9 Months ~Amelia~

I am a couple days late but figured I would wait until I had the official 9 month stats from her doctor appointment versus just updating after I had already posted.  So here goes!  Our little girl is ¾ of a year old already. 

Best I could do this month trying to get a 9 month shot of her sitting still

Growth:
Weight:  18 lbs 6 oz (52nd percentile)
Height: 28 1/4" (75th percentile)
Head Circumference: 43.8 cm (46th percentile)

Still long and a little on the lean side for her length.  She is 1/4" taller than Grant was at this age and 3 lbs lighter. 

Amelia is wearing 12 month clothing, size 3 diapers and size 3 shoes (occasionally).

Mobility/Coordination:  This girl is still cruising primarily by crawling and her “crab crawl” has gone by the wayside for the more traditional method of crawling.  She climbs the stairs, plops on her butt from standing, and is also cruising very well along the furniture.  She can switch from coffee table to couch to walker toy to recliner. 

Another favorite… her walking toy.  She pulls a little to the left but she goes flying down the hallway as long as nothing gets in her way.  I think if she just let go while standing she’d have the balance to not fall but she has yet to be so daring.      

Language/Communication:  We’ve heard lots of ma and ba babble along with some wa, pa, and ya sounds.  Her favorite go to sound is ah ba.  Everything is “ah ba” while she points and repeats it over and over.  She has yet to have any da da babble and we’ve only heard that sound a couple of times.  She likes to mock laughs by going “ha” back and forth with someone.  She says mommy and ma ma and I am pretty sure she knows what she is saying.  She uses sign language for “all done” and does so in the correct context… usually after she is done eating and wants out of her high chair or doesn’t want her diaper changed or ear drops put in.  When you blow her a kiss, she makes a kissing noise back by smacking her lips.

Personality/Amelia-isms:  Boy does this girl have personality and sass this month!  I am not sure if the sassiness has come along with all the teeth she has popped this month or what.  We noticed on a couple of occasions when we had our backs turned, Amelia would suddenly scream and cry very hard.  We would turn to see Grant looking very guilty.  Of course, we assumed he had pushed/pinched/hurt her over a toy or minor dispute.  Well, come to find out he was barely touching/bumping her.  It’s almost as if she is already trying to get him in trouble.  She still doesn’t like hearing no or be redirected and will sometimes scream or cry very hard over that… little miss independent.

Don’t get me wrong.  She is still happy and laid back 95% of the time but the 5% that she isn’t… she’s a fireball!

We’ve also noticed that she isn’t sucking her thumb as much.  Those hands are busy doing other things.  She will still pop it in her mouth when she is tired or upset but normally she’s busy with other stuff. 
 
Sleep:  No news here.  She is napping 2-3 times per day and reserves her long nap for early afternoon.  Even with the 4 new teeth, cold/cough, and ear infection(s) this month she still sleeps through the night without waking/crying just the occasional cough. 

Feeding:  The pump has been packed away and actually sold so those days are behind us.  I was still trying to nurse just at night but Amelia got to the point that she wanted nothing to do with it.  Not enough milk there and not nearly fast enough for her.  I’m a little sad over it but have had some time to adjust now.   

She takes 4-5 bottles a day that are usually about 5-8 oz.  Although, she’s been a little stinker when it comes to bottles and will sometimes refuse.  The doctor said we should try to get at least 20 oz in her a day but if not she isn't concerned.  Amelia is still getting about 25% breastmilk/75% formula but my freezer stash is almost gone.  As I mentioned, she is at times showing less interest in bottles and seems to prefer solids.  When she is in the mood, she can pack the food away and will often times eat more than Grant!  Her new favorite game: put food in her mouth then take it out to play with it. 

Teeth:  Holy cow at the teeth this month!  As I mentioned, she’s been a crab and for obvious reasons.  She has popped 4 teeth this month beginning with her upper left lateral incisor, then both upper central incisors, and about 2 weeks later her upper right lateral incisor.  This little girl definitely has every right to be crabby.  You should see the size of these teeth!  Her upper central incisors are huge!  I see some major buck teeth in her future if the size of these baby teeth are any indication of how big her adult teeth will be! J   


The best shot I could get of those gigantic teeth!

