Happy Bruin Birthday!

 It's Kelvin's 36th birthday! 

Gloria made this hilarious (if you know non-hugger Kelvin) flier for NCC.

 

We gifted him an uninterrupted night of sleep in the guest room, and wanted to let him sleep in more, but K was up by 6:30. The boys surprised him with matching Bruins tees.

We're having a rainy family Saturday. Earlier in the week, Iver asked me, "For Papa's birthday, are you making a cake?"
"No," I responded. "Papa doesn't like cake" (Nor do I bake cakes).
Iver: "But can I still have cake? I like cake!" :)

I'm making some apple crisp instead, to follow our sushi dinner (we successfully took two children to Tomo's!)

STILL WITH HER

HOPE
Perhaps real, dirty, muscular, dogged hope only comes to us after soul-crushing despair. Only if we have tasted that despair, only if we have known the deep sadness of unfulfilled dreams and promises, the weight of injustice and wounding, only if we dared to look reality in the face and name it for what it is - name it sin, name it evil, name it broken, name it demonic - can we dare to begin to imagine a better way. Hope is subversive precisely because it dares to admit that all is not as it should be. We dare to believe it could be different - this is hope. Even our anger is hope. Our grief is hope. Hope for something - for us, for this world - to be restored. And so we are holding out for, working for, creating, prophesying, and living into something better - for the kingdom to come, for oaks of righteousness to tower, for leaves to blossom for the healing of the nations, for swords to be beaten into plowshares, for joy to come in the morning, for redemption and for justice. And even for the possibility, the hope, that someday women's voices and experiences and personhood will be valued, honoured, and even...believed.  - Sarah Bessey

Aunt Gloria and water balloons

 

It was so helpful to have Gloria around last weekend when I had a busy call. She hasn't lived in Humboldt all that long, but has bonded with our family as Iver (who is very slow to warm up to new people other than us) adores her. In addition to whisking Iver away to a party one afternoon so K had a break, she had meals with us, went to the HSU game, went rollerskating, and was a good sport about a backyard water balloon fight as the sun went one on Sunday evening (water balloon fights are much more comfortable in warmer areas like Orange County than on the North Coast, but still fun for three-year-olds!).

 

 

 

Gloria is likely leaving us in a couple of months, taking a job in the Bay area, and will be greatly missed!

Preschool facts and faves

Take some things from a preschooler's mouth with a grain of salt. Can you tell he is obsessed with the Wizard of Oz?

We have never been to Kansas (nor do we have plans to go).
We don't have any "Twinkle Twinkle" books.
The last time I tried to bring him to the dentist, he threw the mother of all tantrums and I couldn't get him in the door without bodily harm, so we aborted the visit.
We really don't feed him desserts very often, and I have never made him cookies.

He did get our pet's name and his birthday right, however!

The Roller Rink!

There is a roller rink in Blue Lake, the town east of us, with $5 drop-in family skate Sunday afternoons. This past weekend, we (and Gloria) thought we'd see what Iver thought of it!

 

They had a kiddie skate area for beginners, where we spent most of the time.

We wish we'd remembered his bike helmet as part of his PPE (personal protective equipment)-- next time!

Despite the smiling pictures, he wasn't too much of a fan of "skating" (falling), as this was very new (and hard) for him, but maybe at some point will want to go back.

I hadn't been on roller skates in about 15-20 years (I think), but took a few laps around the big rink.

We just learned from Mark that McKinleyville Activity Center also has monthly skate nights, so maybe we'll do some more family skating in our near future.

Last of the Jacks

Humboldt State University's Football team has been on the chopping block for some time (I don't know the specifics), but this is apparently its last season. While we attended an HSU basketball playoff game once, pre-kids, we hadn't ever been to the football stadium, but figured we should check it out before it becomes a ghost.

With our friend/co-worker Gloria, who has been helping Kelvin immensely with the kiddos this weekend as I've been moderately busy on call, we headed to the Jacks' Stadium "Redwood Bowl" on Saturday to watch them play Western Oregon University in their home opener (at the time, I had no one in labor).

Iver was looking forward to seeing Lucky, the Lumberjack Mascot, whom he'd met at preschool a few months ago.

