Busy Weekend

We've had a great holiday weekend. Dale's still on the beach with Bain (since December 7th), which has been nice. Once he goes back to work again we won't be seeing him much, so we're trying to really enjoy this time.

The big events this weekend were two really fun birthday parties for two of Laurel's friends. On Saturday, we attended Savannah Stanworth's 4th birthday party at the ASI gymnastics studio in Lake Highlands. The Stanworth's attended Wharton with us and moved to Dallas one year before us. Laurel had a wonderful time. She was able to jump on trampolines, run around on the bouncy floor, and run and jump into a large pit of foam blocks. She was in heaven! Dale and I enjoyed socializing with adults and keeping Andrew happy. It was a really nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Sunday was a great day as well. I've started a new thing with Laurel where we spent about 30 minutes going over what she's learning in Primary and talking with her about the church. Last week we spoke about Jesus Christ and his death and resurrection. Ever since that discussion, Laurel has been internalizing everything about those two very important events. For example, everytime she gets in trouble, she will cry and say she doesn't want to make mistakes because of Jesus. She's a very thoughtful child. So, yesterday I asked her to draw a picture of Jesus and how she feels about him. When she finished, I noticed a picture of a man with a huge smiling face. I asked her to tell me about the picture. She told me it was Jesus and she said, "I made Him a happy face so He wouldn't die." Laurel has such a tenderheart -- I'm so impressed with the feelings she has for Jesus. It's difficult to convey to a 4 year old that Jesus is alright and that He had to die for our sins and mistakes so we could make it back to Heavenly Father if we repent. It becomes very basic, which is good because the Gospel is not meant to be complicated.

After church we had a fun dinner with our friends, the Christensens. They moved to Flower Mound the same time we did, but they came from Riverside, California. They're really nice people and we've enjoyed getting to know them. I actually visit teach Vickie and she is just a great woman. Laurel enjoyed playing with their 3 children.

Andrew has grown a great deal over the past few weeks. He's definitely found his hands and loves to study them as much as possible. He also has a grin and smile that will melt your heart. I love his deep dimples in his cheeks! As far as his soy and dairy allergies, it's been a little difficult the past 2 weeks. Dale and I think he might be allergic to something else because I'm so careful with my diet. Something upset him 2 weeks ago and he screamed and cried off and on for a few days. He also got very constipated, which is what happens when he comes in contact with foods he's allergic to. So, out of desperation and frustration, we decided to try the purest formula made (Neocate) to see if that made a difference. The other fancy formula (Progestimil - $27.00/can) upset him so we weren't sure what to expect. Dale called all of the pharmacies in Flower Mound and finally found a can at Tom Thumb (Texas version of Safeway). Neocate costs $40.00 for a 14 oz can! We bought it and tried him on it for 3 days while I continued to pump. He loved it! In fact, he might love it more than breastmilk. The downside was that it constipated him as well, but at least he'd only cry for 30 minutes until the suppository took affect. After 4 days (that's as long as that formula lasted) we decided to have me go back on the diet until he's at least 6 months. By then, I might be able to give him peaches, prunes, etc to help him out with his constipation because it really isn't good to keep using suppositories. Overall it was a good experience. I was able to enjoy one day of eating what I wanted. Dale took me to Macaroni Grill and I ordered the creamiest, cheesiest meal I could find and it felt great to just eat what I wanted. Unfortunately, even after waiting 24+ hours to feed him, there must have still been traces of dairy/soy in my system because he got really sick . . . he screamed 3 hours straight on Friday night. I felt so bad. For those out there who have not gone through food allergies with an infant, count your blessings. It is so incredibly hard. I know it's not as serious as a child born with serious health issues, but it is stressful to the parents because you don't know what's wrong with your child. Andrew's GI specialist thought he had Hirschsprung's disease, which is very serious. My eyes have been opened and from here on out, I will be empathetic to any person with a food allergy. My sister in law has Celiac's disease, so she is unable to eat wheat products/gluten, etc. She never complains about it, but I know it has to be hard to be on a special diet. Wheat and soy are in everything! It is difficult to find anything processed that doesn't have soy in it . . . I guess the upside of Andrew's allergies and my special diet is that I'm eating a healthy diet and losing the taste for processed food. It's really not good for anyone.