 Illnesses:  Well with teeth comes the fun stuff of coughs, runny nose, fever, and ear infection(s).  At one point this month with no other symptoms present, she ran a fever of about 101 for 2 days then she spiked at 104.  At that point we gave her a half dose of Tylenol and some peppermint oil and it never returned.  104 is a bit high for teeth but Grant had a tendency to get high fevers with his teeth too.  We took her to the doctor later in the month because of her cough and when my mom showed up with the kids to meet me I noticed her right ear was draining.  Of course, the doctor confirmed the ear infection(s) and said her lungs sounded just fine.  We started ear drops and the ears have cleared up.    

Brother/Sister Moment(s):  Grant calls Amelia the “tornado” when she is on the path of destruction for his toys.  When she cries, Grant will give her a hug and say “It’s ok A-mew-la.  I’ll protect you.”  He really is such a great big brother and a huge help still.

Firsts:  We had our first night away from Amelia this month for a snowboarding trip.  My mom was in town and stayed with the kids so we knew they were in great hands (as they always are when we choose to leave them of course!).  We know it’s good for us to get away and have our alone time to reconnect but it is still hard.  We miss them when we’re away even if just for a date night.  When we decided to have children, we knew it wasn’t always going to be easy or convenient but now that they are here we’d much rather spend time together as a family.  It isn’t someone else’s job to raise our children or us always pawn them off on someone.  That is honestly how we feel each time we ask someone to watch them… guilty or like we are pawning them off.  We have amazing family who are always more than willing to help us when needed but we always hate asking and feel like we are inconveniencing them.  So yes, we take time for us but do so sparingly.  

Likes:  music (she rocks back and forth as soon as she hears it) ~ balloons! ~ walking with the walker ~ reading ~ turning the pages in books ~ walking along furniture ~ chewing everything in sight ~ solid food

I can't get over how different she looks here!

Once she got the balloon in her hands this month it went everywhere with her!

Dislikes:  Getting her fingernails cut ~ ear drops ~ nose suctioning ~ getting new teeth ~ being told no

Kitchen Renovation Part One: Planning

The Fisher’s Next Big Adventure: A Kitchen Renovation

Are we crazy to be doing so with 2 children 3 and under?  Maybe but we are beyond excited for the final product. 

We knew very early on moving into our home that our kitchen was not very functional.  Updated? Yes. Adequate?  Absolutely!  But not anywhere close to practical for a family of four.  First off, it’s very small for the size and layout of our home.  I am talking we have 4 accessible upper cabinets, 2 lower cabinets, 6 drawers, a small pantry, and very impractical storage above the washer and dryer.  What they were thinking when they designed and built the house in 2004?  I have no idea!  Another pet peeve?  The laundry is in the kitchen.

Well we have been talking about reno options for a long time and had planned on it being a project we took on in the next 10 years.  In fact, Matt and I agreed that we were going to add on to the garage (3.5 car garage) before we made a change to the kitchen.  We need the extra garage space for the boat, cars, and misc tools and stuff that accumulates.  The garage project was slated for this upcoming summer.  That all changed when Matt said to me about two months ago “You know, I’ve been thinking… We should really do the kitchen first.”  I, internally, was jumping up and down freaking out bubbling with excitement like a 5 year old.  My husband who was going to get his garage addition before our kitchen remodel (which I was absolutely ok with) was willingly giving up that idea so we could do the kitchen first!  It basically boiled down to the fact that as a family the kitchen made more sense to do so we could enjoy it and get use out of the added functionality.  
 

When looking for a contractor we stumbled upon Best Choice Cabinets of Kewaskum.  Our loyal and amazing photographer Jamie Gellings had recently begun doing work for them and mentioned it casually in conversation.  After meeting Mike and learning about the Amish hand crafted cabinets he uses, we stopped our search.  Hands down, they have been absolutely amazing and extremely helpful from the very first meeting.  He came in with Jamie and we came up with some preliminary design ideas including moving the sink to a differently location, adding a prep sink to keep the traditional kitchen triangle, blowing out the current pantry and moving it along with moving the laundry upstairs to our master closet (Yay!  I am soooo excited about the laundry!). 

Here are some before pictures  (please excuse the clutter and messy counters) and preliminary after pictures.  Sorry for the quality of the design pictures.  I took pictures of the pictures :)  

Laundry is currently behind the bi-fold doors and there is an eat-in area by the windows

Fridge will be centered between the pantry shown here and sink moved to window area

Existing pantry is getting removed and stove will be centered on this wall adding more cabinets and counter space

 

This area now includes a prep sink and seating area with storage under the bar of the seating area.

