It's been quite a while since our last post, and for good reason. Casey did have an ear infection. We found out through experimentation, recreational of course, that Casey is allergic to penicillin. As if he wasn't whiny enough, he awoke in the wee hours of Saturday morning writhing in discomfort. Under cover of darkness, we suspected that the medicine had upset his stomach, as the doctor had warned it may, and that he had a belly ache. In the daylight, we realized why he was so uncomfortable - his torso was covered in hives. We discontinued the antibiotic and started the benadryl, which by the way, does no make babies nearly as sleepy as it does adults. At least not our baby. As the day wore on, the hives spread to his extremities. We didn't get much sleep Saturday night, but Casey always seems to feel much better during the daytime. After brunch on Sunday, we discovered that Casey had developed thrush, which would explain the diminished appetite. Fortunately, our new doctor is wonderful, and leaves a direct line on the answering machine in the office. She called in a prescription for an anti-fungal mouthwash. It takes two of us to administer at home, usually with one of us holding him down, but at daycare, they swear he likes it. We all stayed home Monday to catch up on sleep.

Casey had an excellent week at daycare, and has definitely gotten his appetite back. Since he can't push the tray off of his high chair, he throws his food on the floor to signal that he is done, which annoys me to no end. He is old enough to know better. His communication skills are definitely improving. He points and grunts, but we can never seem to hand him the right thing, even if it is the only one in view. Everything is 'da', which when said repeatedly, sounds like 'dad'. Now that he says just 'da', we are going to assume it means 'that'. He still hasn't taken the first unassisted step, but is motoring around. He learned that he can belly crawl off just about anything. It's fine on the couch, because he can hit the floor before he lets go of the cushions, but our bed is pretty high and there is potential for injury. The last few days, he has taken to screaming as he crawls toward you, like a kamikaze attack. Very amusing.

Casey's first birthday isn't for another 10 days, but we're having his party this coming Saturday at our house. We have been busy getting things in order, which is a dreaded chore for both of us. We will most certainly have pictures to post after the party.