No Peanuts, Please!

Well it looks like he has a peanut allergy. I unknowingly gave him some crackers with peanut butter on them at playgroup. They were really small crackers that had a dollop of peanut butter and from that he developed welts and redness on his thighs, chest, and face. Luckily he wasn't having trouble breathing, so the advice nurse told us to give him some liquid Benadryl and keep a close eye on his breathing and color.He's currently screaming and itching like crazy.
An hour after we put him to bed, around 8:30, he was still crying and itching and coughing. We went in to check on him a couple of times and noticed he was breathing loudly, his eyes and lips were swelling so I called the advice nurse again. They advised us to call 911 and get him to a hospital. The concern is respiratory distress.

It was raining outside when the ambulance and firetruck arrived around 9pm (five hours after the crackers were eaten). They took his vitals in the ambulance and gave him some more benadryl. Then they strapped him in and we headed to the hospital. He was oddly quiet and cooperative. He just laid there and let them run their tests. He didn't cry or kick and roll over like normal. Once we were on our way, he fell asleep. His swelling and rash was much worse than it was when I first talked to the advice nurse. His eyes and lips were swollen, his ears were bright red, his whole chest was red with welts. It ran solid all the way down to thighs with blotches and welts to his ankles.

Here are some pictures from the ordeal. This first one is when we were on hold with the advice nurse driving to urgent care. We turned around and went home to call 911 after they informed us urgent care was closed and we needed to have him seen now.
This is the rarely seen little boy known as mellow Gigantor. He has a temperature reader on his ear, blood pressure cuff on his right arm. The paramedic gave him the teddy bear next to him.
We got to the hospital and he was immediately examined and then we were sent out to wait for a room and a doctor. Click on the picture to see more details of his rash. It was worse in the ambulance, but the second dose of benadryl they gave him seemed to help a lot. He's still swollen and itchy though.
Waiting to see the doctor.
In his room waiting for the doctor he got his first dose of t.v. It was Seasame Street with guest Katie Couric from about 10 years ago. The lesson was cooperation and sharing, so hopefully he learned something. haha

We got home at 1am after they gave him a prescription for an antihistamine and epi-pens. They also gave him a shot of epinephrine which immensely helped the rash and swelling. He seem much better now.

Thanksgiving in the desert

We spent Thanksgiving weekend in the desert, sadly missing Black Friday sales. G didn't seem to mind. He spent four days rolling around in dirt and sand, riding motorcyles and quads, harassing a Labrodoodle, and climbing in and out of the motorhome. It was heaven to a nearly 18 month old.

Puzzle Master

As of a couple of weeks ago he can complete two of his puzzles by himself! Sometimes he puts the pieces in the wrong place at first, but he fixes it all by himself. I bought him some harder puzzles, but I think they are too hard and abstract for him right now.

Arts 'n Crafts

Here is Mr. G's Thanksgiving centerpiece the we made at playgroup. He contributed his hand print and I did the rest.

Santa: Friend or Foe

Here is the professional Santa picture (Sandra Kay Photography) we had taken through our Mother's Club. G was not thrilled with Santa, but he doesn't look totally terrified. It was actually pretty hot so I quickly ripped off his nice clothes and put him in a tshirt. Poor Santa was stuck in his suit for 3 more hours!

Got Soda?

Gigantor is ready to graduate from milk to soda apparently. He must have heard Lay's potato chip slogan because he doesn't think just one is enough. Though it'll be a long time before I open a soda for him or he figures out how to open one.He's already surfing the internet...probably making a wish list for Santa.

The Train, The Train!

We went to get a picture with Santa, but Gigantor was not impressed with Santa. I do not have high hopes for how the picture is going to turn out. However, I'm sure it will be better than last year's picture from the mall.

After the Santa fiasco, we went to go ride the little train in the playground. Gigantor loved it -- can't you tell? Despite what it looks like, he really did like it. He did need a death grip on the sides of the car, but he was always eager to get back on the train for more rides.

The Weekend

We go to the house every week to check things out. Now that it's getting closer to completion, it's actually somewhat safe to let Mr. G run around. He and Dave had fun checking out the hall closet.
Mr. G. must be calling Grandma.
He's deep in conversation, probably trying to get her to visit.

Vroom Vroom

A lot of time was spent on or near motorcycles or quads....or pointing them out as they sped by.

Camping in the HOT desert

The impressive campsite and our monstrosity of a tent. Gigantor's wing is by the truck with the open door. Our friends that came with us had a motorhome that Ethan napped in since it was too hot in the tent during the day. I'm not sure if I could make it tent camping in the HOT desert more than a weekend with a baby and a dog.

Some time was spent harassing Tyler. In this case, it was finding her belly button and revealing it for all to see. You can see she looks a wee bit annoyed. Gigantor spent some time chasing her down to give her a kiss. Well a few times he gave her a kiss, other times he just knocked her down. We are going to have to work on his technique.Oskar was also pestered a bit by the kiddos. I think he enjoyed the attention. He spent the weekend doing the same thing Gigantor did - sitting in the dirt playing and occasionally eating the dirt, but Oskar definitely did more snoozing.