Went to Siesta Key Yesterday

We went to Siesta Key yesterday. My brother Nicky's in-laws (Christine's family) go there every year on Memorial Day for a little family get together. We decided to meet up on Sunday for the day.

They rent a house right on the beach, so we made it an entire day. We got there, ate some brunch, and headed out to swim. After waiting out the hottest part of the day at the house, we walked back to the beach for the sunset. It was awesome!


AJ and cousin Danielle wait patiently for dinner.

After dinner, we head back to the beach!

Happy Memorial Day!

This is the card Nathan is holding and referring to in the video below.

Crappy pix from the mall

Sorry, these didn't come out very well.

Club AJ

I went into the hallway and see this on AJ's door:


I point to the one below and say, "AJ, what is this?"
AJ: it's to see if you can get in. If you're shorter than the red line, you can't come in. If you're at the yellow line, MAYBE you can come in. If you're at the green line, you're allowed in.
Me: ummm, ok.


Then I point to this one and say, "Well, what is THIS?"
AJ: It's an arrow pointing to my closet. It's so people know where the party's at.

Here is some of the action that was going on at AJ's:
(This is Nate hiding under the bed)

Little Rock... at least one more time

We've decided to go forth and have Austin attempt a 5000mg food challenge. There are increasing dosages throughout a day but the final dose, should he be non-reactive earlier, would be equivalent to 35 1/2 peanut M&Ms (which is 2.5 times his current daily dose).

This may very well be our final visit to Little Rock. This is to be decided after the challenge. The dates of travel will be June 7th - 9th. The food challenge itself will be on Monday the 8th.

Let's hope for (another) miracle!

Nathan Makes a Movie

He got hold of my camera again. If you want to know why my pix are always smudgy, check it out here:

CAUGHT!

I went to take a shower this morning. When I came back, I caught Nathan with the following:

1. One package of 'Fun Dip' brand candy that was previously hidden in the pantry.
2. One cup with said 'Fun Dip' powder poured into it
3. One bowl with residue of 'Fun Dip'. Apparently he attempted to put it in the bowl, but decided that it was not the best choice for candy consumption.
4. 'Fun Dip' powder candy on the floor. He's 2, so he missed the containers when pouring the candy.
5. Scissors. He's not an idiot. He climbed up to my phone area and got scissors when he couldn't open the package manually.
   

Here's the evidence as I found it:


Nathan was stooped over the mess having a great time. When he saw me, he stood up and bolted. If you need more proof of who was responsible, here's a pic of Nathan immediately after I caught him. Notice the candy blue coloring on his tongue.


I went to clean up the mess. I got a few wet paper towels and started wiping the floor. When Nathan noticed that he had walked through the powder, he started licking the bottom of his feet clean.

Happy 40th Anniversary!

So I think the title pretty much says it all. I know you said you weren't going to do much to commemorate this event, but you should let us know if you did anything cool.

Tired, Frustrated, Dedicated, Irritated, Willing and Unwilling

We got the call last week that the folks in Little Rock have NOT forgotten about us. Damn. So the story is that the protocol for Austin's study has changed again. The short of it is that Austin is the only subject that qualifies for a food challenge at this time. This is great news- his blood score was low enough to risk the challenge- and he's the only one! He's very important statistically to this phase of the study. The bad news is that a food challenge requires a Monday and Tuesday visit. We'll have to fly in on Sunday, fly home on Tuesday. Little Rock is NOT a destination- so flights require connections and extra fees and are not convenient... a headache.

If Austin PASSES the June food challenge, that's great news! Except that we'll have to return to LR in about 30 days (30 days of Oz receiving zero peanut) for another food challenge. UGH... BUT, if he passes the 2nd food challenge, he's considered 'done' and allergy free! (still requires follow up visits every 6 months or so).

If Austin FAILS the June food challenge, we go in the next day (Tuesday), and get him updosed. Then we return 2 or 3 more times in 2 month intervals for updosing. (again with follow up visits every 6 months or so)

We're trying to get transferred over to Duke for the duration of this study. Flights on Southwest go from Tampa to Durham multiple times a day, some non-stop, and all cheaper than Little Rock. This next June food challenge will probably be in Little Rock, tho.

It's all very confusing, I know. I have no idea why I explained it all out here. Too much info. Just frustrated. We're wondering when we are no longer willing to continue. Thought I'd try to get you all on the same page. I'll post more when we book our trip.

Oh, and here's a sidebar. We have a very strong feeling that Oz will fail this food challenge. There are times now- on his 13 m&m dose, that he gets itchy. We highly doubt that pushing fistfuls of nuts down his throat will be non-eventful. However, they NEED this info.. so we will probably cooperate.

Saturday Morning Bubble Blowing.

I DID IT!

Dave's Birthday

Here are some pix from D's birthday. Sorry they're late, but I got a massive, multi-day headache on Mother's Day and didn't get around to dumping the pix til today.

The cake fell apart for some reason, but it was still delicious!

Outdoor fun

Ikea

Tampa got a new Ikea store last week. I'm not sure if you guys know what that is, but basically it's a huge store, has LOTS of crap in it, a restaurant, etc. Anywho, I decided to check it out today with AJ and Nate. We started out eating breakfast, then shopped, then had ice cream. AJ said, "this is FABULOUS!!"

Nate's hair looks like Buddy Holly bc he asked for mousse this morning!

We bought one ice cream cone. The lady handed it to AJ and AJ turned and said, "Nathan, would you like a lick?" Very sweet.

Fly from Des Moines or Springfield to Tampa!

http://www.allegiantair.com/

This airline flies from Des Moines and from Springfield to Tampa/St. Pete... Prices look pretty good, too.

For example, if one were to want to fly from Springfield to Tampa from July 21 to 26 (when Aunt Wes would be in Tampa visiting...), it would cost $80 each way (plus tax and crap)... I'm just sayin'.

CSI Tampa Bay

Here's a dirty hand print on the tile. Here's how we figured out the culprit:
*size of print
*location of print
*foundation of print is apple juice

It's the baby...

Swim Lessons, my ASS!

First of all, isn't this the cutest? And all his swim shirt, goggles, and floaties match by accident!



Ozzy helping out!

AJ tries, but the water's too deep for him!


I showed Nate how to maneuver the wall ONE TIME. This is his second time in the pool this season.. probably for a total of 45 minutes in the water. He'll go out, come back, then blow bubbles. Bear in mind that he cannot touch the ground here.

Ya, I think we'll skip the swim lessons for him.

HELLL YA!

There's nothing like the first swim of the season!!




CANNONBALL!!

A VERY enthusiastic Happy Birthday!

Aunt Weswee

Aunt Leslie heard her biopsy results today....Everything ALL CLEAR....no cancer.

Sunday.

Nate's wondering why the helmet is so uncomfortable. It's because he put it on backwards.

Hanging out with Dad

Painting.

Museum of Science on Satuday...now with VIDEO!!!

Here the boys are getting their first lesson in how to use SCIENCE to get away with CRIMES.

Building things up to break them down.

Nathan learns about making noise and whacking crap with sticks.

Austin's a mummy!

Here Austin is learning about the importance of good dinosaur dental hygiene. It is said poor hygiene led to the extinction of the entire species, you know.

Because everyone can use a good laugh.

Park Picnic

Went to the park today... (Austin's at school, Dave's in Boston for work).

Meow