We’ve made some minor changes to these along the way but overall this is pretty close to how the finished product will look. 

The cabinets are going to be in the cream/ivory family with a glaze (the dark edging you can see in the lower picture).

 

Flooring is going to be a 12 x 24” vinyl tile (pictured below the counter sample but hard to see).
I am obsessed with the backsplash which is going to be this morroccan style grey lantern tile.

 

 

Countertops will be quartz Caeasarstone “Piatra Grey.”  This picture (and the one above) doesn’t even come close to capturing how pretty it is with the veins of light grey and cream. 

The sink is going to be a white farm house/apron front.  We aren't sure if we will leave the fluted or smooth edge facing out yet though.  It just arrived yesterday and we were so excited to unpack it!  Got it on ebay for half the price they normally retail for!

Stainless appliances are purchased along with a new washer and dryer.  The wall color and other small touches are still yet to be determined and the project isn’t slated to start until mid-March or April which at this point just can come fast enough!!! 

Any pointers out there from someone who has been through a kitchen reno?  It's going to be very hard living without a functional kitchen for 5+ weeks.  We are trying to plan and come up with contingencies on how we will eat and where we will store everything.  Yikes!!!

Essential Oils: The Journey is Just Beginning

I'll be honest here... I started this post back in October.  Why didn't I finish?  Well, I was still so early in my essential oil journey that I honestly didn't feel confident in some of the information that I wanted to put out there.  Maybe I wasn't quite "sold" on them yet.  When I first heard of the idea of essential oils and the uses, to say I was skeptical was an understatement.  I thought some of the oil lovers were just a bit out there. :)

This all changed when a friend of a friend brought some Young Living Thieves over for Grant when he had chicken pox.  It smelled amazing... Cinnamon, cloves, with a hint of lemon along with some others all blended into this amazing oil.  I really feel like it helped to shorten the course over all and he loved it too! 

After a little more research, I decided at that point to sign up with Young Living to become a distributor.  However, it was only to get the cheaper wholesale price of the oils.  That is still my primary purpose.  At this point, I really have little ambition to try to turn it into a business.  If it happens naturally that is fine but all I want to do is share what I have learned so far.  The fun part?  I am learning that as I share more... people want to know more!  And as I learn more and use them more... I want to share more about them with everyone I know!

I should point out that not all oils are created equal. There IS a difference in essential oils. You can't go to just any store and buy them and expect to get the same results you would with a quality oil like the Young Living brand.   Young Living are pure, unadulterated therapeutic oils distilled from various plants with no fillers or perfumes.  Since learning more about essential oils I have heard of other competitors that are very close in quality if not better.  If interested in oils, find the brand oil that best fits your life but make sure it is a HIGH quality oil.  It DOES make a difference.  One way to test the quality of an essential oil is the white paper test.   Put a drop of essential oil on a piece of white blotting paper.   It will leave a mark.   However, after several hours when it is dry, there should be no oily residue.  Pure oils should not be cut with carrier oils such as jojoba or grape seed oil.   Some brands and blends do have carrier oils, but that should be clearly stated on the bottle.

My knowledge has grown though it is far from extensive.  What prompted me to write all this now?  There is obviously a desire for people to know more and learn about the amazing medicinal oils that God placed here just for us.  In fact one of my favorite bloggers I follow pointed out this Bible passage:

“Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.” Ezekiel 47:12  

Isn't that so true?  There are amazing resources and I reference my Essential Oil Desk Reference daily.  It lists each and every oil, oil blend, and young living product along with uses for each of them.  There is also a section in the back where you can look up everything from colds to infertility to depression (thousands of ailments and disorders!).  I've learned there is an oil for everything. 

Young Living offers every oil you can think of and additionally even sells cleaning products (using Thieves as the base), personal care products such as shampoo, conditioner, and toothpaste, and other nutritional supplements.  I digress though!  I honestly have yet to try any of their other products. 

Let me tell you about my three favorite oils.  I learn about and try a new oil all the time that I love for a new reason but so far these are the most versatile.

Mini Disclaimer:  I've found that all oil users have their own way of using them... methods they prefer.  Some say always dilute.  Others say they never dilute.  Some ingest, others don't.  Note that you should never ingest an oil that isn't marked for ingestion.  MANY brands are not but that is the beauty of Young Living oils, many of theirs are!  For us personally, the method we use depends on the oil we are using.  And when I say dilute, it means to use a carrier oil such as coconut oil, olive oil, or even an unscented lotion.     

