Just joys of June

Sometimes it's the simple things that thrill me!

Grandpa (Wayne) has a fascination with John Deere, and loves to buy the apparel for my kids.

Aren't they cute in their matching John Deere outfits?

Cohen gets a kick out of matching his little brother. 

They were as happy as could be playing around in their matching clothes.

We got a visit from Jessie and Robbie who are looking to buy a home in nearby Vancouver, WA.

It was so nice to see them, and they treated us so well! 

They stayed at the Red Lion, and this specific hotel overlooks the big river that separates Oregon from Washington.  Thanks to their generosity, we ate at the nice restaurant in the hotel that overlooked the river.

We even got to sit in the glass windowed corner of the whole place.

Pretty!

We got a deeper understanding of Parker's personality while Jessie and Robbie were visiting.

No joke, it took HOURS for Parker to warm up to them.  At first, while holding Parker, I couldn't even be within 10 feet of the "strangers," and he had to cover his eyes or turn his head.  No eye contact was allowed.

It did take some time, but he finally got comfortable with them around.

I was so thankful!



I've blogged about this place before, but let me remind you, I LOVE Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden!

I took the boys for a pretty quick trip, and they loved it, and I loved it.

There is an unbelievable amount of ducks and geese there (among many other variety of birds.)

We come prepared with bird seed that's sold at a nearby farmer's market, and love feeding all the ducks and geese.

Parker just wanted to touch, hold, and pet the ducks.

That wasn't going to work out so well; the birds are quick... thank goodness!

I was actually trying to get to this garden several weeks earlier so the beautiful flower bushes would be in full bloom, but it just didn't happen.  We saw lots of beautiful flowers on the ground, and a few on the bushes and trees.

Take note, Parker is afraid of the stranger taking our picture.... that's why his head and eyes are down.

Funny little guy.

Then there's my cheese ball right in front. 

Getting a good picture of him is only getting harder. 

He's either cranky and doesn't want a picture, feels like making a weird face, or grins so big that it doesn't even look like his real happy face. 

Oh, well.

The other exciting thing in June was our Utah trip!!!!

We'd like to thank our sponsors, Wayne and Debbie, for making this happen!

:)

The boys were, no doubt, excited to fly.

The morning we left it was about 50 degrees and rainy.

We randomly picked the same flight as my good friend Ashlee who was moving to Utah.

It was sad for me to see her go.  We did lots together, and helped each other out a lot.

I learned a lot from her, and feel like I became a better person from knowing her.

Those are the kind of friends you don't forget.

She's simply an amazing lady.

Ok, back to the trip....

The airplane ride went pretty smooth.

Our gift wrapped dollar store toys that I prepared worked wonders for the kids.

(Cohen is choosing to make a goofy face.... I don't love it.)



My aunt Ann had a layover in the SLC airport!  What a surprise it was when I stepped off the plane and she was standing right in front of me!

I wished we would have had more time to chat, but our ride was already waiting for us, and was on a time limit.  It was so good to see her and at least catch up a little. 

Thanks mom, for making this happen!

I'll have to update you on the whole Utah trip another time.

Thanks for checking us out!

The barium swallow...

One of the tests the GI specialist ordered for Cohen was an upper GI tract.

I learned through Josh this is also called the "Barium Swallow."

I was told Cohen would have to swallow some barium in the form of a tasty drink and then get an x-ray.

I wasn't too concerned about it.  The test seemed simple and helpful.

I tried to prepare Cohen for it, for days actually. 

I don't know if you've noticed it, but whenever x-rays are depicted in children's media it's fairly shocking.... like someones being electrocuted. 

This is what I had to get Cohen through emotionally.

He had to fast; and telling him he couldn't get his morning drink or cereal was pretty hard for him.

He tried so hard to be brave, but he was TERRIFIED leading up to the event.  I mean, he was screaming and running away, and fending me off, and hiding under chairs, and the whole bit.

I finally had to stop being sweet and supportive and be really firm with him. 

He got up on the x-ray table and was nervous and teared up a bit, but then he performed great!

Once he realized the x-ray was going to be ok he was a gem.

This was his, "I'm trying to be brave, mom, but I'm really terrified face."  This is before they actually did an x-ray.

He finally got his barium drink, and he LOVED IT!  I'm sure he was starving.  He even got to choose the syrup they put in it. 

