No Nuts Please!

So quick update, I am TRYING to make a more concerted effort to update this more frequently- maybe if I write less that will help. :) (Hopefully- huh Ran?)

Last week was BJ's nut challenge.  He has been struggling with allergies for a long time now- I stopped having dairy while breastfeeding at BJ 3 months of age, and around 1 we verified a dairy allergy, and found out he had an egg and peanut allergy too (in addition to his dog allergy).  We've been diligent in avoiding all of these things- and he has outgrown his dairy allergy- yay for cheese!!  With allergy testing there are two ways to look for an allergy- blood IgE levels (think of them as allergy levels) and skin test.  Recently, after having egg in baked goods for 6 months (after passing a "muffin" challenge), we retested his blood- (sidenote: venipuncture in a 3 year old is not fun- so thankful we only have to do that rarely!!).  His IgE on egg had risen some, his IgE on nuts and dogs was 0, so we scheduled a food challenge.  At the day of the food challenge, they ran a quick skin test-  (putting serum with portions of the allergen on his skin and then barely scratching that area).  His hive to egg was small 2 x 2 mm and his hive (or wheal) to peanut was 5 x 5 mm.  Dr. Dan (who we love) decided to proceed with the nut challenge given he has NEVER had any nut exposure in his life (except breastmilk, which Dr. Dan doesn't feel contributes much).  (Wow, I'm very parenthetical today :))  He had the smallest drop on a spoon of peanut butter and within 20 minutes had 3 hives developing on his face.  We decided to call the challenge a "failure" for today, even though BJ felt fine, as we were worried increasing the dose would only increase his reaction.  After 1.5 hours the hives went away, and we went to Bernie's Hot Dog Co. for lunch.  On the way, BJ asked me to call Grammy and tell her that he could have peanut butter now.  We have always emphasized his allergies, and he is great asking if this has eggs or nuts in it, "cuz it will make me sick."  And because he didn't feel sick after that drop of PB, he thought he had passed :)  It took me a little while to convince him he still can't have nuts :)  We will return in another month to try an egg challenge.  I'm crossing my fingers on that one, he is very aware of it and wants to have eggs.  I just don't think the colored Easter eggs in my fridge will last that long- he won't let any of us eat them.  In fact, I better check that they aren't completely rotten :)

Other cute things lately:

BJ sayings:
"I was 3 and 1/2 yesterday, I'm 4 today and tomorrow I'll be 5."
"Dear Lord, thank you for Mommy, Daddy, and my parents"
"Mom, do you have to go to work today, but you already did!"
"Have a good day Daddy, see you on the goputer" (referring to skype with Daddy when he is away)
"Mommy, you are such a good mom!"


And Anika- just her sweet smiles and wanting to be near us- the other day I was leaving for work and she crawled straight to me- she wanted to say goodbye too!!

She is loving puffs these days- so much so that if you don't sweep after feeding her them, she will crawl to them and eat them off the floor. Quick snack :)

 Kayla, Nicholas, and BJ at the zoo

Updated weight:

Just a quick note- had Anika weighed today- 16# 4 oz.  (About at 9 oz gain in a little more than a month)  :) Still doing well.

Anika

Scroll down- there are a few new ones here. . .
I have to say that one of my favorite mommy smells is kid sweat mixed with sunscreen- love it!!

Anyway- missed Anika's 6 month to update about her- so we'll do an 8 month all about Anika

Nicknames: sister, Little Miss, sweet girl, sweet baby

Weight &  Height: I'm behind- so I'll give you last month's weight 15 lb 11.5 oz, at 6 months she was 25.5 in

Hair: getting blonder daily with the length mostly in the front

Favorite foods: puffs, pureed chickpeas, breastmilk

Favorite toys: sweet small blanket my sister made her, doll, anything BJ is playing with, cars

Favorite stuffed animal: probably her soft doll from Christmas
Bedtime: 6:30 p.m.

Wake-up time: 6:30 a.m.

Naps: usually 2 longer ones, with a cat nap

Favorite person: BJ, Angie, Mommy, Daddy (in that order)

Latest Accomplishment: crawling, eating puffs, small bits of banana and pear (Not an accomplishment, but an event, we dedicated Anika last weekend)
Likes: being with people, being carried, playing with BJ, swimming

Dislikes: being left alone

What she is saying: lots of baby coos, the repetitive gagaga, raspberries, and an engine rev, mimicking her brother

What gets said about Anika most often: how much she looks like Mommy

Fears: probably starving and being left alone

Health: she has done great- a few colds, mildest of mild eczema, no signs of food allergies :)

How she's like Daddy: likes to work (or chew) on cars
How he's like Mommy:  her looks

 We love our sweet baby girl, can't wait to see more of your little personality :)

Our verse for Anika at her dedication: Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as god's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness,humility, gentleness and patience.