Fun Fact:  Did you know your feet have the largest pores and largest concentration of pores in your entire body.  That means when you put essential oils on your feet, they are rapidly absorbed into your body and begin working almost immediately!

Thieves

The history of Thieves:
Its name may sound odd but is based on exactly what it would seem to be.  The name originates from a group of thieves who were stealing from those affected from the Bubonic plague, but somehow avoiding catching the Plague themselves.  They admitted to using a blend of aromatics for protection, and in exchange for a lighter prison sentence, turned over their recipe.

"Thieves has natural antibacterial and antiviral properties and studies conducted by Weber State University in Utah in 1997 showed the antibacterial effectiveness of Thieves against airborne microorganisms.  One study showed a 90% reduction in the number of gram-positive micrococcus luteus organisms after diffusing Thieves for 12 minutes.  After diffusing Thieves for a total of 20 minutes, there was a 99.3% reduction.  Another study with the gram-negative pseudomonas aeruginosa showed a kill rate of 99.96% after just 12 minutes of diffusion." 

How awesome is that?!?

So how do we use it in our house?

First, Thieves may be a little strong for sensitive skin so you may want to dilute it.   When using on our feet and wrists, we don't dilute.   If using somewhere else, I usually dilute. 

• Diffusing! As the study showed above, I diffuse this at least once a day in our home.
• 1-2 drops on the bottom our our feet before bed and then put socks on 
• For treating coughs or flu, put 1-2 drops Thieves with a carrier oil and apply to chest, neck, and behind the ears and rub in well.
• Before work or school, place 1 drop of Thieves on both wrists and rub together.  The Thieves will work all day to kill bacteria and viruses that you come into contact with! 
• Put 1-2 drops of Thieves on your toothbrush to kill unwanted bacteria & viruses in your mouth, which is where lots of sickness starts!  Do this daily for protection or when you are sick.  Kids can do this too, but be warned that it’s very strong!
• If you have a headache, place 1 drop on the tongue and press it against the roof of your mouth.  This really helps but let me warn you... there is a definite burning/tingling sensation that lasts for a brief period

I have so many anecdotes already from our family and friends that I have shared this oil with that have seen drastic improvements in their lives.  From stopping a cold/flu dead in its tracks on several occasions to another person who has suffered from sinus problems their entire life that said she has "never drained so much crap as she did after using Thieves just once."  She had me order her a bottle after using it just once.   

Peppermint Oil

Peppermint is strong aromatically and a little goes a long way so I prefer to use it with a carrier oil or just inhale. 

Common Uses

• Fevers!!!! I can't praise this oil enough for the treatment of fevers.  On numerous occasions in our house this winter it has gotten rid of or lowered a fever... even a 104 degree fever Amelia had   
• Perfect for treating congestion.  Drink 1-2 drops in 8 oz. spring or filtered water for sore throats and congestion.
• Drop 1-2 drops on the neck line to help clear up stuffy noses. (Again, depending on age you may want to use a carrier oil because it is powerful.)
• If you have a headache, put 1-2 drops of peppermint in the palm of your hands and rub them together.  Cup them over your face and inhale as deeply as you can.  It is very strong but helps tremendously with headaches.
• Rub 1-2 drops along with organic coconut oil onto sore muscles.
• Inhale straight from the bottle if you need a pick me up.
• Some people like it in their morning coffee.  I tried it once but honestly it was too strong for me to enjoy it.

A friend of our suffers from migraines and felt one coming on.  I brought her some of our peppermint oil and she said that within 30 minutes of applying it to her neck, temples, and forehead.   

Lavender

Commons Uses

• Use it to sleep better at night.  Before bed, put 2-3 drops of lavender on your wrist. Rub your wrists and inhale deeply.  You will sleep so much better.  This can also be done for small children but I like to put it on their feet or onto their favorite teddy bear or blanket.
• Put 10 drops of lavender into your or your kid's bath to help calm nerves and for detoxing.  It provides for an extremely relaxing experience.
• Use it directly on cuts and scrapes in place of your typical triple antibiotic ointment.  It has amazing antiseptic properties.  You can even add several drops to hand soaps around the house.
• Diffuse it to clean the air in your home and give a lovely scent.
• Put 10 drops into each new bottle of hair conditioner you buy.  It helps with dry scalp, hair growth, and overall health of your hair. 

