Can You See My Teeth??

Not sure if you can tell, but I have two bottom teeth! You can just start to see the white tips - but boy, are they sharp! They also mean that I drool about 10 gallons a minute (as evidenced by my shirt below.) Mommy thinks the top two are coming in next. I like to gnaw on my baby cheetos even harder now that I have these. And don't stick your finger in my mouth, or boy... Are you in for a surprise!!!

Talk to you soon! I miss all of you!

Love, Jack

Jack loves to eat! (Wow, he does take after me in some little way!) :) He really gets into mealtime, and will DEMAND that we hurry up if we aren't shoveling food into his mouth fast enough! It's hilarious. At this point he's getting only fresh fruit and veggies and baby cereal, so it's ok with me if he wants to gobble it all up. It's not like I am feeding him McDonald's!

On another note, he has started doing several new things, all of which I am trying to capture on video. (Which is a lot harder than it sounds.) The first thing is rocking back and forth on all fours. He can scoot backwards with the best of the older babies, but still gets really frustrated when he wants to go forward. I am working on getting that on video...I don't have a good one yet. He seems to get camera shy if we bring out the video camera (go figure!) and stops whatever he is doing immediately. Soooo I will do my best!

One funny story about this: as you all may know, we have a video monitor in his nursery. Lately I have been putting small safe toys in his crib in case he wakes up early and wants to play (which actually works sometimes.) One of these is a soft little stuffed Elmo doll. The other night, I heard grunts coming across the monitor, so I flipped on the video. Jack was practicing his crawling. up on all fours rocking back and forth. Poor Emlo was underneath him!! I almost died laughing. All I could see were Elmo's eyes as Jack was "violating" him. Funniest thing ever!!

The other new things is that he has learned how to blow out of his lips. This is new. He now does it all the time, even with mouthfuls of food (FUN!) I got him doing it a few times on the video below. Hopefully better ones will be coming soon!

Jack's First Tooth

It FINALLY came in!! We have been waiting forever (although I am sure the wait was harder on him!) He has a sharp little point on the bottom center. I am so proud! As soon as I can get him to sit still enough, I will snap a picture. I am very relieved now to know that he will not be the only toothless first grader in existence. :)

With that being said, our little man is doing great. He has enjoyed a WHOLE WEEK of not being sick, which is a huge relief to all of us. He also recently made the transition from Infant One to Infant Two at daycare, which was a little bit of an adjustment for his parents. Our little one isn't a newborn anymore and before you know it, he will be a toddler! But he loves his new environment and being challenged by his new, older friends.

Other than that, there isn't much to report in the Crosby house. We are dying for spring to come, and soon. Walks outside are beginning to become a necessity! We can't wait until it's warmer and we can all play outside every night.

Our Visit with Nana Nannette

Nana Nannette came up for a visit this weekend, and she loved photographing our little model (ha ha!) Jack enjoyed some QT with her and I know she loved snuggling with him too.

All photographs are copyright by Annette Crosby :)

Ear Infection = Eradicated!

It's all gone!! Yay! The doctor confirmed it today. So no tubes for our baby boy ... at least not yet. This is great news and hopefully we can all stay well for the rest of the winter. Fingers crossed...!

Jack's Giggles

He loooooves it when we tickle his tummy ... just like Elmo! We were just running around the house playing train ("chug chug chug choo choo!!") and he was laughing up a storm. I did my best to get his giggles on video as Justin is away at a doctor's appointment. Hope you enjoy! How could this not make you smile?? :)

Does This Count As Crawling?...

Do you think this counts as our little boy crawling??! Maybe not quite ... but soon! He goes from the sitting position and sort of dives forward over his feet to get on all fours. From there he will lift up, rock, or lunge forward. Every day it seems he can do something new. He can also stand up holding on to something, at least for a minute or two...

P.S. Look at those legs!!! He takes after his Daddy in more ways than one. :)

The Never-Ending Ear Infection

Yesterday, Jack got an antibiotic shot of Rocephin to take care of his ear infection that was lingering. After his allergic reaction to the Amoxicillian, the doctor felt it was safest to do a one-dose administration. He had it Friday at 11am, and seemed to do fine.



He had a SUPER night's sleep last night - he slept soundly, without stirring once, from 7pm to 6am. We could tell he was feeling better, but Dr. Hunt wanted to take one more look at his ears today. He was tugging at them in the morning, so I wasn't sure it was cleared up.



Sure enough, she wanted to give him another shot. Poor baby boy! She said that if this doesn't take care of it, or if he gets another "whopper" ear infection like this, she will refer him to an ear nose & throat specialist. Seeing as how Justin had a cleft palate, multiple sets of tubes, and general ENT problems throughout his life, and I had a deviated septum and all kinds of polyps, it's pretty much guaranteed that Jack will be plagued with similar problems.



So that's the update. He's taken a few long naps today but seems to be doing much better. We can only hope that this is the end of this infection! He needs a few days of being healthy; it would be a big relief for all of us.

