Reeves Update

We went to the dermatologist yesterday. Reeves has been diagnosed with atopic dermatitis. It is not too terribly serious and can be treated with creams and ointments. Hopefully, he will grow out of this. In the meantime, diaper changing, which was already an involved process, has just been given a 10 on the Degree of Difficulty scale. Here is the process - change as often as possible (fair enough). We are to use the Sandwich Effect on him. This is Kuric Cream applied first, then his hydrocortizone cream, followed by zinc oxide. The zinc oxide is to keep that area from really touching the diaper. I swear, if we wouldn't go to jail for it, I would consider equipping his changing table with restraints. He hates this! Hopefully, this three step process can be eliminated once his skin improves.
As for the rest of his body, we are treating the affected areas with a steroid ointment, then coating him with Vanicream. His face gets a steroid cream on it. We do this every four hours (not while he's sleeping), but every other time, he only gets the Vanicream.

But the truly terrible news for Reeves is that his bathtimes are basically cut out. He loves his baths, but the doctor said to just do quickie baths. We are super sad. Again, this should change, and hopefully soon he'll be able to enjoy long baths again.

It's amazing all the things you learn as a new mother!

The Bridge

Caroline and I took the boys on the bridge this weekend. We have been trying to do it for weeks, but our attempts were always foiled, either by the weather or massive lists of "Things To Do". So, thank you, Caroline, for calling Saturday morning. I would much rather do this than return something to K-Mart!! I'm so glad it worked out. And Reeves got to take his first trip in his umbrella stroller. I think (hope) he is more comfortable in it than in the car seat stroller. He had to be at least cooler on Saturday, as it was 70 something degrees. I love it because the handles are so much higher. Reeves no longer has Quasimodo pushing him along! We are looking forward to many more umbrella outings. Although, the jogging stroller does hold a great deal of appeal for these walks, as well...

Auto Angst

OK, I'm not sure what sort of automotive god Bryant and I have made mad, but whoever it is, he is royally ticked off! Other than failing to change my oil in a timely manner, I have committed no great offense, and unless a junky-beyond-belief truck is a sin, Bryant has walked the straight and narrow automotive line as well. Nevertheless, last Saturday, I rear-ended someone on Bowman Road. It was only at about 10 miles an hour, and I was slamming on the brakes, but the damage was done. Thankfully, the guy I hit was driving a big Ford truck. His truck was not even scratched. He even said, "Well, I can't really see where you hit me." Lucky for my driving record, not so lucky for my Camry. The hood is all scrunched up, the grill fell off, and there is a perfect indentation of his trailer hitch in my bumper. But it's OK. I have needed a new car for some time now, and this has been the perfect catalyst to make that happen.

So Bryant and I decided we can take that financial hit. It was bound to happen. The car's paid for, and we still have his truck which is in great condition. Oh right, except for that 8 point buck that took out the right side front end and passenger car door!! AAAGGHHHH! Oh yeah, and that happened on Wednesday night. Within 5 days, both of us wreck our cars? What crazy planets had to be aligned for this to happen?

Again, we have taken this in stride. Insurance will pay for his truck to be fixed, and, although fixing the Camry is throwing money down the drain, his truck should give us a few more good years. We can handle this.

Unfortunately, destroying the passenger side front end also involved taking out the headlight. No big deal, right? Wrong. Almost 24 hours to the minute, and in almost the exact same spot as the collision (he could see the carcass in the field), Bryant gets pulled over for having only one headlight. Are you kidding me? Is this still a crime? We don't even have car inspections in this state. Can this possibly be a ticketable offense, you ask? Why yes, it can. And to the tune of 200 and something dollars!

And to top off a ridiculously unlucky transportation week, some idiot pulls out in front of me on Coleman Blvd while I was on my way home Friday night. And when I say idiot, I mean IDIOT! It is one thing to pull out and keep going. You know you've done wrong, but you gun it and life goes on. This idiot pulls out halfway, I lay on the horn, and she stops!! WHAT!?!? Don't stop! You only make it worse. Trust me, your little wave of apology that you want me to see does not make up for the facts that I have seen my life flash before me (again), and so has the guy behind me, who is equally as furious as I am. But what can you do? Nothing. So I sit there, impotently fuming as I put my now shaky foot back on the accelerator, and she goes on her merry way.

I might look into riding CARTA. It can't be worse than last week!

Mommy's Day Off

I know for many of you, Mommy's Day Off, brings up images of spa treatments and quiet reading times and delicious dinners prepared by your husband (yeah, right!). Well, for me, it is a day spent running errands with Reeves. And what a day it was! I dragged that poor child all over the place! First it was to John's Island for a Rags Land trunk show. I practiced a great deal of self control and came away with only 2 outfits.

