Wahoo!

About a year ago Zach tested positive for being allergic to wheat, dairy, eggs, and peanuts. I took Zach to the allergist this morning to have him retested and we got some great news! Zach has completely outgrown is dairy allergy. Oh the possibilities this opens up! We don't have to buy expensive almond milk anymore! I'll have to make him some homemade Mac N Cheese with his quinoa noodles tonight to celebrate...and maybe give him some ice cream :).

Another piece of good news we got is that Zach is now only mildly allergic to wheat rather than very allergic to it! His reaction to the skin prick was so much smaller this time around. The doctor is thinking that we can get Zach retested in a year and he'll probably have outgrown that allergy by then! I can't wait to be able to give my little boy some bread.

Zach is still very allergic to eggs and peanuts but those are so much easier to work around and/or avoid. The peanut one is bad enough that we need to keep his epi pen handy. We're so grateful for the progress he's made. This is definitely an answer to prayers.

Now for a couple of random pictures. I love the crazy static hair in the first one.

Good News

Zach is now doing so much better. It looks like the diet the doctor told us to give him helped do the trick. You know you're a mom if you get excited to see solid poop? Thanks to everyone who prayed for him!

Poor Zachary

Poor Zach has been sick for 3 weeks now. His symptoms have included: puking, diarrhea, difficulty sleeping, loss of appetite, and sometimes grouchiness. With it all he really has been a really good sport and has been his happy, crazy self most of the time.

My symptoms have included: Lack of sleep, overexposure to toddler bodily fluids (and the smells that come with them), painfully dry hands (from so much cleaning and laundry), and lots of worry. Being 2nd trimester prego doesn't make things easier.

It's really hard to be the mom when your little one is so sick. It's hard to see them so miserable and not know how to make it better. It's hard to see Zach get skinny when you're doing your best to feed him foods his body can handle. Zach used to be an amazing eater but has recently become extremely picky and scared to even try most things we offer him.

We've taken Zach to the doctor twice now and ruled out several possibilities.

• It's not contagious - it's a great blessing to still go play outside when he feels up to it
• Though he's gotten pretty skinny, he hasn't lost enough weight to worry the doctor
• It's not a bacteria infection, ear infection, or pneumonia
• It's probably not a food allergy - His diet is already restricted enough with his being allergic to wheat, dairy, eggs, and peanuts.

Right now, the doctor thinks that Zach had a viral infection in his intestines. These can last 1 to 2 weeks and leave enough damage that the body can take up to a month to fully heal. Zach hasn't puked since last Wednesday and this goes well with the current theory. He gave us a special diet to try to help Zach's intestines have a chance to heal. If Zach isn't better by Thursday we call back and the doctor will do further testing. We're really praying this diet works and would appreciate any additional prayers for Zach.

Derrick has been wonderful through all of this. He gets up with Zach and me in the middle of the night so one of us can clean and comfort Zach while the other cleans up the rest of the mess. He helps with dinner and gives me chances to get more sleep when he's got to be exhausted too. He's also been a shoulder to cry on. Derrick does all this while in the last semester of his master's program, working part time, and serving as the ward executive secretary. He's a wonderful husband. My sister Melissa has also been an amazing help through all of this as well.

iPhone App Competition

I wanted to let you know about a good cause and ask for your help.

I'm on a team in the BYU/Omniture iPhone App competition, and I wanted to share the app we created with you. The easy link is: http://bit.ly/tb_app

We decided to help out a charity (http://TippingBucket.org) with our app. They host a project on their front page for a limited amount of time, and the project sets a goal for money they want to raise during that time. If they meet their goal, the bucket tips and the contributors are charged. If the bucket doesn't tip, no one is charged. 100% of contributions go to the project. Our app makes it easy to check the status of the bucket and to make contributions. Check back daily to see how the bucket is going.

A lot of teams chose to make simple games, or other mindless entries. Help us show that supporting a good cause is a good approach for these competitions. Please share the app with others you know with iPhones or iPod Touches.

I'll be keeping everyone updated on the competition as it goes along. The analytics tracking period lasts about 3 weeks. (Starting today)

Zach's Got Something to Tell You

Looks like Zach will be getting a little partner in crime. Here's the proof :).


We had our 20 week ultrasound today and are so excited to find out that we're having a little boy. This little guy was curled into a cute ball. Everything is looking good and his heartbeat is very strong. After measuring him, the ultrasound technician said my due date may be moved from July 29 to July 20. That'd mean I'm 21 1/2 weeks prego rather than 20! We'll find out for sure at my next appointment. I'll post a belly picture once I get around to taking one :). Until then, here are some more pictures of Zach. With this kid running around how could we not be incredibly excited to have another little boy?

Love the bed head look

Reading with Derrick

This kid loves to draw

What?! He's actually kinda smiling at the camera?

Goofing around during dinner