New haircut & the Aquarium

A while back we gave Eli his 1st buzz cut :) Isn't he handsome!!
He did so great...just stood there very still as the clippers did their work.



We also made a trip to the zoo for my neice June's birthday. I cannot believe she's 4!!










Just as we left the sun was coming out and we enjoyed some yummy Ivar's Fish & Chips! It was a fun day with the cousins.

Eli's rash update

Eli is doing better. Thanks for your prayers and words of comfort as this was a little scary for us!
Here is what he looked like 2 days ago, progressively:


This was the only way to get a really good idea of how much it covered him :(
He kept kicking off the wash cloth so I just fuzzed out the X rated spots :)


yesterday morning:

Still some puffy eyes but the redness was much better all around.

His cousins came for a visit and that really cheered him up. Here's Eli's 1st encounter with worms!


Today he is looking MUCH better. His face looks almost normal again and the blotches are faded.


We're very grateful that the turn around has been faster than expected. The Dr. said it could take up to 3 weeks for it to be gone. She diagnosed it as E.M.-the minor version and that it was probably caused by a viral infection that he had had, which sounds really bizarre but it happens more often than we hear. She's not convinced it was the penicillin's fault as he's had it once before and did not react, but we're staying away from it just the same.

So we don't know what kind of infection caused the reaction, which is the scary part-that it could happen again, but we're exploring other areas such as food allergies and what might be causing his excema flare-ups, which could lead to an infection as well.

Ahhhh..... in the meantime, he still has an ear infection (which isn't ruled out as the cause) and we're not able to treat it with other meds until his rash is completely gone. Please be praying for the comfort of his ears. The many Dr.'s office visits has given him a distaste for taking any meds/vitamins by mouth, where as before he was just fine with it. So we're having to pin him down, poor guy. He is not very happy with me afterwards, as you can imagine. I just hope I'm not ruining any trust between us :( that would make me very sad.

Thank you again for your prayers for our little man. We're so thankful for good friends & family :)
love,
The Courters

Poor guy :(

Eli first started out with a double ear infection Tues. of last week. The Dr. prescribed amoxicillin and a week later these little guys showed up:


My first thought was allergic reaction to the meds but no photos online or anything I could find could confirm it. Also, it was 8pm and the Dr. was not in. I gave him some Tylenol and put him to bed.

I got him in the morning and he looked like this:

He was still a happy camper, but itching and scratching :(


So, this is when I panicked and called the Dr.'s office right away. I explained that his eyes were puffy and he had the rash nearly all over his body. They were able to see us right away.


They gave him Benadryl right away and said to keep a close eye on it. They said too that sometimes it's an allergic reaction to not only meds but to food, so we're going to start by taking out cow's milk.

I feel so bad for him and HELPLESS. We have another apt. to see his Dr. tomorrow to see how he's mending.

Please be praying for healing for Eli and that it's not anything serious. I'm so sad for him and wish there was more I could do. Thanks for your prayers :)

Jaymie

Ten on Ten...how bout' that?!

more backlogging

I felt like blogging today. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because the weather was so nice and now it's back to it's normal cloudiness. In any case, I've realized how much I've fallen behind after looking through my iphoto...I thought I'd do a little catch up-a little out of order though.

My husband came home on Friday with the lovely bouquet of flowers at the top. I was so delighted. How so very thoughtful of him and I appreciate and love his goodness so much.

Eli was just diagnosed yesterday with his first ever double ear infection. I'm thankful he hasn't gotten this more! What a miserable little man he was yesterday. So lethargic and not himself. Poor guy...he didn't sleep very well last night, waking up twice crying very hard. I woke up this morning to find him and daddy asleep on the couch together. I wish I could have taken a picture but I was afraid to wake them. To cheer him up I blew bubbles for him after breakfast (thank you Kristen, as I got the idea from you and when you do bubbles during Evan's bath time :) that is now a tradition in our home too!)


Eli wanted to give blowing bubbles a go, so I let him and he was very shocked and delighted when he discovered that he could too. Oh, he's getting so big :)


This past weekend my sister and her husband and kiddos came up to help us put in a new lawn. Woah, what a ton of work.


Needless to say, the men where so very sore and tired. I really enjoy this kind of work (crazy?) but obviously couldn't do much with my big ol' 6 month belly.

The guys where able to finish with the front (still needs seed, but soil is down and leveled)-but the back remains torn up and waiting for some new soil, leveling and seed. We are sooo very grateful for Tim's help. (and Peder & Julio!) I'm really looking forward to a summer with a good grass lawn for Eli to play in when baby brother comes. I've got images in my head of snuggling in the sun with baby as Eli plays in the pool and with the doggies. I'm hoping to find a swing on Craig's list that we can hang up from one of the branches of our enormous tree! Oh happy thoughts indeed ;)

The previous weekend Justin's Parents came up for 4 days. I spaced and didn't take pictures, though they were not short on their supply, so I'm glad they got some for the record.

We ventured up to San Juan Island and snuggled inside on that rainy Sat. but went for a hike in the sun on Sunday. It was so very beautiful and peaceful!! I'm really looking forward to spending more time up there this summer...hopefully :) We have so many wonderful memories already from SJI! That's where Justin proposed and where my niece June felt sand for the first time! So many more memories to be had and it warms my heart to think of it.


This is a cake I baked for my sister-in-law Lauren. Her family came up to visit us... 3 weekends ago?? I think...anyway, it was her birthday and I surprised her with my first EVER made 4 layer, Toffee Crunch Cake! Though it didn't look as nearly as pretty as the website photo, it tasted absolutely wonderful, if I may say so :) I found it rather easy to make and recommend anyone give it a try if they get a hankering! If I can do it, you can.



Make a wish Lauren!!


We went to the Aquarium on their visit! The kids really enjoyed all the local Ocean and Puget Sound life. Eli just kept saying 'ish! ish!'

The adults had a good time too poking at the anemones and star fish :)




I love this one-can't remember what it is, but it was so light a fluffy- I really wanted to touch it! but it was in a sealed tank and probably for good reason. I 'm sure it wouldn't look so beautiful after so many fingers poking and pulling at it.




Eli did NOT like the Sea Otters. I don't know if it's because he was smooshed up against the glass and was too close for comfort, but this was a close Eli wanted to be.


Mommy & Eli!


A trip to the zoo, though only 2 pictures. The lions where lazily basking in the sun! So close, in fact again, too close for Eli. He was excited at first but then began lunging for me as if the lions could get him!



Eli loves watching the boys in the neighborhood play soccer outside our front window. He just says over and over 'ball! ball!!' and points out to them.




Justin's friend Vince came to visit from Cali. They went into Seattle for the day on Sat. and Justin showed him Pike's Place and Downtown. We later met up with them at The Crab Pot!! I've been wanting to go for so long and was glad we could share such a fun experience with Vince. Eli even had a little crab! It was past his bed time, but he was a champ.

J & V enjoying Happy Hour at McCormick & Schmicks!





Eli is currently napping and I'm enjoying a morning cup of tea.
Justin and I haven't chosen a name yet for baby #2, but we'll let you know what we decide when we do! So many names to choose from It's a rather daunting task.

I hope you are having a wonderful Wednesday!