Allergy Testing

My poor little girl has had skin issues since she was a tiny baby, so we figured that at some point she would have to undergo allergy testing, we just weren’t expecting it so soon!  She has eczema, and breaks out in hives periodically, but until recently we weren’t able to put our finger on the reason why.  This year at her 2 day school program, she broke out in hives about 3 times a month and I would rush down, give her benadryl, she’d pass out, and every time I mentioned it to the doctor he didn’t seem too concerned.  At her 2 year check up, I asked if we could start peanut butter.  (This is a staple of mine and I could hardly wait to see if my little one would love it too.)  Our pediatrician said to give her a tiny amount and see how she did.  Unfortunately, she did not do well. I only gave her the amount that would cover the tip of my pinkie, and within 20 seconds, her face was covered in hives.  At that time I asked her teachers to keep her away from peanut products at school.  They were of course wonderful and asked the other kids to stop bringing it altogether.  And from that point we had no other issues at school.   She also has been having reactions to certain dogs, especially those that lick her or come in contact with her face.  So, I proceeded to make her an allergist appointment.  We went this week for her appointment and had the testing done.  I can honestly say it wasn’t as bad as Brandon and I were prepared for.  She only cried after the skin pricks were over.  Other than itching, and wanting to scratch, she was really ok.  I told her she was very brave, which made her light up.  Here are some pictures from the appointment that was more traumatic for Mommy than Addie….

 

Right after the pricks…a little sad….

Waiting for the results, wondering what the spots represented…

Itchy girl, trying not to scratch…

Final analysis…. Allergic spots are the swollen areas. 

D is Peanut, the spot to the right of of it is almond, and the spot to the right and down from B is dog dander/saliva.

She stood on the stool just like this for several minutes while the doctor and nurse looked at everything and took notes.

The doctor spent a good bit of time going over what we should expect in our future, how to handle breakouts, (usually just with Benadryl), he prescribed epi-pens for a severe reaction, that we now should keep with us at all times, and gave us a glimmer of hope that she could be in the 14% of children that outgrow this allergy!  We already have an appointment scheduled for 9 months from now to see if the reaction lessens.  We are going to pray that it goes away altogether!

She is a precious little angel and just shines with joy where ever she goes.  I know this won’t stop her from being so wonderful and fun and happy….it just makes me sad that this could potentially be something that she deals with her whole life. 

Love to all.

Minnie Panties!

Wish us luck!

Our Trip to Oregon-part 1

We have just spent a wonderful week in Oregon with my mom and stepdad!! I am actually writing this post on the flight home because I don't want to forget any of the memories we made!! This might be the longest post ever because we did so many fun things!

First of all, Addie had not seen her Grandma Cece and Grandpa Skip since January! My how she has changed since then. Upon getting off the airplane she was so excited to see them!











We headed off to lunch and then back to their house. We were all pretty tired that first day since we had to get up at 4 am. Addie was amazing on our flights and we could not believe how well she slept on her make shift toddler bed (a small sofa turned around to face the wall.) it took her several days for her little body clock to adjust to the time change. She was up almost every morning at 5 am!! Finally on our last day she slept until 7:15! Lol!

On Thursday Skip had to work (as well as Friday-Saturday) so we filled our time with fun things for Addie to do! Thursday we went to the Portland Childrens Museum.

Addie has herself a grand old time!!


















On Friday we took her to the zoo! The weather never went above 70* the whole time we were there so the zoo was a delight!










We rode the train to and from the zoo which was a fun treat for her!


On friday night we had a camp fire outside and enjoyed hotdogs and smores! We all enjoyed this so much!









(the baby in the picture is Kaiya, she is the daughter to one of Mom's girls that currently lives in the maternity home. Addie and I both fell in LOVE with her! She is 2.5 months old and only weighs 7.5 pounds! Addie got a new baby doll from Cece on our trip and guess what she named her? Baby Kaiya!)

On Saturday we went to a really cool games/pizza place called Johns Incredible Pizza! Again our little girl was in Heaven!!!






On Sunday we went to church and then after church we started our 1.5 hour drive to the beach!

Oregon Trip-part 2

This is the second if two posts about our trip to Oregon. You may want to read the post below first.

On the road to the beach!!



When we arrived at the coast we made our way to our ocean front cottage and took a deep breath of that ocean air! Addie was excited about the balcony! This house was perfect and had the most breathtaking views!! We felt so blessed that my mom and Skip would treat us to such a fun place!

Addie kept saying "I'm so excited!"



We immediately had to walk down to the shoreline and show our little girl what the "beach" was!!


She loved it!!












Wherever we drove we saw these everywhere!






That night we found a local hole in the wall seafood restaurant that we read about online. It was so stinkin delicious!! I had to take pictures. I had the terriaki glazed halibut with corn polenta and Brandon had salmon with a fresh tomato basil topping. My fish was the most delicious And fresh I have ever had!





Check out the sunset!



And this was the view from our bedroom. There is nothing quite like sleeping to the sound of the waves.



The next day we took Addie down to the beach to play in the sand! She loved it but it was a little chilly so she didn't last too long!

My mom had surprised her with all of these super fun beach toys! So thoughtful!

















That afternoon we headed out on a hike through the woods to see a beautiful light house and a natural attraction-an octopus tree!?












Along the way up there were some great spots to stop and enjoy the view!










That evening Brandon made us a yummy dinner on the grill and then we went for an evening stroll on the beach!


It was so cold that we had to put jeans under Addie's skirt!



There was a nice man who offered to let Addie fly his kite!






Self portrait!



When we were heading back we saw this cute sign..,






On our last day we took one last walk on the beach. It was actually warmer so Addie enjoyed shedding her jacket. She still had on pj bottoms while we waited for her jeans to dry. But I think she's cute no matter what! She was so happy when she was running free on the sand!



The tide was back so far a large portion of the ocean floor was exposed, so we saw living starfish everywhere!






Addie really wanted to stand on a BIG rock!


Brandon ventured a little further than us and saw a sea cave. There were mussels everywhere!!








Sadly we had to say goodbye to the beach and head back to the city and we THOUGHT we had one more night. But sadly we had to leave after dinner and fly to Seattle so that we could try (stand by) for the 7 am flight back to Dallas. It was a late night for our little angel.



We stayed the night (for 5 hours) at a hotel in Seattle then were at the airport by 5:30 am and thank God we got on the flight home. Addie sure is pooped, but it was all worth it!



Thank you Mom and Skip for an unforgettable week! We made memories that will last a lifetime! We love you!