Recent Happenings in Pictures

Summer vacation is officially upon us, and boy have we been busy.

We had to get in a little beauty parlor before leaving for Pittsburgh this past week.  What grown woman dosen't wear fifty two hair barrettes and a red comb tangled in their hair?

That trip really tuckered out my kiddos.  They slept and slept and slept!

"Look Mom I can do half moon!"

And indeed she was.  It's funny how much interest she has taken into yoga, the other day she was showing Mike her chataranga {which she pronounced shopping cart.}  I'm so excited for next week when we take a Mommy and Me yoga class, I think Ava in particular will have a ball.

We made it to the pool!  Then it got freezing cold again, so we haven't been back.

Cheers!  Fish fry at a friend's house.

Then there was this.  Poor little guy scratched his cornea, about 3 mm in length.  We really have no idea how he did it, he was in bed with Mike and I and just started crying about his eye.  Luckily as I type this it is all healed up and hasn't bothered him in a day or two.

We were also so lucky because Aunt Tiff and Uncle Jay came to visit us! The kids love their Aunt and Uncle so much, look at them snuggling up to Aunt Tiff!  

Yesterday was also a big day for Carter, he went to summer camp with the YMCA.  I was a little nervous because of the peanut allergy, and luckily everything went very smoothly.  He had such a good time that he didn't want to leave when I came to pick him up at two!  

Carter and Ava have also been doing vacation Bible School at a local church called Crosspoint.  It cracks me up because they are learning about St. Paul and ancient Greece.  They have a man dressed in a toga pretending to be St. Paul and telling them about his life.  Ava really doesn't understand because she keeps asking why does that man live at the church?  Why does he sit on pillows?  Why does he wear funny clothes?  Luckily Ava and Carter both really enjoy VBS and Ava hasn't had any separation anxiety at all.  So all in all, a good start to the summer with plenty of fun to come!  

Come with me, and you'll be in a world of pure imagination!

We had a fun morning today, visiting a local chocolate factory for a tour.  The kids were very excited to see the chocolate factory, one of their favorite books is Curious George Visits a chocolate factory.  We met some new friends there, it's funny to see how the kids react to new people.  Things change quickly, but right now Dawson was glued to my leg, hanging on for dear life.  Ava made all sorts of friends and Carter said "Don't worry Mom, I'm going to watch all the kids for you."  He was the oldest child there, and he did keep an eye out for all the little kids!  

A chocolate factory decorated for christmas?  Must be pretty close to heaven!

But anyways, the chocolate factory.  On the way there, I was discussing with Carter how he was not allowed to eat any of the chocolate there, that it was all processed with peanuts.  But I had a pack of Hershey's in my purse that he was welcome to have.  Ava then asked me what chocolate she was going to have.  I told her she could have the chocolate from the factory.  She burst into tears and started crying "but I don't want to eat peanuts!  Please don't make me!"

It's funny how she has already picked up on the whole peanut allergy thing, but when push came to shove and she was offered a cherry cordial processed with peanuts she gobbled it down. 

The kids loved looking at the big vats of chocolate, the white pipes running the length of the factory with liquid chocolate running through them.  I thought it was interesting learning how they make the gigantic chocolate bunnies and santas.   

Easter Baskets

This year we spent Easter with extended family at a cabin near Little Pine Creek State Park in Pennsylvania.  Due to this we asked the Easter Bunny to come a little early to our house.  He obliged!  Here are some pictures of the kids with their baskets.  

The kids were so happy,  I think the biggest hits were Carter's chocolate bunny, Ava's princess crown and wand, and Dawson's Sesame street music player.  

Funny story, as the easter bunny was going to hide Carter's basket, there was a disagreement on a good location to hide it.  His wife said "don't put it there, that's the first place he'll look."  Sure enough, the first place Carter looked was in that location!  Next year the bunny's wife is going to take over hiding duties! 

By the way, I'm sure I've mentioned to you all that we have been slowly testing Ava's tolerance of eggs.  We have been feeding her small amounts of eggs, mainly in baked goods.  We'll after dyeing easter eggs she asked multiple times to eat one.  Finally I decided to start slowly, and sure enough she did great.  She ate an entire hardboiled egg on thursday and again today.   Hooray!  We believed that she would most likely outgrow this allergy and I'm so happy that she finally did.  

The Unexpected

Today we went to a birthday party for a neighborhood friend.  I was baking egg and peanut free cupcakes to bring along.  Both kids were helping with the first batch, then while they were otherwise occupied I put in a second batch.  Eventually I took the second batch out of the oven.  Carter ran over and yelled "More cupcakes!  I didn't expect that!"  Silly boy.

We had a good time at the birthday party, although Ava was absolutely glued to me.  Carter on the other hand was running around making all kinds of new friends and playing with all the toys he could get his hands on!  So funny!

