Allergies, Kisses, and Tornados.

As we have moved past our 12 month and very soon into our 13 month, the girls are experiencing some changes. Our first change we noticed right away is an allergy. When the girls were very little we were very cautious on what we fed them and even had to use a sensitive formula. When speaking to the doctor he spoke of waiting until they were 12 months before introducing them to dairy, especially since I am lactose intolerant. Well, this month we tried it. The toddler ravioli, fishy crackers, pintos and cheese, and cheese sandwiches. OH WOW! We didn't know we were in for it. Soon after introducing this new found food, the girls both busted into a rip roaring rash on their bottoms and private area, which itched them really bad. I felt terrible. I put them both into a baking soda bath and changed their diapers whenever I thought they might be wet. I am still struggling with trying to get rid of it and it has been almost a week. Not to mention, someone gave the girls cheese on accident a couple nights ago and their rashes started back to the beginning.

 Juliana in her baking soda bath.

 One day, I decided to give Olivia some "air time" since she had the worst of the rashes. I put a sheet down and put her in her play pen. I asked Daddy to watch her as I finished up some work. It got really quiet. I asked Mike, is Olivia alright. He then jumps up from his seat, runs over to her and says, "Jenn!!! Yuck!!!" She had pooped and she decided to play with it!!! Mike grabbed her by the underarms and held her in mid air as I tried to clean it off her hands and play pen gate. Yuck! We immediately put her in a bath and washed her down really well. I think Mama learned her lesson to keep the "air time" to the back deck. 

Olivia having "air time" on the back deck.

My Olivia

These girls are going to be under close monitor for awhile. Very strict diets. Not to mention, mama decided that it is time for her to go vegan. I have struggled with dairy so long that it is not worth the fight anymore. So, us girls are going healthy, anyone want to join us? Daddy says no. He still prefers his cheese and milk, although, he has scaled back a lot. 

Daddy and his girls Juliana and Olivia. 

(Olivia's wearing a shirt that says...Blame my sister).

Other changes that have happened are Olivia's and Juliana's kisses. This is the sweetest most precious thing they have done that has made my entire day. Mike and I are very affectionate with our children. We want Juliana and Olivia to know they are always loved and that the world will tell them different but they will always have Mama and Daddy loving them. We might not always agree, but our differences will never make us love our girls any less. Now we are teaching our girls to be affectionate too by giving kisses. Olivia puckers her lips and leans forward if asked to give a kiss. This is so sweet. She does it so eagerly. Juliana has a different way of sharing kisses. She gives Eskimo kisses. She will rub noses with me and then giggle. We will do this until we both are laughing pretty hard. So precious these little ones. Being a parent has made me realize how much God loves us. What a great blessing. 

Daddy giving Olivia a kiss. 

The girls continue to progress in their development. Olivia still prefers to travel on all fours and pull up on everything. Juliana on the other hand is being a little more risky. She is currently crawling to a location, pulling up, and letting go. She stands independently for about 10 seconds now. If she falls, she has learned to fall carefully on her bottom or hands and knees. This makes me feel a little better. I don't think it will be long before she starts cruising around the house.

 Olivia on all fours.

My cruising girls.

Juliana and Olivia have one more item to add to their experiences. Their first tornado. Not many babies have the opportunity to be rudely awakened by being ripped from their crib to get to shelter. Well, Juliana and Olivia have. Yesterday, we knew there were going to be some bad storms that evening. I will admit, severe storms and I do not mix. I was a ball of nerves after I put the girls to bed at 7PM. It was overcast and really windy, gusts up to 40 mph. Mike and I were keeping a close watch on the weather and saw it was getting worse. Mike, being the calm and collected one, told me...."ahhh its going to be alright, there is nothing to worry about", at 9:00PM while a wind advisory and tornado watch were in effect. 10:00 rolls around and the tornado watch turns into a warning and we got a call from our neighbors. They wanted to invite us to their house since they had a basement. Mike told them thank you, and thought we would be alright. 10:05PM is here and the weather man on the TV says "This just in, they have spotted a tornado in Limestone off of 11-E" AHHHH!!!!! That was 5 minutes from where we live! Immediately, I told Mike, "Quick grab the girls, grab the girls!" I packed the quickest diaper bag ever and leashed the dog. Ran into the girls room and grabbed Olivia and threw a blanket around her. Mike put on his coat and grabbed Juliana and her blanket.  Just as we were about to head out the door, I remembered their lovies. We can not go anywhere without those, so I ran into their room and darted to the front door. As we walked to the neighbors, Juliana slept through the whole walk outside. Once to our neighbors we settled in their basement to only wait out for the next 3 hours storm after storm. One particular one, they advised us "Jonesborough," to take shelter since there was huge possibility that a tornado was heading our way with winds going 80-100 mph. God's hand must have been on us, we only saw heavy rain and wind. I have never in my life seen such terrible skies. It was eerie calm and hot. Very scary. We praise God for taking care of our friends and family. There have been so many unfortunate ones that have lost loved ones in this storm. We keep them in prayer.

Tornado in Chuckey, TN- Just 10 minutes from our home. 

We arrived home at 1:10AM. Juliana was already sleeping since 12:30AM and Olivia was still wide awake. A friend asked if we thought the girls were scared. Juliana, not so much, Olivia, yes. I have a feeling she felt how upset I was and when I left her for a moment with Mike, she cried for me. She was very clingy, didn't want to go to anyone and didn't want to be put on the ground to crawl. Mama has now instilled in her daughter Olivia how to fear storms. Oops. J and O's first storm is now logged and they can remember the night they were ripped from their cribs to take shelter. I only pray we don't have that again for a very long time.