Robison Family: 29 going on 90

Well I suppose its time for an update... and a million pictures of my babies :)

Kalvin has been doing lots better. We took him in to do some allergy testing. I was so sad that he was going to have to get blood drawn and was prepared to give him anything in the world after, but he just watched the needle go into his arm, the blood come out and laughed. So the tests came back and he is allergic to oats, cats, dogs, and a few kinds of mold. Yep. It sucks. But its also nice that we now know whats going on. And whats most likely causing his asthma attacks. We were wondering if Scout is the problem, but he wasn't as allergic to dogs as other things, so we got looking around the house and we totally found mold. MOLD people!!! I freaked out. So so gross!!! I was about ready to move out. So I called every mold abatement company in Reno and talked to a ton of people and we decided since it was only growing on the underside of a toilet, then maybe it was just that. So Brad wrapped up the toilet in plastic and took it out and then we pulled up the floor and knocked out some walls and no mold. It was just a crappy toilet. So thats good news. Anyway, we think that was probably the bulk of Kal's issues. So I think we are going to take him to a specialist and get to the bottom of things before we decide what to do dog-wise. We are all a little heart-broken at the thought of giving her away. Hopefully it wont come to that. We all love her so much. Also, Kalvin is on 3 different meds everyday. Our baby is all sorts of medicated. I hate it, but I also am really grateful for medicine. Cause apparently he needs it.

The boys are suddenly obsessed with sour apples. Its all they want to eat. And they feel super cool about it. Still cant get them to eat apple pie though...

Our little Clarky is awesome as always. He has become super concerned with being smart lately. He talks about how he needs to practice being smart and at night in his prayers, he asks Heavenly Father to please make him really smart. Hes so funny. I hope the boys not putting too much pressure on himself. I keep telling him to not worry about being smart, but just to work hard, but hes not having any of that. I guess the good news is that he is smart. He is a brilliant little reader. I dont know if he has a crazy good memory and just memorizes all these words, or if he is actually reading them, but there are very few words he cant get. He reads to Kalvin every night for like 20 minutes before bed and its the cutest thing ever.

When I dropped him off at school the other day, as I watched him walk up to the doors there were a bunch of kids pushing and shoving each other to get through the doors, then Clark got to the door, opened it up, and then held it open for the kids walking in behind him. Things like that just melt my heart. He is just naturally so sweet and thoughtful. And falls asleep in funny positions sometimes.

Nights with this baby boy....

Its a good thing hes cute!!!

We started him on rice cereal and he did great! No problems with the spoon or anything, he just acted like, "finally! Its about time." haha But then I had to stop breastfeeding him and it made him so mad that he refused to eat cereal anymore. He would scream and spit it all out and it was impossible to get anything down. But he was acting like he was starving and waking up every thirty minutes all night and refusing to nap. Oh this child! So we got desperate and I mixed a tablespoon of mashed peas into his cereal.. and hes back to eating it like a pro. He loves food so much and eats SO much. He still wakes up twice a night, but goes back to sleep fairly quickly, so I have been feeling like its more out of habit than hunger. Both Clark and Kalvin were sleeping through the night by now, so I am getting a little anxious to get this show on the road and start sleeping again. And to get him moved into his own room.

Kal has been insisting that he has an invisible pet cheetah. And the cheetah is somehow always doing bad things, like squirting toothpaste all over the wall and getting into the cookie jar and getting into Clark's "special stuff" and peeing in Kalvins underwear. Yeah.

Scout is still just as protective as ever. When we go for walks, we put her on a leash and she gets SO stressed out when the boys run ahead down the street and shes stuck on the leash and cant run up and be right by them. And its so cute, at bedtime when the boys run down the hall to their bedroom, she runs right along with them and hops into bed too. We love her!

We have been working lots in the yard, getting everything ready for Spring. I got some flowers and planted them and and we reseeded the grass and got a bunch of mulch for the garden. We drained and cleaned the hot tub and made the cutest outdoor chalkboard. Its been so nice spending so much time outside. I am so getting ready for Spring and gardens and swimming.