Poor Carter had a minor incident at the pool on friday.  He was running to the restroom and yanked the (heavy) door open into his toe.  It bent back his toenail and caused it to bleed.  Today it is black and blue but seems to be getting better.  I sure hope so, because I wouldn't wait it to interfere with his baseball league this week.  Luckily Dr. Uncle Jason told him it would heal just fine.

By the way, does anyone have any suggestions for vining plants for our pergola?  I really have no idea what a good choice would be.  Whatever we choose, it needs to like full sun.  Also, is it easier to plant directly into the ground or in a pot?  Thanks for the advice! 

Summer Time

We have been enjoying summer!

Enjoying ice cream cones in the yard after dinner

Cheers!

For some reason the boys think that just because the sun is up at 6 am, they should be as well.

I do not concur.

On the other hand our night owl thinks that if it is daylight until 9:45 she can have a party in her bedroom until then.  Guess what? 

I do not concur.

I've been taking a cake decorating class with Tiffany this month.  I made the one with the cupcake on the right.  Dosen't it look delicious?  Believe me, it was.  With all our food allergies, I will always be making cakes for our kids.  Might as well make them look nice, right?  I think I spent at least 70% of the class monday night giggling at how bad my cake turned out.  The cake was crumbling into my icing and turning into a hot mess.  But it was fun!

Random Thoughts

• I failed my three hour glucose test BOOOOOO!  On Monday I'll be going to an education class, but until then I'll be counting carbs and watching what I eat.  I can do anything for four weeks, right?  Too bad the last bunch of brownies I made were nothing but warm goop (egg replacer did NOT work correctly.) 
• The good news about having gestational diabetes is that I get to have another ultrasound to check on the size of the baby ( but also see my little guy!)
• So far it seems that the hardest thing about the meals is that all recommend eggs or peanut butter as a source of protein.  I can substitute sunbutter for peanut butter, but I really hate eating scrambled eggs in front of Ava.  I'm paranoid that I'm going to drop some on the floor and she'll pick it up to eat it (not my child!)  I guess I'm going to have to get over that.
• Carter is now officially the proud owner of a pair of light up lightning mcqueen tennis shoes.  Yes, I have failed as a mother.  I will now go hang my head in shame.  But I have to say, he is so proud and happy with these shoes it almost makes up for the humiliation.  Almost.

Have a happy Thursday!  Friday is almost here!

Allergy update, take two

Our kids are such stinkers.

As many of you know, Avery has been having episodes with hives.  We got her bloodwork done and today we went to see the allergist.  After a skin prick test, they confirmed that she is indeed allergic to eggs, both egg whites and yolk.  The good news is that her primary doctor believed she could potentially be allergic to dairy, wheat, soy and peanuts based on the blood results.  But the allergist said this is not true.  YEAH!!

Just a point of reference:  Carter's blood test for peanuts at one year was a 10, and at 2.5 years was a 100.  Avery's blood test showed a 1 point 16.  The allergist believes that she will grow out of this allergy in the next 2 years.  

So where do we go from here?  Obviously no eggs or french toast.  The allergist said that many children can tolerate items like bread, certain cookies and crackers that contain small amounts of eggs.  We will have to watch cookies closely because some cookies have given her a reaction while others have not.  Avery obviously can because we have been feeding her these items without a reaction for months.  We do not need to take these items out of her diet.

Oh, and she also needs an epi-pen!  It looks like Benadryl and epi-pen(s) are going to be a staple of my diaper bag/purse for many years to come.

It is just so crazy to me that my kids have these allergies.  I'm just so lucky that these are just minor irritations in my everyday life.

Seriously, my kids are huge stinkers.  I think I'll keep them though.

 

Just in case you haven't heard....

Today I met with Carter's allergist about his peanut allergy.  So when he was tested at one year old, Carter scored a 10 on the RAST test.  I found this chart online which will give you an indication of what that means:



CLASS 0 (less than 0.35 KU/L)
CLASS 1 (0.35-0.7 KU/L)
CLASS 2 (0.71-3.5 KU/L)
CLASS 3 (3.51-17.5 KU/L)
CLASS 4 (17.51-50 KU/L)
CLASS 5 (50.01-100 KU/L)
CLASS 6 (greater than 100 KU/L)

Which as you can see puts him at a level 3.  When he was tested this past week his IgE levels were at 100.  Yup, that puts him into the highest class possible of allergic potential.  Anything over a 14KU/L for peanuts indicates a 100% chance of a reaction.  Keep in mind that this number is not indicative of the type of reaction, only that there is a high likelihood for a reaction.  So where do we go from here?  Just keep doing what we have been doing.  Make sure the epi pen and benadryl is with him at all times (which it is.)  I'm going to have to start training him to wear his medic alert bracelet or necklace (which he really hates.)  Keep training him about food safety.  Although I have to say so far it's only been a minor inconvience in our lives, and we just have to make sure that we keep it that way.  Luckily I choose a peanut free preschool for the fall, and Carter is with family or me 100% of the time.  Things will get more complicated as he gets older, but that's where his training has to come in.  So next time you invite us over, make sure it's peanut free!