four

Max had his four year well-check today. When I told him about the appointment, he got frustrated and said "Mom, I don't need to go to the doctor! I don't have ANY allergies and I don't need ANY shots!" When I reassured him that he didn't have to have any more shots until kindergarten, he willingly got in the car. Poor boy has had way too many skin pricks in his short life. Last month when he had his annual blood test for allergies, it took them 5 minutes of digging around to find a good vein. He was a tough boy and didn't even flinch. Shots and needles don't phase him anymore.

His peanut allergy is now off the charts (level 6), which scares me to DEATH. He has developed a level 3 soy allergy, which is also discouraging. The good news is that all the healthy eating he has been forced to do since birth has done his body good. He is rarely sick. I've never had to take him to the doctor for an illness (just allergies and injuries) He has never had an ear infection. He doesn't get colds. He has never taken antibiotics. Although I would take ear infections and colds over a peanut allergy any day.

Weight: 37 1/4 (58th %)
Height: 41 1/4 (65 %)

I'm wondering if he would have grown more (he is usually in a higher percentile) if I hadn't reintroduced gluten to his diet in the last year. When he was a baby, he went several months without growing at all. His thyroid and growth hormone were out of whack and we were taking him to specialists. After one month of going off wheat and dairy, everything normalized and he started growing again. I'm feeling a little guilty about not thinking that decision through, but hindsight is 20/20 I suppose.

Cousins

Today was our last day at grandma's house. We couldn't let the summer fly by without a photo shoot with matching clothes.

milestones

Ava has pulled a few tricks out of her hat since we've been at grandma's house. Crawling, clapping, and calling me "ma-ma-ma-ma" have been added to her repertoire of skills. We will be baby proofing the house as soon as we get home.

strawberry pie

The best strawberries in the world grow on the Olympic Peninsula right next to the ocean. It's a family tradition to go pick them every fourth of July. The boys had a blast running through the strawberry fields, stopping here and there to pick a few and throw them in the bowl. To celebrate the occasion, grandpa declared that we would eat fresh strawberry pie for lunch. Nobody argued, although I did give the boys salmon sandwiches and BBQ kettle chips too. For good measure. We have been making lovely gluten-free baked goods (pies, bread, cookies, etc.) with sorghum and millet flours, using recipes we adapted from this cookbook. Delish.