I heart gluten

Hi everyone,

It's been a relatively eventful couple weeks for Willow.

First of all, we're back on gluten. Willow had a doctor's appointment on Wednesday; it has been just under 2 months since we started the gluten-free diet. She was 19 pounds, 2 ounces. Not great weight gain. The doctor was impressed with her height growth though - she's at 30 inches tall, and her head circumference was normal too - 19 inches, I think it was. Then they drew blood to check her liver enzymes again. They were back to 40. The first time they were 40, then they were 44 and now 40 again. 37 is the high range of "normal". So gluten didn't seem to have an effect on anything. We all went out for pizza and beer (oh, how I missed you, beer) last night to celebrate! Still, I'm left feeling a little uneasy. I mean, now that we've ruled out the gluten thing, should I still be concerned? Or is Willow just a tiny kid with naturally high liver enzyme numbers? I emailed the doctor back to ask about this and am waiting to hear back. I want to thank all the friends and acquaintances who are gluten-intolerant, or have kids who are, who gave me advice on what to eat and buy. It was very helpful and I appreciated it a lot! Also: I have a great respect for you, because it is not easy.

Willow learned a great new word last weekend: that toddler favorite, "NO". I was taken by surprise because she had never said it before, and I was just talking to her like I always do. I said,

"Willow, do you want to try on your new swimsuit?"
"No".

So, now she says it all the time. What fun! It actually is still cute...she says it in a cute way. I know we probably won't think that for long. When I asked Linda, she said Willow ahd been telling her 'no' for awhile already.

Early On came to assess Willow the week before last. She is right on track developmentally for her corrected age, which we are very happy about. She was especially good at doing the puzzles - the lady said a particular one normally couldn't be done by kids until age 2 1/2. One thing the lady asked is, since we have a nanny, if we'd be interested in attending any of the Early On playgroups to help Willow socialize to other kids. I don't think we need to. Willow actually has been getting out and about quite a bit lately. We get together with Willow's friend Maisa and her mom every few weeks, and of course there's the weekly music class and my monthly parenting group. Willow also recently attended a sledding birthday party for her friend Aspen (I know,another tree :) ), and she was invited to another sledding party next weekend too. When we're around other kids, she doesn't play "with" them so much as next to them, but as I understand, that is normal for this age. I know she likes seeing other kids; whenever we're going to go somewhere in the car and I tell her that and start bundling her up, she always says, "baby?", meaning, "Will there be other babies there?"

We're getting excited for our big vacation next month: we're going to Puerto Rico with Josh's family. Yes, all three of us. That's why Willow just got a new swimsuit! I can't wait. We haven't had a vacation in like three years. We're leaving on Willow's birthday, February 19.

Here are a few photos. We just got the new camera and haven't taken very many pictures with it yet.

One of Willow's new favorite activities is playing in the sink.















Here she is on the potty again - don't know why we always feel compelled to take pictures of her there. We haven't made much progress yet with the potty training, but she does generally enjoy sitting on it!



















All bundled up to go outside with Dad:





















And finally, here is something pretty awesome. This video was Linda's Christmas present to us. She made it using pictures she took of Willow all year, using her phone! We had no idea she was taking any pictures of Willow. This video was such a surprise. Linda is the best!