Rash Part 2

This was last night (2/11) before bathtime. I think this was the worst of it ... it got steadily better overnight.

When I picked him up at daycare and saw this, I started to cry. My poor baby boy!!

The doctor was noting that it was NOT a true allergic reaction, but rather an autoimmune response by his immune system. So that's why the Benadryl didn't help. However the ointment they gave us did. He looks MUCH better now!

Poor Jack Just Can't Win...

Last Friday, Jack was put on Amox - Clav for his recurring ear infection that just wouldn't go away. After 6.5 days on the antibiotic, he broke out overnight in a horrible rash. See below morning pictures from Thursday, February 11:

Side of his face and chest.
His poor swollen face.

In profile.

We called the doctor, and they said to stop the medicine, use baby Benadryl, and keep an eye on him. He was his usual happy self, and other than not sleeping because he was itchy, they didn't seem to bother him all that much. He went on his merry way to daycare and actually had a fun morning finger painting Valentine cards. Justin checked on him at lunchtime and other than looking a little funny, he seemed fine. (Of course, if I was one of the other parents and saw a kid that looked like that in Jack's classroom, I would have freaked out! My first thought would be chicken pox. But everyone was very calm and collected and we thank daycare for that, because Justin and I have both missed so much work lately between being sick ourselves and having Jack sick that we needed a normal workday.)

Around 3:00pm, daycare called. They said his rash had gotten signficantly worse, even after the Benadryl. This of course made me panic, so off to the doctor we went:

I don't know if you can see in the light, but there were angry red splotches all over his little body.

Poor kid! His face was the itchiest part.

They took a good look at him, and said that a) his ear infection was still there, although it was a little better, and b) other than stopping the medicine, there isn't much they can do. The bumps will go away on their own with time. We were offered the option of giving him a steroid shot, but after a long discussion with the doctor, we are hesitant to put anything else into his tiny body. The doctor is confident that the rash will go away on its own, and even overnight we have seen an improvement in the spots. He's still our little leper baby but he's getting better!

The new development is a high fever. He spiked last night at 102.4. I am thinking this is because of the ear infection that has not yet left, but Justin is on doctor duty this morning to find out. We are all exhausted, fed up, and sick of being sick. I wish the weather would just get warmer already so that maybe we could get out, get some fresh air, and shake some of this! It's really been draining on all three of us and we are just praying that winter will be over soon.

Love, Kelly

Jack's Little Personality Shining Through

What a headstrong, strong-willed boy we have on our hands! You can see by this video that he knows exactly what he wants ... and how to get it. We are in biiiiiiiig trouble!

Daddy and Jack Photo Session

Today, Justin and Jack were playing around in his nursery, and I decided to snap some pictures. Jack is sooooo happy that his Daddy is back from a long trip and you can tell by the excitement on his face! Now if only that first tooth will officially poke through, he will be a much happier guy!

Don't worry, everyone, my hand was right underneath him. He's a quick little fellow!

" Nom nom nom, if I can reach it, it goes in my mouth."

"I'm trying to cut a tooth here, leave me alone!"

This probably isn't safe at all. Regardless, Jack loves it when Dad handles him like a football!

"Whoo hoo, Dad, lift me up higher! HIGHER!!!"

All smiles for his Daddy...all the time. I tell you, it gets old being the disciplinarian and having Daddy be the "fun one!"

Wow. It is really scary how much they look alike!!!! This picture was totally snapped on the fly too, no posing at all. I have a Mini-Justin!!

Smiley McDroolyPants is at it again!

Jack Waking Up

Jack is super cute when he wakes up. He always seems to be in a great mood! (Well, at least if he feels OK and isn't sick!) Here is a short clip of me peeking into his room this morning just in time to catch the little guy stirring. Thankfully for Mom and Dad, he slept until 7:45am!!! What a treat for all of us. :) Unfortunately for Mom, Dad was still sleeping. His excuse is that he's still on Mexico time. Yeah, right!

Our Basement Rehab - Tile!

Our basement is (finally!) nearing completion. Last week, while Justin was away, I got to pick the carpet and tile (muahahaha!) I picked the carpet below - top left color, named "Wicker." It's a strong berber mix that should stand up to even Jack's wear and tear.
They finished tiling today. It looks great! We are still waiting on the grout to dry, so I couldn't stand on it to take pictures. But here it is from the top of the stairwell:

And a (kind of dark) picture looking down on the washer and dryer:

Here is the threshold from the hallway area to the Entertainment Room (where the carpet will be laid on Tuesday when it comes in.)

And the threshold to the office:

I think it's coming along very nicely! I honestly cannot wait for it to be done. With everything that happened this past week, I am ready to no longer have contractors in my house (as nice as they are.)