Other uses: cough/bronchitis and teething


Other favorite oils of mine: Lemon & Grapefruit (smell amazing and delicious in water!)

My most recent order will include Clary Sage which is supposed to help with endometriosis and I am super excited to try it out!

I am not saying the oils have been the end all, cure all but I firmly believe they have helped drastically.  Grant has not missed a single day of daycare this cold and flu season due to being sick.  We have dealt with Amelia's ear infections and colds but I think that is pretty par for the course for an infant.  I actually hate to imagine how rough our winter would be without using the oils on her for ear infections, bronchitis, coughs, teething, and soothing.  I don't know if anyone remembers or read it but during the time period that Amelia suffered from ear infection(s) for 6 weeks, the only time we ever got even just one ear to clear up was when we didn't use any antibiotics and used only natural methods. 

If you want to learn more about signing up or trying some oils out please don't hesitate to contact me.  I'd be happy to order some for you at wholesale or we can talk about how you can sign up as a distributor yourself.  I started with the premium starter kit when I signed up here which comes with an amazing beginning selection of start oils AND a diffuser.  Then after you have signed up, you get oils at wholesale price. 

PS I am not trying for one huge sales pitch here!  I just want to share the information, plant the seed, and let everyone who is interested do the research.   

~Grant's 3rd Birthday~

  

 

Amelia not pictured because she was sleeping by the time we remembered to take a family picture :(

 I would have to say as a mom this was probably the hardest birthday yet.  It seemed like a bigger milestone than the previous celebrations.  Yes, 1 is big in itself but at 3 he just seems so old already!  Yeah, yeah... I know... we still have a long way to go and 3 is very young in the grand scheme of things but it just seemed different.  He's definitely no longer a baby, no longer a toddler, and very close to a pre-schooler.  He has become very self-sufficient.  His personality has blossomed and we see glimpses of the little boy he is growing into.

He's a ham!

Simplicity was the name of the game this year.  It was so much fun because Grant could actually grasp the concept that it was his birthday and was talking about it for weeks leading up to the big day.  At Christmas time he would proudly announce "Christmas is Jesus' birthday and my birthday is after Christmas." 

Grant helped pick the theme and invitations.  He is really into trucks and can tell you the difference between all the different kind of construction equipment and tools so a construction/truck theme seemed only fitting.

No themed food this year... Just the basics with a dump truck load of cupcakes.
 

The cupcakes may not have been the prettiest but Grant and I made them together and he loved adding green food coloring to some of the batter to make them green swirl. 

We had tons of family and friends come and celebrate.

And Grant is so incredibly blessed to have so many amazing people in his life.

Funniest moment of the afternoon... After Grant blew out his candles, I handed him the #3 candle to lick the frosting off and he proceeded to bite the bottom off and began chewing it up! 

He had toys everywhere and overall it was an awesome afternoon.
 

Swimming in a sea of wrapping paper

Cutting daddy's arm off with his new chainsaw

Grant ~Fall 2013~

Well this is supposed to be the fall post but as you can see we stretch into the winter a little bit.  Maybe for my “winter” post I will adjust my months a smidge.  I have done my best to keep up with stories and observations.  Here are a few that I have remembered to keep track of and many more I am sure I have missed.    

Size:  Grant is roughly 37 1/4” tall and 31 lbs.  We go for his 3 year check up at the end of January so we’ll have some “official” size stats then.  He fits perfectly in 3 T clothing right now and wears size 8 shoes.   

October

Favorite words/sayings:  Although Grant had yet to try any, everything is apple cider!  He’s drinking it, making it, cooking it…  ~ “Holy Macaroni!”

Grant-isms:  When he gets hurt he says that hurt my feelings ~ He tells us to get out of his room at bed time after we read our stories ~ This month we were finally able to put the toilet paper back on the rolls because he won’t unroll the entire thing anymore

Likes:  Playing the game red light, green light ~ In the car, he tells me, “I want to sing to my music.  I want to sing to Jesus.”

Observations:  knows big/small, short/tall, front/back ~ He has become more aware of the dark and makes comments about monsters.  However, he isn’t really “afraid” yet. ~ knows his birthday ~ knows months of the year ~ very good at tracing objects (his favorite is his hand) on paper and the iPad

Firsts/Adventures:  Trick or treating wasn’t exactly a first but it was like an entirely new experience.  He had no issue about walking up and saying trick or treat to everyone.  It was more of a battle getting him to actually put his costume on (even though he knew he had to have it on to get candy!).

