Mystery Diagnosis

This last week or two has been rough around the Earnst household! It all started the Thursday night before we left for the mountains/Halloween weekend. Manning woke us up at around 2:30 and had thrown up all in his crib. We were all set to stay home and hunker down for the "stomach bug", but he woke up the next morning perfectly fine so we went on up. Well it continued the next night, and the next, and the next, and you get the picture. It happened like clock work b/w the hours of 12 and 3 am consistently for 6 nights in a row. I took him to the Dr. Monday when we got back and Dr. Traynham just said it was a virus and that sometimes little ones can drag them out, but it should go away. He was pleased that he had diarrhea along with it and that it wasn't a blockage. Also, he NEVER ran a fever the whole time. I was not so convinced that it was a virus, but went along with it until Wed. and he had continued with the vomiting and diarrhea. I took him back and pretty much demanded that they figure something out b/c my baby was NOT HIMSELF AT ALL. SOOOO fussy and clingy and just all around miserable. A friend of mine mentioned that her daughter had had some similar symptoms and that it was STREP, so I mentioned it to the doctor. She said she didn't think it was that, but they would test for it anyway. Well, my mothers intuition was right and it was STREP. I was floored! I never knew that Strep throat could present in the way of vomiting and diarrhea. CRAZY! One antibiotic shot and he was cured that night. No more sickness! YAY!!!
So for all you mama's out there, just keep in mind that strep throat can present in many different ways. I know i'll be on the look out next time my boys have weird symptoms.

Manning goes to MMO!

I dropped off my little Man for his 1st day of Mothers Morning Out this morning and surprisingly, I did not cry and neither did he:) He was a bit shy at first and hid behind my legs for a minute, but then he spotted a toy school bus and he was on his way.

Of course we had to do a little photo shoot before we left the house and you know those are ALWAYS super fun. (can you sense the sarcasm:)

But I LOVE this last shot and I LOVE this little baby boy more than words can say. And I know this year in MMO is going to be great for both of us:)

Little Mister Daredevil!!!

The littlest has resorted to CLIMBING as his new method of giving his mother a heart attack!!! He is into EVERYTHING and I feel like he's way more adventurous than Henry was at this age. Henry was not and is still not a climber, so this is new for me.
This morning he pulled the chair out at the dining room table and then proceeded to shimmy his was up on top of the table!

And, yes, this made him so proud and me so crazy!!!

15 Months

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  You are a MESS...as the picture above indicates:)


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  You are into EVERYTHING and are soooo curious.


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  You are a PERMANENT attachment to Mama! I used to wish for a "mama's boy" b/c Henry really isn't and i've got one. I can't get two inches from you w/o you totally melting down. I'm flattered, but kinda ready for it to pass.


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  You are starting to express yourself better with some new words, but mostly Daddy and I are the only ones who can understand them.


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  You say: hot, daddee, daa ( ball), boon (spoon and balloon), bubba (bubbles), cacka (cracker), cookoo (cookie), waaa (water), mama (only every now and then), caa (car), Da (Pops), tish (fish).


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  You LOVE LOVE LOVE music and love to dance! You must get your rhythm from me;)


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  You are happiest when you are outside!


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  You love the pool and have no fear.


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  You are a terrible eater and sometimes I wonder how you sustain yourself on just crackers and fruit.


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  You love most fruits, but it's really a coin toss as to whether you'll eat at meal times. Dr. T says you are doing just fine and to keep offering new things and eventually you'll get it.


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  You are down to one nap a day now. You go down at around 1 or so and sometimes sleep 2 to 3 hours. LOVE IT!!! Now if I could just get your brother to leave me alone during "rest time" we'd be good;)


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  I love you more than the moon and the stars Manning. You melt my heart:)


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15 Month Wellcheck

We had Man Man's 15 month wellcheck yesterday and everything went great. 3 shots weren't too much fun, but some good discussions with Dr. Traynham left me feeling good:) Below are his stats:

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  weight: 26 lbs. - 75%


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  height: 33 inches - 95%


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  head: 19.5 inches - 95%

Smashing of the Cake

1 Year Well Check

We had Manning's 1 year well check this morning and all looks great. He had 3 shots and a finger prick and did not like it ONE BIT!!! I think he hated the finger prick the most. He kept pulling the bandaid off and blood would go everywhere. Not fun! Here are his stats below:

Weight: 24 lbs 12 oz. - 75%

Height: 31 3/4 inches - 97%

Head: 18 1/4 - 55%

The Boy is ONE!

Dear Manning,

This week of your birthday has me reminicing about this time last year. The day you decided to make your grand entrance into this world was the day that our family was complete. You fit right in immediately and stole all of our hearts with your sweet disposition. And that disposition remains today. You are most certainly the sweetest, cuddliest, and most sensative little one year old around.