Speaking of, we had quite an eventful week. Justin was in Mexico for work and everything was going perfectly swimmingly until Wednesday night. I woke up nauseous, with the worst diarrhea and vomiting that I have had in probably forever. I was throwing up every 30 minutes, sick as a dog, and Justin was away. I managed to drag myself off the bathroom floor and get Jack to daycare on Thursday morning. His poor teachers! I must have looked like death. I didn't even change him out of his PJ's, and I didn't prepare his bottles or anything. I basically just handed him over and said, "I am so sick, please just take him!" Thankfully they are great and they understood.

I spent Thursday basically staring at the wall laying in bed and not moving, or staring at the toilet from the bathroom floor. Finally one of my coworkers was nice enough to volunteer to drive me to pick up Jack at daycare. I was so grateful. By that time I was able to hold down a sip or two of Pedialyte, but that was about it. We picked Jack up and got home, and lo and behold, he started running a fever and acting very fussy. He had a very fitful night on Thursday - he was up every 30 minutes to an hour, screaming and crying and not eating.

Friday morning couldn't come soon enough. I called the pediatrician's office when they opened at 8:30am, and explained what was going on. They said that unforutnately, if he was indeed getting the stomach flu that I was recovering from, that there wasn't much they could do. I was instructed to keep him on baby Tylenol, watch him closely for dehydration, and pray that it only lasted 24 hours. It seemed odd to me because he never started throwing up, but I figured I'd just hang out with him and see. I was beyond exhausted and still sick myself, so I wasn't much for making grand decisions.

About two hours later, Jack finally decided he wanted to nurse. I was so grateful that he was finally eating ... but also a little concerned because I was so dehydrated myself that I wasn't sure I had any milk. He had just settled in when I put my hand under his head like usual, and I grazed his left ear. You would have thought I just chopped off his leg. He screamed, cried, turned red, and was yelling up a storm. I knew immediately that this wasn't normal, so I called the doctor's office back.

Sure enough, they wanted to see him. He had just been in two weeks ago for double ear infections and finished Amoxicillian on Sunday ... and here it was Friday and we were back again. (Did I mention he had his 6-month well-baby checkup on Monday? Yes, we live at the pediatrician's.) This time, they took one look at his ear and said "Yup! Still infected." He's now on a special-kid strong-dose of Amox-Clav (which is Amoxicillian and Clavulanate), specially made for kids with recurring ear infections. He's six months old, already with recurring ear infections. I have two words: UH OH.

Anyway, so he's been on that for about 24 hours now, and is back to his old self. Me, on the other hand ... I had my first solid food again for lunch today, after almost 52 hours with nothing but Pedialyte, juice, gatorade, and veggie broth. I still feel a little sick to my stomach, and I definitely am not trying any new foods any time soon. I do have to say, though, that it's a pretty good weight-loss program: I lost almost 7 lbs in 3 days. (Not healthy though, that's for sure!)

We are very glad to have Daddy back home. He makes us laugh (Jack literally LIT UP when Justin walked in the door last night) and he takes good care of us. He even took us to Target today to get out of the house, and bought Jack a special new toy. We are looking forward to resting up and having a very low-key weekend. We all need it!

Love, Kelly

The kid loves his baths...

No one can say that he doesn't LOOOOOOOVE bathtime!! The older he gets, the more fun he is. I love watching him cackle and laugh away!

Our Basement Rehab Part 2

The contractors have made a lot of progress on our basement! See new pictures below. Justin and I did all the priming of the walls this weekend - phew, that was a job! But now is the fun part - picking carpet and tile. Lucky for me, Justin is in Mexico and I get the final say, MUHAHA! Just kidding. We are doing it all via wire.

New door from Entertainment Room to hallway.

New Door from the other side.

New Windows in the office! They let in so much more light.

New wall in laundry room!

Jack's 6-Month Stats

Today Jack visited Dr. Shah for his 6-month checkup. It coincided nicely with the day he finished his Amoxicillian for his ear infections. First order of business - his ears have cleared up beautifully. No more infections! And he said his breathing rate and oxygen levels look good, so the RSV is doing better. He still has a bit of a cough but that's normal.



Now, onto his stats. Our little boy is:

• 17 lb, 4 oz - Same as last week.
• 25 1/2 inches long. Perfectly normal, in the middle of the growth chart, which is great.
• Head Circumference: 42 1/2 inches.

He also got the following vaccinations (boosters) today:

• DPT (diptheria, pertussis, tetanus)
• Hib (Haemophilus influenza type B)
• Hepatitis B booster
• Polio
• PCV7 (Pneumococcal)

He will be going back next week to get his flu shots - since babies under one year old have to have two different shots, I just thought it was too much for one visit. Thankfully Miss Ashley at daycare will keep him loaded up on Tylenol! He will need it. Poor little guy was NOT happy about his shots.

With all that being said, otherwise, he is in fine shape. He is doing everything he is supposed to at this age: eating solids, sitting up, reaching and grabbing, rolling over, and putting everything in sight into his mouth. He did confirm his top right front tooth is coming in... we think it will have broken through by the time Justin gets back from Mexico on Saturday! We will see. Until then, Jack and I are enjoying the single life (ha ha). Don't worry, we both miss Daddy!