As I was busy writing last Friday’s update on Peanut, she was busy planning (without realizing it) her weekend. See, as I was writing about how well Peanut was doing, she was coming down with a stomach bug. Given Peanut’s condition, we’re always a little hesitant to say it’s the flu or a common stomach bug given that it could be about a half a dozen other things. So, when the DW told me that Peanut threw up on Friday my first thought went to one of her medications – a prescription version of Imodium – and one of its side effects – vomiting due to blockage in the intestine. My second thought, after the DW told me that Peanut had thrown up a second and third time, was that Peanut has never thrown up without it resulting in at least a day in the hospital for an IV of replacement fluids.

Luckily, Peanut rebounded quickly and by Saturday morning was back to her old self… chasing her siblings, bring me her coat while repeating “outside, outside” over and over, and snacking on anything I’d let her have. It appeared that whatever had been bothering her disappeared just as quickly has it had appeared less than 24 hours earlier. Though it was a little concerning not knowing exactly what got her sick, it was reassuring that she had bounced back on her own without a stay in the hospital. It was a mystery I didn’t need answered.

But, I got the answer – so did Lulu and the DW – all within a few hours of each other on Saturday night. Peanut definitely had a stomach bug.

So now, you may be wondering what any of that has to do with Peanut having a sleep-over with her grandparents. Well, it’s really fairly simple. What do you do with a 20 month old that needs special attention when you have a sick 4 year old and you and your wife can barely take care of yourself?

That is how Peanut managed to land her first sleep-over with her grandparents – and first night ever away from her parents. (Luckily Sissy & Potato Boy didn’t get sick…they just retreated to their rooms and gladly kept their distance from us).

By the way, Mom and Dad, thanks for watching Peanut, and we’re sorry that she was still contagious. You’ll feel better in about 24 – 48 hours.

What a difference 6 weeks can make. It’s been 6 weeks since Peanut’s last visit to the UIHC for a check-up. On Wednesday afternoon, it was time to hop in the car and head back for another check-up. The biggest change in that time? Peanut’s development. During the last visit, Peanut was walking, but not real sure of herself. She was quiet and happy to sit on my lap while in the waiting room.

Wednesday was a completely different story. While in the waiting room, Peanut would run from one brightly colored floor tile to the next yelling “CIRCLE! CIRCLE!” (It was actually a square, but we don’t judge). Once she got too far in one direction, she’d turn back toward where the DW and I sat and while pointing at us would yell “My mum! My mum!” She investigated every wall hanging, the big gold fish in the aquarium, and talked at every passing doctor, nurse, or patient that shared a smile.

One thing hasn’t changed though, Peanut still had a shy smile for her GI doctor. The actual checkup went very well. The doctor was happy with how Peanut’s transition to her new formula has gone so far – so happy that he doesn’t need to see her for another 3 months. Additionally, Peanut’s labs showed so much progress with her liver function and copper levels that Peanut can stop two of her medications to see if the numbers remain consistent.

But for Peanut, the best part of the day had to be the fact that her car seat was forward facing for the trip. She’s just big enough that it’s considered safe to turn her around, so we probably would have waited a while if it wasn’t for the fact that she was getting car sick any time she was backwards in the car for more than 5 or 10 minutes. Even though she thinks she’s pretty big now, all the excitement can be exhausting…

Slowly, but surely, we’re managing to clear out the snow. As of last week, enough snow had melted that I could see at least the top 6 inches of every fence post where the deepest snow fell over the winter – and it’s gotten better almost every day since. Just to give you an idea – the fence posts are all approximately 48-50 inches tall. The garden is still covered in 8 – 12 inches of slowly receding snow. I was glad the strawberries, garlic, etc were buried under 3 feet of snow when it was 20 below, as it should have protected them from freezing out, but now it’d be nice if it was gone. But, judging by the latest soil temperature report from GreenCastOnline.com, we’ve still got a ways to go.

We’re in the deep purple in the upper right hand corner – a soil temp of approximately 25 degrees. Still, that hasn’t stopped Pip from finding a south slope and taking in some early spring sun.

The only thing missing from that shot is some green grass – I’m hoping one good thunderstorm brings it in a hurry.

Did I mention I was taking some time off while I transitioned to a new job? I didn’t? Sorry about that.

We’ll be back on the 24th.

It seems a little odd that on a night forecasted to be -15 plus wind chill that I’d be worried about broccoli – but that was the case over the weekend. Earlier in the week I seeded a flat of broccoli seeds and as most of the seeds had sprouted so it was time to get them under the grow light.

I’ve only started a few pepper plants and a flat of broccoli at this point. It might be a little early to have them started given the winter we’re having, but I’m holding out hope for a quick turn around this spring.