The fall weather was nice, there was a sideline bounce house for toddlers, hot dogs were available, and it was a relative hit (although I missed a phone call in the loud stadium from the operator, Iver was freaked out by being up close with Lucky and, later that night, was up having nightmares from him, and they lost 13-38).

First we were on the away side as we could see better

Then, spotting Lucky, Iver was excited to head over to the home side!

Lucky

Iver's apprehension

Not so sure.... "His head is big and his eyes are BLUE!"

 

SO SCARED!

Stare-down with Lucky!

 

Niall did fine!

 We had to leave by halftime to get the kiddos to sleep (and the Jacks were scoreless at that point and, in fact, were until the fourth quarter), but we enjoyed our little outing!  Go Jacks!

Nut-free... still

 

Iver has had a peanut allergy since he was a baby. Following usual medical advice at the time, I think we waited until one year to introduce him to peanut butter (one of my all-time favorite foods, including one I ate regularly while pregnant and nursing!), but it was immediately met with hives, itching eyes, and (I think) later vomiting (as it has every subsequent time since). I keep hoping he'll outgrow it, as he doesn't seem to be allergic to anything else (besides dog saliva topically. He also did have a hive-like reaction to eggs as an infant, but it didn't seem to persist. He also doesn't really like eggs so we don't consciously have to avoid them. Baked goods are fine, and he can tolerate all kinds of tree nuts, like almonds, cashews, etc. without a problem). Neither K nor I have any food allergies, although I have terrible environmental allergies (hayfever) in the spring months, so we find it odd (and unfortunate).

Every six months or so, I give him (who also has mild eczema) a small dab of peanut butter to see what happens (we always can treat it sufficiently with benadryl or an antihistamine. We have an epi pen, especially for travel, but have never had to use it)... and it's usually met with a reaction like "Mama/Papa, my throat feels itchy!"   One time about a year ago at a party, he inadvertently ate a pretzel stuffed with peanut butter and had a violent vomiting reaction!  He definitely learned his lesson and now, he is very good about asking (if there is a new food, something on someone else's plate, or if we're at an unfamiliar location) before eating something, "Does it have peanuts?"

Kelvin thinks his allergy is not one to take so hard (I feel so sad that he's deprived of PB &J, nutter butters, Reese's peanut butter cups, and other delicious peanut-y goods, while Kelvin reminds me that Vietnamese children and many other children worldwide survive just fine without this American staple!).  We are lucky in that he doesn't have a severe anaphylactic reaction, and although his school is not nut-free (nor do I personally think schools should have to be to accommodate the rare students who react mildly), he only occasionally will get an itchy eye from cross-contamination at the lunch table.  However, despite my crossing my fingers and re-trying peanut butter periodically and him being exceptional in many ways, it seems mostly likely that, at this point (at three and a half), he will probably be one of the majority (80% or so) of kids that don't outgrow the allergy.

Niall, however, may be a different story. In recent years (and in between kids), there has been quite a lot of information/evidence put out there (like in this New England Journal of Medicine article/LEAP study), that early (4-11 months) introduction and consistent administration of peanut-containing products actually may decrease the incidence of peanut allergies in kids (and, it follows, later in life).  It was an interesting observation that Israeli kids that lived in Israel (as opposed to a similar population in the UK) had far fewer peanut allergies, which was hypothesized to be, in part, due to the widespread consumption of a peanut-containing snack, Bamba.

Bamba, popular in Israel, is a peanut-based puff product that is pretty darn delicious (if you like peanuts/peanut butter, that is)!  We purchased a bunch of packets on Amazon and started giving it to (7-month-old) Niall last week, and he loves them (and has been totally reaction-free, although Kelvin, being cautious, wouldn't let me send him to school with any until today)!

Who knows if Niall is just not prone to allergies, a different baby/being altogether, or whether we are preventing a future peanut allergy in our #2, but we are going to try to keep up with the several-times-a-week recommendation of peanut-containing products for the time being so that he, like I, can enjoy the above-mentioned treats as he grows.

(Poor Iver wanted to try some Bamba when I was feeding Niall, but, alas, it caused near-immediate throat itching for him and required benadryl administration last night. He's gotta stay (pea)nut-free for the near future!)