to learn more. 🙂 All in all though, we left still feeling good about this direction and understanding that it would be a long haul with a greater chance than not that on the other side would be a better situation for us and most importantly Calan when it comes to his body and how he manages his peanut allergy.

The kids did well enough at the hospital, playing and keeping themselves busy in the exam room during all the heavy discussions. What made the adventure ironically more interesting is that Evan actually had an allergic reaction to some pancakes he was trying for the first time as a snack on the drive down. He had a super runny nose and numerous hives on his body by the time the doctor entered the room. Interestingly enough Dr. Randhawa did NOT feel it was a reaction related to food but probably related to a virus or cold he’s fighting. We were not so convinced as this was the second time in the last week that he had this reaction after trying a new food. Before, it was cornbread…now pancakes. (Later in the month we would narrow down what would seem to be the culprit: Wheat, after he had a third reaction to some toast). At any rate, a dose of Benedryl helped Evan, and he was fine the rest of the day. 

After the meeting, we set future appointments and headed to the lab upstairs to draw more blood since thorough testing is needed to continue assessing and starting Calan’s program. We made it home in the late afternoon and recovered. We know that next time, staying the night in Long Beach will make a lot of things about the trip easier!

As Calan starts to move from being 4 1/2 to “almost” 5, we have fun as usual seeing him progress. For example, this month he has turned a corner in the morning routine and can officially make his own toast. Using a step stool, he’ll reach to the upper cupboards for a plate. Then, he’ll pull the toaster oven out and slip in two pieces of toast he retrieves from the fridge. After turning the knob to ‘Toast” and pressing start he waits patiently for the timer to ding. There was one day where he successfully buttered his toast and poured his OJ, but lately he asks one of us to do those things. We agree it’s still easier if we handle those parts. He also usually insists on getting his own gummy vitamins from the cupboard and opening up the child-proof lids. 😉

We can also finally say that this month marked the end of his long-time relationship with his balance bike. We remember him first riding it like it was just a few months ago – Dada putting the seat on the lowest setting, yet with feet still dangling in the air pushing him around the house. This was at 20 months old. As Calan grew, he could finally push himself around on his own. Then we made it outside, where he used the bike on countless trips to the park and around the neighborhood, including night-rides with the bright bike light and red flashing tail light strapped on. We even zoomed down along the “long bike trail” when he was motivated. A couple times a year we would raise the seat. Pretty early on he got the feel of pushing hard a few times and coasting while balancing. He good pretty speedy on it, walking really fast , practically running, as the two foam wheels spun below him. People out walking would often comment how cute he looked, a guy barely two years old on a tiny bike without pedals! They would say this when he was three and even four…Eventually he would start doing tricks, where he would push off and coast while putting his legs up in the air and out to the sides. We got him a pedal bike when he was three but nearly every outing he would choose his balance bike to ride instead. Not until this month with the urging of his neighbor friend Molly did he finally decide to stop riding his balance bike. After three years, he did look pretty big for the bike. We celebrated the other day by getting out the wrench and lowering the seat all the way back down to the starting position again together. It’s now ready for the next little guy, whose feet simply dangle loosely in the air when sitting on the seat… for now.

Evan

We’ll be learning more about Evan’s wheat allergy in May, but I guess we can call April the month we learned about it. Despite his reactions this month he didn’t seemed phased (except for a lot of times sporting a runny nose…sometimes because of a cold, sometimes not).

Physically, the little guy is making some more mobility strides. In his 11th month, he learned to pull himself up from his tummy to his knees without assistance. He first discovered it when he grabbed onto the side of the laundry basket one day while ‘helping’ with laundry. The basket edge is perfect, at around 8″ off the floor. The only problem was that for the first few days, he didn’t know how to get back down so he would actually just stay stuck there, sitting on his knees until he could be rescued. As the month progressed, he eventually learned how to get down and even pull himself up in his crib, not just to his knees, but all the way. A nice little milestone for him, but it was definitely the last straw on waiting to lower his mattress.