You have an infectious laugh and a genuine smile that light up the world. You are so cuddly and I can't get enough. You and I have a special bond and I know it's because I am with you every second of every day. I am the luckiest mom in the world and I am so thankful to your Daddy for allowing me to stay home with you and Henry. This past year has been amazing and I feel like i'm finally doing what I was put on this earth to do. Be your Mommy! It is so much fun to watch you every day soaking in everything you see like a sponge. You constantly point to everthing asking what it is. Your words include: hooott: hot mama dada daaa: ball woof woof: doggy tsh: fish You started walking at 11 months and are getting better everyday. The first few times I tried to put the red keds on you, you pitched a fit and wouldn't even stand up. Luckily you've come around to my way of thinking because I LOVE red keds on little boys. You are on whole milk now 3 times a day in your sippy cup. Yay for no more formula or bottles! You are an OK eater. You really like fruit, but don't care for most meats. Veggies are hit or miss. But, we'll keep trying everything b/c this mama is not a short order cook.

You are an awesome sleeper and I know as soon as I type this I'll jinx it, but you really are. You go down by 8 every night and usually up b/w 6:30 and 7:45. We've even gotten some 8:00am days and I love that!!! You still nap twice a day and usually for 1.5 to 2 hours each.

Manning, 4 years ago this month your brother made me a Mom. But, 1 year ago you made me a better one. We are all on this learning curve together, but you can count on one thing in this life. Your mama loves you more fiercly than anything in this world and I am your biggest fan!

So, Happy Birthday to you my angel! I can't wait to see what this year brings!

1st Birthday Party

We celebrated Manning's first year of life real low key style on Saturday. I didn't even send out invitations for this shindig! Poor second child:(

Nevertheless, the day was perfect. And my little one year old was PERFECT. He loved having all his friends and fam around and in a way I think he knew this day was all about him.

We had bbq and all the fixins and I ventured out of my comfort zone and made the smash cake and all of the cupcakes. I was nervous that they wouldn't turn out, but they really looked cute and tasted great.

Man Man on the other hand didn't think so. He dug right in, but quickly began slinging his hands to get the "mess" off. It was hilarious!!!

A rare good shot of our family of four.

The big kids had a BALL in the back yard and even got to eat their lunch out there.

And the babies stayed inside to eat their lunch.

We loved having Jean and her sweet boys for the day.

Aunt Hanna and Papa stayed the night and we had so much fun together:)

I can't believe I have a one year old!

Smash Cake

Yummy cupcakes

He Walks

He Speaks

Just want to record a few of Mannings first words. Precious little first words...nothin' better!

• daaaaa-ball (said with the slight raise of his voice inflection at the end)
• ca ca-cracker (says this for any type of food being offered to him)
• duh duh-doggy (he loves Lucy and this morning noticed some doggies on the Today Show and walked, yes walked, over the the tube to get a closer look.)
• guh-milk
• haaa-hot
  

Manning 9 Month Well Check

We saw Dr. Traynham this morning for Manning's 9 month well check and every time I go I like this Dr. more. He is perfect for our family and we are lucky to have him! He was so pleased with Man Man and said he is right on track with everything. He noticed his gorgeous blue eyes and said he was 99% sure that they are going to stay that way and I was glad to hear that. His stats are below.

• Height : 29 3/4 " 90%
  
• Weight : 23 lbs. and 3 oz. 85%
  
• Head : 18 1/4 80%
  

Happy Boy!

*taken by Margaret and her new Droid*

Flapjacks!

Manning had pancakes for breakfast for the first time Saturday. And as you can see, he thoroughly enjoyed them:)

6 Month Checkup

Manning had his 6 month checkup this morning with Dr. T and everything is a. ok! Below are his stats:

• Height: 27 3/4 inches 90-95%
• Weight: 21lbs. 3oz. just above 95%
• Head: 17 1/4 cm 50-75%
  

Just Playin' Around

Despite fighting off a virus, Little Man Man was in good spirits right before bath time tonight! He's been kinda down in the dumps and just plain outta sorts since Wednesday. Had fevers ranging from 100-102, diarreah, and now a nasty rash has popped up all over his sweet little face and body. I thought it was just teething and then I thought ears (2 trips and $30 later to the dr. ruled this out). I knew in my "gut" that it was more than teeth and sure enough I was right.

He has been VERY fussy and cranky and this is so unusual, but hopefully he's on the mend!
In the meantime, we decided to have a little fun in the bathroom tonight!
Enjoy:)

Chomp Chomp

Man Man got his first tooth! Yahoo! He is 5 months and 1 week! Bottom left is in and he's working on the bottom right.
I will work on getting a picture of his new pearly whites!

Fat and Happy!

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'

Biggun rolled over!
Yes, he managed to get all 18ish pounds of his cute little self over on his belly! And he even gave a little bonus and rolled back over from his tummy once.

He's so proud of himself!