Well, I didn't exactly understand the procedure beforehand, and learned it was very different from what I thought as they proceeded.  They put this "car wash" over Cohen, and did a continuous x-ray as he drank through a straw. 

In other words, it was kind of like an ultra sound where you can see what's happening real-time, but the information on the tv screen came via the x-ray video.  I was so glad I could be there to help Cohen through it.

So Cohen had to move around, and drink, and hold still, and move his arms just right, and all kinds of stuff, but he was such a champ!  He was mildly upset when the nurse told him he couldn't have any more of his metal drink.  He just wanted to continue!

The "car wash" was even closer to his body, this is at the end when they were finishing up. 

This is just a snapshot of the tv monitor at the end of the test.  Basically they watched the metal barium drink go down his esophagus, and into his stomach.  The test was to see if it would come back up.  It did.  Several times.  Cohen has reflux.  I already knew that, but I guess our new specialist needed some proof.  It's nice to know we haven't been mis-diagnosing it for 3 1/2 years though.

Cohen was so proud of himself afterword, and enjoyed our special breakfast out at the hospital cafeteria.

May, so far away

Somehow I got really behind in blogging again.  Here's my attempt to catch up a little.

Parker just hanging out, watching TV. 
I'm his mom, so maybe I'm the only one who thinks this is cute.

We have the best apartment and view for little boys.

The kids are happy to see the freight train right out our window, airplanes coming in, and huge trucks and buses driving down the busy streets.  We even get the occasional tractor and other farm equipment.  Could it get any better for a little boy?  I let them stand up there on the window sill knowing the deck would catch them if they fell (although I would NEVER want that to happen) and the couch is on the inside right behind them.

I found "Kidz Toy Museum" online, and one day we all went to go check it out.

It was very small, and family owned with no admission. 

(Unfortunately, there was also a very unpleasant smell.)

We had a fun time looking at all the really old toys and collections. 

The boys loved the trains and motorcycles the most.

They had stuff from pre-civil war.  These scary faces are coin banks.

It's a shocking reminder of what our culture used to be like.

I'm so NOT racist, it just floors me to see stuff like this.

Cohen and I went to the park one afternoon to play, and let him ride his bike. 

Before he really got into riding he went around and picked all these weed/flowers for me. 

What a sweetie I have.

He did lots of "races," and loves to pretend he is a race car while riding.

Silly bed-time Parker.

He thought running in the kitchen and standing in that corner was kind of hiding.

It was hilarious to him.... us too.

Parker turned 18 months!

He likes to "go go." 

When I tell him we're going out he's trilled and immediately starts preparing.

Our family is a little slow with some things....

We finally went, for the first time, on the Max train to the Saturday Market.

These are two huge firsts for us. 

Here we are on the train. 

Cohen LOVED it.f

Cute Sunday pictures.

Cohen took this picture of Parker and I.

Cohen officially entered the super-hero phase. 

I made him this Captain America shield.  (He's never even seen any of the shows.)

While I was making dinner, I found him asleep on the couch like this.

He was REALLY asleep.

I love my family!
Thanks for checking us out!

Gluten-free cooking!

I found out Cohen couldn't eat gluten two days after Mother's Day.

Well, cooking gluten-free was kind of scary at first. 

I didn't want to deprive my 3-year-old of bread and treats.

I made a trip to the WinCo bulk section and bought rice flour, tapioca flour, xanthan gum, and quinoa almost as soon as I found out about Cohen's gluten intolerance.

I looked up a gluten-free recipe for the bread machine, which I had recently starting using again, thank goodness!

The only troubling thing is that the recipe called for potato starch.  That's not easy to come by.  I checked all the grocery stores near me (about 4 or so) I couldn't find it.  I was trying to avoid the 25 minute trip to Whole Foods Market. 

My mom and I decided to just use plain dry mashed potato flakes.

Well, I made bread, and Cohen ate it, but I can't say it tasted wonderfully.  It wasn't bad, but not good either.  See how the top of the loaf actually looks like mashed potatoes!  Funny!  I won't be subbing that ever again.  I learned I could have used corn starch after I made the loaf. 

I made the trip out to Whole Foods Market.  I figured at this point it was necessary.  While I was there I picked up a "Tapioca Loaf."  It wasn't even called bread.  I figured I would give it a try.  The flavor was decent, but it was so incredibly dry it was unbelievable!  I made Cohen a PB&J with it, and put the left-over half in the fridge in a zip lock, and 2 days later it was still dry.  The peanut butter and jelly didn't even soften it up! 