 With our dear friends the Clinefelters- they dedicated Noah (Nicholas' little brother) the same day.

BJ at 3.5 years

Much to Daddy's dismay, BJ is now 3 1/2 years.  He informed me the other day that it means he is almost 4 and almost 5 and then 6.  I tried not to cry :)

Nicknames: Beej, little man, stinker, lovebug, bug, Captain, bud, Stink, Little stink, Bugaboo

Weight & Height: 37 lb Height-growing fast, not so sure

Hair: Blonde, getting darker :(

Favorite foods: chocolate chips, hot dogs, bread, fruit, berries, cookies (Oreos), "bark" - granola bars, hummus and veggies, muffins, cheese, grilled chicken nuggets at Chick-fil-A, french fries, pretty much anything Daddy likes

Favorite toys: VEHICLES- driving Daddy's truck, the Nova Car, little cars, trucks, bicycle

Favorite stuffed animal:baby Anika (a doll who is filthy)
Bedtime: 7-7:30 p.m.

Wake-up time: 6:45 a.m.- as soon as his "Ok to wake" clock turns green

Naps: one nap a day for 2-3 hours, pretty much every day

Favorite person: Probably Anika, Nicholas, Angie, Daddy, and Mommy (in that order)

Latest Accomplishment: pedaling his bike, running 1/2 mile home from the park, feeding his sister (when mom lets him), being able to call and hang up on Daddy via webcam
Likes: eating, playing, the park,the zoo, the sprinklers, the Children's museum, "playing" with Anika, helping Daddy work on the cars, helping Mommy cook/bake, running around the circle to get the mail, Chick-fil-A, watching movies (Veggie Tales and Cars)

Dislikes: having to come inside, green beans, black beans, not getting to choose, finding self control

What he is saying: everything!  And still working on many words in Spanish.

What gets said about BJ most often: how well mannered he is (for everyone else!!), 

Fears: lightening (he has asked every night since a big storm if the flashes will come tonight) people leaving him, dogs getting to him without someone else around

Health: doing really well, we survived cold season without a hospitalization :) He has a nut challenge May 2nd

How he's like Daddy: he likes Mommy, has a mischevious grin at times, loves to "drive the car", wants to do EVERYTHING Daddy does
How he's like Mommy: his coloring, his hugs, love of cuddling, short fuse for frustration

Funny things he's done lately: saying that Daddy is "almost an adult", giving smooshy hugs, giving leggy hugs (all invented by himself), "driving" the cars- literally almost 6 hours on Saturday.

Other sweet thing:  BJ loves to be a big brother. He often jokes we need to have 5 kids- I tell him to take it up with Daddy.  He is so sweet to Anika- even sang "Goodnight Sweetheart" (what I sing to him before bed) to her with Grammy last week.  She is tickled even to have him in the same room. I know it's a big wish but I hope they stay close like that.

We love you bug!!

Close all doors, gate all stairways. . .

SHE IS MOVING!!  It totally crept up on me that my baby girl might start crawling soon.  She has been a crazy roller for awhile, just forgot to think about her crawling.  AND now she is.  We've been trying to talk to BJ about getting the toys he doesn't want her to play with or choke on off the floor, but we'll need a new plan as soon as she is crusing I'm sure.  It's so sweet to see her crawling across the floor, just a bit more work for all of us :).  She really didn't army crawl much- mostly the broken leg crawl- one knee, one straight leg, flop on the ground, try again, etc.  and that didn't last long at all.  Brandon even came home the other night from a business trip all sad- "She's so fast, and BJ's 3 1/2 birthday is tomorrow" - he's having a hard time with them growing up.  (Not that mom is thrilled about it either though).   I guess I don't have any crawling pics of her, I'll have to work on that. :)

Quick sweet sayings

I need to get better at posting more regularly- mostly for myself.  When I look back through the posts- I see that there are memories that I've already forgotten about but luckily had blogged about.  So I need to blog more regularly if only for my own memory book :)  Life is crazy with Brandon being gone so much, but we are so thankful for great jobs that are challenging and rewarding :)

Here are just some of my favorite memories just recently.

