Allergies

Noah has quickly grown from cuddly baby to happy hyper toddler. Over the months, John and I have faced challenges with Noah's newfound ability to feed himself with a fork, walk, and generally get into everything. But probably the biggest challenge we've faced is dealing with his still-unidentified skin rash. He's had issues in the past with eczema and really bad diaper rash, both of which he was able to get prescription medication for and have since cleared up. But a new rash on his face appeared that was quite aggressive and would never seem to go away no matter what we tried. We've taken him to the doctor several times, given him over-the-counter allergy medications and creams, and tried to isolate the problem ourselves by eliminating certain foods to try to identify any allergies, but nothing seemed to work.  The rash had remained quite persistent since he turned one, so about three months, although he hasn't had any bad breakouts for about three weeks now, which is his longest streak yet. 

This was his skin on a really good day. You can start to see some redness under his eyes.

This was his skin on a good day. Tiny bumps start to form under his eyes and around his mouth.

This was his skin on a typical day.  Even more tiny red bumps under his eyes, around his mouth, and around his nose. Some days it would spread onto his cute puffy cheeks.

Last week, we took him to an allergist, but all the tests turned out negative. Although still a mystery, at least we were able to rule that out. Doctor said it could very well just be eczema that spread to his face.

They're able to perform the allegory tests now without any shots, which is wonderful. All they do is place a tiny bit of liquid on their skin and wait for a reaction. The waiting part was actually the hardest part - we had to keep Noah still for 15 minutes. We distracted him with cookies.

The spot at the top left was the "control" - if Noah had an allergic reaction, it would look like the control area. As you can see, they all remained relatively small.

Although we didn't learn anything conclusive at Noah's allergy appointment, at least he had a blast at the doctor's office.

This is his skin now. He looks pretty awesome if I do say so myself. I LOVE those cheeks - I could kiss them for days.

Noah: Naughty and Nice

This year, Noah has been nice...and naughty. But mostly nice. He's definitely nearing the stage of the "terrible twos" (throwing tantrums, crying when he doesn't get his way), but he's mostly playful and sweet.

We had a busy holiday season, which is why I haven't blogged here in a while. Here's a quick update of what we've been up to. 

First we went to our friends Richelle and Chris' place for our annual Secret Santa/White Elephant party. 

Noah had the cutest place setting with, what else? His own penguin sippy cup and matching plate.

He opened presents that night and got a lot of goodies such as clothes, shoes, and books.

Next up was another holiday party at my auntie's place. 

We didn't put up a tree this year so Noah had fun playing with this one.

On Christmas eve we went to church. Here's where Noah was a bit...naughty. But what can you expect? It's hard for any kid to sit still and quiet during a church service. But for the most part he did well. 

On Christmas morning, we opened gifts.

Noah has an obsession with shoes. He's always going into our closet to pick up our shoes. He'll carry them around the house (and unfortunately leave them in random places, making it difficult for us to find). He'll even stick his feet into our shoes and try to wear them. So I decided to get him a new pair. 

Then it was off to Nana and Pop Pop's place. Noah was very good at giving his gifts.

But even better at receiving them.

Lastly, it was off to Grandma and Grandpa's place where, you guessed it - he opened even more gifts!

And to top off our holiday season, we spent New Year's Eve with family. Here were my two kisses at midnight (and yes, that's Noah's hand in my champagne :) 

Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!