I Guess We Will Always Remember His 1st Birthday

Well, Tom's first birthday did not go exactly as planned, but we will always remember it. The day started off normal. Lots of running around and getting things ready for his party. Even the first hour of the party was great. All the kids were having fun, the parents were enjoying some food and adult beverages. Then we got to dinner time.

Just as we were pulling the lasagna out of the oven, I noticed Tom's lips looked weird. Within 2 minutes of that observation, his face had swelled up to twice it's regular size and he had hives all around his eyes. Let the freaking out begin! He blew up so fast, we didn't have time to do anything. We called 911, the ambulance came and took me and Tom to Children's Hospital. He was given an Epi, Steroids, and Benadryl. Tom was a champ through this whole thing. He cried a little bit, but for the most part he was just hanging on to my shoulders and trying to itch his face. The swelling was so bad, by the time we got to the hospital, I didn't even recognize my own son. It was very upsetting. After a few nervous hours in the admitting room the swelling went down on his face, but not his lips. So, we spent the night at the hospital. It was a loooong night. Emily and I really couldn't sleep, even though Tom was out. Any parent who has been through anything like this knows the feeling. Helpless, scared, nervous, sick to your stomach.

Well the next morning he was pretty much back to normal, other than the rash all over his body. The doctors said they needed to observe him for a full 24 hours, since it was a severe allergic reaction. That meant we were going to be in the hospital until 6 that evening. I don't think anyone was happy about that. A whole day in that room was brutal. On the upside, Tom really did a 180 and was looking and feeling great. He ate 3 whole pancakes for breakfast, and entire chicken breast and plate of veggies for lunch and 2 chicken strips and half a baked potato for dinner. He was pretty much back to his old self by the time we left.

So he is home now and doing well. We have a follow up doctors appointment today at 10. Then we have to take him to an Allergist at some point soon so they can find out exactly what he is allergic to so we can avoid this in the future. Just for the record, the hospital thinks it was Sesame Oil. Tom tried two new things at his birthday party, Pumpkin Seeds and Humus. The Humus has the Sesame Oil in it. Also, for the record, the staff at Children's was amazing. They were all extremely nice and very attentive. We were very happy with the way they took care of us..

That was Tom's first birthday, exciting, scary, and memorable. Here are a few pictures of our tough little guy:

The BIG day is here! Happy (1st) Birthday Thomas!

We now have an official 1 year old in the house. Tom couldn't wait to start his big day, so he was up and ready to go at 5 this morning. Emily and I thought it appropriate, since last year we were checking in to the hospital around 5 am.

We don't have anything major planned for his birthday. Just a party later this afternoon with some friends and family. Hopefully Tom gets some good naps in today so he is ready to be the center of attention tonight. I will have some more pictures from the party and a video of the World's longest birthday song to keep everyone entertained.

Last night, Tom was ready for some Trick or Treater's

This morning he got his first birthday present from Dad. At first he wasn't quite sure what this toy was. A few minutes later, he was dunking the ball. Could Tom be the next Keith Gregor? (UC fans will get that joke)

Out of Action

I apologize that the blog has not been updated as much this month. I think it is safe to say that this last month has been one Emily, Tom and I would like to forget. Sick baby, sick mom, sick dad, a lying/stealing contractor, no Bengals' wins, and a few other things have made October '08 one for the books.

Hopefully tomorrow makes it all worth while. Our little guy will be celebrating his first birthday and we are excited. There are still a ton of things we have to get together, but we are ready. Tom seems to be feeling better (he literally was sick all last week), I'm sure some birthday cake will make him even happier.

So, my first post in November promises to be more entertaining and (I'm guessing) a lot more upbeat than this one. Watch for the pictures and maybe a video from Tom's party. (It's like the coming attractions at the movies)

Dancing Machine

So far it looks like Tom, unfortunately, got his dad's dancing ability. (By that I mean, bounce up and down, wave your hand up and down or side to side.....that is about it) Of course, he is only 1 year old and he and I dance the same, so that could be a positive thing.
He was doing this all morning, and we were only able to video this little bit. Also, this was the only song on my Ipod that he liked. People who have heard my playlists might understand that.

Enjoy:

Use the Brake!

I have nothing to say but WOW! The fact that whomever was taking this video kept it rolling, just blows my mind.

Finger Food

Tom has decided that he no longer wants to be fed by us. The only meal that he will eat that involves a spoon and us feeding him is breakfast. And that is only because he gets an Oatmeal/Apple Sauce/Yogurt mix that he really likes.

At first we fought this change for three reasons.
1) It is a lot easier to tell how much he ate when it is all in a jar.
2) It was messy, but most of the mess was on Tom, and easy to clean up.
3) We have a TON of baby food still in our pantry.

Now, we have accepted it and are trying to come up with good, healthy things that are easy to cut up so Tom can grab them himself. So far, his menu is limited to Chicken Nuggets/Cheese/Pita Bread/Peas.

Anyone out there have any other suggestions?

Baptism

This weekend was a BIG one for Tom. He was baptised (about 8 months late, but still) at Covenant First Presbyterian Church. Emily's family have been members there for a long time. I started attending Service while we were dating and officially joined the church this year. We have met a lot of good friends thru the church and were honored to have Tom baptised there. Here are some pictures of the day: