November 30th.... Countdown to Santa

I am thinking of writing a letter to Santa myself. My sweet 4-year-old son has been possessed by someone evil. The past few months have been very hard. Tonight, he bit his baby brother - hard. I am so pleased with myself for not biting him back! He was sent straight to bed and will most likely be spending most of his waking moments for the next week either at school or in his room. Deep breath, deep breath.... Time to break out the discipline books.

Brothers being sweet.

AND HELLLLLO! Donate today people. TEN DOLLARS! 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, $10... Less than the cost of 2 Starbucks trips! Come on Mommas! Get this little girl closer to going home to her family.

OK, OK - You Want a Better Deal?

So, roughly $95 has been raised since I started the give-away. That's not going to cut it.

Here is the NEW and IMPROVED deal.

Your $10 donation will now win you a chance at a full WEEK of vacation time. That's right. I said it. Sunday to Sunday. Congrats to those who have already donated. Now, who wants to put their name in the hat???

Please pass my blog to your friends and your family. Give them a chance at winning a week long vacation to Panama City, FL.

THANKS FOR HELPING!!!

GIVEAWAY!!! Get excited!!!

Rules -
Follow my blog :)
Donate to Leeza - $10 equals your name in the "hat" one time ($100 equals 10 times in the "hat")
Drawing will be DECEMBER 24th, 2010... Merry Christmas from ME!

WHAT COULD I WIN? One long weekend - Thursday to Sunday - at our condo in PANAMA CITY BEACH. You pick the dates...just have to make sure they are available. I will cover the cost of your cleaning fee, too!!! (That's $150!) The condo is stocked! Sleeps 6 adults and 5 children PLUS a crib for baby! (11 in beds + crib + sleeper sofa!)

We are not responsible for your travel! You can now fly into PCB, using Southwest Airlines! You must travel between Dec. 24, 2010 and Dec. 24, 2011.

****To enter I must have proof of donation amount! Please email your paypal invoice to AUKatie@aol.com****

No more celiac, baby!

A few weeks ago we visited Dr. K. Christopher has shown no significant growth (above his normal curve) since starting the celiac diet. So, we took him off. And guess what - he's doing fine.

The only significant issue he has had since was a BAD case of RSV, which has nothing to do with coming off the diet. He caught a little cold from someone and it turned into a terrible respiratory illness. I even took him into the ER, where he had to have 3 breathing treatments. By the way, breathing treatments and 17 month old boys don't do well together. He stayed the night at Children's for observation and has been doing so much better. Two weeks and he has made a full recovery.

Paul Vincent is doing super in 4K at SFX and we love his teacher and his classmates! We are in full swing with the upcoming holidays - all decorated for Thanksgiving and just itching to put up the tree in just a little under two weeks.

16 months

Well. Another doctor appointment, another guessing game. Dr. W is still scratching her head about Christopher's growth - or lack thereof. At his appointment... 16.6 pounds, 28 1/2 inches and 17 1/2 head.

Thank you, God - he's otherwise healthy.

I know he is doing fine - walking, talking, whining and pitching fits just like the rest of the 16 month children in his playgroup. But, the girls want to pet him like a little puppy. They treat him like a baby. He IS my baby, but his classmates shouldn't feel the same way.

We are having some tests done. One test, a sweat test, is for ruling out Cystic Fibrosis. I know good and well that Christopher DOES NOT have CF. He has never had any type of respiratory issues in his life. But, he does have the "failure to thrive" and gastro issues that some children with CF have. So, to rule it out, we will be going to Children's at the end of the week.

The other test - a thyroid test, I believe - is for Growth Hormone Deficiency. I think this is far more likely to be the cause behind his short stature. Hopefully we will get those results by Friday.

I know he is perfect and that the answers that we seek are just to make him more comfortable in this world. He's fine and I love him. Just the way he is.

We have a WALKER!

Christopher decided that he would take his vacation off and learn to walk. He was determined and after a full "Labor Day" at the beach, he has pretty much perfected it. You should see how he smiles so big as he toddles around the house, looking to get into trouble! So precious.

Mr. Messy

I love him. And he drives me crazy sometimes. He's Mr. Messy. He will destroy all cleanliness and organization in seconds, when given the opportunity. His latest targets... folded laundry, opened drawers, toilet paper rolls and garbage bag hiding place. He also has a talent - grabbing his messy diapers out from under him while I am cleaning off his bum THEN he slings said messy diaper across the room. Lovely.


People need not wonder why my house is a disaster...

School Days

I cannot believe it. He started Mother's Day Out this week. And the kicker... He loves it. His teacher, Ms. Jennifer, is a blond. He loves blonds. I think he feels a special closeness with people who share his hair color - since he lives in the land of brunettes. He loves Ms. Bonnie and Ellie, too. Both blonds. Beautiful blonds, I must add. He's one smart cookie. Albeit a small cookie - the teeniest, tiniest near 15 month old in the class of "young toddlers". He doesn't have a clue... and I love that about him.

Doing GREAT!

I cannot tell you what a difference there is in Christopher. He is still as independent as ever, but he is so much healthier now! He isn't sick and even his acid reflux has stopped. He still takes about 30 oz of milk, pediasure or yogurt drink a day and loves his food, too. He isn't much for jars of baby food though. He would rather do it himself (note the independent part). He's very head-strong and if I cannot read his mind he gets rather upset. He LOVES swimming and I have signed him up for lessons with the 'swim nazi'. It should be interesting. He's not much for being told what to do. LOL! See this picture? He wants to drive all of the time and will fight you to the death for the car keys and the steering wheel. There is something in their blood. Most boys love balls and trains. My kids love to drive cars. Seriously, Christopher drives everything! He even pushes the remote control like a car. HA!

He's Going To Be A Chunker

OK. If Christopher keeps eating and drinking like he has been the past few days, he is going to have some major weight gain. This child LOVES peanut butter, cream cheese, french fries and pancakes. He drinks somewhere around 30-40 oz of whole milk, yogurt drink or pediasure a day. Seriously, if he doesn't gain a pound by our doctor appointment on the 7th, I will be scratching my head. I LOVE IT! Who would have thought?