I love seeing my kids love being with each other.  Anika has had times where she just is enamored with her big brother.  I love it.  Tonight I was feeding her while BJ put on jammies.  She kept stopping to see what he was doing, finally, he said "Anika loves me."  It wasn't egotistical or anything- just he loves that she loves him- I hope that continues.  I said once that I hope my kids are each other's best friends.  I know people think that is crazy- especially given the gender difference, but God gave us siblings to be our best friends- I know I am immensely blessed by my sister ;)

We built a fort recently on our high top dining room table and took it down after a week.  BJ now keeps telling me the next one we will build will be "for decoration."  I think he thinks if it is decorative we'll never take it down :)

BJ loves to try Anika's baby food.  He always says it is yummy and recently asked if I could make him pureed prunes too :)

BJ has developed a secret handshake- I won't tell you what it is- it's secret, and I cherish that he wants to do fun things like that with me :)

We got BJ an "Ok to wake" alarm clock after too many early mornings lately.  He wants to spend time with us, and doesn't want to miss Anika's early morning feed, so was getting up at 5:45 am to make sure he didn't miss it.  The alarm turns green when he can get out of bed. Most days he bounds in the minute it turns green and says "Mommy, it turned green!!"  One morning, he got up really early and I had to take him back to bed- showing him it didn't turn green yet- he actually came in 5 minutes later telling his dad it was broken because it hadn't turned green yet.  We laughed and sent him back to bed again.

BJ loves to pray before bed and has started to mimic our prayers saying "help us sleep good tonight God." So sweet.

The other thing I love lately is that his Sunday school is working on memory verses lately- so he knows 2 (one per month).  He gets so excited to share them.  "Through God, all things are possible" and "Love God with all your heart."

Anika is growing in leaps and bounds- rolling all over, loving her food, and wanting not to miss anything- she is such a sweet precious baby.

Husker game day, awhile back

 Sweet baby!

 Brother and Sister

 Shoveling crew!!

Food!!

 The fort!!

Anyway, need to get to bed- just wanted to share my memories.

New Year's Letter

Dear Friends and Family,

Happy New Year!  This last year has been filled with no end to the new accomplishments and additions to our family, and we would love to share them with you.

NEW SKILLS: BJ is growing in leaps and bounds.  In January, we decided to undertake what has been called one of the most difficult parts of parenting- potty training.  It took us a few weeks, but he quickly mastered the skill and loved his new independence.  In July, he asked if he could wear underwear to bed and proved he was able to stay “clean and dry” at night.  He turned 3 this last October, and has been showing off, riding his bike with pedals, playing with his soccer ball, and saying all kinds of words in “Spansh”

NEW FOODS: BJ’s allergies have improved dramatically this year- passing his milk challenge- thus opening him up to a world of cheese, milk, and ICE CREAM! He also passed his egg in baked goods challenge and will hopefully pass unbaked (but cooked) eggs this spring!

NEW JOB: Brandon found an amazing job this year that he feels he can stay with for the long haul.  He loves his new position- finally being able to use his engineering degree with Hoerbiger, working on one of his great loves- large engines!  He is traveling quite a lot, but enjoys the new challenge!

NEW BABY: Anika Mikaela Workman joined us August 13^th, a Saturday morning, and big brother BJ came to meet her Saturday afternoon just as he predicted!  She loves to eat, sleep (9-10 hours nightly plus great naps), and watch her doting big brother.  She has recently discovered her toes and rolling over.  She definitely is laid back in personality (and easy health-wise) and is such a blessing to all of us!

NEW HOUSE: 10 days after Anika joined our family, we closed on our dream house in Highlands Ranch, CO.  It is closer to Cassi’s work, has plenty of space to grow, and has Brandon’s dream garage!!  There is very little work to do (which is a nice change after the projects at our last 2 houses), and we are truly enjoying the house we plan to be in indefinitely.  Thanks to all our family and friends for the help and support moving!

NEW AU PAIR: With the addition of Anika and moving, we sadly needed to change childcare providers. Our friend Stefanie has cared for BJ the last 1.5 years, and it was hard to make an adjustment.  We chose to invite a 21 year old Mexican girl, Angie to live with us and help us care for the kids.  She is a hard worker; always willing to do extra with the kids and around the house.  Her presence has given us opportunity to work without rushing to daycare for the kids and the occasional date night out.  She is working with BJ on his Spanish, while taking English classes twice a week.

Cassi continues to work at Aspen Family Care as a family physician and is trying to juggle everything including all the “new” changes.

Throughout the last year, we continue to be thankful for God’s unchanging love for us.  Our hope is that you too can experience His love and grace in this New Year!

Our new address is 2627 Baneberry Lane, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129. 

Wishing you the best this New Year!

The Workmans