We took it to church for Cohen to have the sacrament and made special arrangements with the bishopric and everything.

Cohen learned how to stay dry through the night, and I promised him a party with Chocolate Cake when he figured it out.  We've been talking about this party for nearly a year!  I had to follow through!

So, I got a quinoa chocolate cupcake recipe from a friend, who also has Celiac.

It was pretty tricky!  I had never cooked quinoa before.  Once I started making the recipe I realized that I needed to make the quinoa pearls smaller with a food processor.  I don't have one.  So, after I made the batter, I gave it a whirl in my terrible-no-good blender.  I think it might have broken the quinoa down a little....

That's the best I could do though.

Here they are.  Pretty flat.  But that's how they were supposed to turn out.

Frosting makes everything better!

In all honesty, they were good!  I took them to our Memorial Day get together with our friends, the Claytons.  They liked them too. 

This chicken nugget recipe called for "gluten-free flour mix." Hello!!! I looked up the recipe because I didn't know how to do that.... it was kind of funny.  So about this point I realized I needed a baking mix that I could simply substitute in cup for cup for traditional flour.  I looked one up on line, and made some up in my kitchen.  I was so thankful for that.  I figured I could use it in anything, just needed to test it out. 

These chicken nuggets were seriously good.  I froze the few we had left over after dinner for a lunch for Cohen.  I had a clear image though of how bad they are for you.  Frying chicken in oil is just something I never do.  How terrible!  This is why I don't feed my kids chicken nuggets all the time!  I try to make it rare, but I didn't want to never allow Cohen to eat chicken nuggets again.  They are practically his favorite food.

I tried out some of my new wheat-less flour mix on my regular banana bread recipe, and randomly decided to make mini muffins with them.  They turned out great!  Not flat or anything! 

Life can continue!

I also finally found bread Cohen and Josh liked.  It came in the frozen section at WinCo.  It was a tiny loaf for nearly $5, but it was worth it.

I bought gluten-free Bisquick and made pancakes and biscuits.... the biscuits weren't good.

I even made a couple gluten-free pizza crusts to hold our Friday night pizza tradition.

I started making gluten free condensed cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soup,

then freezing it.  I was even a couple days away from giving away all of our canned products that had gluten in them.

Two and a half weeks after my gluten-free cooking adventure, the specialist says, Cohen can eat gluten, and that the pediatrician misunderstood the blood work results.

Sigh.

Thank goodness Cohen and I don't have to deal with this forever; but really.... I was just starting to get the hang of it.  If the doctors ever change their minds, at least I'll know what to do.

Happy

Well, the Lord seems to like to challenge my family, and then all turns out fine.  We love the blessings!  It happens over and over.  Last year we were all so nervous about me passing out all the time.... we never figured anything out, but it stopped and I'm fine.  Parker gouged Josh's eye ball with his finger nail, and he probably should have lost some vision, but miraculously his eye was completely healed.  The year before that I was pregnant with Parker.  We were all so nervous that he was going to be born entirely too early, but alas, and thankfully, he was full term.

Cohen does NOT have Celiac!!!  Can you believe it?  His pediatrician, who I now have mixed feelings about, didn't read or understand Cohen's blood work correctly.  We saw a Gastrointestinal pediatric specialist last week who looked at the same blood work and said Cohen doesn't have Celiac.  Hooray!

Sorry for the false alarm!  Feeding Cohen gluten-free style for two and a half weeks was certainly challenging.  I feel like I had just gotten the hang of things, when the specialist told us not to worry about it.  There are lots of medical details I will spare you from, but I'm happy Cohen doesn't have to deal with Celiac for the rest of his life.  I'm also selfishly glad that I don't have to buy and cook gluten-free everything. 

I love my Cohen.  We're on a journey figuring him out.  The GI specialist has ordered lots of tests and is really concerned about his acid reflux.  Perhaps his recent discomforts are somehow related.  We just don't know. 

Hope you enjoyed the real-time update.

Here are some pictures of our first time doing the Home Depot kids craft in May. Cohen had a blast, and Parker loved the balloons.

p.s. I love when you leave comments.  That way I know who reads this!!