Love you Tippy

Well, as I write, Tippy is headed to his new home. Here's the story...

Nathan has used albuterol in the nebulizer every so often ever since he had bronchiolitis when he was about 21 months. We assumed some damage occured to his lungs and he would outgrow it soon. I've notice in the last couple months that we've been using the neb more often, sometimes a cold but sometimes just due to "allergies". I got to thinking it was time to find out what he was allergic to, why I just thought of this is beyond me, but we took him to be allergy tested. They did 16 tests and 3 spots almost instantly welted. Dust, dogs, and cats!!!! I couldn't believe it since he's been growing up with all three and no family history of this. We just have some outdoor allergies which is what I assumed he had but now we know that's not the case. So first step was to get an air purifier in his room and allergen covers for pillow and mattress. He started on Singulair along with daily Zyrtec. We knew we had to find a new home for Tippy. Matt put it on his Twitter page and a nice couple from Woodland Park said they would be honored to have him. I am very grateful but very sad. It was very hard to say goodbye to a cat I've had for 11 years, he's been moved to many homes, experienced the acquisition of dogs and of course, children! I will miss him. My friends remember me frantically looking for him the night of Matt and I's wedding rehearsal. I was a mess, thought he'd gotten outside when he was actually just hiding under the bed. Maybe he knew another man was joining my life:) Anyways, I hope to visit him and this couple will keep us posted on his progress getting comfortable in a new home. I pray he likes it.

Updates

Just a few updates since it's been a while since I posted. October has flown by and we are looking forward to Halloween. We've made Halloween sugar cookies, been to Boo at the Zoo and carved our jack-o-lanterns. Nathan has a party at school and we will spend Halloween in Kiowa.







Whitney is doing great. She seems to be growing faster than ever lately. Last week when she was refusing to brush her teeth, a common occurrence, I told her she couldn't have her binky unless she cooperated. So, still refusing I decided to put her to bed without it. (Partly because she seemed to be wanting it all the time and partly because she has a rash around her mouth possibly due to the binky.) Well, it worked, she fell asleep fine and rarely asks for it. I have given it to her a few times for nap but I'm glad to report that she is mostly over it.
Whitney is pretty advanced for her age. Her vocabulary is really amazing and communicating with her is a breeze. She is counting to 13 and can sing the entire ABC song.
She finally pottied in her potty chair this week, a big deal. She has shown some interest in potty training but never sits on the chair long enough. I must add, after she went in the potty chair, she also went on the carpet. We have a long ways to go.

Nathan is loving preschool and is excited that there are so many boys in his class (7) compared to just 3 last year. His best buddy is still Zak but he gets along with all the boys and talks about his days in detail. We had teacher conferences on Friday. Mrs. Dobyns said he very bright little boy and is doing very well.
I have to remember this funny story...Nathan was pretending to drive a car and ran right into Whitney who was just standing still and knocked her over. When asked why he ran into her, he said he was on a road. I insisted on a better excuse so he said "well mom, my road didn't curve". I tried not to laugh:)

Summer Wrap-Up

This picture was taken last night in the park. A full rainbow seemed to go right over the park. Amazing!


Well, it's Labor Day and we are saying goodbye to summer. Nathan starts preschool this week and will go Monday, Wed and Fri mornings. I am switching to Tues and Thurs for work so I will miss him a lot. (I'm still working at the City Employee Pharmacy two days per week for 10 hours, one day in the pharmacy and the other in the diabetes program.)

August was an eventful month. We went camping for an Ehmann Family Reunion near Canon City. We had over 30 people there and 15 of us went white water rafting. Several of us stopped at Buckskin Joe's on the way home.


We also took a 4 day trip up to Glenwood Springs. We met Jill, Kyle and Hayden. We rode the gondola and toured the caves on the first day, went to the hot springs 2 days and took a 12 mile bike ride the other. We really had a great time. We spent a lot of time at the hotel pool and just enjoyed a slower pace and a chance to catch up with the DeLuceros.



A quick update on the kids:
Whitney has developed a love for singing. She is constantly humming a tune. She likes Wheels on the Bus, Jesus Loves Me and Twinkle, Twinkle. She enjoys the toddler nursery at church and usually walks right in without crying. She is really good a throwing tantrums and has strong opinions about everything. I love when she says "okay" when you ask her to agree upon something. However, the other day, she said "no okay". Uh oh. Below is from her first style show. Grandma made the girls matching dresses.

Nathan has changed so much this summer. He learned how to swim and loves riding on the tandem bike with daddy. He is doing amazing at hitting baseballs when pitched to and has grown a lot in height. He enjoyed summer t-ball and a highlight was a trip to Elitches since he got to take his friend Zak.

What a great summer it's been!!!!

Dr visits

Whitney had her 18 month appnt today. Had two shots but cried for a shorter time than Nathan who just had a flu shot.

Whitney's stats:
Weight 23.10 (45th percentile)
Height 33 inches (90th percentile)
Head Circum 49.5 cm (>75th percentile)

Nathan's 4 yr. stats:
Weight 35.6 (50th percentile)
Height 42&3/8 (85th percentile)

Yelf...

Today Whitney said something for the first time that I'm sure we'll hear over and over from her..."yelf". Translation: 'self', she wanted to put on her shoes her 'yelf'. She shows so much interest already in doing things on her own, I guess we'll be late everywhere we go for the next 10 years. (Also funny...'yucker' for sucker.)

Nathan turns 4!!!!

Nathan had a super fun 4th birthday. Grammy, Poppy and Amy drove up from Arizona and we basically had a week long celebration. We celebrated the 4th of July, went to the zoo, Art Sports, the Manitou arcade, and celebrated his actual day with a pool party. His big party was on the 5th at the house. He wanted a Little Einstein theme with a 'rocket' cake which I had fun creating thanks to the internet suggestions. We had some of his preschool friends as well as family over. A big bounce house was set up in the back yard and we grilled hamburgers. We were in and out of the house due to the rain, next year we'll have a breakfast party!!

Whitney Dr Visit

Whitney was a bit late for her 15 month check-up. (oops, I forgot) But here are her stats:
Weight 22.95 (52nd percentile)
Height 33 inches (97th percentile)
Head Circum 49.3 cm (95th percentile)