Sweetest thing in the world

The other night at bedtime, Dave had already snuggled with Luke and put him down in his crib. Per usual, I was still in their room rocking Ben in our beloved chair. (Countless times I have thanked my husband for researching the best rocker before Ben was born. Thank you Restoration Hardware! If you have to spend half your life in a chair, it might as well be a comfy one!) Luke stood up pointing at us, so I picked him up and set him next to me in the chair. Ben was his usual squirmy self. He has to try about a thousand positions before deciding which is most comfortable. When he saw that Luke had joined us, he repositioned so that his head was next to his brother. After giving each other a dozen kisses, Ben settled in. I guess he finally found the best spot. Luke sucked his favorite fingers on his left hand and stroked Ben's head with his right. Ben promptly fell asleep. It was the cutest thing I've ever seen. Luke's little dark hand petting Ben's sun-lightened hair. Then Luke rubbed his own head. Then back to Ben's head. Back and forth, he would touch his own hair, then Ben's hair. It was like he was discovering how different their hair is.

I had a mini-meltdown last Wednesday. I guess 5 weeks of twin toddlers finally got to me. Ben has gone back to his old ways in the sleep department. Most nights it's a power struggle. He just wants things his way. Wednesday night it took two and a half hours to get him down! :-/ Dave and I are brainstorming strategies to get back into a better bedtime routine. Hopefully it won't take too long! I've realized that if I don't get 1-2 hours of a break in the evening with some time to catch up with my husband before we're completely exhausted, it wears on me.

Over the weekend we received some difficult news. I had brought Ben to the pediatrician a week ago because he had a pretty severe allergic reaction after lunch. The doctor called Saturday with his blood work results. He's allergic to EVERYTHING. Peas, Walnuts, and Cashews are the worst. Followed by several other things-- Peanut, Dairy, Wheat, Eggs, Soy, Beans, Corn, Potatoes, etc. For now, we aren't changing his diet too much. The doctor said if we try to eliminate everything then he may react badly when we try to reintroduce the items later. We have noticed changes over the last couple weeks that may be a result of his allergies. He's much more fussy than normal and has a hard time going to sleep. His digestion has changed and he occasionally has hives and rashes and swollen eyelids. I'm praying we can get him in to see an allergist very soon. I don't really know what I should and should not be feeding him. And I'm nervous about him having another bad reaction. We'd definitely love some prayers for God's protection over Ben.