Where to Begin....

Sorry for the lack of updates we have been enjoying our vacation and I usually only have time for updates at work in between patients and I just realized last night it has been 11 days since I have been to work. Wow there is alot to catch up on I am not sure where to begin.

Last week we packed the car and headed to Boston for my conference and Greg's "work" golf tournament which I hear he and his dad spend in the VIP sky box....what a tough day at the office. Anyways my conference was good mostly a review of protocols and such. Am I the only one who finds sitting in a class room all day listening to people ask stupid questions already reviewed by the lecturer (just to make themselves look smart when in fact it makes them look dumb b/c the content was already gone over 2 min ago) utterly annoying and a total waste of my time. There I said it I am impatient at times and I felt annoyed at times from others who were not paying careful attention. Anyways it did take me back to my grad school days of sitting in a lecture hall all day and reminded me how I really would much rather be at work than sitting in a classroom all day staring out the window wondering what Ryan was up to....

Anyways when the co-investigators started going over the results from stage 1 of the trial that really sparked my interest and I am ecstatic to say that all our hard work is paying off and there have been very positive results in stage 1 and we will continue on with stage 2 this fall this stage will run a total of 12 months compared to 6 months for stage 1. But this clinical research brings about positive new exciting options to treat type 2 diabetes and I am honored to be a part of this exciting clinical research.

Okay enough about work let's talk about Ryan....He spend the first leg of the trip with the Flynn's and they had such a great time. I was told Ryan was very talkative and had a lot to say. He got to spend time with his Great Grandparents too. He actually slept very well in the pack and play we were a bit concerned with the whole big boy bed transition. Not sure how much longer this will last but for now it works. I was told by Ryan that Granddad actually spilled a bit of "moo moo" and that is pretty much all Ryan has been talking about every morning this week as I pour his milk in the morning. "Granddad spill moo moo" Hope you all enjoyed having Ryan for a visit and thanks again for watching Ryan and Dylan for us! I know it must have been exhausting!

My parents took him for the second half of the trip I think 6 days of Ryan and Dylan would have been too much for one family. Ryan also got to spend some more family time with his Great Gramma, and Great Aunties and second cousins. By the end of the trip he was becoming a little "Dennis the Menace" but I think it was a combination of being away from home for 6 days, being over tired, and missing his parents.

What a amazes me the most is as my parents packed up the car and headed south to Fairfield Ryan clapped his hands and said "Mommy Daddy Yay!" and when my parens pulled up to the house Ryan exclaimed "YAY HOME" which we thought was very advanced for a 22 month old to actually realize he was in the car on the way home to see mommy and daddy! It just warms my heart that he actually wanted to go back home and that he missed us. Thanks Mom and Dad for taking the boys I know Dylan can be a handful too. (Each time I called The Flynn's and Mom and Dad for an update Dylan was either howling, barking or crying) Poor puppy I think he missed us too.

The Cape was so wonderful it was so great to see all of our friends. It was so weird to sleep in until 9 and go out to dinner and not have to worry about rushing home. We ate lobster and drank fine wine (not me of course) and went to the beach. The boys played golf- what vacation is not complete with at least a few rounds thrown in there. Jonathan and the ladies enjoyed a leisurely bike ride on the Cape Cod Rail Trail. Can pregnant people ride bikes? Yes they can and it was so much fun too! What a spectacular end to summer, beautiful location, great friends and conversation, great food, and lots of relaxation! I did not want the vacation to end but I desperately missed Ryan and Dylan too! It was really nice to get away but we could not have done it without the help of our families!

So more updates (it has been 11 days after all):
Tuesday we went to the allergist. Ryan has had this questionable rash all summer long we were told it was a heat rash but I know it is more than that. So I wanted to find out what was going on. Well they did the first round of skin testing which is only environmental no foods allergens until next week. OF course with all the sneezing, runny noses, itchy eyes I thought for sure it had to be ragweed or pollen but of course NO! None of that the only positive environmental allergen is to the Dog. I explained that we had a hypoallergenic non shedding indoor Maltese. But the Dr. said no dog is truly allergy free that the allergens are in the dog's dander and saliva. So obviously the best solution would be to get rid of the dog. The allergist claims that this would get rid of all the symptoms including the running nose, itchy eyes, sneezing and the rash. The second best solution would be to keep Dylan out of Ryan's room and get rid of the wall to wall carpeting in the house. I think for now we will go with option 2. Otherwise we thought of maybe Dylan taking a little vacation for a month or so to my parents(perhaps when the new baby arrives)and see if the symptoms improve greatly or not. I mean Dylan is a huge part of our family and we could not just get rid of him. There is a slight chance Ryan may out grow the allergy too...we will have to wait and see. Ryan has never truly been free from the dog because whoever watches Ryan when we go away also takes the dog too. Polina does not have a dog yet he still has allergy symptoms at her house too. Who really knows we will know more at the next visit.

Wednesday of this week we had out first day of preschool a "get to know you day" for all the new kids and their moms and some siblings too. It was so great to see all the other little 2 y.o running about and get to meet their mom's. The teachers are both really great with the kids too. Karen Ryan's teacher actually pulled me aside and asked if I felt their would be any issues with separation with Ryan next week on the first day of drop off. I laughed and told her the only issue would be at pick up that he would not want to come home with me! As it was that day when it was time to leave I had to pick Ryan up and bribe him with a munchkin to leave with me. I think it will be great to see how he does interacting with others his age without me there. I also give this woman a lot of credit she plans a craft everyday with the kids. I can't wait to hear if Ryan actually sits and participates in the craft or tries to run around and eat the stuff.... might be different if he sees all the other kids are participating. Also it will be his first experience with having juice as opposed to water or milk. They provide a mid-morning snack and juice at school. Hopefully he will not refuse his milk or water..but hey it is only 2 days a week. I ordered some cute name labels to label his things for school each day we have to pack a bag with a change of clothes and a couple extra diapers. (Thanks Kerri for the suggestion I went with the Mabel combo pack for school) Karen also tole me that some of the children will be starting potty training and if your child takes an interest they highly encourage use of he potty. I thought Great! Maybe if he sees the others using the potty he will take more interest too instead of only telling us immediately after the fact requesting to be changed.

Yesterday and today Ryan has been on a fast. Refusing most of his food. Not sure why exactly? Last night Greg had to bribe Ryan to eat his filet mignon with ice cream....What can I say Daddy is a softie. I would not have given him the ice cream b/c he did not eat his dinner. But he took a few more bites in between the ice cream bites. I wondered if he was sick but he appears to be feeling okay and sleeping well acting appropriately. Perhaps he is working on his two year molars again... I did make his favorite chicken tortellini soup for lunch today so hopefully he will eat that. This morning he even asked for oatmeal with apples Auntie E introduced us to a new oatmeal called simply harvest. We got spoiled b/c Ryan and I usually eat the regular Quaker oatmeal from the canister the plain one and this one has a little sugar in it so we like it a bit better. Anutie had the maple pecan but I bought the apple cinnamon one b/c we are holding off on all nuts for right now until the allergy testing is complete. I still mix it half and half with plain and we have both been eating it everyday for breakfast and for some reason today he did not eat it. Maybe 4 days was too much and he was ready for a change. Any how I am sure he won't starve. Just more questions for our 2 year check up next month.

Hope everyone is all caught up with the past weeks happenings. Have a great weekend!