Where we have been

It has been awhile since my last post and it feels like a lot has happened. We headed back to Iowa on January 12th and stayed until January 30th (Eric went back to Illinois for 1 week in there to begin classes). During this time, we spent lots of time with our family, which was nice. It was a sad sort of nice though as on January 22nd, my dad passed away. We felt very lucky to be with both him and my mom (and extended family) during his last few weeks. We love him very much and will miss him.


During the time we were back in Iowa, Oliver had an allergic reaction to an unknown substance. His face, specifically his eyes, swelled up. Eric had left to go back to Illinois that day and that just added to the stress of the situation. I ended up taking him into the ER that evening (along with my sister Kathy and brother Dale). They gave him benadryl and a steroid to help with the swelling. By the next evening, he was back to normal. Luckily, his breathing never seemed to have any problems throughout this event.

We scheduled a follow-up appointment with an allergy specialist through our local doctor which we just had today. The doctor wanted to do a blood draw to test for multiple allergens. Here is a list of the allergens he is testing Oliver for:
almond
cashew
corn
oat
pork
sesame seed
alternaria alternata (I believe a fungus)
cat dander
cladosporium herbarum (a type of mold)
cockroach
cod fish
D. farinae (dust)
D. pteronyssinus (dust mites)
dog dander
egg white
milk
peanut
shrimp
soybean
walnut
wheat

The doctor said if we don't hear anything within two weeks to call for the results. He did prescribe an epi-pen for us to have with Oliver in case of another reaction. I think this made both Eric and myself feel a little better to have on hand in case we would need it.

Since getting home, we have been adjusting back into life. Eric is getting into the swing of things with classes. He is feeling like he is getting close to completing the class portion of his PhD (followed by a few years of research and writing for a dissertation). I have been doing day care and catching up around the house. Oliver has been busy busy busy!

Oliver is getting 4 molars in, had a cold, and his first ear infection. I think we are on the downward side of the cold and the ear infection, but we have a ways to go on the molars. He seems to be handling it all pretty well, other than at night, sleeping has been a little rough. Oliver loves playing with his toys and is now aware that his toyroom is upstairs and wants to go up there all.the.time.






Hopefully that catches people up on us a little bit and hopefully I post a little more regularly. We are expected to get 4-7 inches of snow tonight so maybe we'll get a snow day tomorrow. Stay warm everyone!