Ellie the Allergy Dog

Our beloved 3 year old pitbull mix, Ellie, has had bad seasonal allergy issues since she was young. We tried managing them with a variety of drugs, steroids, baths, etc. to no avail. So finally this year we went to a veterinarian dermatologist (yep, they exist) and got her a full allergy test just like humans get with the skin prick test. She did very well and we found she is allergic to a bunch of different weeds and trees as well as dust mites (gotta keep the house clean). And finally wool, so all of you planning on getting her wool christmas sweaters, you'll have to come up with a new plan. So now we have to give her allergy shots every 3 days, sheesh! It's like one of those mastercard commercials. Allergy test for dog: $350 (plus $100 for sedation), Allergy shots for dog: $180 for 2.5 months worth (will get cheaper as we can space shots out), Ellie being able to finally regrow hair on her butt: priceless. Oy, the lengths we go to for our animals!

Future French Horn Player?

When Fred was over last week the boys started blowing/humming into buckets and watering cans. Perhaps we have a future french horn player on our hands? Fred seems to be pretty good....

Swimming with Noah n Fred

The boys have been enjoying some outdoor time since the weather has finally warmed up. We have a nice setup with the sprinkler on deck, the pool, and the picnic table. It works well for us and keeps them busy. Last week, Fred was wearing a new swim shirt that resulted in blue shoulders, so no no you don't need to call DCFS, he doesn't have bruises all over. I'll be posting some video of them shortly. Thank goodness they're both water boys. In other news, Noah has now given up his pacifier (AKA his "fafa"). He's been a bit crabby, but overall it's been going well. Hope everyone is enjoying August!

Video?

Ok, so I'm attempting to post a video here. A shout-out to our friend "Uncle Bob." Noah has been talking more lately, starting primarily by saying "bob." We occasionally get "dad" rarely still we get "mama" but "bob" is a staple in his verbal vocabulary. Of course!

Head out on the highway!

Noah got an awesome hand-me-down from his cousin Nick. A Harley rocker! He has been loving climbing on and riding, usually to the sound of Daddy making motorcycle noises or mommy singing the william tell overture. He seems to ride it sports style, leaning down for maximum aerodynamics. Ride on, brother!

Belly Boy

A few days ago we spent some time outside without a suit on! It was overcast (yes, I still put sunscreen on him) so he went in just his diaper. This is totally just a "he's so darn cute" post. I just couldn't stop taking pictures of our chunky little man. Look at the rolls he's rocking on his legs! We were dogsitting Webster, Noah kept desperately trying to share with Webster, it was so funny. That last picture there is him pointing out an airplane. Since we live under an O'Hare flight path he's pointing up just about every 3 minutes during the peak arrival times.

Monster Cookies with the Monsters

Philie and I got the crazy idea of making monster cookies in our heads this week (thanks, JOSH). So we gathered the ridiculous amount of supplies (12 eggs, 18 cups of oatmeal, 3lbs of peanut butter, etc...) and got to work on Wednesday. Thank goodness the boys are old enough to "help" and/or play together fairly well. We made the dough in the morning and started baking in the afternoon. After 4 hours of bake time and nearly 100 cookies we were beat. It was an experience that I'm sure we'll repeat in 1-2 years. Mike, we need a kitchen remodel with double ovens, stat! Oh and that last picture, Fred is on his tip toes. He is taller than Noah, but not THAT much taller.