Then we were off to the Post House in Mt. P for lunch with the girls from my office. Reeves, of course, was a hit. Other than a little bout of the fussies, he was a perfect gentleman.
Next, a quick stop at his old allergist's to have his records sent to his pediatrician.
A call to Grandmother meant a trip to Once Upon a Child. She was heading out the door to bridge, so our visit to G&P was postponed till 6:00 (blogged about below). To fill the time before our scheduled 4:00 walk with Caroline and Fordham, we made a long awaited stop at OUAC. We got Reeves some cute playclothes for this summer. We even found some things for Leeze that we couldn't resist.
From there, we headed to visit Daddy at his office. What a treat for him! This was Reeves first trip to his office where he stayed awake the whole time. He loved seeing Mr. Joe and Ms. Anne.

Now, back in the car, home to change for our walk. By now, of course, the weather had foiled our plans to walk the bridge, but Caroline's neighborhood has almost as beautiful views!!
But, not so fast!! Upon arriving home, we discovered that my dad (currently called "That Man", but subject to change) had stopped by on his lunch and blown the leaves all out of the driveway. Well, how can we not stop by his office to thank him? And, boy, were they all happy to see Reeves! We really should get by there more often.
Then we were finally off to Caroline's. We had a great walk, and even had time to hang out and play with Fordham before we were off to Grandmother and Poppa's.
And, of course, you know about how special that was. However, I forgot to mention that Reagan was there as well, so Reeves got to play with her too.

Finally, we went home and passed out. It was a great day.

Treasured Memories

Reeves and I visited Grandmother and Poppa (my grandparents) yesterday. How lucky he is to have them around. It was so incredible to see Reeves' 83 year old great-grandfather down on his hands and knees playing with him, trying to teach him how to crawl. Reeves is facinated with Poppa. He just stares at him while he is talking, and screeches when he gooses him. I will never forget that image. I wish I had taken a picture of it.

I did get a picture of Reeves and Grandmother. She was feeding him his bottle and he was playing with her fingers. He was so happy and content to be in her arms. Great-grandmothers have an extra special touch.









I hope Reeves can somewhere remember these times. We are so lucky to have Grandmother and Poppa.

The Plug

HUGE milestone this morning. Reeves woke up at 5:30 crying. I didn't go get him and waited to see if he would stop. After about 10 minutes, he was quiet. I went back to sleep, then woke up, showered, got dressed, etc. When I went in at 7:45 this morning to get him, he was on his hands and knees with his pacifier in his mouth!! He had put it in there all by himself! I am such a proud mother!!

Changing Seats

OK, I am being unrealistic. I know the time has come to change Reeves' car seat. It is time to take him out of the bucket and put him in the Britax, but I am fighting it with every ounce of my being. I have been blessed with a 20th percentile in weight child, so carrying him around in this thing has not been a horrible burden. But, by the same note, he has now reached the 97th percentile in height. We are, therefore, beginning to reach the limits of the bucket's abilities. But... this means - buying another car seat for Bryant's truck, buying a car seat for Julie's car, and, most frightening of all, not being able to run errands when it is nap time!! AAAGGGHHH! How do you handle it? At the moment, Reeves can sleep through 4 or 5 different stops. What now? Is it illegal to leave them in the car if the weather is cool, and you're just running in really quickly? I would lock the doors and leave the windows cracked. (OK, don't freak out, Nazis, it's just a joke!!)
First the mattress lowering, now this. I suppose I should go ahead and order his cap and gown before it sneaks up on me like this milestone did.

Down Low

I moved Reeves' crib mattress down today. I can't believe it is already time to do that! Time flies with these little ones. Yesterday, I took him out of the bassinett, blinked my eyes, and now he's standing in his crib! It is so important to treasure every moment. He loves it. He can't pull himself up yet, but it won't be long. In the meantime, he is perfectly content to be placed on his podium, stand there, and survey the domain that is his room.

He is hot stuff up there! And with those new teeth, it won't be long before, as you can see, he will be biting the paint off of the rail. Caroline, I guess I need to get those covers!!

All I Want for New Year's

Well, they have finally broken through! Reeves now has two bottom teeth. They showed up on New Year's morning. He and we are very glad they have arrived. It is too much fun feeding him now. He bites the spoon everytime I pull it out of his mouth. And he thinks it is hilarious. The teeth, although very easy to feel, are quite difficult to see. Every time you pull his bottom lip down to look, he sticks his tongue out. You can only see them when he is laughing or crying.