He’s also gotten good at standing up against the couch or ottoman by himself for longer periods of time. He doesn’t seem to mind it, and in fact is content just to stand and play with some toys this way. As far as getting around, the army crawl is still his method of choice. He’s starting to figure out climbing, and in fact climbed up the bottom set of stairs from the living room effortlessly one time.

Evan is also responding more to little actions like waving and clapping. In fact, we’ve been showing him the reading flash cards that Calan used just for a few basic action words like “clap” and “wave”. He won’t respond to them yet necessarily, unless we do the action too. The other day, however,as we were saying goodbye to Nalonie and she was pulling out of the driveway, Evan began to wave at her all on his own before anyone started waving. It’s as if he understood it was time to wave because someone was leaving.

His favorite activity though is hands down walking with his little plastic walker toy. He grins with joy every time we lift him up to it. He’s figured out how to stand blanced with it now, while pushing it forward, and then keeping up by taking steps. Next up is learning how to steer and for sure not to lean back when standing with it. A couple of tumbles so far, but it hasn’t stopped his enthusiasm for it again and again.

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The biggest event this month was off course the visit from Gran and Grandpa for spring break. With Heidi able to take the week off, and a few highlights in an otherwise low-key schedule, it made for a fun and memorable family week.

• Gran and Grandpa come visit for spring break
• Calan “performs” in his pre-school Spring Sing concert
• We take a family trip to the Travel Town train park and museum
• Evan gets a step closer to learning how to crawl and has started eating chunkier food
• Kids enjoy watching a genuine spring thunderstorm

Calan

Calan had a blast going to Travel Town during Gran and Grandpa’s visit this month. Originally a tip from our babysitter Nalonie, Travel Town is in Griffith Park and is the perfect place for any lover of trains, especially Calan. Walking up and getting close and personal with the big engines and passenger cars is a great experience. Calan’s favorite things about the park though were walking on the big train tracks and of course riding the little train that goes around the perimeter of the park. It was a good excursion for all, including Evan who strolled around patiently taking in the sites and sounds, and watching his big brother ride the train.

Calan also had fun at his Spring Sing school concert. Along with the Christmas concerts, this was the fourth concert for him in his school career. Each time, he’s become a little more “involved” in the show. Unlike his very first Christmas show in pre-K, Calan joined the other kids in some of the shouting of the songs and choreography that goes with it. It wasn’t pretty, but very cute all the same. Thanks to Gran and Grandpa arriving early and saving us seats, we got to view the show from the front row. Evan had fun too, watching all the kids and smiling and clapping at times in response to the catchy tunes. This year, the show felt especially short with the extra excitement, as before you knew it, the kids were doing their disorganized bows and filing out. A traditional trip to Wendy’s afterwards for some crispy chicken nuggets topped the early spring evening off. 

Evan

Evan turned nine months old this month, and had a routine checkup with Dr. Saul. He measured in at 29″ and 22lbs. 1oz. Both numbers fall in the 70th percentile. His head started to show improved signs of rounding out in the past weeks too. We opted against the helmet to correct its shape, instead letting it work itself out on its own. He’s been able to sleep in any variety of positions the last couple months or so, and spending more awake time upright or rolling around. This is finally giving his head a chance to round out. Gone are the days of setting him in the crib and having to turn his head the opposite way of his preferred side – something we had to do a couple months ago.

Speaking of rolling around, this had been his main mode of mobility on the floor the past couple of months. This month, just like Calan at this age (9-10 months), he’s discovered alternate means of getting around. This is mainly a half crawl, half scoot maneuver. A couple times, he’ll make it to all fours and you think he’ll start to take off in a bonafide crawl, but usually he falls back down and pulls with his arms, and pushes just enough with his legs to go forward. Every day he practices, and every day he gets a little bit better. He also loves to walk with a grown-up – any chance he gets, he’ll tap and dance with his little feet in front of him and move forward with you as you walk. Even going up the stairs, he’s quick to raise a leg and ascend the steps. He gets a big smile on his face, and knowing he’s securely held by a big person, loves the ride. When it’s time to sit down, he’ll keep his legs stiffened, not wanting to end the walk.

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• We take a trip to Long Beach