Swimming in 1920

Pat and I get a kick out of putting this romper on Jacob.

Something about it just makes us think of 1920s swim suits...

SMILES

Eczema

Eczema is a disease in a form of dermatitis, or inflammation of the epidermis.  The term eczema is broadly applied to a range of persistent skin conditions.  These include dryness and recurring skin rashes which are characterized by one or more of these symptoms: redness, skin edema (swelling), itching and dryness, crusting, flaking, blistering, cracking, oozing or bleeding.

Jacob has all but the last two symptoms!

These two pictures don't even begin to show the degree to which Jacob has eczema on his face. One day his face looked similar to a few days after a really bad sun burn on his cheeks, ear lobes and under his chin. It blisters and peels then starts again. He even has a small amount on his elbows. Poor kiddo.

I kept thinking Jacob had bad baby acne and was going to ride it out until his two month appointment next Friday.

Enough people commented on his "rash" that I called Dr. Wilkes yesterday. The nurse had us come right in and it took all of two seconds for Dr. Wilkes to say "he had dermatitis". HUH?? (aka eczema, pretty bad) I can document back to 6/30 when we took Jacob's 1 month pictures when I know for sure this started. So yesterday was 3 weeks that I had let this go... 3 WEEKS! What kind of a mother am I? I just kept thinking it needed to run it's course and would go away on it's own. I WAS WRONG!! Some days were better than others, but none the less it kept coming back and finally spread all the way to his little ears and to the top of his chest :(

So, Dr. Wilkes prescribed a skin gel that is to be applied twice a day. I stopped by Walgreens on the way home, dropped the Rx off and went back later to pick it up. Pat and I put it on his face last night and this morning... and this is what he looked like at 9am.

HIS PRECIOUS CHEEKS ARE BACK!! It totally took out the redness. His skin isn't smooth yet, it's been less than 24 hours and it has some SERIOUS healing to do, but it's on the fast track to recovery. His face is like one big scab, no wonder he's been some what fussy this past month. I'm thankful that he shouldn't be irritated any longer and that strangers won't look at him so sorrowfully any longer and comment on his "rash".

This might come across as vain but, as I told Pat last night... I never understood until the last few weeks how my parents looked at me when I had horrid acne and told me I looked beautiful. I get it now. Jacob now looks to others the way I have been able to see him the past few weeks. Perfectly precious and sweet. Now everyone else can enjoy it too.

Safety in the Kitchen

Kitchen Safety Reminder:

Keep a lid, baking soda, or a fire extinguisher handy in the kitchen.

Laura was in town this weekend and I had asked her to share her recipe for a home made es special. Pat's favorite dish from his favorite Mexican restaurant in college. By the end of the cooking process Laura wanted to warm the chips... and then the chips caught on fire. I looked over and saw flames shooting out of the oven. We couldn't reach above the oven to turn it off, they were too big. So Laura and I proceeded to scream for Pat - who in true fireman like fashion ran in the kitchen, saw the flames, ran into the garage and stormed the oven with fire extinguisher in hand to put out the fire. Way to go Pat! Luckily nothing was burnt except the chips and the inside of the oven. Pat and Laura cleaned it out, but I still haven't used it again yet. I'll be buying some oven cleaner first and making sure all the fire extinguisher stuff is gone before we deem her ready to bake again.

It’s been a while…

Yes I know, it’s been a while… but we’ve had some great times recently.

Since I last posted we’ve experienced Pat’s first Father’s Day, Jacob’s first holiday: 4^th of July and Jacob’s first social smiles. Jacob’s gotten to meet more of our friends and family and had some nice little outings along the way. He’s only had one visit to the pediatrician and I’ve only made two phone calls. I figure we’re doing pretty good. He goes to the doctor next Friday for his 2 month visit and first round of shots!! I have two other posts coming today, so bear with me. Yesterday at the doctor he weighed in at 10 lbs 7 oz. Almost 10 ½ pounds!!! He’s a happy growing boy. I’ve returned to work, almost completely full time. I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to bring Jacob with me for these first few weeks and the plan is for him to head off to daycare around September 1. Last week Pat was able to keep him 3 days while I got my feet under me at the office. This week I’m flying solo with Jacob and next week Nannie will be coming to stay with us for two weeks and help with J while Pat works a job outside of Ashland, KY.

Father’s Day:For Pat’s first Father’s Day Jennifer had fresh Maryland steamed crabs flown in. All the grandpa’s were able to get together the Saturday night before Father’s Day and we had a crab feast. This was Pop’s first time to see and hold Jacob, and he seemed to be a very proud Great-Grandpa. John and Rebecca Gilbert joined us and also got to meet Jacob. I have a few pictures here, but out of all the pictures I took that night, there isn’t ONE picture of Jacob and his Daddy. I’m not quite sure how that got missed. :(












Fourth of July Weekend:
We had a busy 4^th. It started off with a day at the Lodmell’s followed by game playing at Chuck E. Cheese. I’m pretty sure this was the first time Pat had stepped foot back in a Chuck E. Cheese since his glory days there. Jacob seemed to enjoy himself, but was definitely over stimulated by all the lights and sounds. Once we finally got him to sleep that night, he slept for 6 hours!!! He was WORN OUT! For the Fourth we ventured to downtown Lexington and spent the morning strolling around checking everything out. Once Jacob gets bigger there is kids area all set up, and I’m pretty sure we’d have hours of guaranteed fun. We watched fireworks from the car in the rain that night. Sunday was John Lodmell’s baptism. Pat cleaned up nicely for the event and is a very proud God Father.



Jacob and John together and quiet (not something we're expecting to last very long...)

New Faces: Jacob has gotten to meet his fair share of friends and family in the last month.

David and Granny Nell with Jacob

Jill, Jeremiah and Emma came down for a Saturday in Lexington

Alice with Jacob


Exercising with Daddy:
Jacob and Pat have an exercise routine. Pat says they work on bicep curls, squats and then go for walks together…