My loves. Such a happy sight :)

So for me, things have become a little interesting lately. A few months ago I started having a lot of pain in my feet and hands. I figured it would go away eventually, but it didnt. It got worse and spread to my wrists and ankles. I just figured it was because I started working out again and was pushing myself too hard. But it kept getting worse and spread even more to my knees, elbows and neck. I was waking up every morning so sore and stiff. And I was sooo tired and couldn't figure out why it was taking me so much longer to bounce back after having the baby. So I decided it was time to go to the doctor. They ran some tests and turns out I have rheumatoid arthritis. Yeah I thought that arthritis is something you only get when you are like super old. Apparently not.

So, since I was breastfeeding and wanted to keep breastfeeding, I just was taking ibuprofen and dealing with the pain and stiffness until I could get in to see a rheumatologist. But then it got like really bad. haha My joints were all swelling so much I couldn't really walk or move. It was pathetic. So the doctor started me on some steroids and I felt lots better like right away. Bad news though, I had to stop breastfeeding Jonas cold turkey. He was so mad at me. He has always taken a bottle just fine, but preferred the breast. But once I stopped nursing him, he refused to take a bottle. We had a rough first week for sure. He is one stubborn little man! I just spent all day and all night holding him while he screamed and cried and just kept turning his little head in to me to try and nurse. Oh it was exhausting. And talk about mama guilt!

Brad was my hero and would take Jonas when I needed to rest or do pretty much everything so that I could just hold him and help soothe my guilt. haha

We got through it though. Jonas has made peace with the bottle and has decided hes a fan of binkies all the sudden and we are all much happier.

As for me, I went in to see the rheumatologist a few days ago. They have to do some more tests and then they need xrays of all my joints and make sure all my organs are functioning properly and then once we get all the baseline tests done, then I can start on a long term medication. There is a lot of great medicine out there for RA, so thats good. And the doctor said that we caught it early before it damaged my joints too severely, so that is also good. And, if I ever decide to have another baby, apparently the disease goes into remission during pregnancy. Weird right?

So for now I am still on the steroids. I tried going off of them, but the pain came back pretty quickly. I have a hard time sleeping while I am on it, but thats better than not being able to move. Plus I am up with Jonas anyway, right? The only downside is that I keep freaking Brad out. The other night I got tired of trying to sleep, so I just got up and he found me scrubbing the kitchen at 3am. haha Only a couple more weeks and then I wont be all roided up.

Im still not sure how all this works. How I will react to the medication and what not. I dont know if I will have like "flare ups" even when I am on my medicine. I dont know much of anything yet. But we will get it all figured out and hopefully I wont feel like a 90 year old woman anymore. But in case you do see me hobbling around town, you'll know that its not because I got hit by a truck or something. haha Or if I seem a little frustrated, its only because it took me 30 minutes to get the cap off of my toothpaste. And I wish I was kidding. Brad screws it on too tight with his hulk fingers. I am going to need to get that toothpaste that comes in a pump bottle like all the hip old people have. But really, its not that bad anymore. There may have been a couple mornings when I couldnt open the milk and had to call my three year old in to do it for me, but its all good now. Medicine is a glorious thing!

The one good thing about feeling awful is when you feel good again, its amazing!!!

I swear, I will never take moving for granted again! The first morning after I took my steroid, I woke up and could bend my fingers and it was the most awesome feeling! I am so happy to be able to just get up and go about my day.

I have been baking lots. I dont know why, but its just been so fun being in the kitchen. And I have noticed that my boys migrate into the kitchen and my little Clarky, who is impossible to get to talk, just sits and has so much to say as hes stirring or tasting. Its great. I have learned more about school and his friends and teachers then ever before. I think I will keep it up, just so I can keep him talking to me.

I made texas sheetcake cookies and they turned out amazing. I am going to need to start taking cookies to people though, so that I can keep baking without making my entire family fat. haha