Illness:  None

November

Favorite words/sayings:  “I saw it on Facebook.”  The first time he said it we laughed hysterically.  Now, he likes to say it all the time when you ask him where he saw something or where he learned something. 

Grant-isms:  When we ask him to try something (we know he can do), his favorite answer is “I don’t know how to do that yet” or if you ask can you do this, his reply is “Not yet” without even trying ~ When approaching a stop and go light he likes to chant “stay green, stay green” until we make it through. 
 

Likes: honey sticks ~ anything green! ~ the dragon costume at daycare ~ went through a phase where he wanted to wear his Halloween monkey costume all the time

Observations:  This month I was able to attend “muffins with mom” at daycare.  It was so much fun seeing him interact with all of his friends in that environment ~ He is getting much better at staying in the lines when coloring and focusing on coloring certain objects instead of the entire page.  I should add he doesn’t really enjoy coloring.  It will hold his attention for about five minutes tops and then he is on to something else.  The same goes for crafting as well.  He could care less about handprints and footprints and this and that.  He will paint his own pictures briefly and then on to the next activity. ~ He has been talking about guns.  I think it is mainly because we bought a BB gun and he said he will use Pa’s gun (an observation from when we were in Georgia). 

Firsts/Adventures:  None that I could remember of made a note of… 
 

Funnies:  Informed the teacher at daycare you can’t potty outside at school, only at home (so maybe we let him drop his drawers and pee in the yard… we do live in the country afterall! ) ~ 

Told us he was going to grow up and be big and strong like a dinosaur
 

Illness:  None

December

Favorite words/sayings:  Water = waddle all the sudden ~ “Please, I have some more please!”

Grant-isms: While laying in bed one night Grant told us mountains have points on them.  We told him they are called peaks and asked if he knew who made the mountains.  Without hesitation Grant answered, “Yes, God!” ~ If you call him silly, goofy, obnoxious Grant says, “I’m not silly (goofy, obnoxious), I Grant Irvin Fisher!” ~ If Grant is trying to get your attention or ask you a question but you don’t answer him immediately, he gets frustrated and  says over and over “You’re not answering me!”

Likes:  He loves “building coffee stores” and “diamond boats” which consist of stacking blocks (wood and big legos)

Observations:  He has gotten much better at dressing himself and doesn’t fight us nearly as much.  This was such a battle for a long time!  Although, he may not always get it on the correct way.  Shirts are still a little tough. ~ Grant can now feed the dogs by himself.  He knows which scoop they get and can scoop into their bowls without spilling. 

Firsts/Adventures:  This month brought the festivities of Christmas including fun with the elf on the shelf (named George after curious George), breakfast with Santa, a trip to the Dells, and the celebration of Jesus’ birthday on Christmas Eve/Day.  He never showed any trepidation towards Santa.  He openly grasped and welcomed the celebration of Jesus’ birth and the true meaning of Christmas.  He loved telling us that there was no room at the inn and Jesus slept on the hay in a manger.  His primary songs of choice this month were Away in the Manger and Mary Rode a Donkey.  

Funnies:  Grant told the teacher he was getting a beer from the kitchen at school (oops!) ~ Grant told us “When I was a dog, I used to eat dog food and bark and bark!” ~ He has told us on numerous occasions that he dunked his head in the toilet at school and licked the water off.  (We have yet to hear this story from his teacher and I keep for getting to ask but I am pretty sure if it really did happen she would've made sure to tell us!) You just wonder where they come up with some of this stuff!  Well, I guess I know where he gets the beer thing from but not the dog or dunking his head in the toilet.   

Illness:  Towards the middle of the month we suspected he had a mild ear infection.  He had a small amount of drainage for a day and was really digging in his left ear.  We went into the ENT for his scheduled 2 ½ year check of his tubes and come to find out the tube in that ear came out.  It was stuck in a ball of wax in his ear canal so it was probably causing some discomfort.  He did so good laying there for the doctor to dig it out.  His other tube is still in and looks good.  We go back in July to check it again.  The doc opted to leave it in for now because it appears to be on its way out and isn’t causing any problems.  We hate to do surgery again to take it out if it isn’t necessary.  



Lot of fun coming up in the coming week.. my mom arrives on Thursday and we will be celebrating Grant's birthday on Saturday!  Almost three!!!!