Early or not, it’s nice to see a bit of green again…

I mentioned earlier that during Peanut’s last check-up her doctor wanted to tweak the green bean shake recipe to adjust for her age by changing the formula to PediaSure. (If you don’t remember the original version, you can find it here.) Peanut has been drinking the green bean/formula recipe for almost a year now with the only change being the addition of Metamucil a few times a day. The challenge with the recipe had always been finding the formula – Pregestimil – as it costs twice as much as any standard formula it’s normally only used as a last resort so only one place in town carried it. Luckily, our pharmacy offered to stock it at the same price and ordered based on Peanut’s schedule plus what they might sell off the shelf.

You can imagine our initial relief at the thought Peanut would be moving away from a hard to find formula to something a little more mainstream like PediaSure. We got head of ourselves…

Apparently, there are more types of PediaSure than I ever imagined. And as you might expect given Peanut’s condition, the PediaSure we’ll be using isn’t the standard, pick-it-up-at-the-grocery version – her type is PediaSure Peptide 1.0. But since we live in a world where nothing is more than a few clicks away, we were able to start ordering it by the case online.

Peanut will go through a case of PediaSure every 10 – 12 days, and the first two cases where delivered yesterday. It was like Christmas.

Peanut was ready to take the PediaSure straight from the bottle, but we still needed to add green beans before the shake was complete. She took her first “new” PediaSure green bean shake this morning. It smells more pleasant than the old version, and she seemed to like the taste…and so far she it’s coming out the other end O.K. Any GI patient (or parent of a GI patient) will tell you it’s a little scary switching to something new and waiting to see how their digestive system will handle it. So far so good. The true test will be to if she continues to grow as well as she did before the switch. We’ll find out at her next appointment in early April!

Our one and only little boy…is now officially in the double-digits. We celebrated Potato Boy’s 10th, along with my Grandma’s birthday this past weekend.

Celebrating Potato Boy & his Great-Grandma’s birthdays!

Potato Boy is growing up right before our eyes…no longer a little boy (by his standards…not by mom’s) he is a wonderful brother to his three sisters…he’s becoming quite the cook…and he’s proven that he’s a force to be reckoned with on the mat (in the 70lb weight class that is). We’re so proud of our talented and sweet son! Happy birthday, Buddy!

He’s great at making anything with eggs 😉

Potato Boy had a great wrestling season!

Click here for Max’s pics through the years.

Wednesday may have been Peanut’s best check-up yet. Her GI doctor continues to be pleased with her growth (she’s up to 21 1/2 pounds) and is working on a few changes to her diet to see how she reacts to a formula in her green bean shake that’s not as restrictive. We skipped any blood work this time, as Peanut’s doctor felt she was doing well and the liver numbers we’re monitoring are slow to change. Though she didn’t realize it, I’m sure Peanut was thrilled to skip the needle stick- even if that means the DW and I have to wait six more weeks to see the next set of lab results.

In addition to the great check-up, Peanut continues to develop on schedule. She’s now walking and running everywhere, and when she has the opportunity (remember, she has three older siblings) she will talk your ear off.

It may seem odd, but Peanut has recently been able to experience her first snow with several days outside over the last week. Even though the weather would have allowed for her to be outside last winter, her central line and IV pump weren’t compatible with making snow angels. The winter we had this year only allowed for one day nice enough for her to be outside until the recent warmup.

It’s a lot of work, but I think she likes keeping up with her older siblings…

Humor me for a moment and imagine the Iowa State Fair grounds. Now, take away all of the activity that you’re probably visioning – vendors, displays, rides, people – except for what’s going on in the main cattle barn. Add some snow, extremely cold temperatures, trucks and livestock trailers parked everywhere, and the people that are there are dressed six layers thick – Welcome to the Iowa Beef Expo!

For you non-cattle folks, the Iowa Beef Expo is a week long event focused on the beef industry at the Iowa State Fair grounds starting the second Monday in February. It includes 13 breed specific sales, a handful of breed specific shows, vendor displays, a youth beef judging contest, and the Iowa Beef Expo Junior Show – one of the largest youth cattle shows in the nation with around 1400 head of cattle entered for this year’s show by exhibitors under 21 years of age.

Most years I join my family for a few days at the Expo, helping out with the cattle they take to sell at the Simmental sale. This year was the second year in a row I stuck around home with the DW and kiddos and took care of the chores for everyone else. While that meant I missed out on most of what was going on at the Expo, it didn’t mean I missed out on everything.

All of the livestock sales at the Expo are streamed by a company that streams auctions for pre-approved online bidders and interested observers – so I was able to watch the sale. It turned out, I wasn’t the only one interested…

Lulu and Peanut took interest in the cattle and auctioneer, though Peanut only stuck around while her uncle was on the screen – with the “six layers of cloths” thing I mentioned earlier, it’s not like you can recognize anyone anyway.

Lulu stuck around a bit longer and was very interested in “how fast that man can count.” Her attempts to repeat the auctioneer’s chant while counting on her fingers that night when I tucked her into bed had me laughing yet the next morning. Sometimes I wonder what stories Lulu will tell when she starts school… then I stop and try to think of something else.